dot dot dot

I was looking through the Near-sighted Monkey Book the other day.  I came upon page 34 and saw "Try dots when you are blue" ... which made me want to make some dotted art.

Later, when I popped by "The Daily Doodle" and saw that Warren's doodles had gone dotty,  it seemed that the universe was nudging me towards dots.

Anyhow, here is my dot fish. Drawn in my little moleskine notebook with my Faber Castell pens.

Street Art Doodle Book

A couple of random bits that I colored in my copy of Street Art Doodle Book: Outside the Lines.

I love the many different styles contained in this book! The book measures about 8-1/2" x 11" and is about an inch thick. It features art from over 75 different artists, and has a whopping 256 pages to complete and color!

I have only colored a few pages ... using both Faber Castell Indian ink brush pens and Staedtler Triplus fineliner pens. I have not had any "bleed through".

If you see this book in a bookstore, I recommend picking it up & taking a look through the amazing art.

Whether it is meant for kids or adults ... I am enjoying my copy immensely.

Just Whip It

Another page from Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes.

Instructions:
1. Tie a piece of string to a pencil.
2. Dip the string into some kind of paint or ink.
3. Using the string as a whip, flail the string onto the paper.

I used acrylic paint in 4 colors and yarn as my whip.  The yarn created a nice bumpy texture on the page.

To see more of my completed pages from Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes, click the label "mess" in the links below.

Entopic graphomania

Playing around a bit with the surrealist drawing method called Entopic graphomania. 

Basically, you make a dot at the location of each imperfection in the paper.  Then you connect the dots using straight or curved lines.

I drew these in my little moleskine notebook, and colored them with my fine-liner pens. 

I found this method of drawing to be quite relaxing ... not too much thought in the process.

The first image I call "sleeping bird", and the second I call "stubborn".

I should be posting more frequently as my "busy season" winds down a bit and I have more time available for fun.

I do have lots of journals, sketchbooks and art books to fill ... I'm sure that Santa will be stashing a few more for me under the tree. 

Let it Snow

We had snow in Atlanta last weekend. 

It only lasted an hour or so ... but I spent that time outside walking around the city & enjoying it.

I had a few spare moments today ... so I grabbed a sharpie & doodled some snowflakes in one of my sketchbooks.

Tis the Season.

Moleskine Doodle

I was just goofing around with fine liner pens when I doodled this page. 

This was done a week or two ago ... but it has been such a busy week that I am just now getting around to posting it.

I hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend as much as I am. 

I finally have a bit of time to get caught up with the things that have slipped through my fingers lately.

Mess : Color Sequence

Another page from Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes.

Instructions:
1. Select a series of ten colors in any medium.
2. Fill in each square in this grid in some kind of regular sequence.
3. Insert a mistake somewhere.

I planned to create a grand and obvious mistake, however fate intervened.

When I was drawing the colored lines, I made a mistake in the color series.   Oops!   So I went with the accidental mistake as opposed to creating an intentional mistake.

Can you see my mistake?

Colorful Cat

I stumbled upon some line art of a sleeping cat at Clker.com (royalty free public domain art), and thought it would be fun to color.

I used random colors, as I did when I colored the dog image last month in my copy of "Mess".

Sometimes it just feels good to do something without thinking too much about it.

Happy Halloween!

Here is an oldie but a goodie. I drew this crazy colorful skull to be part of a "Day of the Dead" project a few years ago.

I'm having a wonderful weekend ... all of the usual Halloween fun (decorating, pumpkin carving, candy eating, game playing), mixed in with a trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens yesterday to see the Scarecrows & hand-blown glass pumpkins. 

This morning ... I'm off to explore the local neighborhoods to find spooky decor.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween, too!

Mess : Create a Tangle

Another page from Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes.

Instructions: Create a tangle using some kind of string-like material.  Affix it here.

I saved little bits of leftover embroidery floss snippings each day as I stitched - over the past couple of weeks and glued them to the page. 

I may keep adding to this page until it is completely covered ... but for now, I am ready to move on.

To view more pages from this book, click "mess" in the labels below.

Special Project: Balloon Doodle

 

This is my entry for the Balloon Doodle contest over at Doodlers Anonymous.  There are some really creative entries ~ so check them out if you get a chance. (Oh, and don't forget to vote for your favorites.)

I am actually afraid of balloons (well, of them popping abruptly - especially while I am holding them), so I was a very nervous doodler.   I was actually trembling as I doodled.   ha-ha.  Well, I love Anorak Magazine ... so I faced my fear and completed my entry.  yay for me!

Wack-A-Doo

I'm not sure why ... but I felt compelled to draw this little crazy character.  He was in my head just itchin' to get out.

So here he is out in the world (or at least out in my little moleskine notebook). 

Lots of Halloween happenings coming up this weekend.   I'm looking forward to the Little Five Points Halloween Festival & Parade on Saturday.  

Later, while I am recouperating from the festivities, I think I will do some blog hopping down the Halloween Party list at Vanessa Valencia's blog  "A Fanciful Twist".

More of Mess

I am having a lot of fun with my copy of Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes.

These pages were created with liquid watercolor inks. I dripped the ink on the pages and then tilted the book to let the ink run.  I then blew air through a straw to encourage the ink to spread further.  I love the way this project turned out ... the ink looks a bit like insects or deep undersea creatures.

To view more pages from this book, click "mess" in the labels below.

Mess : The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes

I received the copy of of Keri Smith's new book : Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes that I won & started to "mess around" with it.

Pictured here is my first finished page.  The instructions read: "Fill in this paint-by-number using random colors." and the outlines of a dog image were printed on the facing page.  I used Staedtler triplus fineliner pens to color the page.

Flipping through the book, I can see that I will enjoy this one as much as Keri's previous books.  I will post pages here as I complete them (along with my many other journals, sketchbooks, and notebooks).

Something Old : Doodle Dragon

I've been so busy lately that I haven't managed to get any new pages scanned ... so here's an oldie of mine.

I love to doodle patterns, so I have many drawings that are done this way. This dragon is approx 8" x 10" done on a sketchbook page that has since separated from the sketchbook.  I believe that I drew this with Micron pens.

September Mix Page

Another page completed in my little moleskine notebook.

Somewhat random collage including bits off of my mail, a piece of a candy bag, punches, stamps, doodles, Indian ink pen, Sharpies, and white & gold gel pens. 

Lab 32 : Paint Blots

Inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: Lab 32

Instead of progressing in an orderly fashion through the book, I am skipping around and completing the exercises that grab my attention.
I used a palette knife to drag through acrylic paint and create my blots. I then used Indian ink pens to define my creatures.*To see all of my work inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists just click the label "Drawing Lab" below.

WTJ: Scribble Wildly

Another page from my Wreck This Journal.

The instuctions: Scribble Wildly, Violently, with Reckless Abandon.

I thought my scribbles were done with reckless abandon ... till I showed my sweetie & he said "hey, it looks symmetrical." Ha-ha. I guess my "reckless abandon" needs more "reckless abandon".

Scribbled with fine point Sharpies.

To see more of my completed pages from this book - click "wreck this journal" in the labels below.

Instant Sculpture

I saw a challenge and of course, I immediately had to accept it.

The challenge: "Create an "instant sculpture" using whatever you have in front of you right now. (You only have two minutes, GO!) Take a photo of it."

So I grabbed things from in front of me & less than 2 minutes later I had this lovely work of art, which I call "Happy Harry". "Happy Harry" was created from a crumpled wad of paper, two pushpins, two paperclips, and the wonderful - inspirational postcard from my dentist (reminding me to be there this Friday - uugh!).

The postcard reads, "Take a moment for the simplest of celebrations, and turn your face to the sun." The funny part is that Harry's crumpled paper face seems to be looking upward with a big a smile.

*Do you want to take the challenge? Visit Chicago Now's -Geek to Me- blog, for more info & a chance to win a copy of Keri Smith's new book : Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes.

WTJ: Doodle Over Top of This Page

It has been a little while since I posted a page from my Wreck This Journal,so here's a lovely page of doodles.

The Instructions: "Doodle Over Top of This Page and in the Margins", which I did with a variety of markers and pens.

BTW: Keri Smith has a new book out this week, Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes. I haven't seen it yet (I looked yesterday), so I can't comment ... but I'm sure it's full of fun little ideas to give you a creative "nudge" when you need one.

Moleskine Doodles

Another page in my little moleskine notebook (3-1/2" x 5-1/2").

As with most of my little doodles, I had no real plan for this ... I just let it spill out of the pen as the whim struck.

I know it's only Thursday, but I'm ready for the holiday weekend to begin. *Open the box and let me out!

Junk Mail Journal : Skulls

This is a page in my junk mail journal. Awhile back I made a little art journal from my junk mail. I gathered all the little postcards and cardstock weight ads that collected near my computer, cut the larger ones down to size, and punched and bound them into a little book.

I started cutting skulls from magazines and catalogs, and pasted them on the page. I added a layer of gesso tinted with a drop of blue acrylic paint to blend the background layer. I then drew skulls with pens and markers on pieces of junk mail and paper scraps, and pasted them all over the page

I count 61 skulls ... but I may add a few more if the mood strikes.

Through the Trees

Trees doodled in my little moleskine notebook.

Most of my disposable pens are used up, so I thought I would give one of my old Rapidograph pens a whirl.   The Rapidograph pens do give me finer lines, but I always manage to end up making a mess with the ink.   (This time I added a new ink splotch to an old pair of jeans.)

I used my Faber Castell ink pens to add color.   I like the way this one turned out.

Lab 38 : Sidewalk Crack Drawings

Inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: Lab 38
"Little Bear Takes a Nap"

Flipping through my copy of the book, I saw the Lab on sidewalk crack drawings - and the photo on page 102 of the sidewalk cracks.   This image immediately jumped out at me & I had to capture it right away!

Here is the drawing at the finished stage.   I colored it with Indian ink pens and scanned it.   I then added a digital "texture" to the fur.
*To see all of my work inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists just click the label "Drawing Lab" below.

Lab 2 : Blind Contour

Inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artistsby Carla Sonheim : Lab 2

I drew the giraffes as 2 separate drawings with black fine point sharpie on sketchbook papers, and combined them during scanning (because they make such a cute little family).

I drew these blind contour. I did not look at the paper as I drew, only when I repositioned the pen. I repositioned the pen for the eyes, ears, start of the spot groupings, start of the manes, and the tail on the tall giraffe.

I must have had beginner's luck with these - I am happy with how well they turned out. I tried to draw blind contour elephants later in the day and it was a complete disaster! ha-ha!


This is my "take it further" drawing for the chapter. I drew these three octopi blind contour. I did not look at the paper as I drew, only when I repositioned the pen at the start of each octopus. Drawn with micron pen, colored with Indian ink pens and colored pencil.

*To see all of my work inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists just click the label "Drawing Lab" below.

Drawing Lab 1 : 30 cats

I finally got a copy of Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists and started working on the assignments.   I will be posting my progress through the book here.

I draw cats all the time ... I wanted these to be different, so I used my non-dominant hand to draw all of them.   (The linework is much shakier in full size.)   The cats were drawn separately over the course of a week.   I then pasted them all together in one image for posting.

The cat marked with the purple arrow was the one I selected to "take further".   I took that tiny cat drawing and recreated it into an 8" x 8" mixed media piece.   I glued scrapbook paper onto a piece of cardboard, and used gesso, acrylic paint, ink, and colored pencil to finish it off.

"Ghost Cat with Bubbles"

I am enjoying the book so far & will post more soon!   If you are working through this book, feel free to post a link in the comments.   I would love to see what you're up to!