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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From My Sketchbooks

I've been practicing some girls for two e-courses I'm taking. Mixed Media from the Heart and Learning with Tascha. Here is a sampling.

 

 

The top three sketches are inspired by Danita's Mixed Media course while the bottom sketch is from Tascha's. At first, I copy the artists' work and then I will keep sketching until it becomes more of my own. I usually can't replicate someone else's work no matter how hard I try. The Tascha sketches are pretty close though.

 

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Crafting with the Kids

We made butterflies for Nana and Pop Pop's anniversary. The kids painted and I assembled.

 

 

 

 

I managed to convince the kids to not mix their cool and warm colors together. They really liked using the liquid watercolors. I added string to the butterflies so Nana could hang them up in the apartment.

A couple of tips if you want to try this at home. Put watercolor paper under the filters while painting. Any paint that soaks through ends up on the paper and makes a neat pattern. We will use those papers in a later project. And spritz the filters with water before painting. It helps the colors bleed and spread better. I hope you will try this with your kids. It's very fun. Watered down acrylic paint may work in place of liquid watercolors. Acrylic inks (like the Liquitex brand) will definitely work. I'm not sure how well regular watercolors will work. The liquid form is more vibrant.

 

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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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On My Art Table

A new background using techniques from Mixed Media From the Heart. I chose a color combo that inspired me and used only those colors in my background. It was very fun!

 

A painting in progress. Yes, I do try and work on multiple projects at a time. While one is drying I can switch to the other!

 

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Another Painting.....Into the Woods

This one started with the background.

I dripped acrylic inks onto wet Strathmore 400 Mixed Media Paper that I had cut down to 8x8.

 

Next I added a girl. I used mostly my Caran D'ache Neocolor II Crayons and some gesso. I also used acrylic inks. She seemed to be a goddess of the woods with her serene expression and flowing hair.

I knew I wanted leaves on her. She is a goddess of the forest after all. So I cut some out, made a crown of sorts and took a picture on my iPhone. Then I looked at the screen to see if I liked it. Sometimes seeing the picture on my phone helps me look at a painting with fresh eyes. I did not like it.

This is the final version. I gave her a necklace instead. I tried to keep her somewhat transparent because she is a mystical being. I haven't successfully painted this way until now. I have Juliette Crane's How to Paint a Girl to thank for this painting. It's a very good ecourse where Juliette shows three different styles of girls to paint. The organic girl spoke to me. There will be a self study version of this course soon. I provided a link above to see the course description and you can sign up for Juliette's newsletter to get the latest scoop!

 

 

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The Owl and the Pussycat

This was a favorite mini sketch I created

 

 

This was a background I created in my sketchbook that I loved!

I photocopied the sketch, glued it to the background and continued painting until I created this.

 

How cute is that! And so fun to create!

 

 

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