Getting Sketchy! And Something New

It's that time of week again - 

Getting Sketchy!

Cracks me up every time I say that name.

Getting Sketchy!

Many of you may not know that I am retired

from law enforcement. For 27 years,

I carried a badge and gun and investigated and 

arrested those that needed to be arrested. 

No apologies here.

In the police business "sketchy" meant something

wasn't right, someone was up to something,

someone merited more looking at.

Sketchy wasn't good.

In Zentangle All Around, when we talk about

Getting Sketchy -

I am talking about our art sketchbooks.

What we practiced that week that was new to us,

a pattern we are working on,

something that has eluded us and we are trying

to get right.

That name Getting Sketchy just came to mind

and that's what I named Saturday.

Getting Sketchy! Saturday.

Hahahahah!

Well. With that all said, this week I worked on

one sketchbook page and you see it up top.

My favorite was Sandra Strait's Googly-Eyed Zebra.

So love that tangle!

Why did I only get one page done?

Well. I am working on a new book.

One I am trying to do all alone.

As in 'by myself'.

(With help from 2 friends when I have a question.)

All the other books I have out,

I did with friends and one of them did all

the actual putting-it-into-a-book stuff.

All the technical stuff. 

Now I am learning that skill.

And one thing I learned this week is this:

you can downsize art and do fine.

Upsizing art sucks. 

Cause it all looks blurry in a book.

So.

I spent three days remaking art.

120 pieces of art - in the correct 8" x 10" size. 

Ugh.

But I'm there now and scanning again. 

This piece above will be in the new book

which I hope will be on Amazon and ready

for purchase by this time next weekend.

Stay tuned. Hahahaha!

If I am not without brain cells by then,

I hope you will be thrilled with what I have

to offer. 

Love you all so much for your encouraging

words and support on a daily basis.

You guys rock!

New Colors from Rangers - Alcohol Inks

Fun news!!!

Tim Holtz and Rangers have come out with

six new alcohol ink colors!

I received my set yesterday and went

right to playing!

Of course I used Yupo paper to work on.

All pieces are 5" x 7".

Above you see the new colors: 

amethyst, flamingo, and turquoise.

Old colors used: shell pink and aqua.

 These colors seem to do a few things the older

ones don't. At least for me they did.

Look at that top blob of green on the left -

looks like the bottom of a shoe -

that was from one drop of color.

I have no idea why it split like it did,

but I love it anyway.

And then there is that double edged ring

of orange in the center of the paper.

Yeah, that was strange.

New colors used: valencia, patina, and limeade.

Old colors added: lemonade and shell pink.

 With this one I had something happen that 

doesn't usually happen . . . mud.

I dropped my colors onto the yupo

and noticed that whole central section 

looked like a puddle of mud.

I took a paper towel, placed it over the

paper, and gently pressed down.

It lifted the mud and left this color behind.

I love it.

New colors used: patina, turquoise, and flamingo.

Old color: shell pink.

Probably my favorite from the afternoon To make these simple bubble drop pieces of art all you do is follow two easy rules. 1) Do not touch the yupo paper with your skin. Hold it with a paper towel. Oils from your skin cause the ink not to adhere. 2) Drop single 'drops of color' from the bottles. One at a time put down your first color. I usually work in odd numbers and place  five drops of the first color. (Please don't count - hahaha! - it probably won't work on this one.) Repeat with other colors until you have  the result you want.
You will know when your piece of art is finished. It will sing to you and say, "Stop!" The colors run and push each other out of the way creating some beautiful pattening that you couldn't repeat if you tried.
New colors: patina and turquoise. Old color: cool peri.
And there are the new Ranger Alcohol Ink colors. What a fun way to spend 15 minutes. Favorite - patina. Least favorite - valencia. I will do a more complete product review soon. SaveSave

More Blending Solution on an Alcohol Ink ATC

 Here is a completed ATC.

Again - made with alcohol ink on Yupo paper.

Kind of dark for me, but I thought I

liked it anyway.

 Finally, I was like, No!

Too dark for me!

So I used a lighter color of ink and

dropped a few more spots of ink

right onto the top of the darker areas.

It lightened up the colors,

but I started getting mud in that top section.

No bueno.

 So I pulled out the Copic blending solution.

Again.

(I just realized I say so and then and next 

and again a lot.)

I used the solution to squirt a wormy line

across the ATC.

I really expected I'd be throwing this one

into the trash can, then I wondered what

would happen if I blotted up those gobs of color.

I grabbed a paper towel - didn't know if it would work or not - and placed it down over the top of the ATC. Gently blotted, and lifted. And this is what I got.  A beautiful, soft alcohol inked ATC. I didn't even know you could do soft with these inks.  Haha!
Remember, I'm in Florida doing doctor visits with my mom. She will be 92 in a couple weeks. Still going strong. But I'm not going to kid you,  it's going to be a challenging couple days for me. I am going to break it up by spending a few relaxing - I hope - days  at the House of Mouse. And visiting my son, and Bobbie,  and the Frankles. Photos to come. I promise. Even if you don't want to see them. Hahahahaha!

Alcohol Ink and Blending Solution

 Here is the ATC we worked on yesterday.

I mentioned that I was going to do a bit

more work on it. Here is what I did:

 I explained this technique in a post a couple days ago.

Basically I have Copic Blending Solution in a

fine-gauged tip bottle that I purchased at

joggles.com.

I felt the yellow got a little spread out and

disconnected on the ATC.

I dropped one little spot of blending solution on the yellow, 

it spread onto the turquoise and 

I just let it go and watched the magic.

 Eventually the solution spread onto both the turquoise and pink. You can see where it changed the top turquoise to a green color, but not so on the lower turquoise. 

Alcohol inks have a life of their own.

They do what they want.

And I love how it turned out.

Next I will tangle the ATC with a Copic multiliner.

Pitt artist pens also work well.

Here is a little sampling of some ATCs I made with the inks.  So much fun, great results,  and I was finished in about ten minutes. Seriously.

Basic Alcohol Ink How-To

 Several people (more than two)

have asked my how to use alcohol ink.

So, let us start with a simple ATC.

Ranger and Tim Holtz distribute alcohol inks,

you can get them at Michael's, Hobby Lobby,

or Amazon.com haha! of course you can.

Amazon sells everything.

Except maybe goats.

Alcohol ink works best on Yupo paper.

This was a little sample pad of ATC sized

yupo paper that came in my Art Snack box this month.

It comes in all sizes - seriously - and can be found

on Amazon, dickblick.com, and Michael's. 

 When you use alcohol ink, work on a protected surface.

Craft sheets are perfect.

Here I worked on a large, thick sheet

of cardboard that I had left over.

 Alcohol inks also stain your fingers,

so if you aren't a lover of brightly colored

fingers, I'd recommend some type of glove.

I can't give you a recommendation

because I use the messy, pretty fingers

technique myself.

Makes me feel accomplished. 

(Emoticon smiley face.) 

Hehehehe!

 Sorry I talked through that last photo.

Take your first color and squirt a couple

drops in random locations.

Some people prefer working in odd numbers,

but since these ATCs are small,

I didn't worry about that.

As you can see, I began with pink,

then switched to a couple drops of yellow.

 Then be patient and wait.

The colors will spread and push each other 

where the edges touch.

Sometimes you get cool colors where this happens,

sometimes just a darker edge with its own

personality.

(Did you notice how that lower pink circle's

edges closed around and left that white hole?)

At this point I felt the ATC needed a little more color, so I added a couple spots of turquoise. And I love how it turned out. This is the perfect place to stop for today. (It isn't where I stopped with the ATC,  but it is a good stopping point.)
Once dry, this ATC will be ready for a little tangling with my Copic multiliner. I hope to inspire you to work with these inks. Such beautiful, rich colors they make!

Fix An Alcohol Ink Hot Mess

Yesterday's post gave you this sneak peek. The color comes from Tim Holtz and Ranger's alcohol inks. The paper that seems to work best is Yupo paper. 

Here is a look at the supplies I used. I have been using these inks for close to  ten years and they always deliver.

 Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the before on this project, 

but . . . think hot mess.

Here are two examples. Hahaha!

Actually I used a piece of yupo paper to test my colors.  Just squirting a drop here, a drop there. All different colors with no regards to the color circle Bible.  And I had a piece of hot mess, nasty dark colors, wasted sheet of paper. So I got to thinking . . . how could I save this sheet? (You know. The one I don't have a picture of.)

 I remembered a video where someone used

copic blending solution to remove color.

So I took this fine gauge tipped bottle that I bought from joggles.com and put some blending solution in it.  Here you can see what just one little drop can do. But, back to my hot mess project.

This IS the sheet of yupo I was working on. You can a general idea of the background with splotches of various color here and there. I took the fine gauged bottle of blending solution and started at that lower left corner and squirted a continual line of solution to the upper right corner.  You can see how it lightened the colors, ran them together, mixed and blended a bit. But not enough yet.

I felt it needed more help, so I started at the upper right corner and  basically drew a curved line of blending solution  around the outside of the project, to the lower right corner. You can visually follow the line. Then I left it sitting till it was dry. Alcohol inks don't take long to 'dry'. Really, the alcohol evaporates, leaving the beautiful color behind.
Now I have a piece of art I can tangle. A few people on Facebook asked me to explain this project. Thanks, Sandy and Sandy! Hahahaha! Hopefully a few more people will enjoy this little explanation and put it to use.
I am getting ready to head back to Florida in a few days. Mom has two doctor's appointments and I will be there for almost a week. I am going to pre-program some posts so you aren't lonely while I'm gone. Hahahaha! I hope you find them helpful.

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Alcohol Ink Sneak Peek

Have I mentioned how much I love alcohol inks? They are bright, they smell weird, they evaporate quickly so you have to shoot photos fast, they spread, they mix, they blend, they are unpredictable and never the same twice. Bright, bold, beautiful! And there's a whole lot more where this came from. SaveSave

Valentine ATC Swap, 2016

Before you know it, Valentine's Day will be here. This year - probably for the first time ever - I was able to post a swap  before the holiday happened. In my Facebook group Zentangle All Around, we are currently holding an ATC swap. A 9 for 9 swap, which means you make nine ATCs and you receive nine ATCs in return. People are mailing me their ATCs now that they created, and at the end of this month I will set them up in groups of nine each and mail them back to the participants. This is a smattering of what I made for the swap. None of the entire ATCs show here. ATC stands for Artist Trading Card and they are the same size as a baseball card - 2.5" x 3.5". We trade them in little plastic sleeves and they are greatly treasured.  In my personal collection I have ATCs from all over the world. Little glimpses into the hearts of artists that have become friends -  truly all around the globe. So. Happy early Valentine's Day from me to you!
these are all made on white yupo paper. the color is alcohol ink

Heading to Maine Soon

We will be heading to Maine soon. Visiting for a few days. Closing on the new house. So excited, I can barely stand it!
Posting is going to be minimal during that time. Tomorrow I will try to schedule a few posts, if I can find the time. Packing is almost done. I can not wait!!!
I will be taking a couple of these to work on at night. Alcohol ink on Yupo paper. Love the colors.  If I could just get my scanner to recognize this hot pink. Not purple. But I can not get it to work. Ugh. I think this is still pretty, though.

Alcohol Ink Beauty

I need to start this post by apologizing for missing the Thursday String Idea this week. Mark and I flew to Maine to house hunt. It was a fast-paced two days there, and we spent two days in the air. I totally didn't get the string drawn up for the week, but we did find an absolutely perfect dream house! A post with tons of photos is upcoming!
Today's piece of art is an alcohol ink fantasy! I will be posting a tutorial on this pretty soon also. Three colors. That is all I used.  Reminds me of the northern lights!

Alcohol Ink on Yupo Paper

These are so much fun to do! Alcohol inks come in a wide variety of colors now, not like when they first came out years ago. And the yupo paper is non-porous so it is exactly  what you need for this technique to work. I love the way the colors are unpredictable. They work differently every time you use them. I made about twenty backgrounds and have been slowly tangling on them. I use an XS Pitt pen, works great gliding across the yupo!  So much yumminess! I love it!
Alcohol inks are a product of Ranger.

Alcohol Ink on Yupo

 
I absolutely love working with these alcohol inks! I keep finding new colors,  and new color combinations. I just can't stop!

Their colors are so vibrant and fresh. I use Yupo paper. It has a plastic coating over it, making it perfect for the alcohol inks. I put the color on first, let it dry completely, then use a Copic Multiliner pen to tangle.

And I end up with this. I love it! This is 5" x 7". I am thinking a black mat and a lime green frame.

Sneak Peek

The last four days I have been in Orlando at the  Walt Disney World complex, painting and drawing, and just generally having a wonderful time! Here's a little sneak peek for you of some of the fun! More coming in the next couple days. Whoot! Whoot!

A Little Christmas Fun

Having a little Christmas fun here today. Recently, a friend of mine sent me a pinterest link to some beautiful ornaments. I just knew a had to give it a go, so today I made three of them. That one above is one of mine. Thank you for the pin, Sandy!

So, what you need to do is head out to your local Wal-Mart (or Wal-Mart wannabee) and get you some of these sweet little ornaments! They have both glass and shatterproof. I opted for the shatterproof because our house is tiled and we have cats that like to climb the Christmas tree.

I paid 88¢ for each ornament. The first thing you need to do is remove the clips, so you can get to the inside of the ornament. All the color is going to be inside, which is a good thing if your cats or dogs or babies or hamsters or guine . . . you get the idea . . .  get ahold of your ornament. All the color is inside, so they can't get hurt if they chew on these.

Gather up supplies, which are not all shown in this photo. Sorry. I meant to take another photo and I forgot. I placed a towel on my work surface. (I didn't get any ink on my towel at all, but my iphone screen may never be the same. It's a good thing I love pink!) I pulled out my favorite colors of Ranger Alcohol Inks. The one ingredient you don't see pictured is a can of compressed air.

Photos are a little lacking in these next few steps, so just hang in there with me. The alcohol ink dries so fast, it was hard to get photos while I was working. 
Pick out 2-3 colors that work well together and get your can of air ready. Drip a stream of alcohol ink inside the ornament. It can go straight to the bottom, or along a side. It doesn't matter. 
Then, while it is still wet, blast inside the ornament with the air to spread the color around. My can has a little plastic stick to poke into the nozzle. Use it. You can place the stick right into the opening of the ornament and pretty much blow air anywhere you want. It makes a lot of noise, so don't be alarmed. 
Keep adding colors till you are happy with what you get. And they literally dry within seconds, so keep it moving. This is a quick project!

This is the bottom of the first one I made. I love that feathering you see in the middle. I'd like to tell you I intended for it to turn out that way, but honestly it all goes so fast - what you get, is what you get.

There's some more of that awesome, intentional feathering.

I really love this one. Those darks lines are overlaps of color. You can compare it to muddying the waters when you use too much overlapping watercolor, except here - I think it works.

www.thecreatorsleaf.blogspot.com

alice hendon

And once again - my favorite! This project was so easy. I already had everything except the ornaments.

• clear ornaments,
• Ranger Alcohol Inks,
• Compressed air.

And that is literally all you need. I didn't even need my towel! And the whole project took less than 5 minutes to make three ornaments. Now that I know it works, I will probably go buy more ornaments and make some more! Once again, thanks, Sandy!