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.