Springtime Sketching - An Irish Blessing

I thought I'd take a moment to share my latest Moleskine Journal Sketch. Watercoloring my sketch is next. I asked my Everydaymatters Yahoo Group about using Masking Fluid in my Watercolor Moleskine and several people assured me that it would be ok. So my plan is to mask the flowers and create a cool splash of greens in the background of the plant and add a bit of purple here and there. Here's what the sketch looks like before color... color coming soon!

Hopefully this will be one of my last photos of my artwork because I just purchased an Epson RX595 Photo All-in-One, complete with scanning capabilties. The only problem is my computer is a little bit sick right now. It has a virus (or two or three) and is running really slowly. I'm hoping to take it in somewhere this week and have it fixed so I can load the software for my new All-in-One! Oh the fun I plan on having with my new Epson! Just wait and see.... :)

This has been a crazy busy week and everything finally caught up with me because now I'm sick. That's right. I waited all winter long to catch a cold first thing Spring arrives! Now I'm going to curl up on my couch and continue to drink fluids so I can beat this cold and finally enjoy Springtime!! It is finally here!!

Adding a Bit of Color to My Moleskine

Friday night was a quiet night at home that inspired me to get out my new watercolor set. After I set up my tray table, plugged in my trusty red Ipod into the stereo, and started the latest audiobook on my playlist, I was ready to use my half pan set. And I have to say it was quite relaxing to paint while listening to The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff. (I'll write more about this book after I finish it, but I'm really enjoying this read.)

First, I made a palette on paper of the colors in my set -- just to test them out, so to speak. I didn't take any pictures of the color tests and mixes, but I do have pictures of my Watercolor Moleskine sketch after adding some color. The picture below shows my tray table full of stuff...limited space, but I made it work.

I had fun mixing the colors for the flower buds and was impressed at how the colors on the packet of seeds turned out. Below is a larger picture of the outcome.

And that was my Friday night. On Saturday my mom had the day off and we did a bit of shopping at the craft stores. And today, I still had the bargain bug and went to Office Max & Office Depot.

Here are some of my finds yesterday and today:

• A 12 color set of Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils for 40% off. This will be a great starter set for me to begin with.
  
  
• My other really great find was a mini set of 48 Crayola Colored Pencils for a whole $2.60!! It even came in a cool plastic carrying case with a mini pencil sharpener. Can't get a better deal than that!
  
  
• Fleur-de-lis doodads! I've loved fleur-de-lis for years and suddenly you can find them everywhere. I'm starting to look for dangles to decorate my journals and to decorate other projects.
  

The weekend is great for bargain shopping and now garage sales will begin! To all those who spent their weekend like I did, I hope you also found some great bargains!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend before Monday begins!

Springtime Sketches

So, I have Spring Fever! For the last couple days I've been walking to work. This is the plan now. I only live across the street from where I work. And now that the weather is getting nice and that it is actually light out at around 7am when I go to work, the short walk is beautiful. And this morning I saw and heard my first Robin -- a sure sign of Spring! Soon the tree outside my patio will have leaves and that Robin I saw on my way to work this morning will probably try to start building a nest on the drain pipe on my patio. I live on the 3rd and top floor of my apartment building. Birds seem to try this every spring, and it never really works out well because there is no protection from that harsh Fargo wind. So as soon as they have a small patch of muddy grass plastered on the nook of the drain pipe connected to the roof, the wind picks up and blows all of their hard work to the ground below. But who knows, maybe this year will be different for the hopeful family of birds?

Over the weekend, my spring fever travelled to my sketchbook. I was looking at a gardening book at my parents' house and found some neat quotes that helped spark this sketch and made me remember my Grandpa's backyard/garden. When I was little, I remember my Grandpa planting Sweet Peas in March -- probably just around St. Patrick's Day. He had a trellis in his backyard, by the garden. Whenver I was playing outside, I used to check on delicate blooms and watch their progress up the little fence. I thought they were the most beautiful flowers -- and still do, really.

Yesterday I journeyed to Starbucks with my sketchbook, my Watercolor Moleskine, and I resketched so I can add a little bit of color with my new Winsor & Newton Half Pan set. I haven't gotten as far as painting yet, but will be sure to add the aftershot when I do! I want to try and make the color appear aged (on the packet of seeds and on the book), so we'll see how that goes. Below is my Moleskine sketch. Since this sketchbook is a bit smaller, I couldn't fit all of the quotes. I also realized that I need to practice lettering or Calligraphy.

What will I be sketching next? Here's a preview of my furry model... I want to do a sketch of my puppy, Kali Mazoo! Her side profile is so charming. Her fuzzy ears and teddy-bear button nose can melt anyone's heart! More to come later... Happy Sketching!