Bubble Love Meets Narwal

 Here is another fun piece of art!

I loved creating this!

It features the tangles:

narwal (one of my all time favorites,) 

bubble love, zinger, fescue and printemps.

 I began by tangling the art on a sheet of ivory

Stonehenge 8" x 8", 90 lb. weight.

 I wanted to be able to show this piece in shaded

format as well as colored, so I made a copy

on card stock and shaded the copy. 

I really like the shaded version and the depth it has . . . 

. . . but color really sings to me. 

I used copic sketch markers to add color.

All the shading is done with copics. 

Narwal and bubble love are not tangles I would

normally choose to go together, 

but I am very happy with the way this

piece of art turned out. 

What are you working on today?

I will be posting a new project in my Facebook group

Zentangle All Around

tomorrow for Inktober.

Why don't you drop in and join us.

Just knock on the door and I'll let you in. 

Punzel Pops

Love working with copics! They are an alcohol based marker, they blend well, they are bright and crisp, so easy to work with.
This is a blend of the official tangle punzel and Ina's bubble love. Both are fairly easy to draw and they work well together. 
So.  Winter will be here before we know it and I have been telling Mark I need a snow mobile.  Teal or pink. (Hahaha! Apparently these are my go-to colors.)
I talked with a salesman yesterday. He didn't think he could get me a snow mobile in either of those colors. Seriously??? Why not??? But he did say he could order a wrap - custom designed - to go over the sled. (I learned a new term - sled.) To me that sounds like a zentangle challenge! I repeat . . . hahahaha!

Mermaid Journaling

This was a first for me. This piece of art started with a digital stamp I purchased from Aurora Wings on Etsy. The stamp itself is called LaMer, which means the sea. I colored her with copic markers, LolliZ gel pens,  and a clear glitter gelly roll pen. This is the most detailed copic thing I've done  and I love the way she turned out! LaMer is going to be part of a journal page with some other watercolor elements I've already made. Hopefully a post will come soon. I think I started this journal page about two months ago. Then life happened. As it so often does.

The Inner Critic

The inner critic. We all have one.

You know - that little voice that tells you: * you'll never lose that weight, * you'll never get that job, * no one will want you, * you aren't good enough. You know - that voice.
The art journal prompt I was working on today has to do with the inner critic. In regards to my art, my inner critic tells me that I can't draw, that I can't paint, that I'm not creative enough, that I'll never sell any artwork, that no one will want my art, anyway, that I have no talent - thus, no one would ever want my no-talent-can't-draw-to-save-my-life-non-creative artwork.

And truthfully, I hear that inner critic 95% of the time. That other 5% of the time, I try to remember that my art is beautiful - even if I am the only person who thinks so. Truth.

So, take that, Inner Critic! Who do you think you are, anyway? You certainly are not welcome here anymore. Hahahaha!
Now, onward and upward.
For those that wonder, and even those who don't, I am using a Strathmore Mixed Media journal. For this prompt I used a couple gelli prints I had on hand, stamps, copic markers, posca paint pens, microns, Pitt artist pens, Sharpie fine point, and washi tape.

Spill Ink on Your Project?

I have had a request for more tutorials here on The Creator's Leaf, but I have to tell this tutorial was not a planned one. This is a post of necessity.

Off and on for the past week I have been drawing - and adding to - this 8" x 8" tangle. A little here, a little there, as I had the time. Last night I was happy with where the drawing had arrived and pulled out my copics to start some coloring.

I was rolling along fairly well until this happened. Do you see it, just there? (I sound like Hermione to Ron, "you have dirt on your nose. Just there. Did you know?") My pinkish copic was working very well as I colored parts of those zingers, then all of a sudden a big blob of color popped right out and onto my paper. I had no chance to even react. The marker just spit that color right out onto my drawing I've been working on for a week. Needless to say I was not happy.

So not happy. I grabbed my blender and tried to salvage some of the area, this was the best I could get the blob reduced to. I was so not happy. I can't even tell you how not happy. I shut everything down for the night and went to sleep.

My original thought last night was to throw the whole project in the trash, thankfully I didn't do that. I've told my kids over the years something I learned from my dad - that typically nothing is broken so badly that it can't be fixed, or mended, or altered in a workable manner. So. I woke up this morning with the thought that  - shoot! I can totally camouflage that blob! So out came my trusty little circle template. I had circles spaced around the project already, I just decided to add another. If I  hadn't already had circles figured into the drawing, I could have certainly added them at this point. I just needed to figure out a way to salvage what I already had - by adding something else. Pulling out an existing element and making it work in this blobby area.

In my haste - and probably partially due to all the cold medicines I'm taking - I didn't even realize I drew right over the top of the zinger stem. I also drew into the leaf - which I did realize. Ugh. So I grabbed a small tip pen and drew hash lines along the edges of some of the leaves to camouflage the error. 

To cover up the line through the stem - I added lines to all the zinger stems. Not a big deal, an easy fix. Then I drew another circle to go around that pink blob.

Finished coloring the circle, added some hashlines to a few other leaves to balance the drawing out, and I had my pink blob repaired and good to go.

Then I finished up the coloring with some other copics, At You Spica glitter pens, and my Wink of Stella glitter markers. Love those pens!
So, if you need to cover up a blob of ink - or a portion of your drawing that didn't turn out like you expected - look for an element that is already present in your drawing. Perhaps you will find one that you can replicate in the problem area to camouflage/fix it. And have fun!
(The idea for this drawing came from artwork of my friend Marizaan Van Beek. Marizaan is a fellow CZT who lives in South Africa.)

Zendala Dare #94 - Happy

While Erin was taking some much needed time off, we were missing the Zendala Dare each week. Well, the wait is over - Erin is back and the dare this week included the theme of happy. Erin left the interpretation of that theme up to us. Yay!!!!!

This is the zendala template she provided us with. With the theme in mind, the first thing I thought of when I saw the template was . . .  minions!!! Cause they make me very happy!

So I started laying down lines within the template, which I traced onto a blank zendala. I knew those little round orbs around the outside were the shape I needed for little minion heads and I just took off running from there.

Admittedly, at this point my little guys were looking a lot like Homer Simpson heads, but they just don't make me happy. (Homer Simpson wearing a gas mask!)

More lines, and the minions started taking shape.

Once I got everything drawn, I pulled out the copics and started filling in some colors. And singing . . .
It might seem crazy what I'm about to say Sunshine she's here, you can take a break I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space With the air, like I don't care, baby, by the way
Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth Because I'm happy Clap along if you know what happiness is to you Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do.

Well, you get the idea, but just in case you don't - I am also including the youtube video of Pharrell Williams singing Happy, featuring the Minions - which makes me incredibly happy!
If you want to see how everyone else interpreted the theme Happy, click the link here and visit The Bright Owl. Because I'm happy . . . 

 

Digis by CiG i

My friend Cindy has recently gotten into designing digital stamps. She uses her own artwork to make the stamps, and in some cases also makes digital paper to go with them.

This is an example of Cindy's work that I printed out and colored with my copic markers. I love her designs! Her work is featured in the Etsy store called Digis by CiGi.

Once I colored the designs, I used them to build this card. I am going to send it to a little princess who was attacked by a pitbull. Her favorites colors are purple and pink - perfect colors for a fairy princess, don't you think?

Many of Cindy's stamp sets have more than one component, and as I said some of them also have background paper. What a great deal!

Please visit Digis By Cigi and check out the cool digital stamp art of Canadian artist Cynthia Garner. All purchases are downloadable. You are going to be seeing Digis by CiGi here regularly on The Creator's Leaf cause it's that awesome!

Little Mousie

What a cute little mousie! When I saw this stamp at Whimsy Stamps, I just had to get it! I prefer the digital stamps. I had not ever worked with an unmounted stamp before.

I began by organizing my copics, and one thing just led to another.

I'm not sure why I stamped this onto a zentangle tile, but that's what was close at hand, so that was what I used. The copics do bleed through the tile, but I'm fine with that. It didn't take me long to get this colored in - my second piece of copic art. And then - I guess because it was on a zentangle tile- I felt I needed to tangle something.

My poor little Mousie looked like he was sitting on air, so I tangled him up a boardwalk and some flowers. Lots of people use pencils they steal borrow from local businesses - Mousie's pencil is sporting The Creator's Leaf 's logo. That's one smart little Mousie!
Copics Used: Pencil: YG1, YG23, YG25, W00, W3, W5, YR14, YR24, Y26, BV000. Mousie: R81, R83, BG0000, BG11, E000, E00, E11,  E13, B000, B02, B04, E31, E33, YR23, YR04. Plants: V15, RV13, RV34, YG01, YG05, YG07. Boardwalk: E35, E37, E39.

Getting Closer

 Two nights ago I showed you this digital stamp I was filling in with Copic markers. It's the first project I've worked on since I came home from the training. I don't have a lot of copics, so I spent last night trying to figure out what colors I DID have that would work. This is what I have so far.

I am very excited about the way she's looking. I still need to smooth out the pink on that ribbon a bit more, and I need to shade her. I'm scared to shade her. I'm afraid I'll mess her up! Ugh, I'll get brave and try that tomorrow. Actually, the day after (cause I haven't gone to sleep yet). Tomorrow we will be celebrating Kali's birthday a couple days early - yay!!!!! Twenty years old! It seems like yesterday she was born. Happy birthday, Kali! Mama loves you!
And a big Happy Birthday to my friend Cindy from Cottage Remnant! I hope your birthday (today, not tomorrow) is incredible, Cindy! 

On My Desk Tonight

This is what I am currently working on! I am trying to remember everything I learned at Copic instructor training, and trying to apply it with this sweet digital stamp I got for free from the Saturated Canary. I still have a good bit of work to do with her, but I wanted you to see her so far :). I'm so excited!

Whimsey Grids

Joanne Sharpe is the master of colorful, thought provoking statements and art, AND she teaches several online classes. One of which is called Letter Love 101. I started the class a little over a week ago and this was last night's project. The lesson was called Whimsey Grids and this my interpretation. There is a saying, "Being creative is not a hobby, it is a way of life." There's also another saying, "Inside all of us is a wild thing." It has absolutely nothing to do with this post, I just like the saying :). Bunny trails aside, the thought is to create - every day. Creation comes in many forms, we made a list of a few ways to create art each day. Then I colored it up brightly - like always :). Product included various Derwent pencils, sharpies, and Copic products. Check out Joanne's classes at the above link, then create! Trust me, if I can do it - so can you!

Copic Training

This past week I was in Orlando for Copic certification training. My understanding is that now my name will go onto their website showing me as a certified Copic instructor. I hope I understood that right!

I have to say that before I went I didn't know a thing about using copic markers, as you can very clearly see in the above photo - haha! The first thing we worked on was blending. (I was going to say 'the first thing we learned' but somehow you don't get that from the results in this picture. More like I was was 'working' on it. We used three shades in each of these color families to blend the colors in these spheres.

From there we advanced. I am not showing everything we did. I am especially NOT going to show you my red suited Santa. I told our instructor Sherrie that I was going to come home and throw away every red Copic I could find. It was that bad. The technique shown above was called feathering - the way you blend two colors into each other - as you see with the lilac and blue. I really, really liked this one a lot! Finally a technique I mostly understood.

At the end of day one we played with Sherrie's airbrush setup. The hand in the center came from a stencil that I airbrushed through.  I had a journal that I was keeping all my notes in, and I wanted to incorporate this right into the journal, so I airbrushed on the next page. The pen blobbed out a wad of ink - note: green blob of ink. I was not a happy camper, but I recalled Sherrie saying if this happened to take off the bottom cap of the pen to equalize the pressure. Or something like that. So, I removed the bottom cap and continued on my merry way. Then I changed to the pink ink with no trouble. I thought I'd go for a little purple contrast and came across blob #2, which fortunately was mostly contained onto the stencil itself. I showed my friend in the class - Brenda - what the airbrush had done to my page. She commented that it looked so bad. I told her it wouldn't when I was finished with it. So that night in my hotel room I tangled me up a bunch of Diva Dance variations and now those blobs look like bits of watercolor. Blob 1 and Blob 2 tangled and lost! Moving on.

Day two saw us tackle skin. I never in a million years would have thought I'd be able to color skin and it not look horrible. Here are three variations that I can't believe I did! Looks like hispanic, asian, caucasian. I have one more to work with. Once I get the right color Copics.

And some hair color variations. Who knew I'd be able to do this? Not me, that's for sure! Skin and hair? ✓

Then we moved on to our final project - a completed piece for our portfolios. It pretty much incorporated everything we learned. Check out that shading, and even a cast shadow of a leaf onto a leaf. All these photos were taken with my phone - they look even better in person. Well, except maybe for that sphere shot. Not sure anything would make it look better - haha! (And definitely not the Santa that I can't force myself to show you.) Copic Certified Instructor, wow! That's awesome!