Black and red sketches..

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and red, Blogging, Design, Drawing, Fun, Graphic art, Ideas, Ink, Pattern, Random, Two inch squares8 Comments

_20200413_171401

I might be submitting some little black and red drawings to a group exhibition. It’s not something I’ve done before. The work is meant to be two inches square with it being in ink and on white paper.

After drawing the two images on the left side of the paper, I realised there was not enough white and I had used too dark a red in the first one.

I tried to draw the two patterns again, but they didn’t come out as well as I’m still quite tired from staying up too late last night. What do you think? Are they interesting enough?

Day 26 usk challenge

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Biro, Daily challenge, Drawing, Ink, Pen, Sketch, Sketching, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent, View through a window12 Comments

_20200413_143257

Quick sketch in biro, looking out of our back living room window into the yard. You might be able to see a dream catcher in the window. There’s a lot of brambles out there growing through from next door. But in the summer it’s full of colourful flowers. I usually cut the brambles so only bits with flower buds re left, then I pick the crop when the fruit is ripe sometimes a squirrel comes along and harvests them before I get there!

I had already ordered hanging baskets that generally arrive in June. I hope they still come. Its something to look forward to.

Waiting for it to warm up a bit, then I’ll go outside and do a bit more.

Old digital drawing

Posted on April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Astronomy, Design, Digital drawing, Drawing, Expressing myself, Fun, SketchfuLeave a comment

IMG_20200412_233514_961

Ten years ago or so I drew this at sketchfu. It’s an astronomer and a sort of face. I wonder sometimes where I get my ideas from. I enjoy astronomy programmes but I guess this started out as a doodle and then I embellished it. This was what I was talking about when I said about being experimental in a previous post, this isn’t controlled. I didn’t have to use ellipses or straight lines. I was not constrained by any rules.

I have a deviant art account and I used to draw in photoshop and post the results there. I might go back to doing that. Using a phone is simple, but it’s limited.

I have drawn so much in my life. I want to continue….

Drawing our Easter Garden

Posted on April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Blossom, Easter, Flowers, Fun, Garden, Life, Plants, Sketching, Spring, Trees, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent3 Comments

_20200412_154425

Day 25, urban sketchers challenge. Suddenly the blossom has burst in the garden, where there were buds a couple of days ago, now tiny pinky white flowers are sprouting out of the branches and twigs. I’ve seen and heard a very loud bumble bee, and also worker bees and hover flies. Hopefully they will do their job of pollinating the blossom and we will have cherries and pears and plums as the summer progresses.

The garden was hard to draw because of all the details. I can get the branches approximately right, then adding leaves and blossom complicates things. Distinguishing between leaf shapes and colours for instance.

I used two thicknesses of black unipin pens, fine line water and fade proof pigment ink (0.5 and 0.8). I also used a Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen black 199*** S size. Then I shaded in with a 3B graphite pencil and a charcoal pencil. I would have liked to add some dabs of colour, but I think the overall effect is quite good. I’ve taken a picture and used a black and white filter because I took the photo under electric light and one corner, a bit turned up, was reflecting back quite a bright yellow.

Mask for today?

Posted on April 11, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Digital art, Drawing, Drawing apps, Fun, Mask, Owl, Sketchfu, SketchingLeave a comment

IMG_20200412_004916_361

Digital drawing I did at the now defunct sketchfu web site, several years ago now. I called it owl mask, which is what it is. The site got too popular and the owners couldn’t afford to keep it going. I have lots of art from there and other websites. Luckily I saved a lot before it closed.

These days there seems to be less freedom, more colouring in images that someone else has drawn, for instance. Less chances to do different styles and ideas.

I think it’s also because of the ubiquitous play stores. It seems hard to find pure drawing websites that aren’t about gaming. Why aren’t more ideas are allowed. It’s hard to know what is going on.

Keep drawing, stay safe.

Playing games

Posted on April 11, 2020April 11, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Chess, Colours, Design, Drawing, Fun, Glass chess set, Playing games, Sketchers, Urban sketchers Stoke on trentLeave a comment

IMG_20200411_203830_949

Oh, the things you find under the cupboard, covered in years of dust. I put it away ages ago because one of my old cats used to squirm under there and get stuck.

My chess set is glass. I hope to play a few games whilst things are locked down here. I’m not good at it, I can’t tell you how far ahead check mate is, and I’m never sure how or when to ‘Castle’.

I drew this because today’s sketching challenge from USK Stoke was playing games and I don’t know where my scrabble set has gone….. Day 24 of thirty. Drawn in pencil crayons and permanent markers.

I enjoyed using these colours, they may not be an exact match for the reality, but red and green are complementary colours, as are orange and blue. I thought they gave it some pizazz…!

Buxton Opera House

Posted on April 11, 2020April 11, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Buxton, Buxton Opera house, Drawing, Grey ink, Permanent marker pen, Sketch book, Sketching, Urban Sketchers, Video conference, Video meeting, Zoom2 Comments

_20200411_133612

Today I got together, virtually, with a bunch of friends from Urban sketchers Stoke-on-Trent.

We had agreed to meet up and draw a local landmark. So we went ‘out’ on Google Street View, and using Zoom, we each drew the view of a photo of the opera House.

The perspective was interesting, a bit fish eye lens ish, and there was a red bus in the foreground which I think has been truncated because of the method Google uses to take images.

The drawings today are not part if the thirty day #uskstoke challenge, but instead is one for our fortnightly expeditions. However I think we are doing this weekly.

My drawing is in my A4, Windsor and Newton sketchpad. I drew it in the landscape position and it’d dark grey felt pen (nibb ® permanent markers). I used the point to draw the lines, then tipped it so that I coukd use its edge to do some softer shading.

I’ve also used Zoom for the first time. I gradually learnt how to use it, with lots of help from the people in the group and a helper that Zoom technicians had given us for the meeting.

It was good to hear people’s voices, and see them when I’d sussed out the video bit.

Maiden Castle

Posted on April 10, 2020April 10, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on board, Art, Dorchester, Dorset, Hill Fort, Landscape, Maiden castle, Painting, Southern England, Sue Vincent2 Comments

_20200410_190732

I just took this photo of a painting I did of Maiden Castle in the 1990’s. It’s a hill Fort in the countryside near Dorchester in Dorset, England. Sorry for the shine on it, my camera flash reflected off it.

What is Maiden Castle? A series of ramparts of soil, rising and falling until it reaches a plateau in the middlewhere the Fort is situated. It can be reached by a pathway through the maze of hills.

My painting includes a dancing and decaying figure. She is meant to represent the spirit of the place and its history. I was studying radiography at the time, and had found a rabbit skull on one of my walks. I also liked watching the archaeology TV programme, ‘ Time Team’ and this was my attempt to embody the feeling I got as I stood up on that hill.

Sadly I haven’t been back there since. But I just read a post by Sue Vincent and her visit to the place and it reminded me of the place. The Maiden Castle scene was taken from a photo and the dancing woman was imagined.

Comfy challenge

Posted on April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Blogging, Cartridge paper, Drawing, Fun, Ink pens, Life, Metallic paint, Painting, Urban SketchersLeave a comment

_20200409_163612

A sketch of my very old, but very comfy, pink slippers. Used metallic acrylic paint over the sketch, then added more details in pen over the top.

This was today’s challenge with #uskstoke today. It’s not my best sketch or painting, it’s a bit dark, and you can’t really see the metallic paint. But it was fun to do, and after all, why not?

Making a lamp

Posted on April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Etruria, Etruria Artists, Fun, Graffiti, Lamp, Painting, Playing, Project, Tealight2 Comments

IMG_20200409_141542_880

I did the jar late last night, 3am. Couldn’t easily paint inside so got some silver foil and cut our shapes. Fastened it on with loads of sellotape. Then I painted over it with abstract patterns. I painted the top too and then used a bit of matt varnish on it to hold it together a bit more. Finally I twisted some wire to hold a tea light, so I didn’t have to try and light it in the bottom of the jar.

I can use it in our summerhouse. The silver foil was a bit chunky because I was worried it would rip when I unfolded the cut out. The pattern I’m calling ‘graffiti’ , cos it looks a bit like the spray painting you get along the canal on the way to Etruria.

This was an idea for a weekly project we are doing in our Etruria Artists group.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Art