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?)

How do you draw a swirl, mummy?

Click on image for larger...image!

I have been getting quite caught up in these strange doodles lately!  This one looks like it is ready to start spinning and take off.  It all started when my son asked me about a photo he saw of the swirling milky way (not the chocolate kind, the one in the night sky...is it called the milky way?  Will have to check on that).  He asked me how to draw it, and we started talking about 'swirls'.  I showed him how to draw a simple swirl, and then later I made this swirly doodle ink drawing on paper, which I then scanned and added some colour using Photoshop and my trusty graphics tablet.  I might do a few more of these little fellows, maybe throw them together and make a weird fabric design for my Spoonflower shop.  Never know, it might be just the thing for someone's next quilt or party bunting...or not :P...........'til next time, from MM.

Sushi For Lunch

 Sometimes I have such a craving for sushi, I just have to make it.  It is too expensive to have it at a restaurant, so  I decided it was time to try my hand at making it myself.  Hooray for YouTube...I have learnt how to cook so many things from watching videos!  And I should also mention my good Japanese friend who is a great cook, and showed me the finer points and some cool ingredient ideas (Thanks, Mutsumi! :D) 

Well my first attempt was pretty pathetic...let's just say when my family ate it, more rice ended up in their laps than in their mouths.  However, I didn't give up.  I have practiced since then, and thankfully improved in my sushi rolling skills so that the rice stays inside :D

South Korean 'Kimbap'

I used to work as a teacher in South Korea.  There they call it 'Kimbap':  'Kim' means seaweed and 'bap' means steamed rice.  It is a pretty popular dish there, with even a hit pop song being made about it.  When I went for picnics and outings with my kindergarten students, the kind parents of the students would always make us delicious Korean food, and Kimbap was always there.  The parents would also make a mini bite sized version of it for their children which was so cute.  When I was running late and hadn't had time to make my lunch, I would quickly pop in to the kimbap shop down the street and grab a chonon (about 1 dollar's worth) kimbap roll, usually tuna and mayo flavour.  I was always impressed watching the Korean ladies as they expertly made it each morning.  They Probably wondered who the crazy foreigner was staring in at the shop window.  I don't think it was such a fun job for them, I bet they didn't get paid much.

Korean Kimbap usually has one special ingredient:  'Kimchi' - spicy fermented cabbage.  When I first arrived in Korea it was not my favourite ingredient, but as time went on I developed a bit of a taste for it.  I mean, every restaurant I went to usually had it as a side dish, and the school I worked at always served it for lunch with steamed rice, so it was impossible to avoid it.  Now I sort of look at it with fond memories in the asian food shop and think about good ol' South Korea :)

So anyway, the point of this little ramble is that my Korean Kimbap adventures were the inspiration for the drawing.  You can see the sped up version of the actual drawing on my You Tube Channel.  I might do a bit more work on this one and make it a print in my available in my shop.  Let me know if you are interested in purchasing one, or if you have any other suggestions for this sketch.

Sushi Cake

Oh, and if you now feel like having a go at making Korean Kimbap youself, check out this video by Aeri, from 'Aeri's kitchen'.  She makes some really good cooking lessons.  For something a little bit different, try this Sushi Cake from 'runnyrunny999's' channel.  I have yet to try this recipe but I want to one day, it looks so pretty with the pink rice!

So what about you?  Do you like sushi or kimbap?  If so, what is your favourite flavour ?  Feel free to comment :)

Bye for now :)
MM