Paper and Threads

Here are several sketches from Valentine's Day at the Society of Illustrators.  One of the models had on a red sequin headband and red net stockings - one of which is visible on her leg in the first sketch while the other one is wrapped around her wrist.  This is a 10 minute pose.

The remaining two drawings are from the 20 minute poses.  I sketched the models with a watercolor pencil and then brushed on clear water in the last few minutes to achieve some shading.

These drawings are on 9 X 12" watercolor paper and are too big for my scanner.  The photograph background color was adjusted a little in Photoshop.

Posted by Shirley at 3:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 I'm not a very good "doodler" so I bring a Doodle Sketchbook when I go visit my mother each week.  During the cold weather. we go for a long walk in her Senior complex and sit for awhile on a bench, in a glass crosswalk, in the sun.  Last week I doodled hearts and actually finished multiple ones while we sat for an hour and talked. 

This weekend, I resized them and used them as Valentine gift cards for our grandchildren.  Even doodling takes deliberate practice!  Having a separate sketchbook has made me very loose and experimental.  I bring a simple set of watercolor pencils with me, a water brush, and pen - plenty of tools for this activity.

Posted by Shirley at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I continue to do some Venice sketches in preparation for our Spring trip.  I went through my photos from previous visits, 10 and 20 years ago, and made a computer folder of some to sketch.  And now I'm working my way through them at least 1-2X/week.  Here are my latest 3.

I'm really enjoying getting to know a little bit more about the architecture of the most iconic buildings.  The big question - how much will I sketch while there?  I'm pretty good about making myself fill one page per day - quickly.  But I want to be looser, and sketch little bits and pieces whenever we sit down for a little while - and fill more than one page daily. 

Posted by Shirley at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I recently posted a 4 part tutorial on making watercolor sketchbooks from old books - recycling of orphan books to give them a new life. 

The tutorial is in 4 parts, in order to cover the procedure in depth.  Rice Freeman-Zachery did a Q and A with me about bookbinding and making my sketchbooks, and I now realize that it would be nice to have one blog post with links to all 4 sections of the tutorial.

Making a Watercolor Sketchbook:

Introduction to Tutorial:  Selecting a good book to recycle.

Part 1:  Removing the old page block, tearing down watercolor paper and making new signatures.

Part 2:  Creating the new page block.

Part 3:  Casing in - gluing the new page block into the old book cover.

There is a bookbinding category in the column on the right side of the blog page, under the Archives list.  All of my watercolor sketchbooks, recycled and made with original covers (including book cloth covers I made), are tagged in that category.

Posted by Shirley at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I spent the afternoon at the MoMA Print Studio again today,  

When I arrived, I selected six books from the Reanimation Library, and made some color copies of interesting photos and illustrations.  At that moment I had no specific creative ideas, except to make another small pamphlet book.  While I was looking at my copies, a paper mask ink drawing from Joseph Leeming's book, Fun With Paper, made me think of Venice - and I was inspired to make a book using colors and images that remind me of our visits.

The books I pulled,  making an average of 3 copies per book, were:  Hornung's Handbook of Designs and Devices,  Talk With Your Hands, Interior Design, Stage Make-up, The Printed Picture, and Fun With Paper.  The images that I used from last time were from the book The Story of Writing.  It amazes me that such random and quickly chosen illustrations/photos can inspire creative ideas on such a different topic.

I had enough random images to use when I combined these copies and I happily tore paper and glued it in place for the next two hours.  The only new image I copied while working was the photo of Venice on the last page and that came from a book entitled Around the World in 2,000 Pictures.  

I used ink, stamps and watercolor pencils over the images after everything was glued in place and stitched the two folios together using linen thread and a pamphlet stitch.

Posted by Shirley at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)