Mocassins

Just a daily journal page about a well loved pair of mocassins I'm finally able to wear again.

Banana & Squash

I painted the banana on Sunday, then painted the squash today. I don't normally make my shadows as dark as the one with the banana - I just picked up the wrong paint color by mistake. I'm not using watercolor paper (this journal has Arches Text Wove in it), so I lightened it as much as I could without ruining the paper. I made sure to use the right color for the shadow of the squash! I had planned on painting more on Sunday, but when I didn't get it done, it worked for Kate's Lesson 5 of grids and combining more than one day on a page.

Tea with Friends

Friday's (almost) daily journal page. Mixed media - added the tag from the teabag in the lower left corner. Watercolor pencils, watercolor, and Staedtler pigment liner pen.

Cactus

Daily journal entry. I'm really pleased with this because I painted it without any instruction from anyone.

I've just finished up a watercolor class from Laure Ferlita - An Imaginary Trip Through Autumn - and I've learned so much. I'd never really used watercolors before the class, so I relied very heavily on her videos (which were excellent) to paint everything for class.

Now that that class is over, I need to paint on my own - and I did!

Bowl

I finally sketched with pen only - no pencil first.

Glen

This is the first time I've tried sketching my DH. It really doesn't look much like him. He was searching the web for information on water heaters, because ours started leaking yesterday (on Sunday). We got it replaced today.

Biga Italian Restaurant

This is a memory sketch - while I brought my sketching supplies with me, I left them in the car when we got to the restaurant. I'm still new enough at this that I felt a bit self-conscious - not so much about sketching in public, but about doing it with my friend at the table. Even though I know I can listen to conversation while I sketch, I was afraid my friend might not think so. But while my DH and my friend were talking, I studied the fireplace in front of me and wished I'd brought my sketchbook inside.

Bowl in Prismacolor Colored Pencil

I've decided to try sketching this same bowl in different media for the practice - and for Lesson 3 of Kate's class.

Bowl in Pencil

I don't usually work in just pencil, but I decided to try it for Lesson 3 of Kate's class. This is HB, and it smears more than I'd like. It's good to try new things.

EDM Challenge #16

Draw a favorite tool.

These are some of my favorite tools for journaling.

Making Cranberry Bread

Another daily journal page. It also works for two Everyday Matters Weekly Challenges -

#111 - Draw a bowl
#84 - Draw some bread

Walk at Teal Ridge Wetlands

This is my memory sketch for Lesson 2 of Kate Johnson's class, Keeping an Artist's Journal. We walked at Teal Ridge Wetlands on Friday morning (the day after Thanksgiving) and saw the geese getting ready to land in the field to our north.  I sketched it today from memory.  I also used a new (to me) technique of using a bamboo skewer to paint the smallest twigs on the trees.

Chocolate Truffle

Another daily journal page for lesson 2 of Kate Johnson's Keeping An Artist's Journal class. I don't think there's anything better than chocolate truffles, and we've just had a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory open up in town. I'm in trouble! The name at the top of the page is cut from the sack and glued on.

Scarlet Maple

This is my first daily journal page for lesson 2 of Kate Johnson's Keeping An Artist's Journal class, and it represents several things for me. I am trying to be more attentive to my surroundings, to notice the beauty around me, and to record it in my journal. I'm also trying to capture the essence of a thing without all the detail, at least some of the time. I think I accomplished my goals with this page, so I'm quite pleased. 

Journal Map

One of the first assignments in Keeping an Artists Journal was to make a map. I wasn't even sure I was going to do a map. But then I got to thinking that a map could also be considered a plan or a pattern. Since I'm a quilter, I started looking for a quilt pattern with an appropriate name - Trip Around the World seemed perfect.

Keeping an Artist's Journal

This is the title page for the very simple journal I made for the class I'm taking from Kate Johnson.  I used a full sheet (22" X 30") of Strathmore 500 140 lb. watercolor paper and followed these instructions to fold a simple sketchbook.

I used Ranger Distress Inks (Dusty Concord, Shabby Shutters, Spiced Marmalade, and Broken China, then Vintage Photo on the edges) applied with an ink blending tool.

I did the lettering with a Zig Brushable brush marker in Hyacinth.  I outlined the letters with a Marvy 005 Medallion pen in Violet, and did the other lines with a Zig Writer in Pure Violet (0.5 mm tip).

This is my page of goals for one of my first assignments.