Merry Christmas!... and a Little Catch Up.

I know I've posted the cartoon before but it still makes me chuckle.

I have missed my blog so much but am hoping to try and post more after the New Year. Those of you that still swing by or send me messages or chat through Facebook or Instagram. I appreciate it so much. Thank you. So - Merry Christmas everyone. Hope it's a good 'un.

If you don't have to dash off - I thought I'd give you a bit of an update as to why I haven't blogged. As most of you will know, I started back at school in September, doing an Access to Higher Education course in Art & Design. For the first stage we did fortnightly rotations. Fine Art, Fashion & Textiles, Visual Communications and 3D. Here are a few of my favourite pieces from that time...

Fine Art:

Photo weaving. The top one is a vintage postcard woven with a 'glitched' image of our family. I chose that postcard because Devvie had just gone off to uni too and I missed her... and she loves monkeys. So, in my mind, weaving an altered photo of us with an image that reminded me of her seemed appropriate.

This bottom image is 3 photos of me, one in colour, one in sepia and one in black and white. Woven together to try and emulate the style of the artist Greg Sands... I did say "try". 

Fashion & Textiles:

The tutor told us to bring in and draw an organic shaped object. Now, bear with me. My logic was - hands are organic, right? Zombies used to be people... yes? So zombie hands, therefore, must be organic shapes. *Ahem*

 I was so, SO proud of this hand. It's the first one I have ever drawn that looked like a hand. AND I used watercolours and controlled them! I still love it.

We then photcopied our shapes in various sizes. Colour and black & white.

Then we had to make them into outfits. Yes - you'll be seeing these in all the high street stores next year...

Couture Le Zombie.

Visual Communication:

This is what I was there for. VisCom is literally communicating visually. So, illustration is big in this one. Which is what I want to do.

This photo collage was inspired by the work of Ed Fella. He does a series called Fragments of a City. He does extreme close ups, usually featuring typography, giving glimpses into a place and time. I had decided to go out and take photos of all the weather beaten pub signs of local pubs that have closed down in my area. Turns out Little Bear had other ideas and was poorly - so I ended up crawling around under the kids beds, and taking pictures of their shelves. I'm actually pretty in love with this and am glad I did it. It gives a real snapshot into their lives. Fragments of Childhood.

We were tasked with creating a set of letters. One of which had to be made from unusual materials you wouldn't normally associate with drawing. So no paint, pencils etc. I got an Ikea chopping board, went hammer-tastic with some nails and threaded it every which way. Both agression releasing and relaxing at the same time. This is still Craigs favourite thing I have done over my time there.

This next one is one of my favourite things I've done. It taught me a lot about patience because it took me days to do! Z is for...

3D:

It's fair to say I really struggled in 3D and my tutor was so lovely. She was also my mentor tutor for rotations and she spotted me having a mini meltdown towards the end. I had got it into my head that I would be turned down for the VisCom pathway or that I'd failed and had a mini panic moment I think. So I wish I had done better in her class simply for all the support she gave me.

I did, however love playing with plaster casts... 

You have no idea how satisfying it is to tweezer pepper seeds out of one of these things. Oddly - a lot!

  Doesn't this pepper look like lungs? The texture is amazing!

During rotations I filled a whole sketchbook! A whole sketchbook in one month. (Let me know if you want a peek inside and I'll take photos.) I did get onto the VisCom pathway (what can I say, I'm an eejit!) and am now halfway through another sketchbook. After Christmas we have a few more short projects We have been working hard on typography - my tutor is kind of obsessed but it is interesting and I think I'm getting better. Then we have to propose our final brief which our tutor will approve (or not) and we work on that (in a final sketchbook) till the end of our course. *Sob* The final piece will be exhibited and open to the public. Ooer! 

I do know what I want to do for my final project. It wont be zombies. We have been told to stop working in our comfort zones *ahem* So I do have an idea - it's something I have wanted to explore for a few years but never really had the time (or the drive/direction if I'm honest) So I just really want to get on that now.

Safe to say, I have never done so much creative work in my life. I can really feel myself improving and am really focussed in the direction I want to go now. It's been brilliant. Knackering, all consuming, social life killing but A.MAZING. I will so miss it. I couldn't have done it without Craig and the girls. He takes two days off a week so that I can go in and then is up all hours trying to catch up on work. Pheeb has a hot dinner waiting for me when I haul my knackered bum through the door - I just love them. I've also made a couple of bonkers but beautiful friends - many a time they have helped me through when I have had a wobble or ten. (Why am I here? I'm to old, I can't do this, I'm kidding myself  etc, etc) Think and hope we'll be friends for a long time after the course finishes.

Good news is that I have been accepted onto the Animation & Illustration degree course which I am deferring. Bear is starting half days nursery next year - can you believe it? So I am going to take my English GCSE next year (hoping it will help with essays) and focus on going self employed. Then onto the degree. Eep.

If you managed to read this far - blimming well done. I will try and post more regularly which should make for less rambly posts... she says.

I hope your Christmas and New Year are wonderful. 2016? BRING. IT. ON!

Thanks for stopping by :) x

Secret Santa

Hi all.

I'm just popping in with news of this years Secret Santa. I am not going to be able to run it this year. I'm really sorry :( I just don't have the time or the spare pennies. School is taking up every spare moment. If someone else wants to host this year I truly wont be offended. Hopefully next year, things wont be so manic.

However - if you are in the UK and still want a Secret Santa to take part in, please consider the UKScrappers stocking swap. Sign up is open now.  I am still taking part in that one. I can't afford two this year and seeing as that one started first, that's the one I'm going to participate in.

Don't hate me! (I feel like the Grinch!) 

I'll be back soon with a bloggy post about what we've been doing at school :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Summer of Colour Week 3 & Summer Sketchbook Update

Afternoon all :)

Week 3 of Summer of Colour was Purple + Purple + Yellow. I did my week 3 a while ago - in fact, before week 2. So if you follow me on Instagram and think you've seen this already... you have.

I used Derwent Inktense pencils in shades Violet + Fuchsia + Lemon Yellow. Don't ask me where this little fella came from but he reminds me of Sheldon off of Big Bang Theory... around the eyes. Am I going mad? Probably.  Maybe I was watching it or had it on in the background.

Derwent Inktense
Posca Pens
Biro

I thought I'd show you one more picture of him. Please excuse   his crumpled state - we had the doors open and the breeze must have blown this little index card in the sink. It was full of water - we found the card floating there eventually. I'm really impressed at how bright the colours still are. A testament to Inktense claims that when they set - they really set.

As for what I've been up to. Lots! But I can't show you just yet. I have been working away on the Summer Project set by the school. I start on Monday. Am I anywhere near finished? Am I heck. Mild panic verging on hysteria. Craig reckons this is to prepare us for what's to come. Ease us in gently. Ha! I don't know if what I'm doing is right, if it's enough, if it's good enough, if it'll be done in time... breathe. Breathe. But - I am enjoying it. Strangely. I was hoping this book would be more full by now. (I have to train myself not to sidetracked by the research. I go off on a tangent.) I'll show you again next week, when I start and it should be finished. I'll show you some bits from inside too if you'd like.

So - that's me for now. What have you been up to?

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Summer of Colour - Week 2

Summer of Colour is over not just for this year but completely. (*Sobs* Whyyyyyy, Kristin? WHHHY?) So I am determined to catch up and finish the prompts.

Week two was Pink + Pink + Orange. Here is what I came up with. Again it's on index card and just from my head - some random night time doodling. But I had fun.

Colours used are Rose + Fuschia + Flame Red (I promise it's orange!)

Neocolour ii
Derwent Inktense
Pencil
Biro

Ain't he a handsome chap?

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Elephant Canvas #2 and a Catch Up

*Tippy tap tap* Anyone there? Blimey - blink and over a month passes. I finally have internet of sorts. My PC has sputtered to a (probably timely) death. I tried to keep up on my phone for a while and eventually ended up with a new (to me) laptop. Sold to me by my entrepreneurial *cough* money grabbing *cough* daughter.  Methinks we taught her, a little to well, the value of money!

By the way - it has taught me what I already knew. I don't like laptops and I definitely don't like Windows 8.

So what's been happening here then?

Well, I have been trying to stay offline - because - you know, it eats time. Like hours and hours just gone in 10 minutes. Munch, munch, munch.

The second elephant canvas is finished and delivered. I can stop nervously biting my nails now and start growing them again!

Collage
Acrylic Paint
Oil Pastels
Pan Pastels
Posca & Montana pens
Winsor & Newton Drawing Inks
Gilding Flakes...
...and whatever else was to hand on my desk!

I am way, way behind on ICAD and Summer of Colour. I think I will have to try again next year for ICAD (deja-vu?) but will definitely catch up on Summer of Colour at some point. I'm almost finished with a tunnel book swap too and will blog that when my book comes home - been a brilliant swap!

So what's been keeping me busy? The uni has set the Foundation and Access people a 'little' summer project before we start in September. Little. *insert hysterical laughter* Amongst other things - the next time I show you this sketch book. It has to be full to bursting with research, design ideas and an essay. Then there is the finished piece we have to do, the gallery visit and review (that's the essay) oh and the reading/film list. (Mind you. Ssssssh. Two of the books were already on my wishlist. So, you know, means I have to buy them. All in the name of learning!)

It's all on a graphic design theme. Graphic. Design. Messy, splatty me.

One is pooping Ones pants. Indeed, One is.

So what have you been up to? I'm on a blog catch up so hopefully will be dropping by yours soon.

Thanks for stopping by today :)

ICAD 1- 6

I know - two posts in two days! What goes on? Maths is finished that's what! Oh yeah - I'm back peoples. (Internet, dodgy pc allowing and not having to retake maths hopefully!)

I am behind on ICAD but I am determined to finish this year with 62 cards. So I am playing catch up at the moment. I'm also playing along with Summer of Colour and have been set a Summer project for the course I'm starting in September so I'll incorporate it all. She says optimistically.

So here we go - my first six index cards. (The cover card is blogged here.)

Yeah... sorry. Exams were coming up. Wanted to still take part...

No.1
Coloured pencils

No. 2
Using the same iron off technique as the cover card.
Dylusions spray ink
Winsor & Newton Drawing Inks
Alcohol ink
Posca Pens
Clear ink pad & embossing powder 

Bonus extra print when I ironed off the embossing.

No.3
What can I say? I think it helped...
Biro.
Acrylic paint

No.4
Zombieeeee. Yeah!
No maths! Yeah, yeah!
Lyra Aquarelle pencils
Fineliner
Uniball pens

The Lyra Aquarelle pencils are from a set that belonged to my Mum and I have been hoarding them for years, to scared to use them. So I am pleased on so many levels with my little zombie. Mum would be happy, I think, to know I was finally using them... Maybe not so much for drawing cute zombies ;)

No.5
Short on time, stressed out on maths. Needed an injection of colour. This was a quickie,
Derwent Inktense pencils through a stencil
Posca pen

No.6
Neocolour ii Crayons
Pentel Oil Pastels
Derwent Graphix pen
Posca pens
Fineliner
Pencil

Still plenty of time to join in with ICAD if you fancy it. All you need is a stack of index cards and your own imagination. Any medium goes. Anything - it really is a good way to practice without fear of messing up a sketchbook, try out new techniques, de-stress with a doodle or splash about with some paint. I love it!

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Summer of Colour - Week One

Hello, hello, hello!

Week one of Summer of Color is under way - in fact I think the new colours go up today so I may have just snuck in under the wire.

The prompt for this week is:

 blue + blue + green

I used Neocolour ii crayons through a stencil on the background. The colours were Cobalt Blue + Blue Turquoise + Yellow Green.  Her hair is a blue Derwent Graphik pen - the only one I have, got it as a free sample. I thought it matched-ish the cobalt blue crayon. 

Neocolour ii Crayons
Graphix Pen
Posca Pens
Oil Pastels
Pencil
Fineliner

 If you'd like to see what everyone else did with the colour prompt, click here to be taken to the list of participants.

Thanks for stopping by today :)

ICAD 2015 - Cover Card

June the 1st will soon be here!! That means it's once again time for ICAD (Index Card a Day) and Summer of Color (or Colour - s'cuse me if I keep forgetting to do the American spelling.) Yaaaaaaay! And Yaaaaaay again!

I don't usually do a cover card for my index cards but maths revision is particularly stressing me out - so I had a play the other day. I'm going to whisper this next bit - I'm getting a bit fed up with acrylics. Shhh. Shhh. I really want to get better at watercolours, coloured pencils, my Neocolour ii's etc. So I'm going to focus on playing around with those on my index cards each day. (You watch how I drift back to acrylics by the end!)

This is the cover card. I was so chilled out by the end of playing and look - I ended up getting a fab transfer when I ironed off my embossing.

Indigoblu stamp
 (Have linked because so many asked where I got it)
Clear embossing
Derwent Inktense Pencils
Winsor & Newton Drawing Inks

You can see the gold ink better in this one.

I've posted these on Facebook and Instagram (my Internet and my PC are making it a nightmare to blog recently! I swear they are in cahoots!) I was surprised when so many people asked me how I did it. And then Kyla asked for a blog post so here we go - this is for you Kyla. And anyone else that wants it. I didn't take step by steps of the one above - I literally was just playing. So I did another today... bear in mind that I'm a really crappy stamper.

Stamp
Clear Ink Pad
Clear Embossing Powder
Index Card

Stamp the image, add the powder and do your heat gun thang.

Roughly scribble over the entire card, image included, with Derwent Inktense pencils
*Ahem* Ignore the crisps

Spray with water to activate smooshiness

Smoosh about till you're happy

Drip some ink on top of the wet card - spray and hold at different angles to get different effects

When the card is completely dry, sandwich between a couple of sheets of printer paper.
Iron on a high heat.
This is just my normal iron, gets more use for arty stuff than it does for clothes *g*

You can see the embossing transferring to the underside of the paper.

And this was todays result. Not such a good index card but I was rushing. However I really love the imprint on my piece of paper.

When you iron off the embossing you are supposed to get a nice crisp white image. Like I say, I'm a crappy stamper and I kind of like the grunge effect anyway. I originally found this technique via this fab YouTube video. She uses distress inks which I don't have and you don't seem to get the imprint with those. I have done this technique with watercolour paints and Neocolour ii's with some lovely results. (I'm kind of addicted!) But this is the first time I've had such lovely imprints on my scrap paper - I think it's the drawing inks. 

Anyway - I hope those that wanted a step by step will have a play - show me if you do? I'd love to see. I reckon as long as you use something fluidy you should get good results with at least the original image - the extra image on my scrap paper was a bonus I didn't expect.

Thanks for stopping by today :)

WOYWW - On Thursday.

Blame the internet. These pictures were taken yesterday. Plonked myself down at the PC, which had been working all day... no internet. *Insert swear words and fist shakes*

Sooo, what's on my workdesk today? (Yesterday - but still there today!) Can't even get in the door of the shedio - Well, I can. If I squeeze in, balance on one foot and lean over the bike. But there's no room on the desk to do anything anyway - so... Tidy up is in order. I think a de-clutter sesh may be imminent too.

Inside isn't much better. Craig is in despair. He cannot wait till I move my desk upstairs and away from his tidy eyes.

For the extra curious amongst you - I was window shopping on Amazon. I saw mention of  Holbein coloured pencils on another bloggers page. I love her work and am now drooling over the pencils. 
Anyone have them? Are they good?

This is the book on my desk. I've had it years but not read it in ages. I pulled it off the shelf to give me some ideas for a wood sprite I wanted to put in my tunnel book. (Swap I'm in.) Can't put it down now, am loving it - it's like getting a new book all over again.

Good Faeries Bad Faeries - Brian Froud

So what's in your work space today? Why not follow me over to Julia's  and link up so we can all have a snoop.

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Mixed Media Grungy Pastel Bunny

Yep. Pastel.

The last couple of weeks has seen me organising revision time and art time a lot better. I was able to finish up this commission. The brief was a mixed media bunny in my style but also reflecting the tastes of the lovely Carol. (Snowbunny Knits.) I was sent an excellent array of pictures giving me an idea of Carols tastes to work from. One thing was for sure - there was a lot of pastel *Silent scream* Carol has been a huge supporter to me and believe it or not, I do love seeing pastel in other peoples work - it just scares the frig out of me to use!

Here he is; Bunny:

The process shots - leave me a comment if you like/don't like seeing these. I never know if people want them or not. I enjoy seeing how people get from start to finish on other blogs, that's why I pop them on here. 

 

 

Collage Ephemera
Acrylic Paint
Neocolour ii Crayons
Inktense Pencils
Graphite Pencil

In the end I really enjoyed making Bunny and I am definitely not so scared of pastel now. Thanks Carol, he was great fun.

Thank you for stopping by today :)