Tag: ink and watercolor wash

June 27, 2024

Unexpected vision issues

Yesterday I woke up with a weird, blurry and distorted vision that was very bothersome. By the end of my work day, it was irritating me so much that I went to the emergency department thinking I might have a retinal detachment. It turns out that I have a condition called central serous chorioretinopathy and it was probably brought on by stress. There is a good chance that it will go away on it’s own, but it may take a few months from what I read. Any healing prayers would be greatly appreciated. As an artist, losing my vision is one of my worst fears. It’s really distressing to not be able to draw (or even read) without a lot of difficulty.

I made this sketch earlier this week. I had been drawing a lot on Procreate and I felt like I needed a change and wanted to draw on paper again. I did not realize that this would be my last “normal” drawing for quite awhile.

December 25, 2023

The end of the year and starting fresh.

This year I had such lofty plans, but things didn’t work out as I had expected. After my medical issues from last year, I put a lot of focus on my job which had some definite positives, but it took a toll on my artwork. I was not very productive this year and I have gotten out of practice and feel like I have stagnated quite a bit.

Here are some of the highlights and accomplishments from this past year:

I organized all of my digital files, specifically my reference photos that I use for my artwork. I now have them backed up, and organized by theme so I can find things easily.
I completed two commissions (ink and watercolor florals).
I traveled to Wisconsin for a work trip and I captured a lot of inspiring nature photos that I want to paint next year.
I got a new computer that is better equipped to edit video.
I celebrated my first wedding anniversary.
We got a German Shepherd puppy. She is six months old and a lot of work.

In 2024, I am primarily going to focus on making more artwork. I just haven’t made enough and that makes me sad. I also desperately need to clean out my studio. Besides doing all my artwork in this room, I also work from home and use this room as my main office space. The clutter has really started to weigh down on me mentally. I have a lot of supplies for things that I am no longer going to use and I think it would be best if I lighten my load.

Even though there were some negatives from this past year, overall it was a good year settling in as a family in our little house. I have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to. I wish everyone a happy new year full of blessings of all kinds.

February 2, 2023

How things are going

I’ve been feeling a LOT better since my surgery, although I have really fallen off the wagon with my healthy eating. I think that is in part because I feel better, so my diet is not always a priority on my mind like it was a few months ago. Some things that have stuck are that I have been eating quite a bit of fruit for the first time ever, and I haven’t eaten cold cereal with milk since November.

I have still been focusing on my health in other ways though. I started reading the book Mind over Medicine and it discusses the effects of stress in healing quite a bit. I’ve always known that I feel better overall when I work on art, but this book does a really good job of explaining why. I’ve also been trying to get better sleep at night and I’ve started taking melatonin which has helped my sleep tremendously. I bought a sauna back in December but I started using it recently and it’s incredibly relaxing.

Last year I did not get much artwork done, mostly because of all the upheaval in my life.
My schedule should be more routine for me now and I am going to focus on my artwork a lot more. Instead of just drawing random things in my sketchbook, I’ve decided to work on projects this year – things that will result in a tangible artwork to frame or a product (either digital or physical), or work in a series of some sort. With the limited time I have, I need to be intentional about what I focus on and I would also like to have something that I am able to sell at some point.

I’ve started by making a little series of flower drawings in sepia toned pen and ink and watercolor (see one of them below). I still need to edit the images and remove the backgrounds, etc. but I have an idea of something I would like to make with them. I recently cancelled my Photoshop subscription and purchased the Affinity suite (because there is no subscription). That means that I have to learn how to use the apps, which should be fun but will take me extra time.

February 23, 2020

Keeping Busy

Below you will see some of the artwork I have made since the first of the year. I also have several pages of abandoned pen and ink drawings that I’m not going to post.

So far this year, I have drawn every single day, but not for enough time each day, I admit. I have also been picking up extra shifts at work, so I’ve been feeling a bit over scheduled lately. I’ve been saving money by making almost no unnecessary purchases and I’ve been feeling very responsible.

Things I’ve been working on:

monarch butterfly painting — ©2020 Carolyn A Pappas, *Monarch Feeding on Verbena*. Ink and watercolor, 7 x 10 inches.

blue butterfly watercolor — ©2020 Carolyn A Pappas, *Prussian Blue Butterfly*. Ink and watercolor, 12 x 16 cm.

orange poppy watercolor — ©2020 Carolyn A Pappas, *Papaver orientale*. Ink and watercolor, 7.25 x 5.25 inches.

nature collage — ©2020 Carolyn A Pappas, *Nature’s Tidbits*. Ink and watercolor collage on blank watercolor greeting card, 7 x 5 inches.

I’m wondering how long I can go at this pace. My pen and ink class is two months away, on April 22, and I still have a lot to do for that. I can’t wait to get started on a few more projects afterwards. Once summer comes, I won’t be at work so much, so I’ll have more time to myself and some bigger paintings.

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.

January 23, 2019

Back to Art in the New Year

I had so many plans for my art in 2018 but things did not work as planned. I sorely underestimated the mental and physical energy that working full time as a new nurse would require. I was working more hours than a normal 40 hour workweek with odd shifts and a very irregular sleep schedule. For the last three months of the year, I didn’t pick up a pencil or a paint brush even one time and I felt so out of sorts. I’ve since taken some steps to remedy that situation and I’m looking forward to having more time for artwork in the coming months.

I have no formal goals for this year, but I just want to have fun and concentrate on making art daily or as close to daily as possible. I also want to focus on sending out my newsletter every month–I neglected to send that out for the last few months of the year and I regretted it. My January edition will be going out within the next few days (click here to sign up).

I’m looking forward to what 2019 will hold for me and I hope that everyone reading this has a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead.

Above is an illustration I completed for the cover art for the self-released album by John Hanson Project. I’ve known John for several years and he is an extremely dedicated musician who has been working tirelessly for years to realize his musical dreams. I highly recommend that you check out his new album Go On.

July 14, 2018

I’m getting back into the swing of art after taking a much needed break.

I’ve recently started reviving from a serious artistic funk in which I haven’t had the inclination or desire to engage in any sort of art at all. I didn’t even want to look at other people’s art, check Instagram, look for “inspiration” online, or anything similar.

I’ve never really experienced anything like this in the past. I wasn’t feeling depressed or anything of the sort, but I do think that I shifted focus to other areas of my life that were more immediately pressing (finances, etc.). I considered pushing on and continuing to work despite feeling very averse to the idea. The advice of many established artists is to “show up and do the work” and so forth. Instead, I truly felt like I just needed to rest my brain and to do nothing.

Now that things have quieted down a bit, I am focusing more on my art again. This time though, I am interested in expanding beyond floral art (not eliminating it entirely, of course). Throughout school and in the months following, I was drawn to florals because they made me happy and it was a subject matter that felt comfortable and easy to me. Now, I’m wanting to branch out and tackle some other subjects (other aspects of botany, rocks, and landscapes). I’m also working on some sewing projects and I’m imagining how I can incorporate sewing and embroidery into my art.

Cathy Johnson recently discussed her recent “dry spell.” I always like to read about how other artists deal with their creative ebbs and flows and it also makes me feel a little less uncomfortable with the whole process.

The following images are some of the pieces I painted in the last several months. Stay tuned for some new work in my next update.

tulip sketch — ©2018 Carolyn A Pappas, *Discarded Tulips Sketch (5/13/2018)*. Pen and ink and watercolor in large moleskine.

pansy watercolor — ©2018 Carolyn A Pappas, *Pansy*. Watercolor and rubberstamping, 5 x 5 inches.

pen and ink watercolor flower sketch — ©2018 Carolyn A Pappas, *Greenery (5/21/2018)*. Ink and watercolor in large moleskine.

pen and ink succulents — ©2018 Carolyn A Pappas, *US Botanic Garden (Feb 2018)*. Ink and watercolor in large moleskine.

April 15, 2018

Explorers’ Sketchbooks

Although I have taken some memorable trips in the past, I am more of a homebody and prefer the comfort of my familiar environment. I do love to read travelogues and travel vicariously through other people’s photos though.

I recently found the book Explorers’ Sketchbooks: The Art of Discovery & Adventure by husband and wife Huw Lewis-Jones and Kari Hebert. It is a thick book (320 pages) and features photos of artists and sketchbook spreads from 70 different explorers’ sketchbooks, logs, and nature journals.

I haven’t had a chance to read all of the profiles yet, but I’ve been enjoying myself by reading one or two essays at a time in spare moments. I really like how there is a mix or photographs showing the book in its entirety (tattered pages, crumbling spine, etc.) as well as details of individual drawings and photos/drawings of the artists themselves. Another thing I appreciate is that the featured sketchbooks are from modern day explorers as well as those from the more distant past. Although many of the sketchbook pages shown are beautifully illustrated, there are also some utilitarian pages included with lists of figures, diagrams and penciled in comments.

I think my favorite sketchbook so far is from Edward Norton. He had some majestic mountain landscapes featured, as well as closeup studies of plants. His quote below reminds me of something that a modern day plein air sketcher would say.

“I sketched feverishly, my water freezing as fast as I put it on the paper, as also my fingers.” -Edward Norton (1884-1954)

Clearly this book was on my mind when I came across some of my late great uncle’s photographs while organizing through my reference photos on the computer recently. I couldn’t resist making an ink and watercolor interpretation of this mountain scene as if I were on location. Unfortunately, my uncle didn’t label or organize any of his photos so it is a mystery as to where he was when he took the photo.

If you can recognize this scene, or can suggest any similar books featuring the inside of sketchbooks, please leave me a comment below.

February 19, 2018

Review: Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica Pen

I recently came back from a trip to Washington, DC where I got to visit a Blick store. While I was there, I got some new pens, including the Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica Pen. This is a gel pen with a metal tip and acid-free, archival, water and fade resistant ink. It comes in five sizes, from 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm. I got the 0.3 mm size to try out because I usually go for the finest lines. Below is a nature study I did in my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook using this pen.

I really like this pen for the following reasons:

It is smooth, even on coldpress watercolor paper. I didn’t notice any skipping, ink globs, or smearing. Reviewers on the Blick website noted some issues with globbing with the larger sizes.
The ink is very black and the side of the pen is clear so you can easily see how much ink is left.
Unlike felt tip fineliners where the nib tends to relax and get larger over time, the Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica has a tungsten carbide roller ball for a consistent line.

Things about this pen that I wish were different are:

I wish the ink were waterproof and not just water resistant. When I used watercolor over my drawing, the bleeding was minimal, but somewhat unpredictable as some areas bled more than others.
I wish this pen came in other colors besides just black. I would especially like a brown or sepia colored ink.
I wish refills were available instead of the whole pen being disposable.

Overall, this is a great pen and perfect for throwing into my purse when I don’t want to have to worry about making sure my fountain pen is freshly inked up. I’m thinking of buying a few more in the 0.3 mm size as well as trying out some of the larger sizes.