Watercolor Sketch of Flowers in a Basket

Who’s crazy about flowers? Me! I think I’ll never grow tired of looking at and painting flowers. I’m particularly drawn to flowers that can bravely cover an entire field or meadow. Wild flowers and perennials are a huge fave, as well as Autumn and Spring flowers. (Okay, maybe all sorts of flowers!)

Here’s a watercolor sketch of a variety of flowers in a basket. I seem to have a thing for flowers placed in baskets (also: old/vintage canisters). So when I spotted a picture of a basket of flowers on the cover of a green living book, I knew I had to sketch it.

This sketch was done in my Moleskine watercolor album using Winsor & Newton and ShinHan paints. I just used a B pencil for the initial drawing. I so enjoyed making the splatters!

Watercolor Sketch: Flower Market in Paris

I am forever in awe of beautiful flower shops and flower markets. I once dreamed of becoming a flower shop owner. Perhaps that dream is still in my list. For now, though, I am content drawing and painting flowers in my sketchbooks. I found a lovely photo of a flower market and decided to render it in my Moleskine watercolor album.

I'm pleased with how loose and light this one turned out. I just drew the picture with a pencil and then reinstated a few lines with a fine brush. The white letters on the black chalkboard were written using a white Sakura gelly roll pen. 

The Love for Things Analogue: My Very First Traveler's Notebook

I began to form interest in traveler's notebooks when I came across the hashtag #loveforanalogue on Instagram. Sure, I've known the TN for years. But never before have I thought to purchase one because, well, as the term implies, it's probably designed for people who travel. I don't travel a lot, so I didn't see the point in keeping a travel journal.

But as the days and months ensued and I kept watch of the many posts about this TN thing, my curiosity finally got tickled. I've always been a journal keeper, and a lover of things analogue (from handwritten letters to saddle-stitched notebooks to old cell phones). I waited a while before I made the purchase because I wanted to make sure that I'll be ready for it and swelling with eagerness to use it.

Most TN covers are made of hard leather, some are made of faux leather, some out of fabric scraps, and some combine fabric and leather. I would've wanted the fabric cover at first but I couldn't find anything like it here in the Philippines. The best alternative that I found was this artdori from aireescreates.com. The cover is made of organically treated abaca. How can I resist something that's plant-based? :o) I placed my order at the start of 2017 and now I'm so into it. I love how strong the TN cover is and how good it smells. The 2 inserts that come with it are bulky and the paper can take collage, acrylic, inks, and watercolors. 

I've got my eyes on other brands of TN and I'll probably purchase one or two more within the year. In the meantime, I'm making the most out of this beautiful artdori by posting reading notes and other ephemera and mementos. Yes, you can say I've fallen into the rabbit hole. Joyfully.

Mixed-Media Portraits in My Paper Bag Journal

I haven't blogged for a week! I've been so busy with weekend family and school affairs + I've been suffering from seasonal allergies. It's never easy having to deal with cough and colds while trying to get on with the daily grind. But what is life without a few challenges, eh? Anyhow, I'm here again to share with you two portrait studies done on the pages of this brown paper bag journal that I made last time. I love how this handmade journal turned out. The pages are lighter in tone and they're sturdy enough to take in acrylics and other water-based medium.

Here's the first portrait study that I made:

I was experimenting with skin tones here. I wanted to try beige but I didn't have that color in my acrylic collection. So I used white mixed with warm gray instead. Then I colored her hair with a mix of greenish yellow and olive green. I used Inktense pencils to outline and add details.

And here's the second portrait study:

She's one of those vintage dolls that I like to make. For this portrait, I thought to experiment with acrylics, gelatos, and distress ink. The hair and the dress are mostly acrylics with a little dabbing of distress ink. The face and the background colors are acrylics and gelatos combined. I normally use gelatos toward the end of my painting process as I prefer to use them for adding depth and drama.

Painting on a brown paper bag is almost like painting on toned paper. I enjoy the experience every time, and I love how my creations turn out. I prefer to use acrylics over a gessoed page. However, feel free to experiment with watercolors, charcoal, pastel, and other mediums.

Watercolor sketch: Leaf from a Talisay tree

The Universe connects with us every time and it is up to us how we wish to respond to its prompts. Yesterday morning, after driving my little girl to preschool, I planned on doing field sketches at our parish church’s grotto. I was very eager to do so as I hadn’t done any live outdoor sketching for months already. But then, I came to think about my chores and other pressing errands for the day. So I ditched the idea and proceeded to drive home. Along the way,  a big leaf from a Talisay tree was blown by the wind and it landed on my car’s windshield. For about half a minute, I waited for it to be blown away again, but it didn’t. It got stuck on the edge of the windshield. It was then that I realized I could bring home this lovely leaf and sketch it. It is after all the leaf of a Talisay tree -- one of my favorite trees. And, you know, I've always enjoyed drawing leaves. (Ask my Botany teacher. Hee hee.)

So I stopped the car, got out, and grabbed this leaf. When I reached home, I laid it carefully on my art table and headed to the backyard to finish my laundry. The whole time I was loading the clothes and hanging them to dry, I was thinking about the leaf and how it just came to me, as if wanting to be drawn and painted. Or maybe it’s just me trying to romanticize this ordinary occurrence. Or maybe I’m just trying to find a reason to sketch. What does it matter, anyway? The important thing is, I was able to sketch that day. And I did it for the love of leaves, trees, sketchbooks, and watercolors.