Every so often I get the bug to do something creative in the evenings while we are watching TV so I get out my sketchbook which is slowly being filled with drawings and such.

The last few times, I have had fun playing with a Travel Water Color set that my D-I-L , Amber, gave to me a few years ago…..

When you open it up, the magic begins…..

 

The two brushes that I am using are wonderful for traveling or for sitting in the living room.  The well on the brush can be filled with water and then squeezed slightly to release water onto the paint.  The only other thing that you need is a paper towel to use in daubing the water off of the brush or cleaning the brush between colors.  To clean it, you simply squeeze water out while you are wiping the brush on the towel….

A while back I purchased a DVD by Jane Lafazio where she talked about different drawing and painting techniques.  A few of the tips that I learned from her were….

  –  delineate a square or rectangle that you are going to use for your drawing.  That way you are working in a small area and not worried about the rest of the page.

  –  begin by lightly sketching in your object with a pencil

  –  when you are happy with your sketch, use a fine point pen to draw in the outlines and then erase the pencil (I always forget this part)

  –  when you begin the painting process, re-mix your paints with each dip so that the color changes slightly as you move across the picture.

  –  finally,  leave bits of white in the picture to bring a sparkle to it.

 

SO, with those ideas in mind, here are my last three paintings…..

  

No Rembrandts here, but at least I am learning to see my objects better….

I recently purchased and downloaded a video from Interweave Press by Jane LaFazio entitled “From Art Journaling to Art”.   From the first minute of the video, she insists that she can teach you how to create art…..and she delivers!!!

Her work starts by making  a light pencil drawing of her inspiration.  She then uses a permanent pen to outline the design and add interest lines.  She suggests using a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen…..

Next step is to use water colors to add color to the drawing.  She used four different types of color…..

…Watercolors, Water Color Crayons, Inktense Pencils and Water Soluble Oil Pastels.

BUT, the best tip that she gave was the type of brush that she used…… a Niji Waterbrush.  A waterbrush has a barrel handle that allows water to be stored in it.  You simply squeeze the barrel and water flows onto the brush.    I bought one Niji brand (on the right)  and also a   Koi brand (on the left).

They both work fine, but I really prefer the shorter brush.

The really nice thing about using the paint brush is that you dont have to carry around a cup of water when you want to paint.  All you need is a few layers of paper towel to wipe the brush on.   To clean the brush, you simply squeeze out some water and make a few brush strokes on the paper towel!!!

Jane had one other tip….use a water soluble pen to draw your design and then take the brush and pull out some of the black to add shading to your drawing.  It really works!!!!

 

I had been playing with some doodles before I purchased the video, so I went in and added color to the page, using all four of the paint types, as well as the water soluble ink……

SO MUCH FUN!!!!

I think that I will take this exact packet of goodies on my China trip and try to spend some time sitting at the numerous parks and doodling, drawing, painting…sounds like fun!!