…more letter love practice

I’m really enjoying the Letter Love Class with Joanne Sharpe.  We are half way through the class.  We have had a video or photo tutorial every day except for Sundays.  I need lots of practice making different kinds of letters.  As you can see with these practice pages…I am into the doodles…letters… not so much

I am also working on carving a set of alphabet stamps.  Julie’s Stamp Carving 101 class is over after this week. It will be open as an ongoing class for a long, long time, according to Julie.  I endorse both of these classes.  If you are like me and have taken a class or two that were total duds…I don’t think you will be disappointed with either or both of these classes. 

 

 

 

Letter Love

I said I was decreasing  the number of online workshops this year but I find myself currently enrolled in three workshops.  The latest one is “Letter Love.”  I love this class! Read about it over at Whimspirations by Joanne Sharpe.  It is Joanne’s first online class and she’s doing a tremendous job!  I have been using my Letraset Aqua Markers…love them! I have three colors and plan to order some more.  Joanne loves Copic Sketch markers.  I have two black ones.  Maybe, I’ll order some other colors, a few at a time.  I also have one Tombow Marker and it is a nice dual tip marker as are the Letraset Aqua Markers.   The Identi-Pen by Sakura is another great pen that has permanent ink.  I will also use my Crayola Markers because the colors are bright and they are inexpensive…that’s a plus!  We are using a composition book for a practice book.  The first photo shows the front cover of my composition book.  The next one is a practice page I worked on this morning.  I noticed I left out the letter “r” in the word inspiration while I was cropping the photo   The last photo is a page that will go in my journal…I was playing around with one of my carved stamps and some fabric scraps.

Composition Journal – #19 and Blackberry Winter

I was experimenting yesterday with charcoal pencils. Some time ago, I bought some Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencils. On this page I used the Burnt Orange, Forest Pine, and Peat pencils. I also used a General’s Charcoal 6-B pencil.  I started with vivid red orange and cad yellow medium hue  acrylic paint on the background.  For the face area, I used unbleached Titanium, raw sienna and a little of the cad yellow and orange. The hair is raw sienna with black acrylic paint.  I did this in two stages….I used some charcoal over the paint and used hair spray as a fixative because I didn’t have anything else…and why not…..I never use hair spray…I think I’ve had this can around for about ten years   Anyway, today I went back with more paint and ended with more charcoal.  I think I’ll be trying this again. 

We are experiencing something here,  according to Ozarkian lore, that is called “Blackberry Winter.”  The wild blackberries are starting to bloom and whenever we have a cold snap around that time, it’s called blackberry winter.  My mom told me that she’s heard it called that as far back as she can remember.  

I found out about a new online art journaling class by Kelly Kilmer.  It’s called “The Journey of You” and will start on May 23rd.  The price is right…only $20.  After May 23rd, the price will go up to $25.  Go to her blog here and read about it on her May 9th post.

Composition Journal – #18

Lately, I can’t seem to get away from green and pink   I started this by gluing down a page from an old murder mystery novel. I drew the big flower image on the page first with my dip pen and India Ink. Then I colored the page lightly with Caran d’Ache crayons.  The collage pieces are from an old atlas that I stamped and painted. 

My time on the computer has been limited the past week,  so, I am behind visiting  my favorite artist blogs. I got up earlier than usual this morning and found Dianne Bishop Carey’s blog: Art Beneath the Cottonwoods .  She is a new (to me) artist and you might want to check out her blog if you have never been there.  Her blog heading says mixed media, altered books, journal pages, calligraphy and fiber arts.

Composition Journal – #17

It’s getting late but I wanted to post this page tonight as I have an eye doctor appointment tomorrow.  

I have been painting pages from an old atlas  for usage as painted papers.  I glued down a piece of the map on this page.  The map was mostly red and blue when I glued it down and you can see how it is now.  I really tried to stay away from green    I really like the contrast of the foam stamps and the circles.  The circles are made with one of my favorite things…an empty toilet paper roll.

Composition Journal #16

At first, I filled the whole page with collage pieces and added more paint and Caran d’Ache crayons. I outlined with my black and white Signo pens at the end. This very much pregnant lady showed up  after I glued down the collage pieces and I went with it….new life… new beginnings…spring.   Windows usually show up, too  

I have received two more postcards from participants in Hanna‘s swap. One from Brigitte in New York and the other from Tanja in Serbia.  I don’t know if either of these girls have a blog. Be sure and check out Hanna’s blog because she is showing her mother’s postcards and how she made them…so cute!

Composition Journal #15

…not my best effort.  I made a background by spreading acrylic paint via the credit card method.  I used purples, greens and blue.  Then I drew the face.  It was one of those can’t erase drawings…so,  it is what it is. 

I am getting excited….I have received three postcards from Hanna’s swap so far.  One from Regina in Arizona, her blog is Creative Kismet.   One from Danielle,   her blog is A Love Affair With Paper.   The third one is from Robyn in Illinois and she has an inspiring blog here.  Seven more to go!   Everyone have a great weekend!

 

Not Plain Vanilla – Composition Journal#14

The background on this started with a page from an old Gregg Shorthand book with strips from other texts glued down around that.   I have started using Elmer’s Glue All, thinned down with a little water to glue down collage pieces.  So far, it seems to be working just fine.   After sketching the face, I glued down strips of painted phone book paper around the edges to frame the face.  I tried to use very little paint on the old paper.  When I try this again, I plan to use a very thin wash of watercolors.

 “Ice Cream is happiness Condensed.”~Jessi Lane Adams

Spring – Composition Journal#13

Spring made its appearance again today but by this evening…the wind was chilly.  The Bradford Pear Trees, Forsythia, and Daffodils are in bloom here.  The Redbuds and Dogwoods can’t be far behind.

This page started with a mixture of green and gold background.  I started doodling on the page and this is how it ended.  I used mostly acrylic paint, some Caran d’Ache crayons and my Uni-ball Signo Pens(white and black).

             It was one of those March days

                                              when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: 

                                                                            when it is summer in the light,

                                                                                                        and winter in the shade. 

 ~Charles Dickens

 

Bliss – Composition Journal#12

I’m sure that you, like me, have been listening to the news about Japan…and just when you think it won’t get any worse, something else happens.  Let’s keep the people of Japan in our thoughts and prayers.

I have been working on my postcards for Hanna’s postcard swap but I did finish another page in my composition notebook journal today.  This page evolved.  I used Caran d’Ache Crayons  on the background first. I drew the face with a Sharpie marker (big mistake).  The first hat I drew on her head looked much different. I’m not sure that this hat is an improvement because it looks kind of like a cereal bowl turned upside down   Mostly, I’m happy with the face. I used a Sharpie Pen and a Pilot G-2 pen for the lines.