inky feather doodle

Finding the time (and space!) to make stuff these days doesn't happen much, which is one of the reasons I've been spending more time in my sketchbooks - much easier to tidy away a book than a whole table of papers, paints, paintbrushes, glue, scissors, sewing machine, pins, fabrics, etc.

Here's a feather doodle.

Previously, I would photograph things for my blog in good light, with a camera instead of a phone. Well, as there are two tiny people occupying my days, that doesn't happen either! So instead, this was taken in poor light, with my phone, once the children were in bed.

Go to Buxton. They have nice water.

If you happen to be passing Buxton between now and 14th August, I highly recommend that you stop off and have a nosey in the Art Gallery/Museum.  One of my favourite artists is exhibiting there and it's a feast for the eyes.

It was my first time seeing this piece (the trainers below), as its size has meant that it hasn't been shared on the blog (I mean, who has a scanner that big?!).

See? Huge!

'Ten Examples of Unnecessarily Handsome Shoes'. No photo of this, unfortunately. I love all of the different perspectives and annotations.

'Wish I Knew You Well'. This full colour drawing blew us away (Mr Pippa was with me). I seem to remember it being larger than the others (I didn't think to make notes).

As well as the works on the walls, there were the cabinets. The first was the woodland one. The pieces looked so at home with the leaves and twigs in there. And the dead bee.

I'm not sure I'd realised when first spotting this drawing (above) online that this piece is not, in fact, drawn onto lined paper which happened to have tea/coffee mug rings on it, but those details have been drawn too. Andrea Joseph often catches me off guard like that. I love it.

I spent most of my time looking through these cabinets:

I also adored being able to get so close to the glass cabinets that my nose occasionally bumped the glass as I studied the sketchbooks and spotted the items which appear in the drawings. I would have loved to flick through one of the sketchbooks.

When chatting to Andrea later, she mentioned that this drawing (in the sketchbook above) was drawn in a coffee shop in Buxton - a coffee shop I have now been to. It's funny how just a little thing like knowing where/how a piece came together gives me a whole new appreciation of it.

What a treat!

Go on, get your skates on. You've got until 14th August.

P.S. Thank you, Mr Pippa for being photograpaher for the day :)

everywhere you go, always take a brolly with you (part 2)

This is my little moleskine sketchbook

Lovely, isn't it?

I keep the ring of tea on there to differentiate from the little moley notebook, which is super battered from being carried in my handbag everywhere. So really, as this one still looks quite new in comparison with the notebook, I could maybe possibly give the cover a wipe.

Anyway, remember I started drawing again recently? Well I decided to do two umbrellas: one line drawing and one with lots of ballpoint shading. I still haven't finished this one, but thought I'd share it with you anyway.

decluttering and old macs

I'm a hoarder. When I went to uni, my stuff filled one car (which also had three people in it). When I left uni after 3 years, I needed a transit van and a car. I seem to be a magnet for junk. Example:

Me: Wait, you're getting rid of that broken guitar?
Random stranger: Yes. It's broken.
Me: You're not actually going to throw it away, are you?
Random stranger: Yes. It's broken.
Me: But I'm sure it could be used for something!
Random stranger: Well, it no longer serves any musical purpose, so I'm getting rid of it. Do you want it?
Me: Umm…
Random stranger: Well then I'm chucking it.
Me: WAIT! No! I'll take it!
Random stranger: What are you going to do with it?
Me: I don't know.
Random stranger: You know it can't be fixed, right?
Me: Yes.

I don't know why I do it. Maybe I feel a responsibility to recycle as much as I possibly can, including other people's junk. My motives might be fine, but I don't have the time, energy or space to do this. 

Unfortunately, Mr Pippa is just as bad. Two years ago, we went away for a couple of weeks. On the way back, I couldn't understand why we seemed to have so much more stuff. Then I saw that there were 2 eMacs on the back seats.
Me: Why do we have 2 computers in the car?
Him: They're eMacs!
Me: Yes. Why do we have them?
Him: So-and-so was getting rid of them!
Me: Why was he getting rid of them?
Him: They're broken. But if I fix them, I can sell them!
Me: Right. And what about the two broken iMacs we have at home?
Him: I'll fix those too! They probably only need more RAM…

Two years on, we still have those eMacs. Plus two old iMacs (G3s. Remember the really bulky ones which came in different colours? Those. They're pretty hefty). Oh, and my old iMac. So, including broken Macs, this house contains SEVEN Apple Mac computers. Two of them work. You remember how bulky those old iMacs are. They take up a lot of space.

So, with things like this, I've given us deadlines. If those eMacs aren't fixed by the agreed date, they will move on to a new home. Likewise with the various jewellery projects I have on the go: if it's not done by the agreed date, I'm getting rid of it (more on this another time). This will not only get it out of my physical space, but it will be one less thing on my to-do list. Sometimes, a deadline is really helpful in getting things done.

So, as a reward to myself for some major decluttering, I did a bit of sketching. Here's my old iMac, which is on the waiting list for surgery. We have yet to agree on a deadline for this one. But, if it cannot be saved, it will definitely leave this house.

I'm curious: how do you make sure your house doesn't get filled with useless junk? Are there any factors which motivate you when decluttering? What do you think of the idea of deadlines?

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

-William Morris

Everywhere you go, always take a brolly with you

OK, so I didn't quite manage to make it back here within a month, but the gap between posts is slowly closing.

Inspired by the wonderful Andrea Joseph and this post, I felt justified in using tracing paper in my drawings. I've always felt as though I'm cheating if I use tracing paper (even though it's my own work I'm tracing), but thanks to Andrea, I'm back on the drawing horse. And by that, I mean that I'm drawing again and enjoying myself. I'm not actually on a horse that can draw. I've never seen a drawing horse.

So, here's a new one:

I'm halfway through another drawing, so I will be back soon. Sooner then a month, anyway.

Random question: is the term 'brolly' purely British or do you folk across the sea use it too?

I know

Don't tell me how long it's been. I know how long it's been.

I know I'm only a part-time blogger but nearly two months?! Yeah, sorry about that folks. Illness and busyness. And I've done no creating whatsoever. That makes me sad. So, on Tuesday, I gave myself a couple of hours to just draw.

So, EDM challenge 217: draw an umbrella.

It's not finished, but you know how difficult I find it to blog without a picture.

I shall try to return soon. And when I say soon, I mean within a month, at least.

Oh and, thank you to those of you who checked to see if I was alright. That was nice :)

me + art + technology = no

So, the sock monkey kits are coming along nicely. Trying to make the instructions was a huge challenge and, after a couple of weeks, I gave up trying to draw pictures on the computer and I got the good old-fashioned pen and paper out and had it done in a couple of days.

By the time I would have learnt how to do it all on computer, I could have illustrated each one of the 50 instruction booklets individually. One day I'll get some Photoshop lessons, but currently, I don't find technology conducive to creativity at all. I'm sure that will all change once I figure out how it works.

The photocopier wouldn't even do what I wanted (it chopped the sides off. It appears that a home printer can cope, but a photocopier can't), so I had to reduce it, but then it was all off-centre so I chopped it all up and stuck it onto another sheet of paper. Paper and glue win again.

And after all of that, I realised that my drawings were not, in fact, finished. I had already decided that I'd draw the red lines on in coloured pencil (no point in paying more for a colour photocopy just for a teensy bit of red), but I forgot about the arrows...

So, I'm slowly working my way through all of the booklets, not just adding the red pencil, but also the little arrows. 


Oh, and my stapler isn't long enough to staple the booklets. 

these are not my drawings

I thought I'd better say that right away in case you think my drawing skills have improved dramatically overnight.

These are drawings by the amazingly talented Andrea Joseph. A few weeks ago, she shared these pictures with her readers and gave us permission to colour them in. HOW EXCITING! Well, I thought so anyway. I printed them off immediately. But because there was the wedding and then camping, I didn't actually have time to do any colouring. Then I was back from Camp and needed a nice creative distraction from unpacking and tidying up. Although, I've stopped myself from starting any new projects until I've tidied up from all of the other projects. Perfect time to get out the colouring pencils...

So, if she's been told to tidy up, she's probably still living with her parents. Her parents would probably have a sofa in a neutral colour (so that it would go with everything), with accessories in woodland green. But then, I don't think her parents would have that bin: it's far too stylish. And that matching cushion at the top doesn't seem very 'them' either. It must be one of her cushions that she's brought from her room. Maybe that's why it's on the back of the sofa: to remind her to take it back to her room. But it is very messy, where have her parents been? On holiday! Or maybe she's been off school sick (hence the hot water bottle) and so they've let her slob out on the sofa for a week ("But try to have a look through your school books if you can" - that's why there are so many large books around) but it's Sunday tomorrow and if she's well enough to go back to school then she's well enough to tidy up first.

But the bin just didn't fit in my mind. Her parents wouldn't have that bin. And then... I've got it! She's got her own 'lounge' in the garage. So she's got an old tatty sofa (which she loves, because it's hers) which Auntie Annie's neighbour was throwing out. It's got a replacement cover because the other one was too stained. But she brightens it up with her purple throw and pretty cushions. The cat likes it in 'her lounge' because he's allowed to sit on the sofa. She was only allowed friends over tonight if she tidied up. "Oh, and put some leggings on under that dress - it's far too short". Done and done.

I thought about this way too much, didn't I? Please tell me I'm not the only one who over-thinks these sort of things...

Yes, I did see the irony: I was colouring a picture of a girl avoiding tidying properly so that I could avoid tidying.

scanned or photographed?

photographed:

scanned:

I was hanging around in a waiting room yesterday, so used the time to draw. In the future, should I show my drawings scanned or shall I photograph them? I know which one I prefer, but how about you?

I have returned

16 comments on my last post! That must be some kind of record for my blog. Thank you to all of you who took the time to write me a cheery little comment - you have no idea how happy they make me. I had a good little break; I took some time out to think about this little blog of mine and the Etsy shop I will be opening. I didn't actually do that much, but I spent some quality time with Mr Pippa while he was off work, caught up with friends and read lots, which was nice.

This is the little notebook I decided to make into a drawing diary. I would have really liked to have used a Moleskine sketchbook but that will have to wait. Instead, I searched through my notebooks and found this one: never used, handy size and pretty cover. Not a Moleskine, but it's a start.

Today I will share with you the first sketch. Just a quick sketch, but I like it.

I do have more things to share with you, but that's all for now. Cheerio!

let the blogging break commence

I think there must be quite a few bloggers taking a blogging break over the summer. Mr Pippa has some time off work, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to take a break and have a go at something else. Not that sketching is new to me, but I just haven't been doing it lately. So when I return I will have lots of drawings to share with you. Well...that's what I'm aiming for anyway.

I'm one of these indecisive souls who can never decide what to draw: whatever I pick never seems to be the 'right' thing. At first, I used the EDM challenges; even then I would find myself wasting time trying to choose a challenge from the long list. Which is why I did this (below). I put challenges 1-100 into a grid; printed them off; chopped them up; put them in a matchbox and...

...voila! I will use this little box of challenges. The rules are thus: whatever challenge is taken from the box (and I must pick one at random, possibly with my eyes closed), that's the one I have to do. Whether I'm in the mood or not. Those are the rules.

If you would like to print off the challenges and make a 'challenge box' like mine, I've uploaded them as an image onto Flickr. Go on. You know you want to.

it's finished.

I'm not happy with this AT ALL but I've spent so long doing that I had to post it. The shaded bits look too dark, I haven't captured the shape properly and I generally hate this drawing. But I'm glad I finished it. It means I can leave it and begin something else. If I had just left it, it would have always been there, waiting to be finished - niggling away at me. But it's done. And I can rest.

**Edited on 29th April. I actually quite like it now. Perhaps it's all the positive feedback (which I'd miss out on if I didn't have a blog!). In answer to your questions, this was done with a black ballpoint pen.

drawing

Here's a drawing I did today. I've been feeling really rough today, so focusing my attention on drawing helped to take my mind off things. Also, I love the feelings of accomplishment I get when I've actually got something to show for my day (apart from clean clothes - they only get dirty again anyway!).

wasting time on flickr

I could (and probably do) waste hours on Flickr. Here's a sketch I particularly liked today.

I found it here.  I love the more 'messy' looking sketches.  They just look so free.  I need to sketch more.  I'll do more sketching this week.

the world's most giant sketchbook

I thought my sketchbook was big... until I saw this one. Check it out!

I've been drawing a lot this weekend.  Nothing amazing, but it's good to get back to drawing again.  I've been scanning my pictures and I'm not really happy with the results.  I preferred the way they looked when I photographed them.  If anyone has any tips on scanning drawings, let me know.  

some of my stuff...

I realised that anyone looking at this blog for any signs of art may be disappointed. Everything in the house is still all over the place with the move so I haven't been able to be as arty as I would normally like. Instead, I will share some of my old pieces of work and general doodles. This blog will get artier - that's a promise!

Here is a hand I drew in a black ball-point pen. I love working in biro. I did this a few years ago and now I think the very straight lines of the cross-hatching are much too harsh. I wanted to make the hand look old and 'weathered'. I was pleased with it at the time but now I'm not so sure.

Another doodle in biro. Often, I want to draw but I just don't know what. I'm not good at just thinking up a picture in my head - I prefer drawing from observation. Hence why most of my doodles are circles and lines!

Another doodle. This time in pencil crayons.

This is a page from a sketchbook-come-scrapbook. I like to keep any little meaningless drawings I happen to do while bored, so I stick them in here.

Another page. I can't remember whose face this was. I think it may have been a model in a magazine. I love drawing faces.

Another page. I drew this daffodil in pencil crayons but decided that it was far too boring! So plenty of black fine-liner was added. This was originally in one of my GCSE sketchbooks (very old indeed!).

My eye, drawn in pencil crayons. When I drew this (a couple of years ago) I wanted it to be as true a likeness as possible, so I kept the colours quite light. However, I am so pale that if I were any more pale I would be see-through. The result being that this drawing looks unfinished and pale.

I'm so pleased with this painting. It's such a shame that I can't find the photo I was copying. I painted this two years ago with acrylic paints onto canvas. I had to work really quickly as acrylics are so fast-drying. There was a very slight orange reflection in the sea which I tried to do. Didn't turn out as I hoped, but I'm definitely not changing it now! I'm very pleased with the sky. Not sure about the horizon or the sea.

This is a mono-print done in oils after much layering. I rollered the oil paint onto the table (that's right - the table! (Not to be done on a beautiful kitchen table) and gently pressed a piece of paper on top. On the paper I drew simple shapes (which were actually based on a still-life I was doing) and, once I was happy with the arrangement, I peeled the paper away from the table. I repeated this several times, which is why you may see feint white lines in the background. I've always liked this piece. But not many other people do. It certainly needs to be framed properly.

My face. I first did a biro sketch on white paper, then copied that with a white pencil crayon on black card.

My face again. This was done on computer. A very enjoyable program to use with pleasing results. However, it was done on my parents' PC and I can't remember what the program was called. Shame. I'm sure Apple have something, I just haven't explored the photo-editing possibilities on my Mac yet.

I'll post some more of my work later. I'm off to have a nap now.