The Sketchbook challenge

Almost didn't get time to post my pages for The Sketchbook Challenge... where the first theme is 'Highly Prized'. 

I have spent the last few days trying to remove over 180 viruses from my laptop...aaaaargh.  DG went onto a site to watch something for kids and all of a sudden my laptop went haywire.  PANIC!!  more so because I haven't backed up my files for ages.... Lesson learned.  Thankfully I have a good virus protection but I may not have been so lucky... I am so grateful that my laptop didn't crash... I would have lost soooooo much work!! So please  remember to back up regularly.

Ok on to my pages for the January sketchbook challenge....

This one is about my imagination which is 'Highly Prized' by me.  Sometimes I don't know where the thought process comes from when I create something... but I'm glad that it just 'happens'.   So on this page these things are important to me :-
My vision....for art ... and my sight.
My imagination.... which allows me to see blue leaves... paint falling from the page into puddles and balloons growing from flat paint splats etc.
My pencils and colour... so important in allowing me to give my imagination a voice.

This page is about my learning journey (at the moment with faces) and how much I am enjoying the experience and how thankful that I have the chance to do something which makes me so content :-)

Thanks for looking
be back soon
hugs
Chris xx

Time for crafting again....

as I'm sure I'm wearing out your patience with all the arty stuff :-D  Besides I have tons of stuff to share.  I bought a chipboard flower book with the intention of using it as just that... a book to fill with memories and pictures... but then I changed my mind... super fickle me...lol

I decided to take the book apart and use the pages individually to make frames etc.  This flower hanger ended up double sided just because I got carried away.

 I used Distress re-inkers on the backgrounds and stamps from Crafty Individuals.  This centre image is from a Crafty Individuals booklet too.

For the other side I went for a pretty floral look... just because I had the stamp at my fingertips.

I use my water brush with the distress inks to add colour to the stamped flowers then added fabric flower pieces and a little bit (ok a lot ) of bling to finish off my playtime nicely.

hugs
Chris xx

Whoohooo for Suziblu

I got Suziblu's Self Guided Portrait course as a Christmas pressie but haven't done much about it as I haven't yet got all of the supplies... but I couldn't put it on hold for any longer so although I still need stuff I decided I will do what I can with what I have for now and do some simple graphite and/or coloured pencil work.

I adore Suziblu's style and her gorgeous artwork so I am going to have a ball with this course... I am hoping that I can follow her amazing tutorials but still develop a style of my own :-D  Wish me luck.

I'll tell you what though... I learned a lesson straight away...protect your work from your own fingers!!  The dark blobs on the side of my girlie's  left eye are from the oil on my fingers where I have touched the paper and the it has absorbed more of the graphite....aaaaargh.  In this instance it doesn't spoil my sketch too much but I am going to be ever so much more careful in future.
Thanks for looking
hugs
Chris xx

Let's face it...

I'm a face-a- holic...I just love faces...lol   Big ones... small ones... cute ones... pretty ones... and sometimes not so pretty ones too. 

I am also my own worst critic when I'm drawing them... sometimes the lips are too big... the noses too long...the eyes too far apart or too close together... but they are all emerging from deep within my noggin so to me they are all wonderful... it's a learning curve and the curve is getting shorter day by day.  I have no problem with that.. I am enjoying the journey.  Each sketch has me so involved that I end up in an almost hypnotic place... calm and serene... that can only be a good thing right :D
hugs
Chris xx

More Milliande journal pages

This one is 'striped dragonflies'   it's a bit weird... but I like weird...lol My imagination is so wacky at times :D

This page is about 'vertical journalling' which I would NEVER have thought of doing but could become addicted to now.

See the link to come play on the right if you'd like to come play.
hugs
Chris xx

Milliande's journalling challenge days 5,6 and 7

I've been continuing with the Milliande journalling challenge but there aren't enough days in the week to share everything I've been doing with you.... oooooh super productive I've been.  It's amazing how quickly you can work with a journal, a few pens, oil pastels and watercolours.  I don't spend half the time looking for stuff like I do when I'm crafting (when I'm crafting I usually find that what I want to use is right at the back of a cupboard in the 'might need it later box'...lol)

Ok journalling.... Day 7 was create a zebra by drawing round your hand.

 Day 6 ... Millipede me... did I catch the likeness...lol... the bottom half of me looks pretty familiar... all those Christmas goodies lying on my hips ;-)

Lastly day 7... Create a window in the page.  I was a bit unsure of this one when I started but I love it now it's finished.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend
hugs
Chris xx

Still experimenting....

I can't help it.... new pencils are just an addiction and each time I get some I have to draw.  Derwent coloursoft are GORGEOUS coloured pencils!!  Please forgive me if you are fed up of seeing sketches lol... I just can't help myself.

hugs
Chris xx

Cutie art

I love mermaids... almost as much as I love fairies :-)  It's nice to do something cute once in a while too.

I think she speaks for herself.
hugs
Chris xx

Altered clock face

I was given a gift from a friend a while back... of an old clock to take apart.  I decided it would be fun to alter the clock face with some chipboard cogs from Tando Creative.

I re-did the numbers a little with a sharpie pen as they were wearing off and used a gold marvy marker on the cogs... layering the ink to give a stripey effect.

The cogs made lovely frames for these gentlemanly images from Crafty Individuals... they were a perfect size to just allow a glimpse of the images to wet the appetite.

I don't do masculine very often so this made a nice change
hugs
Chris xx

Fairy village

A little change from sketching and stuff so I can show you this little fairy village I made with Tando chipboard and images from Lisa's altered art.  The little houses are a cinch to put together and are sturdy enough to take a battering from whatever you throw at it.

I painted the houses with acrylic before doodling with sakura pens and adding little gems and I sprinkled my flaky glittery favourite from the £1 shop on the roofs.  I love the stuff... so cheap but soooo pretty.  The photos don't do it justice cos it really sparkles.

You can't have a fairy village without fairies so these cuties from Lisa's altered art were perfect once I added their wings.  They've got little pieces of wire behind to help them stand up.

Have a great day

hugs

Chris xx

Charcoal face

I recently bought myself some charcoal pencils and have been having another play with faces... it's cool experimenting with different mediums... I also found a book of buff coloured paper that I bought for DG so I've claimed it as my new faces book :D

 It's certainly a lot quicker not having to worry about putting the skin tone down.  I struggled with hair but hey ho more practice needed and I'm onto it.  I will get to where I want to be in the end but for now I'm happy to experiment.

I've also been  playing  at doing faces with oil pastels and more graphite ones which I will share with you later... watch this space ;-p
What always surprises me... working from my imagination is how each face transforms before my very eyes... it always makes me wonder if they resemble anyone in real life... ooooer that would be freaky..lol
hugs
Chris xx

Journal January days 3 and 4

Day 3 was printmaking and you won't believe how long I have had some lino and cutting tools and done nothing with them.... so this was the perfect excuse to get them out and play.  Carving zebra stripes was difficult enough so I think it will be a while before I tackle anything more complicated but I do like the result.  I used acrylic paint to stamp with and it was a bit messy but fun too.

Day 4 was to do a face with zebra accents... went a bit crazy with this one...using copic markers, acrylic paint and oil pastels.  I have journalled in white but it doesn't show up in the photo... will have to re-do that I think.

I enjoyed day 4 so much that I got carried away and while I was sitting watching TV I did another page... this time using coloured pencils (they are fast becoming a favourite of mine).

Bit freaky this one...lol  My imagination is working overtime!!
Thanks for looking
hugs
Chris xx

zendoodled zebras

Well you know I love doodling so Day 2  of Milliande's journalling challenge (see link on the right if you'd like to join in)... was a dream for me... I just loved doing it.  The background was created with coloured pencil cos I do like easy...lol

Supplies used... coloured pencil and fineliner black pen.
hugs
Chris xx

zzzzzzzzzzzzzZebra

I'm joining in with Milliande's 2011 journal a page a day.  Don't know if I will manage one every day but I'm gonna try.  There is a daily prompt with video to watch..so some fab inspiration.  January is being inspired by the Zebra and it's really fun. 

I enjoyed using limited supplies on this page... black copic marker, charcoal and a journalling pen was all I used.  Simple but effective and no hunting around for stuff :-) 
hugs
Chris xx

Journal pages in colour

Well I am chuffed to have found a new use for my oil pastels in the second part of the Strathmore visual journal course with Pam Carriker.  I would never have thought of using them with gesso but OMG I just love the technique and will use them even more now.  Opens up so many fab projects for me to do with them in future...whooohooo.

 I like this one best and it came together like a dream.... I had problems with the face on the one below and ended up redoing that part 3 times before it looked half decent!! 

I got a bit fed up in the end so decided to leave it alone even though it's still not how I would like it.  It didn't photograph too well because the paper buckled because of all the layering I did so there are more shadows on it than in reality.  I have a feeling that I will come back to it when I'm feeling a bit more patient and redo the bits I'm not happy with.

hugs

Chris xx

Strathmore online journal workshop

Soooo much fun.... I've joined the journalling workshop series.... the first one with Pam Carriker and I'm so exited.  Not least because I can learn some new techniques but because the first workshop is about recycling old artwork so my face problem from the post below is being solved ;-p  She can have as many hairstyles as I like now :-)  I scanned my sketch and converted it to black and white so I could work on it and add colour.

I enjoyed the first process so much that I dug out some more art that I had done previously and did another collage with it.  Loving it ... and the new look I can produce with stuff I had forgotten about.

Will come back and show you the pages as they progress.
hugs
Chris xx

Too much face.....

not enough page...lol  That'll teach me to draw big eh!!  I really need to take into consideration that a girl needs hair ;-p   I can't think of a way round giving her her crowning glory now so I think she is destined to be used in a journal page or two because if I cut her out and paste her onto another page I will have two levels to deal with...bah.  Don't think the coloured pencil will cope with that and I don't want lines.

I really do need to buy a bigger sketch book... A5 just ain't  big enough for me.... something to do with the eyesight on the old bird...rofl.

Need some really good pencils too now that I've discovered I can use them properly.  These were cheapo ones from tesco... I am just imagining how cool it must be to use the better ones.

hugs

Chris xx

Patience pays off....

well it has in my case anyway.  It took me AGES to draw this but I was over the moon with the result.  I guess the more I practice the quicker I will become which can only be a good thing.  This sketch is a bit surreal in places but I just felt the need to experiment.

 I am growing towards working from reality instead of from what's in my head but I need more practice before I start drawing portraits of REAL people.

 I'm also experimenting with coloured pencils which produces such different results but is so pretty.  I am soooo happy with myself for starting to sketch again.... I guess the talent was always there but sooooo well hidden I'd forgotten about it...lol

Have a great weekend all :-)

hugs

Chris xx

Once upon a time

there was a sweet girl who really wanted to go to the ball. She didn't have the usual crown and pretty dress so didn't think she had a chance of making her dream come true.....

that was until she found the Tando chipboard pumpkin carriage and realised that even if she didn't have a ball to go to she could still be princess for a day :D

Who knows while she is enjoying her ride in her carriage... she may just find her own Prince Charming who will help her to realize her dream eh.

The carriage is a fab size for a box frame I found .... I painted it with white acrylic paint as a base and it just had to have the glitter treatment although it doesn't show up too well in my photos. I used thick flaky glittery stuff that I got from the £1 shop.... I love the texture of it and it just shows crafting doesn't have to cost a fortune.
hugs
Chris xx

Learn...learn...learn...

that's my New Years Resolution for 2011.  What am I going to learn.... ooooh lotsa things on the agenda but the main one is to fulfill a yearning I have had since teenage years... to draw a realistic portrait.  I have found it soooo hard to get back into blogging since Christmas because I have been obsessed with drawing and I can't believe how far I have got in just a couple of weeks.  I am LOVING it!!  I will share with you as I go on so you can see my progress.  Today I am sharing a painting I did before the holidays.... a little bit of whimsy :D  

I decided to have a play digitally so scanned in the girl I painted so I could do a whole scene. We may not have snow right now but it is still sooooo cold and that inspired my background.  I hope you like her.

Wishing you all a belated

HAPPY NEW YEAR......

 MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.

Hugs
Chris xx