Colored Pencils..the new gelatos/gelli plate/medium...

I have colored pencils and I don't use them much. They include clearance watercolors ironically the brand name is "Kimberley". Then I have the Derwent Inktense watercolors that I loved for awhile for watercolor purposes, because I don't water color either. I also have my crayolas, because well, I have a kid, and inside I am one too.

I recently had a chance to play with a friends Prismacolor Premier pencils. One little scribble of the pencil and I knew they were magic. Almost like a very soft gelato/pastel that was clean and pretty and easy to blend. I thoughtfully waited to purchase my first set until I found it on Amazon for $35 shipped. Super deal for the 48 set.

Well, today I was parusing Craigslist and just randomly scrolling through the art section. I have typed "Prismacolor" as a search before to no avail. This time I just happened to run across a picture, I even did a double take.  Prismacolor 72 set..(because my 48 clearly ISN'T enough), also I can't pass up a good deal.  I thought and thought and thought. The description said used only a few times and the person went digital. Perfect. Well I caved and glad I did. For $35 again....I picked up the 72 set for the price I paid for the 48 set both ridiculously cheap. Our 48 retails here around $70-100 and the 72 from $100 to $140...sheesh. I love a good deal. (Did you catch that part?!?!)

My only question was what colors would I be getting that would be different. I realized I would have 48 duplicates but knowing that I will be using these exclusively as my colored pencils if they wore down fast I couldn't pass up having a back ups.

I made a chart below based on pictures I took from the color selections on the back of the containers. There are in fact 24 "extra" colors and I figured those out by marking the colors that were duplicates with a number 2 ....THE #2.  Anyhow hopefully this is helpful if you need help deciding which set or both to get. :) Time to play.

72 set

48 set

*UPDATE*

I couldn't stop at making my own chart. I looked on the Prismacolor website and couldn't figure it out. After searching online I found the two following options for comparison color charts. I like the first one that is done for you so you can see ahead of time what is included before the purchase. The other one is just another fun way to play with your pencils. 

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR YEAH!!!! (flails arms in the air like Kermit the Frog)

Art Recipe Challenge

Sounds yummy right?!?! Well it is. Yummy with color and supplies. This challenge was given with the recipe of supplies to use in creating the piece. The recipe was to use these supplies: Watercolor, gesso, pen (black), collage, and washi tape.  The additional color direction was warm colors, but was also optional.

I thought hey, an art challenge fun. It was a challenge. I don't typically ever use watercolors, but I own them so I used them. The other supplies were regular attendees of my art room creation parties and keeping in the warm colors made it a little more interesting to chose a subject.





The supplies the challenge required that I used are pictured to the right:


-Liquitex White Gesso
-Golden Matte Medium and my adhesive
-Black Uniball Onyx Pen (non permanent)
-Reeves Watercolors in warm colors shown



General supplies that I also used for the project include:

-Water color paper
-Brushes
-Scissors



Washi Tape was also on the required list. I store my washi tapes in color groupings on 2 hanging curtain rods..so to take off the 10 I used would have been a little challenging. I love having all of my washi tape out in the open to admire them in all their colorful beauty, as well and to get ideas of what I want to use. I never lose them and I never forget what I have in supply.  I did take a picture of the warm color section that I did use. The 10 I used are numbered on the picture below.

This is the 2nd  watercolor background I made, which I used to cut out my giraffe and collage his spots and various body pieces. I wanted to stick to the color scheme, and I guess I took that pretty literally..but wait till you see how it turns out!  I like deep vibrant colors so that is one area that watercolors challenge me. I did add it quite thick. I used the wet on wet method to help blend the colors and made sure there were different mixes of the warm colors. 

I painted the first watercolor (on the right below) on watercolor paper (Canson Watercolor Paper). As a base I used gesso on bubble wrap to add resist dots. Then after the initial water color, I left it wet and put a brush full of gesso into the water allowing it to burst out into little blurry star spot. 

     

   

The picture above right, is what it looks like after I chose all of my washi tapes. I just lined them up across the page leaving a little space between each one. The first gesso wash over the tapes is thinned with water. I didn't want to lose my giraffe in all the warmness. 

After allowing this to dry, (I generally use my embossing gun, I'm impatient), I used my black pen to outline the tapes in scribbly lines.  Beside it you can see the giraffe collage cut out from the 2nd water color I made. 

Now we're getting somewhere. After the giraffe is cut I had extra scrap watercolored paper that I used to make the spots and giraffe features. Tufts, ears, and nostrils.  I tried to use contrasting colors that were able to stand out from one another.

I added black scribbly outlines to my giraffe to bring out his spots. I used Golden Matte Medium to adhere the spots so they would stay securely put on the giraffe. Below you can see all of the pieces in progress and almost ready to share my finished piece. 

 I had to put it up in my living room next to the beautiful Octopus angel swap I received from a fellow artist Jennie Sanderson. BEAUTIFUL WORK!!! (hers :)) Octopus has the unlikeliest of new friends...giraffe.

This is my finished Recipe Art Challenge piece:

For not loving watercolors, for limiting my colors to warm, for only using a black pen and making gesso and watercolor effective in the same piece..I am overly pleased and so happy I was able to participate in this Recipe Art Challenge. I would NEVER have made or even imagined to create something like this. It was so much fun and I love it! What more can you ask for from your art?
Thanks for visiting!

Art for Fun!

Art is supposed to be fun.  Sometimes it becomes less fun when you try to create a specific thing or put limitations or expectations on it.  I participate in different challenges throughout the week and they usually don't take very long. I'm a quick artist. What I mean by this is that I want to start and finish a piece in the same sitting..which could range from 20 minutes to an hour.  I don't wait for paint, mod podge, or modeling paste to dry. That is what my embossing gun is for.

Also..Coffee is an art in 2 forms. Photography and the creating of a perfectly steamed milk and coffee syrup to shots ratio. My favorite and pictured to the side is a triple white chocolate gingerbread mocha affogatto. (2 shots in the coffee, one floated on top of the foamy milk) This was my morning and I LOVED it!

Once upon a time I would start out drawing what I wanted to see accomplished on the page. That was good for a purpose of following form and function, but as I have grown as an artist and embrace the mixed media style of art a few squirts of paint and a smear here and a scrape there, I'm ready to go.

I have a multitude of journals. Too many to count and types to mention. I do have a journal that I have dubbed my "trial and error" no mistakes journal. It is a Dylusions large journal which I have come to LOVE!! This is the start and progression of my creative random creating for fun. I am a doodler..I doodle on the phone, I doodle in my notes, I doodle on everything.

Pretty simple background of roughly painted colors and shapes. I did use white gesso to soften some of the middle colors, but that did not last for long!

So, doodling ensued and I am loving the use of black and white on color. I use a sakura gelli roll white pen, along with my new favorite black permanent writes on everything Needletip 0.5mm ball Energel Liquid Gel Ink Pentel pen.  (I included any and all descriptions of the pen so if you want you can check it out.

This is my first and favorite doodle on the whole entire page.  I want to turn it into a stamp but I'm not sure how yet. 

This is my 2nd favorite doodle on the page..the white in the center of the pink..Not a flower, but just randomly created doodle. Also prime candidate for a stamp should I find enough patience to slowly cut one out. 

Last but not least..This is a tag I was inspired to make after finding an interesting pinterest pin..Imagine that...something interesting on pinterest. 

http://blog.luluart.com.au/2014/04/12/vintage-butterfly-tag-by-karen-knight/

Here is the original blog and the artist (giving credit!! where credit is due!!) that was discovered through pinterest. 

If you want to check out my pinterest page..here is that link as well:

https://www.pinterest.com/happyart/

So art is absolutely fun and exciting and not always about the challenge provided by others, but the fun challenge of creating something from nothing with no original direction. The tag yes, but the Doodled journal page..just to play for fun..AND it's not done. I'm still playing with in and don't know if it will every truly be done. Just pure fun!

Finding Inspiration in Elementary Art

Most schools in our area, and I think this is common in other states as well, do not have a dedicated art teacher or curriculum set in place.  At schools my son has attended, they have parent volunteers as docents.  At the first school they had lessons planned and sorted in tubs with supplies and lesson plans.  I liked this because not every docent is skilled or even knowledgeable regarding the subject as a volunteer. It also meant that each year the children would be exposed to a variety of different artists and they would not have duplicated projects year to year. I do like progression so if you teach the same lesson year after year you can see how the child's art evolves.

Enough about organized art. At the second school that I am currently involved with, the art docent program is really open-ended. Meaning, you come up with your own projects, lessons, tools, literature, and examples. So you can use the items in the storage room of an elementary school such as paint, watercolors, sharpies, and construction paper. Anything out of the ordinary or creative is out of your own pocket. Knowing art and having years of prepared materials this is not a big deal for me. I can tweak a lesson so many directions and ability levels it's not even funny.

I used pieces of Happy Mail from artist friends, such as the Oz stamp, Alice, Altered tickets, small vintage woman picture and the stamped arrow image. 

One of the projects at the school this year was classroom wide for a leadership symposium for the Leader in Me Program.  One of the parents (an artistic lady and very good friend of mine) presented a project that would tie into the ideas and dreams of each individual child in the school.  Each child was photographed. One project used the kids body outlines to make constellations of themselves.  Another project was the side profile picture in 8x10 size cut out and tape masking lines this way and that, painted over and removed for the kids to write positive leadership things about themselves.  The favorite of mine and where my inspiration for the page came from is such a stunning and beautiful project.

Here's the basic steps:

1. Paint shades of blues in different values with watercolors on watercolor paper.
2. Drop salt to soak up some paint and create a "starry" effect.
3. Add glitter on top for a little bit of sparkle while the watercolor is still wet.
4. Add a side profile picture of the child/or myself as in my project in the bottom left corner.
5. Choose ephemera and pictures or items of things that represent you, or that you dream about
6. Lay out the elements on the page above the picture for a composition that you like. Some things overlap each other and create texture.
7. Glue down all the items and adhere to a black background paper.

I just used the same techniques with different colors and items that were special to me. This is the journal page the elementary project inspired.  This was made for a watercolor prompt. I usually don't use watercolor but need to expand that area of my artist toolbox.

Recent Pages

Just a couple of pages I was working on. The first one I call, "my kid was being a brat about getting his hair cut, so I went to my art room and made this". I used reds and oranges that I typically wouldn't. I saw the color scheme in another post and decided I needed to try it out. Very organic creation with this one. The second one is a using a stamp I made as a custom element. You can check out more at DLP prompt for a custom element which talks more about this page. This was a simple 2 sided block stamp in a box kit from Dick Blick. The face is carved on one side and the hat on the other. I like to think they have a zetti girl feel to it. I've tried coloring the image but prefer it as a one color statement. This page also uses happy mail postcard pieces from an abstract postcard swap. The colors really popped and I was going to mimic them with the blue circles but started adding other fun elements. Out of my normal box, and I LOVE it!