Wow this month has gone quickly!

Oh my goodness where has this past month gone? One minute it is a few days before Thanksgiving and now it is just 1 week until Christmas.

I've had "the cold" 2 times now in the past month (including right now!) sniffle.

I've been doing creative stuff just not posting much because I haven't been taking photos like I should. Sigh...

Here's a quick rundown of what I've been doing--most of it is gifty stuff for friends and family-- I've been knitting--made 2 pairs of fingerless mitts, and 2 hats to go with them. I've also knitted 3.5 pairs of slippers, a sweater for a 2 year old, and a scarf! I need to mention that I have also been playing with my embroidery sewing machine and made 2 sets of coasters, 2 Christmas stockings, a set of cocktail napkins, an apron, candy cane holders and pencil toppers along with a few random ornaments and snowflakes to hang in the window. Oh yeah , a couple dog scarves for Winston too! (wow, I actually have a photo of that!)

Yeah, I've been busy but hey, I've made most of the stuff from my stash of yarn and fabrics so Christmas is going to be really cool but not too expensive. Wahoo!

We have also been having an interesting time with the weather here in Vancouver Washington. Rain, sleet, snow and cold winds. The weathermen have their hands full trying to forecast for this area as we have so many factors they have to keep track of. We are close to the coast, on a river with the windiest gorge that funnels East winds right down on us. We are effected by cold fronts that come out of both Canada and Alaska. Oh and moisture that comes streaming out of the pacific!

No school today and who knows about tomorrow? Tomorrow is the last day before winter break and we are supposed to have our faculty holiday breakfast. Always a fun time with good friends and loads of yummy food to get us ready for the day of chaos. We shall see... If I can get motivated to do It I may just get some photos of the projects I've been working on and get them posted!

cheers and do something creative today!
sb

white poinsetta

Watercolor postcard swap! This poinsettia is right out of my imagination. The shadows were intriguing and the spark of yellow in the center adds a nice bit of bling!

I'd love to hear what you think if you happen to want to leave a comment on any of these postcard images. :)

Cheers and happy Autumn,
Stephanie

1 leaf sm

Watercolor postcard swap. I really liked how this leaf turned out. I'm not that great with my backgrounds but this one turned out looking like a concrete sidewalk. Just as I intended. Wahoo!

4 leaves Postcard Swap

Fallen Leaves. We are covered in blowing leaves right now. They are a strong symbol of the last few months of the year.

robin snow

Postcard swap! Watercolor painting of a European Robin in the snow.

Snowball kiddo!

Watercolor pencil painting. Fun and wimsical. Postcard swap for the last 3 months of the year.

Postcards for Swap

I've been having a blast getting all my postcards ready for the last 3 months of the year postcard swap. This snowman was fun, I haven't done much with snow because its hard to represent white snow. This was done with watercolor pencils and black ink.

It's almost Halloween!

I hope that everyone is having a great Autumn and are getting ready for the spookiest night of the year. :)

For the first time in my adult life I have gotten politically active. The Race for the Washington State Gov. is really close So I have been maning phone banks, phoning to support our curent Gov. that hasn't left me much time for crafty stuff but ...

I have been doing a few different crafty things, punch needle embroidery, knitting fingerless mitts and a hat and then finally I was able to get myself to settle down do a drawing/painting.

This raccoon was done from a really neat photo that I found. He's such a cheeky looking little guy and I tried to capture that in my drawing. The bark on the tree was sort of difficult and I'm not certain I pulled it off. I think it needs something. I'm going to have to wait and see what I think in a couple days.

So what do you think?
Happy thursday!!
Cheers, SB

It's really Autumn!

I love this time of year, the trees are flaming up in glorious colors, pumpkins are piled up in front of the grocery stores and the air has gone all crisp and bright.

I wish I felt better so I could enjoy this time more. I'm feelig just a bit grumbly right now because I've got a bit of a cold and my head is all stufed up. Sigh...

I have been doing some creative things but not much in the way of drawing these past couple weeks.

I've been teaching myself Punch Needle Embriodery and I've made a couple Hallowen ornaments for a contest at Stitch Craft a really neat Knitting/Sewing/Embriodery store in Downtown Vancouver Washington. This is such a fun and easy craft I'm surprised that I hadn't ever tried it before. I have been sketching simple designs on muslin fabric and then using a punch needle tool loaded up with embroidery floss to punch loops through the fabric and make the design. You end up with your design on the finished side looking like a tiny patterend rug. It's amazing!

What do you think??

I hope you are having a great Autum and are getting a chance to do something creative!

Cheers. SB

Whoooo do you think you are?,,,

burrowing owl watercolor
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

:) This little owl is a Burrowig owl, I really liked the straight on gaze that this little guy was giving the camera. I tried to capture that gaze here in my painting. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

This was done in watercolor pencil and pen and ink drawingThis was done in my folded watercolor sketchbook (5x7") 140# paper with Albrecht durer watercolor pencils from a photograph.

Thanks for looking!
Cheers! SB

Just hanging out...

pacific tree frog
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Yesterday was my 24th wedding anniversary! I got to go out to lunch with my dear hubby and this weekend we'll get to get out of town for a weekend away! I'm so excited. :)

Today I had an idea about painting a frog image. So, here it is! Pen and ink with Watercolor pencil (albrecht durer wc pencils) I'm pretty happy with it. I need more contrast but I didn't want to over work the frog and lose the highlight areas. I have lots to learn still. But that's why we practice.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week!
Cheers, SB

In to the Deep

This is the cover of my new folded watercolor sketch journal. It will be interesting to see what it looks like after all the pages are filled and I open it out flat. I loved seeing some other artist's folded books after they were filled and photographed flat as a big collage of their art. I want to have the experience of seeing my own art done that way too. :)

So, I was watching a replay of the really cool show Blue Planet on the Science Channel. The episode that I watched was The Deep. It was amazing to think that so many creatures live so deep in the ocean that they never see sunlight.

I really liked the creatures of the twlight zone 1500' to 3000' big teeth and wonderful eyes!

This illustration was done as quick sketches that I then refined with pen and ink and colored with albrecht durer watercolor pencils.

It's a very colorbook illustration look but, I like it anyway. What do you think??

Hope your weekend is awesome! SB

Have you ever finished...?

Last page in my watercolor journal
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I have never finished a whole sketchbook before. I think that I actually finished this one because I made the book with good watercolor paper and I didn't put too many pages in it. Only 16.

It has been fun and I'm excited to make a new book and get started on it.

This yellow bike just looked so cool up against the painted brick wall. It was drawn in ink first then colored with Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils. The ink I used wasn't waterproof so I used it for some of the shading with the water brush(this wasn't planned it just happened!) I think it turned out pretty neat.

What do you think??

I hope you are having a great Week!
Cheers,
SB

The last days of Summer

Daisies are such a sign of Summer to me.

With Autumn just around the corner and school starting back up I decided to try and capture one last image of Summer.

This flower was done with Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils on #140 watercolor paper. I had fun doing this drawing of the flower from a different angle than you usually see.

What do you think?? Any Suggestions? I really need to find more time to play with these pencils.
I hope you are having a great change of the seasons,
Cheers! SB

Harvest some creativity!

watercolor pencil journal harvest sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today was so Autumn like that I had to do something to go with my feeling.

I decided on Pumpkins and corn from the photograph shown below the painting.

I took this photo at the Astoria Oregon Farmer's market last September. I think I like how it turned out. What do you think??

It was done with Derwent Inktense(the corn) and Alrecht Durer watercolor pencils(the pumpkins) on 140# wc paper.

Happy last day of August! SB

Walk through the woods in my imagination

Walk through the woods in my imagination
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

After a week of work and trying to get my school ready for the kids I didn't have any energy to be especially creative at home. Today was really fun. I drew up this image and finished it all in about an hour.

My imaginary woods done in Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils on 140# watercolor paper.

I'm still learning how to use these pencils. I'm happy with the composition, I am not sure how to work this though and not turn it to mud. hum...any suggestions??

Have a great Labor Day Weekend! SB

Sunny and thinking of the winter holidays!

Today was bright and sunny, 85 degrees, what do I draw? Holiday ornaments.

I didn't set out to do this it was one of those things that just sort of happened. I started doodling in one circle and it looked cool. I did another one the same page and it was neat too, then the third one appeared and there I was with a lovely page of doodled ornaments.

I think that these may end up being the holiday card this year. I scanned it in to the computer and then started playing in Photoshop, making layers and trying out different colors. I love being able to turn off different layers to see what I am doing and how it it looking.

I still have a whole day this weekend to play! I'm looking forward to Sunday and maybe ven getting some more sewing done. :) I need work clothes and finding ones I like that actually fit is a challenge. Luckily I have been sewing since I was 7 and making my clothes through High School and College. I am lucky enough to have a really nice sewing machine and a husband that doesn't mind me hanging out in the work room several hours. Especially since I'm saving us a couple hundred dollars on the clothes I'm making. :)

Have a great rest of your weekend and remember to be creative! SB

Fun time Friday!

watercolor workshop lesson 2 rock v3 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I had a fun time with this rock. :)

It looks like the 3rd time is the charm. It looks hard and shiny and rock like to my mind. I've included in the scan the actual rock for this one. :)

The painting was done with Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils in my handmade wc journal. Figuring out the right colors to use was interesting too. Browns, reds, yellows, sepia, and paynes grey.

Have you ever got stuck on a subject and had to keep trying to do it until you finally were happy with the out come?

I know that I get a little fixated on a subject and I have to keep doing it until I'm happy.

I hope you have a great weekend and get to do something creative!
cheers,
SB

Trying to be creative tonight and not sure about what happened...

I tried to do this really funky rock that my Husband and son collected at the Richardson Ranch in Central Oregon a few years ago. I

It has all these great colors and different minerals in it. This was done in Watercolor pencils on 140# WC paper. I'm not too happy with it as it got really dark and too orange. ( I actually think it looks more like a diseased body organ--ugh!) Okay I do like the shiny blue and white looking stone and a couple of the green ons and the texture on the bottom right side of the rock but...

I think I need to just stick with my pen and ink. I know I can get nice rocks that way and watercolor pencil for a touch of color. I am really not happy with my lack of ability to use just color to show something that is Hard and Solid. sigh...

I'm sharing it because I really would love to constructive comments on what I should try to do next time. Thanks!

Here are some rocks I'm much happier about! All the blue is just 1 prussian blue watercolor pencil with a couple touches of dark naples ochre.

This was a fast sketch less than 5 minutes start to finish. I needed to have something pretty to post because my other one from this evening I'm seriously thinking of deleting the first one! The reference for this came directly from the Watercolor Pencil Workshop CD by Kate Johnson. --This one is loose, rock like and I really like how the trees turned out. go figure!

Happy Thursday, SB

Sunday show and tell August 17

watercolor pencil workshop cd
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Oh my! This week has been HOt! Hot! Hot! and now this next week we are only going to get to the 60's and 70's for most of the time and a really big rainstorm is supposed to hit mid week with lots of wind and rain. Hum...I'll believe that when I see it!

Today was cooler and I was able to sew together a new demin skort. It has a long enough skirt that I can wear it for work and look professional and modest when I have to crawl under counters and desks hooking up computers and such. I'll be making more of this pattern soon!

this evening I had a chance to sit down with my Watercolor Pencil Workshop CD by Kate Johnson. I'm still working on lesson 2. I have posted the trees and bark exercise. I have lots to learn still but what I really need to do is go out and sit in front of some trees and really look at the bark to figure out the colors and textures.

I will be doing more of this exercise for sure!

Have you ever really looked at the the bark of a tree up close? It's amazing all the living creatures that make the bark their home.

I hope you have a chance to slow down and really look at something in detail noting all the different textures and colors we live in such a diverse world :)

cheers! SB

Wednesday Wanderings

watercolor journal red tulip field small house
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Let me say right now I really don't like HOT weather. The weather is really going to be hot by our moderate Pacific Northwest standards. We are going to be close to 100 on Thursday and up to 104 on Friday! UGH!! Thank goodness they decided to actually turn on the air conditioning at the schoo I work at. The A.C. has been off all summer to save money. For the most part that is fine but when it gets hot.BLECH! It is like a sauna. Who needs a gym membership?...

At home the little window AC unit is going to be working overtime to keep the livingroom cool enough to keep me from getting grumpy and snarking at my wonderful husband. :)

The rest of this week I'm going to be alternating between looking at more of lesson 2 on my Kate Johnson Watercolor Pencil CD and a crocheted cotton top that I started several weeks ago I would like to get finished!

But for now I'd like to share my newest watercolor journal entry. It's another landscape. I'm trying to do a few more of them because I really don't want to do them. Sharon over on the EDM group at yahoo has been mentioning that when we feel resistance to someting when working on our art it is probably something that we really NEED to push through and work on anyway. I will say that this one was easier than the last one I did. You can see it on my flicker page if you want.

this field of either red tulips or poppies (I couldn't tell from the small photo what kind of flowers they really are) was such a vibrant red with the green fields and trees and the expansive blue sky that I just 'felt' like I should try it out. I got the reference ohot from Wetcanvas.com.

I'm enjoying the watercolor pencils and learning more about what they can do.

I hope you are doing something you really enjoy too!
cheers,
SB

Sunday show and tell August 10

watercolor pen and ink Fun time.
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Woohoo! Olympics are awesome! I hope that those who are interested have the opportunity to watch some of the games and maybe even create a piece of art or two at the same time.

While watching several different events I had to be doing something too. I pulled out a photo of some trees and a path through the trees and started working on this little painting.

It was done with the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils. I'm learning how these pencils make their marks and some thinkgs got away from me a bit and I had to go back in and lighten up the path in the back by coloring in with a white gel pen, letting it dry and then coloring with my lighter wc pencils. It was an expirement that actually worked! The bunny was added because I felt that the painting was a bit flat and needed a bit of life.

What do you think?

Saturday Painting time!

watercolor journal page 3 winston sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today I spent several hours with some of my cousins who are in town getting to visit and we had the opportunity to videotape my grandparents telling stories. What an awesome experience!

Then I came home and deciced that I HAD to make some art. I pulled out a photo I took of my dog Winston last summer on a really hot day. He so didn't want to move. I figured that it was a perfect time to get a photo. :)

I sketched first with pencil, then with the ink and finally with some Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils. This was such an odd angle that it was a challenge to get Winston to "look right" I also decided not to draw the grain in on the wood of the bench, I figured it would make the painting look too busy. what do you think??

I hope you are having a great weekend!
cheers, SB

Wow! An amazing week of learning.

watercolor journal poppy
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I was able to attend the Washington Education Association Leadership Accademy this week. It was a wonderful experience being immersed a learning environment with a couple hundred educators. Amazing.

I worked on one watercolor pencil painting this week and I actually finished it! This poppy was done usingAlbretch Durer Watercolor pencils on 140# watercolor paper in my new watercolor journal that I made last week. this is from a photo that I took a couple weeks ago while walking into downtown Vancouver. I love the smooth application of these pencils!

On my way up to the conference I had the opportunity to visit the Daniel Smith art supplies store in South Seattle. It was so cool! I even found most of the Albretch Durer pencils that Kate Johnson reccommends for light fastness. that's what I used for my poppy. I love these pencils!

On another note, today was my grandfather's 100th birthday! Yup, 8-8-8 was when he was born. It is so exciting to me to think of all the things that have changed and happened in the world since he was born. It sort of boggles my mind. We had about 20 family members at lunch and then more showed up at Grandpa and Grandma's house for cake and Icecream too. It was so fun to see folks I havn't seen for almost 20 years!

I hope you have a great weekend and make sure to tell those you care about what you think!
cheers, SB

Sunday Show and Tell August 2nd!

watercolor journal page 1 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Watercolor journal page 1.

I have 16 pages in the new watercolor journal and I have finished my first entry in the book! Wahoo!

I took this photo of a bumblebee at the Edgefield McMenimins Just outside of Portland Oregon last summer. I thought it was so cool that I was able to catch the bee sitting still and see the shine on it's wings.

I remember when our son was little he used to pet the furry bumblebees hanging around the lavendar bushes in the front yard. He would always laugh and then run to tell us about the soft bumble bees. :)

Here's to summer memories!
cheers, SB

New Watercolor Book

watercolor journal cover sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I made myself a hand bound watercolor journal from 1 full size sheet of 140# paper today. I havn't done any bookbinding in a couple years so this was a fun exercise! It is Coptic bound hard covers.

I'll be able to get 16 watercolor sketches in this book. I decided that wasn't too many. I tend to get overwhelmed by too many sheets in a journal or sketchbook. when there are too many pages I start and then keep seeing ALL THOSE OTHER PAGES and think I'll never be able to fill them up and so I stop even trying. I'm working on getting better about that kind of talk to myself

Since this is a watercolor journal It ended up with a watery theme to the doodling on the cover. I had fun seeing what it would become. I used a Koh-I-Nor Rapido Sketcher pen (I'm loving this pen right now) and my Prismacolor Watercolor pencils.

happy Saturday! Cheers, SB

Inspired this evening!

watercolor postcard gazebo garden sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I was inspired by a photo in a Home improvment summer magazine. The Gazebo and lots of flowers, perspective and greens made it challenging and very rewarding when I finished it. My husband even said it looked really good. That's high praise, usually things look nice or pretty good. so...

Any comments or suggestions on what to do next time greatly appreciated!

Have a great evening(or morning depending on were you are in the world!) cheers, SB

Friday fun time--my last one of the summer

watercolor postcard portals 3 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

This is my last friday of summer break. I'm kinda sad about that as I have been having so much fun getting back into my art!

I have decided that I'm not going to let work get in the way of my creative side. I have the evenings and I'm going to make them count.

I hope to remember that after I get home from work I can rechage my personal batteries with a homemade latte and a sketch. Even if all I do to start out is the Everyday Matters (EDM) Challenges.

For now though, I'll share my watercolor postcard portals series number 3! It's yet another stone wall entrance to another place...It was done with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Pitt xs black pen and Prismacolor Color Pencils.

As Always I love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment or suggestion.

Cheers! SB

Wednesday meet up and a painting!

watercolor postcard portals 2 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

I got to meet up with Carol C from the EDM group today!

She was in Vancouver for a work training seminar and today she only had 1/2 a day of classes. We met up at a funky coffee shop in the Uptown Village. I got there first and started a drawing from a photograph #2 in my Portals series! Woohoo!

We were going to sketch but started chatting about this that and the other and all of a sudden 2 hours had passed and I had to get home. Carol is a very charming lady with a lot of talent and the gift of making friends really fast! I hope to get together with her again some time!

Here's the pen and ink drawing with watercolor pencil wash. I was so excited to see this one come together . The colors worked and the pen work is looser than I usually do.

I hope you have a productive and enjoyable time in your next artistic endevor!

cheers! SB

2nd try watercolor postcard marbles

So, today looks like a day of doing things again. this is my second go at the marbles.

This time I went for a lighter and brighter effect. I think it works except that line around the biggest marble. All done with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils on 140# watercolor paper.

There will be a 3rd time and hopefully I'll get it right next time.

What do you think? Is it better, worse or just different??
let me know!
Cheers, SB

Self portrait part 2

edm draw your self portrait 2 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Today I tried another self portrait. I just grabbed what ever paper and it ended up being 140# watercolor paper. It was drawn with just an old mechanical pencil that had HB graphite in it.

I didn't do any real blending of the lines just some sketchy shading and accidental smudges. it was done pretty fast (for me) about 20 minsand was drawn from a photo of me that my husband took from last spring (07).

The only way I'm gong to get any better is to keep trying and working at it. BUT I want it to look like me NOW! sigh...

cheers!
SB

Monday Monday I loved this day....

edm 29 A Border Abby Scotland
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Yeah, even after going to the dentist I love this day. Hey mom, look no cavities. Just my regular cleaning and I'm on my way.

I got several uninterrupted hours and was able to get this drawing finished that I satrted lat night.

I really like how is feels substantial and very stone like. Though I am thinking of maybe do a bit of a color was on it, I haven't decided yet so here it is: A Border Abby Scotland, I can't rememer which one since we saw several abbys in just a few days and it was 10 years ago.

It was drawn almost completely by stippling with an XS Pitt pen on 140 # watercolor paper. It's not very big only 4.25 x 5.5 inches so even though it looks really involved it is small. :)

I'm thinking of doing a bit of a series based on doors and windows. I love the idea of entrances, exits and ways to seen into or out of a place.

Cheers to you all!
SB

Sunday show and tell

watercolor portals 1

Good afternoon,

This morning I took out another photo from WetCanvas.com. I'm still learning what the different watercolor pencils can do. Playing with light tand shadows too. This doorway is in an old church cloister. I don't know what country it is in as the photo didn't say.

I did a quick pencil sketch to get the basic shapes and then started in with the colored pencils. The photo was 'really dark' except for the open door and the outside. I HAD to put in a bit of the other door. :)

This was mostly done with Graphitint pencils with a bit of prismacolor watercolor pencil for the yellows. This is small only 5.5 x 4.25 inhes on 140# watercolor paper.

As always any constructive comments greatly appreciated! thanks for looking and letting me know what you think. :)

Thanks Rachel for the suggestion of darkening the shadows! I think it is much better now.

have a lovely Sunday!
cheers, SB

Steping out and trying something new!

watercolor marbles

I found the coolest photo of marbles on WetCanvas.The light coming through and all the reflections was just too inviting. I had to try it! (and it fits EDM challenge 61-draw a grouping of 2 or more objects!)

I pulled out the Prismacolor watercolor pencils, the Inktense and Graphitint pencils and went to work. I did this in about 2 hours of futzing and putzing. I'm not totally satisfied. Some of it actually worked but parts I over worked and started turning to mud and not getting the right colors.

I'm still figuring out how to use all the watercolor pencils and not using any ink. This was really hard for me. I'm going to try doing it again and see what I end up with.

Any constructive comments most gratefully accepted. :)

Hope you have a great Friday evening!
Cheers, SB

I did it! My own portrait

I actually did a pencil sketch of myself.

I'm working on portraits after several years. This is the first time I have tried to do one of myself. I like most of it but the eyes are really problematic for me. In the photo I'm looking toward the sun and sort of squinting 1 eye more than the other.

(I actually cheated a bit on this as I had a photo that I played with the brightness and contrast, then I printed it out and traced it to get the eyes mouth and nose in the right places.) I want to learn how to see where all the parts go with out any crutches.

I will get better as I practice more. :)

I hope you have a great evening!
cheers, SB

It is cool outside and I love it!!

It's a lovely cool day and I'm feeling really inspired to do some more images. It's so nice to put on a sweater and sit on the front porch. I enjoy these times much more than the really warm days of summer huddled in the house with the Air Conditioner.

I got a drawing done from the Drawings from Other Members Photographs DFOMP-5 and it also goes for Everyday Matters EDM 43! so I'm pretty excited to have those completed!

I'm having fun learning how the Inktense pencils work. They are different than regular watercolor pencils but very simialr too. I really like being able to color, get it wet and then not have the color move after if I want to add more colors. I'm also figuring out how to blend the inktense pencils. I'll get better as I learn more.

Thanks for looking!
have a great day, cheers! SB

.

Tuesday and flowers!

I got the flowers finished that I started yesterday! Wahoo!
these are for EDM 76 draw some flowers. I really had fun with these. I inked the stems and leaves then prismacolored every thing. :) Lots of layering of the colors to get them 'right'.

I figured that by not inking the petals I would keep them softer and more petal like. Do you think it worked?

I am really enjoying using color pencils again. It has been a few years since I really used them. I feel like I have way more control over them than the watercolors at this time. That's why I'm really looking forward to Cathy Johnson's CD watercolor pencil magic lessons. I'm hoping to learn how to have more control with them when they get water.

But until then, I'll have fun with my Not soluable pencils and blend and burnish to my little heart's content!

cheers! SB

Two EDM Challenges today! 24 and 91

It was beautiful today, soft summer sun, 75 degrees and an easy breeze to keep the air moving. It was perfect to go in the yard and sketch!

I actually got 3 sketches done, the blueberries and the apple along with some lovely flowers that I'm still working on. I inked the apple and the branch then colored it with Prismacolor Pencils. The Blueberries were done with just the color pencils over a light graphite pencil sketch.

So the blueberries are EDM 24 draw a piece of fruit and the apple is EDM 91 draw an apple.

Both of these could have been the challenge of draw something summer because daring to my sisters and cousins to eat little green apples was one of the silly childhood games we played as soon as the apples were bigger than plums! Oh the puckered faces we would make!

And well, blueberries were always a summer fruit! we'd get to have fresh blueberry pancakes, and muffins then freeze a bunch for winter to have little sparks of summer in the darker parts of the year.

I hope that you have some tasty memories of summers past to carry along with you too!
cheers, SB

Sometimes a doodle turns into a snail...

I sat down after a nice walk with my husband to do a bit of doodling. I got out my white card and pen and started laying down my string.

Little did I know at the time that string didn't want to be a doodle. It wanted to be a snail. With just a couple added lines the snail came crawling out and said I need a reason for hanging here with my head down. A rock magically appeared and all was well.

Silly I know. Not correct as far as a 'real' snail would look but, well, It came from my imagination.

Sometimes the pen knows what it's going to draw and I just hang on for the ride and see where it takes me!

Hope you have a great ride in store for you too!
Cheers, SB

Sunday show and tell EDM 66

Today's show and tell is a Fire hydrant from a photo I took in Illwaco Washington near Black Lake.

It was so cool, all the peeling paint showing layers of different colors. I wonder how many years it has been quietly doing it's job?

It was done in watercolor pencils, inktense pencils and pen on 140# wc paper. I should have stopped a little sooner with the pen as I think it shows up too starkly. (I may do some more work to tone that down but all in all it's a pretty good image I think).

After all the awesome comments I have decided that I had better just leave --Well Enough Alone-- The piece if finished and I won't mess with it anymore. :)

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!
cheers, SB

Drawing from Memory edm 173

What a lovely Saturday!

It was overcast this morning which kept it cooler than the forcast, even though it did clear out and get sunny and 75 degrees. Perfect!

I decided to try out a Derwent Spectrum Blue Watercolour pencil (that came free with my new set of Inktense pencils) on a quick sketch from my imagination of a girl's face and head. It came out sort of neat. I like the varitations of blues from the one pencil since I did wet parts of the drawing. My proportions are a bit off and the eyes look like flat disks not orbs, but part of that is not knowing how the pencil and water were going to react.

Any helpful suggestions are more than welcome! I have already ordered Cathy Johnson's Watercolor Pencil Magic cd and I'm on pins and needles waitning for it to get here! (of course I just ordered it today and it's going to take about a week to get here!)

I hope you all are finding something creative to do today!
Cheers! SB

Friday Evening and EDM #2

edm 2 draw a lamp or light sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

It's leftovers for dinner tonight, that gave me time to get this drawing scanned in and posted.

I went to the Provecho Mexican Grill in downtown Vancouver for lunch today. It was someplace that I hadn't been before and I wanted to try them out. Yummy soft corn tacos with grilled chicken and a beef one. Oh yes! I'll be going back again.

So, while I was waiting for my order I started drawing the hanging light. I though it was kinda cool and funky with it's 3 different glass globes covering the light bulbs.

I will say that this was a big challenge. I only got 2 branches of the light done when my food came. I stopped, charged up my batteries with yummy food, when the plate was cleared I finished up the drawing.

I'm working on perspective, it's pretty good but parts are twisted funny and somehow I added a piece the the front and center branch that's not on any of the others. Weird...

Oh well, it was fun and I'm getting more comfortable drawing in public. Two of the workers even came by and looked at some of my stuff. One of them is an artist and he had a few of his images on his phone that he shared too. :)

If you want please let me know what you think!
Cheers, SB

So many colors!

There's an old song by Harry Chapin that goes:

"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun,
So many colors in the flower
and I see every one"

I feel like that. So many colors, and I don't want to have to choose just one!

Even when we look at something like an orange. If I just draw an orange colored circle on the page, it would just look like a big polka dot! You have to add some red, and maybe some burnt umber and then a bit of a sunny yellow and may be even a touch of blue to make it LOOK like an orange.

What do you think? Can you imagine a world where every thing was just crayon box flat colors with no mixing allowed? I don't think it would very fun. There'd be no place for subtle variations, or gradations of tone. Hum...something to think about...

cheers! SB

Something Different again!

doodle circle embriodery 071708 sm
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

hey there!
Today's post is a bit different. It started as a doodle drawn directly on fabric (white muslin with a small white flower pattern on it) and then handstitched all in black #5 perle cotton. This was all done today (thursday). it's not as detailed as most of my pen doodles but hey, I knew I'd be stitching all those lines!

I'm pretty excited that I took it from just an idea to a completed project in just one day. I am so impatient that I have to be able to do a project from start to finish in one day.

Well, unless it's a big quilt project and then it can take a couple days to piece the top and then another to machine quilt it but that's another story!

Are you the impatient type or the kind that can start and then let it sit for a couple days and come back to finish?

I'd love to know what you think!

Cheers! SB

Just to give you a smile!

EDM 80 something that makes you happy Girl with rooster statue at Powis Castle, Wales UK Gillian Mowbray photographer.

Gillian Mowbray of The Fading Rose was so gracious to give me permission to use one of her photos of a statue as the model for a drawing. This is the pencil sketch that I did this evening. I'll probably do a pen sketch of it too at some point. I need LOTS of work on my faces.

This statue makes me smile. It makes me think of the joy of being a child and not worrying if the bird is going to poop on my head.

I miss those days...
Hope you have a great evening.
Cheers! SB

Wednesday Woohoo!

edm 21 draw something old or vintage DFOMP 4-insect collection
Originally uploaded by sbergeron00

Loving this day so far! Dropped off some stuff at the college-looking at a technology job--Who knows something might come of it. :)
Went downtown and sat outside and drew up a challenge that actually goes for 2 groups that I'm in now.

Oh yeah!
edm 21 draw something old or vintage and DFOMP 4-insect collection. this bug drawing is part of a photo of an insect collection that was from the 1920s or 1930s. so most definately old or vinatge.

I am so happy to be able to get out and draw! I'm sure that when the rains start I'll be just as happy to stay home or indoors at coffee shops and such but right now, the warm air (only 74 degrees) and soft breezes beckons!

I hope that all ofyou are finding something to be happy about today and that you get the chance to exercise your creative souls.

later gators! cheers, SB