March Meet the Maker - part 3
Well, week three! The prompts for the 12th-18th March have been as follows -
- In use
- Focus and priorities
- From the archives
- Process
- Colour
So, let's have a look at each of these then!
- In use
I have chosen this colour palette to response to this prompt. This is one that I have been working from for a large landscape painting I’ve been working on. This is acrylic paint - a medium that I’m reintroducing myself to. I have it in a pot that once had some hummus in - which works brilliantly as I can put the lid on and it prevents the paint from drying out before I return to it.
I’m going to double up the prompts here and also use this image in response to the ‘colour’ prompt. These colours are ones that I am seeing all around me at the moment - they are the colours that wink at me from the hills - last year’s dried bracken, the grass, bare trees, big skies, mud and hedgerows.
I’ve always been drawn to the colour palette of the landscape, noticing how it changes as you move through it. I’ve always wanted to document it but never actually done it or created the right project- maybe it’s on the horizon!
- Focus and priorities
Hum! I hate to keep people waiting and so I try and prioritise processing and wrapping orders and getting those to the post office. At present I've added a Wednesday focus of writing - the newsletter and a blog post is the plan - although already flexible! Last year I loved having my monthly project of drawing a seasonal bouquet from Wild Bunch Flowers to draw. This was a great focus - in the short term of arranging to pick up the bunch and then draw them while they were at their best, and then the fact this was all part of a longer focus - building up to the creation of the 2021 wall calendar. I haven't got a replacement project for this at present and I feel like I'm missing it a bit.
I love writing a morning list - these I often share on Instagram stories, they are the main things that I have to do that day and often look a bit like this...
- From the archives
Just recently I've had a lovely time looking back through old sketchbooks. Here are some pages from the sketchbook I used during my Art Foundation year (2001-2002). Line drawings and black ink were a favourite back then too, but at the time I was doing more mixed media illustration and was working towards a large textile piece with all the lines drawn with a sewing machine (freehand embroidery).
- Process
I have chosen the below video to help show my process. Here, I have a real example of something to draw - in this case it is hard to beat as it was a peony which was part of one of the monthly bouquets I drew last year.
So, I had the peony in a vase right in front of me, and I made a hot drink, got the paper and pen ready and the camera set up ready to film.
After drawing just the black ink outline stage, I scan the piece - just in case I want to use it for a botanical colouring in sheet (that goes out with the first newsletter of each month (you can sign up here).
I then paint - using watercolour. Occasionally I might add some extra details with watercolour pencils but not always. It then goes into the scanner again.
After scanning, I look at the image in photoshop and clear up anything that I might not want on the finished product - sometimes I can some dust or fluff accidentally on the page so I can erase that at this stage. Then it is finalising the design - re-scaling the image so it fits onto a greeting card for example, or maybe making it into a design for a mug.
When the design is complete I send the image to the printers. When it arrives via a courier the next part of the process it to take some photographs of the finished product and add those and a description to the website shop and Etsy.
Finally I'll share the product photos on social media to let people know the new thing exists! And voila - the process of creating something new.
Colour - a bit of a cheat I know but I've combined this with the first prompt 'In use' and the palette counts for this one too!