New Markers! (A Spectrum Noir Review)

I've been enjoying working with markers so much that I was ready to try a professional grade set with a bigger range of colors that would hopefully be longer lasting. Copic seems to be the brand of choice (about $4 each), with Spectrum Noir being the less expensive option (about $1.80 each). I did a lot of research - both are refillable and have nibs that can be replaced. Both seemed to come in a wide range of colors, though Copic has more. (Copic also has two less expensive options - Sketch and Ciao - which both have brush tips instead of bullet like the Classic.)



My Bic MarkIts finally started to poop out, so I had to make a decision. In the end, I went with the Spectrum Noir, partly because of the price and partly because they were easier to find. Right away, I love the range of colors and that the many neutral and muted options compared to office store markers.

The cap color is not very accurate, making the color chart a must! The grey band on each marker makes it quick to find which end is the fine point. There's also a nice light grip strip around each marker.

Organizing trays are also a must ... how gorgeous is this set up? I ended up purchasing all twelve of the six-marker sets, plus Lights, Brights, and Pastels (144 in all ... enough to fill two sets of trays). The range of colors is good, but not perfect. I still feel like it's missing a few shades of green, yellow, and orange while including too many similar colors of Turquoise, Dark Red, Coral and Bright Pink. Still, this range will likely suit my purposes very well!



Blending ... just okay, I need more practice with that. Happily, they do work great with my favorite PaperMate black flair pens ... no bleeding at all!

Layering ... works better with some colors than others. I like that it's very subtle and also like the option of using a light grey on top of color for shading. 

Final verdict: I'd still love to try out the Copic, and would pick up a small set if I ever find them available. But the Spectrum Noir brand is perfect for my skill level - reasonably priced and very good quality. and I'm having a great time with all the new colors! 

Cultivating a New Habit

So, my job is graphic designer and illustrator, which I love. But I had gotten into a really bad habit of only working when there was work to be done. Somehow over the years, I stopped drawing for fun. Last summer, my daughter brought home a summer art challenge and thought it would be good for me, too. The first thing on the list that caught my attention was zentangle, which I just love so much! Doodling with no purpose except to have fun - it seems like such an obvious practice, but I hadn't been doing it!

That new technique warmed me up to keep going, and over the last few months, I've started drawing every day. Sometimes, I use prompts ...



Often, I'll use things that happened during the day ...



Sometimes, a special occasion ...



And when my brain is too stuffed up to think straight, zentangle is always a happy no-pressure treat.



I've been uploading artwork regularly to Instagram, and finding a little like-minded virtual community has been delightful.



Okay, truth: I still don't actually get to draw EVERY day, because, life. But, another truth: I WANT to, and that's the revelation! My current favorite routine is to sit down at my desk with tea around 2:00. It's when my office is about to get the sunniest, I've got half an hour before the big kids get home, and if something really gets me going, I can keep working until elementary school pick up.



It's been a year and a half to get to this point, and in that time I've filled a couple sketchbooks, which I haven't done since college. I used to fear sketchbooks, wanting the work that goes inside it to be amazing. I now realize that working in sketchbooks makes me more thoughtful and put a little more time into the work which, guess what? Makes it better. (What a concept, I know!!!) I've also been learning more about supplies and materials and have a new love for markers and am even planning to invest in an artist-grade set (ka-ching, but I can't wait). I now get such a thrill out of the idea that Hey! That page used to be blank, and now is filled with artwork that didn't exist in the world 30 minutes ago ... made only by my hand/mind/heart. It's ridiculously satisfying.

Daily Sketch – Happy Things

Things that make me happy: rainbows - tea - pencils - peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream - erasers - heatproof rubber scraper - double chocolate chip sandwich cookies - waffles - silver number pencil cup - permanent markers - souvenir vacation mugs - hearts - Riesen caramels - homemade muffins - brown baking wrappers - Pyrex measuring cups - Cortland apples - individual pots of eyeshadow - low rise bikini panties - sunshine - flat shoes - garden flags - popcorn - mini mouse ornaments - drawings of birds (not actual birds) - sticky circle flowers - rocks

(Check out Instagram for more daily sketches!)

SAC – Watercolors

I broke out the watercolors last week. There are two mini square frames hanging in the bathroom that needed some new artwork. First I did a batch with straight up Crayola watercolors ...



… then mixed a batch of my own. (I liked those better.)

Then I made some some blobs … and embellished with some doodles.

It's really hard for me to let go of everything not being perfect, but the end result is charming!



Then I started with a watercolor base and added some zentangle doodles ...



… and then Prismacolors on top. I love the way it turned out!

Summer Art Challenge – Zentangle!

As Dora and I read through the challenge list, we saw the word "zentangle" towards the bottom and looked at each other … what in the world is that? I looked it up … and then my brain exploded. Holy cow, did this look like fun!!

This is totally addicting. For three days, it was all I wanted to do, whenever there was a free moment. Talk about a creative jump start! Besides being relaxing, it looks SO. DARN. COOL. Instant masterpiece. It only takes fifteen minutes to work up a drawing like this, but it looks SO much more complex. 

I used to do work similar to this (take a look at this folder circa 1988, which I have held on to all these years, as a remembrance of my love for all things paisley), but never knew this kind of drawing had a name. Nor did I realize how easy and fun this style is. I have an artist friend who often Pins zentangle artwork, and while I admired it, had never tried to do my own. 

The only must have supply is a good felt-tip pen. Nice drawing paper and Prismacolor pencils are also handy to have nearby. It's best to move quickly and not overthink the design and patterns. 

Interested in trying it? Here's a great how-to on getting started! 

I am crediting this style to getting me super excited about drawing again. And since coloring is just as fun and relaxing as drawing, I'm making two printable zentangle bookmarks and a medallion available for download. Have fun!!

Summer Art Challenge – Portrait

Finding time and the motivation to draw more has been on my to-do list. I've gotten in a bad habit  lately of only working on assignment projects and neglecting my own stuff. Happily, Dora came home from school with a Summer Art Challenge! I'm in!



Instead of making a drawing of "your family," I made a drawing of my friend's family. We've been close since high school but don't get to see each other very often, due to our opposite coast residences. She has twin boys who are almost exactly the same age as Theo. The few times we've gotten together, the kids have all really enjoyed each others' company. She's been on my mind because we unfortunately missed each other during her most recent trip east (stupid long school year!), so I made this for her as a birthday / new home / miss you surprise.



It was very satisfying to work on, and I can't wait to do more!

What I Love this Week - Girly Edition

I bought this sketchbook for Dora last year for her birthday, and she's really gotten in to it over the last few weeks. She's not really into fashion for herself, but has always liked to draw girls in gowns with accessories, so this seemed like a great tool. It reminds me of Fashion Plates, but much more creative and easier to use. I love that it gives her artistic freedom but still within guidelines, so her work always looks good, and gives her the confidence to create more.



And she comes up with titles for each design, too.





Yes, I have issues with the heels being way too high, but it's all in fun. I like drawing high heel shoes, too, even though I think they're ridiculous in real life.



And more art: scenes from a tri-orama she made about the book One Hundred Dresses.

During The Non-Crazy Times

Dora and I have actually had a pretty good week during camp time. On Tuesday, Clark fell asleep on the way back from camp drop-off, so I plunked his snoozy self into the stroller and we went to the library, where we spent two lovely air-conditioned hours selecting and reading books. We went back today for another round, as Dora had read all 23 books in two days. Clark was awake this time, but loves playing at the library, so we had another relaxing afternoon. (Dora brought home 36 books this time ... hope they last her through the weekend.)

Yesterday, Clark napped at home and Dora and I decided to do some painting. I haven't done watercolors in a long time, it was fun to play.



And soooo quiet in the house. Aaaaaah.

What I Love This Week - Clicky Markers

The item that I love this week is seemingly impossible to find. I bought these a long time ago, and have no idea where. Staples? Target? Dollar Tree? I think they've been discontinued, because I can't find them online anywhere.



These are retractable markers by Foohy. I've had these stashed away with our art supplies for a long time and got them out this week to keep on hand with our summer reading chart materials. One by one, Clark has brought them all over to his drawing table.



He's never been very interested in drawing or coloring. He doesn't like using regular markers, and now I think it's the caps that have been holding him back (can't get them off, can't get them back on, they fall on the floor and roll away), because he's drawing like crazy this week. The pens are easy for him to click open and closed and did I mention, WASHABLE! Hot dog!

I bought this easel pad by accident - I thought it was better quality paper, but it's just newsprint. However, it fits perfectly on our little drawing table and Clark can easily flip to the next page when he fills one up. I love happy accidents!

Stacked

I've been a big fan of Geninne's for awhile, I find her work absolutely enchanting and the amount which she creates inspiring. When she posted this little painting and promised to list it on Etsy, I was excitedly awaiting its arrival in her shop.



And it finally arrived! Five little birds ... five of us. (Though to be technically accurate, the second bird from the top should be the chirpy one, but number three has certainly been competing for most talkative lately.) This is my first art purchase and I absolutely love it. Now to get it framed and hung in a timely manner.

Found

... on the table this morning.

Deborah

When Dora was younger, she used to give names her Polly Pockets, and she always made exotic, unusual choices, rarely named after anyone we actually know with that name. Lately, she's been naming the subjects of her portraits as well. This one came home from school last week:



And when I innocently inquired, "Who's Isabel?" of course came the obvious response: "She's the girl in the picture." and you could just hear the implied "Duh, MOM." in the tone of her voice.

Dora made her first piece of digital artwork today:



And BTW, her name is Deborah.

Dora's Artwork

Dora is a wonderful artist. Drawing is her favorite activity, she could do it all day long. I've always admired how fearlessly she draws, when I can barely make a mark on the page without overdoing it, though I see that her work is definitely becoming more rigid as she gets older. Her best projects are typically done spontaneously ... no direction, no purpose, when she's just having fun. When asked to do specific artwork, it can go one way or the other depending on her mood. If she's not into it, it's not going to happen, an experience I can relate to! Every once in awhile, the stars align and she really knocks it out of the park, like this business card she helped me design as a birthday card for her cousin.



We spent part of Wednesday's snow day working on her project for World Thinking Day tonight. Her troop is researching Poland. I printed out some pictures of Girl Scouts from Poland and she worked up this illustration.



It's hard to see in the photo, but she included small details like the arm badges, braid on the kerchief, and a tiny flag of Poland on the pocket.

Jumping Kids

I drew these for a friend who is holding a Relay for Life fundraiser at a gym that has bounce house parties. I think they may evolve into party invitations. Stay tuned.

What I Love This Week

My schoolteacher aunt gave us a bunch of these pencils a couple years ago, claiming that they are the best. She was right! We just ordered another bunch to replace some colors we had almost used up. The pencils are soft and the colors are bold. They are excellent for drawing thin lines and filling in large areas of color. They last for a long time and are the art supply of choice in our house. Plus, don't they look so enticing all together?



They are definitely not cheap ... but anyone who has used cheap colored pencils knows how frustrating they can be (hard, easily breakable, wimpy color.) So I think these are worth the investment for any kid who loves to draw.