Journal page

The Sketchbook Challenge theme this month is Warm/Cool. Decided to use a stencil I had recently made to create a journal page to reflect the theme.

Acrylic paints, home made stencil and pen.

Journal page

The theme for the sketchbook challenge this month is patterns. I immediately thought about circles.

(Click to enlarge).
Pen and watercolors.

EDiM #3

EDiM #3: Free choice. Draw anything you like.

(Click on image to view larger).
I for one love getting two for the price of one, so imagine my delight when this sketch works for both EDiM and TSBC. (The Sketchbook Challenge theme this month is Fruit and Veggies). Felt like the background needed some oomph, so out came a henna stencil to the rescue. Ink and watercolors.

Flowers [2]

Yes, I should be packing for my trip. And checking off items on my to-do list. But I would much rather brew a hot cuppa tea and curl up with a good book. Not that I am not excited. I am. Crazily so. Turkey! Cannot wait. But I have two and a half whole days to clean and pack and do all that other stuff. In the meanwhile am immersed in the lives of fictional Turkish and Armenian families. Delish.

Here is another flower page. I love it. It is exactly my style. Sketch with words. So me. Flowers from home. I really miss Kenya at times. This was one such day. My Mom was a Biology/Chemistry teacher, and we used to have early morning and late night flower hunting trips, looking for specimens for her class practicals. Such wonderful memories.

Tried out my new Koi watercolor set. Sumptuous color. Do I pack it for my trip? Traveling light. Light and lean - that is my travel mantra. We'll see....

Flowers [1]

The Sketchbook Challenge theme for this month is flowers. I realize that though I love flowers, I do not sketch them. Not really sure why. Maybe because I find it hard to capture their ethereal nature. So, here on this almost summer-like day (in early March!) is one of my flower pages from my journal. The pages get cropped on my scanner, but you get the idea.

The background paper and acrylic wash was already there. Added the flowers with ink and markers and a water brush to spread some of that marker around.

Close Ups

Realize that I had not yet posted these pages from last month. The sketchbook theme for Feb was close ups, and I immediately thought of close ups of the alphabet and butterfly wings - both of which are wonderfully abstract shapes. Ink and watercolors. I used pearlescent watercolors on the alphabet page which has a fun metallic sheen that is hard to capture with a photo.

Doodling #3

Happy February! Hope this year has been swell so far.

Here is the final of my three doodling pages for the Jan Sketchbook Challenge. I was playing with the idea of stained glass. Ink and watercolors.

Doodling #2

Here is doodle page number two for The Sketchbook Challenge this month. The pink acrylic wash was already on the page. The doodles were done in ink and colored with markers. I found doing this page quite meditative.

Doodling

The sketchbook theme this month is Doodles. I don't often doodle. But had fun with this one. There is something meditative about line and color with no outcome in mind.

I decided to doodle over a double spread, so total size is 9x12 inches, which my scanner does not like, but you get the idea. This page was done with ink and watercolors.

Imaginary Animals #5

Halloween is a fave holiday in our house. There is something magical about being whatever you choose to be for a night. Most people think it is all about the candy - but I think it is the chance to dress up and be someone else.

What do you want to be for Halloween? A superhero. A vampire. A mermaid. The options are endless and much more interesting than the answer to that age old question: What do you want to be when you grow up? Vampire never seems to be an acceptable answer for that one!

This is one of my final pages for the imaginary animals series. Pen and marker. Love how an old, almost out of ink marker created that texture on the box.

Imaginary Animals #4

The thing about imaginary animals, is that once you start you cannot stop. There are so many fun possibilities. The inspiration for this one came from a bike part - of all things. Ink and markers.

Imaginary Animals #3

This all started with a magnifying glass. Why did I have it out? I was trying to read the teeny tiny writing on the nib of my fountain pen.

It looked like an eye. So traced around it and then added whatever seemed to fit. Ink and markers. Ah, the lusciousness of markers. Had forgotten about that.

Imaginary Animals #2

Another page for the sketchbook challenge this month.

This cutie lives with me and was found abandoned at the marina a couple of summers ago. Pen and watercolors.

Imaginary Animals

The sketchbook challenge theme for this month is Imaginary Animals.

We recently visited the Pompeii exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. I loved it. It is an amazing thing to me that artifacts buried over 2000 years ago are now in front of me in Boston. If you are in the area, I'd highly recommend it.

I saw this creature at the exhibit. The earthenware bowl had these guys as feet. How cool is that?

View - of Wacky Candy

This is a view of the Wacky Candy store at the Topsfield Fair this year.

This is the first year that I have been disappointed with the fair. Maybe it was because I was there on a weekday - but the fair seemed rather drab and all about carni stuff and junk food. Not sure that I'll be going next year.

View - of faces

The theme for the sketchbook challenge this month is View.

This was fun to do. I do not usually have multiple drawings on a page and I like the layered look of this one. Quick sketches of people around me at the bookstore.

Everyday Objects - Eggplant

My goddaughter turns 9 today. Happy birthday Chickadee.

Am often amused how kids really want to talk about how old they are, while most adults shy away from that question - at least until they get to an age they feel is an accomplishment. Always make me smile.

The sketchbook theme this month is everyday objects. I love eggplants. Used to hate them - and then learned that they were simply cooked incorrectly - too slimy. They are now a staple in our home.

This page was created while on an art date with my 6 year old nephew - you can see our "studio" in this earlier post. The page haa a background of acrylics already on. Used pen, watercolor pencils and a black crayon for the rest.

Element of childhood

In keeping with the sketchbook theme of ELEMENT this month, I captured this little toy who hangs out on our book shelves.

Toys are an element of childhood, though not just childhood anymore. Usually toys just get more expensive as one gets older.

Remember wooden toys? I have always loved them. In my opinion the lack of buttons and lights and beeps allowed my imagination to soar where I wanted. I was not constrained by all the bells and whistles of toys sold today. This little guy has been around for at least two generations of playtime. Love that.

Element of surprise

The sketchbook theme this month is ELEMENT. Well, I sure had the element of surprise today. I started out drawing a sea gull, and this is what I ended up with.

I took out my art bag and dived in. The page was created using pen, oil pastels, water-soluble oil pastels, acrylic paint, stencils and markers.

Resist

The Sketchbook Challenge theme for May was Resist. Creating a resist with crayola crayons is immediately what came to mind. So pulled out my box of crayons - doesn't everyone have one? - and played with making marks and not thinking about the end result. A wash of watercolor. Done. Easy peasy way to play.