Maplewood Farm

This lovely cow stayed relatively still while I sketched her. The sheep on the other hand……not so much. I rediscovered how an iffy sketch can come to life with a dab or two of watercolour. I had fun at Maplewood farm, watching tiny children frolic and speak to their tiny animal kindred spirits. "Baa, maaa, mooo. Spring at the farm is a study in babies of all species. 

Coffee Morning and a Rogue Parsnip

View from Waves

Here is the view from Waves as we sit and relax on a Saturday morning. I'm not a big fan of hanging around in coffee shops, mostly because I don't drink coffee and have other things I'd rather be doing than reading the newspaper. But illustrated journaling is the perfect thing for coffee shops, especially when the weather is still a bit cool for outdoor sketching. (I am a ninny!) It is nice to get a seat near the window.

Catching a Glimpse: The Power of Shapes, Lights and Darks

Traffic Cop in Shanghai

Let's be honest. This is a pretty terrible painting. But that is not the point. The process of learning to paint is about trying things, perfecting those things and then pushing past the comfort of a "good" painting towards the next challenge. I'm no great artists, but I have been getting much better at pen drawings and watercolour washes. I call it illustrated journaling. 

But then I see the work of artists like Joseph Zbukvic, Herman Pekel and particularly Alvaro Castagnet and I wonder how the heck they paint like they do. I came across their absolutely crazy YouTube video, with all three of these guys painting on a huge piece of paper at the same time. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_udWJtZ-yY#t=19) Seeing that made me want to try their fast and loose style for myself. More honesty. These guys are brilliant and have really paid their dues. They have mastered their chops and can paint like the devil. That said, I thought I'd have a go.

In spite of the shortcomings, I got really excited about the car and the traffic cop in my painting. I caught a glimpse of how to capture the essence of shapes without trying to actually paint the details. And I can see the punch of leaving white spaces. So back to the painting desk for more experiments.

Cookies and Multitasking

Chocolate Chip Cookie

I've been taking an online course called Sketchbook Skool. Every week for six weeks, a different teacher posts lessons, videos and inspiration about the daily practice of keeping an illustrated journal. I've been following Danny Gregory's blog and books for a few years, so when he offered this course with Koosje Koene, I was super keen. We are three weeks into the class and it has been inspirational and motivating, as promised. I've been making an effort not to follow the posts and comments of the other students too closely though because I could spend my entire time perusing the musings of the 1400 other students. Yikes.

So in the spirit of spontaneous and quick sketches, I painted this cookie on the cooling rack. I was also cooking dinner at the time. The painting turned out well. The dinner……..was rather too well done =:O

Fake Journalling and Mentors

Hidden Alley Off Dong Tai Lu, Shanghai

Roz Stendall is a fabulous artist whose blog I have been following for a while. (http://rozwoundup.typepad.com) The two words I would use to describe her are zany and prolific. Every April, she launches her International Fake Journal Month (IFJM) project. It is basically an excuse to step outside of yourself, possibly take on a different persona and try things in your journal that you might not otherwise do. Here is a link if you are curious. (http://www.createmixedmedia.com/blogs/the-creative-life/everything-you-need-to-know-for-international-fake-journal-month)

 I have had an expensive, large format journal that I have been waffling over and basically not using. I have also been pouring over the work of my favourite German illustrator, Felix Scheinberger (http://www.felixscheinberger.de) and marvelling at his evocative and fluid watercolour and pen sketches. So in the spirit of International Fake Journal Month, I have created a persona for myself in the form of Werner, the German Illustrator. I am using a really big format and trying to work fast and messy. Another great aspect of Felix's work is that he does not paint every part of a drawing, often just using colour where he wants to draw the viewers attention. He is great at using dark paint to create depth and letting wild colours flow in other parts of the drawing. Finally, Werner never writes or journals on his paintings. This is because, I am trying to be true to this year's theme for IFJM, which is "No Explanation". Ironically, this whole blog entry breaks that "rule" but, heck, it is Werner's journal. I don't think he even knows about Roz. This is all getting a bit too contorted. Time to go and paint…. right Werner?

Snagglepuss of Wires and Lone Tree, Shanghai

Trying New Things - China

Watercolour and coloured pencil from a photo I took.

It felt a bit goofy pulling out my iPad for a photo of this tiny shop. But I could not resist the bright colours of the brooms and mops set against the dark background so I snapped a quick shot.  Back at the hotel, as I was struggling to get the detail I wanted in watercolour, something struck me. I went to the tiny, local stationery shop and bought some coloured pencils. I have been a bit of a watercolour and pen purist. (Can there be such a thing?) But I have to admit, adding coloured pencil to a small detailed drawing was a lot of fun. Thank you Tommy Kane. 

Having Gumption - China

Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou China

Before going to China, my big goal was to have the gumption to draw and paint in situ and not be self conscious about people looking on. I know my sketchbook is for myself, but there is nothing like an audience to make you feel like you have to produce something wonderful. To date, people who have stopped to look have been nothing but enthusiastic and encouraging. Even so, I'm still working on getting over my impostor syndrome. 

What I discovered on my recent trip to China, is that finding a quiet place (with my back to a wall) is very conducive to being able to relax enough to draw and paint. This building roof line was done in The Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. The garden was heaving with visitors but I found a quiet dead end. Granted there are a few problems with depth and perspective but this quick watercolour sketch reminds me of the day and captures the feeling of being there. 

Door Handle Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai.

This was an interesting combination of starting in situ and finishing from a photo back at the hotel. Usually I'm loath to go back to a painting. Often when I continue to mess around, I lose the freshness. But in this case, adding some shadow to the door handle as well as  painting in the rough and peeling door details improved it.

Here is the back story. As I stood in a tiny courtyard staring at and starting to paint this door handle, two of the clerks from the garden souvenir shop came out to chat with me. We had a lovely conversation  about how they had learned to speak English from tourists. And after seeing a quick sketch I'd done of a bench detail, they told me about the bat symbols in the garden. It was a connection that I would not have made if I hadn't had my sketchbook out. I like this door handle painting but I enjoyed the conversation even more.