Journals & Sketchbooks

zoom zoom!

2012-01-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

My submission for Doodlers Anonymous Coloring Book 2.

I had a busy week ... so I ended up spending all day yesterday finishing it.

Crossing my fingers, I hope it makes the cut.

Fun with MagicStamps

2012-01-07T19:26:00.000-05:00

I finally had a chance to play with my Magic Stamps!

Magic Stamps are foam pieces that you heat with a heat gun, press into any textured item & they retain the impression. Then you are able to use them as stamps. You can reheat the foam and "erase" the texture and reuse them over and over.

I made stamps from buttons, a woven basket (top left), rice (lower left), a Whitman's tin (the barn image), and the dots are from the top of my cable box!

Magic Stamps are a fun & easy way to make some quick home-made stamps. I see several textured objects around here now that I want to use to make stamps!

Winter birds watching the end of 2011 pass by

2011-12-31T19:01:00.000-05:00

This is my last moleskine page for 2011. Printed papers with pen and ink drawing over top. Have a safe & happy New Years eve.

Scribble Doodles : Snowman

2011-12-23T08:47:00.001-05:00

I am having a lot of fun with my Doodle books! When I flip through them, I am filled with so many ideas.

This is another page from my Scribble Doodles Christmas book.

The thought bubble was blank with the prompt "What is this person thinking right now?"

PS. It may be to small to see here, but I drew the carrot with a bite taken out. (oh no!)

Scribble Doodles : Christmas Candy Cane

2011-12-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

This is a page from my Christmas Scribble Doodles book.

Doodled with Staedtler Triplus fineliner pens ...
I gotta say, this took FOREVER!

Anyhow, I like how it turned out. Kinda' busy and crazy. Just like this holiday season has been so far.

Hope you have a happy, busy, crazy kind of Christmas!

Quick Blick Deal!

2011-12-16T08:54:00.000-05:00

Today only at DickBlick.com you can get free shipping when you spend $16 or more - use code CCXN in the coupon box at checkout. They have great deals on drawing pens - pads - sketchbooks & more! (Faber Castell PITT pens are $1.58!) There is still time to receive items before Christmas & art supplies make terrific stocking stuffers.

Affiliate of Blick Art Materials:

Something Old

2011-12-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

Below is a page from my big hardcover sketchbook. The page has dates on it from 2005-2006. Mainly hand carved stamped images, stickers, and random doodling.

This little face is my favorite thing on the page. Pen and ink doodled over colored pencils. (I ruined more pens that way - clogging the tips with pencil wax)

I will be wrapping up my holiday sales season soon & should be posting more frequently.

Autumn Leaves Doodle

2011-11-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

I have been crazy busy lately ... too busy to spend much time doodling.

I just finished creating my 6th pixel puzzle book & my Etsy shop has been cranking through the orders for hand stitched goodies.

I know that soon enough things will slow down and I can spend more time getting my doodle on.

For now ... I am happy to have had a little time this weekend to doodle this page in my moleskine notebook.

Doodled with Faber Castell PITT pens over top of scrapbook papers.

Hoo's There

2011-10-23T07:10:00.000-04:00

I love to doodle on printed paper ... whether it's scrapbook papers, book pages or random found bits of paper.

This owl was doodled on scrapbook papers - the eyes and beak were cut from one printed design paper and glued to a blue printed paper. I then doodled with a black sharpie pen and a superfine Indian ink PITT artist pen.

This owl will most likely be glued into one of my sketchbooks.

Scribble Doodles : Halloween

2011-10-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

I am a bit obsessed with the Scribble Doodles books. I stumbled onto the Christmas edition last year on clearance at my local bookstore, and was immediately filled with ideas as I flipped through the pages.

I have located 6 different editions of Scribble Doodles. Each book is 8-1/4" x 11" and about 256 pages. (.. and yes, they are children's books.)

Each page has a prompt or a partially drawn image for you to complete. (Some of which can be rather hilarious when given the right twist.)

I am working in the Scribble Doodles Halloween book right now and have finally finished a page:

Here is the BEFORE image:

I think I will have lots of fun filling up these books!

Stay tuned for more pages from my Scribble Doodles books.

Vampire Girl

2011-10-01T14:43:00.000-04:00

Another page from my moleskine notebook.

A sweet vampire girl holding a tiny bat. She dreams of flying, but has scrawny little wings and cannot yet fly.

The page features printed scrapbook papers - which I cut into a little frame shape, a book page with some russian text on it, acrylic paint, Indian ink, and gel pen - coated with polyurethane varnish.

FTB : Operation Warm-Up

2011-09-24T14:37:00.000-04:00

A page from my copy of "Finish This Book".

This was a warm up exercise with fairly open guidelines. (I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, so I am trying to be vague.)

I chose to cover the page with onion skins.

I added the little "secret onion" drawing to complete the page.

To see more of my finished pages from this book, simply click "Finish This Book" in the tags below.

WTJ : Punch and Gluey

2011-09-13T18:41:00.000-04:00

Another page from my Wreck This Journal.

This is the back side of my "stain log" page (which was stained BTW).

I call this page "punch and gluey". I simply punched flower shapes out of colored papers and glued them all over the page.

I think it looks kinda cool. I think something like this would make a great background for a black and white ink drawing.

to be continued ...

Make A Decision

2011-09-12T09:06:00.000-04:00

This is a collage I made in my copy of "Finish This Book".

You come to a point in the book where you are asked to make a decision. This reminded me very much of the quote from the movie The Matrix:

"You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe."

"You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Keri Smith is at it again!

2011-09-08T10:55:00.001-04:00

This is how the cover of my copy of "Wreck this Journal" currently looks. I am still not finished with this book and do enjoy wrecking it from time to time. I also have copies of most of Keri's other books and enjoy the creative prompts and ideas found within.

And now Keri Smith is at it again, with her latest edition "Finish This Book".

I hope to have my hands on a copy very soon.

*update* My sweetie picked up a copy of "Finish This Book"for me, today. Yay! It is larger than Keri's other books (7-1/4" wide by 9" high), which was a nice surprise. I won't spill any beans about it ... it's up to you to discover for yourself. It does look like fun, though!

PSST: I spotted a giveaway for 3 copies of this book. Go to the link below and leave a comment there to enter. Hurry, contest ends September 12th!
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/09/geekdad-giveaway-finish-this-book-by-keri-smith/

Drawing Lab 16 : Faces

2011-07-27T07:48:00.000-04:00

While working on my 100 faces for the Drawing Lab prompt in Lab 16, I came up with these "continuous line" faces.

These face measure about 3" x 4", and are drawn with Faber Castell Indian ink pens.

I love to follow the line around and around with my eyes. It has sort of a "zen" feel to me.

I will continue making faces in different styles and media, but I may make a few more of these.

Artistamp Zine

2011-07-19T18:12:00.000-04:00

I finished this Artistamps zine for a mailart swap at Swap-Bot. I spent several weeks working on this 8 page mini zine (I am sloooow). Which is why I probably won't attempt the 24 page 24-hour zine thing.

Anyhow ... included is a little glassine envelope filled with a small collection of my artistamps, attached in the back of the zine. I did make a few extra copies, so am up for a trade (just holler!).

I do have lots of journal, sketchbook & doodle stuff to post ... it's just a matter of getting it scanned and posted. (as I said ... I am sloooow). ha-ha

International Zine Month

2011-07-01T12:34:00.000-04:00

July is International Zine Month.    If you don't know what a "Zine" is ... check out this Wikipedia article. Zines can be created on any topic -or- no topic at all.   Fill them with your art, photos, poetry, recipes, plans for world domination or just ramble on about whatever strikes your fancy. I've seen them filled with mini-comics, how-to info, collections of oddities, and more. No matter the subject - they are always fun to read.

I do plan to celebrate by making at least 1 new zine this month.   (Pictured above are my three latest zines.)

There are plenty of places to trade your zines -or- join group projects. Try a swap-bot zine swap if you are new to zines. It is a good way to start to build your collection and learn as you go.   We Make Zines is a great group, where you can locate sub-groups themed to whatever type of zine holds your interest. There are group swaps & collaborations taking place all the time as well.

If you are particularly ambitious, you can sign up for the 24 Hour Zine Thing - and create a 24 page zine in a 24 hour period. Whew! Click the link to get all of the details.

There are Zine Fests taking place this month in several cities, so keep a lookout for one near you!

More Moleskine Pages

2011-06-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

I finished this 2-page spread in my moleskine today. It is based on a prompt found in one of my art groups.

Acrylic paint background with cut paper scrap flowers and finished with a black Indian ink pen.

No Stone Left Unturned

2011-06-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

I doodled this over the weekend. The piece is slightly larger than 6" x 4". Colorful scrapbook papers cut and pasted onto card stock, then doodled heavily with Indian ink pens.

I am considering a series of these to combine into one large piece.

More Moleskine Doodles

2011-06-04T18:58:00.000-04:00

I'm still working to fill my little moleskine notebook. It has 192 pages ... so I still have a long way to go.

My little notebook has become a bit bulgy.

The inside covers are filled with stamps and stickers, and the pages contain my doodles, drawings, collages, poetry, random thoughts, and occasional paintings.

Happy Birthday Zine

2011-05-20T16:59:00.000-04:00

I just finished another mini zine. This one is themed "Happy Birthday" and features 8 pages of jokes, quotes, factoids, and doodles.

I created this dually (is that a word?) for a mini-zine swap over at swap-bot & also to send out to some of my art buddies for their birthdays.

I had fun putting it together and am happy with the results! I made a couple extra copies for trading, so if you have zines for swapping - give me a holler.

Doodles & Daydreams

2011-04-08T10:51:00.000-04:00

Doodles and Daydreams: Your Passport for Becoming an Escape Artist tries to focus you on your hopes and dreams with a bit of fantasy and whimsy - to give you an escape from the everyday drudgery that tends to suck you in.

I picked this book up awhile back and have been completing little bits here and there. I haven't run across any other artist's postings from this book, so I thought I would share a bit of mine:

The table of contents page starts you off with a quick dot-to-dot. I was compelled to fill mine in with doodles (of course).

Here is a tiny snippet from one page...
The prompt reads: "Design a new flower bulb. What is it called? Draw here."

I will continue to post pages from this book time to time. *Feel free to share if you are also working through this book.

Bubble Toes

2011-03-23T12:36:00.000-04:00

I hope I'm never too old to do silly things ... such as dip my feet in paint. ha-ha.

Another page from my Wreck This Journal.

There were no instructions for this page. It is the page facing my "Trace Your Hand" page.

Acrylic paint footprint & tiny bubbles doodled all around with an Indian ink pen.

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

Picking up where I left off ...

2011-03-18T15:25:00.000-04:00

Here's a scan of the progress on the doodle from my last post. I am thinking about adding some color to it.

Drawn with Faber Castell PITT pen - F tip, and shaded with a brush tip Faber Castell PITT pen in grey.

In Progress ...

2011-02-27T07:06:00.001-05:00

I've been down with the flu all week (yuk!), so not much of anything has been accomplished.

Here is a page in my sketchbook that I started doodling last night. I think I will add a bit of shading around the vines when I finish filling the page.

Drawn with Faber Castell PITT pen - F tip.

Trampoline

2011-02-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

This drawing started with a random loopy scribble in my sketchbook. Drawn with black Indian ink Faber Castell PITT pens in F, S and B tips.

It makes me think of aspirations of flight and the first jump on a trampoline.

Flower Girl

2011-01-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

This drawing in my little moleskine notebook features the same pattern used in the last page I posted.

Drawn with Faber Castell PITT pens, and colored with Triplus fineliners.

Colorful Hearts

2011-01-27T07:51:00.001-05:00

A page of quick and color filled hearts doodled in my little moleskine notebook last night.

I've seen this simple pattern used in lots of other peoples' art, but had never used it myself ... so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Quick and easy. Fun to color.

This is a Random Occurrence

2011-01-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

Another page from This Is Not a Book.

This is a Random Occurence.

Instructions:
1. Drop a string onto this page.
2. Trace the string.
3. Repeat.

Done with Triplus fineliner pens.

To see more of my completed pages from This Is Not a Book,click "this is not a book" in the labels below.

What Goes Around

2011-01-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday.

Here is another page of doodles from my little moleskine notebook.

Doodled with an "F" Faber Castell Pitt Pen.

Sketchbook Challenge

2011-01-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is my sketchbook page for the Sketchbook Challenge.

The January theme is "Highly Prized", for which I opted to base my page on "The First Morning Walk of the New Year.

Mixed media : collage, paint, Indian ink pens, and gel pens.

Mysterious Creatures

2011-01-13T09:35:00.001-05:00

These are a couple of the mysterious creatures found in the red pool in the endless basement.

The endless basement runs underneath our world with access points in many locations around the globe.

I stumbled into the endless basement through a dream and have explored many of its rooms and corridors.

In one corridor, I saw what appeared to be a red "puddle" with a faint glow to it. Upon closer examination, I found it to be a deep pool with red water and green fibrous algae.

I gazed down into the pool and was amazed to see a large variety of tiny incredible creatures.

I don't know how far the pool extends, however I did notice that the faint glow was coming from deep down.

One day I shall return to the pool and investigate more.

Lab 24 : Scribbly Drawings

2011-01-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: Lab 24

Scribble drawings made quickly with a blue ballpoint pen.

Just an exercise to loosen up. It has been a long time since I just picked up a pen and scribbled.

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

X marks the spot

2011-01-06T19:34:00.000-05:00

A page from This Is Not a Book.

This is a Repetitive Motion.

Instructions:
Make the same repetitive markings to the entire page (e.g. tiny squares, dashes)

I used my Triplus fineliner pens to X over the page.

dot dot dot

2010-12-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

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

2010-12-29T17:29:00.001-05:00

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

2010-12-23T08:36:00.001-05:00

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

2010-12-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

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

2010-12-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-07T18:43:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-10-31T08:26:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-20T16:49:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-13T15:13:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-12T10:01:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-10T13:58:00.001-04:00

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

2010-10-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

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

2010-09-26T17:45:00.000-04:00

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

2010-09-23T09:01:00.004-04:00

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

2010-09-14T09:40:00.004-04:00

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

2010-09-13T16:55:00.003-04:00

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

2010-09-12T09:40:00.005-04:00

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

2010-09-02T11:44:00.003-04:00

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

2010-08-23T08:30:00.003-04:00

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

2010-08-21T10:12:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-19T08:48:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-14T18:10:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-12T19:04:00.004-04:00

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!

Crazy Rabbit

2010-08-06T08:52:00.004-04:00

The 75th page completed in my little moleskine notebook. Indian ink pens, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, and white gel pen.

This was another piece inspired by a Carla Sonheim Tutorial. My first piece inspired by her tutorial was a 6" x 8" lion, which I posted on my other blog.

I just got my copy of Carla's book: Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists, so I will likely post results from some of the assignments here as I go.

Pen & Ink Tree

2010-08-02T07:05:00.003-04:00

Drawn with Faber Castell Indian ink pen in my little moleskine notebook. I haven't decided if I will add color to this page or not.

Life is Sweet

2010-07-28T11:59:00.006-04:00

I guess I am still on the scrapbook paper collage kick.

Here is another moleskine page. Scrapbook papers, cat image, acrylic paints, punches, stamped and embossed crown (from a hand carved stamp), and stamped lettering with just a touch of white gel pen to highlight.

I just go where the whims take me.

Moleskine, Oui!

2010-07-13T07:19:00.001-04:00

Just another page from my little moleskine notebook.

Scrapbook papers, French book page, acrylic paints, gel pen and ink markers.

PS. "Je regarde seulement." translates to "I am just looking around."

Hold On To My Heart : Moleskine Collage

2010-07-11T09:21:00.003-04:00

When I am making a collage, I usually just pick out elements that catch my attention and work without a plan. I like to let the collage develop on its own.

This collage took on a life of its own. Most of the bits and pieces were given to me as extra bits in swaps, RAKs, etc...

BTW: This collage is not representative of my current situation, but does strike a nerve with my past.

Playing with Paper

2010-06-20T07:20:00.002-04:00

I picked up a huge tablet of scrapbooking papers the other day & couldn't resist playing with paper last night.

The "friendship" background paper was actually something I received in the mail with a note written on the back ... it just so happened to coordinate with some of my new papers and inspired this page in my moleskine notebook.

The page includes torn papers and punches, sparkly gel pen on the flowers, and doodled characters on scrapbook papers.

Rats!

2010-05-31T09:09:00.004-04:00

Thought I would grab a quick scan before I colored in all of the rats ...

As I was taking the moleskine off the scanner, the page caught on something & ripped all the way down the page. Rats!

I did a tape patch-up & will give the coloring a whirl. Page drawn with Faber Castell Indian ink pen.

I originally did not like how the rats are unevenly bunched ... but that's how rats are ... so next time I think I will make them even bunchier.

Doodle all the Day

2010-05-21T07:46:00.003-04:00

Another random pattern doodle done with Faber Castell Indian Ink PITT artist pen.

Maybe I need to stop pattern drawing and go back to some real drawing ...

I Promise

2010-04-27T08:44:00.003-04:00

For the past couple of months I was having some serious problems with my hands. I was unable to stitch (my livelyhood) & had to cut back on my art and hobbies. Needless to say, I was pretty down.

My sweetie said to me, "I promise that things will get better." I wanted to believe it ... but sometimes it's hard to keep the faith when you're down. So, I made this page in my moleskine notebook to reinforce the message.

It has been about 8 weeks now & things have indeed gotten better. My hands have almost completely recovered. I am stitching again & making art again. Yay!

The page was done in acrylic paint and lined with Indian ink.

Drip, Drip, Drip

2010-04-24T19:12:00.002-04:00

A page from my "Wreck This Journal". The instructions: "Drip Something here. (Ink, Paint, Tea) Close the book to make a print."

I dripped ink to start ... it bled through too many pages and didn't really splatter enough. I switched to acrylic paint and had some fun. I think the paint looks like a crazy colorful crab of some sort.

I added the doodles later ~ just because.

Wonderful Weekend

2010-04-04T11:18:00.002-04:00

We have been having terrific weather in Atlanta this week. Hooray!

I was at the park yesterday feeding the ducks, when a flock of blackbirds swooped in for a quick bite. I love the iridescent blue color of the feathers on their heads.

This page was drawn & colored with Indian ink pens and colored pencils. I plan to fill the lake area with writing ... probably one of my corny poems.

Bloomin' Like Crazy

2010-03-27T17:20:00.002-04:00

I spent most of the day out and about, enjoying the beautiful weather. The trees have started blooming all around the city, which brought to mind this crazy doodle page in my moleskine notebook.

I drew this awhile back, but never got around to posting it. As usual ... drawn and colored with Faber Castell pens.

Bring on the Sunny Days

2010-03-17T14:25:00.004-04:00

We are poised to enjoy a couple of wonderfully warm and sunny days here in Atlanta. The change in the weather can't come soon enough for me.

In anticipation, I created this pattern of flowers and bees in my moleskine notebook. Drawn and colored with Faber Castell Indian ink pens.

Hallo!

2010-03-05T10:44:00.003-05:00

Just a page of random doodles from my moleskine. Done with Faber Castell PITT Indian ink pens.

That little moleskine notebook is pretty full, but I still have plenty of pages to fill.

My First Zine

2010-02-19T18:06:00.003-05:00

I'm always starting new projects on a whim ... Lately, I have had a "zine jones", so when I saw a mini zine swap over at Swap-Bot, I decided to plunge in. I kept my little zine simple. I used some scans of my series of crazy collaged cat cards (ATCs) as the content, with my collaged cat moleskine page as the cover art.

My brain failed to cooperate when I was staging the page numbers ... so it was basically trial and error, until I got it right. My mini zine is 8 pages (about 2-1/4" x 4-1/4"), laser printed in black on white paper, with a grey card stock cover and machine stitched binding. I stamped a couple of paw prints in the back with purple ink ... so I guess you could say it is a 4-color zine (ha-ha).

*If you have a mini zine & want to swap with me, give me a holler. I have two more copies available to trade. (And I guess I could always make more.)

One Car in a Super Long Train

2010-02-06T19:12:00.002-05:00

This is my contribution to the super long TRAIN of doodles at the Scribble Project. A selection of carriages will be used in a colouring zine, with profits going to UNICEF.

There is still time to join in the fun. Go grab a template and doodle your heart out.

A Mandala to Color

2010-02-02T07:24:00.002-05:00

It has been a busy few weeks ... I was down with the flu (again!) and then I got hit with a flurry of sales (hooray!).

I don't have any journal or sketchbooks pages ready to post today ... but I was playing around in a graphics program last week and made this mandala.

Sharpen your pencils or break out your markers and download your own copy to print and color (77k pdf file): http://www.cherylasmith.com/samples/cas_mandala01.pdf

Oh ... and good news! The Scribble Project seems to have gone active again. Be sure to check out the new group project and join in the fun!

Just for Fun

2010-01-15T09:23:00.003-05:00

This is a page from my moleskine notebook. I hadn't done a collage in awhile & was digging through my paper scrap box yesterday ...

I used paper scraps and image cutouts, acrylic paints, colored pencil, a gel pen, and a Faber Castell Indian ink pen to complete the page.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T19:34:00.005-05:00

Awhile back I drew this cool coloring page for a charity coloring book.

Great news ... They got tons of submissions!
Not so great news ... They didn't have room for my drawing.

Well, I didn't want my hard work to go to waste, so I converted the drawing into a quick loading pdf file for you to download here. Print a few for the kiddies ... it's fun to color!

Happy New Year! Happy Coloring!

Hooray for Anorak!

2009-12-16T16:36:00.006-05:00

Over the Summer, I drew some "totems" to add to a giant totem pole at the scribble project. Happily, the folks at Anorak magazine decided to publish a selection of the totems in their Winter issue.

Here are the two totems I submitted ... can you guess which one was selected for publication in Anorak?Click here to see the 2 page spread.

Go grab a copy for yourself!

Peace on Earth

2009-12-12T20:05:00.004-05:00

A little doodle in the spirit of the season, with a taste of the 70's. This is page 56 in my little moleskine notebook. (I picked up a few funky lettering books on ebay to help broaden my approach to lettering.)

a couple more

2009-12-03T09:33:00.005-05:00

I drew this last night after seeing Teesha Moore's "fun drawing lesson" on her blog.

It pretty well sums up how I was feeling all day, yesterday.

Now that I think about it, it is a pretty "oxymoronic" drawing. It was depicting "BLAH", but then I went and added all the bright colors ~ so it really isn't "BLAH" anymore.

I'm in a better mood today, so I'll just take it easy & see where the day goes.

This other doodle is from earlier in the week. Just a random doodle I drew in my little moleskine notebook.

I think I did a pretty good job of filling up my moleskine notebook this year. I make quite a bit of art for other people, but hardly keep any of my own stuff. So having made 52 pages of art (for myself) in that little notebook is quite an accomplishment.

Something Old

2009-11-27T20:38:00.002-05:00

I think this drawing from 2002 was the first "pattern intensive" doodle I made. I guess some folks would call this a mandala ... I'm not sure it qualifies, but I like it.

Fun with Brown Paper 3

2009-11-16T12:37:00.002-05:00

crazy kid ... another moleskine page doodle that started with a torn blob of brown paper. Black Indian ink and white gel pens.

Next time I think I will plan ahead and scan the paper blob "pre-doodle", because it's always fun to see how the doodle evolved.

I have been looking around for some interesting doodle blogs to link in my sidebar ... it has been a challenge finding blogs with lots of doodles that are updated somewhat regularly. If you've got a good one ~ send me the link! I am a "pattern junkie". I love crowded doodles with lots of characters & things going on. I also love seeing doodled objects & unusual stuff.

Fun with Brown Paper 2

2009-11-14T14:27:00.002-05:00

Another page in my moleskine that started with a torn piece of brown paper.

This one is quite a bit different from the first. Each doodle develops in its own direction.

Done with black Indian ink and white gel ink. Text was cut from random book pages. It's funny how I can always find a few words that suit the drawing.

More to come.

Fun with Brown Paper

2009-11-13T09:09:00.002-05:00

I love the way black and white inks look on brown paper. So when I received a wad of brown paper as packing material, I decided to have some fun with it.

I tore a few random shapes from the paper and pasted the shapes in my moleskine notebook as a basis for my doodles.

The characters and images just sort of jumped out at me as I looked at the shapes. The characters have so much personality!

I had some left over book pages from my mobile project, so I finished off this doodle with text cut from the pages.

I will be posting more from the series over the next few days.

book mobile

2009-11-11T08:26:00.004-05:00

Sadly, I didn't win the contest over at Doodlers Anonymous ... but I ended up with a pretty cool mobile & had a good time making it.
Even though the mobile looks fairly simple, it took me 3 days & about 15 hours to complete. (Lots of time with clamping and gluing and cutting and painting and waiting for glue and paint to dry.)

I removed pages from the book "The Key to Midnight" and glued them to layers of recycled cardboard to add weight and thickness. I then doodled and cut objects from the pages and cardboard.

Objects hanging from the book include: a spiderweb and spider, key and lock, skull and bone, moon and bat, and a grandfather clock with adjustable clock hands and swinging pendulum.

The rest of the book I shaped, clamped, glued and painted to create the mobile base. I pierced through the spine and threaded a black satin ribbon for hanging. I pierced through the sectioned areas, attached black wire loops from which to hang the elements. The elements were hung with black quilting thread.

Minor details: the spiders eyes are enhanced with red glitter glue & reflect the light, the skull element features the chapter page from "chapter 13" on one side and "chapter 31" on the other side, the clock has adjustable hands and a swinging pendulum, the mobile measures about 22" from the top of the book to the lowest element.

The book mobile makes some really great wall shadows as it hangs and slowly rotates, and was a nice addition to my Halloween decorations.

catching up

2009-11-06T09:51:00.005-05:00

The week before Halloween, I made this really cool SECRET project for a contest over at Doodlers Anonymous. I was hoping to post it here ... but the contest results have not yet been announced, so I will wait. I have had my fingers crossed all week & boy is it hard to get stuff done with your fingers crossed all the time.

In the meantime, I actually managed to scan a page from my little moleskine notebook.

I call this page "Fun with Primary Colors".

I cut strips from a local map, tv listings, and a solved crossword puzzle and glued them to the page. I then covered the page with a thin coat of gesso, before doodling shapes on top. The page was doodled and colored with Faber Castell PITT artist pens.

*I love the translucence of the doodle blobs.

Halloween Doodle

2009-10-17T12:50:00.003-04:00

I thought a little Halloween doodle would be fun.

I started doodling this last night in my moleskine notebook & finished it up this morning. I would love to see more Halloween doodles! There are a few posted on Flickr: Halloween Doodles

I'm hoping to go to the Little Five Points Halloween Festival later today ... there's always a great parade!

2009-09-24T14:41:00.003-04:00

A little change-up from posting my journal drawings ... here is my first scribble sheet from the scribble project.

I don't know if I am finished with it yet, but I have been randomly adding doodles since August & figured that I better post it before I lost it. There are a few little things lying under the surface, but I'll leave them hidden for now ~ for those who choose to find them.

See what other folks have done with their scribble sheets in the scribble project club at Flickr.

Or jump in and pick up some scribble sheets for yourself here.

2009-09-15T09:56:00.002-04:00

September has been cruel to me this year. At the beginning of the month, I came down with the nasty H1N1 virus and have only recently gotten back into the swing of things.

Last week, some tree cutters knocked out power to my building and caused a huge power surge that fried most of my electronics. Ouch! I spent the weekend trying to replace items & have been getting whacked over the head with technology.

I have had no luck finding a low-tech VCR that will let me tape programs from my low-tech cable connection. Everything is VCR/DVD and nothing has the old RF connectors. Uugh! I tried a new VCR and a variety of connection options with no luck. Anyhow ... this week I'm going shopping at a pawn shop!

At least I am getting my strength back. More art & doodles will be coming soon!

More Gorey

2009-08-22T09:17:00.003-04:00

I just draw what I feel like drawing at the time. I don't think too much about it.

Drawn and colored with Faber Castell Pens.

There is a story here ... but you will have to work it out for yourself.

Feeling a little Gorey

2009-08-08T09:50:00.007-04:00

I ran across my "Amphigorey" books the other day and took some time to enjoy them, again.

Gorey always gives me the chuckles ... and reminds me that most of the time there is not a happy ending. So enjoy your time now, because things most likely will get more miserable and dreary.

I love the patterns that are worked into the drawings, especially on the clothing and wallpapers.

Anyhow, here is another repetitive pattern page from my moleskine. This time it was inspired by Gorey. I'm sure there will be more pattern pages to follow.

Also inspired by Gorey (I just love his cats!) ... I made this sweet Gorey cat birthday card for my sis.

City by the Sea

2009-07-24T11:33:00.003-04:00

Or maybe I should call it "City by the Zzz", as I doodled this last night while I was very sleepy.

Sometimes you just feel like drawing and coloring. I used Faber Castell Indian ink pens in my little moleskine journal (Which is starting to get a little bulgy ... but in a good way).

Fill this page with circles

2009-07-16T09:33:00.006-04:00

Another page in my "Wreck this Journal". Doodled with a Faber Castell Indian ink pen. Another wonderfully repetitive, relaxing task for me.

My favorite part: Here is a link to the Flickr group showing what other people did with the same instruction. It is so much fun to see how different they all are.

Crazy

2009-07-14T08:13:00.005-04:00

I showed this page to my sweetie and he just shook his head and sighed.

ha-ha. I don't care. I doodle because it makes me happy. I love to sink into repetition and give my mind a rest. I think I spent a couple hours on this page ... I was watching a movie while I doodled.

The skull pattern was drawn and colored with Faber Castell Indian ink pens.

Give a hoot!

2009-06-26T19:35:00.003-04:00

Just a little snippet from a page in my moleskine.

I created this little pro-recycling image from the interior of envelopes I received in the mail. I love using patterns in my art. The eyes of the owl are made from tiny little recycling symbols. I used a leaf punch for the three leaves, but the rest of the pieces were cut or torn by hand.

I ran a google search on envelope security patterns, only to find a wonderful collection: The Joseph King Collection - currently numbering 139 from around the world!

And some craft ideas for reusing the envelopes:
Make Modern Paper Beads from Security Envelopes

Ooh, and here's a blog post showing a whole bunch of projects using the envelope patterns! Wonderful stuff!

I am so ...

2009-06-02T12:01:00.004-04:00

Buddha quote: The Mind is Everything. What We Think We Become.

I love the quote. I believe in the concept. I feel like I have been bombarded by bad news for so long. I really need to surround myself with positive thoughts and positive actions.

I created a border collage from magazine cut-outs. Words stating attributes of which I wish I possessed more. The quote was doodled in marker and pen.

Trace Your Hand

2009-05-27T18:13:00.003-04:00

Here's another "Wreck This Journal" page: trace your hand. Which is simply what I did. Indian ink pen.

I haven't given up working in my WTJ - I have several pages that are works in progress. My fruit sticker page is more than half full, and I have been adding doodles and stickers and stamps all over the place. I will post pages as they become full (or at least interesting to look at).

In the meantime ... take a peek at other people's takes on the same page, if you care to. I love that no-one has done the exact same thing as anyone else. That is what makes this project so much fun.