Sunday - a time for quite

A couple post back I showed you a WIP sketch. Well it is still hasn't gone anywhere from there as I have been pondering colour and background. Today's watercolour painting is attempting a background. From doing the above I learnt that if I wish to get a salt effect I have to really get it in one go or layer, as it does not work well with mutliple layers. What was also reinforced in not to add watercolour pencil to wet paper and then expect it to spread far - it does not move at all! Ahh well live and learn. It was good to paint.
The little bird is actually a digital stamp/ line art I made which I printed rather lightly via my epson printer on watercolour paper, and guess what - the printer ink did not run - cool eh?! :)
May your colours run how you want them and pop on by to  Sophia's Sunday Sketches to see some fab art!
Cheers

Faber- Castell on Sunday

(Click to enlarge )

 It is a dark and dreary Sunday here. Been like this all week and the forecast for next week looks about the same.  Got some non-kids colour pencils (although my monsters strongly disagree) and boy what a joy they are, how they slide across the paper and how easy the colour is transferred. These mermaid sketches were done with Faber-Castell pencils. The pink haired one is on "artist" sketch paper and the green one on my regular dime a dozen paper. Why mermaids - well a bloggie friend asked for some and I got a manuscript (sounds fancy eh :D) with some mermaids in it, so they were on mind.
Hope you are having a sunnier Sunday than I and pop on by to  Sophia's Sunday Sketches to see some fab art!
Cheers.
p.s yes scanned and adjusted by my Epson and the colours are very close to the original

A little gift from the hub :)

When on holiday my hubby either missed me or wanted me to get off his pc/ printer as my new improved win 7 did not speak to my old hp all in one - MS and HP decided I had my printer too long and needed to upgrade.
I think I had an HP printed from university but the price of ink has been rather inhibiting. So when we went printer shopping ink cost's was a major factor as well as potentiality scanning resolution and printing capability.  In the end what we decided was best for me was an all in one Epson  Stylus SX218. This is not an expensive printer, it cost about 30-50 lats here depending on the store ( i.e 60-100USD), so  I was not expecting much.  However after Heather asked about printers I actually took out the manual and started to investigate and read, and found it has some really cool options.
What I have found in the week that I have had it, is that if I scan and print using the epson control screen (not photoshop or any other program), I get a really good quality scan and print ( the above pic). In their own (epson) program there are a lot of options you can use to adjust the scan in preview mode to get it to almost the original. Also in their print mode you can get a very good likeness too. I am sure if I really knew what I was doing it would be identical. Click pic to enlarge.
However, I have found so far, that if I import the scanned image via photoshop I have to do a lot of manipulation and the result is not really that good when compared to the original (yesterday's post was adjusting via photoshop). Also when I have printed via photoshop or illustrator the colours have been either too red or blue. Now I have to say you can adjust the print and ink and there is an adobe profile option but I have not figured it out as yet.
So overall if you are looking for a reliable inexpensive printer ( I'm sure it is cheaper in the states), this is a good one one to try.
Cheers

a little romance ♥

As I grow older one of the things that surprised me about myself is that I am a romantic at heart. Life is so full of being practical and making choices and decision that are based on facts, situations, and dollars, that there is nothing I like more than a hero coming in and sweeping the capable non-weak heroine off her feet. So when I read Inspirational Avenue theme today I said "ah ha! something for the little stamp I made and tested out yesterday". Okay back to life and squabbling monsters- ahh the discord of quarreling. 
As usual the lines were created in Illustrator and the printed on my new epson (thank you  hubby :) ) and then coloured with Faber-Castell wooden crayons (splurge from my recent UK hols :) )
Cheers

WIP on a Sunday

 The things that arrive on paper are something a little strange. This started out as a whimsical garden corner design which I doubled, and then the woman emerged and then for some reason it needed some writing below ( it is a prayer of sorts). I actually had not thought to do this as it has so far turned out, and I have no idea how it will turn out in the end other than I need to add some masking fluid to it.  So here is to crossing my fingers that I finish it one day. :)
At the moment this is pencil on watercolour paper.
Hope you all have a great Sunday and pop by Sophia's Sunday Sketches to see some cool art!
Cheers 
p.s To  see  it you may need to click on the pic and then on the magnifying glass.

Woe me on Sunday

Just playing around a bit with watercolours.  Not sure why the focus of the one with the glitter is blurred- camera or me .. :) This was inspired by Kristina's elephant - I really like the skirt; Fancy Nancy - got it a while back for my daughter, and also by the desire to paint but with no idea what to paint :) Maybe that is why the girls expression is a bit woebegone lol
Hope you have a great coming week and make sure to pop on by to Sophia's Sunday Sketches to see some fab art!
Cheers
p.s pic on the bottom is before the glitter.

another form of art :)

Be-jeezes. What a month it has been and one more week to go. The last couple of weeks have been rather busy with 2 kids, 2 schools, 2PTA meetings, mother's day concerts, dance concerts, school outing and various other things. I don't know how people with more kids cope. Needless to say I have not really done any painting per-say or really any sketches. My brain is resembling my hair - frizzled! Ahh enough complaining :). This week I went to Riga and got some art supplies i.e some watercolour paper and a couple of 00 and 0 paintbrushes (thank you Marlene for the info); I have a house full of unadorned walls and now I wait for inspiration - yikes!! :) In the meantime I will share with you a you-tube taken of the last weekend's concert in which my darling daughter performed in. She is the smallest girl of the group. Today she has been promoted to darling daughter, for the moment, since she washed up most the ware for me last night :)
A little info on the video - They are wearing a folk costume, there hair is in the traditional style, the music is Latvian folk music. Cheers

Purple, purple and more purple

A quick  little purple creation for Creative Tuesdays :) Pop on over to Mr Toast's and see how other artist translated this weeks colour theme.
Cheers

IF : Lesson

 Lesson:  if there is no evidence there can be no blame 

 Felix learned this lesson well once he mastered the art of closing the cage.

Sunday Sketches - cat sketch

Yesterday I had a eureka moment. A while back a lady asked me to do some Cats in hats to match some dogs I did, and tried to do some cats on a Sunday, but alas they did not come out right :( Then yesterday something happened and it came to me what I was doing wrong. It was the approach, the feel, the something. Cats are different from dogs, dogs are happy, friendly, what you see is what you get, but cats.....  Well cat lovers will argue with me but it worked for me. I began to think of cats as royal, elegant, haughty, mysterious, their own master and wha-laa I was able to do at least 4 sketches with them in hats. 
Today I decided to try my cat luck again and did the sketch for IF's Lesson for Sunday Sketches. So pop on by  Sophia's Sunday Sketches and see some fab art.
Cheers
p.s you want to know what the lesson is .... ahh you will have to pop on by later for the colour version .... maybe I will be able to make it with lots of purple and enter it  in Mr. Toast's creative Tuesday :)

IF: Bicycle

Between the time H.D.Wilbert Jr. fell from the wall and hit the ground, one potent memory of his youth flashed though his mind.


Cheers

p.s. Water colour pencil with water on paper not meant to be used with water :(

Easter Sunday - an egg and a bicycle :)

ahh Sunday, Sunday, what to do this Sunday :) I've been swamped the last 2 weeks with kids home sick (yes both managed to do it at the same time- and I am crossing my fingers one will be off this week - not even a sputter of a cough or a sniffle from him at home- but when we get to the Dr's office ...); a ton of drawings needed for my other blog ( a blog hop compo) and of course a little commission piece, which took too long to do in the end.  So today is Sweet Sunday, Easter Sunday, and of course Sunday Sketches (yeah!)  and with so much possibilities to post I decided to do ..an egg. But not any egg but one on a bicycle :) (note I do not use the word bike)   Ahh here's hoping I get to colour this for IF, for it was real relaxing to draw.  Well my alone time is almost up. I think I feel the vocal cords of my darling monsters starting to rumble.
So Happy Easter dear bloggie friends and check Sophia's Sunday Sketches   to see some great artists and their work.
Cheers

Out of bed on Sunday

What can I say, other than I am sick. Started to come down with the cold on Wednesday - had the sore throat you could ignore. Then on Thursday I got a slight runny nose with the ignorable sore throat, Friday and Saturday I was abed (kids ran wild) but today I am up - yeah the whole house rejoices (they think they will get some clean glasses and food:) )- well I'm up at the moment - may head back for a snooze soon.
I was trying to draw a series of the cartoon cat to follow the 2 from last week, but alas he was ill too and just refused to be quirky. 
Hope you are feeling good this Sunday and check Sophia's Sunday Sketches   to see some great artists and their work.