MOVING TO NEW SITE

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am not missing, instead I have ventured into the wonderful world of my own website!

http://www.craftyartistkc.com is now live. Although it is not completed, I am slowly transitioning my posts over to the new site. Please please please go check it out and subscribe via email. I will be adding a lot more ways to follow me, but for now, please subscribe via email.

Spring Is here… finally!

I decided it was time to add some color and life to my very dull and lifeless front yard. I added flowers to my pots and positioned my gnomes to greet and welcome visiters. Beyond that, I finally added the bird bath to the decor. It needs a fresh coat of paint and one day I will tackle that job, but for now, I’m just glad it exists. 

My mom bought me a daisy which is the motivation it took for me to go get the rest of my yard together. I planted it surrounded by petunias. I can’t wait for everything to grow more during the rest of the year. 

I had plenty of help with my babies running around and my fiance’ putting up the wall for the raised flower bed. I could not be more pleased with how everything turned out. I am going to buy some ground cover for the base of the flower bed, but until then, it’s housing a second flower pot.

And I’m not sure if you can see, I moved the fairy door my mom painted bright colors to the flower bed so that she had a fresh supply of water and shares the company of my many gnomes. 

Have you done any gardening? Let me know what your favorite part of the remodel is. 

Lunchtime Doodle 05/09/2017

This flower was done over lunchtime today. If you’ve been following the Lunchtime Doodle series you will know that I have less than 45 minutes to create each piece. I purchased artist tiles that are the perfect size for this time frame. The lines are not perfect, but that it what this challenge is about. What can you create in less than 45 minutes? This was very fun to do and I just felt in a swirly funky mood. This is what happens when you just go with your soul. I hope you enjoy it, I would love to know your favorite part in the comments!

Very Big Sketchbook – Page 8

This page was very interesting to say the least. I began the whole thing by rubbing watercolor pencils all over the back ground. I used some light green, dark green and yellow. I thought it would make a natural background for my drawing. I knew I wanted to add flowers and leaves and make everything just seem organic. After the page was finished, I thought that the yellow made it seem like there was a lot of light shone, so I wanted to make that known by sending rays out from each of the end of the leaves.

Although this is not my favorite piece, It did turn out way better than I had originally expected. Tell me what you think in the comments below!

Lunchtime Doodle – 05/02/2017

As I was thinking of what to draw, I came across this zentangle pattern called Pharro. Now this pattern starts with a curved line and then a dip below that curved line. There are lines that criss cross inside the dip, and then lines are drawn upwards to the initial curved line. Now I thought of this pattern at first as a flower. It just makes sense as a flower, but  I wanted it to be a little unique. With drops hanging off each side and a sense of life protruding from the other side of the curved line.

But as I was drawing this, something else came to mind. Unfortunately for you, I am just unable to capture exactly what is in my head because my realism craft is very premature. But I wanted to give a little taste of this underwater jester I created out of this same pattern. It was fun to create, and pushed the boundaries of my abilities at the moment. Hopefully I will get better in the future.

I had fun creating each of these artist tiles over my lunch break, which was approximately 45 minutes. If I had actually sat down and focused on the ending design, I may have been able to come up with something better. But alas, this is the point of my lunchtime doodles. I want to push myself creatively in the few minutes I have set aside for lunch.

Let me know what you think of each of these in the comments below. Don’t be afraid to critique and link back to any Pharro designs you have come up with.

Lunchtime Doodle – 04/24/17

This is something I just had to share. If you recall my latest Very Big Sketchbook post, you will notice that the flowers on there were something that I was playing around with. I decided that I was going to play a little more and see what I could come up with. This just might be my new favorite flower. I love how it seems like its spinning and adding the swirl to the very center completed the cycle.

I used Staedtler Pigment liners, .05 for the outline and .01 for the detail. I also completed this on an Artist Tile, which is about 3″x3″. The little squares are so perfect for my limited time over lunch!

I think I’m going to start keeping track of all these different flowers for reference. Do you have certain flowers that you like to draw? How do you keep track of them all? Tell me in the comments below!

Third Degree Thursday #3

Do you know any sites that provide daily/weekly prompts/inspirations/themes?

This is a great question. First of all, looking for prompts can be as easy as searching on google. But if you want prompts that inspire and are unique, you have to look at little further. I will give you three sites for a few different subjects that I have used on my blog and in my personal journals.

Art Prompts –

1. I am the Diva – On this blog, you will see that she does weekly challenges that teach you Zentangle techniques as well as provides interesting ways to use them. I have been looking at her challenges for a while and I always love what she comes up with.
2. MadebyJoey – On this blog, you will also see weekly challenges. Her challenges are very interesting and typically run in series or themes. Right now she is going through the alphabet choosing a Zentangle pattern to go with each letter.

Bullet Journal Prompts –

1. Pageflutter – This link will take you to ideas on how to build and section off your bullet journal for the year. She shows plenty of pictures so that you won’t have questions on how to do what she is trying to share.
2. Bullet Journal – To be honest, I couldn’t possibly chose a place for Bullet Journal ideas without including this site. This is a very detailed site on ideas, themes, how-to and reviews. It was the first site that I visited when I was learning about the idea of Bullet Journals.

Journal Prompts –

1. Daring to live fully – I have to say that I actually happened to stumble on this site, but it looks to be a very very detailed list of prompts that is sure to keep you busy for a long time!
2. Creative Writing Now – If you need a little push in the right direction, or if you need an idea that sparks your creative writing, this is the place to go. She has a lot of information that is crucial to anyone who wants to write better.

Blog Prompts –

1. Digital Marketer – Go to this site and save the page so that you can read it even when you are offline. This page is pretty thorough. Don’t read unless you are very serious about kicking your blog off to a very unique start. This list is extensive and will keep you blogging.
2. Lostgenygirl – This is a lifestyle blog that helps you write about yours. It is very intense and personal, but in a really great way. Give it a try to see what you come up with.

I want to challenge you to take one prompt from one of these sites and put it to use in your own blog. After you have completed this challenge, link it in the comments below so that everyone can learn more about you and your blog.

So just like this week, I am asking for questions that you have. They can be about me, about my art, about art supplies or methods. Practically, any question you have I will do my best to get an answer for you by next Thursday.

I look forward to hearing and researching for you!

Lunch Doodle – Fancy Nancy

Here is a quick little doodle I did on an artist tile. Its based off the zentangle pattern “Fancy Nancy.” I decided to turn them into flowers instead of the border I saw them done as. Tell me what you think about this little garden tile.

Showcase Sunday #1 – Jenn Coulbeck

Showcase Sunday #1 – www.JennCoulbeck.com

http://www.jenncoulbeck.com

For this first Showcase Sunday, I want to introduce Jenn Coulbeck. You can find her blog at www.Jenncoulbeck.com. The first thing I noticed about her blog is how unique her art is. I love how she organizes her blog into easy to search previews. Her art is something I admire. I feel like she has the touch to bring her drawings to life by adding color and faces to what may seem completely abstract.

I had an opportunity to ask her some questions about her blog in an email interview, shown below. Please enjoy and learn something from this amazing blogger and artist.

What made you get into blogging? I’ve had an on again, off again affair with blogging since around 2002. My first blog was called ‘The Tragedy of a Beautiful Night’ and was hosted on blogger. I’ve used several platforms including Livejournal, Deadjournal, My Trending Stories, Blogger and DeviantArt before finally settling down to WordPress, which is my favourite of the lot. I was originally inspired to blog by online friends after seeing their amazing blogs. Have you ever had any formal training or education in your blog subject? I do have a degree in Illustration from The University of Lincoln, but my work back then was nothing like what I am doing now, so… yes and no. I try to apply what I was taught during my degree to my work now, but they don’t relate all that much other than being art. What was your greatest failure and how did you learn from it? I once presented some work to a lecturer at university and was basically told, I can’t draw realism – their words – so I took my work in the direction it’s going now, working more of that abstract elements and different ways of mark making. Who has influenced you the most with your blog? It’s hard to say, actually. It’s a new blog in the grand scheme of things and it’s really just starting to take its own steps. Bloggers that inspire me are Leonie Dawson, while we’re not as ‘hippy-woo-woo’ as one another and nor am I selling anything, I admire her candid way of writing that reflects her personality. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? I’ve never really been given any advice personally about blogs, but there are a plethora of people who will give it out freely if you go looking. There is one piece that has stuck in my mind recently, only because for a long time I was rather stubborn about implementing it! That’s stick to a single topic for your blog. For a long time I posted about anything and everything that popped into my head and was left scratching my noggin over why I wasn’t getting any followers. Since creating my dedicated art blog, I’ve not ran into this problem! How much time do you spend blogging in any given week? It really does vary depending on how much time my son sleeps a day! I tend to try to keep a decent schedule going on behind the scenes in case he decides to only sleep for 10 minutes. Is blogging your profession or just a hobby? Despite my background, it’s just a hobby. If I sell a print through my Society6 store or get someone subscribed to my Patreon account I’ll be over the moon, but it’s not what is driving me to create artwork and blog about it. What is your passion? I love easy walks with the dog (nothing too stressful like mountains) and I am an avid reader of books, but my real passion is art and creativity. I love seeing and reading about people’s art projects – especially if they bleed enthusiasm, which is why I love WordPress over other platforms, there’s this whole community of bloggers behind it to connect with. What is your ultimate goal in life? Happiness. What legacy would you like to leave behind? The biggest collection of marker pens and coloured pencils anyone has ever seen Is there anything you want the readers to know about your blog we haven’t covered? I am always looking for feedback on both my blog and the content of my posts. As well as new faces to network with. So don’t be shy, say hi!

Don’t just take my word for it, please visit her blog and let her know that you saw her here on “Sunday Showcase.”

As always, If you would like your blog to be featured on here, please do not hesitate to email me at craftyartistkc@gmail.com and I would love to feature you next sunday.

Patterned Mandala

Sometimes making a mandala simple, and creating a difficult or busy background is more fun, than actually producing a difficult mandala. This was one of those times. I loved creating this piece as it tested my ability to think of different patterns to create the detailed background I was looking for.

Do you like a detailed mandala with a simple or nonexistent background, or would you rather see more detailed backgrounds on a simple mandala like this? Let me know in the comments.