Swinging in the Breeze

 

I hung my weathergrams at a local park.  You can see them swinging in the breeze (and enjoy the sounds of birdsong and children playing) in this short video.

Remembering the Days with #12daysofweathergrams

Before Christmas we had a few clear, cold days.  These are reflected in my weathergrams.

I hope you are all enjoying the twelve days of Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

#12daysofweathergrams Inspired by Nature

And, in honor of the snowfall that never came:

My friend Janice says she's going to make some - I can't wait to see them!

 

Getting Started for Christmas 2021

It's too late to mail any more Christmas cards, but I can get a start on 2021.  These are more of the designs I traced using a Posca Paint Pen.  The first background is acrylic paint on old book paper, created when I cleaned off my brayer during a gelli printing session.

The next two are mounted on gelli prints.  I enjoyed using handmade paper so much that it just might be time to gelli print on the wrong side of my remaining scrapbook paper!

 

Loving Them For the Gel Prints

 

I made a few more Christmas cards using the designs I traced with a Posca Paint Pen.

I really enjoyed making them using gelli prints for the backgrounds.  I was able to use some dark prints that I haven't found other uses for; I guess red is only a colour I use at Christmas.  Also, the prints were too dark or busy to stamp directly onto, but perfect for contrasting with the white border around the Christmas motif.  Now I want to get out my gelli plate again!

#12daysofweathergrams

 

The Westcoast Calligraphy Society is running a weathergram challenge on Instagram.  Weathergrams are hung outside between Solstice and Equinox.

Each day, I write about the way that nature has surprised me.

You can read a short, beautifully lettered book about the Weathergram here.  The book is by Lloyd J. Reynolds, the man in Portland, Oregon, who invented them.

When is a Peel-Off Not a Peel-Off?

 

I don't think you can buy these Christmas peel-offs any more, but I love the designs so I traced them with a Posca paint pen.  At first I used carbon paper and a stylus to transfer the design to cardstock, but my very crafty sister suggested using a light box.  It worked like a charm - I was able to see through the cardstock and skip a step.

And In Another Colour

 

The Christmas Card Factory is Still Open

 

Watercolour Wreath

 

I attended a short Zoom class on Sunday afternoon with 279 of my closest friends (haha!), sponsored by the San Diego Chapter of the Society for Calligraphy.  It was fun, as usual, to slop paint around, and the scheduled event gave me the creative kick in the butt I needed.  The opportunity to attend these remote programs has been one of the few blessings provided by the pandemic.

Happy Holiday Art

Santa's elves have been busy making cards!  They all took Joanne Sharpe's Art Sparks 5:  Happy Holiday Art and made a selection of bright, cheerful cards.

Peace on Earth

 

Kuretake Watercolor, Folded Pen

This is my homework for the Bensgothic program we enjoyed at the Westcoast Calligraphy Meeting last month.  Our assignment was to letter a Christmas saying.

Hide

Inspiration Photo:  Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash

 I've been accused of "hiding" myself behind a book now and then.  Anyone else?

Buddy

 

Inspiration Photo:  Girgio Trovato, Unsplash

Chef

Inspiration Photo:  Louis Hansel, Unsplash

 

Trap

 

Inspiration Photo:  Francis MacDonald, Unsplash

Bloomers

 

I'm still finishing up my "Doodle Book" from Joanne Sharpe's Art Sparks series.

Slippery

 

Inspired by a photo by Michael Yero, Unsplash

Hope

 

Inspired by a Photo by Diego PH, Unsplash

Inktober has come and gone for another year.  I didn't participate last year, but I was drawn to begin on October 1 and I did something each day.  Some of them were half-hearted attempts, and I didn't share anything on social media this time.

There were some things I really enjoyed about my casual approach and process this year, though.  Until the last few days, when lettering took over, I would type the prompt into Unsplash, and sketch whichever photo I liked the best.  I didn't think about how well it represented the prompt.  In fact, I didn't think at all - this is what I liked about it!

On the first day, I wanted to sketch with a brush, so I swiped it across Inktense Blocks; the use of "ink" was the only rule I followed.  I ended up using Inktense and a brush most days.

Ominous

 

This Inktober prompt took an "ominous" turn for Hallowe'en.  I'll post some Inktober sketches in coming days, but I've been influenced by a Ben Shahn program this week at our monthly Westcoast Calligraphy Society meeting.

Happy Hallowe'en!

Let's Do it in Colour!

 

Gel Pen and Watercolour
Stillman and Birn Alpha Series

As I was working on "Grow", in The Doodle Book from Joanne Sharpe's class, I had the urge to doodle in colour, so I worked with gel pens in my Stillman and Birn sketchbook.  Although we are using watercolour paper in Joanne's class, this smoother mixed media paper is much easier to doodle on.

This page was also inspired by Yellena James and her book Star, Branch, Spiral, Fan, which I reviewed in 2017.

White Pops

 

Grow

 

This doodle keeps growing!

A Collage of Blossoms

 

Finding Blossoms in Paint Splotches

 

Love of Layers

 

Gouache, Posca Paint Pens

Check out The Doodle Book class with Joanne Sharpe here.

Drawing Lesson

 

Watercolor, Ink

Joanne says that doing this pen work is how you learn to draw.

The Scribble Doodle

 

Gouache, Posca Paint Pens

Watercolour, Ink, Posca Paint Pens

You can find out more about Joanne Sharpe's class here.

Bold and Basic

 

The first doodle in The Doodle Book is bold and basic, but it isn't the first doodle of the class.

The Doodle Book is 6" x 6"and contains sixteen pages of our own doodle creations.  But before beginning this book, we made a smaller, 18 page book, containing lots and lots of sample doodles and ideas.  We were encouraged to copy Joanne Sharpe's patterns in this first book to help us build our doodling skills.

Art Sparks 4: The Doodle Book

 

Joanne Sharpe's latest Art Sparks class is all about doodling.  This is the cover of my book.

Westcoast Calligraphy September Program

 

The Westcoast Calligraphy Society has a terrific line-up of programs planned for this year.  Although we can't meet in person, we're now meeting by Zoom.

In September, we did some watercolour spraying.  I've done it before, and it is always a fun activity.  We were supposed to gather fallen leaves to use, but it was pouring with rain that day, so I used some plastic ones.  And rather than the lovely fall colour I had planned, I had to use green because the pump on my butterscotch spray bottle was clogged.  It was an evening of last minute improvising all around, but with a Zoom meeting my supplies were all close at hand!

Yesterday I added the greeting using Akim Cursive and made this card . 

Pockets Full!

 

The last pocket is full and I have posies to spare for other journals.  What a fun class this was - Joanne Sharpe's Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies.

Cheer During a Pandemic

Joanne Sharpe certainly knows how to bring cheer during a pandemic.  Her special series of classes is bright, bold and distracting!

Who Says Summer is Over?

 

Flowers keep blooming in my world of Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies.

Vases from Scraps

 

Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies

Still More Art Sparks 3!: Pockets full of Posies

 

A Tag-Pocket

Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies

Everything is fair game for a pocket.
 

The Miracle of a Single Flower

 

Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies

Still Using Up Art Bits

 

Art Sparks 3!:  Pockets full of Posies

These pots were cut from some small scraps of acrylic ink on watercolor paper.  Years ago I played on full sheets of paper, and over the years I've used them for everything from book covers to artist trading cards.  The scraps are getting smaller and smaller, but nothing goes to waste.