antidote for anger

back to my sketchbook, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

Our local tulip thieves are at it again with the blooming of our late tulips. This time they didn't even carry them to the next block (as was done with our early tulips) --- after picking them, they just threw them down in our yard.

I was so angry . . . . I came right in and sketched them before they wilted anymore, and in the process of observing their beauty up-close lost my anger. Sketching is a wonderful antidote!

March 2012: New Sketchbook Trial

March 2012: School Yard, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

This time I am trying XL Mix Media sketchbook from Canson. This was the very first page and you can see that one watercolor layer made this paper buckle and so far I was not able to lift anything when painting with watercolors in this sketchbook: everything is absorbed immediately.One layer works great - but as soon as you do more - it turns grainy. I tried color pencils and different pens and they worked great so far. More scans so come :)

A Cross-pollination demo--Windows!

Hi all!  I needed to do a demo for the class I'm giving--people kept asking about how I painted the windows in the old mill painting at top-- but I don't have time to make a video or figure out where to upload a PDF, so I'm going to aim them here!

...and by the way, I just painted around, carefully, here...

 

So first, I just sketched a normal double-hung window...

 

And then painted around the window and sill...

I added a little contrasting spatter for texture, using a small oil-painter's bristle brush and my finger.  And yes, I always get it all over me!

Then I carefully added some of the shadows...I pushed the color a bit...

...and added the curtains.

Finally, I painted in the dark shadowy windows and added a suggestion of reflections when that was dry...but basically, just painted around, no mask, no scraping, no lifting.

However!  You can do all of those things...there's no right or wrong way to paint windows.  Observation is your best tool...there are so many different kinds of windows, you just need to pay attention to what you see, and experiment a little.

Here, I scraped through a damp wash with the end of an aquarelle brush to lift the lights...the one on the right, I just left spaces for the crossbars or mullions.

...and then went wild with a bunch of other techniques!  My Crayon didn't work that well, so I tried a piece of candle wax--and ended up lifting the pigment off the crayon lines with a damp, clean brush and blotting away the extra color. (That's a bamboo pen applying liquid mask at lower right...easy to clean once the mask is dry.)

See what I mean?  You can't really say how to paint windows, because there are literally dozens of different kinds...I did quick sketches of a few I found in an old book on English cottages...

So here are a few of the ideas to try on some simple windows...there are many, many more. 

There are quite a few different approaches to windows in my Travel Sketch set on Flickr and a few more in my Urban Sketches set, as well as some duplicates. 

Ready to try a nice Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window??

Me either!

And you're right, this isn't journaling, strictly speaking, except I did the demo in my Strathmore Visual Journal... :-D

When is the ink really dry?

March 2012: Treasures, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

The ink was dry... It looked like dry ink everywhere but in one spot - where my pen made a blot earlier. I even tried it with my finger (though gently as on this paper Noodler's ink smudges easily).
But when I used my spray bottle.... i got THIS! :)

(this is the same Pen and Ink sketchbook I was complaining about earlier this month)

Emergency Preparedness...

...so once in a LONG while I forget my journal or don't want to go back out to the studio for it...thank goodness I've got my accordion folder in the Jeep!

The other day we talked about finding time to sketch...this is one way I do it, as noted, I keep supplies handy EVERYWHERE.

I didn't have much time to do the two quick parking-lot landscapes, but LOTS of time while J. shopped in the Home Depot the other day...I was very glad I had my folding journal in the car!

This is out by our library, where I often sketch while waiting...

Here's the lovely bright colors at Home Depot...

And on the way home, the parking lot at WalMart...J. parked so I had a better view!

Actually, I keep an accordion folder in both vehicles, one close to the computer, and sometimes one in the bedroom...I make them from scraps when I bind my journals!

News from our own Laura Frankstone...

...as many of you know, our dear friend Laura and her family have been through the wringer the past few years. Most recently, tragedy struck when they lost their full-term grandson--dealing with this has been a portrait in courage and human strength.

Daughter Kate and her husband Biff have found a way to bring something positive out of sadness, along with the March of Dimes...please read this post on Laura's blog, and if you can, help!

Waterbrushes and Watercolor Brushes

I FINALLY got the video done, reshot, tweaked, edited and uploaded!

People often ask me about waterbrushes, and I think I've tried them all by now...hope this helps.

I also cover the difference between waterbrushes and "real" watercolor brushes, and when and why to chose one over the other. Unless you use a pointillist technique, a waterbrush isn't going to satisfy you for nice juicy washes of any size. I use mine when I'm traveling, working in my journal, pressed for space, needing to letter something...but never when I'm working 9 x 12 or larger!