inspiration monday

"throughout the ages there were men who took first steps down new roads

armed with nothing but their own vision" ayn rand

every time i think about someone walking down a new road without a map, it's pure inspiration to me. because if you think about it, isn't that really what we're doing each time we open our journal and stare at that blank page, or pull out a fresh canvas, or rustle through our fabric stash? every mark on the page, stroke on the canvas, and stitch on the fabric is like a brand new step......the materials may be familiar, but what we do with them is a little different each time we venture out. many times we don't have a clue where we're going, and sometimes the road gets a little bumpy, but as long as we have faith in the creative process, we'll get to where we're supposed to be.

so, march on sweet bloggy artist friend.....march on!!!

journal page finished using pitt "shades of gray" markers

another gray day

we've had overcast skies and lots of rain for the past couple of days, so this little gray doodle sure fits the mood. to create this, i used a leaf rubber stamp, staz-on ink, "shades of gray" pitt pens, micron pens, an 8B pencil, and techniques that i learned in pam carriker's online class, shades of gray.

here's looking forward to bluer skies tomorrow!!

one more grey day

i know that there are lots of sweet people out there in blogland.....and i'm wondering how in the world did i get so blessed that all of the sweetest-of-the-sweet bloggers....the sweet-elite.....come to my blog?!! i appreciate you SO much!! your encouraging and heartfelt comments never fail to put a big 'ol smile on my face.....thank you, thank you, thank you for making my world so colorful!

and with all of that color floating around, you'd think that some of it would have made it into my journal today! here's another project from my shades of grey online class......and while i've been a little homesick for a colorsplash the past few days, i must admit that i really love the way these turned out! pam has shown me how much fun going back to the basics can be....and for this lesson, she proves her point by using rubber stamps and watercolor crayons. using the crayons is a ton of fun, and they give a fabulously soft, cozy, mottled, artsy result!

these images were stamped and then painted using black, grey and white watercolor crayons. the outlining and checkerboard frame was drawn using an extra-small black pitt marker, and a 4B pencil was used for the shading (pam uses an 8B, but i didn't have one of those). then i used my trusty micron pens to give the images a title, and presto.....coloring for grown-ups!!

black, white and grey all over

this is a little doodle that i came up with, trying to use the shading exercises that i'm learning in pam carriker's shades of grey online class. i must admit that using a black, white, and grey palette is quite different than what i'm used to.....trying to create the same doodle whimsy without using my rainbow stash of watercolor pencils has been a bit of a challenge! and this is probably the only time you'll ever see me color a heart grey!

journal page finished using pitt brush-tipped pens, micron pens, pencil

going backwards

i've decided that if i want to go forward with my artwork.....i'm going to have to backwards (huh?). i'm not really a "rule breaker" by nature, but i've noticed that when it comes to my artwork, i seem to be breaking the rules before i really even know what they are.

take drawing, for example. i took some instruction from a very talented local artist over a year ago. we started by drawing a matchbox.....and then shading it in. our only tool was a pencil. that was fun.....for the first lesson.

and my impatient side started urging me to skip over all of those "shading in the sphere" exercises.....i wanted to draw! why spend time stippling, blending and crosshatching when i was so eager to get to the "serious stuff"?

and now here i am today still trying to draw.....and wondering why they always look so flat and unsparkly when i'm finished. could it be that they need some stippling, blending and crosshatching?

uh-huh.

so i'm going back to the drawing board, and this time i'm going to follow the rules so i can learn what they really are. and i figure that pam carriker's online class, shades of gray, is the perfect place to start.....bring on the stippling, blending and crosshatching!!

journal page finished using pitt brush tip markers in three shades of grey, pitt XS black artist pen, uniball signo white gel pen, pencil