Created a second plate to match the first one. They'd make a pretty decent set, don't you think? Here are both plates:
Which one do you prefer? I may have to work on perhaps two more to complete the set ... but it will have to wait, as I'm off for a 10 day trip tomorrow night! Will try to keep up with the assignments and blogging while I'm away, fingers crossed.
Have a lovely week! Cheers.
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Have I mentioned yet, that I love love loved this assignment from my Make Art That Sells e-course? Perhaps over here, with the preliminary sketches. It's taken an absurdly long time but it's finally finished and you can see the result above. What do you think?
This week I really spent time on the exercise and stopped to seriously consider my own likes, taste and preferences ... I adore homeware and collect hand-painted plates, mugs, etc, so it was, personally, truly essential that this be 'right' ... for myself as a buyer. It's with a certain amount of pride that I can say that I'd buy the plate above, with pleasure.
Here are more of the preliminary sketches and the painting in acrylics that was eventually scanned in and then broken down into separate elements in photoshop:
The pencil sketch had been scanned in previously, and was printed out and then outlined in black separately so that, if I screwed up, I wouldn't destroy the original painting. It was then superimposed upon the artwork in photoshop ...
The whole thing was then tweaked mercilessly and each stem/flower/odd pod separated so that they could be placed and re-placed until the right balance was achieved. Phew. It's been tougher than expected, but it's done. Next step will be creating a couple more plates along the same lines to match the above as a set ... just for my own pleasure.
A huge, wonderful, thoroughly enjoyable, learning experience. If you ever get the chance to, take the Make Art That Sells e-course by Lilla Rogers. As far as I'm concerned it's brilliant.
Wishing you a wonderful and creative day! Cheers.
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Another exercise for my Make Art That Sells e-class and I'm really enjoying this one. No, wait, let's rephrase that ... I am loving loving loving it.
Last week I tip-toed out of my comfort zone and I'll have to admit that I was not very comfortable with the results. So this week I decided to instead sidle sideways a bit. Sticking to tried and true as far as drawing is concerned, but will be trying different mediums instead. Meanwhile, did quite a few rough sketches of "odd pods" and strange, quirky botanical bits and bobs and that's definitely up my street.
This last one is my favourite and I shall be working on it to develop an exercise for class, after which I'll try different styles and ideas along the same lines, as, I am - have I mentioned this yet? - loving this week's assignments!
The results will be shared once I'm done. Wishing you a day full of joy and new discoveries! Cheers.
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Phew, it's been a tough week. Loads of work, lovely visitors, and tons of challenging coursework to complete for the brilliant Make Art That Sells e-course I'm taking. Not much time for much else, including sleep. But I did it. Not only did I survive but it was a hugely amazing learning experience.
The Mushrooms Twist pattern collection above is the result of dipping my toes into unknown waters and wading out of my comfort zone (I used some of the drawings from my last post, here) ... I've explored using icons and textures and free-flowing them all into a pattern - that I'm not wholly comfortable with I must admit, but the fact that it's the beginning of a leap (swim/dive/wade?) into unknown waters is, personally, wonderful. It's an adventure.
Once it had been uploaded into class I took a look at some of the work from the other students and was pretty much blown away, they are brilliantly talented. Hugely inspiring.
Too exhausted now, I need to catch up on sleep! Perhaps dream of patterns and colours and icons. I've already started work on the next mini-exercise and will post those in a couple of days. Meanwhile, here's the above pattern again - what do you think that would look like on, say, a tea towel?
Wishing you a day full of beauty. Cheers.
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There's so much to say today that it's difficult to know where to begin. The exciting news is that I've enrolled in, and just started on, a new e-course - Make Art That Sells, run by the amazing Lilla Rogers. We've barely begun, yet inspiration is already soaring after an exploration of the lovely creative worlds of my talented fellow students.
Here's an icon created specially to celebrate going back to school. The fact that Lilla Roger's logo fits just right in the spot where i had my little house seems particularly apt:
Started working on mini-assignments and thought I'd share some of the in-progress steps here, followed by photos of my reorganized workspace ...
First up, playing with different styles and mediums while sketching mushrooms and vintage pyrex casserole dishes:
Next, drawings of pyrex casseroles ... what I loved most about this exercise is the fact that we actually had some of these dishes when I was growing up. Wish I still had them now ...
You might recall the photos taken of my Creative Workspace at the beginning of the year, here. The studio area had to be completely reorganized soon after, so it was moved into a different area and this is the result (these pics were taken just before working on the assignment, which is why you see the row of lined up button mushrooms posing for the sketches!):
I love learning new things, it's a lifetime occupation really. This e-course is already teaching me to perceive and create in different ways, so I know I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. Will be posting updates along the way ...
Wishing you a day full of fun creativity. Cheers.
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The cherries from my tree, painted in watercolour. They're simple, rough, completely imperfect, bordering on silly childish and obviously the work of a rank amateur. I love them. I love the fact that I'm painting and that these are my baby step results. They fill me with an almost smug, self-satisfied joy. Isn't that simply wonderful?
I've drawn cherries (not from the tree but from the summer markets) before, in coloured pencil, you can take a peek here. Very different, don't you think? I love both ... am I allowed to say that? I've said it anyway.
... and here are the photos I remembered to take in between dipping that brush in the gorgeous globs of paint and water ...
There's a loooong way to go yet, and a lot to learn about the process of painting. I have a feeling that it's going to be a brilliant journey.
Painted in my moleskine sketchbook. Wishing you a day full of the joys of discovery. Cheers.
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Taking the pressure off ... and picking up the brushes to doodle with watercolour. What fun! It's just a simple, playful piece, but I've included the steps and process as I'm so delighted to actually be painting. They're in reverse order, only because I do like having the end result up at the top of the post ...
Ok, ok, you guys out there who have been trying for years to get me to pick the brush up again and this time stick to it (you know who you are), telling me that I'd enjoy it, you were right. I get it now, I really do. It's about being serious without taking it too seriously.
There have been attempts at painting with watercolours before this - I'll add a list at the end for anyone interested in taking a peek - but somehow this time it's different. Perhaps I'm slightly more self-confident, and therefore more relaxed, who knows. But it's a joy. This time I'm sticking to it, so watch this space for more happy experimenting.
Previious watercolour attempts:
Wishing you a day full of joyful new discoveries! Cheers.
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I'm not quite sure why it's taken so long to pick up the brushes. There's obviously some element of fear involved here - probably of being disappointed in the end result, as it definitely won't look the same as it does in my mind. But that perfectionist editor within was finally tucked away into a dark corner, and the paints were brought out, and so here's the result.
It's rough, simple, very amaterish, but it's a start. One of my cups for morning coffee!
And here are a few of the steps (in reverse) I took once the sketch was done in pencil and the brush tentatively picked up,:
I used watercolours bought from the supermarket for this little test piece, painted into my Seawhite of Brighton square sketchbook from Jackson's. FInally, here's the photograph of the 'real' cup in order to do true justice to its real artist. I'm not sure who that is, so if anybody knows, please do tell. I bought the cup from the markets in Bangalow, Australia a few years back and love her work. You'll see a few more of her cups in the near future.
Wishing all of you a triumphant day! Cheers.
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This was meant to be a quick sketch. ha ha. Took three hours to finish in the end ... The shadow beneath the mug was photoshopped in after the scan, as it looked too much like it was floating in mid-air. Drawn with coloured pencils in a square Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook from Jackson's.
I've added the step-by-step (in reverse) photos below, as well as a photograph I took of the mug before finally drinking the tea. If you manage to read on past that, there are a few notes I made on the link between creativity and humour ...
I've been working intensely these past couple of months, building a strong foundation for the business - head in my books and eyes on the computer screen. It took some time to notice that spring had arrived, which led to the realisation that the scales of balance had been tipped too far into the 'serious' zone and that, somewhere along the way, enjoyment of home, and, more importantly, a general sense of humour about life and all that stuff, had been left behind.
This led to thoughts about humour and its link to creativity ... and as fate would have it (don't you just love when that happens?), looking through my inbox I discovered an e-mail with the link to an article on 25 Way to be More Creative where I read this lovely little snippet:
"Laughing has been shown to help people think more broadly, associate freely, and notice complex relationships. One study found that people who had just watched a video of television bloopers were better at solving a puzzle long used by psychologists to test creative thinking.
Edward de Bono writes about humor in his book, “I am Right, You are Wrong”. He explains that humor is based on a logic very different from traditional logic. The significance of humor is that it indicates pattern-forming, pattern asymmetry and pattern-switching. Therefore, humor has the same basis as creativity and lateral thinking."
Had to share. The rest of the article, on the Daring to Live Fully site, is just as wonderfuly motivating or eye-opening, so if you'd like to read it just click here.
hmmm, does this mean that I should start watching television bloopers? LOL. Have a light-hearted, laughter-filled day! Cheers.
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The weather finally seems to be catching up with the season and it's getting warmer, the sun is shining, and it's time to celebrate the coming summer. I'm planning to spend tomorrow in the garden again (yay), and to bask in a bit of warm sunshine. Perfect time to clean up and upload a new text design ...
Still experimenting with photography (failing miserably as yet but I'll get it eventually, I will!), here are a couple of shots of the original drawing/sketch in my large 'Ideas' Moleskine journal:
Yes, I took it out into the garden (*smile*). And below is the final design, all cleaned up in photoshop and ready for public viewing:
Colourful and cheerful, don't you think? I've already begun putting it up on products, as you can see here. And if you're curious to see more, here are the links to what I've done so far:
Summertime at Floating Lemons Cafepress
Summertime at Floating Lemons Typography on Zazzle
Summertime fabric collection at Spoonflower
Wishing you a happy, bright day! Cheers.
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