Sketchbook Pages - Oil Pastels

In my last sketchbook post I said that I was going to carry on and start using my old oil pastels that I have had since I was about 16.

Many are now broken but the colours are still as bright as ever.

Even the original box ix still hanging in there!

I went back to my rose drawing and this time I added lines of cream, pink and dark red and then using a cotton wool bud I smudge it all together a certain direction to show the curve of the petals.

I then became a little bold and decided to go straight in with a page using all of the flowers and oil pastels on their own!!  I started in the middle and worked my way out.

I do like the texture that can be achieved using the oil pastels.

I really do like completing pages and over the past few months I have gotten myself into the habit of trying to do just that.
I can see a few more cards in the pipeline.  With the oil pastel pages I think that I shall print off these pictures and mount them on to card.

This turned out to be contrast pages.
On the left as you look at the pages the roses are in oil pastels, the leaves are in watercolours with pen to highlight details.  The other page shows pen, paint and soft pastels.
A complete change in direction then comes by swapping to charcoal.

Charcoal has its place and I do not dislike this page but sorry.....the pastels have the vote.
I think that I shall use the pastels on some more pages.  The bright colours also remind me of the summer that we all hope will appear soon!!
Have a good week.
xx
PS. I have found two City & Guilds Sketchbook distant learning courses and I am tempted to use the money I will earn exam marking to sign up for it.   What do you think?...........

Sketch Book Sunday

In February I signed up for an on line Sketch Book course with Alisa Burke.  I have been working slowly through the lessons over the past few weeks/months.  I am finding to a good way to relax in the evening too.

I have also been putting my Polaroid Pogo printer to good use too.

This is the cover of my sketchbook it features a dried poppy seed head from my Sister in Laws garden plus a sketch of a shell.  There are reasons for these pictures.

Alisa Burke is having a reduction week for her on line course if you want to pop over and take a look, but be quick.

Getting to grips with pens and pencils with notes.

Moving onto to shading and light with a range of media.

Introducing colour.  I like using water colours and water colour pencils a lot.  Started using them when studying for my Fashion Degree and loved using them ever since.  They are a bit of an investment but they last a long time.  You can also buy them individually if a colour runs out.  I have still got my original tin bought in 1991 and added a few colours along the way.

Then a big sketch using the skills covered so far.  I am using an A5 sketchbook for portability but also I also have a chance of actually finishing pages.  i have signed up for the follow up course and I think I shall get a bigger sketchbook for that.

I decided to add some pictures of the item I was using to add another dimension.  It does not call for that in the classes but I wanted to be able to use them anywhere without having to carry a dried poppy seed in my handbag!

A change of media and on the left I used some of Sophie's wax crayons.  The picture on the right is Derwent  soft colouring pencils and some of these I have had since doing O'level Art and Design at 6th Form!

They are lovely to use and some are very small to hold so I may treat myself to a new set at some point.

Looking at patterns in everyday things meant more fun with my Polaroid Pogo!

Bold shapes and colour.

Doodling and shapes with colour to add depth.  I love doodling and letting my brain empty itself of the days

This is one of my favourite pages.  Bold lines and working quite quickly without being too precious resulted in something much better than I was expecting!  One of my favourite pages.

Moved onto lines, shapes and tone.
I am now working on a full page which I will show you when it is done. I thin that is enough sketchbook goodness for now.
I have really enjoyed this and wish that I had more time to work on it, but I am getting there..........gradually.
xx

Sketchbook Sunday - On a Monday.

Been a bit hectic this weekend so a day late with this.  I have been working on my Venetian Mask and I thought some more pages from my sketchbook might be good.  I am really pleased with the way these pages turned out.

Plenty of paint and texture.

Bits of old lace has played a bit feature on my mask.

A final idea plan with two possible outcomes.

A pages of technique ideas with notes and different media.

The mask has a few layers of PVA and kitchen roll which was an idea that I saw on a children's art programme and it works really well.

Plus some thick watercolours using quite a large brush.  pushing the colour in between the lace detail.

A layer of darker blue paint to add some depth of colour.

Details added based on final design which was influenced by original research.

This is as far as I got today and I need to finish it for the next lesson as I try to be one or two steps ahead.

What do yo think so far.?

 I am really pleased with it.  The colour is not picked up right in the picture here, it is much more of a bluey greeny sort of colour.  I tried taking the picture indoors and out and this was the best I got.

I shall be back with the finished item later in the week all going well.

I also went to an embroiderers Guild workshop on Saturday so I am sorting that out foe a post as well.

It is all busy, busy,busy.

xx

Eden Project Sketchbook Visit

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Eden Project to renew our locals visitors cards. Once we had done that we looked around the Biomes. I posted about the viewing platform that Sophie and Hubby were brave enough to go up, but not me!!

We also visited the education centre and it was very interesting and links well with Textiles.

There was also a very large sculpture called The Seed made from 170 tonnes of concrete which once sculpted now weighs 70 tonnes. There are photos with a step by step explanation of the design from start to finish and to too nearly 2 years to completed. How they got the shaping of each seed section is fascinating.

Sorry, blogger playing silly "bloggers" again as this picture has been turned on it side again.

There were also other pictures and mini exhibitions of seeds and these were ideal for my SEED sketchbook.
This page is a combination of two of my photos from The Seed sculpture and I simply weaved them together to gain another unusual picture. I like this technique and use it a lot.
If you are going to the Eden Project just go and see this exhibition, it really is quite incredible. Oh and make sure that you have camera with you!

I promise that this is the last post about making my SEED sketchbook but I did get to enjoy doing this and I so not think that it turned out too bad in the end, did it?
Now it is time to move on to something else.
Have a good week
xx

Sketchbook Monday (Sunday)

I usually do these sketchbook posts on a Sunday but I had a lot to do yesterday and never got that far. I have been a bit under the weather as my cold is now two weeks old and my inhaler suddenly ran out onSaturday morning. I had been to the Dr's Friday to order another but I can not pick up the prescription until today. So today has been a bit of a struggle and at one point I needed a TA to come in and help me 0therwise I may have expired right there and then. I shall pick up the new one after work so hopefully I shall be back up to speed tomorrow.

I am going to show you some of the research, photos etc that I am putting together for this project which is to run for a year. I am a member of the Cornwall Embroiderer's Guild so this is going to hopefully go into one of our future exhibitions.One thing I definately do with my sketch books is get rid of the white page by putting a colourwash over it. I usually do this just before I go to bed then it is dry for the next day. With the theme of seeds I decided to go for pale browns, creamy colours, yellows etc. I anticipate this changing as the book progresses. I then began with looking around the word SEED and started using a dictionary, looked in my books upstairs, gardening books, the school library etc and just gathered bits and bobs for most of January. I out them all in a fabric zip up wallet that I found in ASDA months ago.

Finding key words linked to SEEDS gave me the spidergram idea which I decided to do as I began to feel that I would never actually get started. I did leave the very first page blank for the time being. I added to the interest by adding a few small pictures from books and Google. Dandelions came up via this research and I remembered how much I like the feathery appearance just before the wind blows it all over the place, that I had forgotten was that they were seeds and the wind helped to scatter them!!

At last, I had found my starting point.

I then began to search for Dandelion pictures. I found some by accident on a clipart CD I had at work for a computer design software for Textiles garments! There were several Dandelion plants in the garden which had very kindly decided to grow at the right time so I kept an eye on them then got the camera out just at the right time.

I am quite pleased with this photo. It could be better but considering I do not really have the right lense for this type of picture I was lucky to get this.

I then sketched small sections of the Dandelion head and looked at it from different views. This is not finished at all but I will then stitch up little samples using the pictures and sketches as a starting point.

I have a long way to go and as I have said before my sketchbooks usually evolve via my own interests rather than a set theme, so it will be very interesting to see how this goes. I shall try and post about once a week on this, partly so that you can see what I am doing but hopefully it will help me to stick at it too.

Anyway best be off, I hope the week has started well for you so take care for now.

x

We're Back!!...Surprise in the post...

We have arrived back from our few days away and the weather was awful everyday! The holiday house that we stayed in was very cosy and everything was in walking distance so it was nice not to have to use the car all the time. My other half went off to sort out jobs etc as part of his new job role (made redundant and has decided to take the plunge and go self-employed) so Sophie and I occupied ourselves and had a look around with a very nice lady called Hillary. We even had the chance to go out for some nice meals and as a parent of a 5 year-old, it is possible to take children to restaurants and they can behave.
Went to a charity shop and found a nice pale blue leather bag for the summer for £3.50, I know I can make my own but not easily in leather, it can be a bit hard going with a domestic sewing machine.

The surprise in the post was this...

I happily won this bag as part of nannybird's blogaversary competions which have been running throughout March. I so rarely win anything that this is a major thing for me! Nan was worried that the bag was not very exciting and was concerned that I had missed out. Not at all I say, Nan has given me the go ahead to put in a lining and embellish if I wish. The fact that it has come all of those miles away and not gotten lost is a miracle in itself so I may give it the 'indigoblue' touch but I shall have a think about it first. Thanks again Nan and I look forward to your 222 competition in the near future.

I visited Inkberryblue a few weeks ago and she was looking at drawing and sketches and on other blogs questions have been asked about how the owner comes up with ideas etc. With my Btec, degree and City and Guilds background I went and had a look at my stuff. Well it is amazing how much had accumulated, but I also looked at how my ideas develop now that I do not have to satisfy a course tutor but just do it for myself.

So for April at least I am going to have "Sketchbook Sunday". I am going to feature some sections of my sketch books, where the ideas came from, why, what I did with them and the final item outcome. If anyone would like to join in email me with an attachment of a page or two and say a little about it and how it all turned out.. Feel free to add your blog or website so I am encouraging a bit of self promotiom here as well. This is purely for interests sake and not a chance to copy, also it may help those of you who have a fear of drawing or think that you can't! They can be sketchbook pages, doodles, scribbles, sqiggles, whatever. So..here goes..

Bag Competition at the local Village Fayre..1997 (I think)

Decided to use the lovely hedgerows that I needed to go down to get to the heart of the village and my house at the time, it is only the width of one car in most places. Started off with taking some photos of my fav bits. Then with pens, pencils and paints etc I picked out the parts that I liked the most especially the colours. At this point I am not sure what stitch method I am going to yse or the bag shape/size.

Due to the type of flowers that were in the hedgerow I decided to use small stitching and as embroidery may have taken too long machine embroidery came to mind. To keep with the hedgerow theme a green bag seemed the obvious route. I looked for inspiration elsewhere and played around with some smaple stitching which you can see in the photo above. I love doing this bit and can get carried away with this.

I also looked at hand stitching to embellish further and a shape for the bag started to emerge. I do like making samples and even the mistakes are kept for future reference. I think that this is were my training has shaped my approach to this sort of thing. Notes help for future reference and tells me why I did a certain thing at the time.

This photo does not really show how bright the green and the embroidery is but it is quite densely stitched which helped to give the bag some firmness. I did use one stitch pattern that was programmed in the machine because at the time I had only just got it and I was itching to use the 'fancy stitches'.

This is the final bag and I hope that you can see how my idea went from photo to bag. I made the cord and the tassels on the ends. Not very well at the time and I have improved since!

This was my first machine embroidery project and since then I have been on a couple of courses, bought a proper machine foot and hoop. But we all have to start somewhere.... Now it is your turn, any contributions I will post throughout the week. Email is in my profile. I and everyone else looks forward to what happens. Can be a past or present idea.

PS. My bag did win first prize but I can not find the certificate.