Snippets 5

Stenciling, Rose

Snippets 4

Stenciling

Snippets 3

Stenciling and more paint

Snippets 2

More

Snippets

Following are progress pieces....

Wipe sheets.......

Back Again

Sort of...

As mentioned earlier, I have been working on a collection of small painted illustrations for a book promotion. Twenty one of them in varying degrees of complexity. Now they are finished. But now some new works need yo be completed very quickly for another promotion, and I can’t post them here either, so, this site will still languish except for what Sarah Y. cares to post. 

But, I have some “wipe sheet” little pieces in progress, which may turn into fairy tale works for little ones in the States. I plan to head there shortly - if the world holds together - for the birth of our twin grandchildren, and I will then take the collected watercolors and whatnot from the months’ painting since I was there last, to distribute. 

So, here will follow some in-progress pieces. This one was an old small canvas panel that surfaced in some clearing out and packing, along with a few more that probably also will get the same treatment. I will just add paint, stenciling, maybe collage and whatever, and see what comes of it /them.

How I found it....

Paint added to cover open spots and rough spots....

....to be Continued.

It's Almost September Already

 

I don't have any finished works or new pieces in progress to share this week, so here's a picture of the beginnings of my September BuJo page:

 

 

The younger of my two sisters working on the dog webcomic with me has finally been able to get a job, and decided she could not be a reliable party to finish the rest of the comic with us; but the other sister and I have declared we will keep plugging away at it, dividing between us the extra tasks that the younger sister had covered before.

Basically, it will be finished, but not quickly. And it won't look exactly the same as when we started out, but it should be pretty close. And taking a while to finish is better than not finishing at all, to us at least. XD

 

And then there's Real Life, which I am 78.3% done with.

*internal screaming*

Patience, right? God is still in control.

A Cover

For A Confirmation Book

With metallic lettering

A Bit More

Mostly Other Things

I have been putting all spare hours into acrylic painting illustrations for book promotion project. So this little work isn’t getting much attention.

First Time I Dabble in Animation (Digitally)

I messed with a little animation for the first time last week. I don't know why...but there it is, haha...

 

The GIF version:

 

I used my character Deirdre's eyes, and wasn't really paying attention to making the art look great or right or fabulous; I was just trying out the animation tools in Clip Studio Paint, haha.

I got a couple of in-progress screen grabs:

The blue lines were like the sketch layer over the top to help me figure out the in-betweens or whatever you call it. XD

With the "onion skin" layers activated, so you can see what was in the frames before and after to help line things up

I ended up rearranging the thing into the reverse order of how I drew it, though, because it looked like the eyes were slowly closing and then snapping open again quickly, like someone trying not to fall asleep, when it was the other way, haha!

Altogether, it was only eight frames and four drawings, and I am guessing it took me about five hours total (I never remember to keep careful track of my time, especially when something is not finished in one sitting/day...)? I don't know how "smooth" the animation is, but it was definitely a fun needless diversion from my normal art pursuits. XD
 

 

(My siblings and I played around with a tiny bit of that kind of flip-book-drawing animation doodles when we were kids, but idk if that counts as animation, haha)

 

(Also I noticed the dates on blog posts and the commenting options are all in English now? Is it like that for everyone? Was it an automatic thing or was it changed deliberately? Anyway, I'm not sure I like it, haha. I miss seeing "keine kommentare" and "Montag" and 24 hour time stamps lol)

Slow Going

Background Added

UnInvited, but Fascinating

She kept him live.

This little wasp visited our picnic after we ate. He found a bit of meat and worked long and hard chiseling a chunk off, while the mistress of the plate kept at bay the deadly bottle caps that would have halted all such efforts. Eventually the chunk came loose, the wasp pushed it here and there, into barbecue sauce and under spoons, until it got a good grip, then lumbered into the air with it, flying small circles until it got its bearings. Then off it went with its prize, wholly unaware of how its life was protected from imminent danger in the whole process. 

If you also had the reading today about immense dangers facing us and yet we are “more than conquerors,” then this was a fine illustration of our plight and salvation. 

Busily at work, while danger hovers just outside the picture.

Actually, the grill dinner was much more appetizing than the picture above appears. 

A Little Start

A Big Day

Sometimes the day is so big and special, the art is little.

More to follow....

Hiking place, around a lake. 

Another Practice

Ink, Watercolor Pencils, and Stencils

In these, the result is not the goal (the last one had a lopsided face), but rather using media. 

I was going to show steps on this one, but got distracted by interruptions, and forgot. 

It started as a pencil drawing, then ink, then soluble colored pencil, then water washes over the color, then stenciling. 

Actually this isn’t the last iteration, but you get the idea, 

Details

A little more

Another Layer

Stenciling

Practice sheets can get more practice put on top of first layers. It may get still more, if I feel like it. Or not. 

Practice

With Watercolor Pencils

Evening Walk

And color

Sharpening My Pencil?

 

I've been super distracted lately, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm stressed (major power shifts and uncertain scheduling at work, for one thing), or lazy, or a combination of both? But I've been having trouble focusing on my bigger projects, instead often playing around with whatever nonsense just happens to feel fun to draw at the time, and watching YouTube videos about art, and art business, and...other...things...(I feel like I learned something lately, but I wouldn't be able to pinpoint what it is, haha)

I have all of the second episode of the monster short story comic ready to go when the freeze lifts on the Webtoon site, which if it doesn't by the twelfth when they have announced the winners from the contest, I will need to figure out what else is the problem. And I have the third and final episode of that story about two thirds complete. I've just been putzing around with the coloring the past week or two, filling in a little here and there before my brain says "squirrel!" and we go jumping off into a different picture or doodle.

 

Above is a random doodlage that happened in the middle of listening to an art video on YouTube - just a line that stuck out to me as thought provoking on several levels, and for more areas of life than just art, haha...

The drawings of little bamboo in the glass jar and the hand were done from life, in green color pencil as were the rest of the doodles. The lettering is in marker and Sharpie pen.

Also, prayers for my sister and her little family would be greatly appreciated. <3

Harvest Time

Canning Season

Fruit sauce today, of apples, pears, peaches, grapes, and plums. 

Wipe Sheet

In Progress

When I paint, sometimes there is left over on my palette as the day’s session is ending. Acrylic dries quickly, and I don’t like to waste paint, so I have some small sheets on hand on which to apply spare paint. This is one of those, which is being developed further. It probably will turn into a mixed media piece. 

Peek

This isn’t allowed, but...

Here is a tiny peek at a detail of one of the many illustrations I have been working on. They are quite small. 

Mixed Media

The Little Bird might be flying off in a Different Direction 

Many, many of the watercolors of the last few years were quite bad. So, I think I will re-purpose some into other pieces. Here is one I did this week.

Take a not-good watercolor....

And collage pieces.....

Then add color collage, stencil, pen work, pencil shading, metallic outlining, and a Little Bird. (I got a call in this time and was working while talking, so didn’t take anymore process pictures.)

Still Working on Stuff

Still just mostly working on webcomic stuff... Not really any finished or one-off art things to show you.

Here's a WIP screenshot of the last episode in my monster short story comic:

The site still has our "entries" frozen from the contest judging period, so even though I have the second episode of this one ready to go, I can't publish it yet. I don't know if the freeze will be on until the winners from the contest are announced (the 12th of this month, I think it was?), or if it's some other problem/occurrence, but I'll probably wait a little bit and see what happens before I try again.

For a Confirmation

In a Keepsake Book, for a Niece

And missing things one notices too late....

Prodigal Pup

Home Again!

After five days and four nights missing in a different canton, our pup is home again, thirsty, tick-y, tired, and thin, but happy. It was quite a story, but we are glad it is over with a good ending. 

Ah, home, sweet home.

Happy Birthday Switzerland

729 Years

We celebrated at Son’s House with a grill. And another son’s early 21st Birthday party.

American part

Lower level is Swiss part.

Superb Lemon cake

Happy August 1st.