Thursday 28 July 2016

A Lily Motif, And The Value of Looking Backwards...

This new  pink "star-gazer" lily motif will probably end up in a pattern, eventually.

But before it does, am letting myself realise that it symbolises a lot more than that.

I almost didn't draw it. Because, even though very inspired by all the flowers in the wonderful garden at Fulham Palace, I kept thinking,

"Oh, but I've drawn a stargazer lily before, and quite recently".

But I went ahead and drew the one on the left anyway (digital watercolour in ArtRage4).

Looking back

Looking back I realised that I had already drawn a similar (though not identical, type of lily this year (on January 6th, if you're interested).

Now, whether six months is a long time these days is a moot point. (With the kind of year 2016 has been for the world so far, January might well feel like a decade ago to you). What really shocked me was just how much difference just six months of practice and persistence seems to have made.

The picture below shows my drawing of a similar type of flower as a, using the same program and tools (ArtRage4 and a graphics pen and drawing tablet) just over six months ago...


The real point

The real point here isn't for me to be proud of the change. (Though I have to admit, it was greater than I had thought it would be, and left me feeling chuffed).

The real point is that most of us are probably moving forward at warp speed in one or more areas of our lives, even if it feels like many, many aspects of them aren't moving at all.

So, whatever your special passion(s)...You know, that thing (or things) you love to do, that you always feel drawn to persist at, even when you really don't understand why...Here's a dare, or a challenge for you, that's very, very likely to boost your creative confidence and enthusiasm, too

Dare yourself to look back just six months (or whatever period in the lifetime of the activity feels right for you). Really allow yourself to realise just how far you've come in a short time, and to celebrate and enjoy that. Then record the moment in any way you like (a blog post was my choice, it doesn't have to be yours...)

And, if you feel so inclined, please *do* share anything you find or discover as you do this in the comments below.

'Til next time...

Friday 22 July 2016

New Watercolour Floral Clip Art: Golden Orange Crocosia Flowers

To help celebrate #worldwatercolormonth, I created this brand new set of watercolour flower clip art.

You can use any image in this for anything you like (even as part of items you make to sell) as long as you don't sell the images by themselves.

BUY NOW

Friday 15 July 2016

Watercolour Poppies: New Surface Pattern Design

Created these poppies are (ta-da!) in traditional watercolour pencils and ink (though I still created the actual pattern from the motifs digitally).

If you like this, it's already available on items at Redbubble, such as the tote bag, throw pillow, and even an A-line dress. Just a couple of items are shown below, but there are many more here.















And if you like the fabric, but are thinking, "I'd like to make something with this for myself," then please favourite it over at Spoonflower. (The BoundingSquirrel fabrics you favourite get offered for sale first).

That's all for now, but if there's a design you'd like to see here (or you end up with pics of these items in use!) please do post a comment below. Many thanks!


Wednesday 13 July 2016

Digital Art Journaling In ArtRage 4: "Memory Lane" Prompt Idea

And now for something *completely* different. Have discovered that ArtRage 4 can also be used for (digital) art journalling.

Now, I've never really explored art journalling before, and am just learning about this. But my understanding is that "anything goes" as a way of exploring whatever's on your mind, rather than with the stated primary aim of producing art.


The idea here was that if "Memory Lane" were a real place, I wondered what I, personally, would find there.

Yes, if I'd been drawing each of the 25+ symbols here as an art project, yes, they'd be tidier and more formal. But so much came up (all happy memories too) that drawing was definitely second to feeling...and feeling very good, too.

Steps to take if you want to do this "Memory Lane" journalling too.

1. Set aside a chunk of time and your favourite materials (they don't have to be digital. You could also do it with photos, if you prefer).

2. Draw a background that represents "Memory Lane" for you.

3. Add in/colour any and all symbols that represent happy memories for you. Let the memories be whatever they want to be (they don't need to be "important", just happy for you". Let your imagination and creativity fit the symbols together in as surreal (or not!) a pattern as you like.

4. Remember you can do this again anytime-with the same symbols and memories, or more likely, new ones.

5. Make as many changes to the above as you like-it's yours!


Finally

Finally, it's important to mention and thank CreativeEveryDay.Com for inspiration here too. I got to thinking about "Memory Lane", because the prompt there for July was "Memory". So many thanks to Leah for a prompt that's morphed into another prompt in its turn.

Have fun, and do post or comment if you'd like to share any ideas or images relating to this art journalling prompt.