A Few EDM Challenges and a New Online Watercolor Class

Did a few more EDM challenges and started a new online watercolor class: Watercolor for the Journal and Sketchbook from Jessica Wesolek

As usual my sketchbook is a Stillman and Birn Gamma series

EDM Challenge #90 Draw Something with Wings

EDM Challenge #1 - Draw a Shoe

Stillman and Birn Gamma Series Derwent Sketching Dark Wash

Tiger Tiger burning bright...

Graphite in Stlllman and Birn Gamma series hardbound journal

Fall Leaves Sketchbook 2014

From the sketchbook...

See, I haven't been totally idle with my sketchbook...

This is a Stillman and Birn hardbound Gamma Series Sketchbook

 and then there is the sock that I'm knitting...

Time to Refocus

Book of Days 11

Book of Days 9

I recently received a set of Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight pens from Jetpens.com.  I have used other Gelly Roll pens in the past and have always been pleased with their performance, but the one place that they failed (with the exception of the white) is on black paper.  Well, here is the solution, these pens are amazing, beautiful vibrant color and they perform just as well on white paper, too.

Book of Days 8

Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks

A few weeks ago I received a package from Stillman & Birn containing five of their sketchbooks.  The sketchbooks are examples of Stilmman & Birn's five types and formats of sketchbook.

The options are as follows:

Alpha - 100 lb/150 GSM - Natural White - Vellum - Hardbound or Wirebound
Beta - 180 lb/270 GSM - Natural White - Rough - Wirebound
Gamma - 100 lb/150 GSM - Ivory - Vellum - Hardbound or Wirebound
Delta - 180 lb/270 GSM - Ivory - Rough - Hardbound or Wirebound
Episilon - 100 lb/150 GSM - Natural White - Plate - Hardbound or Wirebound

The Alpha and Gamma series are appropriate for dry media and light watercolor washes, Beta and Delta series are appropriate of multi-media and the Episilon series for pen and ink.  All the paper is archival-grade.

I chose to use the Delta sketchbook first, attracted to the rough, multimedia paper and the square 7 x 7 in. format.  The paper does buckle some with watercolor, but not too much, and after all it is not watercolor specific paper.

I am really please with these sketchbooks and I love this paper.  When I try out the vellum and plate papers I'll post about them also.

Book of Days 4

This turned out darker that I had hoped - but it is in keeping with My One Word - Explore.  I was exploring the tutorial posted on Dion Dior's blog. This did not scan very well either, you cannot see the sparkle, although for some reason I lost a lot of the vibrancy of the Neocolor II's.

What did you do for New Year's Day?

I made a sketch book.  It has six, six page signatures of Strathmore Artagain black 60 lb paper. I used the cardboard backing from the pad of paper for my covers.  On the front I glued a card that I received from fellow blogger, Jackie, over at Journals and Letters and on the back the folder for a set of cards called Deep Purple.  Both Jackie's card and the set came from Heron Dance Studio.  The stitch is a coptic stitch/curved needle.  Making this book was really much easier that I expected and gives me the confidence to venture forward.  Happy New Year everyone.

Front

Back

My best friend gave me the wonderful book Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures and Forms by Alisa Golden which provided the detailed instructions I used to make this book.

My first original(?) Tangle Pattern

When I first began learning to do Zentangle® I would explore the web, Flickr especially, looking at other peoples designs and trying to find the tangle patterns that I really liked. I also looked for images that contained patterns that I thought might be good tangle and saved them to my hard-drive. Later, I printed many of them, two to an 8-1/2" x 11" page and created two Circa notebooks.  One filled with named patterns and the other filled with images.

Above is one of the images that I found, which really has a ton of designs incorporated into it that would be lovely tangle patterns. (Unfortunately, I did not make a note of the source of this image, so if anyone recognizes it, please tell me so that I may credit it.)

One piece that I began playing with is the "leaf" design around the outer edge.

 
But I really just never did anything "official" with it in the tangle world.  Then last week I was playing with my new Sakura Gel pens and posted this.

I received a number of comments on this and was asked if I had introduced this "tangle". Well, let's see if I can.

Lastly, let me give credit where credit is due - although I came up with the name Leavz - the name Flamez was suggested by LaceFairy1, so I take no credit.  I also hope that neither of these names has been previously used - I did not find either on Tanglepatterns.com.  If either design is too similar to something already done, please let me know.

Jewlz in Motion

Finally put brush to paper - not 100% happy, but very happy to have produced something

Mom's Pack

I had to go over to my mom's to do laundry this morning, our washer died yesterday and the repairman won't arrive until Tuesday. She has 4 little dogs, three Shelties and Emma, a Sheltie Pom.  Only Lonnie is unaccounted for, she always hides when Mom has company.

Monsieur Sketchbook, Namiki Falcon SF, Platinum Carbon ink

Kota studies

Maybe if I keep studying, my sketches of him will get better


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Kota AEDM

My proportions are still a little off but I'm not horrified by this one. Please remember that his face is mostly black.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

75 in 75 #75

My only view today, the top of my desk (this is only one of my four montiors)

75 in 75 #72 and #73

Well, just two more to go - guess I'll have to find a new challenge.  Of course, November is Art Every Day Month, so I guess that will be the next challenge.

I started the sketch on top late (very late) last night and was just too tired, so you only get part of my desk and just some of the stuff.