Week of October 10, 2016: A map, a dog, some fall elements, and new art supplies!

Hello again! I don't know about where you are, but the weather here is downright weird. This past weekend we had every conceivable form of weather aside from snow! Frost first thing in the morning, but mid-afternoon temperatures were in the 20's. It was great for getting some much needed yard work done, right up until the rain hit and hasn't stopped yet. When I bring the girls home from school today (in their rain gear) we'll likely be eating popsicles due to the hot afternoon walk. Not what I expect from October, but we all have to adapt don't we?

How was this past week for you? Any excitement? Did you manage to finally check that one item that's been driving you batty off your to-do list? I have! I finally completed my map for MATS B (pause for cheers and applause)!! I also painted a quick sketch of one my Aunt's chihuahua's, a fall items sketch, and tested out my new pearlescent watercolour palette and sepia Sakura pens!

Map of Kitchener-Waterloo:

My completed map for MATS B

I am so relieved with how this map turned out. If you've been following my posts you'll know just how much I struggled with this assignment. It isn't anything like what I expected it to look like though. I do find it very charming, but I had hoped to create something in a more traditional style. I'm hoping to come back to it at some point to see if I can make it the way I had expected to in the first place, now that it's done I have a better idea of what I could try. One thing Lilla Rogers keeps telling us is to try something new, to break out of our rutts and experiment and I feel I most definitely did that with this project, and for that I am very proud of myself!

Little Chihuahua sketch:

Little Bella, a watercolour and ink sketch.

This is taken from a photo my Mom took of one of three of my Aunt's chihuahua's. She is such a sweet little thing, though she is very protective of her "mom"! When I did the sketch my aim was to keep it loose and light, in part to give the impression of all the energy this little bundle of love has! I think it came across very well. I would like to try to sketch up her brother and sister as well. They will each bring their own challenges because one is completely black with short fur, and the other is tan with long, feathery fur!

Some fall elements:

Fall elements collected during a nature walk.

Last weekend, my husband took the girls out for a nature walk out by the University. They took a bag with them to collect their "treasures" (I have abut twenty horse chestnuts lined up on my hutch right now). I thought it would be fun to go through their collection and sketch up a little spread of elements. I really like the way the covered chestnut and the pinecones turned out here.

New Art Supplies:

A quick fall sketch to test out my new pearlesecnt watercolour palette and sepia Sakura pens.

I had an opportunity this week to purchase some new pens and paints and thought I'd try out this set of pearlescent watercolours! The picture doesn't do the painting justice, the metallic sparkle comes through very well with these paints, though the colours are a bit muted. I love the colours in this set, they perfectly match the more "natural" tones I generally move towards. And the Sakura pens!! I've been wanting to try some sepia pens for inking for a little while now, but what's awesome with this set is that it also comes with a brush-tipped pen!! I'm looking forward to playing with both more in the future. One thing I especially want to try with the pearlescent paints is painting on darker coloured card stock! I've been watching a few videos on Youtube and the results are incredible!

Well, there goes another week! My plans this week are pretty simple, I am going to set up my first clip-art product for my Etsy store, I would like to sketch another one of my Aunt's adorable dogs, and I want to try sketching some ghouls and goblins - I haven't decided if they will be playful or creepy, maybe I'll try one of each!

I hope you have a great week, be happy, and stay safe my friend!

Until next time,

Mandy

If you'd like to see more of my work or keep up with me day-to-day you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook.

If you're interested in commissioning me, click here to be taken to my Contact page to send me an email or message me from my social media links above, I'd be happy to answer any questions :)

Week of October 03: Map making, Wild Turkeys, and Abstract Butterflies

Hello! How've you been? Has the week been good to you and yours? For me, this past week has had it's share of ups and downs, nothing too critical, but still... Here in Canada we are celebrating Thanksgiving so there had to be some time spent planning the meal and deciding how we were going to spend our time. This year we had a small celebration planned, with only myself, my hubby and our two girls in attendance - a very intimate gathering! The weather has been a little hectic this week with warmer than normal temperatures. I'm not sure if it was the change in the weather, or some other factor that resulted in my two separate migraines this past week and completely destroying any chance of productive work. Luckily I am not generally prone to migraines, I only seem to get them a few times a year, but they still tend to be a wrench in the gears of my productive day.

I did manage to get a few things moving along. I worked some more on my map, sketched and painting a wild turkey, and started a textural/abstracted butterfly painting!

My Map for MATS B:

Oh this map! I posted what I had completed last week onto a MATS group on Facebook for feedback and got some really good suggestions for improving it. Take a look at it now!

My latest version of the Kitchener-Waterloo map for MATS B. It's coming along!

I think it's coming along nicely. What I want to work on now is some more textural elements in the background and the lettering. Someone suggested that I print out some fonts that I think might work and handletter those to keep the style I've got going on. I found a few tutorials for lettering with text styles that I'd like to try out, they are both from ChrystalElizabeth, one discussing 5 Tips for Brush Lettering, and the other talks abut Three Different Brush Lettering Styles (click the titles to see the posts).

I am not as happy with my progress on this map as I'd like to be. Being ill for two days, plus the extra I needed to put into my family life, put a distinct crimp in my progress. I am very determined to have this completed this week because I have plans for next week that don't involve MATS at all!! I do have one more assignment to finish the course, but I might start that in November.

Wild Turkey Sketch:

We live very near a small forested trail and recently the city put money into naturalizing some of the channel that runs through it. This past year, we've noticed a definite increase in wildlife and wild plants in the area, one of which is a wild turkey that's been seen roaming the neighbourhood. I managed to grab a picture of it on my phone after taking the girls to school one morning and was very excited to sketch and paint it in my sketchbook!

My illustrated wild turkey in pen and watercolour.

It was so much fun to draw and paint! I don't get to sketch many birds and I'd like to do them more often. Hopefully this will be the first of many!!

Watercolour Texture:

Through my Facebook account I frequently get posts from other artist groups or companies, many of whom have free tutorials or information on how to improve your skills. One that I frequently look at is Artists and Illustrators magazine (link goes to their Facebook page), based in the UK. This past week they had a tutorial that inspired me to follow along, it was their Daily Art Challenge: watercolour texture.

My work so far on a textural/abstracted butterfly.

I was in the mood to do something fun and creative and at the time I hadn't had my migraines yet so I knew I had plenty of time to play. This is about as far as I got. I didn't have the recommended japanese tissue paper so I just used what I had available. I don't believe this will take too much more time to complete, but we'll have to wait and see what I have to spare this week. Unfortunately it isn't high on my to-do list and I have to prioritize my time for more critical projects.

Ah the end of another week! I am looking forward to a more productive week and an end to certain projects! It's going to be much cooler here, definitely fall weather, so it's the perfect time to be indoors and working creatively!

Have a great week, be happy, and stay safe my friend!

Until next time,

Mandy

If you'd like to see more of my work or keep up with me day-to-day you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook.

If you're interested in commissioning me, click here to be taken to my Contact page to send me an email or message me from my social media links above, I'd be happy to answer any questions :)