Painted Stones – family art time

Here’s some family fun I had saved to post on a day like this, when not much serious art activity is ready for a post.  It can be considered an art-related experiment after all.  Recent art time with my daughter found us painting rocks!  She has a fascination with collecting rocks, so we got her a “rock painting kit” on sale.  I still felt “taken” when I bought it.  It reminded me of the famous “pet rock” of the 70s.  It was fun, and even my wife got in the action, so its purpose achieved.  On to the little paperweight collection now! (trying out WordPress’ nifty slideshow function).

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Nothing too fancy. I think these were acrylic paints. My daughter painted the un-smiley face (she’s a joker at heart), the red-eye bug, and the tri-color rock. My wife contributed with a nice whale (surprised me), and I painted the screaming white ghoul, the oddly-shaped ladybug, and the white-blue face/mask thing, which reminded me of a good friend’s art style for some reason.

Something to learn from the “rock painting” experiment, you say?  Yes.  You can find rocks in your yard, and use old paint.  Don’t pay a well-known bookstore chain for reminding you how someone else came up with the idea to sell rocks and paint in a kit.  Makes me want to open a shack and sell lucky painted stones.

Hope you enjoyed these images.  It’s an inexpensive activity to share with the family. We really had fun.  Now, what do I do with these?

Any questions, or comments, please feel free.  I really appreciate your visit.  Have a great art day/night!

Trying to use a sketchbook like a camera.

I just got back from a week’s vacation at Disney World.  The fun and inspiration greatly out-weight the walking and standing in line.  I thought I’d try to use a sketchbook like a camera.  Sketching time would be constrained by many distractions, and I expected roughs, but I was in the mood to experiment.

I used a mini-sketchbook that my wife gave me some months ago.  Most sketches were under a minute while slowly walking in queues, or sitting for a bit, waiting for the family to decide what to do next.  Others were done while waiting for a table, under calmer circumstances.  It was fun, and I ended up with images of memories that will be treasured.

I posted a few here, but the rest can be seen in this FLICKR SLIDESHOW, which I recommend to view with the descriptions option on.  But I think its better to view the SET at your own pace.  Stories of each sketch are included in the flickr posts.

I hope you enjoy these rough little images.  My take on this experiment: You loosen up your sketching muscles under not-so-ideal settings.  Using a sketchbook like a camera is a hard proposition, but it stretches your capacity just like exercise!

Oh yeah… I thought I would draw Mickey Mouse, but the thought of seeing Muppets at a Disney attraction was so different, that I chose the little green guy.  After all, not all great characters come from Disney. (This one was done at the Hollywood Studios’ Muppets 3D attraction.  I liked it when it was still MGM.  Not that I don’t like it now, but too much exposure too Disney characters can be weird, especially when I see cute Disney cartoons depicted a-la Star Wars.  I didn’t digest that fact too well.  I guess the Disney-ing of Marvel is next, eh?  Remember that times change, but inspiration can be found anywhere.

Thanks for visiting, and have a great art day/night!

Creator’s Advice – Ted and Jim

Here’s a thanks tribute to Ted Seko and Jim Lujan.

Ted interviewed Jim on the IDiot Engine podcast (TedSeko.com) some months ago. At one point, they posed this question: “If you were on a sinking ship, what would be the one advice you would give creators?” I could be paraphrasing here, but it was enough to give me this mental image, at which I had to laugh out loud while listening to the podcast on my daily commute. The interview was so inspiring that I made my mind up to draw something. I had sketches ready, but I meant to paint it digitally. At the time, my hardware and software was sub-par (lacking a tablet as well).  It was just recently that I acquired the tools, and well, here we are, months later. Ted and Jim have always provided great content, and advice, and they continue to do that. I heartily suggest you listen to the IDiot Engine podcast, and the Ghettomation podcast. These guys rock!  Oh yeah… Ted is hanging precariously, and Jim is trying to pull him up and away from that toony shark.

As for the piece, I used 5 sketched components, scanned, and used as guides to draw on the tablet.  I re-sized, to match “scales”, and did some painting.  I know its not perfect, as digital drawing and painting goes, but the goal here was to put out the piece before getting super precious on each and every part.  It was fun to get back on the tablet, and it actually felt a bit more normal to draw with it.  (I meant to submit this to Illustration Friday, but once again, time and “getting into it” conspired against a tight schedule).

Thanks to Ted and Jim for the inspiration.  I’ve got another experiment coming up before this weekend ends, so stay tuned.

Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment, or just say hi!  Take good care, keep creating, and have a great art day/night.

Brush vs Pen-Brush

Yes. I said it!  I will compare the brush and the brush-pen using ink.  There are better comparisons from experienced artists, I’m sure, but I had to do it on my own.

A good friend of mine was kind enough to lend me the image of a beautiful drawing she had created some time ago.  I had told her I would like to ink it.  She agreed, and now I don’t offend her!  The original is beautiful.

I created a blue-line image to print and ink.  Here they are, side by side.  To the left, version one, inked with brush-pen/india-ink.  I used a couple of micron-like pens that came with the set (PITT brush-pen 8, Faber Castel).  To the right, inked with #3 and #5 brushes (no name), and “Pelican” calligraphy ink.

It was obvious how much easier I could control the brush-pen.  I suppose it is only natural to take to it.  I still need practice (jittery and blobby), but I feel more confident with the brush-pen.  The brush, on the other hand, forces you to deal with a dynamic tip more than a brush-pen.  Dealing with ink flow, and loading, is a sort of “dance”.  I didn’t even re-water my brush, and it slowly got gunky, and wouldn’t hold as much ink.  I was so into trying to get an easy/clean line, that I didn’t even pay attention to that.  I would later find out about it talking with Ted Seko (Thanks Ted!).

I didn’t  get to do digital clean up.  You’ll notice there are still blue-line marks all over the place.  Someone actually liked seeing those the last time I tried this.  And of course, something has to be said about hair.  Why is it the one first thing I’m concentrating on while I discover what I can do with ink?  Can someone answer that?  There must be other “memes” in inking like that one.  I was lured by the “shine” of “inked” hair!  I should get a book on inking.

Thanks for visiting.  If you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to comment.  I really appreciate your visits.  Have a great art day/night.