Fodder Folders

Hello all!  It's all go round here at the moment, and it's high time I filled you in on some of this month's Fodder School 3 creativity.  We've had a great month of classes from Tiffany Sharpe, and several bonuses - including one from me - and here's some of what I've been getting up to with the mixed media folders and watercolour elements she shared with us.

I actually created two batches of the folders, as I was in a different colour mood when I painted my watercolour elements, so then they didn't really go with the first folder batch... so I needed to make some more!  Here's the first batch... don't get me wrong, I love them.  

The colours were what I wanted that particular day - and in fact, all these colours come from my Fodder School/PaperArtsy curated paint sets.  Mostly from the Background Blues set, but a couple thrown in from Botanical Basics and even one from the Berrylicious Brights.  (All those paint sets can be seen here, and are available from PaperArtsy stockists worldwide.)

I love the texture created by Tiffany's method, and it's great to be making good use of leftover packaging and junkmail... a really inspiring class for the first half of the month.

But then, as I say, when I did the second part of November's sessions, I was in a completely different colour frame of mind, and here are the watercolour elements I created...

I also felt that the blue green folders were done - I didn't really want to add anything extra to them - so now I needed to make some new folders to complement those watercolour botanicals.

I went with neutral tones, mostly greys, and again mostly PaperArtsy Fresco paints.  Because the colours were all much closer to each other in tone, I got a very different look to my folders.

But they were the perfect setting for my watercolour botanicals... and I provided a bonus class sharing how I created those twine closures (they're a little different from Tiffany's closures) as well as that 3D collaging.  

If you'd like to know more about how all of this was made, you can sign up to join in the Fodder School 3 journey at any time.  All the details are here, and I'm pretty sure you won't regret it!  

It works out as less than $20 a month for lifetime access.  You get several hours of mixed media teaching each month from the main teacher as well as surprise bonuses from the other Fodder teachers for the year - not to mention lots of additional inspiration, support and advice on various platforms.  

I hope you're all doing well.  Watch out early next week for some EXCITING LAUNCH news coming your way... I can't wait to share with you what I've been up to behind the scenes for PaperArtsy!  Have a great weekend once it gets here...  Happy crafting, all!

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.  To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. Share the botanical bliss of gardeners through the ages, who have cultivated philosophies to apply to their own - and our own - lives: Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.

Alfred Austin

Belated Inktober Page

Hello all!  Long time no blogging again... sorry.  I'm trying to shake off a horrid sore throat and chesty cough (tests say not Covid), and writing a blogpost is about all I'm up to at the moment, so here I am!  I've finally got an Inktober update for you, another page of botanical sketches done from life.

I didn't manage anywhere near the full 31 days... in fact, reverse those two digits and you'll have the actual total.  And the last of those was actually done yesterday morning - I needed it to fill the gap in this second page before I could share it. 

Anyway, here are a few photos (click for a larger view) to show you some of the leafy life models and the pen sketches which are the start of the process for these.  It was Inktober, after all, so I made myself start with pen rather than pencil.  I've been using a Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.3, Daniel Smith watercolours, and Silver Black Velvet brushes in a Moleskine A4 watercolour journal.

Sometimes there's a part way stage that seems worth sharing too, and sometimes not.  I was particularly pleased with how the shadows made these rosehip stems "lift off" the page...

As always, there were good days and bad days.  The trouble with doing them all on one page is that the risks feel greater... what if today's painting is so bad that it messes up the whole page?!

The Czechs are great fungi foragers - it's a national pastime - so there had to be at least one mushroom in the autumnal gatherings.

 

Another acorn (or two) made it on to the page... they are a real challenge to get the shaping right.  I'm still working on it!

The Echinacea or Coneflower has been a gorgeous addition to the garden this year (not sure whether it's going to make it through the winter, but we'll see).  Even in its decayed state it has such beauty...

       

And finally the little brown oak leaf from yesterday - and it definitely wasn't my finest hour.  As the annotations say: lesson learned... don't try to paint when you're not feeling well!

  

 

As well as garden gatherings (which was what was on the first page a few weeks ago), this second page has some things gathered on one of my walks.  Here's a glimpse of the treasures I came home with, and which I was planning to make the subject of other Inktober paintings.  Sadly, most of them didn't get painted in the end.

I think the first trio of leaves and the ragged rosehip stems are probably my favourites - how about you?

I'll leave you with both pages... 13 out of 31 - not brilliant, but not nothing either.  I'm pleased with the results of challenging myself to paint from life.

I'm aiming to continue the watercolour practice throughout the year rather than waiting for July (World Watercolour Month) and October (Inktober) again this time, so I may be back with more botanicals some time soon.  Hope you're all doing well, and I wish you all a wonderful December.

As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.

Vincent van Gogh

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!)