I've been working some lately in my paper art journal (I still like doing the digital pages, too...you'll see me kind of jump back and forth between digital and paper projects). As I've been browsing work by other art journalers, I've admired how they can draw faces, and wanted to try it myself. I know this isn't going to win me any art contests. But seriously...I haven't drawn a face probably since elementary school. It's so true that we all, at some point, notice that others are better at a certain skill than we are, and often stop doing it. This was true for me with drawing.
Even though it was scary, I looked around for a beginner's class, and found Jane Davenport's Draw Happy online workshop. This is a mini-class to kind of jumpstart a beginner and get them going. I'm not going to lie --- it was intimidating at first, and just doing some of the exercises took me awhile. My first few attempts, I just sat there, trying to turn off all the negative talk in my head. I didn't necessarily like the first few things I drew, but it got me over the fear of trying. And, since I did my drawings in my art journal, I figured that the only one who would see them would be me. This was my third or fourth attempt, and wanted to just go for it using the supplies I had. And guess what? I didn't hate it when I was all finished!
The cool thing about drawing faces in an art journal is that it's OK if something on your face is out of proportion or even not a typical flesh tone. I purposely gave mine pink and green hues. Even if something is drawn out of proportion, it makes for a really cool page.
So what do you do if you aren't ready to draw your own faces by hand? The Crafter's Workshop has awesome templates for scrapbooking and art journaling, and there are several face templates. This is a fun and easy way to put a face on a project. In the page below, I used the "Edith and Maude" template:
You can see that I just used the face on the right to create my image. I outlined the face very lightly with a regular pencil, then went over it with some Derwent Inktense pencils. I then went back and erased my gray pencil lines, and activated the ink from the Inktense pencils with some water. I then went over some areas with bit of watercolor paint, and outlined the face with a couple of Gelly Roll pens. It was pretty fun --- the great thing about an art journal is that you can always cover your mistakes, or leave them be.
So tell me --- how do you feel about drawing? When was the last time you did any? Are there some of you who do it everyday? Would you rather do housework than draw? Does anyone draw using some type of software and a pen tablet?
...don't you think, before the year is over? I know it's been quite a long time since my last blog entry. 2012 has been the kind of year where my attention was just needed elsewhere. Nothing really terrible has happened, but there were some things going on with me personally, and with my family, that brought on the long hiatus. So, let's get back to it, shall we?
My absence here has not meant that I haven't been creating, and here's some things I've been interested in, or that I've enjoyed documenting over that last 11 months or so:
Art Journaling
In January, I found myself very interested in art journaling. I picked up a traditional paper journal, which I have started painting backgrounds in, but have felt drawn more to digital art journaling, so that's what I've been exploring. I've found it's a great way to either "dump" feelings onto paper without worrying about it being "right" or "trendy," or a fun place to try a technique I've been too nervous to put on a layout. I have been a bit sporaidic with it lately, but plan on continuing with it. I find it makes me a better scrapbooker when I regularly do art journalng. Here are just a few of those pages:
Cooking and Gardening
I've discovered some fun cooking blogs, some of which center around vegetarian and vegan cooking. And no, I'm not switching permanently to either of those eating plans. I'm not a fan of drastic changes. Rather, I'm just choosing to incorporate some of the recipes into our regular menu rotation. I'm also becoming more aware of all the additives in processed food, and trying to either eat less of them, or at least choose those that have shorter ingredient lists or are minimally processed. So of course, I've been spending more time in the kitchen. I also started a fall garden, and have been babysitting a bunch of cool weather veggies:
Family Activities
We aren't as on the go as most families, but it is great to see different members of our little brood taking part in things that interest them. Lately, pictures from these types of activities have been really fun for me to scrap:
Oh, and I just added an activity for myself. I've recently joined a low-key ballet class for adults. Since I've only been to two classes, I haven't had much of a chance to do any layouts about it. So keep an eye out for that in the future...;)
Online Classes
Currently, I'm taking part in a really fun class taught at jessicasprague.com, called {Mo}tography.
It's all about using various photo taking apps on your smartphone, and learning to make them look great and share with friends and family. It's been great so far and we still have a week to go. It's amazing how many different photo taking apps there are for these phones.
Another class I enjoyed in September was from Shimelle Laine:
Learn Something New Everyday focused on looking at the small lessons that are around us everyday, and being on the lookout for them. Class members received a prompt everyday, which we could work from or we could do up a layout on a topic of our choice. I learned a lot about myself during that time, and was able to complete a great photo book with all my pages from the class. You can check it out below:
