MAY Chicken and Some "Catz"

From my art journal, a chicken sketch from May:

Exploring how to draw chickens.

Also I am continuing to learn about CATz -

Drawn...

In ink...

Very quickly :-)

Toys

These toys might be fun to investigate, especially if they arrived with no instructions :-)

"Capable of flight"

"Sound effects standard"

A little word art :-)

From my daily art journal - some word art:

Ink, markers

Little furries

From my art journal:

A chinchilla -

Pigma Micron pen, Inktense pencils

An Azara's agouti -

Pigma Micron pen, Inktense pencils

I think of them as little furries and technically they are rodents; but I prefer my term :-)

Random patterns

I enjoy drawing patterns.  Some will be random - pick a spot on the page, put the pen to the surface, and begin drawing with nothing particular in mind. 

At other times I may set limits such as lines and circles only, or create patterns using an object and its variations.

In this first one, I limited the kinds of shapes:

Circles Squares Triangles (pigment ink, Sharpie pens)

In the next one, leaf shapes:

Leaves (pigment ink, Copic markers)

I find drawing patterns allows the busy-ness in my brain to recede and I settle into a calmer place :-)

Time for some COLOR :-)

The other day I was out for a brief walk with Remy.  It was a blustery day, a bit chilly, with dried leaves and bare branches in gray and taupe.

Undoubtedly this is why, when I returned to my studio,  I was in the mood for colorful flowers and fruit (an apple and a couple of pears).  I brought out some Copic markers and ink pads to spread some color :-)

Copic markers and ink.

Ink.

I feel better now :-)

Simple sketches

Recently I have been drawn again to simple drawings, focusing on movements that sometimes make the animals look odd.  From one angle a four-footed animal may appear to have only three feet visible or the body position appears awkward:

Ink

In another instance, an expression relies on the turn or tilt of a head or ear:

Ink

Graphite

Slowing down to look closely and carefully is calming and rewarding :-)

Smudgies

As I've mentioned, I am taking a year-long class, "Y is for Yellow" from Carla Sonheim. 

In one of the class exercises we had to make a smudge mark with an animal in mind.  Next step, using as few lines as possible, define the animal.  I enjoyed this lesson; it is a challenge to use as few elements as possible to capture a figure or object.

These are my smudgies:

Aardvark

Caracal

Hippo

Wildebeest

Wild Pig

All of them were drawn using pastels and ink.  They are a lot of fun to do :-)

Oddly egg-y

This sketch of flowers is from my art journal:

The Egg Flowers (ink, colored pencil)

The blossoms began as randomly placed yellow marker circles.  Next I surrounded each one with jagged "blossom" heads.  I let them sit that way because I thought, "my, my, they look like eggs, now what?"   I felt a bit unsettled with the visual/linguistic combination of egg and flowers.  O, I should explain, I am a little queasy around eggs that are out of the shell - I just am :-)

I came back in a few and added the leaves, stems, and ground.  This is what I love about daily art journaling - it's very easy to take a chance, explore, and experiment.  I find the greatest value in executing the daily practice.  I wrote more about it in this blog post (Carla Sonheim's art journal layout, Cat Bennett's class, Making Art a Practice).

Watercolor birds and Remy's 300# snack

I decided to use water colors today in the pink-y orange-y range.  The pink, peach, and yellow combination appeal to me :-)

Three Little Birds, ink and watercolor

O, about Remy's 300# snack, this is what I rescued of the quarter sheet:

He chose the "good" paper, Arches 300# (638 gsm) hot press.

Even as a puppy he enjoyed ripping up paper and eating it (oh, no-o-h).  I've learned to close the door to my studio and office lest he grab a quick "bite".

He's really a sweet boy.

Remy with his octopus.

A face from my art journal

This face is from the Draw section of my art journal.  I cropped away the usual ink "boundary" lines to focus on his face:

Pan pastels and ink.

He is drawn from my imagination but I think he looks like a golden retriever, a lot like my golden, Remy.  Hm-m-m...

Art Journal - Hearts and YOU

I see all sorts of Valentine's Day images while I am out and about.  It obviously engendered the shameless use of multiple hearts in my art journal page yesterday.  See what I mean?

Ink and oil pastels

I am certain that intermittently I will be under the influence of heart-shaped things and mushy-thoughts for the next few weeks :-)

Some days

There are some days when I draw in my art journal just what is in front of me:

art journal -  mug of coffee and a pen

However, there are other days when I am distracted or uninspired (or maybe not even fully awake!) and I just stare at the Draw: section.  The action that gets me moving is to grab any pen and just begin.  I make a pattern using circles and lines only.  I don't have to think except to select another color to use:

art journal on another day - lines and circles in ink

In no time I am enjoying the process and getting fired up to create something with intention :-)

Blue bird spring

I was thinking of spring time as I gazed out my window at a cold and snowy scene.  With a bit of ink and some watercolors I can create a very different scene in my art journal - in an imaginary garden a bird and a word :-)

"Blue Bird Spring"

And all the while Remy was gazing out the window looking for bunnies or anything else braving the weather. 

He is also thinking "walkies!" :-)

Love this boy <3

Daily art journal entry - sketch and word art

I watched my Remy playing in the snow today.  He was having the best time following his nose and digging in mounds of light, fluffy snow.  I like to poke a treat into the snow and let him find it, too.

In my daily art journal I made a sketch and some word art.  Can you imagine what the subjects were?

ink, Copic markers

Remy has so much fun I forget that I am freezing! :-)

Blot recovery

My art journal is a place where "there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-mistake"... in theory.  I still cringe when the unexpected happens.  By that I mean a drag mark of ink or paint from my sleeve because I always seem to get my cuff or elbow into paint or glue, even coffee!

In this instance it was wayward ink.  I had just cleaned my fountain pen and had installed a new ink cartridge.  Since the nib and feed were completely dry I was shaking the pen to encourage ink flow.  But I was doing this over my journal and, wow, a big, blue blob of ink magically appeared.  Oy.

My recovery was this:

"Ink Blot Birds"

I am adhering to the art journaling precept of "there is no-such-thing..."  :-)

From my art journal

more imaginary flowers:

Copic markers and ink

 I am thinking crazy-happy red violet flowers Yes!

Buds

I like to watch dogs.  I especially like it when they are good buds and all the ranking has been settled and consequently they relax and play.  Their antics crack me up.

I suppose I was thinking about this when I randomly sketched this:

"Buds" (ink and colored pencil)

Clearly this came out of my imagination as there is no green grass visible anywhere in my neighborhood as very little snow has melted.  The sun is shining and the days are clear; however, the temperature hasn't warmed up to freezing (!) in days and days.  Br-r-r.

On a positive note, the snow is quite beautiful :-)

Art journal - stacks

These came from the Misc: section of my art journal - stacks:

Days of the Week stack

0-9 Stack

Expressions stack

I think the stacks grew from my love of grids and patterns.  I think the Expressions stack is pretty funny :-)

From my art journal today...

an ink and watercolor crayon sketch:

Two buddies at play :-)

With dogs, it's all about having FUN <3