A Slightly Sheepish Obsession....

I must confess to having a few on-going minor obsessions that seep through into my creativity - zombies for one, that is still up there. I'm watching The Walking Dead, knitting a couple of zombies and one of the children I teach art to is currently drawing endless highly detailed comic strips of his version of Walking Dead.  Another is birds - I like to paint them, own them, watch them out of my window (as I type a pair of blue tits are investigating the new nesting box I put up on our pergola) and even wear them in the form of jewellery and patterned clothing.

The past couple of weeks it appears sheep have entered the mix.  Needless to say, I have been working with their wool for most of my life in some shape or form.  But recently sheep themselves have come to the forefront.  Perhaps it was when the local farmer decided to go into sheep farming rather than arable and my daily dog walks have turned into sheep avoidance exercises - the idea of my saluki let loose in a field of stampeding sheep doesn't bear thinking about! (You must have seen this clip - this is what I have looked like during dog walks more often than I care to mention.)

I've recently sewn a lamb toy, knitted numerous sheep related items for the animation, bought a sweater with a sheep on the front, eaten lamb stew (does that count??) and now I have an idea for a painting that just won't go away.  So hopefully today I can start to get it down on paper and out of my head.  Does this happen to anyone else, a subject that emerges from the sub-conscious and won't go away until it has been exhausted?  Just me then......ok, I'll go quietly......

Necessity is the Mother of Invention...

Over the past couple of years or so I have had to knit some pretty weird and wonderful things for this animated film.  Oddly, it's the things that sound simple that prove to be the most tricky.  It's usually not a problem doing the actual knitting, but finding ways to construct the inner shapes has been quite difficult at times.  I think in the past I have used cosmetic lids, hairspray tin, fruit punnets, salt box, shot glasses, mini flower pots, oodles of foam board and newspaper, cardboard boxes, plastic cups, the list goes on and on. Can you guess what is underneath this beer barrel?

One of these, cut, taped, stuffed and taped again.  But you knew that, didn't you....

Upcycled Lamb...

Well hello, little guy!  I spent half of yesterday sewing this lamb based on a pattern in Abby Glassenberg's really useful book Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction.  I used the ram pattern but altered various bit and pieces to fit in with what I wanted to do.

I went to Unravel last Sunday, and part of my haul that I brought home was a lovely soft piece of vintage blanket - all white, slightly felted, and very cuddly.  I wanted to make a very simple toy to make the most of the fabric, something huggable.

Cutting the pattern was hard work - the blanket is quite thick.  Sewing was hard too, in some places the layers of fabric were almost 3/4 inch thick.  Happily, the blanket is so soft that a needle passed through like butter, I just had to remember to pull the thread really taut in order to keep all the layers together.

I'm not sure if he looks as 'lamby' as I wanted, but he certainly is cute.  There are a few things I would alter if I was to make him again, but I am definitely going to work in old blanket again, it makes for a very warm and cuddly finish.

Inktense Mini-Tutorial

So here it is, a brief guide to using Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks - hold on to your hats, here we go!

This is the set I use, combining pencils and blocks,  It doesn't matter if you have just pencils or just blocks, the principles are pretty much the same.

I use ordinary paintbrushes, usually with a good point and a springy feel to them.  It's also handy to have a brush with a water reservoir - when you are working on a large section of a painting, it saves constantly dipping your brush in the water pot and losing your flow - literally!

It is always a good idea to have a practice first and see just how each colour looks on paper and how it moves with water.  I do this for most paints/water soluble pencils as only then can you be certain of choosing the colour you need when working.

I carefully draw out a basic outline of my subject - some clematis in this case.  There is no need to go into too much detail or use alot of pencil or shading as this will show through your paints and spoil the clarity of the colours.  Make sure your drawing is precise though - it pays to spend time on this as a bad drawing can ruin a finished painting.

I have started the centre of the flowers using a sharpened pencil.

I intensify the colour by going over it with a wet paint brush, also making sure the lines are clean.  I then shade a light layer of yellow over the leaves, wet it and fill in the leaf shape.

For the petals I shade in a fuschia and yellow combination.  I know that when wetted they will make the colours I want to shine through when the flowers are finished.

I then wet them with the reservoir pen.

I continue using a combination of violet and fushia, making the pencil marks darker in shadows and folds.

When using the pen, you can move the pigment about like watercolour but also keep the depth of colour where you want it.

The blocks can be used like crayons for larger areas but my preferred method is to use them like watercolours.

It helps to have a small piece of watercolour paper to test your colours on first and also to use a bit like a palette.   

                                                                                                                                               

Here I have used the blocks as watercolours to lay down a first layer of colour for the red flowers, making the pigment darker where needed.

I'm using dark chocolate pencil to fill in the gaps between the flowers and add some depth.

I've used water to darken the brown and also added some indigo from the blocks.  Here I am building up the colours on the flower petals with a combination of yellow and red pencils.

It looks a bit scruffy until you add the water...

I'm using the reservoir brush again for continuity of colour.

Hre I have used red from a pigment block in order to deepen the hue - the previous colours and shading still show through.

And that's as far as I have got with this little painting.  The rest of it will be more of the same, building up colour with pencil and washes until I reach the depth I want.

Of course, this is just my style of painting - you could work in big bold strokes with vibrant combinations of colour, it's entirely up to preference.  The colours are worth persevering with, the results are lovely.

It is also possible to paint like this on fabric - I have done a couple of t-shirts and several silk ties.  But that's a tutorial for another day!

Wow, It's Big!!

I received a couple of sample packs of the new Derent Inktense set yesterday.  That's my painting there on the front, lifesize!  The box to this set is huge, when means the painting is too. It's come out really well, I'm very pleased.  Look out for this in shops soon!

We've been working all winter on replacing our shed and pond, as well as digging out the massive bamboo that had taken over the bottom of the garden.  This is it so far, a bit bleak and empty when you compare it to how it was in years gone by. Not helped by the vast amounts of rain we have had which turned the whole area into a bog.

I'm sure once the plant start growing it will soon be pretty again.

We already have some daffodils out, so Spring is on it's way.

With regard to the Inktense tutorial, it's on it's way, I'm halfway through.

Duck Disaster Diverted!

So there I am, putting the final touches to this painting, carefully arranging the driblets of water where I wanted them and making sure they were wet enough to leave the right marks when they dried, when *BAM!* Whole lot, drawing board, double layered box of Inktense pencils & blocks, paintbrush, all slipped off my lap and on to the floor. (I paint at my desk but have the board on my lap propped up against the desk as it makes the best angle for me to work at.)  I sat there for a few seconds in horror then leapt into action with kitchen paper and a wet brush to try and limit the damage - I've been working on this for a week now, and to ruin it at the last minute?

I think it is still OK - you can see where the pigmented water shot off to the right but I am hoping that adds an air of movement and spontaniety to the painting....

This was a bit of an experiment - I had the photo of this very inquisitive duck that we had taken last year and I wanted to use it but not in a boring animal portrait kind of way.  So I began just painting him on his own but as it progressed and I worked on the water droplets and irridescence of the feathers, I thought it might be fun to have him get his colours from the 'rain', and also have them slide off him onto the ground.  It kept me amused anyway!

Upon reading a comment on yesterday's post about how to use Inktense colours, I think I might run up a little tutorial later on today - I have to admit that when I bought my tin of Inktense, I had a couple of tentative attempts with them and then put them away as being far too scary.  The colours are bright and once dry, very, very permanent.  They sat under my desk for months...nay, years...until one day Derwent asked me to illustrate some packaging with them.  Gulp!  So it was time to take the bull by the horns and work with them properly - since then they have become one of my favourite mediums.  So watch this space over the next couple of days.

I've also been knitting millions of tiny red flowers.....it felt like millions, that's for sure!  These will be some mini hanging baskets for the animation - now they need the chains and brackets.  Actually, they are more crochet than knitting - the baskets and flowers are crocheted, whilst the leaves are knitted using a cast on/cast off technique.

I'm very excited about going to Unravel at the weekend.  A festival of knitting? Absolute heaven!  Better make some room at home for a stash upgrade and check the bank balance.....

Still Exciting!

I've been illustrating for Derwent for a few years now, but the excitement of seeing my work on one of their tins never dies down.  This week sees the arrival of my sample tins of the new Inktense set with the above painting on it.  They should be with me tomorrow and I can't wait!

I painted this last year and have had to 'sit' on it since then.  It's wonderful when you get a brief that involves all your favourite things and this one certainly did - a bear, rushing water, and lots of splashes and dribbles with the ink.

Yesterday I met up with an old friend who knew me twenty-five years ago when I lived in Greece.  When we first met, I was a housewife struggling to come to terms with the birth of a baby with Down's Syndrome in a country that had no time for the disabled, and dealing with the resultant fall-out among family and friends. A few years later, I was penniless after my husband walked out on me leaving me with two small children in a foreign country, and we had to come back to the UK with just about nothing, leaving a whole life behind us.
So to see how things have changed since then, especially when my work is in shops and magazines, my friend and I agreed it is more than a little mind-blowing at times!