After the last bunch of blacks, whites and grays I really needed some color!
June is closing in… only 5 more days. but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
My Month of May Continues. EDiM 21-26
4
Keep on, keepin’ on. EDiM 15-20
The month of May just keeps rollin’ along as do the Every Day in May challenges. It’s been great to not have to think about what to draw… just look at the prompt and draw it. Don’t get me wrong, I have been working on other projects but that’s fodder for another time.
EDiM 15 – 20
Mo Momentum. EDiM 8-14
I love Every Day in May… and I finally found a link to the list of daily prompts on Jana Bouc’s blog!
It’s wonderful, just do something… anything… each and every day in May.
It can be as simple or elaborate as you wish and have time for. As you can see from the above page… I was really busy last Friday!
Draw something small.
Draw something alive.
Upload for everyone to see or keep it private in your own sketchbook, the benefits are the same.
You cement a creative habit!
Do your creative self a favor…… Just Do It!
Keeping up the Momentum. EDiM 1-7
After a month of daily journaling and posting for International Fake Journal Month I really wanted to maintain my artsy momentum but dial it back a little. No more daily posts… I have a fairly simple system but it’ll be great to give it a rest!
However, I am participating in EDiM… Every Day in May. This is a Flickr and Facebook offshoot of the EDM – Every Day Matters Group.
So yeah… even more days of daily sketching. Sweet!
Draw a Window
Draw a Knife or Blade
Draw an umbrella
Draw your thumb
Draw something representing a favorite hobby.
Draw something handed down to you or a family relic.
Draw a microwave oven.
IFJM wrap-up
I’ve just posted my wrap-up of my 2014 experience with International Fake Journal Month on my other blog… SkylarkKarma.wordpress.com. Real blog… Fake Journal.
In a year of “No Explanations”, explanations are forthcoming.
Think You Can’t Paint? Just Try the Waterlogue App!
Have you ever taken a photo and said… “I’m going to paint this scene after I’m home!” … and then never did?
Well, that’s TOTALLY my M.O.! So many photographs, so little time! I took this photo of shorebirds on my recent trip to San Diego. (I tried looking them up… are they Marbled Godwits?) I was definitely going to take my watercolors out and paint them.
BWA-HA-HA!!!!! … that was a month ago.
Enter the Waterlogue app. First off… you’ll need and Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 7. The two creators, John Balestrieri and Robert Clair are working on a version that will run on a desktop/laptop Mac running OSX but it isn’t available yet. And sorry, you Android folks are out of luck.
Waterlogue will allow you to choose from 12 algorithms and paints an image as you might, sketching first, then painting light to dark.
Click each image to enlarge.
Waterlogue – Natural
Waterlogue – Bold
Waterlogue – Luminous
Waterlogue – It’s Technical
Waterlogue – Travelogue
Waterlogue – Rainy
Waterlogue – Illustration
Waterlogue – Soaked
Waterlogue – Shallow
Waterlogue – Color Bloom
Waterlogue – Fashionable
Waterlogue – Blotted
I’m rather fond of Natural and Color Bloom but each choice is amazing!
Is it original art? No, after all, it’s still a copy. Will I give up my watercolors? Heck no! But this is so much fun just for the immediacy of it, I envision using it as a model to emulate with my brush and paints.
It’s the best $2.99 I’ve ever spent! Find it in the App Store and prepare to lose yourself as you play. Isn’t that what art’s all about anyway?
Stephanie Reininger – Watercolor Demo at Long River Studios
Saturday, April 19th was the date of World Wide SketchCrawl #43! Coincidentally, I went to an artist demonstration at Long River Studios, a gallery in Lyme, NH that specializes in works by local artists. Hmmmm… two birds, one stone?
Stephanie Reininger, a watercolorist, demonstrated her loose and expressive style for a group of avid admirers. I did a quick gesture sketch to document my day and then settled in to absorb her fluid watercolor technique and try to grasp as much technical information as possible.
Thank you David and Lisa Chelone for bringing this unique experience to your gallery! We all were blown away by your open and welcoming friendship, and of course, the awesome blueberry buckle!
And special thanks to Stephanie Reininger! You’ve inspired me to work larger and outside my beloved sketchbook!
One last thank you… to Michelle Goldsmith, who spied the advertisement and gave me a quick email! You’re the best!
Halfway Point for International Fake Journal Month
There’s a lot to celebrate today. The snow is totally gone from my garden, I’ve paid my taxes and I’m halfway into my April project, Roz Stendahl’s creation, International Fake Journal Month.
This year’s motto, No Explanations, means there’ll be no details ’till May but I do have 15 images for you to checkout on my dedicated IFJM blog: skylark karma.wordpress.com. If you’re a stickler for reading consecutive posts feel free to start with the April 1st post and go from there!
Posting daily seems to keep me on my toes so be sure to return as the month progresses and remember…
Sketchbook Skool… art for me!
I’ve matrikulated into Sketchbook Skool!
This endeavor is a wonderful kollaboration of Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene, two artists I’ve followed for quite a while. They’ve put together a six week kourse, (adding the k is killing me… I’ll stop now.) each week featuring the art, inspiration and guidance of a different artist. Danny took the first week and inspired us to draw the ordinary, the everyday… no special equipment, just a sketchbook and a pen. Paint the page first if a blank white page makes you freeze… just start.
Just yesterday, Koosje’s lessons, week 2, were posted.
I particularly appreciated Koosje’s intonation to “get over yourself!”… to just get out and draw… out in the open, in the community, even if… gasp!… people may be watching! This has long been one of my goals so I packed my sketchbook Friday evening when we went to a friend’s home for a Celtic music house concert.
My apologies, portraiture is not a specialty, but I’m going to keep working on it!
Next up… Prashant Miranda.
Greek Salad Skewers
My friend Jann is au courant in the food scene. Her daughter, Jennifer Block and son-in-law, Steve Perlstein run the Simmer Truck... a food truck in Milwaukee, Wisconsin… coincidentally, my hometown. They specialize in fresh soups and panini and have expanded to full service catering.
I’ve spent the morning perusing their website and menus and now I’m starving. Believe you me… if I were there, I’d be first in line!
Anyway, I gave Jann my favorite appetizer “recipe” to share if they’re interested.
This visual version is for you Jann!
Dana Burrell... Art 