Practice really does help!

 I was inspired by Friend Julie to participate in a drawing challenge called 'Index Card a Day' where one does a drawing a day the size of an (or on?) an index card. This was to be done every day during June and July. I used a couple of sketchbooks that I had started ages ago and filled them both up! This led to another challenge by my daughter, artquiltmaker, to fill up some of the many begun but not finished sketchbooks! And since then I have completed another one. That makes three this summer! The one I am working in now only has four pages left! YAY!

Above are three of the ICAD drawings I made.

After I completed that challenge I stopped drawing! But only briefly as I was trying to fill up sketchbooks.  I challenged myself to draw people wearing masks! I thought it would be a good chronicle of these pandemic times and interesting to draw. I have drawn eight masked people and a masked bear (copied from the internet). Each day that I draw I find that it gets easier and easier and the drawings, I think, are better and better. So I encourage you to draw every day. Not only are my drawings better but I have found that I like drawing faces of people and dogs. And instead of only drawing in the morning I go to my studio and draw a couple more times during the day.

I mention the dogs because my Oregon daughter seems to have many friends whose dogs have died. When they do she sends me a picture which I draw so they have a memento of their beloved pet. I am in the process of painting one now. Again, no picture!

The last thing I want to mention is that in my monthly sketchbox I often get a mini pad of a new kind of paper. I am going to check them out and report on them next month.

Next month also is 'Inktober'! Check out Jake Parker's Inktober on the internet and join in the fun and challenge. I don't use pen and ink as a rule but found last October that it was fun and challenging. I'm planning on bringing back Eggman in some of my drawings.

Thanks for reading my blog. Tell your friends if you like it. More next month.

You can see my work on instagram at peggy.carroll.73 and I also post sometimes on facebook as CarrollPeggy. I am however taking a little break mostly from facebook to avoid the political ads.

Mary

Silk!

 Posted just now and realized I forgot the silk part! Since the pandemic began I have been making masks. Recently I read an updated report on home made masks and their efficacy.  The newest data says three layers are preferred, silk, chiffon and cotton.  I happen to have (big surprise!) a supply of silk.  Since the silk quilt I have been saving it for won't come up on the list until I'm about one hundred years old I have decided to use it for masks.  I also happen to have about ten yards of chiffon which I was going to make curtains out of (also way down on the list)  and an endless supply of quilting cotton I am set to go on the masks.

Picture and update later.

Paper and Silk

 Since the last post I have been paying attention to the paper I use: the color, the texture, the size, how the color and ink are absorbed and how the pencil shows up.  When I have taught a class in the past I have recommended a large spiral bound pad of Bee paper and a small spiral bound Bee notebook.  I really like the small notebook because the paper is white, it takes watercolors fairly well and the spiral binding allows me to lay it open flat.  

By the end of the Index card a day challenge, July 31st, I had filled up my last one and though I searched every art supply website including Bee Paper, I could not find another small one.  I was complaining of this to my daughter one day and she called me on which sketchbooks I had on hand.  So I went through my paper drawer and to my chagrin, I found I had enough sketchbooks to fill a small art store!  The full Bee sketchbook is just beside my coffee cup. The ones below, at the bottom of the picture are (or were) empty, obviously waiting for me to fill them up!  I pulled out the two black o

nes with the elastic attached and have been using them since the middle of June.   These are bound like a normal book giving a two page spread if one wanted to use that feature.  The paper is hot press (which is smooth) watercolor paper, probably 140#. It is very nice to paint and draw on as it doesn't buckle when wet. The downside for me is that it is creme color instead of white. I think the watercolor doesn't glow like it does on white. But they are a good size and sturdy and I had them so am using them.  Maybe by the time both are filled I will like them. 

Favorites

Last week I said I would show my favorite types of art.  I only had one photo on my computer and I did post that. It was a poppy mural, in progress, at my cousin's house. All my art photos are on my phone (over 2000 of them!). But today I moved some to this computer and will post them.

This is copied from a picture off of Facebook and is done in pencil. Pencil is my very favorite media. I like both graphite and color pencils, with graphite being number one favorite.  And did you know that pencils have always been made with graphite and never with lead? Amazing but true.

I recently subscribed to "Sketchbox", a monthly delivery of luscious art supplies. It is $103 every quarter, I think. I have it paid automatically so I've forgotten  exactly how much it is. In the June box I received a tin of Cretacolor pencils. 

This brand has been a favorite of mine for several years. The graphite is very smooth- no 'rocks' in the graphite to scratch the paper or leave a holiday. The set came in a tin with HB, 2B, and 4B regular pencils, an Ebony pencil which has a thick, soft and very dark graphite. Also included are three graphite sticks, 2B, 4B, and 6B with the 2B double sized.  Lastly, there is what is called a polishing cloth which is a small piece of fine leather to rub over your drawing to smooth out the pencil lines. When I was in school we used what was called a chamois and was produced from and endangered goat. I'm glad that has changed.

An old standby and also a nice pencil is the Mars Lumograph. I have many of these in several hardnesses from 4H to 6B. My full set is also in a tin.

This morning I drew my ICAD project using the Mars pencils. I chose them because of the wide variety of hardnesses. I started out with an H because, used with a light touch the lines will not be seen in the final drawing.  As it turned out I only used the H and a 2B. Patience and many layers gave me the values I wanted.  The final drawing took about two hours and is only 3 1/2" x 5". One of my professors did portraits on full sheets of watercolor paper which is 24" x 32"! Her work was gorgeous and she was quite an inspiration. I wish I could remember her name.

This is one of my Montana daughter's chickens, Buffy the vegetable slayer! She appears to be thrusting her head forward, looking around a corner for a tasty morsel.

Next time I will post my other mural and talk about either pen and ink or watercolor pencils. Or maybe about paper which is super important in the final look of the drawing.

Stay tuned!

The Overwhelming Desire to Write and Draw

After reading Artquiltmaker's blog this morning I felt the overwhelming desire to write my blog again. I was surprised and pleased that it was still here!
Last October, in an attempt to jump start drawing I, successfully, participated in 'Inktober', an ink-along by Jake Parker. Pen and ink are not my favorite media but I completed it which made me happy.
The sad thing was I did not continue drawing much.
At the time I was teaching a class in the Delta College SICL program called Watercolor/Color Theory which forced me to study, paint and develop class content. That ended just before Thanksgiving. 
Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic the Spring and Fall classes were cancelled. I had planned to teach Beginning Pastel in the Spring. When we thought only the Spring would be cancelled I was relieved because I would have more time to develop my rusty pastel skills. I attempted that and found that the pastel dust really aggravated my annoying allergies and asthma. As soon as I put those pesky pastels back in their boxes and in the cupboard the asthma began to get better. So no pastels for me.
June and July presented a new opportunity to draw and paint in the guise of 'Index Card a Day'. The premise is doing an index card sized (3x5) art piece a day during June and July. I have been pretty successful at that and have found it has made me think about the kind of art I love to do and to wonder why I wasn't doing it.
So, do I have you wondering what I love to do? Good! Think about what kind of art you love to do and DO IT!
Here a sample of what I love to do.

This is one of the kinds of art I love to do. It is a mural on my cousin's fence. When looking for examples of art I found that I have not downloaded any of my art to this computer! So, later today, I will struggle with that and show you my absolute favorite art in my next post.

My goal is to write once a week. I'm glad to be back and as we all know we 'elderly' have plenty of time on our hands while sheltering in place to do a little writing.