I’ve been putting in some extra effort with work, this month, the goal being to get as much of July’s workload finished by the middle of the month as possible. I’m planning to take some time off, and in order to do that, projects need to be scratched off the list earlier than usual. I’ve worked most of this week on July projects, and I intend to keep a brisk pace for the next couple of weeks to meet that goal.
Does it matter if I don’t finish everything “on time”? No, not really. In fact, it may turn out that a little light work helps me maintain an even keel—and that’s never a problem, because August’s assignment list is ready and waiting—but it’s my goal at the moment to finish as much as possible now so there’s the option to do exactly as I please for a couple of weeks without creating a heavier load down the line.
All this means that there’s not a lot to share since last time, but here’s what I’ve doodled…
Watercolor Pencils & Acrylic Pens
Most of the doodles I have to share are on the very simple and easy side—just something fun to do when I didn’t feel up to anything more complicated.
This started with pale watercolor blobs, followed by quick floral doodles in watercolor pencil. I used a paintbrush and water to gently activate those doodles without completely washing out the lines. Finally, I added a few more details on the flowers and background with acrylic paint pens.
Nothing special, but it’s fun to try out the tools that get less use. I need to spend more time with the watercolor pencils, one of these days.
(I’m thinking of moving some of my color pencils and watercolor pencils into cans or jars on the tabletop. If they’re easier to access, I think I’ll be more likely to use them.)
Watercolor Roses
I’m not very good at painting roses, but after watching this video with tips, I thought I’d give it another try.
More practice is still needed! (But at least you can tell they’re supposed to be roses, I hope.)
I do like the purple/plum veins on the leaves.
Easy Abstract: Watercolor & Metallic Pen
These next two were inspired by this video by Andrea Nelson. I think she used metallic acrylic paint to draw the shapes’ outlines, but I thought this would be even easier with some metallic acrylic paint pens I have.
I went for a different variety of shapes instead of all ovals. The paint is watercolor.
This was quick and fun, so I went for another one, using the silver-toned pen instead. This time, I included some star and heart shapes, and I decided to paint them by shape: Yellow for stars, pink/purple for hearts, and blue for all other shapes.
At this point, I decided to add a few more details with the silver acrylic pen. (It’s a double-sided one with a thick and a thin nib.)
I think the first one was better, but both were fun to make.
Takin' on the Neon
(I just spent way too long trying to think of a title for this section, and that was the best I could come up with! I actually googled “neon puns” and found that there are pages devoted to the topic—and yet none of them were good enough to steal borrow.)
I watched a video about neon art materials, and it reminded me that neon is a popular choice with several people whose videos I’ve watched in the past year or so, yet I tend never to use it, myself. It’s one of those things I loved as a kid. (In the 80s and early 90s, nearly every kid loved neon colors!) But as an adult, they’ve been far down my list of favorites. However, seeing how others are using it piqued my interest, and I do already own some neon or fluorescent materials, so I might as well try them, now and then.
I started this by painting neon watercolor blobs over the whole page. Next, I doodled my picture with a black brush pen. I mixed up a sludgy dark brown from paint already on my palette, and I filled in the background and a few other areas with that mix (in varying strengths). Finally, I added a few more details in a finer black pen and a white paint pen.
It’s kind of ugly, I know, but I actually don’t hate it. It was fun to do, and I’ll probably do more similar to this.
(Oh, and in the interests of honesty, I think I bumped up the saturation beyond reality, but that’s perfectly fine. Digital art and heavy photo editing are allowed!)
Cluck Cluck Cluck
(I’ve learned my lesson regarding clever section headings—for today, at least. Let’s keep it simple!)
I don’t remember what inspired this. I think I just wanted to do something bright, easy, and fun, and chickens came to mind.
This started with freehand hen and chick shapes in watercolor. Once they were dry, I used a black pen to add the details. And that was it! These chickens are pure fun and relaxation.
*gasp*
I just saw that one my hens has neither legs nor nest. I need to go back and fix that! So funny how you can look at something for so long and still miss something…
Another Old Favorite: Potted Plants
I wanted something easy and stress-free, and potted plants are always a good choice for that. I decided to use my Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints, which have been neglected. (This is another material that I plan to keep in a new location so I can more easily get to them, because where they used to be, it was just a little too inconvenient.)
This one started with pots, followed by leaves. (Starting with leaves would be a good choice, if you want leaves to overhang the tops of the containers.) You can probably see a few pencil lines where I roughly sketched the pots before painting.
After the paint dried, I added some outlines in black ink pen. I tried to keep the details light and simple, this time.
I loved this one. You can’t go wrong with potted plants! (And these will never die or become infested with insects…)
