doodling

Liquid ink pen on Canson drawing paper.

acrylic streaks

In the journal, I love how acrylic strengthens the really thin paper into something sturdy.

Between the pages of writing, these color spots enliven the whole volume.

seeing mountains

This started as a random act of paint, then I began to see a landscape through the splotches. All reflections and representations were completely accidental.

Acrylic on 140# w/c paper

shadows on the chip bag

Practicing the subtle triangles and shadows on the potato chip bag.

I had to eat quite a lot to get the model ready for her drawing session!

Water soluble pencil, but not left dry, on Canson drawing paper.

two chairs

Trying out the Koh-I-Noor woodless colored pencils. I like having a sturdy thick pencil to color with.

No frustration of sharpening a woodcased pencil, when the color core breaks and I have to sharpen again.

On Canson drawing paper.

practicing

I rarely draw from photographs,but this face called me. It was published in the Boston Globe last week.

6B pencil in a Reflexion sketchbook.

Then I did it faster and less accurately in ballpoint pen, in the Epica journal.

And (sigh) made the nose too long. His whole face is too long. Instant facial reconstruction.

time for intense color

W/c crayon on journal paper, then sprayed with water to liquify the colors. Then some calligraphic brush pen on top.

Random, but so satisfying to play with.

new, unlined journal volume

This Epica paper scans very yellow. It's not great for water, but excellent for dry media.

These 5x7-inch sketchbooks are small, thick, and super heavy. I cut off the cover of this on-sale item and turned the frontis (such a funny word) pages into the new cover.

I used gaffer tape on the spine, gave the new cover strength and weight by gluing each frontis page to the next page and coating them with 2 layers of chromium green acrylic paint and gel medium.

Now all the weight is in the actual drawing surface and whatever I glue in, not a useless heavy shell.

6B Derwent pencil.

emerging

Putting a face on the background. Drawn from imagination, but as always, I made the nose too long.

I have a Pinocchio complex or something.

W/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

abstracting with graphite

No plan, just lines, swirls and shapes.

9B graphite on 90# paper.

the hotel pool

Looking down at one guy swimming in the heat. Though I concentrated so much on trying to catch his movement, he turned out to be huge in proportion to the pool.

The 12-foot swimmer.

Tech pen in the Clester sketchbook.

at the pool

Any place feels like a vacation spot when it has palm trees. The ones at the pool were light posts, too.

Tech pen in the Clester sketchbook

Vegas at 105 degrees

I did a watercolor interpretation of the mountain view from the ninth floor, working in air conditioned comfort.

In the Clester w/c sketchbook.

Outside Las Vegas

Last week while my blog was automatically posting, I was in Las Vegas touring the sights.

These are the mountains as seen from the ninth floor of the hotel, looking southwest.

Or should I say, as drawn. The clouds were moving and the light on the shapes was changing constantly.

Graphite on the hemp paper sold by Dick Blick. I got to explore an actual store there!

twisted pencil

I did a pencil abstract, then tweaked it in Gimp with filter/distort/warp steps.

On SuperAquabee Deluxe.

accidental stars

I also paint on the black covers of new sketchbooks. This time I started spreading gesso on, and look!

With the first strokes, the gesso beaded up and made starlike patterns.

Cover done!

sap green and gold

Playing with color combinations in acrylics.

Now to turn this into a background for something better.

lumpy and spiked

The euphorbia is a sculpture in green. I simplified its form a bit.

Tech pen, brush pen for larger darks, then colored pencil to reduce boredom, in the Paperchase journal.

Panera people

I'm getting better at trying to catch people in a public place. The next challenge is to get control of their proportions.

Tech pen in a sketchbook.

no title

Abstract doodling with colored pencil.

the purity of markers

I love the ease and pure, quick color of markers, but am not good at using them in subtle ways.

Imagining rocks in a river, on the Fabriano laid journal paper. I don't like it--too thin, too textured.

red streak

Whenever there's acrylic paint left on the palette, I have to smear it on another page, then end up adding and tweaking to see what develops.

Particularly with acrylics, I keep making a chain of "just one more"--there's always more puddle paint calling for a brush.

Acrylic in the Handbook Artist journal.

sleeping Fen

Back to cats.

Pencil on drawing paper.

quick and loose

Drawn with a Derwent water-soluble 4B pencil on Fabriano artistico journal paper, which has a laid texture.

Rewet with a waterbrush that started out with a bit of paint in the bristles. The cat isn't really greenish.

drawing whatever there is

Fabric and folds. Color added randomly.

I used pen, crayon, w/c in the Handbook Artist's Journal

quick, before he moves

The way Chaucer was hanging off the pillowstack on the chair, I knew he wouldn't stay in that position long.

I managed to catch his draped shape, then finish the chair after he recurled.

Pencil in a Handbook Artists Journal.