M6.Ch5 Repeats

I used this chapter as a means of getting back into the work after a long break.  Having done the first activity I thought I had finished and started to blog only to discover I'd only done a quarter!  So it took a long time to do it all.

A.6.5.1.  Templates.  Here are the templates I used, although I did find the simpler ones easier and found I was simplifying them as I went.

Both the leaves and wall seemed to suggest lines so that is why so many of my pictures turned out long.  This is walnut ink background with soft pastels.

This one is ink based paints, lovely and bright. 

 
 I used a water colour background for the first picture and ink based paints for the second, not sure which I like best, it must depend on what next.  I used thick acrylic for the stones.  I like the different shades of grey better.

 I still like my dandelion clock.  I did make another picture with it, white crayon on black, overlapping the shapes but seem to have lost it.  Rather like the pink though, Sharpie on water colour.

 I like this too, water colour with Inktense veins.  Couldn't decide on a background so didn't put one in, again think it depends on its use.

 A.6.5.2.  Cutouts.  The first two are tissue paper arranged on khadi paper then acrylic wash.

 For this picture I just dropped the tissues shapes onto a large piece of tissue paper to make a random pattern.

 I liked the idea of newspaper for the wall.  They worked better close together. The backgrounds look very pale compared with the real colours.

                                      

 A.6.5.3.  Using a grid.  I first drew too small a grid so the leaf shape disappears.

 These two are better and I like the irregular grid.

 A.6.5.4.  Transparent sheets.  I chose the wrong motifs for this exercise so I'm not very happy with the results.

 I felt the simpler shapes worked better, ie. the grass and leaves, so traced them separately and used them for moving on.

 Because I traced them I used thin paper so decided to use pastels, then needed a background and used watercolour which messed up the paper!  The first is just pen cut up followed by oil pastel.  Then soft pastel and lastly coloured pencils.  I like the last best, especially with the pen outline.

M6 Ch4 Taking a Closer Look

A6.4.1. Taking a Closer Look.  I can't help feeling that with this chapter I got a bit sidetracked and excited by the spring which was bursting out all over so I kept taking photos of the flowers as they appeared. 

I did start with some ivy pictures. 

Then a series of dandelions, leaf (not much enthusiasm there but it completed the series)a seed head, a flower and a seed head in the rain.  I was pleased with how the seed head turned out as it took me some time to work out how to tackle it.

 A bit more wall...

 ...followed by lichen on a gravestone.  I found it very difficult to do this and felt I could do a better job with stitch.

 An early morning walk and a photo taken by sticking the camera down among the grass and taking a photo pot luck revealed these little creatures when I put the photo on the computer.  Couldn't have done it if I'd tried.

 This bluebell was also a lucky photo.  The bee seemed so pleased the bluebells were coming out at last it didn't fly away as soon as I took my camera out.

A6.4.2.  Adding Colour.  Somehow this activity just didn't seem to come out well.  I think tone (or lack of) is the biggest problem.  First, my watercolour wall looks like a scene from the Arctic.

 The dandelion flower, water colour background and acrylic flower, I was quite pleased with but the seed heads not so good.  One trouble was that I couldn't make the watercolour background any darker or my pencil marks wouldn't show.  Another time I just have to do it straight off without pencil.

 I tried both ink and acrylic for this and it is impossible to tell which is which so for the next one I just used acrylic.  It is very pale but I quite like it.  Again a watercolour background.

 I used pastels for the petal and newly acquired Inktense pencils for the insects and stamen.

 Tried oil pastels for the lichen and a colour wash over.  Better than just the pencil but still not right.

 I used colour pencils for the bluebell and water colour for the leaves.  It's my favourite coloured in picture, the one I think works best.

 I just used Inktense crayons for this.  I liked the crayons as I had control over the colour.  Need more practise though.

M6 Ch3 Beginning to explore your theme - Pen and ink drawing

A.6.3.1. Mark making with pens.  I decided to make do with the pens I had, at least to start with, to see how I got on.  I like the dark brown pens and have obviously used the permanent one a lot as it is running out.  The felt tip is rather thick but I do have a box of them, left over from teaching. I like the patterns that can be made from stippling.

 Cross hatching is more exciting than hatching.

 A reminder that cheap cartridge paper doesn't like water, it's gone all wavy.

 A.6.3.2. Drawing with pen.  I had a great time going round the village with my camera.  I had thought to take my sketch pad too but everytime I planned it the cold wind blew!  The weather has changed now so I still hope to have a go. I think it will be very different to drawing from a photo as there are no boundaries.  This kissing gate is my first attempt, one I was quite pleased with, especially when my husband recognised where it is.

 I think ivy will be a recurring theme in my final work, I like the shape of the leaves and the way it winds round everything.  I was pleased with the drawing but then mucked up the hatching.

This photo was taken late in the afternoon and showing long shadows on the grass was quite a challenge.

I love the flint in the walls -takes me back to my childhood in Sussex.  Using a colour wash to take off the whiteness definitely improved the look of the wall section.

 I like the top right corner of this picture but had difficulty showing the way the water was flowing, from right to left with a swoosh round to the bottom left.

 Drawing the blackthorn was more difficult than I expected but so pretty.  Until I saw the photo I hadn't realised how many and how big the stamens were.  I hadn't planned to add the colour wash but felt the flowers disappeared in the background.  I was worried about adding wet as I had used a non-permanent pen so added the green very carefully avoiding the flowers and am pleased with the result, including the way the background has smudged.

M6 Ch2 Experimenting with free standing books.

M6 Ch1 Choosing a Theme.  As you can see, this photo isn't ch 2 at all but my initial thoughts for my chosen theme, 'Charminster Footpaths'.

A.6.2.1/2 I put these two activities together as I investigated websites and tried some ideas I saw there as well as ones suggested by Viv.  The first 2 photos are zigzag books with 'signatures'.  The first is 'dos-a-dos' and the second straightforward.  I liked the idea of 'signatures'.

Here are a couple of 'flag books', one simple, one a little more complicated.  I wasn't particularly struck with this idea.

 Here are some ideas from ones seen on websites.  The first and third were on 'Images,' and the second (middle one) an idea by Sue Doggett.

 And here are a couple of children's zigzag books in my possession. The little house is remarkably robust being bought 30 years ago for my 2 year old, it has been in the hands of  numerous school children, not to mention grandchildren.  The zigzag book with flaps is as old but not very popular.

I did like the work of Sarah Edmonds who has made a wonderful selection of lovely books.  Ideas - Different shapes and sizes, papercuts and patterns, lots of little booklets within stiff covers with a wide spine.

Australian Marianne Little also had a good selection, making zigzags into stars or other folds, cut zigzag structures like houses or dolls.

Kelmscott Manor 'how to' website suggested tying the finished book together.

'Images' showed boxes to keep the finished book in, eg. a coffin for a coffin shaped book.