Portfolio

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, course, Design, Drawing, Illustration, Learning, Life, Not right size?, Portfolio, Sketching, WorkLeave a comment

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I’ve been working on my portfolio for college today. I’ve got to upload it soon to show what I’ve been doing. I was halfway through when I found out I should be uploading images at 72dots per inch (dpi?) and I’ve set it at 300. I think I will have to delete all the images and save them all to the lower size limit…. So annoying because it was looking good. But at least I’ve found out in time. I need to go back and read the course instructions.

I think I’ve taken on too much sometimes. Not because I can’t do it but because I’ve got so many other things going on. I like writing here because it acts like a diary and also let’s me get ideas down that aren’t part of the course. Plus with limited contact with people it’s giving me some freedom.

Prompt ‘hanging’

Posted on July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Blogging, Colour, Design, Drawing, Picture, Sketching, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Back yard colours. The Usk Stoke-on-Trent challenge today was ‘hanging’ so I got my new permanent markers out. I tried not to do any black outlines to make the colours jump more!

The picture includes our hanging baskets and a dream catcher that hangs in our back living room window. There is a little glass angel hanging in the dream catcher. When I asked my hubby what he thought he said it was a bit amateurish!

The only problem with permanent markers is that they dry up quickly. You can be half way through shading something and they run out. More in a couple of days.

How to depict cuts in arts education?

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Idea, Illustration, Important, Learning, Life, Picture, Schooling, Sketching, Teaching, Work in progressLeave a comment

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I thought I would try and share my idea about possible cuts in art education. It’s along the lines of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil images. In this case the image is of a school child. Maybe with one eye peeping out. Covering his head are the hands of other children, stopping him seeing art equipment, or hearing music or poetry. Stopping him speaking things like lines from plays or novels.

Art and creativity are so important to the world. Maybe you can push a button and get a car design? Maybe not. At the moment it still takes the efforts of designers, artists, illustrators, musicians, and much more to bring out the creativity of the world.

What are we doing if we consider removing Art from the curriculum? If we make it just the perogative of the rich? What happens if normal, ordinary people aren’t taught to have a critical eye, to have the ability to see beauty. I see a world which is almost turning into a 1984 situation. Dumbed down and quiescent?

Plastic, USK S-O-T challenge.

Posted on July 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Garden light, Glitter, Light, Plastic, Plastic litter bin, Sketch, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Today’s challenge was to draw plastic, so I drew a garden lamp and our plastic waste bin that is covered in glitter. Urban sketches are supposed to be drawn in context so the background is penned in too. Quick sketch about fifteen minutes.

Going a bit ‘van gogh’

Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Edited, Fun, Inspiration, Instagram, Mobile, News, Photo app, Photodirector, Sketching, Van gogh style2 Comments

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I looked at last night’s sketch and wondered what I could do to maybe tie it more together? I decided to use one of the style options in photodirector. This is a phone app that allows you to edit your photos and drawings and change their appearance.

I was very pleased with this. I definitely think it has a Van Gogh feel to it. Probably having the chair there with my easle on it adds to that feeling.

All new urban sketchers challenge

Posted on July 26, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black ink, Challenge, Colours, Drawing, Media coverage, Mobile phone, Parrot, Permanent marker pens, Usk challenge Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Today’s challenge was media coverage. I didn’t have a paper and we haven’t seen the news so I decided to draw my phone with the news on it. But I couldn’t hold the phone and the sketch book so I balanced it on my arm. Then I drew the chair in the background. As I had the page of my sketchbook in my image I decided to duplicate the view again and then again. The parrot was on my tee shirt. You don’t realise how much you are moving around when you draw something like this, so my hand was in a differentvosition the second time I drew it, (and the third). I know it’s sketchy but I enjoyed the freedom and looseness of it

Neddy

Posted on July 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Fine liner pen, Grass, Horse, Life, Mane, Misty landscape, Permanent markers, Picture, Pony, Sketch, Watercolour background, Watercolours2 Comments

‘Neddy’ named by my hubby. Used the watercolour background I’d created and found an image of a horse or pony with a long mane.

I used fine black nib marker pens to draw him, then permanent markers to add some colour to him and to the tall grass around him (fading the colours as it went higher to give a feeling of depth). I then used a 6B graphite pencil to soften the strength of the marker pens. I drew this because I liked the overgrown mane. If the pony ran it would flow out backwards like a billowing curtain or long ribbons.

I did this today because I didn’t have a prompt from stoke urban sketchers so I thought I would still draw something to keep going.

Hedgehogged!

Posted on July 24, 2020July 24, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Drawing, Fun, Hedgehog, Hidden, Hubby, Nesting, Random, Shed, Shock, SurpriseLeave a comment

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My hubby just disturbed our hedgehogs nesting place in our shed. He put his hand on one of them and it spiked him! He didn’t know they were in there. He was trying to tidy the shed up. He also found that they had used a corner of the shed as a latrine. I’m not happy because he took our hoover out to clean up the shed! The hedgehogs were under bags of straw that we used to insulate the cat bed for the abandoned cat we look after.

They didn’t run out, just hunkered down, so he put the straw back in place. Hopefully they are here to stay!

The new normal?

Posted on July 23, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white sketch, Black ink fine line pen, Drawing, Fine Art, Friend, Life, Lockdown, Sketching, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-Trent, Visit8 Comments

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Visiting my friend today who’s a fine art student. Because we were inside her house we both wore masks. This is the final Stoke Urban Sketchers challenge for this run but I don’t think it will be the last. This was so good, to be able to visit someone. I feel like crying, I felt nervous, I felt touched that someone would let me in their house after all this time. I may dream about it! It was an honour to be allowed to draw her. I hope she does well in her fine art degree.

USK challenge 21.7.20

Posted on July 22, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white, Drawing, Hill, Picture, Sketching, Staffordshire, Stoke, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Out and about. A local street I have not walked down since March. Got to it by going up our very steep hill. It was only a couple of miles but I’m shattered. Black and white sketch taken from a photo. I wish I had drawn it in situ, but I didn’t have my sketchbook with me.

The plant really was growing out like a triffidcacross the pavement. I really liked it. Very interesting.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Drawing