Hibernation is Over

It's not that it's been a horrible winter per se - it just feels that it went on forever! This is partly due to a 2 week period mid February where we had spring like temperatures, total absence of snow and the return of the robins. We couldn't be faulted for feeling like maybe, just maybe Spring was coming early.

Well, HAH! said Mother Nature. Fooled ya! And that she certainly did. We've had an ice storm of late and as recently as 4 days ago awoke to fresh snow on the ground. But I think, finally, that we can put Winter behind us. Fingers crossed! 

So, during my period of hibernation, literally nothing artistic happened. I had set this dark time aside in order to devote myself to researching my family tree. Don't know if you've ever explored your own but I will tell you that it requires a lot of dedicated focus. My left brain just sings doing this kind of work and becomes a bit of a brain hog about it. Now, I know myself well enough to accept this and move forward with it. But once Spring came, it was move over LB because your creative counterpart is all rested up and ready to play. 

I was inspired by Tara Leaver's most recent 7 day mini series challenge. I have long resisted painting the same thing over and over again and I don't really have a good reason for why, just innate stubbornness. So confronting something I usually avoid seemed like a good place to start. 

I would use the same photo reference and create a new piece each day using a different medium. Pencil, water soluble ink, charcoal, chalk pastels, watercolour, mixed media and collage. There was - to my mind anyway - an organic progression to this process. The drawing became easier each day I did it; I developed my values before moving into colour. Each day seemed to build on the previous ones. 

I had never worked with chalk pastels before so that was a first for me. This last one bottom right was intended to be just acrylic but after I gessoed the paper I started playing with whatever I felt like so it ended up being a combo of Inktense blocks, Sharpie pen, water soluble markers and acrylic paint. It was also done with a bright yellow underpainting beneath everything but the blue and purple berries. 

Not surprisingly, there is something about each piece I like but no one favourite. And yes, there are only 6 images here. These were done on 5 x 7 cold pressed paper and when it came time to do the collage I found the small size quite restrictive so that one will have to wait for now. 

Okay, enough for now. I have some pieces from my orphan drawer to play with next. 

Colourful Bugs part 2

I told myself that after this, I was done with this colouring page but now that I see it here on my monitor I definitely want to go back and make all of the legs black. Plus tidy up a couple of the red beetles. Just not happy with those. 

My faves are the indigo ones but that's a no brainer because in my world indigo sings. 

Okay, it looks like there'll definitely be a part 3 to this post. It's a particularly miserable, rainy, trying to be warm but too damp to get there, kind of day so I my even get it done today. We'll see. Or I may need to go and paint some happy tulips! 

Colouring Bugs Part1

This is the underpainting of a colouring page my sister gave me from the Secret Garden colouring book, artist edition. First, I must say the paper is lovely to work on, tolerating this amount of wet media. I imagine it could handle a wash fairly well as well, given that it feels comparable to 140 lb HP paper. 

The concept of a rainbow/colourwheel theme came to me as soon as I saw the page and since the weather persists in giving us an overabundance of greyness - well this just seemed the perfect time to hit up some colour! 

My plans for the next stage are not as clear cut - I can continue on in watercolour or I may delve into a mixed media approach using either my tombow markers or a bit of acrylic. Hmmm, it's a mystery to even me at this stage LOL. Stay tuned for part 2!

Spring Cleaning

Yes, it's that time again - the temps are warming, grass is greening. I did a major purge of my art supply cupboard just last month so no need to change anything there. My studio is pretty darn tidy if I do say so myself, well, within the parameters of being functional which is key. 

So what''s left to be done?? That seemingly never ending problem of the cat hair to pigment ratio in my watercolour palette. It finally got the better of me while I was playing in my paints this afternoon. 

So, time to scrub it out and lay out fresh paint. This is also the time that I make brutal decisions as to what pigments stay and which are relegated back to the cupboard. 

Indigo has long been a favourite of mine when you need that perfect hit of dark but sadly, it just doesn't play nice in my palette. It somehow manages to ooze it's way into the other paint wells during the wee hours of the morning and continues to do so even as I try and clean it up. So, back to the tube for you!

Undersea green is another one that may be put on time out, especially since I plan to bring Q gold back to the palette - mix it with some ultramarine blue and boom howdy!

But the cat hair really has to go.

Inktober

Decided to participate in InkTober this year. I've read about this daily drawing challenge in the past but usually well after it's over. This year I put it on my calendar ahead of time so my aging brain wouldn't forget and it worked! 

In 2009 artist James Parker started the InkTober drawing challenge

My participation serves two purposes though - I do a pen drawing every day during this month which then provides me with at least 31 drawings that I can paint in January, a time of year that I often find myself lacking in motivation because it's not Spring yet. Win-win in my book.

Mason jar flowers pen and ink (C)2015 Susan Langdon 8x10 Strathmore CP

This one doesn't count towards the challenge as I drew it quite a few weeks ago but it gives you the idea of what I'm hoping to stockpile for the upcoming Dark Time.  Hey, it's no secret; I'm not winter's biggest fan. 

Started working on today's entry and ran into a little problem. Since I've been busy lately planning an upcoming bathroom reno and mucking out my closet, I haven't had my paints out for a couple of weeks, so of course I had to throw some on. I'm writing this post while I wait for it to dry LOL. Oh well, will just have to do another drawing to put away for January. 

Hoarding Bits and Bobs

I'm always amazed when something that seems to have gone wrong in the first pass can eventually be turned into a much better something with a little time and perspective. 

This was a random doodle basically done as a stream of consciousness painting last Fall. No pre-planning just sketch out a pumpkin and some indian corn using only my brush. 

Wasn't happy with it - the husks from the corn were going every which way, defying gravity; it just wasn't speaking to me. And yet, I couldn't put it in my scrap/testing paper pile. Fast forward to this year where I had forgotten what my original intent was behind the exercise and sat down to see what I could salvage. This is what I came up with.

The husks are still as willy nilly as ever but i feel like this was more what I was hoping for. Knowing me, I'll continue to play with it - the husks continue to cry out for more attention in terms of texture and shadow - but at least I don't feel like I should be using it to test colours on either. 

Line drawings

 

 

Just needed to 'see' for myself these line drawings before I go any further. The one on the left is both front and back of a 5 x 7 in card. The image on the front of the card will be watercoloured; the remainder of the image, once it's completed, will either be coloured or left as just the ink lines. I've seen cards where the design is carried over to the backside and wanted to give that a go myself. Not sure I'm making my idea clear here but it will make more sense when I've posted the completed page.

 

I'm also fairly pleased with the whippet line drawing - trying to get the proportions right was a bit of a struggle but I think I got there in the end. 

More Card Ideas

Previously I've printed some of my work as A2 size notecards for use as either general notecards or xmas cards but lately I've been more focused on hand painted A7 (5" x 7") cards that will be one offs. Here's a sample of what's been swirling around in my brain of late.

  

I think the one on the left surprised me the most as it started out as dobs of pink and blue paint randomly placed on a cream coloured wash, with no idea as to what the final outcome would be. I stepped away from it for a few hours and Alliums came to mind when I revisited it. A few simple ink stems and I'm calling it done.

The Emergence of Orange

Didn't realize until I went to post this one that orange has suddenly made a more prominent appearance in my work lately. Definitely not one of my usual hues but perhaps I'm gearing up for autumn.

A Couple of Card Ideas

 

Playing around with some 5 x 7 watercolour cardstock that I had on hand. (It's always good to shop at home!) The one on the left incorporates some stamps I had along with some line and wash work. The puffin was painted from a photograph by a UK photographer named Gary Jones, with permission granted via the Paint My Photo website. You can see more of his work at www.portraitsofnature.co.uk

Shari's class

Signed up for an online class at Craftsy with Montreal artist Shari Blaukopf. This is my rendition of her sketch of the Flatirons near Boulder Colorado. In doing this I realized just how long it's been since I painted a landscape LOL. Overall this was quite successful. I have a few more modules to complete but I'm looking forward to incorporating what I'm learning into my own reference images.  

Painted on 9 x 12 140 lb cold pressed paper but my scanner bed is only standard letter size so the quality of the scan is less than optimal.

Beets- update

As scary as putting in the darks can seem, the impact they have is undeniable. I'm very happy with the beets themselves; now I just have to take a deep breath and go back in and tackle the leaves.

Of course that means making sense out of what now is just a jumble of green.

Beets

Definitely not a favourite vegetable to eat but they're lovely to paint. Trying to get the right earthiness of colour I mixed quinacridone magenta with sepia and the odd touch of indigo.

Looking at them here I can see I need to do some work on depth of field so they read as 6 individual beets, 7 if I turn a stray blob into the tip of another one. I'm happy with the far left one, now I just need to fix his friends!

New Coffee Mug

Anyone who knows me knows that I practically have my coffee mug surgically attached to my hand. So when Touille decided to push my old one over just to see what happened - well let's just say it was a sad day in Nukiville.

I soon was on the hunt to find my new favourite mug. It had to be of good size and weight, fit well in my hand and then there's that aspect of je ne sais quoi - it needed to speak to me.

As soon as I saw this one I knew it was the one . Well, actually it's the two - it came in a matched set. So, should boredom strike the calico princess again, I'm ready.

EDM2015 - a spot you regularly sit to read

This one's going to take awhile because of the style I want to use, so the preliminary sketch is all I've got to post for now. I'm hoping for it to end up like the kitchen sketch I did for SBS last fall.

I'll probably be working on it off and on over several days, while I'm continuing on with the daily prompts. Will post it when it's finished. 

ETA 21/5:  now with ink and a bit more detail added.

EDM2015 - something used for measuring

 

 

 

I haven't worn a wrist watch in ages but I so remember the late 80's through the mid 90's, when swatch watches were such a hot pop culture item. Mickey D's was even selling them during the transition years for the Olympics, when the winter and summer games parted company. If I were to start wearing a watch again, Mr. Parrot would be the one.

EDM2015 - the last thing you bought

Not exactly the last thing that I bought - that would be groceries and coming up soon will be 'ingredients of a favourite recipe' so I'll need them for that.

I originally planned on inking this one but I think I'll live with it a few days like this and see what I think then.

EDM2015 - a hat, cap or headgear

For today's prompt I was inspired by my sister's upcoming trip for a friend's 60th birthday. There will be a masked ball so I'm thinking a fancy mask qualifies as headgear. This was drawn from an image found on Success Creations Etsy site.

After spending so much time doing the lace detail, I'm willing to let the wimpy shadow  underneath go for now. I truly don't want to take a chance and muck it up! If I get brave after I've had a chance to step away, I'll post the updated version.

Tomorrow's prompt is a set of stairs/steps so I may do something a little less ambitious LOL!

ETA: Okay, I've tweaked it a bit and I'm much happier with the shadow although I've not even attempted to do the ribbon shadow since I don't actually have the mask itself to work from and I have a hard enough time figuring out shadows as it is LOL. I also added some texture to the sheer black ribbon and that helped tremendously IMO.

EDM2015 - an envelope

Envelopes don't have to be boring. For the few bills I still pay by snail mail, I try and use these - they brighten my day and hopefully the person on the other end too!

 

 



I used a combination of watercolour, watercolour pencil and pigma micron markers for this. Shadows continue to vex me.

EDM2015 - bottle of herbs/spices

This is as far as I've gotten today - took me awhile to decide what I wanted to draw and then trying to get my sketch right means it's not going to see any colour today.

Haven't decided on what to put in the bowl yet. Think it will depend on what colour palette I select. Possibly tomatoes or garlic heads or red onions. Can't be too big because I need to keep the peppermill and glass jar in scale. Maybe some lemons as if I was making lemon pepper chicken. That would work. 



Lemons it is! I also decided to ink this one. Will update it when the paint is on and dry. It's rather grey today so the sunny yellow lemons should help brighten things up.