Old Salem Page

Going to Old Salem was a treat. It does not take large amounts of time. But the memories stick with you. We have been enjoying the Moravian cookies we bought as well as the chocolate pound cake.

This page was all in colored pencils. No watercolors. So the colors are muted.

I designed this page in the style of Milliande after I saw one of her youtube videos. She calls this Grid Journaling. Check her out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmlEY5TK1zo&list=PL0762ABFC994D54D7&index=1&feature=plpp_video

UNC-TV Page Eight

This neither scanned well nor did well when photographed! I will take more time with it next go round for you. But I wanted to get in this first step of the process I am doing.

Last night I watched a movie on UNC-TV called Page Eight. As I was sitting there, I had the urge to sketch! So I decided to sketch bits and pieces of what was on that show. I am definitely not done yet...have more layers to put on. But I am having fun with this. I hope it turns out well in the end!!

And I'll tell you what everything is at that time.

The ABC's

This is a journal page of just practicing layers.

The Cotton Field

This is a cotton field that we passed on our way home from Delaware. There were fields and fields of them, ripe for the pickin'. Since I was not the driver, I'd sit, mesmerized by it all. And wishing I could sketch it.

The Barn

I was in Lewes, Delaware all last week and was fascinated by this barn. Every time I passed it, I just had to stare at it. Finally had my girlfriends pull over onto the side of the road so that I could cross it in mid-traffic, in the rain, and take photographs...it was a misty, overcast day.

At some point, I will sketch this barn! Thanks to the image I now have to look at whenever I want!

Fun with Tiles

Do you have a stack of unused bathroom tiles sitting in your garage/attic? Well, here's a little something you can do with them. This is fun!

Alcohol inks and stamps.

The Journey

I have been sick with a killer sore throat/sinus infection for 10 days! No art. No lettering. Just sitting on the sofa in my pajamas watching Lifetime Movies.

Not a grand place to be.

So, the first time I felt like doing something, it was again time for the Sunday teaching. This page is a little different than the first one I showed you below. Not much art, but a wonderful Zentangle in the bottom corner.

Interesting that the topic was about The Journey. I am having an interesting time on my journey in figuring out what kind of journal I like doing. Pen and Ink? Markers? Watercolors on watercolor journal pages? Just lettering? A combinations of Art and Lettering?

I'm having fun. Hope you are too!

Note Journaling

I was listening to a Sunday teaching yesterday. To be honest, sometimes my mind wanders when I have to sit in a chair and listen for an hour. So I came up with an idea that might keep me more focused and interested in the topic. Instead of taking notes with a pad of paper and a pen, why not do the note-taking in a journaling fashion?

I am happy to say that this new way of listening and taking notes worked for me. I actually had fun! And now, instead of having page after page of written notes that I probably would never read again, I have a page of artwork and lettering that I will look at, over and over.

New Granddaughter!

I have been very busy with the birth of our 3rd grandchild this past Sunday. What a joy! So when a group of us calligraphic/artist gals got together last week, Gabriella was on my mind! Did lots of exercises with her name. This is the one I did in my journal.

Collaging off Ridge Road

Have any of y'all done collaging lately? Do you remember when it was the thing to do?
I can't remember the last time I ever did it. Don't think I was really ever into it, to tell you the truth.

But I am part of the Triangle Calligraphers' Guild, actually the VP this year, and some of us gals get together to experience other artistic avenues. We teach each other.

So, as far as journaling goes, I think I might see a future with this collaging and my lettering.

It's something to explore!

Raleigh-Charlotte-Cancun

Riding in two planes to get to Cancun can be tiring. Especially if you happen to have two babies on the 3 hour leg of the flights...who cried...continually. One of the babies was about a year old. The Mommy and the Daddy were two rows apart. When the baby was with the Mommy it cried for the Daddy. When it was with the Daddy it cried for...you get the picture!

In any case, I had my small sketchbook with me and did a little sketching and lettering while en route. That was over two weeks ago. Finally today I added color with watercolor pencils and a yellow gel pen. The lettering was done with a simple Zig Broad Edged marker. Nothing too fancy while jostling in midair.

I had a book of crossword puzzles that I annihilated. Also read a book, Pandora's Daughter.

Cancun

Okay, so you probably thought I'd abandoned you. No, just in Cancun at my niece's Destination Wedding! Since we stayed in a resort, the scenery stayed the same. Therefore, all I managed to do were two pages of sketches. The one with the buildings was our view from the eating veranda. Pools were encircling them. I pencil sketched it while sipping coffee and eating breakfast.

The other page has vignettes of random things. I like that page better, the way I managed the watercolors.

With the Horse's Head Statue, I drew the whole thing in one continuous line. Can you figure out where I started and where I ended?

(Yep, misspelled Palladium!)

The Loft - Elm City

The Loft was made for my girlfriend by her husband. A place to get away from it all. A peaceful place you can call all your own. Where you can be alone. Or where you can share your silences with your girlfriend. A place to watch Lifetime Movies, nonstop, just because you feel like it!

Pam's Farmhouse - OTB Raleigh

'NUF SAID!

Oops! I ALWAYS also order "crispy" bacon!

Jordan Lake - Between Here and Pittsboro

I did not sketch while at Jordan Lake, but tried to keep the image in my mind until I got home. Pretty simple, really. My clouds are a bit iffy - wanted to use a fan brush to see what it would do. Thus my clouds look like fans!

I colored the sketch from top to bottom, clouds first, ending in the sand at the bottom. Then added the umbrella, chair, and blanket.

Thought I'd use two of my tree stamps on top of the treeline. I like the effect.

It was also fun coloring around Jordan Lake.

When I look at this page, I get peaceful...and I smile, thinking of Lydia, Miss Tea, and Jonny Boy!

Girl Trip Gone Wrong - Rocky Mount

Excruciating Pain was outlined first. Then used 2 blue Staedtler Karat Aquarell Watercolor Crayons here and there around and between the lettering. Added water to this, and it did not do what I expected it to do, which is blend and smooth out. It basically just got wet! So I was now stuck with this rough looking color. Next added more blues and some greens from a different watercolor set. Darkened the outlines of the lettering with a Pitt Brush Marker.

Next came the yellowish-green color to the left of this. But not before drawing the eye and coloring it.

Picked out the stamp in the upper left-hand corner as well as the one with all of the circles to put under the teardrop. All of the vacant areas were written in.

"Dendritic Ulcer" is Uncial and was lettered with a Zig Marker and so was "July 29."

There was a tiny empty space at the bottom, so I filled it with the little bird stamp.

All of my entries are experiments with all of the different watercolors I have as well as stamps and lettering styles. I try to make them all fit together into a cohesive piece.

Maggi Bridal - OTB Raleigh

I had fun doing this page. My niece is getting married in Cancun, so my sister (The Mother of The Bride) needed a dress that would not only be proper for being The Mother, but also for the hotness of Cancun!

She shopped all over Raleigh, out to Streets of Southpoint, and back in Raleigh. The Dress was finally found at Maggi Bridal.

She looked elegant and beautiful.

Now I have to find myself a dress!

(Used Zig Broad Edge Marker for calligraphic lettering and a gel pen for the rest.)

P.S. The renderings in the journal pages seem to lose something in the scanning process. This will be yet another experiment to try to get better postings to you.

Sunflower - ITB Highland United Methodist Church

At one point in my life I focused on photography while at the same time learning calligraphy. I thought I needed to choose between the two. Now that I am endeavoring to be a journaling artist, I find that I can go back to my photography to take images of what I want to watercolor later.

This image is digitally manipulated to look like this, obviously! My husband volunteers at the Community Garden at the Highland United Methodist Church on Ridge Road, so I thought I'd pack up my camera paraphernalia and get in some shots.

I will probably be throwing in some images in my posts from time to time. If you want to see more of some of my favorite photographs that I've taken, you can see them on my Kerrlligraphy Flickr page.

The Summer House - Lewis, Delaware

I really like this little journaling spiral book. It is a Canson Montval field Watercolor Book, 140 lb. Cold Press, 7x10. Just the right size to tote with you on an excursion. This little treasure will probably go with me to Cancun.

This is my simple rendition of the Summer Home us girls stayed in for almost a week last October. At this point I was unsure of my sketching abilities (still am), but penciled the drawing and put in a hint of color at that point. Yesterday and today I added more color until I was okay with it and also added the text, both written and computer generated.

I have several watercolor sets to choose from on my desk. I am not taking out my huge palette that I bought to take a watercolor class! Why do I want to save those for something really important? I should probably go ahead and use it. Why wait?

I'm not super gaga over this sketch, but I like remembering the house.

(I have tried everything I know to make this image come out so that you do not have to lay your head sideways to see it, but c'est la vie!)

J. CREW - Lewis, Delaware

How exciting are headless mannequins? Well, if you are on a Girl Trip and you are NOT a shopper...after you have been sitting in a chair waiting for your 4 girlfriends to try on every cute thing in the store for, say, and hour...mannequins start having a life of their own.

As I kept looking at these three, well-dressed, bodice-only mannequins, I started having a friendship with them. They were "speaking to me." Could I sketch these? Could I pull out my sketch book and my pencil right there in the middle of the store amidst all the shoppers and employees?

I did. Later that weekend I added color to the drawing. Then I left this page alone for 9 months. Today I decided to add the lettering and a bit more color.

So I learned that some sketches keep calling you back to them because they need a bit more...love?

Albuquerque

My 2nd attempt at art journaling was when my husband and I took a business trip to Albuquerque. Since we ended up staying in the hotel the whole time, the only thing I could sketch was the vista of the shopping area outside of our window!

The colors I used weren't exactly what was there, but I've learned from some watercolor teachers I've had and some books I've read, you can take some licenses with how you want to interpret what you see. That makes me happy. That means I do not have to be perfect!

I am realizing that every time I look at my sketches, I smile, and I think about the wonderful places I've been.

Belize

I must digress here in the beginning of my blog. You see, I first tried my hand at an Artist's Journal in February of 2010. Since I was not sure if I'd like this new endeavor, I did not start a blog at that time. Up to that point, I'd been a calligrapher, but not an artist.

Wanting to expand my avenues of expression, I decided to take along a watercolor journal with me on our cruise to Belize and beyond. Since we were allowed only one bag per person, my art supplies were very limited!

Here's what I packed:
* one 7x10 spiral Canson Montval Field Watercolor Book
* a tin of 12 Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor crayons
* Winsor and Newton's Cotman watercolors Field Box (really, really tiny!)
* some Marvy Le Plume brush markers
* some Faber-Castell Pitt brush markers
* four Pilot Parallel Pens
* two watercolor brushes

Before I started, I gave myself some parameters to follow:
1. Keep it simple.
2. Whatever comes out on the paper, let it stay. It's okay!
3. You don't have to be perfect!

I would sit on our little private deck in the mornings with my cup of coffee and danish while sketching our new port of call with my pencil. Later in the day, after going onshore and touring, I'd finish the page with watercolors and lettering.

I hope that if you have not tried your hand yet at an Artist's Journal, my simple little effort at making one will spur you on.