'Would You Take a Dollar For That?'

Latest drawing journal entry.  Ink on paper.  Painted in Photoshop.
Click on image to enlarge.

It's amazing what you can find at a garage sale...especially a 'monster' one.  One person's trash is another person's treasure, as they say!
I thought this little one dollar bargain I picked up for my daughter would make a good subject for my drawing journal today.  Hope you like it :)

...oh, and don't forget to share and subscribe if you haven't already!  I appreciate it.  Thanks.

Regards,
MM

Blast from the Past.

Human ear anatomy sketch.  Click on image to see detail.

Another little idea from my old drawing journal which I am going to try and bring back to life. A pencil sketch of the human ear and its inner workings.  Sorry about the scan quality, the journal is A3 size, and my scanner is A4 (half the size of my journal), hence the fuzzy cut off bit. 

I took a bit of liberty with the actual ear...now that I am looking back at this one, I realise that it is not quite anatomically correct.  The earlobe looks a bit strange...hmmm...I think I just guessed instead of really looking at one.

There is a lot of inspiration in the shapes and patterns of the human body.  Might take this idea further and see what happens.

Until next time, keep your ears to the ground (is that possible?).  Regards, MM.

Attack of the Killer Flora.

Ink drawing in Journal.  Click on image for more detail.

Here is an oldie from my drawing journal.  I was inspired to get my journal out and give it a good dusting off, by this video called 'The Art of Breakfast', by Danny Gregory. The title makes me hungry just typing it.  So do those bagels he is eating.  The beautiful colours in his art journal, though, they really get me inspired...especially the amazing red he sploshes on the teacup...and he has really captured the feeling of a new, fresh day, with the light streaming in the window.  I remember dabbling in traditional pen and ink like Danny uses in the video, when I was in my high school art class.  It was very relaxing once I learned how to control the ink.  I should buy another one some day and give it another go.  The lines have such great character.

Anyway back to my own journal, to be honest this one had only two drawings in it so far, including the one shown here.  I think I might have drawn this about two years ago...time flies when you're having fun, and I forgot all about it!  But I can see that bits of it have some potential, so I will try to do something interesting with it.  I'm also keen to continue with my journal and fill it up, just like Lynne Chapman does.

It just struck me that the flower looks a bit 'Day of the Triffids', as though it is about to attack something, or like a cobra rearing its head.  I wonder what sort of mood I was in when I drew this?

What about you?  Do you have an art journal?  Feel free to inspire us and share your link to it in the comments section below:)

Regards,
MM

Tea For Me, Please!

Are you a tea or coffee person?  I must admit  I'm a bit of a tea person myself.  I was hooked ever since I fell off my bike when I was a kid, and my Mum suggested I have a cup of warm milky tea to settle my nerves.  Now I have to have my tea the same way...warm, milky, oh...and with lots of sugar.

At our house we also have Moroccan tea, served with a fancy faux silver teapot in little tiny glasses on a silver tray.  It is made of fresh mint, green tea, and sugar.  Moroccan tea is served in a more sociable way than we usually serve the English tea.  Everyone sits on the floor around the tray with their legs crossed and we drink it together, practicing our Arabic.

Coffee?  Well I love the smell of it, especially the real stuff (not the instant chemical rubbish) but I can live without drinking it if I have to.

I completed these two images using my drawing tablet, in Art Rage and Photoshop.  They are available in my shop as various printable items.  Just search for 'teapot' and 'coffee' to find them.

Regards,
MM.

Pattern Potential.

The original image, drawn in 'Scribbler Too'.

Ive been experimenting further with the 'Scribbler Too' online drawing tool.  The spiderweb lines reminded me of batik, a technique where hot wax is painted onto fabric, sometimes scrunched to create crackled lines, and then dipped in dye.  When the wax is peeled off it reveals an amazing effect.

The image made into a series.  This could be
developed into an actual quilt or wallhanging.

I thought I would take the scribble technique a step further by adding some faded colour to try and resemble dyed material.  Then I thought this would look effective as a series...almost like a quilt or a wall hanging.  There are ways of getting images on to material these days, you can even print onto material with your inkjet printer.  It would be so much fun to make this into an actual quilt or wall hanging....ideas, ideas, but not enough time to try them...one day perhaps!  I will have to dust off the new sewing machine I bought ages ago and actually learn how to USE it!!

By the way you can see another example of a 'Scribbler Too' work I developed here.


Regards,
MM:)
PS: (Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE :)) 

'Earthed' - Caught Up in Cobwebs.

'Earthed' - an image which began using the free drawing program 'Scribbler Too'

 Lately I have noticed some strange, spider-web-like drawings on the internet, such as this beautiful example by Bettina Makley, who lives in the USA.  I began to wonder where people were buying these ultra thin black pens from which could make such delicate lines!  After a bit of investigation I found that they had been made by using a free online program named 'Scribbler Too'.  Go there, have a play, and I can pretty much guarantee you will be as hooked as I am.  It's so much fun!  And the great thing is that you can save your image, take it in to any other drawing software and add more effects and colours to your heart's content. 

Here is an example I have been working on, which is not finished yet.  I am enjoying working on it so much that I would actually prefer not to finish it...I will just keep drawing until my eyes pop out of my head, which is what almost happens when I am doing one of my 'drawing until 3 in the morning' episodes.

For 'Earthed' (seen above) I began by loading a circular tree image I had drawn previously using another great free online drawing program called 'Art Rage'.  You can see it in the screen capture image below, the one which looks as though it has been drawn with coloured pencils.  I liked the shape of this tree, so I used it as a tracing and then used the scribble tool to draw the black and white tree that you see below it.  I then saved it, took it into Photoshop, and used the paintbrush tool to add more colour.  I like to turn the opacity slider down quite low, and build up the layers of colour.
 

A screen capture image I took while using Photoshop.
Here you can see how 'Earthed' evolved.

I used a graphics tablet for this drawing (Wacom Intuos 3) but I have also seen some amazing examples of drawings using Scribbler Too, which have been completed using the mouse.  Some people love the program so much they started a Flickr group to share their work!  There were only 22 members (including me) at the time of writing this post, but I'm sure the number will grow as people discover the program.  You can see more at the 'Scribbler Zombies'.


Have fun!
Regards,
MM.
PS: (Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE :))

I love No Leafless Land.

Completed Drawing - Ink and Prismacolour on Paper. 
Final display made in Photoshop.

Give me a land of boughs in leaf,
A land of trees that stand;
Where trees are fallen there is grief;
I love no leafless land."
- A.E. Housman 

Here is the completed, colour version of a previous drawing which I started here.

If you would like to see the video showing how I coloured it, visit here, or better still, purchase a print of the original

Enjoy!
MM.

Illuminated Letter - M for Miraculous!

Short interruption:  You can now purchase a print of this artwork here.

As I flicked my way through some of the artwork on Flickr lately, I came across some great examples of illuminated letters, in other words, single letters that had been highly decorated. Here's a beautiful example by 'ritedebnow' .

So I decided to have a go at my own.  Here is what I came up with.  I have no idea where some of the imagery came from, probably from some deep dark space in my head...I do know how the volcano got there, though.  Could it have something to do with the video about Pompeii I watched the other day? Or perhaps I was really thinking about the active volcano we have in New Zealand, named Mount Ruapehu...one of the world's most active volcanoes?  People still go skiing on it, even though it says on Wikipedia that ...'On 5 April 2011 Geo Net changed Mount Ruapehu's Volcanic Aviation Colour Code from Green to Yellow'.  I am assuming that generally means that if you fly over it in an aeroplane you may not need the air conditioning on quite as high as usual, because you are probably going to get...FRIED!

Do you have any active volcanoes in your part of the world?  I hope you don't live quite so close as the people in Pompeii did to Mt Vesuvius....if so, consider moving somewhere less 'active'!  Although some people just like to live dangerously.

You can watch me draw this piece on my You Tube Channel, if you like.  Its a bit of a long one this time, a two parter.  I decided to publish it pretty much warts and all instead of going too crazy with the editing, just to make my life a little easier, for me that is, not you hehe.  Hope you enjoy it!

Regards,
MM
PS: (Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE :)) 

Work in Progress

Click on image to enlarge.

A quick post showing the drawing I am working on adding colour to at the moment.  You can see the outline being drawn and the idea behind it in my last post.  I am now adding colour using Prismacolor pencils.  I have recorded most of it on video, so stay tuned...I will post it as soon as it is edited, along with the finished drawing.

Thanks for visiting!  Enjoy your stay and have a nice weekend:)

Bye for now
MM

UPDATE:  This drawing is now finished!  You can watch me drawing it and see the finished piece in the video below:

A Bit of Green to Rest Your Eyes.

Behind my house there is a sort of forest that has been spared by developers because it is in a sort of swampy, damp area (see photo).  Im so glad it has been spared, because we get to see and hear all the native birds which live there, such as the New Zealand Tui, and the Morepork (yes, that is its name!) 

The Tui is a very talkative bird who flits around at dusk catching all the insects that are flying around.  He is very clever at this.  The Morepork (or Ruru, which is its original Maori name) is very difficult to see, as most owls are, but his mysterious call on foggy nights is something I always stop and listen to if I hear it.

I remember when I was a small child, hearing his call at night, and wondering where he was, and who he was calling to.  When I moved to Australia for 22 years, it was something I really missed.  I am happy that I can hear it again, now that I have returned to New Zealand.

I have always loved trees, there is something very gentle about them.  After a stressful day there is nothing better than to rest your eyes on a lush green forest, or a lovely green garden.

So this is the inspiration for my latest drawing in ink, a stylised tree with three branches.  You will have to imagine that the branches are swaying, because here in Windy Wellington they don't have much of a chance to stand still!

I'm thinking of adding colour to this one, perhaps with coloured pencils this time.  What about you?  Do you have any beautiful nature close to you which you love to rest your eyes on?

Another Fancy Flower

Original ink drawing on paper.

Another flower design finished off at...oh dear, it's two in the morning!  The only time of the day I get any complete peace and quiet hehe.  Oh well I better get this posted before my eyes drop out of my head.

I drew this one in black marker pen on paper, scanned it in, and then coloured it in Photoshop.  I could have used the magic wand tool and the paintbucket to colour it, but I like to do things the hard, old fashioned way...I used my graphics tablet to colour each leaf, petal, vine, etc.  It's quite relaxing, though, to do it that way.

The original drawing is the black outline one to the left.

First colour version.

Changed to black and white and inverted.

The image to the right is the design after being hand coloured in photoshop using a graphics tablet.  I deliberately made the colours very loud.  Below you can see a few more colour combination ideas, where I have fiddled around with things a bit.

A bit easier on the eyes, this one.  I quite like it.

Pretty pink version.

White outline on grey background. 

So which version do you prefer?  Write a comment and let me know :)
Bye for now
MM

ps:  (One of my You Tube channel subscribers made a comment on one of my drawing videos, suggesting that I design some stamps (thanks, Scraplynn!).  This is an idea I thought about before, and I would love to do it but I woudn't know how to start.  I wonder where I would get them made...suggestions, anyone?)