Friday, February 27, 2015

Easter Egg Doodle

Spring hopes eternal!

I was so pleased with this imaginative little piece. I feel like it's sort of a unique style that I haven't really seen anywhere else. I'm always looking for something that's uniquely mine! Why is that? :)
Easter Egg; white acrylic and watercolor markers on toned paper

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Speed Painting

"I've got my eye on you!" I've never been a big nature girl or huge animal lover, so this is a rare piece for me. I'm trying to loosen up my style. This is super fast "brush sketching" in my Moleskine watercolor journal. I used almost no pencil. I just started with a brush and painted really fast. I know many people like this style of painting, but I would never enjoy doing a lot of this. There just isn't any interpretive quality to it. I like art to speak, and this seems to just represent. It was good practice, though!

I photographed the finished piece with the panorama feature on my iPhone. Pretty impressive, I think.
Eagle; Moleskine watercolor journal


Wednesday, February 25, 2015

How I Relax

I can't explain why I find this relaxing. I just do. A tinted paper sketchbook, a handful of markers, and Spotify. Ahhh!
White acrylic mark and watercolor markers on toned paper

Monday, February 16, 2015

Control

This is just a little something I've learned from watercolor, and it's true in life, too!
Control; 4x6" 140 lb. watercolor paper

A Whirling Dervish

The Kozy doodle pattern shared by Chris (Facebook Group, For the Love of Tangling) caught my attention. I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

I was so pleased with how the lettering turned out for this. I'm trying to work on my modern calligraphy. I'm trying to loosen it up. I got close with this! I really thought the colors worked, too. The ink is actually brown, and the watercolors are bright blue and yellow. Take my word for it; it's better in real life than in a low resolution photo online. :) And, there's just something about holding a genuine Moleskine journal in your hands....
Whirling Dervish; pen and watercolor in Moleskine journal

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Jars of Clay

I've been sick for several days. It's been a reminder of what I'm made of: dust and water.
Jars of Clay; watercolor in moleskine journal

EDM 247 - Something Creepy

When you paint from a long list of prompts, you can't always paint butterflies and sunny meadows. So, straight to it: Dark and moldy places creep me out. Think basements and abandoned buildings and jungle swamps. No thank you! Moving on.
EDM 247 - Something Creepy; 3x3" watercolor

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

EDM 246 - Gloves

I am a sock knitter and know all about the dreaded one-sock syndrome. It's not whether you can knit 1, purl 1. It's whether you can knit one and then go on to knit the OTHER one. I assume this condition plagues glove knitters as well. Don't ask for the pattern.This glove is from my imagination. I'd like to see the hand that would fit it...with that enormous thumb!
EDM 246 - Gloves; 3x3" markers

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

EDM 245 - Something October

Well, my husband is something from the gorgeous month of October. The story his mom tells is that when he was a very little boy, and people would ask when his birthday was, he would answer in the cutest little voice, "When it gets n'ocked over." Now, when we refer to something happening in the tenth month, we say, "When it gets n'October." Kids say the darnedest! This drawing was done almost entirely with cheap, "kiddie" markers and colored pencils.
EDM 245 - Something October; 3x3" marker & colored pencil

Sunday, February 8, 2015

EDM 244 - The Oldest Thing in My Fridge

If I had spent half an hour less on this and gone to bake some scones instead, this painting would be so much better...and I'd be eating scones and lemon curd RIGHT NOW! I over-painted this, so much! Trying too hard to achieve realism often ends badly.
EDM 244 - Oldest Thing in the Fridge; 3x3" watercolor

Saturday, February 7, 2015

EDM 243 - A Pillow

I've outgrown my love of fussy lace, but I still love Battenburg, which seems sturdier and more of an everyday frill. I have a very small, white Battenburg pillow hanging from the doorknob in my powder room. This is the design of the pillow's top. It seemed complicated at first, but it was actually quite simple to draw with a white, opaque pen on a watercolored background.
EDM 243 - A Pillow; 3x3" watercolor & white acrylic pen

Friday, February 6, 2015

Doodle Birds

Here's a recent journal page with doodling underneath and on top of watercolor. This was fun!
Doodle Birds; 5.5x8.5" watercolor on mixed media paper


EDM 242 - A Figurine

I love nesting dolls. This piece is 3" square, and the five dolls are drawn actual size. The smallest "baby" doll is standing front and center. Did I mention that I love nesting dolls? I also adore folk art, and Russian nesting dolls are a fine example.
EDM 242 - A Figurine; 3x3" watercolor & marker

Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Thing about Nature

A favorite saying from the wise and hilarious Dowager Countess of Grantham. I love everything about Downton Abbey, especially any time Maggie Smith is in the scene and speaking lines. She reminds me so much of my grandmother!

I was so happy with the way this drawing turned out. I struggle so much with truly imaginative drawings, but I really let this one unfold as it wanted to. It has the makings of a fine art piece, maybe....
The Thing about Nature; 5.5x8.5" Noodlers ink on sketch paper

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Patches of Life

Patches of crazy--a story of life! I was inspired to do some work in a tan-toned journal by watching a woman on the train to Chicago using one. I love how the Uniball Signo Broad white pen goes down like liquid plastic. It is very opaque and dries shiny and permanent. There are so many possibilities for this pen on colored paper!
Patches of Crazy; white acrylic pen on toned paper


Blue Fountain Doodling

Doodling the way grandma did. There's just something about a fountain pen. Could it be love?
Blue Fountain Doodling; 5.5x8.5" Noodlers Navajo Turquoise ink on sketch paper

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Coffee-delic

This is your brain on caffeine. Any questions?
Coffee-delic; 5.5x8.5" fountain pen on sketch paper