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Posts Tagged ‘visual journals’

Every once in a while I get around to finishing a page or two that I had previously started. So today I decided I take one page through the steps of completion, especially since I haven’t posted in a while.

A month or so ago I was on a crazed mission doing many, many faces & now I can share my process through completion with you. I hope you’ll find it easy enough to try just for fun. In this case I’m thinking they can easily be used to print some postcards/note cards for myself or as gifts! All you’ll need are simple supplies: Waterproof pen, watercolor or colored pencils, and or markers.

Step one:

Complete a contour drawing of a face (or flower)  in waterproof ink using an old photo (magazine or newspaper). For sure mine never come out looking even close to the reference material no matter what, so don’t even go there.

Contour Drawing in pen & ink.

 

Step 2:

Add Watercolor washes (or colored pencils, markers – whatever you wish)!

Watercolor Added

 

Step 3:

Using hand lettering or a stencil with pencil, add your message and design. Here I decided to add the word ‘Think” with dots, and I’ve now painted the background with brushed on ink.

Lettering & stenciled design in, and backrgound painted !

 

 

Step 4:

Now finish up with whatever you’d like to use pencils, pens, colors. Whatever suits your fancy.

 

Think Pink - Now Completed.

 

 

Here I’ve used Faber-Castell Pitt Pens (one of my fav’s). And, I’m thinking this can be used for special notes to my friends who have survived breast cancer, or a gift of note cards to them so they can share with others.

Have a wonderful day, and keep sketching my friends!

 

 

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Oh wow, I’ve been busy for a change and as I struggle with the balance of working on a commissioned piece I’ve thought about all the freedom I have (normally) to just sketch & play when I want to ….. most of each day. I really haven’t kept up with my normal Everyday Matter’s group & missed 2 weeks of Illustration Friday challenges (oh no), but I have indeed been sketching everyday no matter what. So I just decided to at least share the dancing of my pen, and acknowledge that it is truly hard to work everything in but it is really important for me to take a little time NO MATTER what else to sketch just for myself. I hope that you take time too!

Keep sketching my friends!

The fireplace mantle in my family room…watching TV?

Using up the blue ink?

‘rambling on’

Old Oak in the Park…listening to the birds!

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Just completed a short trip into Reno, NV! I of course reverted to my standard ‘dairy style’ of journaling the tid-bits of the day on the fly. I love documenting the daily minutia, and thus started out with a 2 page spread with a hand drawn map to fill in as we drove along.

Page 1 of map

Page 2 of map spread

During our stay at the Grand Sierra Casino & Resort, I did several sketches in the early morning hours near the Starbucks 🙂 of course, while I sipped on my morning latte and listened to the great background music! I had fun sketching folks, but often they catch on and try to cover their faces….so, I gave up on the folks and just did sketches of the immediate area. I painted them in watercolor after we returned home.

Casino Sketch

AM walk for latte 🙂

I was thrilled to stop in Boomtown on the way back. I actually recouped my previous losses. Then, on the way back home a bit of sketching in the van while Norm drove. We really had a great trip, nice & relaxing and by the way if you ever make a trip there make sure you do the National Automobile Museum. It’s awesome!

Have a great day, and keep sketching my friends!

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Amazing, it’s been several days again but I’ve completed many pieces of work too! I feel positively ‘productive’. Playing around with different media and different paper has made the time feel like a new adventure (even though I’ve worked with them before) kinda like a mix and match experiment. Got some new Strathmore Visual Journals, and been working with a mix of pen(s), watercolor, colored pencils (old & newer), Pitt Pens & Tombow’s. I’m finding some I like on the mixed media paper &  some I don’t — which brings me to YES the colored pencils work better on the Bristol Smooth! On the day of ‘Pause’ from the EDM challenges I completed 3-4 pieces, plus I got a little more into my playtime creative soul. Moving forward to another week, with blessings by the billions!  PS…I’m also including this weeks Illustration Friday piece “Lonely”.

EDM#24 ‘a piece of fruit’ plus:)

EDM #25 (1) Empty Glass

EDM#25 (2) Plastic ‘glass’ with grape juice 🙂

Pear Tree with a Pleasant Profile

Illustration Friday ‘Lonely’

 

 

 

 

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