Painting with a Fountain Pen

Hello Friends!

Things are heating up here quickly in South Florida!  Actually we've seen mid-eighties already and close to 90 degree mark one day.  It's a bit soon but soon we will be acclimated to those steamy days and nights and 80's will look like a cool front to us.  I know that some of you probably can't relate to those temperatures at all but it is rather the usual weather for us.  Now that you have the weather report, here's what's been happening in my neck of the woods.

Remember me saying I needed to practice sketching and spending more time in my sketchbook? Well, I've been playing around with ink, the kind that comes in a fountain pen.  It's pretty cool what happens when ink and water meet.

First I sketched the birds in pencil and then come back to outline them with blue ink and then use a small round brush dipped in clear water to go over the ink. The ink reacts to the water and begins to spread out. A few more times with the brush and water and a dab more blue ink to make the shadows pop. The whole time I was painting/drawing this I was saying: ooh, ooh, this is fun!  I hope you'll give it a try! 

Black ink will produce nice grey shadows when wet.  

Purple ink with the help of Inktense watercolor pencils on the Little Bird. 

Do you have a particular time of day that you like to draw or paint or be in your studio?  My perfect time is at night when the house is quiet, just before bedtime and my mind is shutting down for the evening.  I'm relaxed and not over thinking what I am doing, my creative side kicks in gear enough to paint or sketch something simple.  Or first thing in the morning, before I'm really awake is also a good time for creativity in my studio. 

I've been busy, how about you?  Anything to share? Do tell!  

Grab your fountain pen and paint brush and give this ink thing a go!  Let me know if something good happens....

Bee Creative

Suzy

Handmade Sketchbook Journals

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to Sketchbook Tuesday! 
 I'm pumped up to begin sketching in a my new Sketchbook Journal made from an old children's book. Even though it was not one of the well loved books my children read, it is a book with fabulous illustrations I couldn't bear to get rid of.  

So I've re-purposed "Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm "into a sketchbook by replacing the pages with a selection of cold and hot press watercolor paper and mixed media paper .  

The first page in a new sketchbook fills me with a feeling of excitement but also overwhelms me with feelings of what if I mess up the very first page! Not this time! I knew exactly what I would sketch and with a feeling of joy as I sketched and then painted my palette! 

You might remember this hand painted cover of another sketchbook, it has been sitting on my shelf and not used after the initial pages I did in 2013. Something about it didn't seem right.  Turns out it just needed a few more signatures added to fill out the large spine.  

I l

Now it is a book filled with watercolor paper and mixed media papers for drawing, sketching and watercolor. 

 It was important to also incorporate some of the pages I'd previously done.

 and NOW the book is perfect for a new sketching and watercolor adventure.  

 My goal is to fill up both sketchbooks in 2015!  Won't you join me on my sketchbook journey?   

Sketch on my friends!

Suzy

CHANGES ARE COMING

Hello!

Time is rolling along this month at a fast pace and I'm jogging along trying to keep up.  Does that sound like you?  Seriously, I don't know if it is just me trying to keep up or if everyone else feels the same way.  We live in a fast rapidly changing world of technology where once we lived at a slower pace where people wrote letters and waited for a reply, it seems unreal and most unlikely today! Personally, I'd enjoy a slower pace but NOT that slow either, there must be a happy medium. 

Speaking of moving along, have you noticed Sunshine and Lollipops is getting a face lift? A new and improved format arrangement?  What do you think so far?  We are moving toward changes in content and posting on a more consistent basis. My 2015 goal is blogging on a regular weekly schedule. After three years of blogging rather inconsistently,  I've come to the realization blogging takes more thought and more preparation time and more planning than I have been willing to admit and it is important to me. It is important to make more time in my schedule to produce blog worthy posts rather than scramble at the last minute to meet a blog deadline.  This stuff (planning, blogging consistency) doesn't come naturally for me because I'm more of a fly by the seat of your pants kinda gal. But I am trying to change my fly by the seat of your pants style in order to bring you better and more consistent content. To help me with scheduling I've purchased several calendars (pocket and planner) to jot my notes in (because I'm old school), AND printed out a free monthly blog planner online AND I'm making use of an online calendar.  I know, it's a bit overkill, isn't it? Perhaps this is where I go wrong in my effort to keep everything written down (little obsessive that way), but I DO love planners and calendars! How about you? What methods do you use to keep track and on schedule?  

Planning ahead is key to keep things rolling along so I've also created a fun way to track my progress each month in a mini three ring binder (previously a SMASH journal converted to Blog Journal).  It's strictly for blog post ideas and a visual way to keep track of my TO DO and NOTES. I'll share one with you each month.  Here's my January planner pages: 

Goals for 2015 

Monthly Blog Calendar 

WORD Reminder 

Please join me each week for posts featuring Sketchbook Tuesday and Travel Journal Thursday, Heartstrings (featuring crafts, sewing, Home Decorating) Knitting with a Mission, HeART Craft (features Paint/Paper & Collage and Monthly Calendars).  Looking forward to celebrating my fourth year in Blog land with you! 

Bee Creative! 
Suzy

A GIFT OF ART

A Great Big Hello There!

I'm starting a new class the day after Christmas.  As a gift to myself.  I know. But I wanted to take this class since it was introduced in the summer, so why not after Christmas when there is some down time?  Last year I signed up for two classes to start the New Year, I'm getting a jump start on 2015.  And THIS time it will be different, I think I will actually stick with it for the entire 4 week course.  Last year was a kind of a bust for me when it came to sticking with classes. I admit that I was a bit hasty in my decision to sign up for not one but TWO year- long projects and became overwhelmed. And, well sometimes you find that once you get into a class it just isn't your cup of tea. At that point you can decide to either ditch the class or make yourself miserable. I chose to ditch both, one after the first month (not my cuppa tea) and the other after a few months (lost interest).  Yes, I lost a bit of money on the deal but I have No Regrets! Live and learn, right?

Recently an email reminder came through my in-box about Mary Ann Moss's Sketchbookery class that was all it took for me to zoom over and sign up! I knew from reading about the first class she offered in the Summer that the Winter course fits my time schedule as well as my love for watercolor and sketching. Besides, to be perfectly honest with you, I've been a big fan of MAM and her blog Dispatch From LA for a few years now, secretly admiring her travels, work, carefree attitude and crazy sense of humor. I love MAM style and her willingness to share it.  Go ahead, check out the class and let me know if you sign up, maybe we will see each other in cyber class! I can't wait to get started and I'll be posting here about it. 

Bee Creative!

Suzy

P.S. 

I'm still enjoying my class with Joanne Sharpe! 

Sketchbook Tuesday-Great Lakes

Welcome back to Sketchbook Tuesday!

Last week we visited Sanibel Island and I had plans to take you to Tybee Island Lighthouse but there's been a change in plans and we are heading up to the Great Lakes but don't worry, we'll circle back down to Tybee Island later in the Lighthouse Series.

I thought we'd start the Great Lake Lighthouse tour with a recent trip I took to Michigan to visit my daughter Amanda.  While we were there we visited South Haven Lighthouse on Lake Michigan.

It is a pretty interesting lighthouse located at the end of a concrete pier with steel beam structure that goes the length of the pier. The lighthouse is still active and maintained by the Coast Guard.  The day we were there it had been raining and the temperature was dropping, it was very windy out on the pier! It was a challenge to walk against the chilly wind and we took shelter at the base of the lighthouse to take in the views.

On our walk along the waterfront we took many photos!

  South Haven has a cute marina area with a dock filled with shops, wine tasting shops and a fake lighthouse.

Fake lighthouse.

I love architecture and am always on the "look out" for anything interesting especially features such as arches, cupolas and spires, etc.  I spotted this one on top of a building.

So naturally when I got home I had to paint it.

Well I hope you have enjoyed today's lighthouse tour and along the Great Lake Michigan!  Next week we'll visit another lighthouse along the shore of Lake Superior! Please join me again for Sketchbook Tuesday!

Have a great week! Grab your sketchbook and pencil and go sketch something!

Suzy

SKETCHBOOK TUESDAY-Word Prompts

Hi Everyone! 

Happy Sketch Book Tuesday!  About a year ago I was participating in a Lil' Journal Project that had to do with daily word prompts.  You may remember this page if you were following along at the time.  

Each day I looked forward to getting up to check what words I'd be using and making a list of word associations for each. Then I would sketch and watercolor my ideas. This was a new way for me to work and I found it extremely enjoyable.

Yes, the sketches are a bit amateurish and stick figure like, but maybe that is because the memories associated with the words brought back the days of my youth. Maybe you will think of some fun times you had when you do a word association sketch, go ahead, and check the prompts out here! Then pull out your pen and sketch pad and get busy! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Go Sketch Something!!
Suzy

SKETCHBOOK TUESDAY-DOWNTOWN

Hey Everyone!

It is SKETCHBOOK Tuesday! 

There was a threat of rain in the overcast sky, my dear friend Rhoda and I sat outside under the umbrella along with an older man and woman sitting at a table nearby having coffee watching as people wandered in and out of the bagel shop. 

 The first thing that comes to mind is what a picture-perfect little place it is to sketch with a beautiful bubbling tiered fountain and quaint herringbone brick pattern patio, café tables and market umbrellas, surrounded by lush green flowering bushes and trees.

 Arrrgh! Why didn’t I bring my sketchbook?!?! I was not prepared on Sunday after church for the spur of the moment plan to have a bagel with my friend, oh well, next time, right? I did have a camera phone handy, so  I shot a few photos to help recreate the scene in my sketchbook later. 

Being super shy about sketching in public so honestly speaking, even if the sketchbook were in my purse, I probably would not whip it out anyway.

Really, I keep telling myself that I MUST get over my fear of sketching in public. Anyone else out there that feels this way? Any suggestions would be welcomed. 

Grab some paper and pencil and go SKETCH! 

Have a wonderful day!

Suzy

SKETCHING...... ARCHITECTURALLY SPEAKING

Hi Everyone,

Happy Sketchbook Tuesday!  

I've been running around like crazy-busy this week getting ready for a visit from my VBFF.  Yes! She's coming for a whole week to visit me and we have such grand plans of drawing and painting wherever we go.  

Of course our drawing and painting en plein air totally depends on the weather and whether or not it will be raining cats and dogs in the afternoon. 

Keep your fingers crossed for sunny days!! I'm pretty excited about being able to spend time with my BFF so even if the weather doesn't co-operate we will find plenty to do and talk about for hours.

And since this is Sketchbook Tuesday I've dug a few Architectural sketches out for you today!

I love the architecture of old buildings, Spanish tile roofs, balustrades, arches and stairways all speak to my romantic heart.  Below I am practicing how to draw these types of architectural details. 

 A five minute sketch of downtown store fronts in an older section of town. 

 Throw in a quick sketch of palm trees here and there.

Another favorite architectural delight is the Cupola. According to Wikipedia: in architecture, a cupola is a small, often dome-like structure on top of a building. Well the ones I've seen and refer to as cupola(s) are rather square and usually have a nice weathervane on top. Whatever they are called, I love the look of it on a house or building. 

This building was a challenge with the arches and complicated roof lines. 

Next week I'll have new sketches to share with you and more adventures from Bonnie and Suzy. Hope you will join me again soon. Meanwhile, pull out your sketch pads and get busy!! 

Happy Sketching!
Suzy 

BACKYARD VIEWS

Hi Everyone! 

Welcome back for our next adventure! Over the last several weeks we have been getting closer to my home on our park adventures, today we have arrived! Yup, we are visiting in my own backyard.  

My backyard is a jungle of tropical plants and trees and right here and now, I'll just say I'm not a gardener.  My husband is the outdoorsy person, doing all of the yard work himself, which takes approximately 3 hours per week just to keep the bushes and vines from overtaking us!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE plants and flowers but do NOT like dirt on my hands or sweat in my eyes. 

You may have seen the photos of my orchids in bloom....in the kitchen window and on the front porch, and yes there are several in the trees that bloom off and on. 

Mostly the flowers in our yard belong to my neighbor, Capt. and Ms. Louie. Now both of them have gone to their heavenly reward but their legacy still lives on in their yard.  

 This is  a little painting I did of Ms. Louie's flowers, they hang over our fence and are quite colorful. Once my husband made the mistake of thinking they were weeds and "trimmed" them and boy did we hear about that.

Our small patio is where we spend our time when the weather is nice.  We don't have a screened in porch or pool like many people do in Florida for obvious reasons (bugs).  We enjoy having the pool in the sunshine and the occasional visitor of a frog or snake or other small animals. We once had a pair of ducks land in our pool! When they tired of paddling around they flew away. 

I like to take my sketch pad out and draw.  This particular day it was the Christmas Cactus (which I've managed to kill) and some sea shells picked up on our visit to the West Coast (of FL) on Sanibel Island. 

There are many plants that I don't know the names of, this one seems to be in the bromiliade family (I'm guessing here). It has the most delectable pink flowers. 


And this one climbs the fence on the side of the house with its tiny pink flowers, it might be a weed of some sort but it is so pretty.

And of course our marker of autumn is when the Croatians turn from green and yellow to the most lovely shades of orange, red, and burgundy.

That's my backyard and some of the tropical plants you'll see growing there.  I hope you have enjoyed the visit and will come back next week as we go inside to the studio! 

Until then, 
Suzy

PLAYTIME SKETCHBOOK

Hi Everyone!

Nothing better than PLAY TIME in a sketchbook or journal!  I love to spend time with my glue stick, stamps and watercolors.  It is good to spend time creating without any purpose whatsoever! You never know where it will lead you creatively.  I don't feel the need to finish a page or make it pretty. In my sketch books and design journals you'll find lots of unfinished pages, some with stamping and nothing else. Like this page below created when trying out new stamps and deciding between black or brown ink. Personally I like the look of both on this page. 

Whenever I purchase a new stamp(s) I always try them out in a sketchbook first! Stamping the designs over and over again helps me visualize other ways in which they can be used. Using different color ways also is a wonderful way to see how color effects the design. I enjoy doodling around designs and writing any ideas down next to the stamped images. 

I use watercolor pencils, ink, craft paint, scribbles, crayons, etc. Nothing is off limits.  

Mixing stamps designs is fun! Here's a page where I was experimenting with houses, drawing trees, stamping with feathers and even a birdcage. Yep, I know it's upside down! Who knows what THAT'S about. 

Being a quilter, I love pattern and fabrics and they sneak their way into my sketch books too!  Here's a little pattern for a bug quilt I made for my great-nephew. The fabrics are glued into the book with a glue stick and the curly cue antenna was a practice applique piece cut out and glued on to the page.

As you can see, anything and everything goes into the design sketchbooks. I so enjoy looking through these pages and getting new ideas and using some of the old ones too! 

Hope you are having a wonderful week!  Go glue or stamp something in your sketchbook!  WHAT??? NO! You don't have a sketchbook?  Well head over to the nearest Joanne's or Michael's and pick out an inexpensive sketchbook! Get your glue stick out and glue down a random piece of fabric or paper, add color or a nice doodle....get started now! Have fun!

Happy stamping & glue sticking!
Suzy