Tag Archives: mixed media

The Foxes in my Sketchbook

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Foxes pop up in my sketchbook in the same unexpected, and I hope charming and rather mysterious way, that real foxes turn up in my suburban neighborhood. They are always smaller than expected and trot so quickly past that they are easily missed. The top two-page spread of a Red Fox seems to have a story. It seems like an excerpt from a children’s book, but that’s all there is…so far. The portrait of the Fox also seems to have some story to tell. That seems to be the nature of these elusive animals. A flash of red, and then it’s gone.

Red foxes in the woods, painting
Red Foxes in the Woods, mixed media
Red foxes in the woods, painting
Red Foxes, mixed media
Drawing of a red Fox
Portrait of Ms. Fox, Conte crayon

My favorite story about a Red Fox was told by a friend. She believes that foxes symbolize her late mother and that when she sees one, it may carry a message for her. Her story was so magical that I painted my yearly Christmas card based on her tale of seeing a Red Fox on the beach. Here is the link to my story of Red Fox on the Beach https://crappycrafters.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/fun-making-the-yearly-christmas-card-the-true-story/

The Traveling Still Life Poinsettia

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In my last post, I mentioned that one element of the still life I am working on in my teacher’s studio has to come home with me each week. I can’t leave the poinsettia because the studio cats might be tempted to nibble on this toxic plant. So the potted poinsettia gets tucked up in a brown paper bag each week and sits in the passenger seat while I drive home. So far the cold weather has not bothered it. It is so cold in my home studio that the plant is now on my dining room table where it’s nice and warm for this tropical denizen and also warm enough for me to draw it in my sketchbook today without freezing my hands. I sketched the plant loosely in pencil, then inked it in black. I erased the pencil marks, then added the color with a new set of watercolor markers that my daughter gave me for Christmas. The colors are vivid. The brand is ‘Primrosia.’

Drawing of a poinsettia
Poinsettia, watercolor markers

USA Votes…and waits

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Election Day collage
Election Day USA, collage

Yesterday, November 3, 2020, was Election Day in the USA, but counting the ballots will take days or even weeks, so as of right now, we don’t know who won the U.S. presidency. I made a collage from newspaper clippings in my Pandemic Sketchbook to distract myself and to reflect on this historic moment. I only have a few pages left in my sketchbook, but the pandemic is far from over…stay well everyone.

Pandemic Sketchbook: Zinnias, collage

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Collage of zinnias
Zinnias, multimedia

Zinnias on my deck, collage and oil pastels.
Underneath the layers of glue and hand painted paper is the television schedule from the newspaper. That little bit of a Pandemic Past-time reference got covered up. Whoops. Can you find the paper towels I use to blot my watercolor brushes? Or the glossy advertisements for patio and landscaping companies? ‘Safer at home in the suburbs’ – maybe that should be the title. Try collage as a ‘way in’ to your artistic subconscious.

Pandemic sketchbook: collage

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Collages of potted plants
Aloes on the deck, collage
Geraniums, collage

Trying new techniques while sketching only what I can see while staying at home is a good way to see my surroundings with a different point of view. Collage is a technique that for some reason takes a little less concentration than a realistic sketch. It is less bound to reality, I suppose. I included crossword puzzles from the newspaper to remind me of new activities people are doing to pass the time. You can also spot a wrapper in Chinese from a bar of soap and a photograph of Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading infectious disease specialist in the U.S. So hints of the pandemic lurk in the collage inevitably.