Paper, Scissors, ROCK your DIY Folded Pen

Sunday Painters, I haven't forgotten about you.

This is what I have been doing today and I thought you might like to try it, too! Recently, some of my urban sketcher buddies have returned from attending the 6th International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore. One of the instructors there taught them how to make a Folded Pen from soda cans.

I couldn't wait to see if I could do it, so I combined a few references I found online and came up with my own process that works so easily! (See links to those references at the end of this post.)

On the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words, here are the materials and steps that I used to make my folded pens. Tap or click to Zoom photos.

Note: If you prefer a shiny aluminum nib, just fold the soda can back the other way.

Here are a few finishing touches and the results!

Please follow these links for printable instructions, templates and YouTube tutorials. Thanks, guys, for the inspiration!

1. Erica, at Paperwhite Studio, offers a free printable PDF with instructions and templates.
2. PopCanPen dot com has step by step photos galore!
3. Here's a video demo for those with a short attention span and lightning fast cognitive ability.
4. I love this video, which shows you how to use your new folded pen!
5. My Instagram post with a photo of my very first one! My grandchildren took it home with them, so I don't have it anymore.

And, finally, an apology to you professional calligraphers out there. I won't be taking over the lettering world anytime soon. I just want to play around with this and see how it might work with my sketches. :)

What are you waiting for? Get some stuff out of the recycle bin and get started!

Stay tuned for watercolor and folded pen experiments!

The entire flock

I finally have an opportunity to post all the other photos from a week of classes I taught last term when we got to sketch live baby chicks.

Harriet and Abigail seemed to enjoy their first art modeling gig. 

I knew we wouldn't have such a privilege of live models  in every class, but I think the ones my students did from photos turned out very well indeed!

What's even more impressive is that all these are 5 minute sketches.

I know because I timed them. 

Congratulations, everyone, on sketches you can crow about!

Now if this doesn't inspire the rest of you Sunday Painters, I guess it's time to go bowling.

Loosening up Exercises

If you only paint occasionally it can seem as though you are starting right back at square one each time you start a new project. Here are a few tips to help you Sunday Painters loosen up:

• If possible, set up a collection of several vases and containers of daisies (white ones) like I did for my class. If you can leave them up for the week, you will be able to do spontaneous sketches whenever the opportunity presents itself, instead of starting all over again.
• Use opaque containers at this time, to concentrate on the mass or "cloud" of flowers".
• Always start with a few loosening up sketches first.
• Simplify. Create masses rather than a tedious collection of individual shapes
• Practice direct brushwork, pre-wetting the background and "dropping in" additional color/value to create loosely suggested foliage and flowers.
• Stay aware that you are practicing by using charcoal when you draw. See my examples above.
• Keep it loose when adding color, too. Use a large flat brush and limit your brush strokes. 

Seven signs of Spring

These have been in bloom for at least two weeks already!

The calendar says it's February. As long as I can remember, that's included in the winter months in the Pacific NW.

However, every indication seems to be that it is spring! The weather, the temperature, birds, flowers, etc. I saw Flickers gathering nest materials in the back yard last week. My star magnolia looks like it will pop open its little white buds any moment!
You can actually sit out on the patio for lunch!

How about a commitment to drawing and/or painting every day from Sunday to Sunday this week?

Each day, draw a different sign of spring.

The Kitchen Window

One of the artists whose work I admire is Edward Hopper. I was reading an article recently about his studio in Truro and about an artist who stays there sometimes, Philip Koch.

Photo by Philip Koch

This is the view Hopper would have looked at rinsing out his coffee cup in the kitchen sink- Cape Cod Bay peeking over rolling dunes. The sunlight steaming in through his windows confronts you at every turn in the studio. No wonder it played such a key role in his paintings.---from Koch's article on Hopper 

What's the view from your kitchen window? I challenge all Sunday painters to use that as your subject today. 

Button up for Winter

Good morning, Sunday Painters. Just wanted to suggest a subject for your painting project today. The lines from an old song are on my mind "Button up your overcoat .......take good care of yourself...."

I know some of you are having some cold, snowy weather or wet and rainy this week. How about staying indoors and playing around with your watercolors today?

Paint something with buttons. What else comes to mind when you think of that subject?

5 generations of buttons

I used to have a pink wool coat when I was 5 with a matching hat, my mother (and grandmothers) had a button jar, and my granddaughter-in-law made the tea cosy which I have used for a tea party with my great granddaughter.

Value vs Color

Think in black and white to succeed in color. 

For quite a while now, I have posted a feature on Sundays as a prompt for casual painters. It is intended to encourage and inspire. Sometimes that's all it takes to get you going, get you over to the kitchen table with your collection of art supplies. If you have been checking back on Sundays and thought that I forgot all about you, please be assured that I have not. I trust you came along on vacation with me to Hawaii for a few weeks. :) Aloha!

Ready to dig into your creative projects again? Here's something to consider:

"Value does all the work and Color gets all the credit"---That's a saying with which we artists are familiar. The two paintings on the easel here are shown in grayscale to illustrate that point. Scroll down to my two previous posts to see them in color.

If you have some previous projects of your own, try taking black and white photos of them. The ones that seemed most successful in color are likely to be the ones that read well in black and white.

Selective Focus

Sunday Painters' Challenge:
Paint a landscape or a close up in black and white or monotone. Try another composition  with color only in the area of interest or focal point. (See photo references in yesterday's post)
i.e. You may choose an area of selective color like the snow covered rose or the porch light through the trees, or the beginning glow of morning light.  Let the color fade gradually outwards.

2.5x3.5" ACEO

Even though some of you Sunday Painters may live on the summer side of the globe, you can still find a time of day (dusk or dawn) where the landscape has muted color. Try it!

Black and White

Perfect! After "Black Friday" comes "White Saturday"!

Not everyone in our area has this, but I saw snow coming down late last night. I hoped there would be a white surprise for everyone when we woke up. Here is what it was like outside the studio this morning at 8:30 a.m.

We still have family staying here with us, but if I can grab a few minutes, I will post any sketches I do on my Instagram. 

Sunday Painters, Get the whole family involved!

ATCs or Artists' Trading Cards are small original artworks on a 2 1/2"x 3 1/2" format. They can be done in watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil, pen, stamping, collage....just about any medium you could think of. You can cut up paper or card on your own, or you can purchase sample packs already made up for you to use. Strathmore has sample packs with watercolor paper, illustration board, canvas, and more.

Get the whole family involved on a weekend or during time off for the holidays! All ages can join in the art making fun and then trade with each other. What a nice memento of your next family gathering!

ATCs are generally 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. This is the size of playing cards and other trading cards.

I recently assigned my watercolor students to make ATCs of people and umbrellas in the rain. Here are a few examples of the ones they made as well as workshop examples from previous classes. There's an illustrated lesson plan online here at WikiHow.

While the purpose of ATCs is to trade, not sell, those who are interested in creating these wonderful works for profit, it would be more appropriate to list them as ACEO's (Art Cards, Editions, and Originals). These are more often made for the purpose of sale, and by labeling them appropriately we don't take away from the ATC namesake tradition. All creation rules are the same for ACEO's as they are for ATC's. Limited Edition, Signed and Numbered ACEOs, especially with short print runs of 25-50 cards, are very popular and still count as ACEOs because they're the Editions.

Sunday painters, join the class!

I am teaching a watercolor workshop for beginners this weekend and I thought I would invite you Sunday painters to "virtually" join our class. Pretend that you are with us. Yesterday we went outside and picked up a whole bunch of autumn leaves. Then I showed them some of my tricks and techniques. Here are the results. Didn't they do just great?!

The essence of Autumn!

Sunday sports for Sunday Painters

What sports do you play on a weekend? Are you a participant or a bystander? Either way, you have lots of subject matter from which to choose: action sketches, figures, outfits and sports gear. I am sure an easy warmup sketch of a simple volleyball could get you started! 

I like the official uniform. 

Bowling

Do you remember that charming and witty painting called "Life is just a chair of bowlies?" I still think it is one of my all time favorite plays on words. (And you know how I like plays on words!)

So this week's challenge for you Sunday painters is to take a season, like fall, and instead of painting the autumn leaves, AGAIN, find things around the house, garage or garden that are fall colors. Use them as props for your newest attempt at painting autumn color.
Tip for beginners: Start by drawing from an overhead view. Don't worry about getting a perfect circle, it looks forced and unnatural in a live drawing.

Watch out for camera perspective problems

It's best to paint from life. You may practice, though, by using these photos. Just be aware that the camera does not have binocular vision like we do and the further out to the edges you get, the more problems there are with perspective. (See the window frame leaning toward the outside edges?)

Update: I went sketching with Seattle Urban Sketchers this morning and plan to be with Anscortes Sketchers tomorrow. This morning's sketches will be posted on Tuesday.

Three signs of Autumn Rainy Season

You know the Autumn rainy season has begun here in my part of the Pacific NW when these three signs appear from our front porch:

1. The neighbor's maple tree across the street changes color overnight.
2. I need my Sistine umbrella for a trip to the mailbox.
3. Spider webs collect their strings of crystal beads in the rain. (Zoom the hedge area to see the diagonal line of raindrops on the web.)

Fall color in the trees, a spider web with raindrops and an umbrella. 

What are three signs of the season where you live?  Take a Sunday morning or afternoon to express those one at a time in your watercolor sketchbook. 

Fencing

Sometimes watercolor painting does require a delicate balance, but this post isn't about swordplay. It's about finding your subject right there in your own neighborhood. Take a walk around the block today and see the individuality expressed in the creative way your neighbors have built their gates and fences. Before you know it, your subject will be calling to you and you'll be rushing to get out your paints and have a go at it!

Use a gate or a fence as the starting point for your next painting. 

Face your fears

They say the best way to overcome fear is to learn more about what you fear and familiarity will help you overcome it. I think that if you go a bit further and can find beauty in the object of your aversion, you may just end up wondering why you feared it in the first place.

Botanical, whimsical or impressionistic, which approach will you take?

Do you think this is about bees, bugs and butterflies? Of course not, silly. :) It's about that blank piece of watercolor paper over there. So go get your paints, brushes and your Audobon book on insects and see how beautiful those little jewels can be.

There are some lovely watercolor inspirations by Kate Osborne, who uses watercolor techniques to interpret the subject in her own beautiful way.

Update: If you are in the Phoenix area, there is a section of the Phoenix Convention Center with sculptures of larger than life bugs called "Social Invertebrates". I learned of this because I follow Kirk Hays, #kirkart on Instagram. He did a great sketch of the scorpion today!

Paint your Closet

Right! The last thing you want to do today, eh, Sunday painters? Well, I don't mean the walls, I mean the shoes, bags, hats, etc.

If you love it enough to wear it, you'll love drawing and painting it. 

About now, you're probably ready to shift the summer stuff out and the fall wardrobe in. As long as you are sorting through things, why not take a break and practice your drawing and painting on the things you like best?

A Sunday sketch drive on the road to Lake McMurray

Do you remember taking Sunday drives with your parents, like I did? There wasn't necessarily a concrete destination, just a reason to pile the family in the car and go see what was out there. Sometimes we packed a picnic lunch to eat when we found a likely spot. How about doing that with your family today? Take your sketchbook and camera with you and combine two of the nicest things you can do on a day off.

Look east of the covered porch and you will see another great Sunday drive, the road to Lake McMurray.

If you take Exit 221 off I-5, you'll find beautiful country views, and a great place to stop for lunch and for fresh meat, fish and produce to take home for dinner tonight. Skagit River Produce is family run by some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

What's in your cup?

 Sunday usually involves taking a little time out to slow down, reflect, enjoy a cup of --------(fill in the blank). And then enjoy an art break. Whether it's the contents or the cup itself, why not make a sketch of your favorite?

Art in a cup! Make it, paint it, drink it!

 Coffee or tea? Cappuccino or Darjeeling? A cozy white mug or a delicate heirloom china cup?

Section of my sketches from last Friday. See full two page spread here.

Tip: Make two: one to use as your model and one to sip while you paint. Otherwise, trying to wait for your treat while you paint is just too much to ask on a Sunday!

Standard Sizes

How many times have you been inspired to paint, excitedly grabbed your stuff and had a whirlwind of a painting experience without regard for anything!? You emerge from the altered state you've been in and realize that THIS IS THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE! Then you realize that THIS WILL DEFINITELY NOT FIT INTO A STANDARD SIZED MAT AND FRAME!

No? Well, maybe you've gotten through an entire painting session and suddenly realize that it's ALL crummy except for a long strip in the middle (or a 3x5 inch corner) or some other area. But definitely not the whole thing.

Both of these dilemmas may have the same solution: standard sized mats and frames. For problem #1 you have two solutions:

1. Open up your checkbook and pay for a custom mat and frame. After all, it's your best work ever! It deserves its own reward.
2. Reach for paper that is already standard size anyway. Have a stack of 8x10, 16x20, 11x14, etc. paper ready to go before you ever start painting. Make sure it's a bit larger, to allow for spacing under the mat.

For problem #2 (mostly crummy painting), you just take a few ready made mats for a trip around your finished painting until you find a section you like that fits into the opening. Cut it out, with a bit of extra margin, and voila! Problem solved!

How about using your own paintings for source material?

Bonus: I like these new super elongated mats for panoramic images, but it's not so easy to paint a composition from the beginning that fits. Maybe we should see how that pile of unresolved paintings would work if we only rescued the panoramic parts that we like.

Alternate Bonus: Okay, so the section you like is just a teensy bit too narrow or short for the mat you wanted to use and cutting it down to the next standard size will sacrifice too much of the good stuff. How about using your own painting as source material for a new composition in the new size and format? What you learned from the first attempt will now benefit what you intend for this one. Besides, now you DO have a standard sized piece of paper on hand before you even get started.