new sketchbook, cleaned-up palettes

 

As usual, I started my newest art journal with a sketch of my current palette, which was just cleaned and color selection tweaked. Beginning each book this way gets me past the "I don't know what to draw / I don't want to mess this book up" attitudes. And it keeps an on-going record of paints I'm using.

I'm going to try to do more "on the spot" sketching in this book. Sensitivity to bright sunlight and sticky-hot humidity have kept me from doing so over the summer, but I need to get back to it and stop relying so much on taking photos. This re-purposed vintage Prang box is a favorite for taking along, with a couple of travel brushes already in it. Click on the photo for a larger view; colors are listed on the page.

I keep my travel supplies very minimalist but change what palette I'm using according to the season, the subjects I expect to sketch, how much room I have in my current bag, or simply by what mood I'm in. I don't keep a special bag to carry supplies, preferring to just toss some tools in whatever bag I'm currently using. Just add some paper towels and a folding stool and I'm ready to go. Colors and brands of paint are listed below, from lower rows to upper row in each box:

The larger box on the left page is full of granulating paints:
raw umber violet, DS
potter's pink, W&N
quin. burnt scarlet, DS
monte amiata natural sienna, DS
serpentine genuine, DS
undersea green, DS . . . will replace with sap green when this is gone
cerulean blue chromium, DS
blue apatite genuine, DS
buff titanium, DS
goethite - brown ochre, DS
quin. burnt orange, DS
burnt umber, AJ

smallest box, upper right, is a mint tin:
perylene maroon, DS
quin. gold, DS
sap green, DS
indanthrone blue (dark blue indigo), Sch
quin. burnt orange, DS
burnt umber, AJ

lower right Bijou box:
permanent rose, W&N
pyrrol scarlet, DS
quin. gold, DS
hansa yellow medium, DS
phthalo green, AJ
cerulean blue chromium, DS
phthalo blue, AJ
ultramarine blue, AJ
buff titanium, DS
goethite - brown ochre, DS
quin. burnt orange, DS
raw umber, DS


AJ = American Journey (Cheap Joe's)
DS = Daniel Smith
Sch = Schminke
W&N = Winsor & Newton 

BTW, each inside cover starts out with lots of blank space. By the time I finish a sketchbook journal, the front and back insides are usually covered with verses, encouraging quotes, random information & contact info, or comments.

a couple more from Washington-on-the-Brazos

This is the reproduction of an outdoor kitchen. The interior was crammed with cupboards, work tables, and stores, and a huge open-hearth fireplace.

Hanging from two ceiling beams was a slave-powered "air conditioner" --- I don't think it would have cooled workers down very much.

In contrast, the slave cabins had an outdoor kitchen: a small work table positioned under an arbor covered with heavy green vines of some sort. Cooking done over a huge open fire with large poles to move the heavy pots.

I found the slave cabins' interiors more interesting than the "big house", showing how ingenious these people were with very little personal belongings.

Loved the stick-and-mud chimney!

newly bound sketchbooks

Before moving to Texas, I had several full-sized sheets of paper stored in a flat box under my bed. Knowing it would be hard to keep them from crumpling during the move, I went ahead and tore each paper down to fold into folios for sketchbooks. Much easier to pack!

The 3 smaller books shown here are filled with BFK Rives with some toned Stonehenge. These papers were simply folded and torn down, ending with journals measuring roughly 6 x 8". After the move, I found the marbled paper at Jerry's Artarama in Austin and thought it would make nice covers. Bookcloth for spines was from leftovers in my stash. For added protection, I coated these sketchbooks with Liquitex matte gel after they were finished. I also found the toned sheets of Stonehenge at Jerry's, which I added for variety.

The leather-wrapped journal's paper, Kilimanjaro 140# watercolor paper from Cheap Joe's, was sewn directly into the leather using hand-dyed silk threads that show in the spine. I had a piece of soft leather in my stash so I thought "why not?". Haven't tried binding one like this before. (The leather thong tie was donated by Bill --- it came on a cowboy-style hat he bought here in Texas.)

Washington-on-the-Brazos

Recently we took our eldest granddaughter to see the museums located in Washington, Texas. In 1836, 59 delegates met here to establish the new Republic of Texas while defenders kept Santa Anna's army busy at the Alamo.

The unfinished frame building, a reproduction, is filled with tables laid end-to-end just as it was in 1836.

At the living history farm, interpreters depict life on an early cotton farm, where oxen are still used in the fields. I love the dog-trot framed house!

With a very humid 100° heat, I took photos to sketch later. I wanted to record these in my journal but it was just too hot to sketch on site.

After reading about astrolabes in a book, how cool to find one in the museum!

chapel in Round Top

On a recent day-trip we stopped in the tiny community of Round Top, TX. With a population of only 94, the town features multiple B&B choices, a concert hall featuring solo, chamber, and orchestral music, antique and boutique shops galore, a theatre barn featuring Shakespeare, and great restaurants! We indulged in pie for lunch --- mine was a savory margarita chicken; Bill had "Texas Trash".

This wee chapel is located in the town square, where there were tons of butterflies and flowers.

baby squirrel chillin'

Recently I caught this baby fox squirrel cooling his tummy. He had casually wandered from the back of the Adirondack chair to the large covered crock where we keep birdseed, finally ending up on the cool cement floor of our covered patio. I began taking photos from inside through a window. He soon noticed me, gave me a worried look, and then vamoosed.

primary & secondary, warm & cool

I've put together many palettes based on a warm and a cool of each primary. But how about one based on a warm and cool of each secondary color as well? Using the paints I have, I tried this in a classic color wheel. (Actually I only have a sample of the permanent orange but am definitely buying a tube of it --- It makes gorgeous clean greens when mixed with phthalo blue!)

I've been working through a few exercises from a little e-book borrowed this month from Kindle's Lending Library, "Paint With Intention" by Joan Hoffmann.

This exercise called for painting a simple apple form using the whole spectrum of color, from yellows to greens. Of course, I couldn't leave it at that --- I added some detailing after the paint dried.

My warm and cool primary wheels did not look as different from each other as the ones in the book. I used the primaries in the color chart above.

But I jotted down a few pointers from the book to have a record of it.

My favorite black mix is still ultramarine blue and burnt umber, but it's good to know a few more in case a painting calls for something else.

Highland Legos

When I was a kid I thought Legos were the coolest toy with their red, white, and clear bricks --- the classic "house building" kit was all there was. The kids down the street had them but we never did.

So I now have a few of my own.

The rocks are from Loch Ness and the Black Isle in Scotland. Our daughter brought them back with her last year.

Mom's birthday card & a church sketch

Today is my mom's birthday. This is the card I painted for her this year. Our daughter introduced me to an incredibly detailed series of historical fiction by Diana Gabaldon and I in turn introduced my mother to them. The first book has been made into a TV series that premiers this week. Doune Castle in Scotland is standing in for Castle Leoch in the series; I thought Mom might enjoy a sketch of it.

I also did this quick sketch at church on Sunday, adding a bit of color later at home. The wife in the sketch had gorgeous hair reaching past her waist when we met them this spring; she recently had it cut to donate the hair to be made into wigs. Still gorgeous but I wish I had sketched her earlier.

We are really enjoying our church and the people there. Awesome place to worship our Lord.

a T.A.R.D.I.S., prickly pear, and a wee Lego artist

This past week was mostly humid . . . the kind that makes it hard to breathe. We have managed to take our early morning walks but after that, I have avoided going outside much. (Also, the intense brightness hurts my eyes -- I currently have 3 cataracts as well as glaucoma). So I've been sketching a few silly things inside. This Doctor Who version of Yahtzee was a birthday gift.

This sketch of a prickly pear cactus growing in one corner of our lot is from a photo I took in June. In all those past visits to Arizona, I never saw the desert blooming. My mother-in-law kept telling me how beautiful it was but I always missed it. So I made sure to take photos of this one. This one was probably planted on purpose but prickly pear grows abundantly in the wild around here.

Speaking of toys (as in the game above?), I always wanted Legos as a kid but never had any. So I have now collected a few of my own. Including this wee artist dude.

I was NOT happy with how this sketch turned out.

So I drew it again. A bit better this time maybe?