Winter Continues

Daniel Smith watercolor, white gouache,
and Faber Castell PITT pen in a handmade
journal with fawn colored Stonehenge paper

Winter wants to hang on here in Minnesota.  This was the scene outside of the Minnetonka Center for the Arts on April 12th and I needed to use white gouache to show the drifts of new snow we had gotten the day before.

Quick Everyday Objects

A couple of recent quick sketches from my journal.  I have been using the Faber-Castell PITT calligraphy pen to draw a quick contour line drawing and then filling in with a quick wash of Daniel Smith watercolor; each sketch took about fifteen minutes start to finish.  My current journal is hand made with fawn colored Stonehenge paper, which I haven't used in a while and had forgotten how much I like it.
The fun thing about this pen is that it gives a great line that is variable and I find that drawing with it fast forces me to distill the visual information down to it's basic shapes without getting hung up on fussy details. A quick splash of some watercolor, in both sketches I only used Indanthrone Blue and Burnt Sienna, and the page is full in about fifteen minutes.

Upcoming Not-So-Blank-Page Project

My crow (watercolor on added in paper) on
Roz's Squiggle background (see original below)

On Monday February 18th Roz Stendahl and I unveiled the new collaborative project for the MCBA Visual Journal Collective.  The project is called "The-Not-So-Blank-Page" and involves the group creating a collaborative custom "smash" journal.  Participants in the project will create two unique, original backgrounds that will be photocopied and become a part of the spiral bound journal that each person will fill between the April meeting (when we deliver the books) and the December meeting when we will have a simultaneous viewing party.

Examples of pages from the project prototype. . .

Roz's Squiggle background made
as an example for our upcoming
collaborative journal project

As preparation for this project Roz and I exchanged a couple of backgrounds via computer and I ran and had example copies made into a small prototype journal to experiment in with different art materials and to test the nature of the pages when they came in contact with water based products like paint.
I discovered that the copies took watercolor and a wide range of other art supplies fairly well.

My watercolor pear on Roz's photocopied background.
I was testing the paper and the copy to be sure both
stood up to water based journal work.

The photocopied image is very waterproof, none of the pages I worked on bled or changed due to the water in my paint and sheets only buckled somewhat after having paint applied; the image above has paint on both sides and some buckle is evident.  As you can see in the image above, the copy does resist the color, which makes very heavily imaged sheets a bit more challenging to work on than sheets that are more open or white.  I dealt with that problem by either letting the paint sit and soak in (interesting effects as can be seen in my heron page posted on Roz's blog post about the project) or by adding my journal elements on via collage (crow above, and both of the following examples).

On the left: my background made as an example for the project

On the right: my art work and collage element on the page

On the left: Roz's background made as an example for the project

On the right: my art work and collage elements on the page

Interested?  Keep reading.
How to be involved . . .

The Details:

Each person will create two separate 8 1/2 x 11 (portrait orientation) original backgrounds - 

        Work only on one side of the paper you use, do not sign your work.  Label the back of each page with your name, neatly printed and either "page A" for right handed page or "page B" for left handed page.  See the example diagram below which includes two pages front view, showing how they will be bound and a back view of each page, labeled correctly.  Because of printing limitations each sheet will lose about an 1/8 inch around all sides - be sure to keep any key elements away from the very edge of your pages.

All artwork will be photocopied for use in this project, with that in mind please keep all artwork flat and do not use anything that you do not have the copyright for in your background.  

Keep in mind that other artists will be using your page as a backdrop for their journal page at some point in the project, any element that you include can or will be covered, distorted, altered, or changed to suit the needs or desires of the new owner of the page.  All art work created on pages become the copyright of the artist who worked on the page, your background will only be your background when it is empty of another artist's work.

No pages can be removed!  We will view these together and want to see what each person does to each page, it would be no fun at all if we get to your page and it is missing!  If you make a "mistake" or really struggle with a background challenge yourself to work around it by adding a collage sheet over the problem area or using gesso to lighten a problem spot, etc.  There are lots of ways to continue to work and change a page for the better without resorting to its removal.

Backgrounds need to be complete and turned in at the March 18, 2013 Collective meeting along with a check to cover photocopying and binding costs associated with the project.  We are not making any profit on these books, we are only charging each person exactly what it costs to create the journal.  Costs are to be figured based on the number of participants x $.50 photocopy costs +$2.75 binding. (if 30 people participate the cost will be $18)

Payment is due when you turn in your artwork at the March 18th meeting, we will know at that point how many people are joining in on the fun and can give a price to all involved.  Please be prepared to pay with cash or check, made out to me, Suzanne Hughes, as I am the one who will be dealing with the copies and book production.

If you can not make the meeting but want to participate, please send your art work to: Roz Stendahl, P.O. Box 141434, Minneapolis, MN 55414. (Roz doesn't get mail delivery before the Collective on Monday so she needs to have your artwork in hand on Saturday to ensure you're in the count.) 

Mail in participants will be notified of the final cost, contacted (include email when mailing work), and will need to respond by March 19th that they are still participating and mail a check to the same address by March 25.
If you are unable to pick up your journal at the April meeting you will need to let either Roz or me know so alternate arrangements can be made for delivery of your book (potential fee for postage, pick up on Open Studio night at MCBA, or the May meeting as a last resort).


Additional information, examples, and details can be found at Roz's blog post about the project.

Museum Visit - Terracotta Warriors

Warrior Horse
Faber-Castell PITT pen size F with
Daniel Smith watercolor wash on
Fawn Stonehenge paper in handmade journal

Quick sketches of carriage horses
and a few objects with notes
Faber-Castell PITT pen size C & F
Fawn Stonehenge paper

On January 10th I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art with my ceramics students to see the exhibit of China's Terracotta Warriors.  We went through the exhibit with a docent who had loads of information, but was in a rush to get us through to see what she had information about in a specific amount of time.  I sketched as much as I could while we were there but  was also supervising my students and trying not to loose our guide, who slid through the very crowded exhibit space like a ninja.
Our guide was quick to inform us that we could not take photos but she was surprised and had no real answer for me when I asked if I could sketch.  I was the first person she had ask about sketching the warriors.  I sketched and had no problems with museum staff at all.  I did add all the paint on these pages at home, I didn't need to get kicked out.

Quick sketches of  warriors
Faber-Castell PITT pen size F
Fawn Stonehenge paper 

I am planning on going back to the exhibit with my family so I can hopefully sketch more and also enjoy all of the objects I missed while being there with a guide and a school group.  

My two favorites of the day were the horses and the bronze birds both were beautiful and more memorable for me than the warriors themselves.  The exhibit is on display until January 27th and it is highly recommended to get your tickets before you go (I have had friends turned away because the gallery the exhibit is in is too full).  You can follow this link to the Minneapolis Institute of Art webpage for more information if you are interested in more information about the warriors and the exhibit.

Quick sketches of  the bronze Crane
Faber-Castell PITT pen size F
Daniel Smith watercolor washes (added at home)
Fawn Stonehenge paper in handmade journal 

MetroSketchers Portrait Party

Anna
Stonehenge paper in handmade journal
Faber-Castell PITT pen size S

On Sunday, January 6th, about twenty artists from the MetroSketchers group met at a like minded couple's home to enjoy each-other's company and have a Portrait Party.    A Portrait Party is simply when a group of people get together and draw one another's portraits.  I managed to draw three of my fellow sketchers in about two hours (we met for three hours but I know I wasn't always sketching).  Part of me looks at these and wishes I had just done a contour line drawing and then added watercolor and another part of me is happy with my simply pen sketches.  Either way it was good practice for the upcoming Visual Journal Collective's Portrait Party on the 21st and lots of fun.

Jajeev
Stonehenge paper in handmade journal
Faber-Castell PITT pen size S

Justin
Stonehenge paper in handmade journal
Faber-Castell PITT pen size S

Sketch Scavenger Hunt

Sketch folder and title sheet I made to place inside
my scavenger hunt collection, along with our topic list.

On Monday December 17th the MCBA Visual Journal Collective meeting was a sketch scavenger hunt.  Our first job as participants was to use a large map to put together a little folder to hold all of our sketches.  We created this by a series of folds using a large sheet of paper (in this case a map).  We then gathered a stack of pages pre-cut to fit nicely in the pockets of our new folder and off we went to find sketch-able subjects that fit the scavenger hunt list we were all using.

First sketch - people

Our list included people, landscape or scene, holiday, machinery or equipment, texture, and interesting negative space.  We had the whole of the MCBA space, the coffee shop, Open Book, the Loft, and if we were adventurous (and dressed warmly) we could go outside.  We had a fixed amount of time to sketch (about and hour and fifteen minutes) and all had to meet back with our finished sketches at a set time to look at what everyone had sketched.  We also voted on sketches - best complete collection, most unique, best mixed media.

Second sketch - landscape or scene

The sketch scavenger hunt was quite fun, although for the most part a more solitary way to spend our meeting than usual as we were all off in various parts of the building sketching on our own for most of the time and only together as a group for the folding and the voting.

Third sketch - negative space

It was fun to explore the building that I am in at least once a week in a new way.  I wondered to places that I usually do not think about, admired several displays of work that I did not know were hanging, and generally got re-inspired by the space as a whole.

Fourth sketch - holiday item

It was also very fun to gather and see everyone's sketches.  Even though I rarely saw someone else sketching and I never sketched the same thing at the same time as someone else, when we all looked at our work it was really interesting to see how many of us sketched the same subject at some point in the evening.  There were at least four drawings of the owl ornament (see above) that I sketched as my holiday item, and three of us had sketched the book binder (see below).  Seeing a different artist's perspective on the same subject is one of my favorite things, so seeing these different versions of sketches was one of the best parts of the evening for me and really made me wish that I had thought to bring a camera to the meeting. Roz Stendahl did bring a camera and she has posted on her blog (click her name to follow the link) about the event and has included photos of other artist's drawings and our different versions of the same subject.

Fifth sketch - machinery or equipment

I always enjoy our meetings and I am always excited when our gatherings result in a new art creation I get to take home to remember the event.  As you can see from the opening image in this post all of the sketches fit in the map folder along with an introduction sheet and the list of our hunt requirements.
I am also looking forward to our January meeting which will be a portrait party and we will all go home with a complete collection of all the portraits made that evening bound into a book, it is always one of my favorite events.

Sixth sketch - texture

Morning Pears

Bosc pears are a doubly difficult thing to draw.  For one thing they are an odd shape that your mind fights with as you put the lines on the page, especially when neither pear would stay upright.  The second challenge comes when you decide that you want to play with color because they are an unusual shade of warm brownish yellowish that is hard to mimic on the page.  I finally got the color closer to right when I swapped brown for violet in the shadowy areas.

Sketched in a handmade journal using 500 series Strathmore Mixed Media paper, size S Faber Castell PITT pen, and Grumbacher watercolors.