Who would have thought plain old letters could be so much fun in a journal? Mary Ann Moss did! And boy, am I grateful.
Wednesday was as absolutely gorgeous day and I had absolutely nothing on my schedule. Ahhhh… a perfect day to pour a cool drink, sit under the umbrella and work on my Sketchbookery!
hmmmmmm… pretty, but a little bland. It needs……… splashes!
Done!
Sue’s at the Montshire! Correction… a life-sized replica is at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT. She’s the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered!
My geeky alter-ego would have been a paleontologist so a trip to see Sue was a given! She… or maybe she’s a he, they don’t know… is HUMONGOUS! Over 40 feet from her snout to the tip of her tail and she stands at least 13 feet tall at her hip. Simply massive!
A quick splash of color before spending quality time with my fountain pen. She barely fits on my page!
But one visit just wasn’t enough. I returned today for another view!
My… what large teeth you have my dear!
Check out those proportions… Her foot is as large as that young fella!
The T. Rex exhibit will be there ’till September 7th. Find out why she’s named Sue and try all the interactive activities… don’t miss it! Not interested? There’s plenty to keep your attention and be sure to say hi to this little mink for me!
Sketchbook #2 was drying as I posted yesterday…
just thought you might like to see it finished.
Filled with Strathmore Aquarius II and Canson Mi-Teintes… and it closes!
Tuesday is new lesson day in Sketchbookery… and I spent the afternoon watching class videos. ( … and Germany slaughter Brazil in the World Cup semi-final.)
I also made a certified Mary Ann Moss sketchbook!
The covers were salvaged from an old copy of A Manual of Style selected for its gorgeous orange color… that and the fact that it only cost 50 cents! No bookbinding tape so I needed to get creative when it came to making the spine.
I’ve done some bookbinding and have made homemade book cloth by bonding a length of fabric to tissue paper using fusible web… something like Wonder-Under or Heat n’ Bond Lite. That I had! I cut a 2 inch strip and bound it to the covers using PVA glue just like Mary Ann showed. Want to do this but don’t think you have PVA? Well, that’s what Elmer’s glue is! Yeah, maybe it’s not “archival” but I’m making this for me… not for eternity!
After it dried it was time to pouch the holes. Nope, no fancy Japanese Hole Punch thingie either. Just used my thickest awl, a sharp needle (ouch) and standard 4-ply bookbinders thread. Love the look… but it doesn’t stay completely closed!
Maybe I have too many papers or they’re too thick or I didn’t bone them down enough to get a good crease but at an inch it’s just a titch too tight at the spine. But I can fix that too!
I made an elastic band to go around the journal! Actually, I make them for all my journals. I schlep them around in my purse and the band keeps the papers from getting dinged up. If you’re interested in making one for your sketchbook, it’s just a 2 inch band of elastic I got at my local Joann’s, stitched together with the raw edges sealed with a zig-zag stitch. Nothing fancy.
Now for the unexpected benefit of the elastic band… It keeps my pen with my sketchbook and I never have to hunt for the pen in the black hole that is the bottom of my bag!
You can see it’s fairly low profile, protected as it fits in the space between the pages and the edges of the cover. My Lamy shown here is a thick pen; if you carry something thinner like a Micron, it’ll nestle right in there.
Can’t wait to use it but I guess sketchbooks are like potato chips… can’t make just one. Sketchbook #2 is drying right now!
I didn’t really need another online class… but that’s never stopped me! I’m taking Sketchbookery with Mary Ann Moss of Dispatch From LA fame!
I’ve long been a fan of her unfailing upbeat art and humor and never had a chance to take one of her classes ’till now. I’m just under a week into it and I’m loving it!
We’ll soon be making our own sketchbook but Mary Ann wanted to get us working on our drawing and watercolors right away. First up: make watercolor reference cards for our palette… or, as in my case… palettes!
I know… I know!!! …….but I need them! ok, ok, I admit, I’m addicted. I’ve actually used them all but you can see the current favorites by their messiness.
Practice, practice, practice!
Class is filled at the moment but you can give yourself a Christmas… Hanukkah… Kwanzaa… or New Year’s gift. Next session begins December 26th!
Let’s start this week out right!
… and now you can’t stop smiling either!
Happy Monday!
I spent a little time this afternoon trying desperately to catch up on my scanning. A little prioritization was in order. First up my Every Day Matters challenges. Two years ago I started out with Number 100 and have been working my way down to #1…
…and I’ve done it!
No… it doesn’t mean I’ve finished, there are 328 different challenges! … but at least now I can start working my way forward.
I can’t wait to start EDM #101… stay tuned.
I can’t read… I mean, I can’t read anymore… no, that’s not it either.
I can’t read slowly. When I read, everything else falls away. I’m immediately transported and I don’t return ’till the book is finished. I wish I could read a chapter or two, go out…pull weeds, maybe make dinner then read a few more chapters. No… I binge. Hours pass and… I’m done! Where did the time go?
Just the other day I came home from the library with Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
Wonderfully fun satire, perfect for lighthearted summer reading. Yeah, I read fast but this just might be a record! Trouble is, I’m now in the market for another “summer” book. Any suggestions?
By the way, earlier in the year I read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan… also highly recommended for your summer perusal.
I came to watercolors 3 years ago when I took an online class with the fabulous Jane LaFazio. Her work is fresh and fun and she’s a marvelous teacher, generous with her time, knowledge and especially her gentle encouragement. I’m still a frequent visitor to her website and blog.
As I looked through her class offerings I saw her sketch of a Matilija Poppy blossom. Jane had captured this beauty with a minimalist line and a few splashes of watercolor… I was inspired! My garden has been calling to me… “paint me, paint me.” But where to start? I snipped and floated one of my favorite peony blooms to be my first model!
You can see I copied… yes, copied! … Jane’s sketch of her poppy. I knew that as I drew the lines she drew I would absorb the loose feeling she captured before trying to replicate that feeling in my peony. (Don’t fret, I gave her credit on my page.)
I’ve been experimenting with various pens but for this I returned to my tried and true favorites… my TWSBI fountain pen filled with Platinum Carbon Black ink. To get the cool, icy pink of the petals I used multiple dilute glazes of Quinacridone Rose and deepened the shadows with Indanthrone Blue.
Since the forecasted wind and rain would doom the last of my poppies, this was my only chance. They’re so ephemeral. I stood in the driveway painting as the rain started to fall. Whew! Finished just in time!
They’re gone now, petals scattered on the ground, just a bunch of seedpods ripening for next year.
May… a commitment to drawing the predetermined prompt every day. Do I love it or hate it? I’d have to say, both! I’m energized by my fellow participants but by the end of the month, I’m tired. Tired of someone telling me what to sketch and tired of posting.
This year I posted to my Flickr account and linked to the Every Day in May group and posted to their Facebook group too! Oh, and here too, although I enjoyed grouping my daily pages into one weekly post. If I join in again next year I may choose to post only here. Maybe that’ll breathe new life into my EDiM.
Whew! I’m ready for June!
Dana Burrell... Art 