For You!! Free Sugar Skull and Sparrows PDF file

I learned today how to add PDFs to my blog, so I thought I would share this one with you.  Feel free to print it out for your own personal use (please do not sell prints).  Hope you enjoy, and let me know if you like this kind of thing and wish to see more.  Just click on the image for a link to the PDF file.

Sugar Skull Flower Finished

So last night I took a few moments and finished an illustration project.  It was intended for our house, but my friend Julie likes it a bunch and she talked me into selling it to her.  I will end up making another copy for hubby (he says I never keep his favorites, including this one).

 This is the first big project I finished with my Koh-i-noor 7 pen set.  I am so happy with the performance of these pens compared to the Staedtler Pigment Liners I am used to.  And so far these pens have not been quite as high maintenance as I expected.  I get a greater variety of line width with the 7 pen set than the four pen set of Staedtlers, and since these are refillable I will end up saving a ton in the long run.  If you invest in these and have a Hobby Lobby nearby, consider buying them there.  I paid about $70 for mine after the 40% off coupon I printed off.  And I didn't have to worry about them being damaged during shipping. 

Here is the completed drawing.  It was done on a 14x17" piece of Strathmore bristol board, and the image itself is almost 12" across.

I am selling PDF downloads in my Etsy shop for $4, and hope soon to offer prints.

Skull Flower/Mandala - WIP

Here's a new project I am working on.  It is very similar to my owl flower - it is made the same way.  I start out with a drawing and estimate how many times I want to repeat it.  I then size and photocopy the drawing, create a flower center, and make a mock up with lots of tape and cut out photocopies.   Then I place it on my Lighttracer II light box to trace the final drawing.  Here is a photo of this step with the skull flower.

The next step is to trace the outline of the flower with a pencil.  I also add on to the drawing if I feel it is necessary.  I added a little heart tip to the petals of the center flower and some tiny flowers on the outside to make the drawing a little more full, and to tie the skull nose design in with the center flower.

When I am done with the pencil drawing I start to ink the entire illustration, starting with the outlines then filling everything in.  Before I would use a Staedtler pen set to do this, and I would burn through a set with every drawing.  Now I have my Koh-i-noor 7 pen Rapidograph set and I get more even lines, better details, and I don't have to worry about buying a $15 pen set for each drawing.  The pens were expensive ($70 at Hobby Lobby after a 40% off coupon), but they will pay for themselves after 5 drawings, and I really prefer them.   Here are a few pictures of the inking process. 





I am not quite done with this one, but when I get done I will post a picture for you to see.   I was hoping to have this one displayed in my house, but my good friend Julie has already spoken for it.  I do plan to make another one for our home, especially since hubby really likes it.

Skull and Sparrows - New Painting

A friend of mine requested an original painting.  She wanted a Day of the Dead inspired painting that combined a sugar skull, sparrows, daisies, swirls, and rainbow colors.  I did a bit of research and here is the thumbnail sketch I came up with.

This painting took me forever to do.  I experimented with a few different techniques, and they took me a long time to figure out.  First I worked on my backgound layers, a step that I had previously not put much effort into.  I was inspired by a video by Regina Lord of Creative Kismet.  You can view the video here.  I collaged layers of sketchbook paper with gel medium, coated them with a light brushing of gesso, then added some yellow with watercolor crayon.  I wish I had taken of photo of this step, but I did not.

Next I did an underpainting in white.  I have never done this, but after seeing this underpainting by David Lozeau I decided to give it a try.  You'll notice his is much, much, much more detailed than mine.   It was more work, but I like how it brightened all of the colors in my final layer.  Here's the underpainting.

Next I did a sketch in pencil over the underpainting to use as a guide.  This is usually where I start, then I do detail work, then try to paint the background in.  You can imagine that this really limited the amount of detail I was able to include in my background.  I much prefer this newer method.

Once the sketch was down, I began painting.  I also had two lovely birdies to paint.  These were thrifted vintage, and I believe they were from Homco circa 1970-something.  They were golden, so I added layer of gesso and painted the the same colors as the sparrows in the painting.  Here's the end result.

I learned a lot with this piece, but most of all I learned that acrylic is a labor of love.  I think my next project may be watercolor, or maybe just a simple ink drawing.  I need a break!  Hey, let me whine just a little bit.  I am 11 weeks pregnant and exhausted.