Time for INKTOBER

If you are part of the art community, you are probably aware of an phenomenon referred to as "INKTOBER".  This is a month long drawing challenge started in 2009 by artist Jake Parker to challenge himself and improve his skills as an artist. There are 31 prompt words for you to use to guide you through the month.   I personally haven't participated in past years but have always wanted to.

This year I picked up my pens and my sketchbook and decided to give it a shot. Day 18 and I'm glad I did.  From the beginning, I decided that each of my drawings would feature a little mouse. This will help me on my quest to develop a little illustrated character that I can draw into little adventures and build an audience with.  Inktober is going to be GREAT practice for me to achieve that goal.

I thought I would just share a few of my favorite drawings so far this month.

Day 1- Prompt word- RING

Day 2- Prompt word- MINDLESS

Day 7- Enchanted

Day 10- Pattern

Day 15- Legend

Day 16- Wild

Here is my newest Etsy Listing.  If you can believe it, I drew this little ballet dancing mouse just yesterday in my sketchbook and in the afternoon I took a little time to scan it and pull it into Photoshop.  I added some color, text and a royalty free watercolor background.  This is just Tutu cute. A downloadable and printable poster for a small cost, add a matte and frame and you have a perfect piece of art for a little girls room or any place that you want to brighten up. 

I created two versions to choose from on my Etsy Shop.  Here is the link if you want to check it out.

Ballet Dancing Mouse at Julie Townsend Studio on Etsy

Blackberries and Sunflowers Equal Summer Days

I finished this colored pencil piece that I’m call the “Little Berry Picker”.   I'm pretty happy with the end results. I should have added more stickers to my vines though. I remember, as a child, just how much work it was to pick blackberries. We each had a pair of garden gloves that my mom had cut the fingertips out of to attempt to protect our hands from all those sharp thorns.  You came home sweaty, dusty and covered with plenty of battle wounds.  I’m pretty sure that anyone seeing us would conclude that the bushes won.  It was worth it though when you had a warm bowl of cobbler with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream melting on the top. Yum!

I also wanted to share with you my most recent sketch.  It can’t be much more recent.  I will give you a series of work in progress photos of this drawing so you can see how I start out each of my little color pencil drawings.

All of these colored pencil sketches that I have completed in the past 2 weeks will be made into a series of greeting cards that will be available on my Etsy Shop and Website very soon.  

If you want to keep up with what is going on in my studio, then consider signing up for my studio VIP email or by liking my Facebook Art Page @Julie Townsend Studio.  This fall I will be having giveaways and discount offers via these two avenues.  You don't want to miss out.

1st, I use my .005 Micron pen to add fine details

2nd, I begin coloring in the flower using my Prismacolor pencils

  









  

You can see how I blend the different yellows by building layers

What is it About Mice

Little Squeak says "Always take time to enjoy the Pansies"

I don’t know why a tiny rodent that is known to send some scurrying to a higher altitude while screaming as if they are an character in a horror movie can also be so darn cute.  I just love drawing these little beady eyed creatures and this week I filled a number of pages in my sketchbook with their sweet little faces.  Here are a few of the selected pages for your viewing entertainment.

Little Squeak enjoying some delicious Candy Corn

Little Squeak with some yummy sprinkle donuts

I've been painting a lot of mice with donuts and candy corn on cowbells this past month so I thought I would just see how they would turn out using that same design in my sketchbook. 

A growing mouse can't always eat sweets

And finally, it is never too early (actually, I'm rather late) to consider Christmas designs.  This is the first one that came to my mind.  I think I can spend a little more time refining the drawing, but you can see the just of it and I think it is a super cute idea.

 

From Sketchbook to SALES

Scan from my Sketchbook

You are such a swine....but you are just adorable.  I couldn’t resist sharing with you this morning a sketch I did on Monday in my sketchbook.  It just turned out really sweet and I can’t wait to see how far this little guy will go.  Yesterday I started an 11 x 14 painting of this composition and we shall see if my brushes can reproduce what my colored pencils did.   I have a strong feeling that this guy will be among my original art that will be on exhibition at the Boulder City Art Gallery in March for my solo show that I'm calling "Dare You Not to Smile".  I'm guessing you can tell why I would include my little friend. 

Yesterday, I spent a little time working on the image in Photoshop and decided this was the image I thought would make the best prints and greeting cards.  The original matted sketch is for sale but it is the selling of cards and prints that really are the main revenue generators for me.  My goal is that by the end of the week this image will be available on my Etsy Shop and at both the local galleries in the form of greeting cards, magnets and matted prints.

Here is my sketch with a little Photoshop editing.  

 

You Take the Cake...and the Pies and the Cookies Too

"You Take the Cake" sticker collection now available on my ETSY Store

WHAT A WEEK!  I have spent a number of hours working on small projects in Photoshop and I couldn't be more pleased with this fact.  In one week I have learned SO MUCH!  With determination, using YouTube and a "Photoshop for Dummies" book I was able to break down that thick wall of fear and self doubt that I had built up over the years.  And to think that just a month ago I felt that I really needed to my kids to teach me this stuff.

To me, learning to navigate in Photoshop is going to be a real game changer when it comes to taking my art to the next level, especially when it comes to getting my art licensed.  Raising my computer skills is a must and has been a long time goal.  A while back I listed 5 goals on a large white board in my studio and learning Photoshop was number 1 on the list.   I'm going to be able to check that goal off my list here real soon.

For a long while now I have wanted to use my original artwork to make small items such as greeting cards, magnets and stickers that sell easily and bring in a steady stream of monthly income.  Yes, selling an original painting for $200-$500 is much more exciting than selling a $5 greeting card with that same image, but if I sell 100 of those greeting cards in a month.... Well, you can do the math.

I also see making this merchandise myself as stepping stone to getting my images possibly picked up and used by an art licensing company.  In my mind, if I have just smallest level of personal success this will serve as a segway into the world of art licensing.  By the way, I think art licensing is number 3 on that aforementioned whiteboard list.

If you are interested in downloading this particular sticker collection, then please check out my Etsy Store.  The cost is $3 for the download and then you can print as many of the stickers as you want as long as they are just for your personal use.

JulieTownsendStudio Etsy Store-You Take the Cake Stickers

Gardening

Here is an example of the original artwork still in my sketchbook before I scanned the images.  I did realize that it would have made things a bit easier if I had spaced each image farther apart so that I had no need to erase portions of overlapping images.

Cupcakes and Baking 

Here is a close up of several of the finished cupcake designs that I came up with.  They are all fun and bright and were so much fun to design. For the sketches I used my Prismacolor Pencils, my Tombow markers and black ink.  I outlined each image with a white border which I think results in a sticker on a sticker look.  At this time, I'm really liking how that looks.  It gives the image a "Pop" effect.

These finished images will work great on not only stickers but as meme's, greeting cards and magnets.

Fonts are extremely important to the overall design when you want to include a cute message.  Two fonts that I fell in love with this week, during my many hours of working on Photoshop projects are Catchup and KG Summersunshine.  I will certainly be adding both to my list of favorite fonts that I keep in my creative journal.  I keep the list because I have difficulty remember all those silly names and would have to waste too much time scrolling up and down the list of hundreds of fonts trying to remember their names.  I'm getting old so you have to cut me a break.



Catchup is already on my default font list on my computer but I guess I have failed to really see it.  It is fun and yet not too difficult to read.  I love how it looks on my most recent sticker sheet.

 The next font I used this week was one I actually downloaded from the website "Dafont.com".  My first font download by the way.  I was looking for a block font that I could really doctor up in Photoshop and this one turned out to be perfect.   This eye catching block font is called

Kg summersunshine  If you would like to download it yourself than here is the link at Dafont.com.  Here is the example of the flyer I made for a co-op gallery that I belong to in the heart of the Las Vegas Arts District.

The Hummingbirds Just Won't Hold Still

Why should I feel discouraged

Why should the shadows come

Why should my heart feel lonely

And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion

A constant friend is he

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches over me

Practicing in my sketchbook

This powerful verse was written over 100 years ago by Civilla Durfee Martin (1866-1948).  Civilla was born in Nova Scotia and died in Atlanta, Ga. The poem “His Eye is on the Sparrow” was written in 1905 and has become one of the most influential gospel hymns and has been sung.  https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-his-eye-is-on-the-sparrow

A Journal page dedicated to sparrows

Last week I was completely obsessed with drawing these tiny little song birds.  I didn't realize how many varieties of sparrows there are in the world and some time online researching trying to just determine what breed is the most common here in the Las Vegas area.  I finally concluded that I think they are Brewer's Sparrows.  They have dark beaks and the males have dark brown heads and throat.




It wasn't just pencils and pen this week that were busy creating feathers but I also decided to grab up my paintbrushes and have some fun with this little acrylic piece a small sparrow on a stump surrounded by black eyed susans and tall grass.  This is on an 8 x 8 gallery wrapped canvas.


All this sparrow drawing and painting helped me prepare for my biggest sparrow challenge of the week.  This 5 x 18 color pencil painting took me longer than I thought it would.  Each day I added another sparrow to my fence and then decided that some tall wildflowers added to the composition.  To get ready for this drawing I spent sometime sketching and painting sparrows.  I even dedicated a page to them in my artistic journal book and took pictures of the color pencil process on one of the birds to share here with you.

"Early Morning Flock Talk"- 5 x 18" original colored pencil painting

Here I have my rough sketch done in 4H pencil so that it is very lightly drawn out.  I used a light tan color and filled in almost the entire bird except for where I felt there were going to be white feathers or very dark areas.  My main concern here is to get rid of as much white paper as I can with the lightest color that is found on the feathers.  Don't worry if you cover up more than you want to because later the mechanical eraser does wonders with pulling off the waxy lead.

This second progress photo shows that I have used my Marvy LePen black to draw in the fine details of his face.  I have also added a darker shade of brown to the face and wings.  I always am amazed at just how much difference there is in a piece of art when you add the eyes.  The eyes are certainly the most important part of a face.





The third picture taken of my work in progress shows that I'm using the black Prismacolor to block in the chest feathers and the area around the eyes and beak.  I've also used this very lightly to add some contrast and shadows in the area of the chest feathers.








Using color pencils is really all about layers and as I work around the bird I just keep adding more and more colors to bring out the feathers and the detail.  I am really hooked on the way that outlining my subject with a black line gives it a more illustrated look.  I love the combination of the fine detail and the illustrated comic look.  I think it makes each element pop in the composition and so for now that is the style that I am going for.  So in this picture you can see I have now outlined the whole bird and the fence post.




On my next progression shot I show you one of my favorite color pencil tools and that is my battery operated Derwent eraser.  This eraser is amazing and I love the effects I can get with it on feathers and areas that I want texture not to mention cleaning up spots where I got a little carried away with my coloring.





With all the erasing you can really produce a lot of debris on your paper and rather than using your hand to brush off the bits of rubber missed with paper and colored wax, you want to use a brush.  I love this Langnickel 2" Large Area Artist brush for that.  The bristles are very soft but think enough that it does a great job cleaning up my paper with out smudging the colors.  I got this particular brush as part of a drawing set I ordered from pencil artist Darrel Tank (5 Pencil method).  I don't think he sells supplies anymore but I'm sure you can find this same brush at Cheap Joes or at Blicks.


As I am coming to the very last of the details, I often grab my white Reminisce gel pen to brighten the highlight of the eye or spots of white where I want the the brightest highlights to be.

In my completed piece that I titled "Early Morning Flock Talk",  this particular sparrow is number 2 in the line of 5 feathered friends.  

Just a Little Cowboy and His Dog

The years have just flown by and I find it hard to believe that it has been 8 amazing years since my entrance into the grandmother club.  I started just over a year ago creating a special birthday sketch for each of my grandchildren for their birthday.  Usually they consist of  a matted 5x7 ink and colored pencil sketch of themselves or something special to celebrate their special day. Sometimes I have even included a special poem.    As I draw, I make a habit of praying for each of them and asking God to bless their year, protect their family and bring them to a saving knowledge of His love and sacrifice.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the whole day out in Boulder City at the art gallery there fulfilling my co-op responsibilities.  It is a lovely gallery and I find that it is a perfect place to bring my sketchbook and draw between customers.  I had only penciled a rough outline of what I had in mind for my grandson's birthday sketch.  Mom had sent me a picture of him trying on a cowboy hat that was just adorable so after I settled in at the gallery I pulled out my sketchbook and got started finishing my the sketch shown below.

 I really like how this little sketch turned out of Gavin and his dog Bella and I think he will like it too. Let me know what you think and if you're interested in seeing more of my work, please check out my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  

8 years old- Happy Birthday Gavin!

A Studio That Fits in Your Pocket

I know that as of late I have had a number of posts about my recent little artworks painted on the side of cowbells.  And while the cowbells are my current focus due to the popularity of them among my Facebook friends and local galleries, I thought today I would share some of the sketching I have been doing recently.  

I was keeping a larger sized journal for the past year, but with the pressure of filling up the larger pages, I found I wasn't drawing it on a daily basis like I intended.  In January I purchased a pocket sized sketchbook journal at Michaels and I just love it.  I carry it in my purse along with my .005 Pigma Micron drawing pen.  It is small and easy so I can pull it out whenever I have a few minutes. 

I'm filling the pages with practice doodles, zentangle designs and intricate sketches.  Not only do I find this fun and relaxing, I completely believe that keeping your drawing skills sharp is one of the best things you can do to improve your painting skills.  

I hope you enjoy these pages I've selected and I would love to hear from you about what you are drawing.

For a look at my more SERIOUS artwork and fun COWBELLS, come visit my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com

Sunflower sketch that I did today.  I LOVE the torn paper border look

A page full of Zentangle designs.  Practice makes perfect!

Playing with contour lines.  I love how it gives the illusion of being sucked into the center

Playing with a rope design for a border

My beautiful niece Laura

A fun ZENTANGLE KITTY