Colour Play

Stone House Painting With Inktense Pencils | Whims And Fancies

 

During one rainy weekend in March, I started painting this old stone building on a meadow.  I may have unintentionally echoed the grey sky outside with my newly-acquired Sennelier paint.  The tiniest little dab of paint flowed effortlessly though the water.  Everything else was painted with Derwent Inktense pencils.  I was trying out those pencils on different kinds of paper.  They seem to work best on smooth surfaces.  So hot press watercolour paper or Gesso-ed paper works really well.  They do not spread very well on cheaper paper or even good cold-press watercolour paper.

 

One Monthly Goal LinkUp 2016 | Whims And Fancies

Since I have been in the mood for playing with colours recently, I am joining the One Monthly Goal link-up this month in an attempt to revisit one of my earlier projects in a different colourway.

 

Purple Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

My original plan was to make a very different version of this Morning Star quilt as a wall hanging.  Since my kitty fell ill before I got to it, I made this purple mini for him back in early 2014.

 

Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

I would like to work on this gradient quilt in April.

 

Fabrics For Gradient Quilt | Whims And Fancies

I don’t even have to purchase any of the fabrics needed for this one.  I just can’t decided which white I want to use, I am tending toward the one on the left.

 

It was dry here last weekend after a long time, and we took care of some much-overdue yard work.  Since we moved into our house two years ago, we have been gradually updating the interior while just maintaining the lawn and a few plants.  This year, finally, I am going to start planning the garden.  I want to focus on mostly local, draught-resistant flowers.  To educate myself, I am planning on attending a wildflower festival in two weeks.  Until then, I am getting my inspiration from nature.  I would like to leave you with a few more wildflower photos.

 

Wildflowers Of Napa | Whims And Fancies

 

Wildflowers Of Napa | Whims And Fancies

 

See you next Thursday, April 7th, for Wandering Camera.

Camera And Photography Linky Party | Whims And FanciesWandering Camera

-Soma

 

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Pencil Case And Index Card Drawings

Viking Penguin Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies  

Purchase Viking Penguin Olaf pattern

 

Last year I was working on the icad or index-card-a-day project where I painted one index card per day over the span of two months, totalling 60 cards.  During that time I purchased some loose colour pencils.  I had been wanting to draw a little penguin quilt pattern in Viking costume for ages, so I decided I would make that block for a pencil case.

This little penguin is Olaf and he loves his helmet with horns on it.  I tried to tell him that Viking helmets didn’t have horns, but he was most insistent.  He thought they made him look more mighty.

The pattern is for a 10″ block, but I made a 7″ one for my pencil case.  I finished the block long ago and finally, during my attempt to finish a few projects, the pencil case was completed.  I usually travel with my pencil cases, so I needed to use a dark fabric.  Brown was perfect, plus, it made me think of a wooden hut where Olaf might live.

 

 

Pencil Pouch Tutorial | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I used a frosty branch fabric for the inside.  After all, penguins have to have snow!  This pencil case comfortably fits my pencils and my water brushes.  It is not too large, but big enough for me to toss a sketchbook in there and tie the ribbons around it.

Olaf is available in my shop if you want to make one.  I am thinking of making a couple of friends for him and Polaris –

 

 

Penguin Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Little Penguin Polaris Pattern

 

A couple of years ago, my friend Janine from Rainbow Hare hosted Making Christmas.  I wrote a tutorial for that event on how to make a pencil case featuring a decorative piece in the front.  I made this little pencil case then with Little Penguin Polaris for my micron pens.  I followed my own tutorial to make the new one and it hardly took any time to make it.

 

Interestingly enough, I made the Viking Penguin Olaf block when I shared the last set of index card drawings.  I often thought of posting them together in one post.  Before I show them though, I thought I’d share a list of all the mediums I used on this project.  I had no idea I used these many!

 

  • Micron pens
  • Micron Gelly Roll pens
  • Uniball Signo pen – white
  • Uniball Gel Impact pens – gold and silver
  • Recollections Metallic pen – copper
  • Pentel Touch pens – silver and gold
  • Faber Castell Pitt artist pens
  • Faber Castell Aquarell watercolour pencils
  • Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
  • Inktense pencils
  • Prismacolor pencils
  • Prismacolor markers
  • Gesso
  • Turpentine

 

I have never had any training in painting, I paint because it makes me happy.  This project definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me explore new venues.

 

 

Index Card Paintings | Whims And Fancies

 

1. Carnival  2.  Milky Way map  3.  Edwardian Mailbox for P. G. Wodehouse

4. Owl – playing in the rain 5. Taxi  6. Element Picker

7. Solitude in rain  8. Wind turbine sentinel  9.  Vintage Porsche

10. California poppy  11. Corn lilies  12.  Tardis

 

 

Index Card Paintings | Whims And Fancies

 

13. Grey dappled foal  14. Route 66 neon sign 15. National parks of America

16. Melrose Abbey 17.  Fairy Door  18.  Snow Globe

19.  Dryburgh Abbey  20.  Disco  21. Psychedelic gravitational waves

22. For Alan Turing 23. Devil’s Postpile 24. Dancing neurons

 

 

Index Card Paintings | Whims And Fancies

 

25. Peacock feather  26. Endeavour & transit of Venus  27. Solar prominence

28.  Ice cream  29. Shel Silverstein 30. Exploding clock

31. Blustery autumn day  32. Unplugged  33. Pre-dawn driving

34.  Self-portrait – walking into the unknown 35. Steampunk wings 36. Stargazing

 

 

Index Card Paintings | Whims And Fancies

 

37. My violins 38. Tell Them Stories 39. Solar eclipse and Shuttle Endeavour

40. Paper tunnel 41. Vineyard  42.  Svalbard

43.  Focusing through lens 44. Saturday night  45. Playing summer 78 by Yann Tiersen on piano

46. Love to walk  47. Dancing Aurora  48. Aston Martin

 

 

Index Card Paintings | Whims And Fancies

 

49. Snowdrop  50.  Star trails  51. Garden bench

52. Downpour  53. Mail  54. Affair of hearts

55. Western view of sunrise  56. Brunel’s SS Great Britain 57. Historic hot air balloon

58. Edinburgh flat  59. Explore other worlds  60. William Blake – Eternity in an hour

 

 

I hope you enjoyed them.  Many thanks to you for leaving encouraging comments, to Dixie from Arranged Words for inspiring me with her artwork to get back to painting, and to my husband for putting up with “I’ll be right there, just need to finish this one little bit” while he took care of a lot of things during those two months.

This year I am doing the daily photo project and sharing the photos on the monthly Wandering Camera linky party that I am also hosting here.

 

 

Camera And Photography Linky Party | Whims And Fancies

 

Wandering Camera

 

I suppose I like these immersing projects way too much!  Art is good for the soul, right?!

-Soma

 

 

 

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