I'm done in Big A's book--woot!

This was all done in Andrea Martinez's book, and I was prompted by the first two pages at the bottom, where Andrea drew some lines and shapes and suggested I try adding more, including some color. I thought this made for a great challenge, since I don't work much with color in the sketch workbooks, plus, I noticed it said "top" at the edge of one of the pages, suggesting the book be worked in in a completely different manner than I'm used to - one I don't recall trying before in any Moleskine. I thought it would be fun if all the pages worked as one, as well, and until I posted this here at the blog, I really had no idea how it would turn out. Overall, it was just one big, continuous doodlefest - working stream-of-conscious style while listening to music, including B12: "Electrosoma", The Flaming Lips: "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", Cerulean: "No Sense in Waiting", The KLF: "Chill Out", and Space:"Space".

baggelboy's continued...

Here are my second and third efforts... contributions...to baggelboy Alan's moleskine; a two-page spread, centre-fold stylee of our old tomcat (sadly no longer with us) inspired by a recent Flickr comment, and daringly executed for the first time in gouache (gwash) which failed to behave itself (unlike the cat in his day who was no trouble at all). Fortunately, I had made up my mind to create a mottle effect using a baby's bathtime sponge I got from Boots the chemists to apply top layers of gouache-gwash stuff. In the photo, as in the painting, he looks to be leaping in front of a green backdrop but, in truth, he was merely sunning his nether regions on the lawn.


#2 stretched cat

After that I wanted to do something simpler in felt tip (Faber Pitt brush tip pens). Corbis online image stock (recommended) provided the inspiration. The woman is based on an early promotional photo of Lucille Ball - she was quite a stunner in her youth! My drawing doesn't do her justice. The bloke is probably just some bloke with a cool fedora and a Tommy gun - a male model no doubt! Frankly, he wasn't lantern-jawed enough for my liking...but he cast a mean shadow! Lucy is thinking ''wonderful'', not to my drawing - possibly my drawing! - because she looks so pissed-off. It's a sarcastic ''wonderful''.


#3 meanwhile...

On to #4 this weekend...

We lost Hannah :(

Hannah had to drop out of the exchange. I am very sorry to see her go. There was a lot of discussion on email about including someone in her place. I am going to nix that idea. Sorry if not everyone is okay with that, but I just don't want to change the mailing order all around. I feel like that is a bad idea at this juncture. We are already 2 people in and getting ready to mail to the third. Sorry everyone but we are just going to proceed without Hannah.

John please mail to Alan. Hannah will be forwarding your sketchbook on to Alan.

just landed

Headed for the Pinery

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Have fun!

We are leaving tomorrow for a camping trip--be back Monday night.

baggelboy's molie break in

I bought some gouache and then I chickened out! Not in someone else's book, not with my luck! Luckily I also picked up a small tin of ''Polychromos'' colouring pencils and some Faber Pitt ''terra'' brush pens (yet to be used) while I was there. Inspired by Baggelboy's reinterpretations I thought I'd update one of my favourite portraits that I've never seen (one day I shall go to The Hague!) As noted, I was humming The Clash, Rock The Casbah, substituting the chorus with ''Vermeer won't like it....!''

Round 2: moles 7 & 8: the meadow (Risk and the dangers of Risk taking)

I guess danger is already inherent in the word risk. If you take a
risk, there is the danger of failure.

I had what I thought was a fun idea, but it didn't work well. I
layered layers of drafting fillm with illos on it one over the other
in an effort to create a meadow effect with insects, snakes, snails,
fairies. But I wasn't happy with it so I created these doors, not to
reveal but to conceal.

Jess, I got your Moleskine!

Wow! What lovely work you have done! I must admit to being a bit intimidated to start in your book. I hate to muddy up the loveliness you have going!

Round 2: Mole 5-6: The Overlook Tree

The Overlook Tree, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Scanned and photographed versions of my next one/two mole(s)(5,6) with Biker Buddy acting as photographer's assistant. Done in Michelle's Mole with pencil, ink, gouache, and crayola crayons, lol! I really had fun with this. :-D

Mole 3 & 4 in Michelle's Moleskine

I guess the Biker Buddy Sketch was Moles one and 2 and This one must be moles three and 4. It's my attempt at a Chinese brush painting of Sparrow and plum blossoms somewhat after Lucy Wang. I am not used to the Chinese (bamboo) brushes. I did this with bamboo brushes and gouache and water color. This mean the excitement of receiving Michelle's super Mole carried me halfway through my sketches, I guess, all on day ONE of the new month.


Dunno if I mentioned about the lettering. I did a bad job on it. If you don't do it just right, it means something else and I can't remember if I mentioned earlier what I am TRYING to write which is: "Return to Serenity."


Just learned how to pronounce gouache--You all probably know, but it was new to me. GWASH.

Back in the saddle again (Michelle's fine mole saddle)

Hey Michelle, I got your Mole today! YAY! It arrived between our
front doors just as I was leaving to take my son to his piano lesson.

I examined it in great detail in the car on the way to the lesson,
exclaiming to BB over the various pieces and wondering aloud what the
smooth shiny surface was. (What is it that you coated them with?) BB
says to tell you he loves the flying squirrel and the firely, tee hee
(and all of them.) ME TOO! I like the upside down one too! He he.
And I know what you mean wbaout that yellow paper!

I was planning on doing smudge painting during the lesson, but the
computer had a hissy fit, so I drew my husband in your mole as he was
raptly listening to our son have his lesson. (Good thing I had your
mole with me or I would have been horribly frustrated!) (The top one
is photographed with a camera along with a few copies I made and the
bottom one is scanned. Then, while I was downloading the pix, I
started another one because the pix were taking so long to downlaod.
I am attempting to water paint (water and gouache--how do you say that
word anyway?) --Chinese brush painting, actually--but the paint is
taking forever to dry. So who knows when I can finish it.

BUT YAY! Your mole has arrived safely with all its little moles safe
and happy inside and my moles are having a little party with them.
FUN! Thank you for the priviledge of intimately experiencing your
work! WAHOO!

O noble postman!

Mary, I got your mole!  Thank you for the leetle prints, they are wonderful!

I can't believe what an intimate feeling it is to hold someone else's artwork in a book.  I don't have many illustrator/painter friends in "real life" so I don't do much sharing. 

I'm leaving Seattle tomorrow for West Palm Beach, Florida, to visit my husband's awesome family... I'm taking it on the journey.  Will try to keep the drugged airplane doodles to my other sketchbook... :P

I'm Baaaaack!

This will be my last major "update", as is seems like everyone has got the logistics under control.

As I was looking through the posts I noticed some people were requesting themes in their book. Be sure and make a post about that or email everyone or put a sticky note in your book or something so everyone knows and doesn't miss what you are wanting to happen.

NYC was amazing! I wish I had gotten more time to draw but there was so much to see and take in. I will definitely be going back!

After being gone a week and coming back to all the wonderful work you are all creating I really must thank you all again for taking part in this exchange. We are only on phase 1 and I am already really enjoying this! Plus, it can only get better from here!

Cheers!

Ammon in Ammon's Moleskin

Jess' mole on its way...

My moleskine is leaving for Reno tomorrow... woo hoo!

Here's a photo of pages 5-6.  The lighting gives it a wacky shadow gradient, but you get the idea.

For this book, I did one continuous drawing across 7 pages (well, loosely continuous... i didn't try too hard to match up the edges).

If anyone tries walnut ink in their book, beware that it does some weird/interesting things.  The paper almost acts like it has some type of resist on it... which I didn't find to be true when testing walnut ink in the moles with thinner paper.

baggelboy has landed!

...now I have two moleskines on my desk.

Oppose Orphan Works

Hi all. I thought this article at "Drawn!" might be of importance to many of us who post our art online. Please don't hesitate to take action as soon as possible. It only takes about five minutes.

Johnnynorms' book

I'm finding it slow going, but halfway house and here's my first four. The keyhole with scratches worked fine. Next is Doors Filter In, named after a song that starts "Well chosen metaphors, instead of all those slamming doors" and mentions "Steps steep, dreams deep" - finding it hard to let go and draw confident and fluid, this was stiff and awkward, saved by turning it into not what I meant in the first place - this is going to happen quite a lot.

The selfportrait looks unfinished, but I daren't touch it more - it's quite a fragile sketch and I don't have the skill to carry on.
And fourthly is Strumerama, a bit more relaxed and fluid. Yes, fairly pleased with that one. I can see lots of great work being posted on the blog, looking forward to seeing it in the actual books, still feeling daunted by adding my tuppence hapenny...but not as daunted as before I put the first pen to paper.

Various moles

When I bought my first ever moleskine for this project, I also bought a water color mole. I did these pix in it. It's easier to paint in than the sketch moleskine.

Don't worry, I won't keep posting the pix from my "private" mole. Just this set. I attached the last in the series, the robin, to the group moleskine because it is painted on the back of the second yellow tulip which I did because I wasn't happy with the first (though each has its flaws and points.)

The first is another portrait of BB with watercolor pencils, and ink, the second a friend at dinner, the third tulips for mother's day and the fouth the robin which I attempted to pain in as Asian brush style. I got some books about that but haven't had time to study them yet.

I photographed these instead of scanning them because the scanner wasn't hooked up. Which reminds me, that white gouache STILL is not dry!

mole_5

mole_4

Moleskin Heading to England!

More moles

Oops, these are out of order.

Last night, I painted the self portrait, LOL! I was looking through one of my art books for a Renaissance painting that would resonate for me, but when I saw THIS, I gave up on the Renaissance idea. I HAD to do THIS one (see my first spontaneous mole). This after Francesco Clemente's Self Portrait; the first. I had it in a book, but the one on line is much better than the book, and wish I were looking at THAT one when I made mine. Of course his is bigger than a yard by yard or meter by meter, and mine's in a mole, to say nothing of the fact that he's a much better artist! LOL! But hey, had to do it. :-D

The one I had painted Wednesday or Thursday (been so busy don't even know which day!) were yellow tulips in my yard. They are green, yellow and cream, but mine didn't work out well. I was trying to do a sort of Zen or Chinese brush painting (which of course I know nothing about, at this point!). So I tried again. The second one still isn't good, but it's a little better. I am going to attach it.

so--now I am almost done with the first round (in fact, I may have painted one too many pages, not sure.) But I'm not quite done yet. When my second yellow tulip dries, I am going to paint something on the back of it--hope I don't mess it up!

Which reminds me, the Self portrait after Francesco Clemente is done in gouache, my first ever--I just went out and bought some yesterday, rode my bike to the art store (Rainy Day)--took 25 minutes each way. BUT--here's the rub--I painted the picture last night and it's still not dry. THAT's why I photographed it rather than scanning it--hope it dries soon, or how will I be able to mail the mole?

OH, and, I forgot to buy black, DUH, which was the whole reason I got some gouache--but I don't normally use it when painting with water colors, so it didn't occur to me to get any.

the first four pages minus the first

The upside of this enterprise is I'm catching up on my neglected record collection. Music isn't essential here but I was stuck for something to put. I suppose it contributes to my background but I won't have any of this ''soundtrack to my life'' nonsense. Please! This is my first moleskine and at this stage I have to say I prefer my old cartridge papered A4 book (and at a third of the price). In comparison this experience is like drawing on plate glass. Or, perhaps, teflon! I'm just an art slut underneath.

Still, it takes me three months to get used to a new sweater so, onwards...
Having probs scanning a decent image, and it's getting v. late so, please feel the urge to click and enbiggen.


molepage #2


molepage #3


molepage #4

The First Four Pages

I've got a blit of a blue thing going here. Am I blue?

I might not be finished with flaws are charming quite yet.

I am working on one more 2 pager and then off to Steve!

I finished the first seven pages of my 'skine!

So I finished the first seven pages of my Moleskine and it's ready to go off to Ammon. I went with a theme pairing monsters, and whether or not future participants decide to continue the theme or go in a new direction is totally up to them. I asked my girlfriend Kristen to help me out with the fifth and sixth pages and took off with her initial paisley and flower designs. I'm psyched to get started in Andrea's book soon, as well as with seeing what Ammon does with this book. In the meantime, keep up the amazing work everyone and 'skine on!