Playin around

Another really inspiring and productive day out at Patti's studio, today. Plus I got the chance to try out her lightbox and got some shots out of my large hemp journal, which is spiral-bound and thus challenging to scan.
The first one is a background from that book that is ONLY background, but I love the colours and the textures that I got playing with palette knives. The lightbox set up really captured the blues and greens well, I think. I dusted off my Wacom tablet to draw the fish in Photoshop. I'll have to do that more, because I'd forgotten how much fun that is.

This one started out as pan pastels, which I then painted over with clear medium, collaged on some nice paper, added some washi tape around the edge and sketched the birds in white gel pen.

And this one is so mixed and from so long ago now that I don't remember all the steps. o_O

A quick post...

I really need to set up a light box like Patti has to take pictures of her work at night. I'm never home during the week until after dark, so without a light box you get a crappy scan instead.
It would be much easier if the book wasn't landscape format I suppose... and if I could work on just one page at a time instead of spewing my art over both pages. But where's the fun in that?

Spiral bound books I find a bit challenging to scan... however, here is the inside back cover of my blue journal. Not done yet, but I do like the colours.

Blue journal

Patti and I both got one of these mixed media journals from Strathmore and, oddly enough, I've been using its pages for sketching only, so far. I have managed to get a start on the front and back covers and took some shots outside.

The front.

The back.

Gargoyle reads.

Doodle

Pencil sketch, originally... then I scanned it and played in Photoshop for a very small amount of time. Need more time! My evenings are too short.

from the depths of my desk drawers...

... I unearthed a drawing of mine from 2001. It had a young elf cleaning her sword while a raven sat upon her helmet, and I really liked it at the time. Now, not so much. The arms are awry, the boots are weird and her helmet looks plastic. So I thought I'd try a fresh approach to her and re-draw the scene, but it kept not gelling in my head. Finally I realized that she needed to be done a different way, because I'm different now. Or at least I'm older. ;)

Watercolours, Pigma Micron pen and white pencil crayon.

I wonder what I'll think of this attempt in another nine years?

just goofin' around, that's all...

(I miss the old This Hour...)


Here's a couple that I painted in Patti's gorgeous leather-bound journal. The paper was yummy! I love the way it took the sepia watercolour and it didn't buckle at all under the acrylics. Smooth, hot-press watercolour paper is my favourite paper evar. I do try to broaden my horizons, but keep going back to it. :)

My thanks to Patti for the great photos!