Favortie Pencil Drawing Supplies

Over the summer I challenged myself to create a small pencil drawing every day. I wanted to be able to easily travel with all of my supplies so pencil was the perfect medium. I generally travel with 2 pencils (2b mechanical, 3H) a large tri-tip eraser, Faber-Castell pencil eraser, blending stump and a small sharpener. I used a small sketchbook to keep my pre-cut paper clean and flat in my purse. 

I switched from regular pencils to a mechanical one over the summer and I love it! Although I still start my drawings with a sketch using a 3H pencil, which allows me to fully erase my mistakes. My favorite eraser for this stage is my 'Generals tri-tip' eraser. It is soft and gentle on your paper but erases almost anything! Once I'm happy with my sketch I switch to a  0.5 mechanical pencil with 2b lead for the remainder of the drawing. At this stage I start using a blending stump and my Faber-Castell detail pencil eraser. I love that I can sharpen this eraser which helps keep my detail work clean. 
My daily drawings are for sale in my Etsy Shop. 

Birds in The Snow

I was inspired by the holiday season and the accumulating snow in my yard to paint some seasonal birds.
I kept my colour pallet simple and "cool" for this little series to help illustrate the ice and snow. I layered fluid acrylic paint over watercolours to get the vibrant reds and white snow. Each painting is 4" by 5" and painted on a watercolour board. 
These paintings are available for $20 each in my Etsy Shop!

Snow is so beautiful, unless you have to drive in it. As a child I loved playing in the snowy forest at my cabin. The silent snow blanketed the forest like icing on a cake, making everything look like a fairy tale land. I can remember making snow angels while gazing up into the milky way as snowflakes gently fell on my face. 

When I painted these birds I wanted to capture those quiet magical moments that occur in nature.

Journals of Gratitude

Winter holidays are a great time for celebrations and deep reflection. We contemplate fresh starts and new goals while we take time giving gifts of 'thanks' to those who mean the most in our lives. It is a time to get your affairs in order and dream those big life dreams.

 

Keeping a journal can be a very personal and therapeutic practice. Everyone has a different approach bun in the end we are all a little less stressed after writing down our thoughts. Keeping a gratitude journal or a quote book can be a positive daily ritual to help you stay focused on your goals.

 

 

Personally I always prefer to physically write things down on paper , which has led me to acquire a notebook collecting problem.

 

When I create these journals I am trying to make  a book worthy of your thoughts and inspirations. A safe space to feel empowered and inspired or a convenient place to write down your grocery list. In the end I hope it is an artistic addition to your life.

 

These journals feature original abstract watercolour paintings on their covers. They are hand stitched with bamboo cord using a coptic stitch that allows the binding to open flat to any page.

These Journals can be found in my ETSY SHOP

 

Postcard Prints

My postcard prints are in and I love them! I printed them trough Moo.com as I have always been impressed with their quality. I also print all of my business cards through their service because I can have a different image on each individual card. Most print companies charge extra for a service like that.

 

I chose five of my favorite animal paintings from the past year and five paintings from my ballet themed pointe shoe series to make up my postcard sets. These 5" by 7" prints look awesome when framed or you could choose to send them across the globe. These art prints are a great way to cheaply decorate your space and enjoy some art!

 

You can find these fine art postcards in my Etsy shop with the rest of my available paintings and prints.

Series of Succulents

I started this little series of paintings back in May. Since then they have sat around in various places, almost complete but not quite. I finally got around to finishing them off this week and listing them in my Etsy shop!

I started these paintings at the end of May, which is a hectic month for me so I was looking for something calm and zen to paint. Succulents caught my attention because there are so many different kinds and they are so individual and unique. I'm generally not a huge fan of painting still life's but every so often I enjoy a little experiment.

I worked on them at the same time to keep the colour theme cohesive. I splattered the background with the paintings side by side which made the background process quicker....even though it  took me 4 months to actually complete them. Let's face it, I'm really good at procrastinating! 

I now have them listed in my Etsy shop in separate listings. As cute as they look all together I feel that they will most likely sell individually, although I'd be willing to give a deal to anyone that wants the whole set!

Autumn Fox

 This little fox was inspired by the colours of Autumn. I'm not a huge fan of Fall but natures colour pallet is pretty awesome this time of year.

I took the time to document my process along the way to show the different stages of mixed media that I used.
I used a variety of mediums for this painting to get the effects that I wanted. I started out with the background leaves using my favorite Winsor & Newton watercolours.

After a few layers of watercolour I used a sharpie pen to outline everything and clean up my corners. Then I pulled out my Faber Castell pencil crayons to really get into some detail.









After creating layers of fur with pencil crayons I used my smallest paintbrush to create white highlights with fluid acrylic paint. When I got to this stage the fox finally started looking cute! 

This 8" by 10" Autumn Fox painting is now listed in my Etsy shop!

Mouse with a Heart Balloon

This little painting started out as one of my daily pencil drawings. With all the negative events going on throughout the world this little mouse stayed in my mind as a hopeful image of peace and understanding. 

There seems to be a lot of hate being expressed throughout the world right now. Some people have legitimate reasons to be looking for justice while others are acting out and causing more hurt in the world because of their religions, beliefs and ideologies. Regardless of our political stances, religions and ideas I think we can all agree that we need a little more love in the world. 



I documented my process for this painting. I started with the background for a change and worked my way forward. I used my Winsor and Newton watercolours and Higgins white ink for the clouds.

I finished the mouse off with my Faber Castel pencil crayons so his fur would look softer and then used acrylic white paint for highlights and whiskers! 

This 6" by 8" painting can be found in my Etsy shop!