Project – Fundraising Gnomes

Project – Fundraising Gnomes

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Last month was Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month. There was a golf event that happened in Ottawa at the start of this month to raise money for research. I was unable to attend the event, but I made sure to donate some items that could help in fundraising.

Initially I had plans to paint another amaryllis and have that ready to donate. But I didn’t have my energy back in time to be standing at an easel for that long. My Mom suggested maybe doing some of the gnomes that I have been knitting instead.

I have been making these gnomes this year as part of the Year of Gnomes KAL that’s been going on over on Ravelry and other socials. They have been very popular with my friends and family. So I knit up this little gang here and had them ready in lots of time for the event.

From what I heard, the event was a success and everyone had a lot of fun. They raised lots of money too, which is so great to hear.

If you’d like to read more about Huntington’s or find out where to donate please check out this site.

Quick Prompt – Increase the Abstract

Quick Prompt – Increase the Abstract

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Here’s another quick prompt for this week.

  1. Draw an item. Anything is fine. Big or small. In any media you’d like. Go for it!
  2. Draw that same item two more times, but each time make the art more and more abstract.

This can help you see things in new ways, try different styles, or give you some new ideas.

Here’s how mine went.

Last Night’s Live – Mixed Media Princess

Last Night’s Live – Mixed Media Princess

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Last night’s live was a lot of fun! We were able to do a full experiment piece, and I think that we will be doing a lot more.

I have been doing a lot of the colouring book pages on my lives lately, which I do enjoy. I didn’t want my viewers to be too bored with plain black lines all of the time, so I wanted to switch it up this week.

I opted to start what I hope is a really fun series of illustrations, starting with a personal favourite. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch is one of my very favourite books. The main character definitely offered a lot of great visual opportunity.

I started off having the base sketch already done so we could spend the whole time running some experiments. We used the live watercolour brushes, effect brushes, the smudge tool. Right in the middle I even had the idea to include some of the art from the original book. SO MUCH FUN!

I could have kept going all night, but I didn’t want to overwork her too much.

Anyway, here she is! You can also see her on all of my socials. If you missed the stream and would like to check it out you can see it on Instagram, Facebook and Behance right now!

Creativity – It’s Always With You

Creativity – It’s Always With You

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Creativity is always with you, you can’t lose it.

Henry Goulding

I hear lots of different things about creativity, especially since I started these posts. “I don’t have any creativity”, “I can’t do that”, “I lost my creativity”. Still no! Everyone is always creative, forever. How your creativity comes out, that’s up to you.

Are you a painter? Then you feed those skills and whatever inspires your ideas to create your own personal masterpiece. Are you a first responder? Then you build your skills to be ready for all varieties of scenarios and keep your approach flexible. Are you a cashier at the grocery store? Then you use what you learn about people and use it to creatively respond to yet another comment about grocery prices going up.

A lot of people I talk to say things like “I was creative when I was a kid, but I’m not anymore.” What really has happened is that you haven’t fed that particular creative side. Or more likely you’re just not creative in the same way. You haven’t “gone to the gym” or “studied”, you’ve put your focus elsewhere, and that’s ok too. But those creative bones and muscles are all still there, waiting for any opportunity to be worked. How you feed them is up to you.

Keep in mind, painting and drawing aren’t the only creative outlets. Organizing a closet? Creativity (let’s be serious, none of our closets are the same size as anything on HGTV). Planning meals for the week? Creativity (those food groups don’t balance themselves). Picking out an outfit for your dog? Creativity (that designer did not think of your specific individual critter when they made the thing). Choosing to not be creative? Still a unique thought… CREATIVE!

All you need is a new thought or action and you have done something creative. This is how your creativity is always with you, every single day. Again, I say, how you nurture that creativity… that’s up to you.

Project – Infinite Cosmos Logo

Project – Infinite Cosmos Logo

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I posted this logo just as I had to go on my break, so I feel like it didn’t get its proper due.

I was asked to do a logo for a friend of a friend at the start of the year. She is starting her own cut flowers business and wanted something to use on the socials, stamps, and a potential sign.

Heather was so lovely to work with on this and had a great vision for the final result. We went through a few rounds of edits and finally came to these results. One for the main sign, and one that could be used for smaller uses.

I drew the flower myself using different cosmos flower references. We went through a few different font ideas until we landed here.

Heather wanted to include a lot of references to the inspiration for the name. These include the infinity symbol, the “planet” circle and the cosmos flower. We were able to put a lot into the logo without making it too crowded.

If you want to see what Heather is up to, make sure to follow her on Instagram. I love seeing all of her beautiful flowers every day.

Quick Prompt – Build Your Memory

Quick Prompt – Build Your Memory

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A good way to work up your memory as an illustrator is to practice!

If you’re an artist who works off of subject matter (drawing people in the park, still lives, life drawing), getting the most out of each glance is huge. It will save you bobbing your head all over the place to get one piece done.

This exercise is great for that. It’s also just a fun exercise for if you’re a little stuck creatively, and give you a bit of a challenge.

I actually did this prompt this time, so I can show you what I did. I am hoping to do this a little more so we can work on these together.

Here’s what I did. You can adjust your times and subject matter however you see fit.

I started with a subject, in this case a plant and a ballerina statue. I had all of my drawing supplies ready to go. I did one piece at a time, and I started by looking at the object for one minute. No drawing or anything, just looking, taking note of angles, shapes, etc. And then I drew it. I didn’t give myself a time limit, I just drew until my memory tapped out.

You can try this to get started and then slowly increase the time that you look at your subject, or maybe put a time limit on how long you have to get the image on paper. Whatever you do, it will be good practice. In time you’ll be amazed at what you’ll pick up.

How did your images turn out?

Quick Prompt – Don’t Look Away

Quick Prompt – Don’t Look Away

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Another really interesting technique that we used in school to get loosened up was to draw without lifting your pencil.

This exercise really helped us to really look at what we were seeing and visualize what space was taken up by the object and how that connects to the page.

To add another level to this, try not looking at your paper at all while you do this. Keep your eyes trained on your object, your pen to your paper, and see where that takes you.

In the end you might have an amazing base for a painting of your object, or a brand new idea for something entirely different. Only one way to find out… let’s give it a try!

Creativity – Are You Having Any Fun?

Creativity – Are You Having Any Fun?

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Have fun, do your best work.

– David Carson

I really could just stop the post here. This quote says it all. It really is a huge ingredient into the creativity that you feel you have or don’t have. If you’re having fun, it really shows and inspires you to keep going.

I know that I am proudest of the work that comes out of pure enjoyment of the creation. Did I learn something new? Am I drawing something that inspires me? Did I get to throw any paint?

Ensuring that I am having fun is something that really produces a great final result. This was something that I had at a bit of a disconnect with when it came to some customer or freelance work. The idea wasn’t mine, or the direction isn’t always one I would necessarily chose to take, so I had to create the excitement for myself. Sometimes I found that fun in doing some outrageous roughs off the top (I actually got a few really great final results from that process), sometimes it’s using a technique I would use in my personal work and bring it into some graphic designs, and sometimes it’s just dancing to my favourite songs while I work.

If you’re not having any fun, you’re not going to enjoy the process and might even claim that you are not creative. That is still not the case, I will not allow it! You just might not be creative in THAT way. Maybe paint isn’t your medium, maybe writing on the computer doesn’t give you the same excitement that pen and paper might. Creating while you watch TV may not be what your brain needs to let the ideas flow. Are you trying to force any part of the process rather than letting it flow more naturally? There are dozens of possibilities, you just need to do a little investigation.

Creating should be fun, it’s really what it is there for. When it’s not fun, it’s time to try something different. Maybe change the medium, location, subject matter, environment… or something simple like the tea you’re drinking. But I do promise, when you’re having fun, you are going to love the work you do so much more. Even if the final result might not be what you’re looking for originally, it will give off the good vibes that you just can’t resist.

How do you make your creative time fun?

Quick Prompt – Un-Blank the Page

Quick Prompt – Un-Blank the Page

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Almost any illustrator, painter, writer, or the like, will tell you that at some point they’ve stared down the white page, probably more than once. There is few things more intimidating than a blank page and that wall of block that comes through when you look at it.

How do you fix it? Make the page not blank any more. Yes. Just that.

Throw down a random line. Toss a few different colours on the canvas. Start listing what comes to mind. Anything. Now it’s not a blank page anymore. You’ve already created a something. It might not be done, but it is on its way. Congratulations!

Personally I like to throw down some random things on a page to get started. One tool I really like for this is spray ink. I bought these a few years ago and they are little spray bottles filled with coloured inks. I like this because it creates a random pattern that might spark an idea or design.

If you have the energy and the resources it’s fun to create a few non-blank pages for yourself ahead of time. We all hit a roadblock now and again. It’s good to know you have something to prompt you whenever you get stuck. They are also a fun way to experiment with new tools and processes.

So let’s give it a try!