Making Beauties

Quilting Studio

The lady of the house where I stayed showed me her work area. This is where the magic happens.

These Beauties

Quilted Treasures

I am staying with relatives of relatives, and my room is full of handmade quilts by the lady of the house.

Dearly Departed

In North Dakota

Earth To Earth

My Favorite Couch

A life drawing along with some random furniture appreciation...? Sure...!

My sister and I were blessed to acquire this couch for free when we were first moving into our current apartment, last February (it's been a whole year now, whaaaat!?); and it is my most favorite couch that I have ever met, haha! This was actually really fun to draw -- there were so many different textures and patterns to scribble around!

Hey, I remembered to take a wip shot! XD

(forgot to crop out the Christmas/faerie lights, whoops)

also this little table is cool, but we're only borrowing it for now

Okay, it might be a little silly, but one of the things that I love about this couch is the little ditch along the top edge between the pillowy back rest and the actual back of the piece of furniture -- it serves as a perfect shelf whereon to lay one's heavy braid when one is resting there. XD

Another reason this couch is great: it is actually quite comfortable to sleep on -- which I was super thankful for when I had to for the first month after we'd settled in -- because it's not very narrow, and doesn't have really noticeable boards digging into one's hip.

Mostly I just wanted to draw the couch because I have found it really fun to record specific objects in my sketchbook, as doing so is a way to look at the details differently and also to kind of create a souvenir of sorts.

It was a really good idea to draw in my sketchbook tonight, and I probably wouldn't have if I didn't have this little goal of drawing from life at least once a month. So tired. I should go to sleep now so I can be at least partially alive at work tomorrow. Sorry I'll be slacking on catching up on the blog again this week. Later! :)

Hello From Florida

Tropical

God’s Art

On the Way to  Florida

Watercolor 404

Passage III

Watercolor 403

Passage II

From Time to Eternity

Watercolor 402

PASSAGE I

From Time into Eternity.

Just Markers

I felt it had been a while since I'd played around with some marker lettering, so that's what I decided to create with after work Monday night.

I also thought it would be fun to do some floral doodling, so I incorporated that into the piece as a border around the lettering.

I chose to letter the first line of the second stanza of the German lyrics to the hymn Be Still, My Soul, since the tune was stuck in my head (not a bad thing, of course -- it is so pretty!). I looked up the words on Google, haha.

So, yes, this was a pretty spontaneous page, just to wind down and indulge my artistic itch for the evening. It's crooked, and flawed, and a tiny bug had the brilliant idea to land on the bottom edge of the paper and disguise itself as a speck of debris so that I swiped it away, and therefore its remains became part of the project; but so it goes.

behold the bug stain

detail

I've been feeling extra grateful for translators this month; I don't know why, haha.

Still slowly working by bits on my webcomic project, although I have been sidetracked a bit from that this past week by working on some things to send to my younger sisters, as well as some small art contests/challenges on Instagram. It is really coming along though. I am rather excited and anxious, and expect to be ready to put up the first episode/chapter on Webtoon by the end of next month. We will see about that, though. I have not been very accurate in my deadlines of late. XD

Also, I'm sorry I don't have time tonight (when I'm writing this, at the last possible minute, ahaha) to catch up on the recent posts and such here -- I will get back to it as soon as I can. :)

Watercolor 401

Winter

Watercolor 400

Milestone!

Not necessarily any significant improvement after 400 works, but it has been fun. 

This was for a card.

Watercolor 399

Winter Blues

Watercolor 398

Pigment Flow Effects

More mixed media later.

Mixed Media Practice

Valentines in Progress

The girls here with us and I played with acrylic paints and drawing today. Some of these might become Valentines. I got pictures of some of the steps to making background papers.

Scribble words over paper.

Glaze colors over paper.

Stencil in a bright color.

Thus.

Glaze white over colors and a stencil.

This is the background sheet, to which other elements will be added.

Repeat with other colors on other papers.

A more simple option

Make a BIG mess. Get one talented girl to draw a cute figure.  Color and cut out. 

Make more

To be continued.....

Note to Pam's question on Ancient Art works: Yes, the works were all delivered. I have never seen them again. The pictures were old photos (and poor quality) of the actual works.

Watercolor 397

Snow

We actually got some snow yesterday, and hail, then rain, preceded by a big wind storm, but nothing like this picture. 

Watercolor 396

A Small Landscape

Watercolor 395

A Very Tiny Landscape

Ancient Art Works 3

Not Pets

This probably has a story behind it, but I don't know it anymore.

And somebody always wants a unicorn.

Ancient Art Works 2

Horses and Dogs

Colored pencil

Pen and ink

Colored pencil

I do not know what this medium is, maybe oil painting.

Ancient Art Works

From the Archives

Eons ago I had a commercial art studio in my hometown, and did commissioned portraits of people and pets. 

Today, while going through studio stuff, I came across an envelope of very poor quality photos of some of those old commissioned works.

 Excuse the lack of picture quality, but note the history. 

Pen and ink

Probably colored pencil

Probably oil painting 

Colored pencil

To be continued....