New paintings and regular art updates.
Once I start playing with apps I go back and make new patterns. I realised that using the symmetry tool on my sketch app I can offset them so they don’t overlap, and I used various colours from the same part of the spectrum. Then I duplicated and rotated the pattern, creating a lace like design.
I like this particular filter on photodirector. It creates swirls but of a definite size, texturising the felt pen shading, and making a more graphic design. It sort of reorganises my artwork into something more abstract but coherent. Less realism, more illustrative. Drawing and playing with the resultant image is keeping me occupied on a very cold day, with temperatures below freezing in some parts of the country and a sprinkling of snow here, but deep elsewhere. And I dream of going to Bodnant in the spring.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was history. I decided to draw the pool at Bodnant Gardens, a house and gardens run by the National Trust near, Llandudno in North Wales. Its well known for its beautiful laburnum walk and many flowering shrubs and plants. The upper part near the house has lawns and perennial plants while the garden slopes down to a river and has lovely wooded areas.
Sunday’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Myth. Oh what to do? I am in love with gryphons, unicorns, winged horses and many other things, but as my most recent study was about dragons, I chose to draw one. I started out with three pens held together to try and create a triple image, but the middle pen had dried out. So I finished off with two. If you look carefully you can see the outline of two other eyes below the ones I have outlined. Then I coloured it in with metallic felt pens. I might do more to it but this is good enough as a sketch.
A felt pen and black ink doodle/sketch of different eyes. I found it hard to blend the colours of the pens because they dry quickly so you have to try and shade in thin layers and build them up. It’s only a small drawing and blowing it up a bit really shows up the blotchiness. Mind you when I paint I do find it hard to blend colours. I think that’s because I use acrylics which dry very fast as opposed to oils that can take a very long time to dry. I don’t do photorealism but I once had the local newspaper art critic talk about one of my paintings in his report about a local exhibition. He said if I wanted to be a photo realist I should try harder! I was insulted because a) I was not trying to be one and b) he didn’t ask me what my style was! I think it was lazy journalism. Filling up a couple of lines. But he didn’t see how much it upset me. And I still feel it, even years later!
When I drew a very grumpy picture of myself today I remembered how much I used to like pulling faces. Then a memory came back to me… I suddenly remembered that I won the funny face competition and my twin won the funny walk competition at a school sports-fun day one year. We won a pound and a half of full cream chocolate! I think we must have practiced a lot, but I’m not sure I knew that this was what the prize was.
It’s funny because I can remember the scene as if it was yesterday now. A group of children on the sports field and kids taking it in turn to make the others laugh. Whoever had the idea was a genius, much more fun than running races. No doubt influenced by ‘Month Pythons Flying Circus’ TV show which was on at the time. (Which I wasn’t allowed to watch because it was too ‘rude).
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was grumpy. I had two reasons to be grumpy, a big bill, and still feeling ill. So I pulled this awful face (I look disgusted!) and drew this miserable looking self portrait! I really hope I don’t usually look like this. I’ve already deleted the photo I drew it from.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was musical instruments, I drew a recorder. I have a plastic one, but when I was a kid I had a lovely wooden one. The wood was golden and had an amazing grain to it. I’ve tried to remember how it looked. I didn’t do much music as a child and it was one of my sisters that tried to learn more complicated instruments such as the violin.
Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was close-up. I decided to try and draw a close-up of some plaid cloth. I used a digital filter from photodirector to add some texture. I think it makes it look more interesting.
Sometimes my pen drifts
Across the paper
Black pen and colour
Shading over the lines
Faces and a donkey?
Why not play
Create a design
Learn and develop
Experience and experiment.
Mallaband-Brown