I Can't Art Without.... Charcoal Pencils

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I have a plethora of art supplies. It's why I consider myself a mixed media artist. Art supplies are my potato chips, I can't have just one. I am trying to make art every day, even if it's just 5 minutes and I decided to focus on one art supply for at least a week. This way I really get a feel for them.

Currently I am loving charcoal pencils. They create dark lines and quick shading even for cute characters. I like how they glide slowly on the page. It forces me to be conscious of the shape of my line. When I start drawing I do a basic head shape, then I let that shape tell me what it wants to be. I know, it sounds weird but the shape either feels like a "person" shape or a "critter" shape.

The sketches below only took about 5 minutes to draw. The shading helps make the image look more finished than it actually is.

This elongated head felt like a more grown up girl.

This head shape could've been a young child but, once I did the eyes, a bunny emerged.

This circle had a tilt to it so, it became a sleepy girl.

This image of the sleepy girl is my favorite. So, I tried to figure out how to use this sketch in other artwork. Perhaps with collage or paint.

I traced my original sketch onto a coffee filter, sprayed it with fixative and glued it onto an art journal page. She still has the smudgy line quality I want but I'm not sure about the coloring I did.

The above piece I did on an ATC watercolor card. I sealed it then tinted it with my Inktense pencils. I like her better. It feels like a tinted black and white photo. I will master this and find a style that works. I like the simplicity of it.

There is an advantage to having multiple art supplies on hand. When I'm stuck I pull out a different supply and my head immediately switches to play mode. It almost always pulls me out of a creative rut. See, hoarding art supplies is psychologically beneficial to creative people. That may explain my husband's vast supply of musical instruments. I guess I won't give him a hard time about owning 5 guitars anymore.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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I Can't Art Without......

Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils

I love these pencils!

When I sketch in my sketchbook the paper is too thin for watercolors. It buckles when I use them and I hate buckling. I've tried adding color with colored pencils and they're ok, I just don't like how they blend. But these pastel pencils are the perfect solution! I color in my sketch. I use a blending stump to blend the colors and shade. Then I spray my page with hairspray to set the pastel and prevent smearing.

Here are some sketches that I wanted to add color too in my sketchbook.

Playing with them in my sketchbook made me comfortable enough to try out pastel board. I used the pastel pencils, pan pastels and colored pencils for this. I love how he came out!

If you love blending colors, these pencils are a great choice, even on smooth drawing paper. I got a small set at Michaels Craft Store (with a coupon) and you can find the larger set online.

Thanks for stopping by!

I Can't "Art" Without.... E-Courses

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I'm a huge fan of E-courses. I discovered them last year and am addicted (they say the first step is to admit you have a problem). For those who don't know what an e-course is, it's basically an online class. The artist creates a platform to teach you her painting style as if you were there in person with her. The ones I like have HD video instruction, extended access (usually 6 to 12 months) and sometimes the instructors let you download the videos for you to keep or give you PDF's to keep. They all have a place to post your work and exchange feedback with your fellow students. I've taken a lot of courses. Some were awesome and some didn't really do it for me. All of them gave me a place to start. I was a decorative painter years ago but stopped painting when we moved and had two babies back to back. I knew I wanted to create again. I knew I loved mixed media. But I didn't know where to begin...until I found e-courses.

Below I'm going to share with you my all-time favorites from my e-course explorations. These classes gave me so much information and so many tools. They opened my creative mind and got my mojo going.

Jane Davenport's Supplies Me

Jane Davenport is an admitted art supply addict. In this course she reviews dozens of art supplies. In addition to her wonderful reviews she shows you how to draw a pretty face and the basic body. I almost didn't sign up for this course because I had little interest in drawing people. (I didn't think I could). But I had a plethora of art supplies so, I went for it. I fell in love with drawing faces! It takes practice and I'm still not great on the body but Jane makes drawing so much fun. This is an incredibly informative course. You need to take notes because you won't remember everything she tells you. The only downside is you'll want to buy more supplies.

I made the face below with the skills I learned in Jane's course.

Juliette Crane's How to Paint a Girl and How to Create Whimsical Animals

I am a huge fan of Juliette Crane's e-courses. These are my two favorites. I like How to Paint a Girl because Juliette shows you three different whimsical girl styles. She starts with backgrounds then focuses a week on each of the three girls. How to Create Whimsical Animals is the only 6 week course I've found just on creating different animals. Juliette takes you from sketchbook to canvas. I love her sketchbook exercises. They really help you get in touch with your inner child and just have fun.

Below are the favorite paintings I made from Juliette's courses.

Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story

I admit this is probably my number one favorite course. I was on the fence about taking this one because Mindy Lacefield's style was so different from how I painted. It was really taking me outside my comfort zone. I loved her use of color though. I loved the layers. Something inside me was saying "you must take this course". So, I signed up and it was amazing! Mindy broke down her process into simple steps that built on each other but my own style came through. It really freed me as an artist.

These are a couple of my favorite creations from this course.

 

If you have never taken a course it can be difficult to figure out what to take. There are a lot out there. I suggest checking out the artists you admire first and see if they offer an e-course. Another resource is Creative Clearinghouse.com. They have a large selection of courses for you to peruse and some have reviews. I found the above courses through blog hopping. One artist supporting another would talk about this new e-course on their blog and I would "hop" on over to get the details. Creative Clearinghouse.com didn't exist when I started taking them.


In the new year I'm going to be changing my focus a bit and diving into the world of sketchbooks and art journals. I have loved taking e-courses. They have given me so much information and really helped me improve my skills. Now I need to put all I've learned to work and create/find my own style. The ladies above offer other courses as well. Just go to their websites to check them out.

One last e-course I'd like to mention is Life Book 2013. There will be 16 instructors all with different styles and techniques. I took Life Book 2012 and enjoyed it but I found a lot of the artists had similar styles. Not so for next year's installment. The line up is amazing! Life Book 2013 is an excellent choice if you've never taken a course or have taken a ton of courses. The format is year long with new things to learn every month! I will likely be taking it. (No surprise there!)

 

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I Can't "Art" Without....

As promised here is the first installment of my new series discussing my favorite art tools.

I Can't "Art" Without....the black Stabilo Pencil

This pencil works on paper, glass, plastic and metal. It is also water soluble. When I use it on white paper and add water with a brush, I love how the lines come to life. It reminds me of old black and white cartoons of the 1930's.

 

The only issue with the pencil is it isn't permanent when dry. If it gets wet again it'll smear. When I use it on artwork I bring the black line to life with liquid matte medium on my brush instead of water. This gives me the look I like and makes the line permanent.

I did an experiment comparing my Stablio method with black Intense Pencils (a post about them later). Inktense are like watercolor pencils but they are permanent when dry.

 

I like the look of the Stabilo better.

I've also used it in my art work as well. The Stabilo gives me the bold line and shading as well.

I was introduced to the Stabilo from Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story (aka- Best e-course ever!). She uses it to draw in wet paint. A lot of other artists use it too! It's not an expensive tool so, pick one up and play! Check out the links below.

Stabilo

Mindy Lacefield

Paint Your Story

 

 

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A New Series Coming.....

I've decided to start a new series on my blog called I Can't "Art" Without.... Yes, I made "art" a verb. In this series I will feature my favorite art supplies or any other item I use to make art. Here is a sneak peek of some of the things I will feature.

 

 

I love seeing how people do their art and what they use. Now that I'm finding my groove I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite things. Tune in next week to see one of my favorite art supplies!

 

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