Pretty curly writingHere's my new pen for learning copperplate. I've been trying it out a bit before I try to learn the actual letter forms, because I thought it would be easier if I was already sort of comfortable using the oblique pen. It's so cool! Such a pity it's totally impractical to have an inkwell on my des…
Fashion Wheel update and my new penA few people suggested trying coloured pencils might be less smeary. Well I gave that a go, and it wasn't terribly successful, but then I found a 3B Caran d'Ache graphite stick I had lying around and tried that instead. It was much better and I got a lot more of the detail. Unfortunately 3B is re…
If I had a blog when I was 9, this is what I would have posted.When I was a kid, my very favourite toy was Fashion Wheel. Readers in the US might not know what this is, but I'm sure they'll remember Fashion Plates which was very similar. You set the plastic head, body and legs of your choice, rubbed the black crayon over it (similar to brass rubbings), then c…
"Hand night" at life drawing classEvery week, we study a different aspect of the body or a particular method of drawing. This week's class was about drawing hands - something a lot of people find very difficult (but bizarrely, something I really like doing). We talked a lot about the anatomy of the hand and wrist (for example, the…
Leisure Painter WINNER!There were twenty comments (actually there were twenty two but one was mine and one person left a second comment as she forgot to put her email address in the first comment). So I used random.org to pick a number between one and twenty. And the lucky number was... 2.The winner is ALEX! Congratula…
That time of year again.I have a BIG essay due in tomorrow (it's roughly 3/4 of the way finished and it's now after 10pm). Next Thursday I have my first exam. Work is super busy and it's a struggle to get away on time. And on top of it all, I've enrolled in a calligraphy class that starts on Friday. I wonder if you can…
Kingsmill CatWe buy Kingsmill bread, mainly because it's the only edible brand that our local shop sells, but also partly because I want to save the tokens and send off for a Wallace and Gromit toast rack.Lately the loaves of bread have been a bit holey, which is very annoying because you're only really getting …
Passion for Painting award!I received this award from the lovely Christine. I'm ashamed to say it's taken me a few days to get around to posting it... thank you Christine!The rules of this award are to:List 7 things you love Put a link to the artist who tagged you for this honorPass the honor on to seven artists you feel sho…
EDM #186 - something I have always wanted. A long and rambling post about typewriters and coincidences.Oh dear - drew the keys far too small!There's a little story behind this one. Not that interesting or exciting a story, but a story nonetheless.I have always loved typewriters. Not the writing part of things - I've never had the aspirations to be a writer that a lot of people have, not even when I…
Leisure Painter Magazine GiveawayI ended up with two copies of this month's Leisure Painter magazine, due to my subscription starting on the wrong date. I don't have any real life friends who like painting, so I would like to pass it on to one of my online friends who will enjoy it.If you would like this magazine, just leave me a …
My husband's masterpieceThis was painted by Richard, age 29.In his defence, he is very very good at making complicated spreadsheets in Excel, and he is also a very good photographer, and he makes fantastic cups of tea, and the paints were not very good quality.In case you can't tell, this is a seaside scene with cliffs. (…
Very bright butterfliesWhen I first bought my watercolour set, I had no idea what I was looking for, so I bought the biggest Cotman set in Cass Art. There are half pans of about thirty colours, maybe more. Turns out I only ever use about ten of them regularly and some I had never used at all and in fact never even seen …
Tree practice, again.I wasted three pieces of watercolour paper tonight before I managed to paint something I didn't hate! I couldn't paint on the backs, as they were postcards and had some printing on the back, so I'll just use them for testing out colours. I didn't even get past the sky for one of them.For this tree,…
I wish I painted this (but I didn't).A while ago, I was contacted by a guy called Chris Chalk, who liked one of my photos on Flickr and wanted to know if it was ok to use it as the basis for an oil painting. Of course I said yes - I was pleased as punch to be asked. So then last Thursday I received another email from him, attaching a…
Free watercolour painting lessons!No, not from me (I'm the last person to be giving watercolour tips when I barely know one end of the brush from another) but some that I have bookmarked that I thought might be interesting and helpful to other people. If you know if a good site with tutorials or lessons, leave a comment or email me…
Something different.This is kind of straying from my usual quick scribbles. I sat down yesterday to chat to my husband and his friend, there was a magazine cover in front of me, there was an open page of my scribbly book for making assignment notes, there was a B pencil. So I started doodling, but found I got more 'i…
An Easter tradition.Mini egg nests!My husband is 29 and he still hasn't grown out of them. His friend is coming round to play video games today so I thought I'd make them both something yummy. I doodled the mess in my kitchen while the chocolate was melting. Annoyingly, I realised too late that the pen was not the w…
It is harder to draw people than it is to paint trees.I would dearly love to be able to sketch people on the train or in a shop and actually make the sketch look like the people. But I find drawing people incredibly difficult. In my life drawing classes, my drawings often end up faceless because I think they look better with no face than with a badly…
A carrot and a question.I'm back on weightwatchers again, having put on a bit of weight over the past year. Eventually I would love to be able to go running again. Even if I was never able to do another marathon (I ran the Edinburgh marathon in May 2007 and loved it even though I got horribly injured) it would be nice ju…
Alphabet cards for a little girlThis was a project for the OTT21 (one tiny thing) swap on Craftster. My partner chose "alphanumeric" as one of her themes, as she is teaching her daughter to read, and I thought a set of alphabet cards would be a fun project. Apparently the recipient liked them a lot! Thanks very much to everyone…
