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turner's initial pantings ©the enchanted easel 2015

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Working to incorporate the patterns I have so much fun drawing into fairy dress design. With spring upon us too, tulips and little weed flowers inspire me.

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www.leglessmermaid.com

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Pencil sketches are underway for "RUPERT the Very Naughty Elephant" written by Laura Brigger....Yes, he's VERY naughty....but has he met his match? 


 

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A very small and sweet story unfolded as I drew these.

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Bunny Love

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 I have some larger drawings that I made in my Moleskine sketchbook, but these drawings I made in a cheap little pretend Moleskine that was about a quarter of the price. I'm not somebody who moans about the Moleskine sketchbooks being expensive. I actually don't think they are. Or, at least, for me it's well worth the price for the amount of time, effort and love I put into filling them. But, there is something to be said for these cheaper sketchbooks. You're less precious about them and about wasting the paper which gives you the freedom to make different kind of drawings. More sketchy.

Anyway, here are some sketchy sketches. And, here, if you are interested are the band, Sharma. If nothing else just check out this first track. I think they're good. Really good. You can watch them HERE.

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A few weeks ago Adam and I were driving on the highway during late afternoon the day after a snowstorm. I always love to scan the trees looking for deer while we drive and thanks to the bright white snow, I had no trouble spotting a large female laying comfortably, enjoying the view of passing cars. I kept it in mind to make a piece inspired by that moment. Here is a quick limited palette color block sketch interpretation.

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Manelle Oliphant Illustration - Illustrator and Writer

At the beginning of December I wrote this post about sketchbook inspiration.  In December I committed to draw a sketch every day, and I sketched with a theme. This is me checking in to tell you how it went.

First of all I have to give a shoutout to my friends Jen and Shawna. They were my accountability partners for this project. We texted or email every day to make sure we were all sketching. This was really helpful for me. I hope it was for them as well. If you take on a project like this I recommend getting some friends involved to keep you on track.

I picked the theme fantasy land creatures and wanted to work on my gestures and expressions. I also ended up making some of my sketches into watercolors. It was a fun way to practice keeping my watercolors loose and free. I goal I also had when I was making my Six Swans illustration. 

Mostly though, I just kept to old fashion sketching. The image above has a few of my favorite sketches from the month.

I put all of my December sketches plus a few bonus images which fit the theme into a downloadable 15 page PDF. It’s $1.99 to download in my store. If you are one of my patrons you can download it for free by following this link. Just a small way for me to say thanks for your support.

Dragon walk and Napping Fawn are some of the watercolors I did during the month. They are available as a prints. If you’d like to hang one on your wall you can order one by clicking on the image.

Overall I think the project was a success.

 

The post December 2014 Sketchbook appeared first on Manelle Oliphant Illustration.

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A sink full of dirty half rinsed dishes; toys and paper scattered waiting for a foot to stomp on them; cluttered dining room table ranging from a stuffed bunny to a lint roller; laundry decorating our couch and our bedroom dresser; and shoes beckoning to be tripped over at the front door.

This is my house, most every day. It makes me feel squished, with no room to move without knocking something over or stepping onto something. I'm clumsy and that always means I will stub my toe, ram my elbow, slam my hand, or bang my knee. It's crazy how many nicks and bruises I get.

Yet, I look to my right and I see sun light beaming in from the windows in my studio.
An immediate "ahhh" relaxes my mind and all is right again.

If this winter has taught me anything, it's that my studio truly is my place of solitude. 

I used to tell people it was because I think artists are supposed to say that. It's expected of us to love our studio, a place where the creation happens, a place filled with things that inspire. Mine has been in a constant state of change since I moved away from home to college back in 2000.

When we moved into this house I was so excited to have a space I could settle in and not worry for a long time. I didn't expect it to be so cumbersome.

My studio has poor insulation, so during the hot Iowa summers and freezing Iowa winters, it's very uncomfortable at different times of the day. I've had to continuously change my schedule to fit. I've had to move everything constantly so that Brian could get to the windows for more insulation, or to add carpet scraps, or or or. And I know more is coming.

But this week, with all of the sun, regardless of the temp, my studio has been bright, warm, inviting, and mine. No more moving clutter to work on the dining room table, no more stepping on stuff when I get up to grab something I need, none of that. I feel whole.

I will bundle up, buy another mini heater for my toes, I will put a fan on my face and wear ice cubes, whatever it takes. I love my studio!

The icing on the cake? My daughter being able to spend time in the studio with me. That's what I've envisioned for a long time, my hope, my joy today. She makes the studio brighter with her smile, her giggle, and her curiosity. Bringing out the crayola crayons doesn't hurt either.



There is one other place in my entire house that I find peaceful and full of light. The only other place in the house that is always filled with the light rays, and that is our bathroom. It's silly, but when we moved in it was our first project, and it set the tone for the whole house (what we dream). It's full of birds. :)

It's so easy for me to be distracted by all the chores, they pull me away from my work and drain my creativity. Yet, last night, I didn't let it get to me. Here are this week's Daily Sketches and joys, #10, #11, and #12.

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Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large. It is also a fact, that Scrooge had seen it, night and morning, during his whole residence in that place; also that Scrooge had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the City of London, even including — which is a bold word — the corporation, aldermen, and livery. Let it also be borne in mind that Scrooge had not bestowed one thought on Marley, since his last mention of his seven-year’s dead partner that afternoon. And then let any man explain to me, if he can, how it happened that Scrooge, having his key in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without its undergoing any intermediate process of change: not a knocker, but Marley’s face.

Marley’s face. It was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard were, but had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar. It was not angry or ferocious, but looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look: with ghostly spectacles turned up upon its ghostly forehead. The hair was curiously stirred, as if by breath or hot-air; and, though the eyes were wide open, they were perfectly motionless. That, and its livid colour, made it horrible; but its horror seemed to be in spite of the face and beyond its control, rather than a part of its own expression. ~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

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I started this challenge in November with #SKADAMO, a sketch a day challenge. No rules, just a way to get those creative juices flowing. I like to give myself a theme and this year I decided to highlight The fun and totally relatable, A Christmas Story, based on the original work of Jean Shepherd. I’ve come to the end of it now with #HoHoDooDa.  This has been fun. You can see the original illustrations with the text as you scroll through by blog. I just thought it would be fun to see them all together.

www.robertabaird.com

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All right.
Everybody upstairs.
Get dressed.
We are going out to eat.

No! Not, “ra ra ra ra ra.” “La la la la la.”
Sing like this:
Try again.    Stop!
Sing something else.
No!       Stop!
Kitchen. Bring food. For customers.
Oh, I’m sorry.
It’s a beautiful duck.
It really is.
But you see…
What?
It’s smiling at me.
Okay?
Beautiful!
That Christmas would live in our memories…
as the Christmas when we were introduced to Chinese turkey.

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Sometimes at the height of our reveries, when our joy is at its zenith…
when all is most right with the world…
the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.
Oh, turkey!

The heavenly aroma still hung heavy in the house. But it was gone.
All gone. No turkey. No turkey sandwiches.
No turkey salad. No turkey gravy, turkey hash, turkey a la king…
or gallons of turkey soup.
Gone.
All gone.
All right.
Everybody upstairs.
Get dressed.
We are going out to eat.

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I’ve committed with my friends Shawna and Jen to draw a sketch in my sketchbook everyday this month. I usually draw in my book often but committing to everyday is going to be a bit of a challenge. It’s the fourth day of the month and so far so good…. only not quite, because even though I’ve sketched everyday I’m finding getting the ideas for what I want to draw is being pretty hard. But there are some tricks I like to use.

1

 Idea Generator

In the past I wrote this post about my sketchbook idea generator. It includes a free download so you can make your own. Since I wrote the post there are a few apps I use on my phone that do a similar thing. I use these pretty often. Theyare the Brainstormer App, and Character Design Shuffle by Silver.

2

 Practice, Practice, Practice

Sketchbooks are for Practice is a post I wrote about how I practice things I need to work on in my sketchbook.  You can use your sketchbook to practice pretty much anything: figures, trees, composition, value, expressions, animals, etc. You can draw from life or use photos. Don’t be afraid to draw crapy drawings in your book. My sketchbooks are full of drawings I really hate and a only few that I love. Here’s another post I’ve written about how you can use your sketchbook for making mistakes. It also has some links to see some fun sketchbook inspiration from other artists.

3

 Draw from Photos

This is one idea of how you can practice in your sketchbook. I use photos a lot and over the years I’ve gotten smarter about how I draw from them. Photos are good for getting reference of things your can’t find out your front door and for getting ideas. For more info check out this post about how you can use photos but not be completely tied to them.

4

 Sketchook as a Journal

I use my sketchbook as a sort of Journal. It’s fun to draw sketches of what I am doing in my day to day life. I drew the ones above  when I was called in for Jury Duty and the fire alarm went off. Everyone had to sit around outside the building for 20-40 min while they made sure it was safe. It was, and the jury selection continued after we were let back in. It’s a funny story and now it’s recorded in my “journal” for me to remember. As you might be able to tell I also used the moment to practice composition.

5

 Online Sketch Groups

There are lots of fun online sketch and illustration groups  you can participate in. Illustration Friday is an old-y but a good-y where you are given a weekly topic you can draw and share on the Illustration Friday website. @sketch_dailies on twitter is fun for a daily inspiration topic.  And if you keep your eyes peeled you can also participate in yearly events like Jake Parker’s #inktober.

6

 Sketching with a Theme

Pick a theme for your sketchbook and stick with it for a while. I don’t think I’ve ever done this but I want to. So, for my sketchbook challenge this month I’m going to draw my sketches with a theme. The theme I’ve picked is Fantasy Land Creatures, and I want to make sure to practice gestures and expressions. You can follow my progress on my twitter or instagram and at the end of the month I’ll report back with some of the drawings I’ve done. Here is the sketch I did for this theme yesterday.

 

Here is one last closing thought about how great sketchbooks can be.

 

What tips do you use to help you make your sketchbooks better?

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Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that…
I was not only perpetually four years old, but also a girl.
She just always gives you the nicest things, Ralphie.
Oh, isn’t that sweet?
Ralph, go upstairs and try it on you–
I don’t want to!
Go upstairs right now and try on that present!

Immediately my feet began to sweat as those two fluffy little bunnies… with the blue button eyes stared sappily up at me.
Come down here so I can see you better.
I just hoped Flick would never spot them…
as the word of this humiliation could easily make life… at Warren G. Harding School a veritable hell.
Isn’t that cute?
That is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Shut up, Randy.
He looks like a deranged Easter bunny.

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A few evenings back, while my drawing buddies were sketching neat pictures of Audrey Hepburn, I was breaking in my new journal with "Portrait of a Man."

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I spent the afternoon exploring ideas for a deer themed illustration/painting for my husband and I's joint fine art venture (Slumberland Studio). We will attempt to collaborate in the art-making process, but first we need ideas! We each have to come up with three composition ideas to show each other and then we'll settle on one to develop further and bring to finish---with actual paint---imagine that! I only got through one of my 3 ideas today. More to come!

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Over on my blog ( June Goulding ) I'm trying to post a sketch a day as part of Sketch A Day Month, and this couple arrived on my sketch book page.
I think they might qualify as Granparents, so I thought I would share them here as part of our monthly inspiration theme word - Grandparents.

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