Red Sucker

That doesn't sound like a very nice name for a candy. But that's what they are, right? At least here in the States. Maybe they're called something different in other lands. (I keep wanting to say "I'm gonna get you, sucka!" Isn't that a movie?)

8 x 8 inches, colored pencils on paper

The coffee shop I go to had a little bowl of these by the cash register, so I nabbed one. You know I can't resist a fun piece of candy. I haven't had one of these since I was a kid! They used to give them out at the doctor's office I think. Or somewhere like that. 

I went back to Polychromos and Pablos (both oil pencils) on Stonehenge paper for this.

I put prints of this in the etsy shop, and may list the original as well, later. 

I have some other candy, and some biscotti to draw (if they don't get eaten first - especially the biscotti).

(I had to take a break from those sheep from the last post. Actually, I deleted a post where I did a good deal of whining about not being able to render them properly, using a new paper and all. Not sure what was going on there - its like someone waved a "bad ju-ju"wand over them or something. I absolutely love the drawing, but for some reason can't figure out how I want to render it. So I've put the little sheep family back in the barn for now, and they will come back out when I get my "sheep rendering mojo" back. Just in case you were wondering.)

Sheep

My little blog here has been kind of lonely. I've been gearing up for some new projects, and am in the planning and sketching-out stages, so don't have much (OK, any) finished art to show. 

I do have these little sheep though, who are now in the color rough stage. They are enjoying the nice Spring weather, and have moved out of the barn into the neighboring pasture for a little picnic.

Hopefully next time I post I will be able to show the finished art!

Encouraging words

For a long time I've been saving fortunes I like from fortune cookies, and taping them to my parallel rule on my drawing table. They give me a little boost every day.

You can see that they've lived through many many illustrations and drawing and paintings. They're all pretty tattered and worn.

Sometimes you just need 'someone' to encourage you to keep going, or that everything will be OK.

The middle one below is actually a horoscope from the newspaper, but it was a perfect reminder to not obsess and worry, but instead, focus on the positive.

There are a few more which just didn't photograph well, and I was too lazy to redo them. But you get the idea. Some people tape affirmations to the bathroom mirror - I spend way more time at the drawing board than in front of a mirror, so this made more sense for me!


In other news, I'm cleaning flat files and putting some odds and ends up for sale in my etsy shop. They're in the Spring Cleaning Sale section. I'm also listing some other original pieces that I would like to find homes for. And I'm adjusting some prices too. So over the next few days or week I should have more to choose from, and some things may be more affordable. I know "they" say you're not supposed to put your work on sale (if you're an artist) but they haven't seen my crowded flat files!

Little Square Cards - again

I'm doing little cards again. You may or may not remember me doing these before. They were fun, and people liked them, then for whatever reason I didn't keep them going.

Well, this time I'm using new paper (matte, rather than semi-gloss), new packaging (little take-out boxes rather than cube boxes) and also have some new images. So I'm happy about these!

I'm starting with 4 collections of my food art - Assorted Figs, Assorted Taffys, Plums and Pluots, and Assorted Jelly Beans.

Each card is 2 x 2 inches (5.08 x 5.08 cm) and comes with a little square white envelope, and a little round white sticker to seal the envelope.

These little envelopes come without any 'sticky' on them, so I experimented with home made envelope glue. Ew. No. I gave it a good try, and just couldn't.  It was way too fussy and difficult to get just the right consistency for the glue, then brushing on a clean strip, or dots, also proved to be something I had no patience for. Plus, brushing glue onto umpteen envelopes and waiting for them to dry - again, no, thanks.

I settled on raffia for the bow rather than ribbon. I spent way too long in the ribbon aisle at the craft store trying to decide on something (wired?, sheer?, what color(s)?, how wide?), then figured raffia would work well for all the different sets, and also wouldn't be too 'girly' for any men who might like these.

Right now I'm doing 24 in a box, but will probably offer them in sets of 12 as well at some point. It took a bit of figuring to make sure I ordered the right size carton. I checked, and measured, and double checked, and measured again before I placed the order. Then was very relieved when they arrived, and the cards fit as planned!

I think its a really cute package.

I've attached one card from each collection to the front, with a few words on the inside ~

Some of the images are 'wrap around', and some aren't. I liked playing with the compositions, figuring out how to make interesting bits go on the back as well as the front.

There's a lot of fussy cutting involved with these! I have a file for each card, then format them 10 to a page, then print and cut. 

Finished cards go into little plastic bags until they're ready to be packaged up.

This is how they look when they're getting ready to go. 

I've listed these first sets in the shop, and hope to have more to offer in the near future. Chocolates? Assorted Candy? Crackers? We'll see.

Parfait

Just finished this one - a very decadent caramel apple spice parfait. Tons of whipped cream and calories and fattening goodness. Done with all Pablo colored pencils on Stonehenge paper.
I put the original and prints in the shop.

Now I have to go work it off (yes, of course I ate it!).

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, to all who celebrate. Its morphed into such a weird "holiday", what with the mix of religion and chocolate and bunnies and hard boiled eggs and all. Not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with all of that. Take what works for you and have fun I guess.

So here's a piece a did a while back that I had titled "Easter Mango", because of the colors. And its kind of egg-like. I'm pretty sure I used Polychromos on illustration board for this.

Then I found a second version of it where I'd photoshopped the background - I can't even remember why now. There must have been a good reason!

I've also been doing some house portraits. This is one I can show. I love this house for its simple elegance. The landscaping kind of frames the simple design and color scheme of the building. I used all Pablo colored pencils for this one.

We've been having beautiful early Spring weather for weeks, with lilacs blooming and all the plants sprouting green stuff, then BAM!, last night we had the scariest thunder and lightning storm! I mean, window-rattling thunder. 'Cats under the bed' thunder. And crazy rain. Kind of a drag for the Easter bunny, but my lawn is loving it. 

So until next time - 

Hopping off to eat eggs and too much chocolate ... 

Colored Pencil Magazine - Student - Featured Artist

** Horn tooting alert **

I am SO excited and honored to be the featured artist in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Colored Pencil Student Magazine! 

Look, there's my art on the cover. That's my "Answer Your Heart" piece. (They really bumped up the color - in reality, its pretty muted.)

You may click the cover to see a larger view, but the rest of the images here from the article I've made small on purpose. It wouldn't be kosher to "give them away" for free - this is just a taste. If you would like to purchase the magazine, they have both a digital and a paper version available through the website.

Cool, huh? I love how they laid out the article and the art.

You can see a preview of the issue here (although they leave out most of the 'meat', including my piece). Its a good magazine for anyone just learning about colored pencils, with lots of tips and info, as well as illustrated "step-by-steps", and features like mine. If you're thinking about 'getting into' doing colored pencil art, and aren't sure how to begin, this might be one low-cost way of getting started. People often ask me about which books to buy, what paper to use, which pencils, etc. etc. etc., and now I'm happy to be able to point them to this magazine (and no, they're not paying me to say this).

Going off to gloat a bit now.
Oh, forgot to say Happy Spring!

Cardinals and Roses

I had this drawing on the board back when the conclave first started, but then the cats all got sick (they're fine now - BAD head cold, BAD BAD BAD) and that went on for an endless couple of weeks, and I got a little behind, playing nurse and all.

(please click on this to see it bigger)

                    

                                                      

These are some of the CATholic cardinals who didn't get elected Pope, out for a stroll through Rome, seeing the sites, and scouting for a place to have a nice plate of fishy pasta.

I had a lot of fun doing this one! Its a combination of colored pencil and Photoshop. A while back I figured out how to do a 'digital colored pencil' technique, but then got sidetracked with something else and never really developed that idea. I think now that I will go back to it, and see if I can put together a portfolio of children's book pieces that are all done that way. TALL ORDER. But hey, one piece at a time. I'll blog as I go, so you can stumble along with me.

I also finished this red rose leaves piece. This is ALL colored pencil, the old fashioned kind. I have some photos of other leaves and buds that I would like to do, and make this a series. This one was done with Polychromos and Pablos (both oil based), on Stonehenge paper, and is just under 8"x 8" (20.32 x 20.32 cm). I will do prints in the shop as soon as I am able. Today maybe.

Speaking of the shop - I'm changing the paper I use for prints from the semi-gloss I've been using, to Epson Presentation Matte. I like it a lot better. Its a lighter weight, but I love the crisp images it produces. It also works really well for less "shiny" subject matter (like candy in foil wrappers). I still have some of the semi-gloss though, so if you would prefer that for something, please let me know. 

I have to tweak my whole shop (today's chore) to include the new paper, as well as adjust some prices for shipping. I'll think I have it all sorted out, then I'll get a sale to a new (to me) country that has crazy expensive shipping, and I'll have to include that in all the listings. Like Australia, for example. What I could send here in the US for $3.50 will cost $9 to Australia sometimes. I hate having to charge so much to ship things, but I also hate to get a rude surprise at the post office, and find out I've just lost all my profit on the sale to under-charged shipping. Those of you with shops know what I'm talking about.  Its the least fun part of having a shop. I just want to make the art! 

Rose leaves

I'm still here. Working on some things I either can't, or don't want to show - you know how that is sometimes. But I do have the start of this little drawing of some new rose leaves to share.

I really really really love when new buds and leaves appear on plants in the Spring - and especially these red rose leaves. I don't mean that the roses need to be red. Its just the leaves. I don't know why some of them come in this color, but I think its the coolest thing. The reds and purples are just so beautiful. They will all turn green eventually. 

I was sitting on my back porch one day looking at my yard, daydreaming about what to draw, and it was just so obvious. So I got out the camera and took a few shots of these, and some other new growth.  I hope to have a small series of these done to sell as prints in the future.

I don't usually draw plants, so this is a new thing for me. I also like this idea of 'new growth'. It's looking like a theme in my life right now on different levels. Some areas have been kind of stagnant for a while, and need some freshening up. Spring cleaning is about clearing out closets and drawers, sweeping out the corners and cobwebs, and doing a bit of deep cleaning. I'm kind of doing that literally, and also in my life. And trying to get some new little buds sprouting.

I've decided to call it a Recroissance (which I thought I just invented, but of course found out quickly is not new.) Its like a Renaissance, but a little different (Renaissance is 're-birth'). I also like that is sounds like 'croissant'. :~) So right now its a personal Recroissance, but feel free to start your own if you like. Maybe we can all together start a new Age.

Marschino Cherries

Maraschino Cherries

8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm)

Every brand of pencils under the sun, on Stonehenge paper

I felt like making a new drawing, and looked in the cupboard for a subject. At first I thought I would do anchovies, but for some reason they grossed me out. Then I saw this little jar of maraschino cherries hiding in there which I'd forgotten about, and was so happy.

I always start with a line drawing, then start laying in some shadows or values just to get it going. I've darkened this up quite a bit so it would show up for you here. In real life it was a lot lighter.

This is a very RED drawing. Red is for me the hardest color to do with colored pencils. I really picked my way through this in the first several layers - kind of a 'Sunday painter approach', dawdling along, enjoying the subtle building up of color and value.

By the time I finish I will have used Coloursofts, Prismacolor, Luminance, Pablos and Polychromos.

At this point (above) I've used: Polychromo Burnt Carmine, Coloursoft Rose, Red, Deep Red, Scarlet, and Polychromo Green Gold. All really really light tentative layers.

 I'm going back and forth between deepening the color, and re-establishing the forms in the jar.

At one point I got out my Prismacolors, against my better judgement. They've been breaking so much that I put them away and vowed to never use them again, no matter what. But they have the best reds. The best. So I pulled a Permanent Red, and started doing a layer. Then it came time to sharpen, and it broke, instantly. Grrrrrr. Try it again. Broke again. Pulled a whole NEW pencil out of a spare box, more breaking. Break, break, break, break break. I had to finish the one layer though, since I'd started, so I muddled through, but I was not a happy camper.

So now, by about this point, I've used all of the above, plus: Polychromo Purple, Fuschia, Middle Purple, Violet and Pablo Light Purple and Purplish Red. I know, hard to believe. 

Then some Polychromo Geranium Lake and Pablo Reddish Orange. I think its here that I let it go for the night, and sat down to watch Downton Abbey.

The next day I was fully out of 'Sunday painter' mode, and very much in a "let's get this DONE" mode, so finally got serious about committing to putting down some real values. That required a bit of burnishing, which I always try to avoid until its the only thing left to get the piece where it needs to go. I skipped a few steps here in the scanning, because I just wanted to tuck in and get it done. 

These couple of scans show the addition of: Luminance Permanent Red, Carmine Aubergine, Alizarin Crimson, Scarlet, Pablo Ruby Red, Luminance Green Ochre, Polychromo Olive Green and Green Oxide, Zinc Yellow, and maybe a couple more that I forgot to write down.

I just kept tweaking with a little of this and that until I was happy with it. 

I thought you might like to see how un-glamorous my work set up is. I know there are people who have pristine, organized, "let's take a photo for the magazine" kinds of work spaces. How nice for them. Not me.

I stack all my tins of pencils that I'm using up on top of each other, like this, on my slanted drawing table. In the above pic you can see two tins of Polychromos, on top of Luminance, on top of Pablos.
I've separated them out a bit here below so you can see them better. I just pull up a tray when I need to search for a color in a tin below. The Polychromos are all organized neatly by color. The others are not.

And here's a shot of how the 'used' pencils look off to the right side of the board. Not neat. Not organized. They often fall off onto the floor (but I have carpet, so they don't get broken). I honestly don't know how you neat people keep everything all perfect. I admire it, but it doesn't work for me. Of course I'll clean them all up and put them back in their tins now, and the board will get cleared off for the next piece. And it will start all over again.

I'll put prints in the shop at some point. I'm searching for a new paper to do prints on in addition to the semi-gloss I've been using. I would like to offer an option for a more matte paper for some of my pieces. There are just way too many papers to choose from! I want to keep the cost down, so my prints will not be expensive. I do have some fancy paper that turned out to be too thick to feed through my Epson - boo. So I'll keep looking. 

The sun is out here, its like Spring. Crazy. Nice, but crazy. People are mowing lawns and watering, washing their cars, wearing t-shirts. Gotta love California.