Muddy Colors: Composition Basics: Sketching Thumbnails

Excellent post on composition and thumbnails written by Dan dos Santos

Muddy Colors: Composition Basics: Sketching Thumbnails

Ana's Ramblings & Art Corner: Girlish Giggles

Ana's Ramblings & Art Corner: Girlish Giggles: Girlish Giggles 8" x 10"  Coloured Pencil on Paper Laura is giggling at something Anthony said. She is crazy about him. This was to...

Fountain Pens Make Drawing Fun!

Self Portrait in Pen
Pen and Ink

I drew this in my sketchbook as an entry to the Fountain Pen Day contest.  

I was having a little fun with this by making it look like my self portrait was pulling away from the pen.

October 7 Zentangle

October 7 Zentangle
Ink with watercolour

I created the above Zentangle as a way to relax while watching television.

Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.
Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.
We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life.
We invite you to explore our web site and learn more about this wonderful and uplifting method and artform.
~ Definition from Zentangle.com

I find that when I need to relax, drawing patterns in pen really does the trick for me. Please go to the Zentangle site or Google "Zentangle" to see some amazing pieces.

Packing the Bus & FunFact's New EP

Kelly Packing the School Bus with Equipment
Watercolour and Ink

Kelly packing his drum kit into the school bus for an out of town gig.

September 19, 2012 FunFact released their new EP. You can get a free download (for a limited time) at FunFactMusic.com

Packing the Bus with Music Equipment

Packing the Bus with Music Equipment
Pen and Ink

Packing their equipment into a bus to go to a gig. FunFact was playing out of town.

The is a teaser for FunFact's EP:

Download FunFact's EP for free for a limited time.

Here is a video showing us how they make picklaces for promotional handouts:

Toes on Tile

Toes on Tile
Ink with Watercolour

My middle toe does not really stick out that much. I enjoy drawing my feet every now and again. Here I am standing on a tiled floor.

Here are some previous posts with my feet in them:

• Draw Your Foot
• March 5, 2009
• TSP2013 - Draw in my sketchbook

642 Things to Draw #49 - A Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball
Ink and Watercolour

This is a pretty sad crystal ball. When I look into it all I see is myself looking back, holding a paintbrush. On the other hand, we could say that it is an accurate crystal ball in that it is claiming that I am an artist.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Ana's Ramblings & Art Corner: Fun Fact's New EP

Ana's Ramblings & Art Corner: Fun Fact's New EP: FunFact! has a new EP out. For a limited time you can download it for free from their site. Feel free to download the EP and to share it with your friends and family.

EDM #21 - Draw Something Old, Antique, or Vintage

An Old Iron
Ink and Watercolour

This iron belonged to my dear Mother-in-Law, Maria Grazia Ciolli Tirolese. She used it for many years before getting an electric iron. She would place hot coals in the body to heat up the iron.

We have it now, but it is no longer in use, other than as a sentimental decoration. My mother-in-law gave it to my husband many years ago, as he was admiring it.

642 Things to Draw #48 - A Sundial

A Sundial
Watercolour and Ink

This sad looking sundial was from my brain. I have only seen sundials on television, movies, and online. Here is a wikipedia entry about sundials.  I am not happy with this image.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

642 Things to Draw #47 - Jelly Beans

Jelly Beans
Watercolour Pen

My family and I really enjoy jelly beans. We don't have them often, so they are a treat. I like the red and the black ones of the regular kind. There are too many too name in the Jelly-Belly brand. My son loves the green jelly beans, which are my least favourite.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

EDM 18 - View from My Window

The View from My Window
Mixed Media

When I sit in my corner of the sofa, I am close to the patio-doors in our living room. We don't have windows in our apartment, but rather two patio doors, one in the bedroom, and one in the living room. We are on the 10th floor of our apartment building and face the street.

What you see here is my view from my sofa corner. I pulled the curtain back a bit so I could look outside. That is my brown curtain on the right. At the top you see the roof our our balcony (or the bottom of the upstairs balcony). Then you see cloudy sky. The two black areas is my veranda (railing). You can see the tops of buildings between the top and bottom sections of the veranda (railing). At the bottom you see a bit of street and some tree tops between the bottom of the veranda and the floor of my balcony.

I used ink, watercolour, and Derwent Inktense pencils, both wet and dry.

642 Things to Draw #46 - A Bag of Hammers

A Bag of Hammers
Pen and Ink

Bag of hammers, according to Urban Dictionary means: "An insult referring to either the stupidity/low intelligence of another, or the uselessness of an idea, remark, or person."

You can say something like, "He sure is pretty, but he is as smart as a bag of hammers!"

I drew a literal bag of hammers.

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.

Seagulls in the Parking Lot

Seagulls in the Parking Lot
5 Minute Sketch
Pen and Ink

The other day Alexander and I went shopping. It was an overcast day and there were dozens of seagulls all over the parking lot. While Alexander ran inside a shop to grab something, I sat in the vehicle and quickly sketched a few of them. This was not easy to do because they kept moving around.

642 Things to Draw #45 - A Jar Full of Pennies

Penny Jar
Pen and Ink

Well, it is not exactly full of pennies. It is only a third full. This is my penny jar. It is in the shape of a Teddy-Bear and was originally full of Kraft peanut butter. These bear-shaped jars came out in 1987 as a limited time promotion. The lid had a coin slot built in to it so you could use these as coin-banks.  Ours is a large (1.5 Kg) glass male bear with a red lid.

Kraft bear-shaped jar banks
circa 1987

Book: 642 Things To Draw -- this is an Amazon affiliate link. If you would like to purchase this book please use this link. Thank you.