August Stuff

It does not do for me to get out of my routine.  I seem to have a harder time getting back into one. 

I have been off work while between jobs, but it has not felt like a vacation in any way.  The time was mostly spent getting the new computer equipment set up in my home office, getting paperwork in, going through pre-training, etc.  A big part of all this was getting my internet upgraded and getting a new modem installed.

Last Monday was my first day at the new job, and it was mostly online training for the first couple of days.  Wednesday was the first day of going right into the work system and going full speed ahead.  And it went pretty good until I suddenly lost internet.  The rest of the week was spent trying to figure out what happened.  Long story short, we think a storm on Wednesday somehow damaged my new modem, and another new modem was installed which seemed to fix the problem.  By then, it was late Friday and I had lost half of my first work week.  I'm sure I made such a good impression on the new employer :(

Other than the new job, life goes on.  I had made weekly calendars for August for my DLP 2016 planner at the end of July, but haven't done much else with the planner.

I pondered why my box of freezer bags contained a lot of mutant bags, with parts of bags sewn into the seams of other bags.  It was quite bizarre.

I also enrolled in a new online class. I admit that before I left for Stampaway, I questioned my sanity in signing up for a new class that would start when I was out of town, and that would overlap with me starting a new job.  I must be out of my mind.

But, I did.  It is a Creative Lettering class with Andrea Joseph, taught through Sketchbook Skool.  I have been a fan of Andrea's work for a long time.  She makes amazing detailed drawings with just ballpoint pens.  She inspired me several years ago to make this journal page spread. The trick for me, which she suggested as a way to get a drawing started, was to trace around the object I wanted to draw, then fill in the rest.

When I was at Stampaway, I purchased a square Dylusions journal to use for the class (not required, but I had been wanting a square journal and this has nice pages to work on).  I decorated the front page with washi tape and a couple of stencils I also bought at Stampaway.

Some of my homework assignments don't look that great, but I'm loving this assignment and how it turned out! 

Since the class is about lettering to go in your sketchbook, I've been trying to do more sketching.  I was pretty happy with this one, which I drew with brown ink.  I then used a brush with water to wet the outsides of the bottle and make the ink run, spreading the ink around for a background.  That is, I did love it, until I wrote on the back side of the page with a marker that bled through.  But life is what it is, and I can't stress over it.  Just makes the page look aged or something.

 

I'll be catching up with my 2016 planner as time goes on and post progress here.  And I feel like I'm starting my new job again for the second time tomorrow, after not being able to work last week.  I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day, where the same thing happens over and over! !

Meanwhile, back at the Persimmon Tree

I haven't forgotten my nature studies from the summer.  And I haven't forgotten my plans for a nature book of the sketches and photos.  I just got temporarily side-tracked.  (And if you know me at all, you know my middle name is Side-Tracked... and thankfully a lot of you also have that middle name and totally relate!)

I have tried over the past couple of months to get pictures of the persimmon tree in its various stages.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of rain during the time it had green leaves and green fruit, so I didn't get pictures of that stage.  I have some new pictures of the branches, plus used some older pictures from a couple of years ago for my sketchbook.

I used two sizes of punchinella for the page backgrounds.

 I had a really great quote about persimmons, but that scrap of paper has disappeared somewhere, and I'll have to search the internet again to try and find it.  In the meantime, I grabbed the comments my friend Jan made about persimmons and how her dad cut open the seeds to see what shape was revealed and thus what kind of winter was ahead.

But I still don't eat the persimmons.  Too much trouble, I say!!

The Accidental Sketchbook

I didn't plan to have this little sketchbook with birds in it.  In the fantasies in my head, what I really had was a wonderful watercolor sketchbook full of my perfect drawings of birds and nature.

I recently came across this little book I bought ages ago, because I'm a sucker for anything with graph paper.  I was doodling in it with words and birds, and before you could blink, I have myself a bird sketchbook.  It's not the best paper for watercolors, but I like the crinkly sound the pages make once they dry.

This is the original doodle made from looking at a magazine picture.

Playing with pens and markers.

This is what my birds look like if I don't have anything to go by.

From magazine pictures:

Stamp that used to be mine, became Gaye's when I had it in a yard sale, which I now want back.

Scrap paper from Gaye's desk.

From magazine page:

Where I get my inspiration.

This has the potential to be a nice little book. (There is also a 50/50 chance I'll lose interest before the book is half full.)

Following Instructions

I can't seem to focus on any one thing lately.  My mind is going in a dozen different directions.  But I am still doodling around with drawing stuff when I get a chance.  And it only took about a day in the beginning of my drawing journey before I wanted more colors to draw with.  Enter my favorite pen company, JetPens.  I ordered a set of pens that come in the tiny 0.3 size that I like.

And because I am such a sucker for all things pens, I explored some other offerings.  I ordered a Coccoiro "letter pen".  Because it says "letter pen".  How could I not order something whose description says "This stylish pen is perfect for women who value their handwriting or who like to use their favorite pen for a long time."  It is the only pen I've ever bought that does not come with ink.  You have to order the barrel (available in many colors) and the ink cartridge (also in many colors) separately.

When the package arrived, I wasn't sure if the pen barrel was missing the bottom part or if the ink cartridge sticks out the bottom.  I carefully went over the instructions.  No help there! From these instructions, something goes down and something twirls.

I am slowing getting used to this pen.  It has a brush-like tip, but I have to contort my hand a little to make brush strokes.  I don't think it was meant to be pressed hard like a brush or it might not keep its sharp tip anymore.  But it's growing on me.  And I like to say its name, Coccoiro.  Say it with me, in your best Japanese - Co-Co-Eee-Ro.

I also bought a Pilot "Envelope Address Writing Pen".  I think it might be exactly like the Pilot laundry pen I bought a couple of years ago.

So if you need me, I'll most likely be off making doodlie-doos somewhere!



Key Ingredients

I am still having fun drawing things.  Now before you think I am more talented than I actually am, one of the best things I learned from Andrea Joseph's 'zine  is to trace around objects to help you gain practice.  Since trying to draw things in proportion has always been the hardest part for me, I found this so helpful.  I have been tracing around all kinds of things, then filling in the details. 

 I eventually had to act like a six-year-old and start coloring things in.

I even tried drawing some notebook paper on the journal page. That was easy... just take a ruler, blue and red colored pencils, and draw lines! 

The hardest thing to draw was the pen I've been using.  It's hard to get that tiny writing on the drawing.  My pen is a Pentel Hybrid Technica pen (size 03).  I love it, because it has a hard metal point and has a very smooth ink flow.

(Cross) Hatching a Plan

It's a good day when you receive Royal Mail.

I love detailed drawings, and I recently ordered a couple of 'Zines from Andrea Joseph.  I am just blow away by what she can do with a simple ballpoint pen and other drawing tools.

I got her Travel Sketchbook, and also How to Draw Like A Nut.

Within just a few minutes after reading How to Draw Like a Nut, I had drawn the scissors lying nearby and made notes on my journal page.  (I would have drawn peanuts like in her examples, but I didn't have any.)  I definitely see a lot of this in my future.

Sorry I've been a little absent lately.  Apparently Blogger didn't like my old browser and would not let me post.  Won't go into all the upgrades and fixes, etc, plus re-learning how to post on the new layout they have.  All's well that ends well.