Let’s Draw URBAN SCENES! + WEEKEND POP-UP!
Plus a peek in my sketchbook & what I've been up to 👀
THURSDAY, MAY 2 @ 7:00PM ET on YouTube & Twitch
We did another poll over on the AHP discord to see what this week’s theme would be, between ‘buildings/urban scenes’, ‘modes of transport’ and ‘vintage makeup and perfume packaging’.
It was touch and go for a bit but ‘buildings/urban scenes’ pulled into the lead.
I’m excited to draw something a little different this week!
AAAAAANNNNNDDDDD!!!!!!
SATURDAY, MAY 4 at 10am et on YouTube & Twitch
Theme: MASTER STUDY PORTRAITS!
We turn the timer up to 20 minutes for these weekend pop-ups so we’ll really spend some time on each. We will probably do 4 studies, so have a look at the thumbnail above and come with your preferred selections and we’ll collectively decide which we do!
✏️🤗💖✨
Next ART HANG PARTY! will be Thursday, May 9 at 7pm et on YouTube & Twitch
Theme: OUR PETS! (Send me your pet photos!)
Do you have an idea for a future ART HANG PARTY! theme?
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MONDAY APRIL 22
Yesterday we stopped in to the dollar store for some essentials (poo bags, if you’re wondering) and I saw these “paint sticks” in the stationery section. They looked kinda fun so I plopped them in my basket thinking there was a good chance they’d be quickly passed along to my young nieces.
I’ll tell you right now, after swatching them out today these things won’t be going anywhere!
They are so smooth and glide on the paper in such a fun way. They dry almost instantly and I love how they layer! I can see myself using these for ART HANG PARTY! and possibly even throwing them in my pack when I head outside for plein air time!
I didn’t try layer too many things on them, but a Blackwing matte pencil works on all but the pink, and my new Stabilo Auquable something or other went over them like they weren’t even there. I’m sure I’ll be playing with these more this week so we’ll see how they work with other materials.
Initial rating: 10/10! (Especially for $4.50CAD!)
Also under the category of new art supplies - Higgins Drawing Ink!
I went to drop off that commission painting I worked on last week and immediately after went to the art store to pick up some Higgins inks!
I’ve seen
playing with these lately and the colours look so vibrant I just had to add them to my collection. They’re pigment based and waterproof and pretty spectacular!Here they are on a page where I’ve swatched Turners and Holbein watercolours:
And here’s a quick strawberry to use up the paint I squeezed out:
TUESDAY APRIL 23
First up today I wanted to play with the Higgins drawing inks!
A little while ago while searching through the public domain artworks on rawpixel.com (a reference goldmine, btw!) I saw a collection of illustrated fish that were so beautiful they stuck in the back of my mind to do some studies of, and I thought they would be a perfect thing today.
I found some illustrations that had the right kind of colours and here we are.
The inks are great! They lay down really smooth and are nice and vibrant when used straight without any water. Next time I’ll play with more layering but for a first time I’m pretty happy with them! I used a black Neocolor II for the background that I smoothed out with water.
Is anyone else watching playoff basketball? I’ve been watching almost every game - not just the Celtics (who are going to win it all if you’re at all wondering!).
While I had a game on the tv I grabbed my iPad to catch up on Sophie’s Scribble Brigade that I missed last week.
Sitting on the couch with my big sketchbook on my lap I used the new paint sticks and Stabilo pencil to draw vintage stamps!
WEDNESDAY APRIL 24
I was kindly reminded by a friend that it has been quite some time since I worked on my picturebook (thanks for being my accountabuddy Kristin!)
If my picturebook doesn’t ring any bells I talk about it in this video.
I spent a few minutes listing out alllll the illustrations I need to make for the book and blocked out one hour each weekday to work on it.
Here are my results for today - squirrels!
After walking Simon and making dinner I played with the paint sticks!
I won’t go on about how fun they are, but, you know they were.
THURSDAY APRIL 25
A few quick single line portraits of my cousin Steph and
before ART HANG PARTY!It was FIGURE DRAWING week at ART HANG PARTY!
We started with some 30-second blind contours:
Then settled in for a bunch of 1 and 2 minute drawings, with one 5 minute snuck in there. I was excited to use my paint sticks to colour block in the shapes and then add definition with my Stabilo pencil - I think it worked out great! AND it was fun!
I used some loose pieces of cut watercolour paper but didn’t have enough so I moved over to my little Talens sketchbook for the rest, ending with a few more blinds.
This session felt like a marathon, but in the best way!
FRIDAY APRIL 26
The results of today’s picturebook hour: fluffy clouds, birds and fish!
Tulips have been popping up all over the neighbourhood lately and I’ve been snapping all kinds of photos on our walks with the plan to do a piece for the ‘memories of grandma’s garden’ collection. I’m thinking this painting might be the final piece for it!
Here’s where I left it today:
SATURDAY APRIL 27
More work on the tulips. At this point I was a little stumped, so I posted it to the AHP discord to see if anyone had any advice or feedback, which of course a few did!
I was going to leave it for tomorrow but of course I can’t do that. Here’s where I’m at now, after implementing the sage advice from discord.
I think I’m happy with it! At least enough to let it sit now for a day or two and see if I still like it or if it needs any more tweaks
Also, because I seem to like starting projects on a whim (anyone else guilty of this??), I’ve decided I need to illustrate an old blog post I wrote many years ago, titled “Knitting & Public Transportation: A Guide”
I won’t share everything as I kind of want to save it all until it’s complete, but where’s one piece for ya!
SUNDAY APRIL 28
The tulips are done! I added a thin fluorescent pink glaze over the bulbs to brighten them up a bit and now they sufficient pop!
Now to think about what I want to do with this collection 🤔💭
We had our first impromptu art hang on the AHP discord this afternoon! People were sharing pet photos (heads up! we’re doing pets on May 9!) and it seemed like enough of us were chatting in real time that I decided to start a video chat.
At first it felt like it was just going to be me, which is cool because it was sketchbook time anyway, but then Xan showed up, followed by Kristin, and we had a lovely chatty time drawing pets!
I think we should do more random hangs when the mood strikes!
Also today is starting to feel like Spring and we’re starting to see some lovely colours (and the sailboats are back!), so I’ve been snapping photos on our walks and making little colour palettes on my IG stories. Fun!
This week was full of discoveries! From finding the surprisingly fun (and cheap!) paint sticks, playing with new drawing inks and rediscovering old artworks that I've completely forgotten about! Oh yeah, and my dog is goof!
🤗💖✨
Ok, that’s it for me!
See you Thursday at ART HANG PARTY!
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What a great art week! Went to the nearest dollar store yesterday, looking for paint sticks, but struck out. Tried two more similar stores, and no luck! Hmf! Yours look so fun, so intense! 💚💚
Thank you for sketching my profile picture Melissa, it was so kind of you 💛 I will be there for AHP, buildings is such a good theme, I might take a nap before 😄🙈 have a great week!