Moving Right Along on YouTube and with Glazing

 Here are four of my recent glazing projects. I'm using watercolor pencils, intense and graphitint to glaze graphite and water soluble graphite drawings. It's called grisaille but that's not really acuate. The grisaille portion of the graytone image. The part where I add color is the glazing. I have YouTube videos on all of these pieces; well two are still in editing. I don't know why I left this method of painting way back in 2019. I do love it and it is beautiful. It combines my love of drawing and the ease of glazing to create a colorful image. I have my next promect in mind; I've pulled out 16 x 20 illustration board and I'll be using Derweint Inktense for this project.  Oh, the first three images are Derwent Inktense glazes. The fourth is a Derwent Graphitint glaze.

Okay, so now very quickly onto YouTube. I am finally able to promote my channedl and I am on my 3rd promotion. That's the Barn owl just aboe. I went from 800 plus to 3.3K subscribers in three weeks. I am amazed and delighted.  Once I have 4000 hours watched in a month I can monetize and make better use of Community. I realize that people are clicking on my videos and subscribing and liking and sharing. Also my demographic has changed from the "organic" growth of my channel. It used to be mostly 65 plus aged women in the US and India. Now my subscribers are mainly in the 20s and 30s and slightly more men than women. Oh and it's still the US and India although in both cases the numbers ar are much smaller in India. I follow several East Indian artist. Click on the Barn Owl to see this video.

Yes, I did mention that my next piece is 16 x 20. I'll be creating several glazed paintings in this size and for a while staying away from 9 x 12. I'm channeling my inner James Audubon san the rifle and all of the killing of entire species. I love photography.

I'll be sharing with you soon.

Unwrapping Inktense Pan Paints

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. 

Here are a couple of Inktense Tomte Paintings I've recently completed.

 

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. 

Coloring book in process

 I'm making a steady progress with my new grayacale coloring book. Didn't I mention it? It's all birds. I'm aiming for 40 images and I'm over half way there. Here's a video for one if the drawing is. Most aren't recorded.

Redtail Hawk in graphite.

Here are a few samples.

I'll keep you posted.

Change your graphite bird portraits by adding a background

No Posts Since July? Where has the time gone?

 

Well, once again I have changed to title of my Art Vlog. This time I dropped the "Fine" and it's just "Art Vlog." And once again I am at odds with media. My media. Which media? Okay. I'll paint if I have to, like a commission or a special request or my libary art classes but other than that I am drawing with graphite. I have charcoal and I have a few pencils if I feel like it.  I have a few water soluble graphites if I want to use them. I have many pencils, colored, watercolor, Inktense, pastel. But I really don't want to use any of them. I just want to draw. With pencils. Mechanical and wood. That's it.

And I'm not taping my projects. No video. I'm still vlogging but not doing demos of tutorils or any combination there of. I'll introduce my project. I'll share my fnal result. I'll chare a project but I'm not taping my art any more. I won't say not ever but I feel so much better just drawing. Just me and my pencils and paper and reference photos. No talking. No narrating. No being concerned with keeping up with the steps I take or the colors I use. I drew a picture of a Bullfinch today and I loved it. It was relaxing, not tense. This is the photo.

I used mechanical pencils on Strathmore 400 series drawing paper. 8 x 10. I'm just going to keep drawing pictures of birds until I have enough for a grayscale coloring book. I'll post the images as prints on my Threadless account. That doesn't change. I'll have to scan them for better copies. But I'm not taping my drawing sessions and amazingly, just the thought of that has made the process of creating so much more beautiful; peaceful and exciting a the same time. I won't be editing anyting more than 15 minutes long. That will keep editing fun. All of my attempts to share my work and build up my YouTube channel has just been too much like work and it shouldn't be. And now it won't be.

I'm not worried about getting a publisher or manufactuer. Amazon is easy for self publishing and I've done several books before. I've giving classes on it. I don't know when this will come out but I'll enjoy my journey. I love to draw.

Oh, here is the last piece I did using Staedtler Mars Black pencils. Those pencils are beautiful.

Drawing with a No. 2 pencil: Great Whtie Egret

Sharpeners for Mechanical Pencils

Graphite makes for a beautiful giraffe

 I used Faber Castell Matt Graphite penvils and Staedtler Lumograph Mars pencils. They Matt pencils have no glare because they are Matt. The lumograph are made with z mix of Graphite and charcoal so they are blacker. I used the 8b mars pencil which is darker than the 12b FC pencils. 

I'm very pleased that this was a good drawing and that my "hand" is returning. I really enjoy drawing.

Norman Rockwell told me I had talent

 

There is a correspondence program started bacy in 1948 by reknowned illustrators Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell.  At some point they were taken over by Cortina Learning. They used to and may still run ads in magazines. One day when I was 16 or 17 and I saw the add, sent for the test to assess my artistic eye and received it. I sent it back and one day, without warning, Norman Rockwell showed up at my door looking just like this image but with tweed jacket and a proper men's hat. I was home from school and my mom was home. He asked me if I was Joan Mansson and he introduced himself as being from the Famous Artist School. I invited him in and he asked to see my work. I only drew and most of my images were faces and bodies from lmagazines and my imagination. He spoke with my mother and explained the program but my mother said I could study when I finished high school but not while I was still in school. He tried to convince her and I remember him saying that a talent like mine shouldn't be wasted. He thought I have talent. That really should have been enough to put me on the right path but I was still nagged by the impression that art wouldn't offer me a living. I didn't get that from my family, but from the evil magi of society at large pressing on about the important of science and technology and the myth of the starving artist. 

                                                          Norman Rockwell

Just in case you've never heard of Norman Rockwell, an icon in illustration for his political insights as well as his talent, just google him; go to the library and check out a book filled with his Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations. Most of the folks in the paintings were his neighbors..

When I finally went back to study art twenty years later, I was, I have said before, still plagued by these memes. I prefer evil magi. In college I studing painting and drawing and scuplting and weaving and illustration and cartooning and printmaking and anything else that I could. In the end, I went to library school because I needed a back up plan. It was a good plan for someone afraid to plunge fully into a career based on my talent. 

I often wonder what would have happened if I had taken the Famous Artist course after high school instead of College and medical trade school and working as a secretary/bookkeeper/gal Friday. But now, I just realize that it was another affirmation that my heart's desire is legitimate and part of my DNA. I'm 74 years old and I'm still struggling but not as much as before. In this new age, we have YouTube where I can share my work; teach; share.  And I have a blog where I can share, big time! People watch my videos; ask questions, make requests and follow me.  That is so awesome; so satisfying. The other thing that amazes me is how much more proficient I am than so many of my associates  who are 20 and 30 years my junior with social media; computers; technology in general. Still lots to learn since they keep coming up with more and more and sometimes I think I'll never catch up but then no one can these days. oh sure, I'd really enjoy seeing my videos go viral. But I have a few with views in the thousands and it amazes me. I still can't figure out what sets them apart but I'm grateful.

So what was the point of this post. Don't give up on your passion. it doesn't matter if you're work isn't hanging in a museum. It matters that you're creating. 

Baby Gorilla, white pan pastel on black watercolor paper.

 This week I created the portrait of a baby gorilla using white pan pastels on black watercolor paper.

White pastels on black paper is my comfort art. My pb &j. I realized today that when I can't think of what medium to use or if I'm feeling I'm just not good enough I paint/draw with panpastels and pencils and create beautiful images like this adorable baby gorilla. 

That's kind of weird I guess. Why not just stick with pastels? But I just finished a painting of a chimpanzee using neocolor 2 using only a black and a white crayon and a white colored pencil. It was a good image but not a great one so I have committed myself to working with Neocolor 2 until I master it and while I'm at it, I'll incorporate gouache. 

Here he is. The locals call him Buddha because he is constantly striking this pose.

I pulled out a water  color journal, the neocolors, the gouache and the watercolor pencils and I am sending myself to art camp. Well, not real art camp, but art camp at my house. I am going to try to master this medium,  well gouache and neocolor. I'm expert with the pencils. I had intended to do this a year ago when I first tried Neocolor 2 but was distracted by watercolor and ink. I am so easily distracted by pretty art materials. 

So I painted two studies far from expert with the neo color and stopped. What am I chasing? What's wrong with being good at a medium? What's wrong with being quick at it? What's wrong with enjoying it? Looks at this adorable baby gorilla. Why do I need to do anything else? I don't. I was given this gift when I was in the third grade and because my teacher made an unfortunate statement not meant to be derogatory I stopped. What did she say? "Joan, I wish you were as smart as you are good at art." I was an A B student. Other classmates considered me one of the smart ones in class. I felt as though I was being told that art wasn't good enough. This was that time in the 50s when we were concerned with getting into space before the Russians. Everyone had to participate in the science fair. There were no art shows. We were being directed towards careers in the sciences.  Art wasn't important. 

I never stopped drawing and painting. I just stopped thinking I could be an artist. Then, 25 plus years later, I decided to return to college (I was a college drop out) and study art. I'd like to tell you great success followed but it didn't. I earned two degrees in art. I was a teaching assistant. But then, afraid I couldn't make a living, I went on to earn a masters in library service. I'm still working as a librarian part time but I am still painting and drawing and still not making a living at it. I love creating. I love experimenting and I have several theories about that but that doesn't matter here. I really enjoy making videos on YouTube and writing this blog because I enjoy sharing that creative part of my life. Its funny, I never wanted got be a teacher but that's exactly what I've become. 

So, here I am, a woman of a certain age, chasing my dream and I was born an artist. I am an artist and an art teacher. Whether I'm a great artist or a good artist is no matter. Its the process that matters, not the result. It's immersion in creativity that gives me joy; planning compositions in my mind; visualizing the process. I'm a pastelist. I can finally stop my search for my perfect medium. I found it when I was eight years old. 

A Few of My Birthday Gifts.

In the back ground are some birds, difficult to see, that were a gift. The cupcake was a gift and the case was a gift. The sparkly clipboard was another. There was more but I thought the art communtiy would enjoy seeing the acrylic art supply case. And there were more gifts from my family. They really get me.

Saddle Billed Stork in pastel pencils

My latest pastel pencil project. I used Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils on Canson pastel papers. 

I have said I wouldn't but any more pastel pencils but we'll I didn't exactly. I bought nyoni chalk-pastel color pencils from Lightwish. According to their post on Amazon the are like pastel pencils but they're not. I'll find out with my next project.

CLICK HERE to see the inboxing.

Nu Pastel & Caran D'Ache pastel pencils: Yellow Weaver Birds building th...

See how I created this pastel painting.

I had intended this be mostly pastel pencil over some NuPastel but it didnt' work out that way. I used a lot of NuPastel under, over and in between with pastel pencils (Caran D'Ache and Generals) several lengths behind. But, in the end, I came up with a finished piece of a very interesting social group, Yellow Weaver birds, in which the males build the nests, find mates and hope the prospective mate approves of the nest. Click below to watch the birth and growth of this image. 

Three Tomte

This is my latest endeavor, Portrait of Three Tomte, done using pastel pencils on pastel paper.

Please Click on the image to see the YouTube Video. It's just shy of 20 minutes in time lapse."

This is the still life I created to pose for this "portrait". Great Fun. Lesson learned, Sofft Pastel blending tools didn't work so well with pastel pencils and always, always (for me) use the smooth side of the paper.

Stalking the Wild Tortoise... patience is the key

Experiment with acrylic ink and soft pastels.

 I used Sennelier soft pastels, General's pastel pencils, Sennelier abstract inks on Stonehenge hot watercolor paper to create this painting, and experiment was a but anticlimactic.

The painting required that I apply fixative twice during the process so that the pastel would hold. 

I began with creating an abstract background.

Applying the first layer of pastels was difficult. They wouldn't hold. After I applied the fixative, the pastel began hold. And a third application was called for. Then I used pastel pencils for better detail. 

Still, when finished, I wasn't pleased. I hadn't been able to properly draw with the pastels over the plastic surface. Still, I did manage to get volume and contrast on the Egret. 

There is a YouTube video coming.

A new approach to my YouTube videos

 While I was editing my lastest demonstration, a white on black rabbit protrait, I was struck by inspiration.

Rather than  just have the full 45 minute demonstration or a high speed demonstration I added the high speed demo to the end of the real time demo. Genius! Well, it is to me. Then, if you go to the hi-speed demo and you want to see more you can. If you get bored with the real time demo you can skip ahead. The time is listed on the video so there's no guess work. 

Here's the final piece:

Just click on the image so that you can go to the video.  

That's all folks. Let me know if you have any thoughts about this new approach. Thanks for reading.

I finally figured out what art journaling is for, for me

Four days ago I decided I needed to keep an art journal. Just for me to experiment.  No videos. Just for me. I bought a beautiful art journal which is multimedia but not really. You have to be careful about watercolors, etc.

I'm trying to find my best medium for this time of my life and since I'm drawn to watercolors and I've been studying off and on for a few years and I love to experiment I'm working to master this medium. Now, in truth, I believe pastels, soft pastels, are my strongest medium and if I went back to just chalk I would create beautiful work. 

Still, I am intrigued water colors and other water based medium. These are subjects I've done in the past fours days and I have done the all in pastels and much better. But I have done some brilliant work with watercolor when I am patient. I don't have to be patient with pastels. Fixing mistakes is easy. Not so with watercolor. Patience is key. For watercolor and for me. But my hands still wabble, still remain unsteady and I wonder why I'm punishing myself.

That's what I figured out in three days. I didn't journal today yet. The day job got in the way. Anyway, I must be patient. I must let the medium lead. Like a slow dance. So I close my eyes, pretend I'm moving to a beautiful song in the arms oh Mr. Who. Just who is my dance partner? Graphite? Ink? Acrylic? Watercolor? Neo color 2? Gouache? Pastels?

Delta sparkle is the best animal portrait I've done since I was hospitalized.  Its time to put away the water medium and go back to my original medium, chalk. In fact, while I exercise and continue to reclaim my drawing skills, I will start with white charcoal and white pencil on black paper. 

In terms of teaching, acrylics and pastels are my strongest mediums. Just like the third grade, I'll pull out the chalk and write on the black board. Journaling really was helpful. I've been bouncing around too much trying to fix something that wasn't broken. 

From my few days of journaling.

9

And the search goes on and on and...

 Here's what I've been up to since last I posted. Derwent Inktense blocks and Pencils.

I e joyed it but it wasn't as fulfilling as it once was. I've done better with the medium and I've done worse. In the first painting I used blocks and some pencils. In the second I used mostly pencils. I prefer the softer touch of the second piece. 

Well, one would think that I would continue on to do more work with Inktense but, I'm not. I put away the inktense and pulled out my water soluble graphite pencils and my watercolor pencils and trying my hand at glazing. I've started on my latest project and with composition in place, I'm activating the graphite one area at a time and  then I'll glaze with watercolor pencils in tge same way. So far I'm enjoying it and enjoying not taping it. I will tape the last of the project so everyone can see the process but I really enjoy not worrying about camera angles and narration. In fact, I've not narrated mt last 2 or 3 videos. Amazingly, as much as I talk, especially at the library where I have to talk to people, I like working in silence. I even enjoy working with the sound of a mystery or tv show in the background.  

Which brings me to my latest quandary. Hiw to keep up my YouTube channel without doing the normal demos. I've been watching a few YTERS for ideas and I think il on the verge of the verge of the verge of a new approach. 

I want it to be better. I want it to be more interesting. I'm praying on it. Seriously. Inspiration is needed and prayed for. 

Thanks for sticking with me. 

More about acrylic inks

 In my last post I shared the background for the chickadee. Here is the completed piece. I used the acrylic inks to paint the bird as well. While they covered beautifully, I was surprised, somehow, at how thick they seemed to me. The bird, while cute, isn't as delicate as I would have liked. I painted this piece on art board.

This is a finch and my attempt here was to use the background as part of the bird and I did succeed. I did make the bird too long so it looks off, to me. I jused the acrylic ink for the background and the bird. In this piece I worked on watercolor paper so that I was able to get the texture of the paper to work for me. The branch that the bird rests on is sort of there and not there because of the mottle of the ink that I magically achieved. I used the spray bottle and tilting and a bit of paper towel do do some blotting. 

So, where do I stand on acrylic ink after four pieces, well really five since I tossed the first piece I did of the finch? I like it for the abstract background but not for painting. I did some nice glazing on the bird and built up the color but didn.t get quite what I was striving for; a sort of delicacy. But I am also pleased that the motor control and strength in my right hand are returned.  So, that said, on to my next medium.

I am now working with Derwent Inktense blocks and pencils. I originally worked with them about 7 years ago and I'm just learning to use them again. This is the piece I just completed. It's the finch. The medium works well. I just need more practice. This painting isn't as good as the one above but, there was greater ease of application. The only hindrance was me. I used a 12 block set and I didn't do as good a job at blending as I could have. But this will change. My next painting will not be a finch.  Stay tuned for more on Derwent Inktense blocks and pencils. I will also be incorporporating the acrylic inks for background art. So, maybe, the best medium is ink but not just one kind. We'll see.

Acrylic is a water based medium too!

 A few days ago I created a new composition and got out my watercolor paints and brushes and started to work and it was a disaster. I had no control. I just couldn't guide the paints in the direction I wanted to go. I ripped up the canvas and just thought it over. I needed to have control. Better control of my medium. I pulled out my acrylic inks and paints and brushes and markers and some 5 x 5 art boards and started a new project. Well, two and I'm on my third. 

I used the acrylic ink on the background and then drew in and painted the birds. I used the droppers from the ink bottles; in this one blue and white; and sprayed it with a mister and tilted the tile and let it dry. Actually the only reall control I had was what colors to add. I can never duplicate this background. I like it. 

In this painting of the Winged Warbler I used sepia, green, yellow and white in the same manner as I did with the painting of the Robin above and once again I had no control save the color selection. I like it.

I've done this before and I've always enjoyed the serendipitus outcome of letting the colors arrange themselves. Somehow, this is something that I could never do with watercolor. Watercolor requires as much control as it does looseness but with acrylic inks it's letting go.

I do like letting go. 

Then I drew in the birds and painted them with acrylic paints. The video for the Winged Warbler is available for viewing. Just click on the image to watch. There is no narration. I just didn't feel like talking about what I was doing and for the most part, what I was doing was pretty self-evident. Or maybe not. 

So now I am working with acrylics again and experimenting with ways to incorporate watercolor techniques. But I think I'll have to work on watercolor paper for that since canvas and art board really don't absorb water.

Here is a photo of stage 1 of my third painting. I used orange, sepia and white. The image is still wet and settling and takes about 2 hours to dry. But it will be similar to this image. Then I'll draw a chickadee on it and start painting. This time I'm going to try to incorparate the background into the image. I'll let you know when it's done.