Tag: autumn

December 31, 2019

2019 in Review and Next Year’s Goals

2019 Art Productivity Tracker. I colored a square on the grid for each day that I drew or painted.

Welcome to my annual yearly review and goals post. I didn’t have any goals in 2019 except to be more regular with doing art every day and to send my newsletter out monthly. I included a picture of my art tracker for the year so you can see that I got much more serious around June. I made art every day in October and I was so proud of myself for this achievement. I plan on trying to continue this momentum for 2020. I did send my newsletter out monthly except for in the summer. I want to get more regular with this and to also plan it out better to relieve some stress.

For 2020, I want to be more intentional with my art activities. Instead of spending weeks working in my sketchbook, I would like to work on some finished artwork to frame and sell. I also want to spend more time doing projects of my own instead of just looking at what everyone else is doing online.

I got an iPad Pro and an Apple pencil this year and I want to learn how to use the Procreate app. This app is very powerful and there are so many features. There is always a learning curve with any new medium, but I’m excited about some projects that I can make with this app.

Pen and ink will be a huge focus of my artwork, especially in the first half of the year, because I will be teaching a pen and ink nature sketching workshop in my community. I’m excited about this opportunity.

Thank you for following my work. I appreciate everyone who follows me regularly and everyone who just stops to look. Below, I’ve posted some work from the year that I haven’t shared here before. Best wishes for a productive, creative and healthy 2020 and beyond.

November 28, 2019

Dried to a Crisp

Three studies of fall leaves and various updates

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading from the US. I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have a regular routine and my life has quieted down so much compared to year’s past. I’m pleased with myself that I’ve been working on art (nearly) daily since the end of September. I think one of the reasons is that my work schedule gives me mornings off and I feel more motivated to get some artwork done before I go in to work.

Still, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed with several projects. I tend to do this every year before Christmas, and I’ve vowed to myself several times (unsuccessfully) that I would not repeat the mistake. I’m looking forward to wrapping up all my handmade gifts and then moving onto some pursuits that are just for me. Andy J Pizza has a new Skillshare class on this topic that really has me inspired.

I recently finished a sketchbook and started a new one, the Etchr A5 hotpress 100% cotton watercolor sketchbook (see bottom left image below). I love that this sketchbook takes watercolor so much better than the moleskine books. However, I have some projects in mind that aren’t in a sketchbook and instead involve working on frame-able artwork. Stay tuned for some work outside of the sketchbook in the coming months.

maple leaf pen and ink stippling — ©2019 Carolyn A Pappas, *Maple Leaf Flatlay*. Ink and watercolor in large moleskine.

oak leaf watercolor — ©2019 Carolyn A Pappas, *Oak Leaf (10/30/2019)*. Watercolor in Etchr A5 hotpress watercolor sketchbook.

magnolia leaf drawing — ©2019 Carolyn A Pappas, *Dried Magnolia Leaf*. Ink and watercolor in large moleskine.

June 9, 2014

Leaves on Blue

I have spent quite a bit of time working on this picture over the course of the past few weeks. I was intending to post in progress photos as I went along but then things started to go awry and I decided to wait until the end to see how things turned out! At the bottom of this post, I wrote about my process.

First I looked up general leaf shapes and sketched similar shapes on watercolor paper. I made up the pen and ink parts myself. I painted the leaves first, thinking that I could paint the background around them, but then realized that it wouldn’t work so I would have to use masking fluid.

In retrospect, I should have just gone right in with the masking fluid from the beginning because when I removed it, the color was lifted. Additionally, I must have left some gaps because the blue seeped through in parts. I had to repaint the leaves and also try to camouflage the blue. Luckily, I already had incorporated holes into the design of some of the leaves which made it easier in some places.

Regardless of all the mishaps I like the finished painting. I have never painted such a dark and intense background before. Also, it was kind of refreshing to paint from my imagination without copying so directly from photos. This was also my first time using masking fluid for anything significant. It is definitely something I would be willing to try again. The background didn’t come out as dark as in reality in my scan and I tried to darken it, but now the browns are a bit darker than they are in the picture. In real life, it “pops” a lot more.