Mini watercolour doodles 25 and 26

 

Fantasy Flowers (both 3" square)
watercolour and coloured pens

Another quirky postcard collage

I have started to over-think these postcard collages instead of quickly just grabbing what comes to hand - not necessarily a good idea.  

Handprinted tissue, mulberry and cartridge paper,
acrylic, gel pens and machine stitch
 (Hahnemeuhle watercolour postcard 6" x 4")

Postcard collage

 Another collaged postcard - 

Lino printed tissue, paste paper, texture paste, sketch
and machine stitch (6" x 4" on Hahnemuehle postcard

I am enjoying making use some of my facial sketches in these small collages.

Postcard collage

 Another small collage using one of my Hahnemuehle postcards.

 

Printed and painted tissue, book page, scanned sketch,
gold gel pen, machine stitch (6" x 4")

Revisiting eco dyeing

This is my second exploration of eco dyeing. This time I tried continus (smoke bush) leaves as they seem to be popular for this method.  There are several of these bushes in the park near me so I didn't have to trek far for my raw materials.  These leaves are very fresh and green at the moment, but turn to a bright scarlet in the autumn - will definitely have to try them again later in the year.

I used Hahnemeuhle 265 gsm mixed media bamboo paper this time, soaking it with water before laying on the leaves and a few bits of onion skin, so it would be easier to tightly roll round my piece of plastic pipe and securely tie with string.  I also added a few rusty screws to the vinegar water and set it gently boil for just over an hour.

The cooked bundle was an alarming charcoal black when it came out of the water, but once dry there are some very subtle hints of pink, purple and blue/green, plus patches of orange from the onion skin.

The paler sample is from my first dyeing effort last month -
this was on thinner drawing paper

Another sketch outing

Another sketching trip with a couple of friends to a farm cafe in the Cotswolds, complete with adjacent alpaca herd.  We had booked a table for lunch in the delightful courtyard garden and spent a pleasant few hours chatting and sketching.  

The original drawing and initial watercolour washes were done in situ, but I planned to add a bit more detail when I got home. I made a complete hash when I tried to add a background sky, then added more gouache which made it even worse!  The solution - use a strip of the same colour paper from a blank page, cut round the shapes of the umbrella and background foliage and stick it over the offending area.  Total disaster averted.

Pen, watercolour, gouache, wax pastel in
Hahnemuehle cappuccino sketchbook

Collaged postcards

Since I finished my collage journal last month I have missed the playfulness of cutting, tearing and sticking random oddments of painted papers.  I have a box of Hahnemuehle watercolour postcards which I have only used on a couple of occasions and the size of these appealed to me as a substrate for further paste and paper experiments.  I also added machine stitching for more texture and interest.

6" x 4" Hahnemeuhle watercolour postcards

Ink, acrylic, paste paper, lino print, stencilled
texture paste, gel pens and machine stitch

Ink, acrylic, gesso, lino print, foam stamps,
gel pens and machine stitch

Christmas greetings

 I'm a bit late with my online greetings this year, but here's my effort for 2020.

Soft cut block (approx. 4.5" x 4"

Hahnemuhle bamboo paper background painted with fluid acrylics, plus
shimmering blue acrylic, overprinted using white gesso.
Additional details in gold, silver and blue gel pens.
Paper bow and fabric ribbon.

The printed baubles were cut out and glued to A6 cards.

I had thought I wouldn't be sending out as many cards this year, but I ran out of my handprinted version so used my design drawing to print extras on the computer, again adding metallic gel pens for a bit of sparkle.

INKTOBER 31st - Finished!

I managed to get my last page finished just before the stroke of midnight!

I much prefer the first side which is more cohesive. The background of the second side proved to be too busy and distracting, although it did make me experiment more with the ink based products in an effort to clarify the sketches.

The last page and title page (Uniball Eye pen plus gold gel pen)

The complete second side

The first side

The folded book giving me 32 sides measuring 4" x 6"

World Book Night postcard project

Earlier this year I sent off my postcard entry for the World Book Night postcard project organised by the Book Arts Centre at the University of the West of England.

 

All the entries can be viewed here.

My entry was a copy of a drawing done on a sketch outing

Last week I received this package of goodies together with one of the postcards sent in by another participant.

Sketches on black paper continued

Three more sketches in the Hahnemuehle black book.  I had intended to complete the clematis in just the Caran d'Ache Neopastel, but my sketch was a bit small for their broad textured marks.  I attempted to blend the colours in the top two petals with a Colour Shaper, but preferred the rougher application on the rest of the image.  However, it needed something to add more definition so I resorted to overlays of watercolour tinted gouache - I like the resist effect over the waxy pastels.

I like to keep a white gel pen in my sketching kit, but cannot find a make that doesn't let me down after a few uses.  A while ago I picked up a set of three "marbled", multi-colour gel pens - the colours are very muted and they look more like silver on the black paper, but they've certainly been more reliable than the white.  Unfortunately, they are no substitute for an opaque white when adding highlights to a pen and wash sketch on white or light-toned paper.

Different media on black paper

Another page in the Hahnemuhle Black Book.

The small knapweed sketch made with metallic gel pens certainly stands out on the black background.  Colour choices are limited, but I did add a bit of coloured pencil for the brown base of the flower.

I was going to use watercolour crayons for the cape primrose, but they weren't opaque enough against the dark background, so I reverted to gouache plus some watercolour to get the colours needed.

I have only a small selection of pastels and pastel pencils and must admit don't use them often as I can't get to grips with their fragility as a sketching medium. However I do admire the work of artists who use them well, particularly if not over-blended.  In the rose image, I also used Derwent Drawing pencils which are a soft, wax-based product, available in very muted colours.  To me they feel very similar to pastels.  I did use a fixative on this sketch which appeared to dull the colours slightly.

Sketches on black paper continued

I picked the mallow (on the left) whilst out on my daily walk.  I started with gouache for this study and was finding it difficult to get a dense coverage and, as I only have a limited range of colours, I finished by mixing my watercolours with white gouache.

For the white passion flower I used a base of diluted gesso, with gouache, coloured pencil and watercolour for the leaves and flower details.

Explorations on black paper

I have set myself the task of doing a series of studies in the Hahnemuhle Black Book, trying to find the best mediums to use.  I particularly like to lino print on black, using white or a light tinted gesso which can then be enhanced with watercolour, acrylic inks or coloured pencil and there are several examples of this in my Artists Books gallery.  However, I wanted to explore further.

These two were mainly coloured pencil with touches of
acrylic line painters for the stamens

I liked using coloured pencils on the black, but it was quite difficult to get even the pale colours to stand out, despite using several layers.

This is a gesso lino print with coloured pencil

Here, the coloured pencil on the black areas seems to stand out more, and subtle variations of tints can be achieved by lightly applying the pencils over the gesso areas.

Flower studies

No virtual venue set for this month's local Urban Sketch group, but I promised myself I would set aside some time to draw.  A sunny day and lots of colour in the garden, so flowers it was.

Hahnemeuhle cappucino sketch book -
pen, watercolour, gouache and a touch of wax pastel

Virtual Sketch Crawl - Rome

It was suggested our Urban Sketchers group might like to participate in a virtual sketch crawl using Google Street View of Rome.  I must admit I got a a bit lost trying to find a view I liked -  so opted for a photo from a travel company's site.  At least it prompted me to put aside some time for my art today.

Pen, watercolour and gouache in the Hahnemuhle cappuccino sketchbook

Urban Sketching - April 2020

Despite finally seeing some nice Spring weather, we cannot wander far from home for our Urban Sketch meeting this month.  Some of us are finding views from our windows, others finding inspiration on the internet.  At least I can get out and enjoy the garden.

Pen, watercolour, gouache and oil pastel in the Cappuccino Hahnemeuhle sketchbook

Inktober 10th and 11th

I enjoyed reproducing the graffiti - this was just part of a much larger artwork I photographed while out on my morning bike ride.

Fine liner and gel pens

Inktober 7th - 9th

Another page in my Cappuccino sketchbook.

Inktober 1st - 4th

A tentative start to Inktober.  At least it has encouraged me to get out my sketchbook on a more regular basis.

A5 Hahnemuhle Cappuccino sketchbook