New Prompts for EDiM

For those who wanted to know, here are this year’s daily prompts for EDiM 

Why not try out daily sketching for a week? Join the EDiM Facebook group and post your daily art!

Have fun with this!

Michele

It’s Inktober-Are you In?

Every year, people from around the world make a promise to themselves that they will work to improve their daily drawing practice during the month of October. They make an ink drawing each day and then they share the results on social media with the tag #inktober and #inktober2018.

I'll usually be posting my daily ink drawings on Flickr and Instagram. Go to https://linktr.ee/michelecooperart and select the link you want.


How about it? Are you in? Here’s where to get more information if you’ve never done this before.

For those who want the official daily prompts, here’s this year’s list.

In honor of the first day of Inktober 2018, I sat down at my drafting table in the studio this morning and drew a collection of my watercolor tubes, pans and pencils. All those in this photo are considered toxic, which fits the prompt for the day, "Poisonous".

Oct 1, 2018--Prompt is "Poisonous"

The pigments used in all media, watercolor, colored pencil, oil, acrylic, etc. may contain toxic materials. Most, but not all, of the toxicity issues are associated with heavy, or toxic, metals such as copper, cobalt, cadmium, lead. Caroline Roberts has written a comprehensive article about toxicity in artists' pigments here.

These are some of Caroline's suggestions on how to handle your materials safely:
 How to handle toxic paints safely

1. Do not use the same containers for paints that you do for food or drink. Well, duh, but thought I'd put it in anyway.
2. Do not put paint brushes in your mouth! Use a brush holder or a piece of kitchen towel.
3. Wash hands thoroughly after each painting session.
4. Even better, wear latex gloves whilst painting, or at least whilst using the toxic pigments. I hate wearing gloves but after researching this topic I will be wearing them. Simple as that.
5. Wear a dust mask if you handle pigment powders. Make sure it's the right one and keep it clean!
6. Do not have food in your studio and use covered drinks containers.
7. Since we don't want heavy metals in our rivers either, wipe up paints with kitchen towel and dispose of in the trash, not down the drain.
8. If you sand your paints at all (as an acrylic painter, yes I do) then wear a respiratory mask. Keeping the paint surface damp as you sand also keeps the dust down.

Author: Caroline Roberts

April Doodlewash up to Now

Day One-Rainbow

Here's what I have for the first two weeks of #DoodlewashApril2018 and #WorldWatercolorGroup. I'm not sure how to categorize watercolor pencils. 

Bunny rabbit, iced treats, dandelions, french fries, birds, zoo animals, bubble gum, partial Monopoly

I'm not that linear when it comes to the calendar, so a daily prompt helps but then I see the whole page as something to compose and things get juggled around a bit. See the sidebar for the daily prompts.

Olive Oyl, daughter of Coal Oyl, I believe

When we played Monopoly, my Dad was always the top hat and I tried for the sports car. Hated the thimble. The Scotty dog got lost. I think my sister took it.

Birds, Olive Oyl again, the rest of Monopoly, Shredded Wheat breakfast cereal, my favorite toy, pets and cake

I always wanted to know if anybody really did like their Shredded Wheat hot? Why???!! And I always crumbled it up before pouring on the milk because it's way too awkward to eat it whole like they showed on the box. These are things people don't know if they only read the box and never try the cereal. Now I just get the Mini Wheats with sugar already on it. And I saw this most beautiful cake on Instagram a while back and couldn't forget it. *mouth watering. heading for the pantry right now!*

Every day in May 2017 drawing challenge

Can you believe it? It's almost the end of April and you know what that means! It's time for the "Every  Day in May" drawing challenge. Artists of all ages and abilities and from all over the world make a promise to draw or paint something every day in May. Then they share it online through Flickr, Instagram, Facebook and their blogs.

Jutta Richter hosts the EDM group on Flickr, where you can see the list of prompts illustrated above and where you can upload your daily drawings. You can also use #EDM2017 or #EDIM2017 or #everydayinmay2017 on social media.