52 Weeks of Art: Week 32

Week 32: Charcoal

Welcome to week 32 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

    

     

     This week's medium was charcoal. Charcoal is a very messy medium. Be prepared to get charcoal all over yourself and your work surface.

    So, what is charcoal? If you're thinking of the charcoal you use to BBQ, you'd be wrong. Well, I mean, it IS charcoal, but not the kind you use for art. There are different types of charcoal you can use for art:

     Willow or Vine charcoal: made from grape vines or willow sticks. They're often not particularly straight, have a more wavy feel to them. It's more smokey and light in color, getting your darks really dark will be difficult.

     Compressed charcoal: made from powdered charcoal that has been compressed (obviously, the name says it all) with a binder. It's formed into uniform sticks. You can get these in different ranges from hard to soft. You'll be able to get cleaner lines with a compressed stick. You'll also be able to get darker darks with a softer compressed stick.

    Charcoal powder: it's just powdered charcoal. It's got a softer tone to it. It can be applied using a brush, your fingertips, whatever you want. You can quickly cover large areas with charcoal powder.

    Charcoal pencil: it's a stick of compressed charcoal encased in wood. Yeah, it's a pencil, just with charcoal instead of graphite. Charcoal pencils work really well for making fine details.

     I pulled out my charcoal supplies for this week and got to work. I have a whole collection of various charcoal supplies, but for this week I used my mystery box of charcoal pieces.

     And here's my finished charcoal drawing. It's a tree. I know, I do a lot of trees. I like trees, okay?

     I should have taken a picture of my fingers after - charcoal everywhere. But, since I had charcoal all over my fingers, I couldn't take any pictures. Sorry about that.

On to rating charcoal...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for charcoal, my rating is: 11

Ease of use: 4

 I feel like if you can use a pencil you can use charcoal - at least the charcoal pencils. The only difficult part, I think, is keeping your lights light and getting your darks dark.

Affordability: 5

  Charcoal is super affordable. You can get a complete set of all the charcoal supplies you'd ever want for around $20. 

Accessibility: 5

     You can get charcoal in just about any arts and crafts store. You can definitely get it in an art supply store. And, of course, you can easily find it online.

Fun to Use: 5

 I love using charcoal. I love the texture of it, the softness of it, everything about it. But most of all, I love getting charcoal all over my hands. It really makes me feel like an artist, like I'm creating something.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 31

Week 31: Gold Leaf

Welcome to week 31 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

    

     This week we have gold leafing. What is gold leaf? It's gold - REAL gold - that's been hammered  paper thin. It comes in small sheets that are layered between paper. Otherwise they'd just stick together. How to use the gold leaf:

     Step one: apply some adhesive to whatever you're planning on gold leafing. They have gold leaf glue. I didn't get any, we just used mod podge.
 
     Step two: wait for the glue/mod podge/whatever you use to dry until it's slightly tacky. Carefully lift the gold leaf off the protective paper. You can use your fingers, but it's probably going to stick to them. I know, it stuck to my fingers. I suggest maybe some tweezers. At this point, you're going to want to not breathe. Any slight breeze will blow away your gold leaf.

    Step three: gently lay the gold leaf on top of the glue. Wait for it to dry some more. Then get a paintbrush and brush away the extra gold.

     Step four: repeat until you are satisfied with the gold coverage.


     So, those are the basic instructions on how to gold leaf. Um... that's not really how I did it. Rebecca did her gold leafing first, I still had to paint something to gold leaf. She came prepared. She followed the instructions and we found it very difficult. When my painting was tacky (I used acrylics) I decided to put the gold leaf on, hoping it would just stick to the paint. It did! Also, instead of trying to lay the whole sheet of gold leaf down, I just ripped tiny pieces off at a time. I'm sure that this is not the actual technique for apply gold leaf, but it worked for me. Also, gold leaf is not cheap and I didn't want to waste any of it!

     I tried to be better at taking photos, but I didn't get any before photos. Sorry again!

Here's the paints I used - minus the yellows.

Here's the gold leaf I bought.

Here's my painting. I love the blue color of the water.

Here's a sheet of gold leaf. Yeah, that's a nickel next to it. These sheets are TINY. 

Here's my painting from an angle. I think you can see the gold better here.

And here it is. My gold leafed masterpiece. 

     I think it turned out good for not knowing what I was doing. In case you can't tell, it's supposed to me the moon in a starry sky. It wasn't easy trying to get a decent photo of the gold. The lighting doesn't do it justice. 

     Also, in case you were wondering. The back of the package says that it is 100% edible. So, yeah, I tried it. I can honestly say that I am not a fan of eating gold. It tastes very metallic. Obviously, I suppose. I only ate it because it was stuck to my fingers. Each tiny sheet cost me like $1.00. It's so delicate I was constantly worried I was going to sneeze and blow $20 worth of gold around the house.

On to rating gold leaf...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for gold leaf, my rating is: 11

Ease of use: 3

 I'm going to say that gold leafing is not easy to do. The gold leaf itself is super delicate and likes to do it's own thing.

Affordability: 1

    This is probably the least affordable medium on our list. I spent $20 on 30 sheets that are 1.5" square. If you're planning on gold leafing a large area, it would cost you a small fortune. But, it is actual gold. So, there is that.

Accessibility: 4

     I'll be honest, I'm not really sure where you can get gold leaf in a store. I got it on Amazon. I love Amazon.

Fun to Use: 3

  I think that gold leafing would be more fun if I wasn't so worried about money just blowing away.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 30

Week 30: Monotype

Welcome to week 30 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     For this week we have monotype for our medium. Now, this is something I have never done before. Of course, that's the whole point of this 52 week art adventure, to try new things. However, lucky for me, Rebecca just finished teaching her elementary classes monotype. So, she was my teacher this week and showed me what to do.

     What is monotype? It's a type of print making, but it's a one and done sort of situation. I apologize again, I didn't get any process photos. Ugh. I really need to work on that. Alright, so here's the whole process:

     Step one: Get a piece of acrylic, or glass from a picture frame, and rub a small amount of dish soap all over the surface. Don't wash it off, just rub it all around.

     Step two: Using watercolor paint, or markers, or any similar type of ink, quickly paint your picture/design onto your prepared surface (acrylic or glass). You really want to make sure the paint/ink stays wet.

     Step four: Take your paper and press it over your painting. Press good, but try not to move the paper so you don't mess up your design.

     Step five: Admire your work of art.

Here's some REAL monotype artwork for you to look at before you get to mine:

Here's a Degas monotype. He's pretty amazing.

Here's another amazing piece by Degas.

     I just used my trusty watercolor paints. For paper, I used three different types: cold press watercolor, hot press watercolor, and print making paper.

     Here's my various attempts at monotype:

   

This is my monotype on cold press watercolor paper.

This was supposed to be some flowers. This is the hot press watercolor paper.

And this one is  print making paper.

   

          

On to rating monotype...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for monotype, my rating is: 18

Ease of use: 5

 Monotype is a surprisingly easy medium. Especially if you're not too concerned about getting details. It works out really well for more abstract art.

Affordability: 5

    Since we used watercolors/markers for ours, it is very affordable.

Accessibility: 5

     All the things needed for this type of monotype printing can pretty much be found around your house. If not, you can get them easily just about anywhere.

Fun to Use: 3

  I thought this was okay. I got frustrated because it wasn't working out the way I wanted it to. If I had tried to just go completely abstract I wouldn't have had any problems with it. Will I be doing monotype printing again? Probably not.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 29

Week 29: Mixed Media

Welcome to week 29 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     This week our medium was mixed media. I love mixed media! It's an anything goes type of medium. In order to qualify as mixed media, you have to use more than one medium. That's it! With so many medium choices out there, there really are so many possibilities. The most common mixed media art out there is collage and paint. 

    Here's some examples of various mixed media art:

I found this here.

I found this guy on Pinterest.

   There are so many more mixed media pieces out there I could show you. I think you get the idea of what it is. While you only need two mediums to consider it mixed media, I decided to use 5 different mediums. I used pen, ink, watercolor, gouache, and origami. 

    Alright, here's what I made:

Riding the Waves. Mixed Media. 3"x 3" on illustration board.

     Here's some pictures pointing out what each medium is. I know, I should have taken pictures between each medium. I am just getting worse and worse at taking pictures of this whole process. Ugh. I will try to do better next time. But don't expect it to actually happen.

All of the lines in the waves are different pens.

I used ink for the dark "inky" sky.

I used various shades of blue in watercolor to paint the waves.

I used some white gouache to add foam to the waves. I tried to add some texture, not sure you can tell from the picture.

I made a tiny origami paper boat. 

    That's my mixed media adventure for the week. I thought about adding a tentacle grabbing the boat, but I feel like that tiny paper boat has enough to worry about.


   

          

On to rating mixed media...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for mixed media, my rating is: 20

Ease of use: 5

 Mixed media is so very easy to use since you can use literally anything.

Affordability: 5

     Mixed media is very affordable since you can use anything you've got lying around the house. You can even use some old magazines, some junk mail advertisements, other miscellaneous things you might otherwise throw away. Here's your chance to reuse, recycle, and re-purpose.

Accessibility: 5

     I'm going to say that mixed media is the most accessible of all the mediums because you can use whatever you have.

Fun to Use: 5

  I love mixed media. The possibilities are endless.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 28

Week 28: Oil Pastel

Welcome to week 28 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

      

     This week we were working with oil pastels. I'll be honest here, I do NOT like using oil pastels. This is our 28th week, our 28th medium, and I can say this is the one I like the least so far. I have only used oil pastels a handful of times. What are oil pastels? Well, they are like a really waxy, sticky, worse version of a crayon. I apologize right now to anyone who loves using oil pastels, I hate them.

     Oil pastels are used sort of like regular pastels. You color the paper, you blend it, ta da - done. I think the thing I hate the most about oil pastels is the blending. I find it so difficult to blend oil pastels and not have it turn out muddy. I also find it difficult to get a clean line. It's messy. But, somehow, people out there are able to make it work. Here's some examples of people making oil pastels look good:

This oil pastel piece and be purchased here.

There are some beautiful oil pastel pieces here.

     Since I really struggled with making clean lines and blending, I decided to not even try to make clean lines. I took my inspiration from one of my all time favorite artists, Van Gogh. His sunflower paintings are some of my favorite paintings. I know that I am no Van Gogh, but here is my take on his sunflowers in oil pastel:

Sunflowers. Oil pastel on hot press watercolor paper.

   

          

On to rating oil pastel...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for oil pastel, my rating is: 14

Ease of use: 3

 Oil pastels are easy enough to color with, but blending and clean lines are difficult.

Affordability: 5

     You can get a cheap Crayola set of oil pastels for like $6 for 28 colors. So yeah, oil pastels are cheap if it's something you'd you like to try out.

Accessibility: 5

     Oil pastels are really available in arts and crafts stores everywhere. You can also find them online.

Fun to Use: 1

  I hate using oil pastels. Hate them. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying out oil pastels, but I really just don't like them. If you're a fan of pastels, I think you should give oil pastels a try.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 27

Week 27: Sharpie

Welcome to week 27 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

      

     I'm sure that everyone out there knows what a Sharpie is. Right? We all have them, some of us probably just have them tossed into our junk drawers. I have them all over the house, in every room. It's kind of a problem, I have so many. SO MANY.

     Now, you might be thinking, isn't a Sharpie just a marker? Didn't you already do marker back on week 14? Yes. And yes. I put Sharpie down as a separate medium, though, because it is listed as it's own category when entering some art shows. Did you know that? I never would have guessed. I thought it was just marker.

     The reason that I have so many Sharpies (it's a crazy amount, like 100ish) is because I used them to make lunch napkins for my Little One every day. She has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) and has to be careful with what she eats. Anything processed will set off her CVS. So, because of this she had to take home lunch to school. She was really upset about it in Kindergarten because she was the only kid in her class that took home lunch. She wanted to be like everyone else. To try and make her feel better about the whole thing, I started making lunch napkins for her. I would draw her pictures, write her notes, pretty much anything to cheer her up about having home lunch.

     The Little One is now in 7th grade. She's "too cool" to have her mom send her to school with lunch napkins now, but I still have all the Sharpies. So, now I have a reason to put them all to use again. I'll probably never really be a Sharpie artist, but it's fun going back to using something I haven't used in a while.

     The best part about Sharpies, is you can use them on pretty much anything. I have seen many people do some creative things with Sharpies on shoes. Shoe art is something I can't really see myself doing. I would be so worried about ruing the art on my shoes that I'd never wear them.

     Alright, on to my work of art. My Sharpie masterpiece! Most of my Sharpie art over the years has been done on paper towels. I decided against using a paper towel for this week. I used some cold press water color paper. It's a lot different than using a paper towel, that's for sure.

   

          

On to rating Sharpie...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for Sharpie, my rating is: 20

Ease of use: 5

 Using a Sharpie is just as easy as using a pen. It's up to you to make it as difficult or complex as you want.

Affordability: 5

     Sharpies are not all that expensive. We're talking like $20 for a pack of 24 colors.

Accessibility: 5

     Sharpies are sold in just about every store everywhere.

Fun to Use: 5

  I like using Sharpies. Of course, I've been using Sharpies for years. If you've never used Sharpies, you might not like them. Who knows? Give it a try.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 26

Week 26: Animation

Welcome to week 26 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     It's been a couple of weeks since we worked on our 52 week art adventure. We took two weeks off for the holidays and a funeral. We're on week 26 now. This marks the halfway point! I can't believe we've already done half a year of art. Where did the time go? Anyway...

     This week we have animation. Oh boy. There are a few different things we could do for animation: stop motion, flip book, hand drawn cells, claymation, etc. It's a very versatile medium. Several weeks back I had to help The Oldest with her homework project. She had to make a video based on a book she read for English class. She had me draw the whole thing. Ugh. I spent HOURS working on this project for her. I used the app Stop Motion Studio to take pictures of each drawing I made. Well, turns out that I couldn't export the video from my phone. Ugh! I had to then get another app that recorded my phone's screen so I could record the video. So much work. I wasn't able to completely edit the whole thing, the end shows me stopping the recording.

     So, for this animation project I wanted to try a different app. I got the Animator app by Pics Art. This app is great. I love it! It's very easy to use and fun, too. I was able to draw right on my phone to create my animation. You can also add all sorts of things. It's really awesome. I highly recommend you check it out if you have any interest in trying out animation! Did I mention that the app was free? Free! Even better. 

     I don't think I need to show you any examples of animation. I'm fairly certain that every person on this planet knows what animation is and has seen some form of it at least ONCE in their life. So, here's my animated creation.

   

          

On to rating animation...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for animation, my rating is: 20

Ease of use: 5

 I'm only giving this a 5 because the animator app is super easy. If you go about using a different form of animation, it's not that easy.

Affordability: 5

     Again, I'm giving this a 5 because the animator app is free.

Accessibility: 5

     If you have a smart phone, you can get the animator app.

Fun to Use: 5

  I really enjoyed making this animation. The first one I did, for The Oldest, was frustrating but fun. But using the animator app was really enjoyable. There are so many things to explore on the app. Hours of fun to be had.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!