Birds x 3, IF - Stay

Pen & watercolours. There is a little bird peeking out but he is staying in the bird house.

A woodpecker is looking out of the hole in the tree below.

Either of the above drawings could have been used for this week's theme for Illustration Friday, which is 'stay' but I submitted the one below. The bird really should stay on top of the egg if she wants it to hatch.

Sketchbook No 8, p18, 19 and digital alterations

original doodle above, digitally coloured below

Below - doodle digitally altered

Turtle in a Box

I did a series of turtle pictures a while ago, this is one of them. Below is another version of it which I altered digitally.

Sketchbook No 8, p13-16 - patterns

Koala

brush pen sketch

Freezer Paper Experiments

Well I had a bit of a tidy up in my studio the other day, shocked my husband as he could actually see the workbench! Anyway I came across some scraps of freezer paper which I was going to throw away but I thought I would have a little play instead. For the sample above I folded the paper, then randomly cut 'circles'. I ironed it onto fabric then painted with acrylics, after drying I removed the paper. They look like stones, perhaps I should cut them out to make a wall?

For the sample below I used a few bits of freezer paper, which I folded in different ways, then cut out sections, then ironed them all next to each other on the fabric. I used a more watery acrylic for this. I may paint the white parts if I ever get around to doing anything with it.

below - the fabric was already attached to the freezer paper so I carefully scored the paper with a craft knife and removed bits of the paper. I painted with acrylics again to make the wavy lines. I think this piece needs a lot more doing to it.

Sketchbook No 8, p12 & 17, IF - Remedy

below - Illustration Friday - Remedy

When you are a mermaid and feeling {and looking} blue the only remedy to make you feel better is a nice bouquet of seaweed

Sketchbook Challenge & My Lace Stamp

Above is another brush pen drawing I did for the sketchbook challenge - theme for June is Pathways. The tortoise has his 'sat nav' with him so he will know which pathway to take.

I actually got round to using  a kit I got for a present yonks ago. It is called 'imagepac' and it is to make your own stamps. I altered a bit of lace on the computer to create the stamp. I am actually surprised the stamp worked because I didn't have the right light bulb & it was a more awkward to do. You get some sachets which you put under a light which hardens & this makes the stamp. See picture [not very good one I'm afraid] below and below that is how the stamp prints

I did lots of prints with it to make a repeat pattern. My inking technique is not perfect but you get the idea.

Sketchbook No 8 page 9, IF - Midsummer Night

Below - Illustration Friday challenge is Midsummer Night. I've used an ink drawing for the trees and a computer generated background and 'collaged' them together.

Angel of Fire

I used the same fiery background for these two creations, the one above also has a sculpture which I saw in Crete and the one below is a photo of the Angel of the North.

Sketchbook No 8, p8, 10, 11 - patterns

Lion Collage

A digital collage made up from a stamped and painted background, a drawing of leafy plants, a photograph of a lion sculpture and a drawing of a flower.

Pen Comparisons and Shape Doodle

 Earlier this year I bought an assortment of fine liners and did a similar drawing with each to compare them [above].

I repeated the exercise again recently [below]. 

Some of the pens don't work at all well although I have used some more than others. Having said that the two that don't work went like that very quickly although I wonder if the paper has spoilt the nibs, rather than the ink being all gone as they feel very scratchy. One of the Edding {1800 drawliner 0.05} has gone like that but the other Edding {1800 profipen 0.01} I like very much and is still working fine. I've not used the Pental Ultra Fine as much as the others as it produces a thicker line but it is smooth.

I doodle using a number stencil - a personal shape challenge

Sketchbook No 8, p4,5&6, and Another Place

I recently went to Liverpool and a few miles up the coast at Crosby Beach are the cast iron figures by Anthony Gormley called 'Another Place'. There are 100 of them spread out over 3 kilometers. It depends on the tide as to how many you would see. The tide was out when I went so all of them were visible, although I didn't count them. They were more spaced out than I was expecting, I'm not sure you would be able to see them all from one position. The ones in the sea the longest are the most crustiest with barnacles etc, I liked these the most - lots of texture.

 Also lots of jelly fish.

All Squared

I did the background on the computer then added the sketchbook drawings.

Sketchbook No 8 page3, IF - launch

flowery doodle above.

the Illustration Friday challenge this week is 'launch'.

I put some doodles together to make a launch date below

  I added the sign digitally on this older piece of art.

The picture was one from the 'Reworked, recycled, revealed' series I did with Vervey

Sketchbook No 8

I finished Sketchbook 8 last month, just got around to sorting the photos. It's just a small book and the pages keep falling out, luckily there is elastic around it to keep it together.

One Doodle x 7

The original doodle above - pen & brush pens.

Below - the doodle has been digitally altered in 6 different ways.