Decisions made based on subject matter.

 Everyday I sit down to my computer or look at the wall behind me and I see the most adorable image:

This is actually the last Christmas card I created. Renard passed away this past January. My life is empty for his loss but filled for the joy he brought me.  Recently I have been creating painting of Tomte with Inktense and pastels but the truth is the best that I create are done using what pastel on black paper so from now on I'm painting/drawing all Tomte/Gnomes with this medium. The, the Tomte, like it best. They told me. Not in words but visually. I can see the joy and humor in their faces when they are rendered at night in night scenes dressed in shades of gray. So....birds will be rendered in Inktense and Neocolor II, with ink or without,  and graphite. Dogs will be rendered in graphite and white pastel and Pan Pastels. Humans will be rendered in graphite. I don't know why I hadn't realized it sooner. No, I'm not fallen off my rocking horse. Certain subjects just call for certain media, at least for me. That just solves so many issues for me. 

Certain media allow me to capture the joy of the subject. All media have, for me, a different energy. 

With Christmas just around the bend, or based on store display, here tomorrow, I will render several Tomte/Gnome paintings using white chalk and white Pan Pastels. Stay tuned.

Ink and Inktense painting

 Okay. Once again I am shifting direction. As my hands heal I see new options. I'm still in love with graphite and as long as I can I will continue but I tried glazing with watercolor pencils again and wasn't in love with it. So I went to Derwent Inktense and Ink. Back to loving it. I just made a 1 hour 44 minute YouTube video and don't worry. You can skip ahead. During the video I share a variety of methods I use with the pencils and blocks as well as sharing my medium. 

Here's the image and click on it to see the video.

I think he's adorable. I'm going for humorous and lighthearted here. I'm not quite clear of the next project but there will be at least one bird in. 

Thanks for taking a peek.

My coloring book is available on amazon.

My coloring books: Birds, a grayscale coloring book for adults, is now available for purchase on Amazon.com. Click on the image of the cover to go to the order page. 

My coloring book has been submitted for publication.

 

I spent a few hours making adjustments to my "final" manuscript of images and after it uploaded I found an error. Oh well. If it's a big deal to me I'll resubmit. It takes up to 72 hours for the book to be accepted and that should be 10/15/24 but I could be wrong. If they find issues, I'll correct them. If not the book is available on Amazon.com for $8.99.

Interestingly enough, when I finished coloring my samples for the book, I found I had lost my taste for glazing and coloring; but, not for drawing. Please, if you are a grammarian, do not redline this post. I know I am playing fast and loose with punctuation and grammar. But it sounds right to me in my brain. 

Right now, I'm choosing the image for my next drawing and I figure I'll make another grayscale coloring book; working title "Out of Africa". I have a few drawings, maybe 3, already complete. I'm trying to figure out the paper size but since I'm taking photos it doesn't matter. So I'm starting with my 11 x 14 Strathmore drawing paper.  I have lots of paper in many sizes. I really don't lneed any more art supplies for the next 12 months. Really. Unless one of my pencils wears down and that could happen. But everything is open stock so really it will be buying a pencil or two. Really.

The thing about a project like this is that a spiral bound pad, which this is, makes sense because it keeps all of the work together. I'm trying to be better organized and when I open a pad to draw I find an image to tear out and put in a portfolio. Speaking of which, I need to put my 30 drawings into a project portfolio so that I know where to find them.

I'll post the link when the book is on the shelf at Amazon.

How to glaze a graphite grisaille with color pencils

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I've just uploaded a video on YouTube demonstrating how to color a grisaille drawing with color pencils. Well, Derwent Drawing Pencils, but the principle is the same.

I realized that many people might not know how to color over a grayscale image from one ot the very popular coloring books available so I offer this demo. Just click on the image. I hope you enjoy the video.

More about my life as an artist.

 I am always evolving as a human, as a woman, as an artist. For me, in all aspects, I go forward and back and laterally. Probably like most of us. As a woman I am the Crone and so happy to be here. I look around at others my age and younger and see that, in spite of my health, I'mhealthier than most.

 As a human I find I'm tired of political rhetoric on all  sides but you don't need to read those rants. This is an art blog. Maybe I'll do a personal opinion blog sometime, but not now. 

As an artist I feel a new change happening. I really am not the painter I was, not since COVID. I have my drawing skills back and I've been dealing with color by ignoring it. I've given away a lot of materials that will go bad if not used. I can paint, but not as I wish, so as with most aging artists, I shift gears. That's why I'm working on a coloring book. Not be cause of the trend, but because I have to have a reason to create essentially the same thing over and over again. I get bored, easily. Since I had published coloring books before I know the process. I chose birds because I enjoy them and I chose graphite because it is my first medium and really the most difficult to master after my illness. Handling brushes isn't easy either but drawing is almost like finger painting by comparison. I finished the drawings and now I'm doing colored pages for people to refer to when coloring.

A funny thing happened when I was coloring the Warbler with colored pencils. I realized that I could still use color and draw. Oh, not like all those color pencil artists but like the grisaille artist I had been using watercolor pencil over graphite. But now I don't have to deal with painting and handling brushes. I still have my watercolor pencils if I can step up my game again but now I can have beautiful drawings and beautiful color. Just typing this article is painful but using my fingers and hands is my best medicine in spite of the discomfort. 

Anyway, I don't have to make more coloring books after this if I don't want to but my recovery has brought me back to at least a level of competence. I like drawing pictures that make people happy.   Here are a few of my coloring pages, all colored with colored pencils starting with the Warbler.

Coloring book progress.

 I've finished 30 images in grayscale and have them placed in a Powerpoint project. While I let the layout marinate, I'm coloring print outs of all if the drawings. I'll need them in the book.

I'm using Faber Castell polychromos colored pencils to color the images. Here's a sample of the Toucan. It's tough to tell from the photo but, the background is light blue. 

I'll keep you posted.