Tuesday 24 May 2016

Black, white and some colour for fun...

Hello everyone and thanks for dropping by here. It's been a bit quiet here lately, but that is because I have been busy trying to teach myself to draw better..... I have been studying a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, and it's jolly hard I tell you (and to be honest, not always a whole lot of fun). Anyway, today I decided to give myself a bit of a break and pulled out some stamps, stencils and my all time favourite Distress Inks, and just had a bit of good old crafting fun....
I made a trio of tags using some wildflower stamps and stencils and then made them into a triptych.
I used similar techniques and colours to make them into a little set.
For this one the main stamp was clear embossed, I blended my chosen Distress Inks around it and then I stamped and stencilled the background and doodled around the edges. The butterflies on all three were stamped and then fussy cut.
This one was done in a slightly different way. The ivy in the background was stencilled with gesso. Then I blended my Distress Inks all over and then did further stencilling, this time with Cobalt Archival ink. The berries in the foreground were from another stencil (Indigoblu). I first stencilled it again with gesso and then added colour with Inktense pencils and a white gel pen.
This one finally was done pretty much like the first one again.

Alright, so now I will be brave and share my drawing attempts with you also, all of them were done just with an HB and B2 pencil mostly.
This was a pre-instruction drawing of my hand that you are asked to do, to see how you will improve by following the exercises in the book.
My hand again, this time against a tinted background. I used the wrong stuff, so it turned into a mess when I was rubbing out mistakes. This one was done with a view finder and one eye closed (tricky I tell you).....
A drawing of a chair, again using a viewfinder, one eye closed and trying to see the negative space. There are no perspective techniques here, you are just supposed to draw what you see by looking at the spaces around and between the actual object. It probably looks easy, but it is super hard I tell you, I struggled like anything with this one, oh and by the way, the cushion really did look like that.
This is the last drawing I have done so far and by far the trickiest. It's a copy of a drawing by Winslow Homer and the exercise again was to copy the negative spaces. It took me at least two hours to do this one...

Well, that's it for now, thank you for baring with me and I hope you are having a good week!
xxx

39 comments:

Patty O'Malley said...

I love your triptych, Astrid! Beautiful! I'm not an artist but I think your drawings are wonderful!

maria's knutselplezier said...

WOOOOOOw Astrid, your cards are beautiful but I really admire your drawings , you have so muc talent, I know that drawing hands is very difficult and what you did is really amazing, be proud of yourself you are a really talented Artist!!!Respect!!

Greetings
Maria

Barbara said...

Wow Wow Wow! the trio is superb!!!!! Love the colors and techniques! Your drawings are fantaastic! you are an Artist! fantastic work! barbara

Valerie-Jael said...

Love the triptych and the drawings are great, have fun. Valerie

Inkypinkycraft said...

lovely tags using a gorgeous set of colours, they're lovely and wow your drawing looks to be great to me !!

Dagmar said...

Wow - was fur tolle Zeichnungen!!!! Einfach fantastisch sind die geworden! LG Dagmar

brenda said...

I smiled where you said the book tells you to draw what you see as those words come back to me from art classes at school, somehow I never mastered that theory and never progresses from stick people, still the same today !

Whereas your sketch work is superb Asrtid and I admire your perseverance in following the book to achieve these excellent pieces.

And of course I love your inky tags.

B x

Maryann Laursen said...

I think, you´re one of the most talented ladies, i know, and both your tags and also your drawings are fabulous. I couldn´t help laughing, when you write it at least took you 2 hours to draw the little girl, I could never make it look this awesome in 2 weeks, if I could ever get it to look like anything at all ha ha ha. You have all the rights in the world to be very very proud, of what you´ve achieved, as it sure is amazing work all of it here.

Wendy L said...

Wonderful tags, love the colours. Your drawing seems very good to me but I cant draw at all, xxx

Annie said...

Hi Astrid x I am totally blown away by your gorgeous drawings. The details in all of them are amazing. It did make me smile that you have to look through a viewfinder and close one eye!!!! But it certainly works.......they are fabulous.
Beautiful Tryptich with gorgeous colours and stunning stencilling/stamping

Have a lovely week
Annie xx

Redanne said...

Your triptych is beautiful, lovely colours and the butterflies are a delight.

Your sketching however, is superb - the ones of your hand are amazing and so realistic - wow - and the chair with the wonky cushion is incredible. I am just imagining you now with one eye closed, that must have been so hard! The end results however, were certainly worth all that effort! Hugs, Anne xx

Helen Wallace said...

Good heavens Astrid! Like Maryann, I smiled about the drawing that took 2 hours! I couldn't do it in two months. Especially like the hand drawings and the chair. I took a drawing class once was was told to draw the negative space or what I could not see!!! Left me at the Bakery 'mdear! Love the tryptich. Gorgeous colours and techniques and a great way to reward yourself for persisting with the drawing :D

Suzanne C said...

Gorgeous tags. The combination of colors and white space with the flowers is fabulous. The drawings are fantastic and you really have a talent for drawing.

Words and Pictures said...

A deep sigh of purest pleasure for that wonderful tag trio - the colours, the delicate wildflowers - just pure perfection as far as I'm concerned.

I'm deeply impressed by the drawings - if those are the "before" hand sketches, I can't wait to see the after. I do rather like the slightly grungy look created by the messed-up rubbing out on the second hand. The whole negative space thing slightly baffles me. I mean, I understand it with my head, but I've yet to make any kind of progress in transferring that to paper! But there's such sensitivity in your line and in your observation - both the chair and the copied drawing look great to me. Thank you so much for sharing your journey - can't wait to see where it takes you.
Alison x

Diana Taylor said...

Wow, where to begin! The tags are absolutely beautiful, everything about them calls to me, the colours, images, and the textures - they are all totally adorable.
Your drawings are amazing - I love your delicacy and sensitivity and even when you say your struggled, your talent is still shining through. They are all beautiful. Good for you sticking at it, even the tricky stuff! It will be interesting for you to look back through your work and see how you've changed during while following this course.

Meggymay said...

Oh my Astrid, where to begin. The stamped projects are all gorgeous and the colours are wonderful. Your drawing is sensational, the talent is there, also, the delicate details, they may have taken you time but your journey to get to this stage is impressive. Keep at it and sharing for us to enjoy.
Yvonne xx

Dorthe said...

Dear Astrid,
you are trul such a talented woman, all you reaches for, and try, comes out like a pro. The drawings are all amazing, the hands life-like and oh do I love the girl in her chair. Every drawing speaks of a very talented you.
And my goodness the triptych is so beautiful. Lovely colors, and stencils, and the sweetness of a summer meadow.
Hugs, Dorthe

Lys said...

Your tags are fabulous, Astrid. I had started a time ago the book you quote, and I can tell it's a great way to widen our approach of drawing. I was very impressed by the upside down drawing exercise:perfect to see how our habits can close our mind. I love your drawings, especially your hands (I'm fascinated).

Juliz Design Post said...

Gorgeous tags Astrid love the white flowers within your design for a striking look. I certainly admire you learning to draw, they look wonderful and my favourite has to be the little girl with the cat.
Julie x

rachel said...

I adore your tryptych - brilliant work Astrid the white really pops - and your drawing is amazing - wow! Well done you xx

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

Your drawing of the little girl with her kitty is absolutely gorgeous. I love her enthralled look as she reads. Blessings!

Kathy Bradley said...

Astrid - your triptych tags are gorgeous! And, your sketches are all amazing and beautiful - you are amazingly talented.

Brenda Brown said...

Well your playtime created three magnificent tags, beautifully put together as a triptych and your drawings are magnificent, they have taken me back to my college days and having to keep a sketchbook but I enjoyed those time sitting and observing what was in front of me. You have a natural talent here and I'm looking forward to seeing more xxx

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Hi Astrid, your tags are gorgeous and your drawings stunning. I think you are too hard on yourself as you have loads of natural talent. I know that to draw you have to keep practicing (which is something that I've fallen down on when I try to learn to draw... I can doodle and that's about all). Amazing art ! Hugs xx

Gaby Bee said...

Both, your tags and your sketches are absolutely amazing, Astrid! You are so multi talented, seems you can do anything :)
Thanks for the sweet comment you've left on my blog, too. It's always wonderful to hear from you!

Gaby xo

Marisa Job said...

Another beautiful creation! You are so talented!!

Lagene said...

Gorgeous triptych! I'm impressed by your drawing! It is beyond my abilities!

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous piece of artwork Astrid, adore the imagery and backgrounds. Your drawings are absolutely fantastic. Tracy x

Unknown said...

Hi Astrid, I love following you on your blog, you really inspire me! The triptych is beautiful!! I am in love with your wild flower stamps, can you tell me where they are from? They are stunning!! xx

Astrid Maclean said...

Thank you Hannah, I just hope you will see this as I don't know how else to contact you.... They are from different places, some are very old. (tag one) the others were from Inkilicious and Hot of the Press. Chocolate Baroque do beautiful wildflower stamps too.

Deborah Wainwright said...

Love your tags Astrid. I also love your drawings which to me look fabulous. Thank you for sharing this part of your journey with us. Also thank you for your lovely comment on my birds at TC hugs Debs xxx

Paper Profusion said...

Your tags are really gorgeous Astrid! Love the colour contrasts. As for those drawings, I'm so impressed. I don't know how you co-ordinated your brain, eye, hand to produce those results! Happy Weekend! Nicola x

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh My Astrid - I love your tags - wildflowers and butterflies - the perfect combination1 Your drawings are amazing - it sounds quite difficult! Hugs, Chrisx

Deb said...

I adore your triptych of wildflowers Astrid, beautiful panels that relate to each other wonderfully! And I admire your drawing exercises, I can't draw a straight line and admire people who can so much, well done! Deb xo

Karen Petitt said...

I can see an improvement in your drawing Astrid - they are beautiful! I also adore your tiptych too. I have that book, somewhere, and when I re-locate it I've got to go back and get into it again. Give yourself time and don't be so hard or so critical of yourself, easy to say but always to do Karen x

Pamellia said...

Beautiful piece today Astrid, but I admit I am distracted by your amazing drawings! Such a talented artist in so many ways! I love the last one, great work! hugs :)

Almo said...

Lovely triptych Astrid, I especially like the detail in the berries on the Inspire one, as I scrolled down the page I each drawing was an absolute delight to see, you have such talent they may have taken you a long time to complete, you may have found it difficult, but your dedication to your drawing techniques (and your watercoloring) are producing some jaw dropping results. Keep going Astrid looking forward to seeing more - please. Mo x

A Pink said...

Such a beautiful triptych of tags! Astrid They really are stunning.

Your pencil work is exceptional, you're a natural and thank you so much for sharing your fabulous drawings - its inspiration for me to go sharpen my lead again- its been way too long. I hope you continue to enjoy your study despite it being challenging at times.
hugs x

experiments in paper said...

Oh my - I have lingered over this post to soak in every lovely detail. The triptych is fabulous and how clever to use stencils to compose like this, in different mediums - so effective! And love your palette and that black! I so admire your stepping full foot forward into drawing - and your results are fantastic. None of it looks easy to me as I've tried some of this! Your talent shines through, as well as your patience, lol!! All of it is wonderful to see. xxx Lynn

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

One World One Heart

Photo

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Birthday Card

Birthday Card
Just got a whole lot of new stamps from a brilliant place called the Stamp Smith. This is the image that I first saw on Docraft and really liked. I asked the friend who has used it in an ATC, where she got it. Well she borrowed it from a friend who got it from ebay as a one off. But.... it had a title. I googled the title, and hey presto found the site. They have great stamps and offer a really friendly fast service. I highly recommend them!

Gothic Arch Trifold inside

Gothic Arch Trifold inside

Back of Gothic Arch Trifold

Back of Gothic Arch Trifold

Gothic Arch Within the Heart

Gothic Arch Within the Heart

Gothic Arch, the Key

Gothic Arch, the Key