Garden Findings for Inktober

Hello all, a belated happy October to you.  I'm on the Inktober trail again, approaching things slightly differently this year.  Firstly, I'm trying to work from life rather than from photos as I did last year.  And secondly, I'm gathering small sketches onto a large journal page, rather than them each getting a page to themselves.  So I'm here to share the first spread with six sketches on it, as well as a few process photos.  I hope you like them.

(Yes, I know it's the 8th already, but I'm not bullying myself to do it daily, given there's quite a lot of other stuff going on at the moment!  I may catch up tomorrow, or I may not... we'll see!)  

And here they are in order from day 1, with a chance to see the pen sketch and the model in each case - which was just whatever I happened to pick up in the garden that day.

A sprig from the miniature crab apple tree...

Some random grasses from the "wilderness garden" round the back of the house... (some day I hope it will be a wildflower meadow under the plum trees, but for now it's a wilderness!)

A couple of slightly bedraggled leaves from one of the plum trees...

Some of the dried Aquilegia seed heads which I use quite a lot on my tags too (you've just seen them in action in the previous post)...

Some random dried out leaves (maybe plum?) - I thought this would be simple, but it was the trickiest one on the page...

And finally, some wild strawberry leaves.  This one took quite a few layers, and as I was doing chores in between layers, by the time I got to the finishing touches the strawberry leaves were starting to curl up around the edges...

So, that's the first page pretty much full.  It's a slightly stressful way of working, I've discovered... if each one is on its own page, if you mess up then it's only that one that's spoiled.  But here, if I do one I'm not happy with, that's in danger of undermining the whole page.  It was touch and go with those pale dried leaves, but I think I pulled it round!

For those who like to know these things, I'm using a Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.3, and Daniel Smith watercolours with Silver Black Velvet brushes, in a Moleskine A4 watercolour journal.

I hope October is treating you well, whatever you're up to, and I'll see you again soon.

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

From Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

(And it's on my EAB04 Autumn Edition quote set from PaperArtsy!)

Inktober Week 3

Hello again all.  I hope you're all doing well.  It's taken me a bit longer than seven days to collect the next seven paintings.

I took a deliberate day off from Inktober halfway through the month (it was starting to feel a bit of a chore and I wanted to release that pressure valve).  Then on Thursday I took delivery of a van load of boxes/furniture from the UK which meant I couldn't settle to anything while I was waiting for it to arrive, obviously couldn't do anything while we were unloading, spent some time doing a bit of sorting, and then the light had gone a bit too far, so I gave myself that day off too!

Long story short, at day 23 I finally have 15 - 21 to share with you, so I should really stop calling them "day x" and call them "painting x", I suppose...

Painting 15

Painting 16

Painting 17

Painting 18

Painting 19

Painting 20

Painting 21

I know which are my favourites... I wonder whether they're the same as yours...?!  As usual, here are a couple of process photos to give you an idea of what goes on along the way.  

I'm continuing to enjoy getting some proper darks in for contrast and depth, but I'm still struggling not to overwork things in the final stages... sometimes I remember to stop in time, sometimes not!  Onwards and upwards (hopefully)...

I promise to try to do some catching up with non-watercolour projects soon - there are plenty waiting in the wings, since I've been so neglectful of the blog.  And I'll also aim to do some proper catching up around Craftyblogland with those of you who don't do (shhh, whisper it) Instagram.  Hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend and see you soon.

Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know.
Rembrandt

Creativity is the brain's invisible muscle -- that when used and exercised routinely -- becomes better and stronger.
Ashley Ormon

Inktober Week 2

Hello all!  I'm dropping in for another Inktober update.  The last seven days have had their ups and downs, but I've managed to keep up the daily practice.  It's been a battle some days, and others the pen and paint have definitely been flowing with more ease.  See what you think...

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

And once again, since the point of Inktober is really the drawing, here are a couple of process photos so you can see how they start out...

 

I continue to learn huge amounts as I go.  I think the drawings themselves are getting better (last year I was very dependent on the watercolours to rescue me from rather inadequate drawing skills), and I'm really starting to understand the value of proper darks.  

I hope you're all doing okay and are getting to enjoy some autumn sunshine.  It's pretty glorious here in the Czech Republic most days, and the leaves are just starting to turn from green to gold to red.

There's the odd grey day in between, but really not many of them.  It's chilly now though, and I'm starting to prepare the garden for what's forecast to be a long hard winter.  Stay safe, stay well, and I'll see you all again soon.

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

Elizabeth Lawrence

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

From Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery