What's in My Sketchbook?

I drew up a lone tree in my sketchbook a few weeks ago and had been thinking of what to do with it.

Then an idea struck me after I put up my Christmas tree on 1st December.  I drew / painted some moss like string web with little white balls hanging from the lone tree.  Then I painted the background with darker color which reminded me of winter night.  And there you go ...

It is interesting how the things in our life inspire our creativity.  And I hope you enjoy this little imaginary Christmas Tree of mine! :)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (which I'm late for my entry this week) - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!

What's in My Sketchbook?

I found myself thinking of butterfly pupa a lot lately.

Did you know that the process of a pupa turning into a butterfly is called "Metamorphosis"?  The little caterpillar inside the pupa basically breaks down to an almost liquid form so the cell could re-grow into a butterfly.

I wonder if this is related to my recent workplace drama.  I'm definitely watching my mind spinning and twirling with loads and loads of images.

Here are the butterflies ...(still working with acrylic washes)

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

It's been a long while since my last post and I'm very sorry for missing sooooo long ...

The last couple of weeks have been a very difficult time for me

As a result of workplace re-structure, I came to a sudden realization of being the "aging" staff in the workplace.  Though the company has used every rational & logical reasons to ask me to step down, I knew the truth behind all the sweet talk.

The process had brought out lots of angst, frustration and emotional pain that I've never anticipated.  It also brought out a great urge to take stock of my life.  Hence, you'll understand the reasons for my absence. 

Anyway, enough of the personal drama and let's see what I got for you this week-

another sketch of bones.  (You can see that I'm really obsessed with bones, right?  Hahaha!)

Again, this is another practice of using acrylic washes to paint.  The pix shows the color a lot paler than the original as I picked light color scheme for this little work.  I knew I should start using watercolor paper for the practice but I want to finish this sketch book (total of 50 pages) as well.  I think I might need to speed things up so to move on. 

Two interesting things about this sketch:

• the bones I picked are all from the hip region of a horse

•  I prepared the sketch work while I was going through treatment of my degenerative hip.

I swore to you that I didn't know about it til I finished the entire work.  How fascinating our unconscious mind work?  ;)

I hope you enjoy the sketch and apologize for the personal rant.

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's in My Sketchbook?

Sorry for missing last week's sketchbook page ...

Got too many things on the plate ... and each one of them was fighting for my attention and energy ...it's always the creative projects which got put at the back burner ...

Another try of using acrylic washes to sketch / paint a rose.  A very time consuming process for a very small work (A5 size).  But I loved the fact that I was able to lose myself completely in the process and got away from the human problems for awhile.

(Apologize for the poor quality of the pix.  Haven't been able to catch a sunny day for a better shot!)

 

Now what else could I share with you of my creative venture?

I've got lots of things brewing in my mind, but it all comes down to master the required skills to make it happens.  This is where I'm experiencing the most frustration!

I remember an advice I read years ago from an art blog.  (sorry can't remember the blog name ...)  The art blogger encourages all creatives NOT to give up on any one of their ideas, especially those one which makes your spine tingle or your skin crawls with strange sensation.  Record it in crude sketches, jot it down as note or create a file in your computer to store it.

You might not have the skill to "materialize" it now,  but if you continue to learn and practice.  The day will come when you're ready for your BIG work.

No great creative work is done in a day.  Over time, ideas grow, evolve and so are your skills.  It will then be your time to do the work you're meant to do.  The work that only you could do.

This is what I'm hanging onto right now so that I could still sketch and paint. 

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's in My Sketchbook?

First thing first – I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to visit all the PPFers’ work last week.  It’s been crazy at work and I’m still running on low fuel.  Guess this situation will continue for awhile … :(

Anyway, here is another beetle (Hercules Beetle) for my fellow creatives …

This is quite an exciting sketch/paint work for me!  Let me tell you why.

I mostly use watercolor for my sketchbook.  But because of watercolor being non-permanent, when I glaze it with another color, there’s always the worries like:

-                     the paints being lifted off

-                     bleeding

-                     color getting muddy

I’ve been researching on and off about how to paint with thin acrylic washes.  And this is my 2^nd try.  I can’t say I got the hang of it or like it yet.  But the fact that I was able to finish the sketch work with thin acrylic washes was thrilling for me!

The permanence of acrylic washes makes glazing more fun.  But then this also posts a challenge to my color mixing knowledge which is still quite limited at this stage.

I also find that the colors lose some of its intensity due to dilution with water.  That actually suits me well as I’ve always enjoy “paler” (less intense … subtler …) color scheme.  It seems like I’ve found a way to create the color palette that I like. :)

The main problem I have right now is more about the “grainy” look from the sketch.  I don’t think it’s because of the acrylic washes.  I believe it’s more because of the paper of the sketchbook.  The sketchbook I’m using is of “student grade”.  The paper is rather thin and therefore unable to accept the numerous washes I lay on it.  But I’ll continue to use this sketchbook for some more practice before I move onto watercolor papers and canvases.

The other continuous problem I have is the ability to create form and texture with minimal pen work.

Do let me know what you think of this sketchbook page.  All comments are welcomed!

And I’m terribly sorry for the quality of the photo.  I’m just too excited to share this with you and can’t wait for a sunny day to take pretty pix!

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's In My Sketch Book?

I have always love “botanical Illustration”, especially those from the Victorian period.  A lot of them were drawn by naturalists as they explored new land (like my beloved Aussieland!).

The drawings the naturalists done were mostly of watercolour with beautiful line work.  They captured the plant so beautifully and still maintained the correct anatomical form of the species for scientific research purposes.

Of course, my sketch /drawing / watercolour skills are no where near the naturalists, but I think I’d give it a try.

Here is a little flower sketch work for your musing. :)

Apart from dealing with the health issue, there have been major upheavals in my work place that it's affecting other aspects of my personal life.  In other words to say, I've been feeling out of sort or maybe more accurately, I'm burnt out!!!

What more better to do when the going gets tough, the tough go blog surfing ...

I came across an interesting blog button when visiting Sadee's place.  I followed the link to find out about Creative Courage.  I took it as synchronicity at work and enrolled to the e-Course later that day.  (Yeap, it's as if I have hours and hours of free time and boundless energy ...)

Creative Courage is a 7-week e-Course hosted by Stephanie Levy.  The course is not related to any art making skills but to deal with the foundation of all creative venture.

To quote Stephanie's own words about the course: 

"Creative Courage is a seven week e-course that will give you inspiration, tools, and resources to help you realize your creative dreams.  It is designed as a practical guide to help you find, clarify, and follow your unique, creative path." 

The course just started and I'm slowly feeling its effect on me.  Hopefully it will help to sort out some creative issues that I've had since I started to draw and paint.

I'm taking a big breath and dive into the abyss ...  

Til then, my dear fellow bloggers and creatives, have a lovely weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's In My Sketch Book?

Currently, my city (Melbourne) is holding the King Tutankhamun exhibition.  I have booked a ticket on May to see it but had to do a last minute cancellation due to the injury.  Fortunately, the exhibition is to last til early December, there is still time for me to visit.

When I cancelled my visit, I was quite upset as I have always been fascinated by the Egyptian Mythology.  They are full of wondrous imageries – a rich reservoir for imagination and creativity.

And because of this frustration, I found myself thinking (and even dreaming!) of one of the key symbol in Egyptian mythology constantly.  So it was only natural that I made a sketch of it.

 Scarab Beetle, symbol of Sun God, Khepri (see details in link here). 

And when I was working on it, I was also drawn to the idea of the 16^th century’s Curiosity Cabinet.  I imagined I was looking into one of Athanasius Kircher’s cabinet for the Pharoah’s Golden Beetle.

Instead of following the rule of perfectly preserved specimen from the cabinet, I made the beetle a “broken” one.  I don’t quite know why.  Something about an imperfect beetle made sense to me.  I wanted to scope it up in my palm and told “him” that he was beautiful.  (Hmm … you can see how the hybrid mind is working, hahaha!)

Anyway, that’s all for this week’s sketchbook.  Hope you like it!

Cheers and have a wondrous weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin.  All are welcomed!  Do join in to share and support each other!)