Hello Inky Admirer, Where has our summer started to run off to?  We’re into the final month of summer here in Alaskan.  All though the leaves are starting to tell us Fall is moving in quickly.  June was a bit more rainy than I’d liked, but the true summer days have been beautiful.  The end of July was a hot one for this part of the country and as we move into August we seem to be approaching the rainy season. In May I signed up for two curated monthly art boxes - Paletteful and Sketchbox .   I opted to sign up for a couple of boxes in lieu of having access to an art supply store.  The closest supply store is in Anchorage, roughly five hours from where we live.  While there is both a Michael’s and JoAnns two hours away, their art supply selection is more limited, and in some cases, the store brand is the only option. Recent Projects: From the Sketchbook Pages: This month, I signed up for Skillshare and have been taking several of the art classes...

In my last post, I left off by telling you that I feel like I'm wrestling a two-headed dragon. If you haven't read part one, I'd encourage you to read this first . Over the last year, I've found the card-making world to be a bit stagnating when it comes to inspiration and sparking my creativity. Authenticity, or shall I say the lack thereof, has stirred up a lot of "what if?" thoughts. I've found over the past year I'm less and less interested in what the paper crafting industry has to offer me as a maker. There are of course a few exceptions, but overall, it's a bit flooded with what I would call "copy the mold" syndrome. That is not to say there aren't great products on the market and there aren't great makers making the things that make their hearts sing, it's just not making my heart sing anymore. This is more about me and about my desire to be more authentic and original. I've outgrown the industry I've so ...

Drawing faces, something I enjoy but am no expert at.  I just draw them.  I'm honestly not concerned about them looking realistic or even that everything is in correct proportion. Quick pencil sketch using  Koh-I-Noor Progresso Woodless Graphite pencils. More defined pencil sketching using the same pencils. Mixed media background created with Distress Oxide inks on mixed media paper , drawn with Prismacolor Markers . Pencil sketch with shading and additional details.  More practice with pencil sketching and shading. Tim Holtz watercolor paper with Distress Ink background and over stamping.  Face drawn with the same Prismacolor markers as above. Mixed media background, Feathers created with texture paste, face painted with acrylic paints. Watercolor paper, with a watercolor background and face sketch, created using Micron pens and Dylusions Paint Pens . Maybe its time for me to draw faces again.  I hope you're ...

Sketching is something that comes and goes in my creative life.  This year I'm trying to sketch more often.  I'd love to say daily, but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.  I bought this small sketchbook on our trip down the west coast over Christmas break.  It's a much smaller sketchbook than I have used in the past, but I really like the size. I started sketching in the little book while on vacation, but only completed one sketch while traveling.  It's a rough sketch from a photo I took of the Redwoods we saw in our travels. Sketch two is of wheat or wild grass, whichever you see.  I often draw this kind of thing and have several versions in other sketchbooks.  Sketch three is a bit of a rendition of the winter that is laying its hand on our yard this time of year. Sketch four was created using a reference photo from Instagram.  I have no idea what the flower is, but it was a fun sketch.  Sketch five is my coffee cup th...

Yesterday I watched the Youtube video - Learn to Draw Artistic Faces .  Dina Wakley does a fantastic job in this video of taking the intimidation out of drawing a face. I proceeded to draw six faces yesterday.  I drew the first one while watching this video and then it just kind of took on a life of its own. Face #1: Face #2: Face #3: Face #4: Face #5: Face #6: