Various Artsy Things

| Allison

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Hello, dears!

Since I haven’t made a recent art post in a long time, I have quite a bit to show you today, including the remaining pages of an old sketchbook and the beginnings of a new one, decorated envelopes, and hand lettered quotes. Enjoy browsing through the drawings! 🙂

First we have the few remaining pages of my old sketchbook. I made these doodly mushrooms with the Micron pens I got for Christmas (see my mini review here), which are so fun to draw with!

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This was a concept for Art Lab which I decided not to use after all. I watercolored the background, folded it down and smoothed it to make a mirror image, and then added the details.

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This is NOT my usual style, but maybe I don’t have a style – I love all kinds. 🙂

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I draw mandalas a lot because they’re just so pretty and I love circles. 😀 This was ALSO a plan/sketch/concept for the next piece of art..

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Hee hee, I’ve never done this before. The wall was rather rough and ugly behind the toilet paper holder, and since we didn’t have the wall paint color with which to cover the fresh plaster, Mom asked me to paint a design onto it. It took a while, but I’m pretty pleased with the result, even if it is a little weird. XD (Also it’s painted on a corner, which is why the picture looks cut in half.)

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Goodness, most of these pieces are actually plans for something else! XD I might actually like this sketch better than the finished piece, unfortunately.

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And now we’re ready for my new sketchbook which I also got for Christmas! I got to draw the logo for Dad’s business card/website, which was pretty neat. These were just practices (AGAIN); I ended up mostly tracing an edited picture to get the desired effect. Oh well, I kind of like the practices

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YAY, REAL ART. I was inspired by the first mushroom picture as well as the illustrations in a beautiful set of books (which I also got for Christmas). I think it turned out pretty cute, although I’m not normally a fan of earthy color schemes.

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On the left we have the picture I drew for this Art Lab episode, and on the right we have a few lonely-looking watercolor bubbles.

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Guys, I am not good at drawing hair. I can draw eyes and most of the rest of the face okay, but the hair is always pretty boring and lackluster. Therefore I attempted to improve my skills with this great video, and I think I did… but they still need improvement. XD That’s okay, I’ll get there eventually. If I keep working on it, that is.

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And here is the finished piece of the pencil-sketched girl I showed you a while ago. The idea was to make a girl who looks like a fawn without actually using any non-human features like deer-ears or antlers. It didn’t really work. XD The face got kind of skewed and I rushed the background which didn’t turn out well, but everything else is… tolerable. If you cover up her mouth she looks better. 😛

(By the way, that’s a great drawing tip: if you’re drawing something (particularly a face), covering up parts of the picture helps you see which feature is throwing everything off. I think it’s the mouth and chin here.)

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Megan requested this camera for a blog project (picture by Megan). I rather like it because it’s PURPLE and it’s A CAMERA. 😀

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I drew this from a gorgeous aerial view of Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for The Hundred Acre Woods. The photo was prettier. XD

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We have now come to the end of the sketchbooks so far, and will turn to various other artworks. First, envelopes. I absolutely LOVE decorating envelopes for my pen pals, and I think I prefer the recent envelope art I made to the stuff in the sketchbook.

Ooh, this is one of my favorites! Adding touches with the white gel pen really helped bring the scene together.

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I was trying to decide how to decorate this envelope when I saw the pretty pattern on my Chemistry notebook and decided to use it as inspiration. What do you know, something nice can come of even Chemistry. XD

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I made this envelope after reading The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, which has some great art tips and tutorials in it! (For instance: did you know that the three primary colors are not red, blue, and yellow, but magenta, cyan, and yellow?! I was astonished! But he showed and explained how it makes perfect sense.) I think it’s neat how a few pen lines can transform some abstract watercolor blobs into a landscape.

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I outlined the daffodils with some lovely oil pastels my dear friend sent me, and then used the watercolor resist technique to fill them in. The colors are so bright and cheery, aren’t they? That’s why I love daffodils. 🙂

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Ooh yes, another one of my favorites! ❤ I like the bright, summery colors and almost vintage-poster-like quality the sun rays give it.

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My mom liked the envelope so much that she wanted me to make a real picture to frame, so I did!

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Okay, this is kind of strange, but Megan wanted me to draw on a church bulletin for one of her friends (don’t ask XD). I believe Megan took these three pictures. I like how the music notes show through the watercolor in this one. 🙂

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This, um, didn’t work TOO well because I didn’t have enough time to finish the faces (particularly Megan’s on the right :[] )… but it was a good challenge to try, anyway.

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I like this one better. 😉 Our friend loves snakes, so I drew this one, also loosely from the Nature Journaling book.

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I made the following art for the most recent edition of Christ’s Light Magazine. 🙂

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Here are a few more quotes I copied, for my pen pals. (The next few pictures are black and white because I took them in a rush and the lighting was HORRIBLE. XD)

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And last but not least…

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And that’s all for now! Which piece of art was your favorite? Which do you prefer making: sketchbook art, envelope art, or hand lettering?

Thanks for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. Also in case you’re wondering, I’m planning the post about the old letter next! I would have done it this time, but it’s taking a loooong time to translate. XD Stay tuned!

103 thoughts on “Various Artsy Things”

  1. Girl, you are a talented artist!! Love the church bulletin art! I doodle on the bulletins too but it looks nothing like this.
    Can’t wait for the old letter!- Jo

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  2. AAAHHH WOW THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET THROUGH BUT IT WAS SO LOVELY! Hmmm, I think the last Bible verse is my favorite. 😉 But really. I basically love them all, especially the bird on the bulletin and the faces on the bulletin (WOW, ALLISON. Even if you didn’t finish them, wow.), and I love love love my envelopes, and the areal view of Ashdown Forest (O.o WOW). And even though you think your hair illustrations are lacking I think you’re doing quite well. And you know, the hair in my portrait looks amazing. And Allison, some of these pictures were SO detailed. I couldn’t work on one picture that long, goodness. And wow, what a wall! But it’s pretty, I like it. And the watercolor bubbles are pretty too, and oh, I don’t know. I LOVE THEM ALL.

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    1. HA HA SORRRRRYYYY. But thank youuu! Hee hee, really? 😉 Aww thanks! Thaaaaaankkksss! THANK YOUUUUUU SO MUCH! It made me smile that a lot of your favorites were actually the ones I didn’t think turned out very well. XD So I appreciate you taking the time to tell me, dear. ❤ THAT WAS AN AMAZING COMMENT. (Nope, I'm NOT going to say "epic." Oh wait…)

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      1. *nods* You’re welcome, you’re welcome. YOU’RE WELCOME! Ha ha, for some reason that happens a lot, doesn’t it? I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED MY COMMENT. HAHA. It WAS epic, wasn’t it? 😉

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  8. Wow! I am an artist but have put down my mediums for a while but you inspire me to pick it up again!!!!😍 Your art is so lovely, I like sitting down with a cup of tea whenever I see a new post of yours! I think my favorite piece of art was the toilet paper design. Now THAT WAS CREATIVE! Awesome post and God gave you a wonderful talent that you are using so well!❤

    Cheerio,

    Kalea

    Kaleaskorner.wixsite.com/blog

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    1. Ooh, thanks for telling me your favorites! Yeah, I love drawing in my sketchbook because it seems the most permanent and “official,” but yes, there are so many fun ways to be creative!

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  10. Those are so pretty! You are such an amazing artist!!! 🙂 I like making all kinds of art! I think that every artist should explore different techniques — even if they don’t end up liking that technique! For some reason drawing portraits is SO HARD for me! I really have no idea why, but they just are. (something to work on I suppose) XD All of yours look so great! 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, dear! ❤ Yes, I totally and definitely agree with you about experimenting in art. 🙂 Sadly portraits are super hard for me too – I think they’re hard for a lot of people. Maybe because humans have such a depth and range of expression that if you get something off, it really throws the whole thing, like when the mouth is happy but the eyes are sad. Not to mention everyone knows what people look like, so it’s hard not to notice mistakes. XD
      Anyway, thanks again for the comment, Hannah!

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  11. I can’t wait for the letter post! *Hops eagerly in the chair*. Allison, I must have the picture of the peach! Okay, maybe not must, but you should sell it on your Etsy shop! It’s amazing!

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    1. Hee hee, I can’t wait to post it! Aww, that made me so happy – I’m so glad you liked it! I would love to make it a print eventually, but I’ll probably wait till the summer when we’re all settled in. 😉

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  16. EEK, you are literally the best artist I know, your art is amazing and I don’t know how you do it! The peach was one of my favorites, it looks like a antique painting or something! And the drawing you did of Megan looks JUST like her, literally! You could have just put that drawing of her and said who is this and I would have said Megan, haha! 🙂

    Thank you also for the shoutout! I really appreciate it, but could I please request you link directly do my website instead of the magazine? I’m sorry, it’s just that the magazine has personal info I only want subscribers to be able to read, if you could please change it to Christslightmagazine.com I would really appreciate it! And again, I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience and thank you so much again for doing it! 🙂

    YOUR ART IS AMAZING EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!! 😮 😮 😮

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    1. Awww oh my goodness, that made my day! Thank you so so much, Livy! You are the sweetest. ❤
      Also OH DEAR, I’m so sorry! I will change it right away! And it’s totally fine – I’m just glad you caught it. :[]
      THANK YOU AGAINNNNNN! 💕

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  18. All of the art is beautiful. I need a wall artist at my house. ❤️ My favorites are the night sky on the envelope, the bird on the music, and the scriptures.

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        1. Oh SHUCKS. Well it does take a little while to get the hang of, so don’t give up yet! Oh, and one thing I HIGHLY recommend is getting some watercolor paper or at least thick paper – using normal weight paper just does NOT go well. *shudders* XD

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  21. These were ALL so good!! 😊 You are a talented artist! I especially like the drawing of the peach-the colors are so vibrant! What types of colored pencils did you use to draw the peach? I also really like your drawings of realistic people! They are so good!! Great job on the artwork for CLM! 😊

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  27. Oh, oh, oh! Yes, that is a very interesting exclamation but…Oh, oh, oh! *squeals* THE ART, THE ART, THE ART! I chose a favorite when I started reading the post…but by the end I had so many that I really can’t decide which one I love best. XD

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  32. As always Allison, your art is very nice! I especially like the envelope art. You’re so creative with that! The daffodil envelope is super pretty, and I like the way the edges of the shapes aren’t sharp. Also, that picture you made for your mom is amazing! It’s so soft and pretty, and probably my favorite art piece from this post. 🙂
    Those drawings of Megan and her friend (?) are really good, by the way! You have a lot of skill with shading.
    ~Sassafras

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    1. Aww, thanks! Yeah, I like that part of the resist technique too! And thank you again! I really like the peach photo myself. Oh, well thank you! I feel like I could do a lot better but it WAS fun to try. 🙂 And yep, it’s Megan and her friend.
      Thanks for the comment, dear!

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  35. *gapes in awe* ALLISON! YOUR ART IS AMAZING! O_O Can I have some of your artistic talent, please? XD This post was SO much fun to read, and I loved every single piece of art!! Some of my favorites were the mandala on the wall (so detailed and colorful!), the mushroom/watercolor doodles, the hair (I can’t draw hair like that at ALL, so take heart – you’re much better at hair than I am! XD), the night sky envelope, the peaches, the watercolor bird, and those AMAZING sketches of you and Megan. They seriously look like photographs! 😮
    Again, this was quite enjoyable to read and you are such a talented artist! I can’t WAIT for the post about the old letters. 😛

    -Clara ❤

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    1. AHHHHH THIS WAS SUCH AN AMAZING COMMENT. ❤ 😀 Aww, thanks! I loved hearing your favorites! Ha ha, well thanks. This was an awfully short reply but… well, just THANK YOU AGAIN! 😀 I'm hoping to do that letter post either today or tomorrow!

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  36. Lovely art Allison! I can’t wait for your next post!!! 😀 I love the daffodil and peach envelope art and all the calligraphy and drawing! So pretty! I really love the bird you drew on your church bulletin! 🙂 That was a great idea, Megan!

    P.S. I contacted you through your shop about my order and I will leave a review soon! ❤

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  37. Oooh, I think I liked the envelope art best! It’s a tough choice, though. 😉 You’re so talented! I also love the In Christ Alone watercolor. I’m singing that song this week at a spring program. 😀

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  38. OH MY GOODNESS ALLISON THAT WAS AMAZING!!!! WOW! You said that hair was OKAY?? That was AMAZING!!!!! You did AWESOME on those! And your fonts are outstandingly amazing!!!!! WOW! I love all of those! AND THE PEACH PICTURE WAS SOOOO REAL AND GORGEOUS! I can’t even comprehend how you can be so good with art! It’s so wonderful! GREAT GREAT job, My friend!

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    1. AHHHHH THANK YOU SO SO MUCH, K. A.! Oh my goodness, you are always so sweet and encouraging! ❤ Ha ha, well THANK YOUUU! My hair drawing skills have definitely improved, but you should see the video I drew it from – she is INCREDIBLE! So I'll keep practicing. 🙂 ALSO THANK YOUUU AGAIN this comment really made me smile. ❤ 😀

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      1. Your art is always SO SO good! I just DO NOT know how you DO it!!!!! Haha!
        Well, we’ll never know the difference if we don’t have the video to compare to, right? 😉
        No problem at all, every word was true!!! Your art is AWESOME and VERY inspiring! I really need some art inspiration…because I really want to draw right now!!!

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  41. Pingback: How to Choose a Sketchbook:Top 5 Sketchbooks & Journals for Artists – A Farm Girl's Life

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