Currently Browsing: Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Paper 16 articles
Another Look at the Sennelier Ink Brush Pen
I mentioned the other day that I picked up four of the Sennelier Ink Brush Pens. Since then I keep using them for warm up sketches. Today you can see a warm-up sketch made with the Payne’s Gray brush pen. I’ve included the video of the sketch session on YouTube at this link. My […]
Drawing to Improve Your Mood
Recovering from the iliac vein dissection has been difficult. It’s placed limits on my mobility and energy. I’ve had to change how I think about exercise. My heart is broken that I can’t cycle any more. One morning I wrote this caption on the next page in my journal, after a painful effort of exertion. […]
In Context: Sketching to Work Something Out
The other day I sketched this white Chihuahua. I went in too dar with the ink to start, and at one point before much was down, I made a small circle at the top right to start again, but then I thought, “Just look at the hair.” And I went back to the main sketch […]
Attitude
Attitude—is it a glance, a glare, the curl of a hair, the posture, the stance? The incorporated whole embodying presence.
In Context: Beyond Likeness
I make a lot of notes about the blog posts I want to write. A couple days ago I drew this cat. One of my notes was sitting there on my desk. Together they seem to say succinctly what I wanted to say about “why draw?” and the search for likeness in portraits. I’ll stop […]
Sometimes You Want to Use a Fine-tipped Pen…
I love working with my various brush pens, but sometimes you have a subject that calls out for the use of a finer tipped pen. Besides that, Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media paper loves a fine-tipped pen. It’s a win-win. Explore the fine-tip pens you enjoy using today—what types of papers do they pair […]
For the Love of Negative Space
I hear all sorts of things from my journaling students. “How much negative space should I leave on my journal spread?” “How much space should surround my focal point?” “How much text and how much more illustration should I put on my page spread?” “How should I arrange these 5 things on my page spread […]
Journaling Predictions and Creative Momentum
Even after all the decades I’ve kept a journal I am still amused by the lack of accuracy in its (i.e. my) predictions. Constantly surprised in humorous ways how things don’t turn out as I suspect. Always amazed at how the conscious mind might be working at something and all the while the mind’s creative […]
In Context: Comfort Foods
Comfort foods, we all have them. Some are actually healthy for us. Others we merely think are healthy for us and forget some key information! In 2021 I had a major internal system breakdown (nothing Covid related). Later I realized that my reversion to my comfort food of tuna and rice, was not a great […]
In Context—Use Every Moment to Sketch
In December there were a lot of appointments and a good deal of rushing about. And I’d decided to fill a Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Soft covered journal (7.75 x 9.75 inch) in about 10 days. Of course. So it was important to use every moment to sketch. You can read about this moment […]