Changing colours

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Abstract, Art, Brightness, Colours, Contrast, Curves, Fun, Graph, Learning, Photos4 Comments

Have you tried adjusting the colours in a photo in curves? I had taken a bland photo of a tree outside my window and I decided to see what I could do with it. I wanted to increase the contrast, change the colours, add brightness to bring out where the light was in the photo to differentiate between the tree leaves and the background.

Curves is like a graph, by changing the height and depth of the curves you can enhance brightness and colour by making the curve higher, or lower the curve and the image loses brightness and can lose contrast too….. The curved graph representing this was up and down then back up again. All I can say is have a go and see what happens. You don’t have to accept the result and you can go back to how it was originally.

Face sketch

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Image, Life, Pencil sketch, Portrait, Sketch, Sky portrait artist of the week, Twenty minutes2 Comments

Tried drawing Jane Horrocks in twenty minutes while watching Sky Portrait artist of the week. Done with a blunt spectrum noir pencil crayon. Where’s my sharpener when I need it? I couldn’t find an image from the day so I used a stock one. I’m afraid it looks a bit more like another celebrity, Annika Rice?

Scarf designs

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black, CYAN, Fun, Glitter, Gold, Green, Ink, Iteration, Learning, Pattern, Scarf9 Comments

A couple of iterations of the pattern I just drew…. Now how do I get them printed off as scarves? Do I have to save them in Cyan colours?

Any info would be helpful. X

Ink and glitter

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black, Drawing, Experiment, Glitter, Gold, Green, Idea, Ink, PatternLeave a comment

Thinking about making backgrounds, I tried using some green sparkly ink. It’s meant to spray out, but the spray nozzle won’t work, so I unscrewed the top and dragged the ink in lines with the plastic tube that dips into the ink. Then I added some black ink lines. Finally I used a gold, round glitter stamp. Of course I had forgotten to clean it from last time I used it, so it didn’t work as well as I wanted.

I don’t know what I could use this for. It looks a bit like trellis work in a garden so I might try adding images of flowers? Maybe in an analogue way or digitally. It could also be used for a screen print for perhaps a silk scarf?

Hanging baskets hanging on….

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged baskets, Begonia, Fliwers, Fushia, Gardening, Hanging baskets, Life, Nasturtium, Pelagoniums, Plants3 Comments

Yes they are still surviving. Plants and flowers that would normally have shrivelled away by now, a series of frosts due this week might do that, but the plucky baskets (OK they are not thinking or animated) have hung on together with the plants around the yard. I guess there must be a microclimate. I will let them stay where they are until its time to get them refilled again in spring next year…

There are various plants in the photos, including nasturtium, fushua, begonia, aster, pelargonium and many more.

Playing cat

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Chair arm, Fun, Patterned throw, Photos, Playing, Poem, Poetry, Purring, Settee, SillyLeave a comment

Paws up under the thow

Head out, mirowing!

Climbs up,

Head thrown back!

Claws tear the chair arm

Jump

And

Pounce

Twist

And

Jump!

Sister runs past

Cat slalom off

Into the distance…..

Online lecture

Posted on November 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Backgrounds, College, Fun, Ink, Learning, Lecture, Life, Painting, Student led, WatercolourLeave a comment

Just watched a lecture by one of our fellow students. It was fascinating to watch. About watercolour and ink and how to use it. She showed us how to use salt and also cling film to add texture, masking fluid to preserve white areas and glue mixed with paint and ink to created textured backgrounds. I will certainly have a go at using some of them.

She also showed us her sketchbooks, she mainly does abstract work, but also does realistic work, (she showed us a lovely painting of a friends dog). It’s great that students are adding to the teaching experience at college….

Zooming

Posted on November 24, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Choir, Fun, Meeting, Music, Poem, Poetry, Singing, Video calls, ZoomLeave a comment

Zooming around and singing

Looking from face to face

Video calls are booming

Talking around all night

Ladies and gents

Are choiring

Baritone, alto and bass

Having fun with music

Playing a lively tune.

Descants and sopranos

Fun around half past eight.

Outdoor boy is sitting next to me!

Posted on November 24, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Boy cat, Cat, Coming in, Happy, Life, Outdoor cat, Purring, Settled, Sitting2 Comments

That ppaw came out and touched my arm! He’s purring, eyes closed and allowing me to stroke him. Ideally I’d like to get him down the vets to check him over, but I don’t think he’d play and he’s a much bigger cat then my boy and girl… At least he should be safe over winter….

Windowsill

Posted on November 24, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Cat, Cat tree, Geodes, Glass, Metal sculptural objects, Metallic pen, Painting, Watercolour sketch, WatercoloursLeave a comment

Todays #bandofsketchers picture, watercolour sketch of my windowsill…

The cat has her own cat tree because the window sill is covered in glass, geodes, metal sculptural objects and more. I can’t show them all as the cat tree is in the way…. The cat loves sitting there as it’s right over the radiator. I think the diagonals sort of have a flattening, almost japanese woodblock effect? Anyway it was nice to do something in watercolours for a change. I just used a bit of metallic gold and silver marker pen to highlight some of the objects.