I sketched it in ArtRage with the pencil tool in about an hour and a half. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to just leave it as is, or to add color. I really liked how the sketch turned out, but I decided to go ahead and color it.

The sketch was done on a top layer, so I just started to lay the oils down underneath it to add the background. I used the big roller  brush to lay down a lot of color, and then smoothed out the rough parts using the palette knife.  Then I used the square oil brush.  Since I liked the sketch so much, I decided just to leave it visible as the top layer.

Here is the finished colored version.  I still can’t decide which one I like the best.

Watercolors, with details finished in acrylics and color pencil.  5×7 on watercolor paper, close to 2 hours.

After an hour or so, we got a booth in the corner.  My two favorite things at the Olde Ship are the clam chowder, and the fruit of the forest pie (warm!) with ice cream.  Wouldn’t recommend having them together at the same time, but both are sooo delicious.  It was nice just to chill out with friends and enjoy good company.

On Saturday, we went to a BBQ over at Crock’s (from Zeitronix) in Long Beach.  The smoked ribs were to die for, and as it got dark outside, I did a sketch of the backyard and the colorful chinese lanterns. I think over all, Clint had a great birthday!

With version 2.6, I never really was able to get the hang of the way the oil paints blended together.  Whether this was user error, or a difficulty with the program, I keep me from using it for any full scale paintings.  I had fun using it for sketches and speed painting, but not for elaborate illustrations.  The fairy on the right was painted this way, in 2007.

I found that with the new settings in 3.0, it was much easier to create the effect I wanted with the oils.  Each brush comes with four presets that were helpful.  The palette knife also I has a lot of new nifty presets.  I really enjoyed working in the program.  I spend 2.5 hours on each of the small paintings below, and am really happy with the level of detail I was able to achieve.

1. I start with a pencil drawing to work out the perspective, layout and details of the picture. Once I’m happy, I go over it with ink, to refine the lines. I might add some hatching for the shadows.

2. To get started on the painting, I usually lay down a wash of a solid color over the whole drawing. In this case, a brown wash.  When it is almost dry, but not quite, I work in some of the major color blocks, and some of the shadows. The paint bleeds slightly into the background in a nice way because its not completely dry.  Things are still very lose at this point, allowing for “happy” accidents that make for interesting paintings.

3. I continue to add more colors, and start working in the shadows to add more depth to the picture. My brush is getting smaller and smaller as I work from big shapes to more details.  The painting looks very flat to me at this point.  I need to add some deeper shadows to make certain areas pop more.

4. I decided darkened the top of the painting to give it more depth, and darkened the shadows using a bluish green wash.  Everything was looking just a little TOO brown. The darker background helps the book stand out. When after all the painting was done, I went back over some of the lines that disappeared under the paint with my pen.

Decided to use Boxes for the “Caged” theme, since the bowl is a type a cage, just a more roundy see-throughy cage. That comes with a pet snail.

Boxes is having a good time, even if he is flying through the air in the middle of a pirate battle. Maybe he hopes to make his escape into the ocean.  Or maybe he just wants to be a pirate himself.  Watercolors and ink drawing, 2 hrs.

This is Mrs. Thornapple, the Library’s resident (sleepy) cat. Really she is harmless, and Norton has no reason to fear her.  She is much more interested in napping in sun spots than chasing mice.

I need to get some more practice in drawing cats.  They, unsurprisingly (since I am very allergic to them) are my least favorite thing to draw.   I love chasing them out of my garden, but that is another story altogether.

The scarecrow is the artificial aspect of this drawing.  I sketched them out with pencil first, and then went back and added in the details with my ink pen.  I used masking for the rain drops, and then put down a wash of blue.  Then I started working in the browns and yellows in layers.  When it was all dry, I flicked in some white acrylic paint for more rainy effect.  Time to complete, around two hours.

I stayed with the group until lunch, and then had to duck out to meet up with my husband and his folks, who were in town visiting for the weekend. I didn’t get as many drawings done as I thought I would, but I had so much fun.  I think I will be back next time it rolls around. Note to self: next time, bring a hat.

Here are some of my sketches from the day:

Other sketchers: http://www.sketchcrawl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=5364

“When it rained, Norton would venture outside to clean his whiskers and fur.  He splashed in the puddles, and splished in the raindrops, until he was squeaky clean.”

Sketched with pencil and ink, and then painted over with watercolors. I started with a blueish/green wash, and then built up the browns and greens.  I went back over with the pen and a gray marker when I was done to work in a few more details and shadows. Total time, maybe an hour and a half.

Illustration Friday is a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators and artists of all skill levels.