February Challenge: Try Something New

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Here we are already in February, the winter seems to be going on forever but still January has sped past. For this month’s challenge: Try Something New.

This month I’ll be sharing my recent adventure into crochet and be trying something totally different, but exactly what this is, is a secret for now.

How about you, what have you promised yourself you want to try this year? Now’s a good time to start

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Poinsettia Leaf sketch in Inktense Pencils

Welcome Back

Today I’d like to share a sketch with you. Sorry the picture is a little dark, its the weather, Photoshop would wreck the shading if I ‘helped it’. So this is the view of the sketch that I have on my board.

Poinsettia leaf sketch in Inktense pencils

Poinsettia leaf in Derwent Studio pencils. Colours used 15, 19, 20, 43, 45, 53

I drew this using my new LIght weight drawing board and found the flex that the board had both stopped me pressing as unnecessarily hard and also evened out my marks. Very pleased with how this turned out. It’s intentional that only half the sketch is more layered. I wanted to look back to see the coloured I had used underneath and how I’d layered them.

I’ve had Artists pencils by Derwent for years and really struggle with them. Mainly because for too long I’ve been saving them and didn’t want to ‘spoil’ the set by using them (anyone else do that). Now I’ve started using them properly I still struggle blending and find them a bit smudgie.

These Studio pencils have the hexagonal barrel to the pencil rather than the round one of the artists ones. I’m still confused as to whether the ‘lead’ is said to be the same or different. At the time I purchased the Studio one’s I thought they were said to be harder leads but what ever it is, I find them much easier to blend with.

My favourites have to be my new(ish) Inktense pencils, which I’m still very much in love with.

How about you, what are your favorite materials to use and why do you love those in particular?

Best wishes and thanks for reading see you soon

Billie

If you would like to check out the pencils, head up to the Art tab at the top of the blog and go to the Art: Suppliers section. I’ve linked to Derwent from there.

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Poinsettia Sketch in Derwent Inktense Pencils

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Another quick sketch, this time of a poinsettia ‘flower’ ok they kinda don’t have flowers it’s the leaves (or maybe brackts) that go red in places but call it what you will.

Poinsettia in Derwent Inktense pencils

The sketch was created using Derwent Inktense pencils. Colours used 400, 530, 1320, 1550, 1420

Poinsettia sketch in Inktense Pencils

It’s really hard to photograph in the winter low light, these are as I see them on my drawing board. Can’t ‘improve’ them in Photoshop without upsetting the look of the blending. Check out the Art tab at the top of the blog and go to Art: Suppliers section to find a link to Derwent website. This will give you a full colour chart of the range. LOVE, LOVE those pencils.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Product Review: SAA Lightweight Drawing Board

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In today’s post I will be reviewing; Light Weight Drawing Board from SAA.

SAA Lightweight Drawing Board

Product Details

• Manufacturer/Brand; SAA
• Item number: DBS Quarter Imperial Light Wieght Drawing Board 431 x 330 mm / 17″ x 13″
• RRP at time of writing: £11.99  or £10.75 for SAA members

Reason For Buying

I wanted a light weight drawing board to make it more portable and to use with my table easel.

Pros/Cons

Pros

• Superbly light
• Great size as I tend to work A4/A5 size paper
• Board has a little flex and give to the surface
• Smooth surface – great for pencil drawings
• Good price for good quality board

Cons

• Bit worried about damaging it because it’s so light. So far storing it in the card sleeve it came in. Time will tell how robust it is and I’ll update the review after more use with it.

Build Quality

Great, the drawing surface and edging are super smooth

Value for Money

Excellent

Would I buy it Again?

Yes

Summing up

This board is excellent, much easier to move around being lighter weight. This means it will be used more often than other boards I have. I was initially worried about the flex to the surface but since using it the effect on my pencil drawing is that it evens out my pressure. Sometimes I press harder than intended but the finished sketch using this board came out with much more even pencil coverage and blending than I usually achieve.

Links

• SAA
• Lightweight Drawing board

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Anna Griffin Notebook

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Today I’d like to share a picture of a notebook that I made and decorated using Anna Griffin stamps.

Hand made notebook embellished with Anna Griffin Stamps

Just wanted something quick n easy, but more decorative than the office style notebooks you get in the shops, so I made my own. This is decorated using Anna Griffin’s recent stamp set to QVC, I think it was called Fastenings?.

Coloured using Derwent Inktense and Studio pencils.

Close up detail of hand made notebook embellished with Anna Griffin Stamps

Best wishes and thanks for reading see you soon

Billie

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Bamboo sketch in Derwent Inktense Pencils

Welcome Back

Today I’d like to share a picture of a sketch I created using Derwent Inktense Pencils. This time Bamboo

Bamboo sketch, in Derwent Inktense pencils

Hope these images have inspired you to try these pencils, they are a joy to use and great for sketching. A great gift idea for the artist in your life.

Please forgive the low light in the pictures of sketches I’m sharing, if I use software to bring up the brightness it alters the sketch colours & blending too much.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Tutorial: Vintage Gold Crackle

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If you have ever wanted to create a vintage crackle effect for your projects, then you have come to the right place. In today’s video tutorial I’ll show you a really quick and easy way to create a crackle with a vintage look and feel. Here’s the kind of look you can achieve with this technique.

Vintage Gold Crackle. Paint Effect

You Will Need

• Jar of water
• Black mount board or chip board painted black
• Palette Knife
• Piece of rag or cloth for cleaning tools
• Small pot or lid from plastic milk bottle to mix in
• Palette to mix colour
• Winsor & Newton: Galeria; Modelling Paste
• Daler Rowney Interference colour: Shimmering Gold

Method

It’s easiest to understand with the video tutorial, but given the global nature of the internet, I’ll put written instructions in as well so if English isn’t the language you use, click on the translator tab at the side of the blog for translation.

Put some modelling paste into bottle top

Mix some Shimmering gold into the modelling paste, a little at a time

Apply the modelling paset onto the mount board using the palette knife (then put the knife into water so the paste doesn’t dry on to it)

Press another piece of black or dark coloured mountboard on to the paste, move the boards around a little to create more texture.

Peel the boards appart while the paste is still wet.

Set boards aside to dry. The gold colour will be more obvious once the paste has dried. Less paste will show more colour.

Options/Added Extras

Another way to add texture is using a scrunched up plastic bag. Apply layer of paste to the board, then while the paste is still wet, dab into it using the bag. As you lift the bag off it will leave texture on the board in the paste.

You will get different effects depending on

• How much paste you apply to the boards
• How long you wait before applying the board/bag
• Experiment and see what effects you can create and which you like.

Links

For links to suppliers of modelling paste and acrylic paint, please check out the Art tab at the top of the blog.

You can also use the techniques I showed previously in my earlier films, to add different texture effects to your paste

• Faux Crackle
• Embossed Stone Texture

Hope you give this technique a try, it would be great to add small areas of texture to projects or as surface decoration to boxes and cards. Would love to see what you create using the technique, do let me know what you create.

Best wishes and thanks for reading see you soon

Billie

Adventures in Acrylics: Online workshop

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