drawing

April 10, 2013 by Tara 4 Comments

The thing about working at night is that your progress shots are all dark and shitty. But then they make the final image look better, so swings and roundabouts I guess.

profile sketch on paper

I’m finding Instagram to be a constant source of inspiration lately. I am not a fan of direct copying, mainly because it’s not cool but also because anything I try to copy exactly will inevitably disappoint me. I’d rather put my own spin on things.

Adding watercolour

Besides, I want my work to be mine. But I will pick up a style, technique, colour scheme or shape, that catches my eye, and gradually the things that have struck me will weave together to become a piece on their own.

Going in with black pen

Like this one. I started with a profile sketch, really simple, after seeing one randomly on Instagram. I didn’t copy it, I just felt like doing a profile after seeing it. Then I wanted to add some Alisa Burke style flowers, as I did here. The inspiration for that came from here. Yes I am on a bit of an Alisa trip currently.

Beginning to define the flowers, and darkening the blue background

The whole thing evolved over a few nights while watching movies on the sofa. I didn’t have any plans really, just picked up things I liked and put them together.

Flowers in Her Hair
Pencil, watercolour and pen on A3 Bristol board

I like how she’s turned out; I like the contrast of the simplicity of the face next to the hectic vibrant flowers. I’m not too confident with shading but ‘fortunately’ I’m happy with the facial minimalism.

I kind of want to give her a name. Any thoughts? I’m thinking something graceful, self contained and aloof, like Agnes {the French way}, or Magdalena.

Filed Under: art development, drawing, painting on paper, portraits Tagged With: flowers, painting on paper, portrait, profile sketch

October 23, 2012 by Tara 2 Comments

Today, in what may or may not become a new feature, depending on my whim and what I find that inspires me to try a technique or idea, I am sharing some drawings I did after being inspired by another artist. In this case, Rebecca McFarland.

After seeing Rebecca’s one line drawings, I thought, YEAH, I could definitely do more little things like this to keep my creativity ticking over. Since I don’t feel like engaging in an obstacle course every time I want to paint in my studio, {still full of boxes while I wait to move}, I have been setting up art camp on the coffee table some evenings.

Sometimes I just doodle or colour in, but sometimes I want something at least a bit more challenging and focused to get my teeth into. These one line drawings are perfect for when you don’t really know what to do but want to make marks and use colours.

Well my efforts do not seem to be the elegant and enigmatic portraits that Rebecca has produced. Mine all look either like they had a worrying accident or like a child with access to only very bright colours did them. Actually I hate them {although the dog’s quite cute}. The faces seem crude and sinister to me.

BUT, I enjoyed the process of doing them, and I can definitely use the one line drawing technique in future paintings.

{crappy lighting alert. better get used to this for the next however many months.

especially since my most artistic time is night time.}

Filed Under: art development, creativity, drawing, portraits, sketchbook Tagged With: dog, doodling, drawing, faces, flowers, one line drawings, portraits, quote, rebecca mcfarland, thoreau quote

October 21, 2012 by Tara 8 Comments

{some doodling on a background made by using up excess paint}

I was just lying in bed this morning, pondering the meaning of things, and the fact that actually nothing has any meaning until we give it one, and I had a little ‘real-eyes-ation’. One of those really obvious ones that suddenly becomes clear.

Take credit cards. Little rectangles of plastic with numbers and letters on. Satisfyingly rounded corners, maybe a picture. What IS that actually? A piece of plastic! It doesn’t MEAN anything. It’s not money. It’s not a ticket to a dream life. It’s not anything. It’s just a piece of plastic. But by a common agreement we all look at a credit card and think of money, and buying things, and maybe there’s some fear about how to pay it back, or whatever else comes up for us individually when we think of them. Crazy!

Some people love credit cards. Some don’t; I personally don’t like them and try to never use them. I am fortunate to be in the position to make that choice but that’s not my point.

The thing is, whether you like or dislike something, whether you call it something, describe it with adjectives, agree with the collective that it is ‘this thing that does this’, it doesn’t matter at all. Because when it comes down to it, none of that means anything. {I just remembered this is actually the first lesson in A Course in Miracles.}

So we can just choose! Anything can be anything! How freeing!

I’m spending today on my own. I’m aware that a part of me could choose to feel a bit sad about that, or start worrying about the week ahead, or wishing things were different. In light of my credit card revelation though, I’ve decided that today I’m choosing Sunday to mean loving myself by doing things I enjoy on my own. I’m choosing wearing cosy clothes, making soup, listening to music, working on my book, eating foods I love. Perhaps I’ll light the fire, watch a movie, read a bit. Nothing earth shattering, just a reminder that I can choose my own perspective according to what feels most comfortable.

Sunday sermon over.

Filed Under: art journalling, drawing, musings, sketchbook Tagged With: a course in miracles, credit cards, hello sunshine, meaning, sketchbook

July 14, 2012 by Tara 3 Comments

None of these are really rocking my world but it seems process is more important than end result as I learn the ways of pen and ink, and watercolour too, although I don’t think we will ever be BFFs.

A face drawn with my trusty feather is always easy, quick and satisfying, even if the end result creeps me out. Kind of like McDonalds.

I’m still not a flower person; I didn’t even enjoy the process of this one much. {Apart from the lavender.}

Another peacock! I am seeing them everywhere lately, not to mention wanting to draw them all the time. I looked up the meaning and apparently the peacock is a symbol of integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavour to show our true colours, amongst other things.

After a lifetime of hiding my true colours to the point of not knowing what they actually are, this is certainly a time of discovery for me. My colours are much stronger and bolder than I could have ever imagined. Maybe I do have a bit of peacock in me, as D keeps telling me! It’s funny isn’t it how a person’s blog gives an impression of who they are, but it is limited and one dimensional, either by design or because that is the nature of the online world; I have no idea what kind of an image I present to you, but I can guarantee you don’t get a 360 view! Lately I’m realising that I don’t have the full 360 yet either.

Filed Under: art development, creativity, drawing, painting on paper Tagged With: drawing, face, flowers, peacock, pen and ink, watercolours

July 10, 2012 by Tara 2 Comments

Today was the final class. Part of me is going ‘Noooo! I have so much still to learn!’ and part of me is ready for the next thing, whatever that may be.

I am inexplicably exhausted at the moment and didn’t take my most fired up creative self to class this morning. As ever, I had no idea what I was going to feel like drawing {planning ahead is useless for the likes of me, it’s all about how I feel in the moment}, just a bunch of images I’ve gathered over the years and a decision to trust that something would emerge.

It did, thankfully. {Note to self; remember that trusting allows for the thing you are trusting to happen, to happen. Nice.} There was quite a bit of practising, as watercolours ~ today’s area ~ are unfamiliar to me. I found it pretty challenging; they are unpredictable and don’t behave at all like acrylics. Claire suggested I photocopy my peacock from last week and practice on the photocopy. Also to try a few methods in my sketchbook so I don’t ruin my original. All very sensible. And look, the feathers came out beautifully! So I feel comfortable to try that on the real thing.

Since I am working a lot with figures at the moment, the urge to draw that was strongest and I had this striking image from some notecards I had years ago. I swapped the banana skirt for a tutu! And played with blending the watercolours once I’d drawn the outline with pigment liner.

Well I won’t be winning any awards for superior watercolour action any time soon, but I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed the class, so what more can you ask for?

I simply must have a nap now.

Filed Under: art class, art development, creativity, drawing, painting on paper Tagged With: figure, peacock feathers, pen and ink class, watercolours

July 5, 2012 by Tara 3 Comments

I am out of control people! Ha. Which basically means I’ve suddenly started getting busy in the stude again. This pen and ink class has got me all fired up creatively; so happy! First, some playing with ink, feather, watercolours and some super thick watercolour paper I bought for the class, as instructed.

It bleeds too much and the paper goes bobbly with water {wtf?! It’s watercolour paper!} so I prefer the thick paper I was using before, but still interesting to investigate how all the different elements work together and respond to each other.

I didn’t have anything in mind except to see what happened.

The painting is currently in a state of having been partially cut up. I have no idea what’s going to happen next.

And then this happened; I did the background ages ago and it’s been moping about in the stude, and today I just picked it up and finished it. It’s in my Etsy shop now.

There’s a definite bird theme of late, and I really only want to make marks with a feather since Tuesday. Perhaps I was a bible illustrating monk or a scribe with a quill in a former life. I did experience a past life regression a few years ago ~ I was a seafaring herbalist, but that’s another story.

Oh and ps. I’m on Instagram. I have no idea how to use it but I’m under ‘TaraLeaver’ should you wish to do some mutual following.

Filed Under: art development, creativity, drawing, etsy, mixed media painting, painting on paper, quote Tagged With: feathers, love will set you free, painting on paper, pen and ink

June 26, 2012 by Tara 5 Comments

I’m really enjoying this class, and pen and ink as a medium.Today we used black Quink with a brush, which gives lovely yellow and blue tones when you add water, and pigment liner pens for outline and detail.

I’m finding I get great pleasure from balancing large, loose areas with careful detail. I also learned that next to white/lighter areas you can put dark and vice versa, which really makes the image stand out.

And I’m very happy with this dude.

Filed Under: art class, art development, creativity, drawing, techniques Tagged With: art class, figure, pen and ink

June 19, 2012 by Tara 2 Comments

I signed up to a four week Pen and Ink class a few weeks ago, because I want to bring more drawn elements into my paintings, and balance the large abstract paint areas with more detailed drawn areas. It has turned out to be good timing as creatively speaking things are really erratic round here lately. {Then again, I always seem to be saying that; welcome to the house of All or Nothing.}

Today was all about getting familiar with mark making and drawing in pen. We started with biro, not my favourite medium, but I did learn to wield it with a greater degree of effectiveness after learning a few cunning tricks from Claire, the teacher.

First we ‘took a line for a walk’, to loosen up.

Due to a communication error, our materials list had not mentioned to bring something to draw from, so most of us didn’t have anything. Claire provided us with lots of photos to choose from, although I had my own ideas anyway. I picked a lotus type flower…

And a fern. It’s not my natural way to draw plants; I don’t know, it just doesn’t really do it for me, but after Claire showed me how to make the leaves look all groovy, thus:

I found it quite therapeutic. I also got bored, hence the unfinished nature of this one.

I have to be in a certain mood to stick with something repetitive. Besides which, what I really wanted to draw was fish.

I always want to draw fish lately. Must be the Pisces in me. But check these babies out! One in biro, one in pigment liner.

Initially I hadn’t filled in the scales or done the backround on the black one, and I’d left the head and tail white on both. Claire showed me that with just a few lines I could literally transform them into something with much more depth and interest. After I finished the scales on the black fish I was so excited!

I’m so pleased with both of them. So pleased.

I’m really looking forward to next week, when we’ll be working with adding washes. It’s going to be brilliant.

Filed Under: art class, art development, drawing, sketches Tagged With: art class, biro, drawing, fish, pen and ink, pigment liner

April 24, 2012 by Tara Leave a Comment

I’m off to France tomorrow for a few days with D for a bit of errandry and a bit of road trippery.

I’ll be taking my sketchbook obvs.

Last night I got busy with a pencil, which I don’t often do to this degree of detail/effort actually, and I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is. I was watching Beautiful Lies and there’s a scene where the mother is sitting forlornly on the front step waiting for the postman, and I had to pause and photograph it because I loved the shape of her, all folded together, darks and lights. It seemed like a potential painting.

Obviously my drawing isn’t all that, but I tend to copy things to understand what the shapes feel like and how they fit together, not for accuracy {which is fortunate}.

Once I’d got the main shapes down, the bit I enjoyed most was drawing the outlines really hard with the pencil.

From this point if I was going to develop it into a painting I would want to ‘spiral out’ as Flora Bowley puts it, and bring it more into abstraction. Whether I’ll actually make a painting from it remains to be seen, but it’s all part of the process. It can percolate while I’m away.

So au revoir mes pousses, see you next week. Happy times to you.

xoxo

PS. Pauline at Journal Illustrations has written a fab post today on how to do sketching without needing a rubber {or eraser, for you non English folks}.

Filed Under: drawing, sketchbook, sketches Tagged With: Beautiful Lies, drawing, Journal Illustrations, maddy, Pauline, sketching

April 6, 2012 by Tara 12 Comments

I didn’t know whether I wanted to post these sketches; I did them the other night while watching Bones so I wasn’t fully focused on them, and was kind of surprised-verging-on-disturbed when I really looked at what I’d done. They’re not a whole lot like my usual productions! I’ve been wrestling with a particular demon lately, and I wonder if my current reading matter and my horrid dreams are all contributing to producing what can really only be subconscious purging.

Then I read Pauline’s post about how art is expression of self in any given moment, and I thought do you know what, actually I do want to post these because they are stepping stones on my creative and spiritual journey and are as valid as any aesthetically pleasing piece, maybe more so in some ways.

Lately I’ve been noticing how I’ve been posting more for you than for me, which was not why I started this blog and certainly reflects the presence of my people pleasing demon, who is leading me on a merry dance of late. I love that you are here, but ultimately I am creating my own path by walking it here, and that means not hiding ~ including and especially from myself ~ the parts that aren’t as pretty. As in art, so in life, or something.

As Pauline says ~

Art allows me to honour and express

my own truth at the time.

Exactly! I am learning {apparently the hard way} how to do that in my life, so of course it is tied in to my creativity.

These wonky, rough sketches, with their tinge of anger and frustration and confusion, remind me of art I used to make as a teenager {what can I say, they are trying times!}. I guess I don’t find them that disturbing, they are quite familiar really. I actually like this yellow one more each time I look at it.

And really, it’s not all about pretty girls and joyful colours is it? We must embrace all our parts, not just those we are happy for the world to see.

Filed Under: art development, creativity, drawing, journey, sketchbook, sketches