Hydrangea in winter

My old sweet cat.

Some sketches of Mop, my old cat who died four weeks ago.
I keep finding these small sketches of her everywhere.
( Mop in Dutch = cookie, sweetie.)

Sketching is something I want to do more, it's such a wonderful memory of the precious things in my life. Not the big special moments but the everyday stuff you take for granted.

They are not just  pictures of something I love but it brings back the exact moment I made these sketches.

Goodbye Mop.

What's the point...

So what is the point of pretty pages and pretty images?
What is the point of painting some flowers?
What is the point of painting a cute face?

I am looking for meaning.

I want to surprise myself.
I want to let my unconscious self speak.
I want to create something meaningful.

Simpel and decorative

Simple, quick background - watercolor, acrylic ink, marker, stencil, paint stained tissuepaper- , cut into small pieces, reposition pieces (or not)  and put in nice frame....

In my art journal this week

Instead of "copying" something, such as a portrait or still life or landscape I wanted to surprise myself and create something new. I used a drawing technique I learned from Milliande. She calls it a free  form investigation sketch.

Here is an example:
















It's fun . When I start I don't know what it is I am painting. I love the fact that slowly something comes to life.
This week my doodles became a moondance, a composer and a statue. The statue isn't finished but I wanted to show it anyway.

I really want to learn to tell a story,  not just copy something. I want to find my own style and meaning. This is my favorite technique to learn just that.

Learning to draw

Bunny Painting Demo by Carla Sonheim.

More tutorials and drawing assignments by Carla Sonheim : http://www.carlasonheim.com/tutorials/

Non-dominant hand drawings

Using my left hand I made some portraits.
I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the style of my left hand drawings  and the simplicity. Most of all it was fun to do. I wasn't as critical of myself as I usually am.

I used my left hand to sketch the faces than used my right hand to color. The images came from magazines.

It's a great way to silence my perfectionism.

My favorite portrait is the second drawing. The girl with the red hair and braids.
The first red head girl I framed and it she is now looking at me from the wall behind my desk. She reminds me with her uneven eyes that it's OK to make mistakes...  She's still beautiful.

Review Art Journal Freedom - Dina Wakley

Blogging has been on hold for a while because of my thyroid condition. Fortunately the doctor fixed my medication and I am starting to feel better.

While I was ill and feeling sorry for myself I ordered some books to make me feel better.
The first was Art Journal Freedom by Dina Wakley.

Here is my first review:

I loved this book.

I wanted to learn about how to use color and composition in my journal pages, and this book teaches just that.

 It explains color and composition principles well with many examples of pages.

 I usually find descriptions of tools and materials boring and  skip that bit, but this book did have some practical advice and the chapter was well written.

The challenges are inspiring, you can practise the rules and practise breaking them.

There are new techniques to try.

All this could make a book chaotic and messy, but not this one.
It has a clear structure and index (and even a little metric conversion chart).

Would I recommend this? Yes, and you don't even have to like her style of art journaling to learn from this book.

The only thing I did  not like about this book was the "sign up for the newsletter/ visit our website" at the bottom of every page.
I am fine with promotion but when it's too much and too loud it becomes annoying.
So I did not sign up and did not visit the website. So there.

In my art journal this week

Today I spent a quiet afternoon sketching. This week I have been reading The Artist's Journal by  Cathy Johnson.
So this week I felt like sketching! I made these sketches using my non-dominent hand.
I like the way my sketches have become more "loose", less precise.

Strathmore workshop

Every year Strathmore organizes free workshops.

The first started last week. It's called Abstract Fine Art Painting with Mixed Media.
The instructor is Robert Joyner.  You can still sign up!

Today I watched the second video and spent the rest of the afternoon painting. It's a very loose style that I am not used to. I tend to be detailed...
I have had fun trying this out.

Links: Strathmore workshops
           Robert Joyner (check out the videos...!)

In my art journal

                                                                   Show me the way

Embarrassed

                                                                  Daydreaming
                                                                   

Sometimes I feel embarrassed when I look at something I made.
It looks so simple and yet I like it.
I feel as if someone is about to tell me: 'Is that all? You really think that is good enough?'

Art journal every day

Yesterday I created this postcard. It's a size I haven't used for a while. I used left over bits of paper because I really needed to clean out the tray on my desk! Last week I cleaned and reorganized the rest of my desk. It looked wonderful - until I sat down and started working......

I sent the postcard to Jane Davies. She is trying to increase the volume of mail that comes through her little post office in Vermont, now the postal service will review their activity.
Here you can read more: http://janedavies-collagejourneys.blogspot.nl/2013/01/the-post-office.html


The post office in my hometown was closed years ago, I still miss it...

Spotted Photo Theme

I have joined iHanna's spotted photo theme.

This month's theme: A favorite critter friend.

I like the idea of looking through photo's I already have and look for themes. These are some of my favorite garden visitors:

Taken with my little old Canon Powershot.
For more of my pictures see my photo's tab above.