30-in-30 Challenge - First Day!

Okay folks, this is the first day of the 30-in-30 challenge! For those of you who are reading about this for the first time, the month of September is a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. In this case, however, I am including clay creations as well, that is small ones that can be done in a day; like jewelry, small statues, etc. Afterall, that IS art is it not? For the rules, please refer to this article explaining everything.

So, one of the suggestions I made to everyone was to come up with a theme for the month, which can make creating so many pieces of art in such a short time a little bit easier.  My theme is something different for me: hand lettering.  I started doing this (not knowing it was a thing called "hand lettering" at the time) last Christmas when I came up with the idea of creating miniature canvases to be used as gift tags with peoples names on them.  The idea went over well with the recipients so I've decided to do it again this year.  For this month, however, since I work so much outside of my home, I am making it a bit easier on myself by doing some "hand lettering", i.e. fancy letters often times accompanied with a picture or illustration. So, some days will just be a letter, some days a whole word or name, and maybe some days something else entirely. So yes, I am winging it.

 Last year I focused more on the background and just wrote the letters out as stylistically as I could. This time I have done some research on hand lettering and have practiced a wee bit ahead of time.  Hopefully it will all turn out all right in the end. This way of doing fancy letters is totally new to me, so let's just see where it leads me.

Posted at the beginning of this article is my first miniature canvas for the month. As you can see, I am not going in order of the alphabet. Again, winging it. I may not even do all of the alphabet, who knows? This was made on a 3"x3" miniature canvas with an acrylic background and Pigma Micron archival ink. I added quite a bit of glitter to the acrylic paint so it was rough going to use the pen over it to make the letter and dots. Lots of fun to make, simple and fairly quick.

I hope you enjoy this month of art, but I hope even more that some of you will join in with me!

And be sure to check out Leslie's 30-in-30 blog, which is the group I have joined in this challenge. So I will be posting my work here, and I invite any else who wants to join in to post theirs here as well. I will also be posting my painting each day over on Leslie's blog as well, and I will try to remember to include my facebook art page too.

Please enjoy and feel free to add your comments. After this month is over, I hope to go back to adding more drawing lessons to this page as I had been doing in the past. So be sure to come back in October to check them out!

As always .........

~ Happy Arting!

Join Me in the 30-In-30 Day Challenge, Sept. 1, 2017!!!

All right, here is the official announcement of the 30-in-30 Challenge starting on Sept. 1, 2017!  I am joining Leslie Saeta in her challenge and I hope to bring as many of you guys with me as possible! Leslie is co-host of Artist's Helping Artists Art blog talk radio show; a terrific art show where you will learn a ton of things concerning art! 

Please register, read the instructions and make sure you plant your flag on the map, then be ready to start posting your artwork on Sept. 1st.  For those of you who decide to join me, please leave me a message here and then be sure to post or at the least tag me in all your posts so I don't miss them and I can comment and share them.

I am adding to the instructions that you can also create a drawing as well as small pieces of clay as long as a complete piece you create in one day.  Please don't post previously made artwork. This is a challenge for us to create right here and now everyday for 30 days.

So let's have fun together in this 30-day adventure! Go to the link here to Leslie's 30-in-30 blog.   Ignore the fact that it says January 2017. I don't know why it is saying that. Just click on the link and it will take you to the blog for the newest challenge, Sept. 1, 2017.



~ And as always, HAPPY ARTING!!

Oil Rub Experiment with Colored Pencils

This past week I heard about an illustrator who uses oil rubs for her backgrounds for some of her illustrations. It sounded like an interesting idea and I thought I would give it a try. So, this weekend I did an oil rub on three 6" x 6" canvas panels with three different colors, waited for them to dry, then drew an outline on two of them and started working on one. I was determined to complete one of them this weekend, and complete it I did.

So, what is an oil rub? It is oil pigment rubbed into your support until it doesn't wipe off anymore, so it ends up being a light layer of oil pigment on the support. For the painting I completed, I started off with Winsor & Newton's Artist's Oil Colors Olive Green, but I really did not like the way it looked. I went over it with Lukas Studio Earth Green and left it at that.

Oil Rubbed Canvas Panels

So, I decided to work on the green canvas, and I drew a very simple picture (an unusual one for me) and went to work. I used Prismacolor colored pencils for their buttery soft, waxy quality, plus a Luminance white pencil.  Polychromos pencils are far too hard to be used on a canvas panel.  Because of the very rough texture I could only get so much detail. All of you know I love details, but I also know it is impossible on canvas with colored pencils. I will be trying this experiment on paper as well.  I used bristle and stencil brushes to blend, with sizes varying from very tiny to a 6 flat.

This is where I ran into trouble. I had started working on the little designs with the shoe before painting the shoe itself. That was a mistake because when I blended, colors ran together and I ended up with an odd color on the shoe. You can't erase colored pencils on canvas panel, so I took my exacto knife and scraped the pigment off. The part of the shoe with faint color on it is where I scraped the color off, then started again doing it in the correct order and being more careful.
 

This is where I ended today. The only thing missing is the final shading on the front shoe and the little gold spots within the black marks, also on the front shoe.  

All in all, working on canvas panel with colored pencils is difficult and a bit loose for me. I have worked on plain canvas with ink washes, sizing it myself, and using colored pencils on top of the ink and that was fun! But I'm not entirely keen on working on canvas panel again with pencils.  The oil rub was interesting though. Can't wait to try it on paper as well and see if I can get as good a result as the illustrator I mentioned. 

Happy Arting Everyone!!

Photo credit: Janet Herman, Photos for Artists, Facebook

Podcast I heard the illustrator  talking about the oil rub: "Colored Pencil Podcast;" new shows post every Monday. You can check it out at SharpenedArtist.com. 

My Journey to Using Pastelbord With Colored Pencils

Jessica  -  8"x 10"

It occurred to me recently that I don't think I have ever explained why I love Pastelbord and why it is my favorite surface. SO I thought  I'd take the time to talk about it now and show ya'll the paintings I've done on Pastelbord.

It all started when I lived in Shiloh, North Carolina out by the outer banks. It is very hot and humid out there and we did not have air conditioning. Yes, I did say NO AC! It was my husband's house of 30 or so years and we moved into it our second year of marriage, after my son graduated high school. I initially worked on paper, mostly Colourfix paper by Art Spectrum (which, by the way, is STILL a favorite of mine!). In the winter it wasn't so bad working on paper, but once winter was over, I discovered I couldn't do it. Heat and humidity do terrible things to paper, and I certainly couldn't sell any of the artwork done on paper in that humidity. I had to come up with a new plan.

I did some work on wood. One was a squirrel that by brother claimed right after I finished it and he still has it displayed in his living room. I don't have any pictures of it, but maybe I can go by his house and take a quick photo to show you.Working on wood takes a certain technique, and while I like the look of it, it wasn't how I wanted to do most of my work. So I searched for more options.

Pinky & Rosie  -  6" x 12"

Illustration board wouldn't work because ultimately it is still paper and thus would still get ruined. I tried canvas board and although one painting I did on that surface sold quickly, it was not the surface I wanted to do the bulk of my work on.

Equine Bling - 8"x10"

THEN, I found Pastelbord! I don't remember how I came up with the idea, but I had bought a 5" x 7" board to try my pastels on and since I like to use pastel surfaces for my pencils, I decided to give it a try. I immediately fell in love with it.  I still had to experiment to come up with a technique for this new surface, and find it I did.




I was looking for a way to blend my layers of pigment that would give me that smooth painted look I loved, and one day I just grabbed a bristle stencil brush and started brushing my pencil pigment. It worked perfectly! From then on, my technique was to lay down several layers of pigment (minimum of four) then blend with a bristle brush until all the colors blended together. Then I'd lay down more pigment, then blend, etc., until I got the look I wanted for that painting. It's really much like

Golden Retriever - 5"x7"

the way I work on Art Spectrum's Colourfix paper. When I'd finish a painting I would spray it with several layers of varnish and it truly looked just like it was done in acrylics or oils. Everyone who ever saw these paintings were shocked to find out they were done in colored pencils, and Prismacolors are the perfect buttery smooth, wax based, pigment rich colored pencils to use on it too!


Now I had found a surface that was literally impermeable to heat and humidity! I could work on it year round if I wanted to and did not have to worry about it getting ruined. When I needed to stock up on pastelbords, I usually did so in November when Jerry's Artarama had their yearly trade show in Raleigh, NC. I would call Ampersand and tell them what sizes and colors of pastelbord I wanted to purchase at the show and they would pack them up and bring them to the show for me. I did this because I liked to get the off sizes that many stores, Jerry's included, did not typically carry. Sizes like 6" x 12" and 14" x 18". Ampersand is a great company by the way! Texas based, fantastic products, and super customer service! I highly recommend them.

Study In White  - 5" x 7"

So, that is my story of how I came to use Pastelbord for my colored pencils  artwork and how it came to be my favorite surface to work on. If you have any questions I would be most happy to answer them.




Until next time, Happy Arting!! 




 

 

Elegance  -  8" x 10"

   
NOTE: All paintings seen on this article were done on Pastelbord.

The 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge in September

I have a new challenge for y'all. On September 1st I will be taking part in a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge with Leslie Saeter and her blog followers. Leslie is a blog talk radio show host for  "Artists Helping Artists." Leslie is from Artist's Helping Artist's blog talk radio show. You should go check it out. It's a great show and I have found it to be very inspiring and helpful as an artist. I would like to invite all of you artists out there to join me in this challenge and we can do it together, supporting each other each day. There is a great deal that we all will learn from this challenge, and you won't be sorry for taking part in it.


For those of you who would like to take part in it but are concerned about the time involved, let me relieve you of those worries and explain it it a bit more. The 30-in-30 Challenge is where you paint/draw a picture everyday and post it online. The main purpose is to get the artist in their studio/work table and get them creating everyday. Here are a few guidelines to follow:

First, you can do some of your work ahead of time to help you out with your time crunch. If you work full-time like I do, that is a serious issue. I am planing and designing my pictures ahead of time. It saves a ton of time.

Second, you don't have to post something everyday. The purpose of the challenge is to try to get you into your studio and creating everyday. It's not meant to consume your day. It's perfectly understandable if you miss some days. At least you are trying and doing as much as you can. Life gets in the way sometimes.

Third, best thing to do is work small. Helps with the time factor and can help you not feel so anxious about doing your art. Small is good. I plan on working in miniature size, 2" x 2" and 3" x 3", but 5" x 7" is great as well. Maybe 8" x 10" works better for you. Just pick a size that is easy and quick for you to do.

Fourth, you might want to pick a theme. It usually helps you to plan and design more quickly. Also, pick a theme that excites you. One that you love. This could also be a time to try something fairly new, to allow you to experiment with technique, size, and color without worrying about every little detail or worry that it won't turn out all right.

So, if you decide to join me, and I hope you do, just reply to this post telling me you want to take part. Then be sure to post your painting/drawing, whatever you have decided to do, on your blog or facebook page and if you could, tag me please or at the least drop me a message with a link letting me know so I don't miss any of your pictures!

So, please join me! It will be a fun time creating your art and supporting others in their challenges as well!. You have 30 days to plan and to purchase any supplies you may need. I will post more information and ideas in the days to come.


 Leslie Saeter Blog

 Artists Helping Artists



And as always..... HAPPY ARTING!!!