Drawing with airbrush and ink

This is a drawing I did this morning to just play around. I have a Badger airbrush and small compressor so I decided that it was time to bring it out. I just wanted to see if I could get a line that I could be happy with. I used watercolor because I don't like inks and watercolor was very easy to use. I have gouche (opaque watercolor) but it dried out long ago and I  did not want to mix it with water. I used a Rapidograph pen to draw with. Airbrush can be very time consuming and laborious, but it is a great tool if you just want to use it for another effect in your artist techniques list. I know how to use stencils for the airbrush, a more traditional technique, but I find that I don't want to breathe in a lot of paint while spraying. Dust masks are necessary.. Another reason to use watercolor: less toxic. Stay away from cadmiums, these are toxic. I recommend that you read about safety when using an airbrush, they are more complicated than a traditional brush. I have found I can duplicate airbrush using a stump (a curled up piece of paper that sort of looks like a pencil). Also known as a tortillon. And pastels. My preference is Rembrandt pastels.This is time-consuming, but very simple. I use a pen and draw an image and then color it in with the stump. I use a circular motion and the nice thing about pastels is you can get exquisite color. At some point I may show how this is done.

     I'm not sure that if I will use a lot of airbrush, it can be tedious. But as I said, it is great fun. I bought my airbrush for thirty dollars at a pawn shop and a small compressor was 100.00. It is noisy but I don't use it often so I can put up with it.You can spend lots of money if you are a serious airbrush artist, so make sure that you enjoy it because it is definitely not for everyone. 

     Michelangelo said, "draw, draw, draw". You can buy a sketch pad for a few dollars and a pencil you can probably find around the house. That  is basically all you need to do something that has provided inspiration for me all my life. The great thing about drawing is that one can use it in all sorts of ways. My aunt provided amusement for me for many hours. She was not a great artist but she taught me to learn how to distract myself from uncomfortable feelings when I needed to. She taught me that art and drawing can get you through some of the most difficult periods in your life. It is just not about fun. It can also be one of the simplest meditation techniques you'll ever need. It is no coincidence that many of our greatest artists were also exceptional human beings. God bless you on your journey. Wherever it leads you. Dale

Drawing

Colored pencil rendering. I have been spending a lot of time just doing other things and really haven't had an opportunity to play around with colored pencil and Rapidograph pen. I don't think that there is a lot of effort in this but it is always fun. Just a way  to use my favorite scriptural verse, my pencils and a #0 Rapidograph. The pencils are prismacolors and this is done on very thin paper. There is always a need to burn off tension and this is one of my favorites. I just doodle and think about how to show excitement and exultation. If I had this much excitement this is how I'd show it. You don't have to be artistically inclined to just express feelings of happiness. When I went through a really long depression Psalm 118: 24 showed up in dozens of  my drawings. This was my way of saying that even if I felt bad I did not have to just lay down and let it overwhelm me. The depression lasted over ten years but I never gave up hope that it eventually end. Sometimes drawing is just a way to let out part of what needs to come out in order to feel loose and more optimistic. I always feel happier after drawing these little scribbles. This is done on a hardbound 8.5 by 11 sketchbook. I think the paper is about 65 lbs. I never knew that paper had weights. And it is what 500 sheets would weigh. Also known as a ream. Watercolor paper, good watercolor paper weighs 140 lbs. So 500 sheets would weigh 140 lbs.William Glasser, the man who wrote the book on Reality Therapy said that if you want to retain 95% of the information you learn, teach. I have always wanted to learn about design, the skill necessary to put together a good painting. If I wanted to learn about the components of design that go into a good drawing, I could teach it. Design is made up of different things. There is line. And value. Repetition. Unity. Texture. Balance. Form. Scale, sometimes referred to as size. Depending on the book there are other aspects as well. There's overlap And aerial perspective. Center of interest. There is movement. Color. Linear perspective. 

     

Creativity

Recently there has been a lot of time spent creating work and some sales at a local shop. Once a month I go to the shop and for three hours demonstrate my watercolors, pen and ink and greeting cards using pen and ink and colored pencils. Every month I have more sales, but by the time I'm done I crash. All I want to do is sleep. I never knew being creative could be so tiring. I am thinking about discontinuing the project. I have been disabled for a number of years and I do this mostly for self-esteem and an outlet for my talents. Family and friends are a big part of what I do so it be just as easy to just do it for the fun and not worry about being "on" once a month. What does an artist do to decompress? What do they do to recover  their creative abilities? Many years ago I did the Artist's Way book and this is how all this started. I found out by journaling I could find answers to conflicts I had and resolve them. The more I did this the more creative I became. Today I can paint every day but I get so tired. I am older now so perhaps it is just part of not having the energy I once had. My blog has suffered and I rarely find time for it. I have outside interests as well but these have suffered. Rarely is there interest on my blog so perhaps it is time to end it. I just don't seem to find the time anymore. Recently I began to experience more spiritual life but this too began to create time problems and I wasn't sure how to resolve them so I cut back on the spiritual activities. This blog has become more like a web-journal and I do not get enough time to really get to it. I have been thinking about joining a group of other artists to see how they resolve their creative impasses. Recently a group of studios have opened up in town and perhaps I can become part of this group. One thing is clear, this thing has changed for me and I have to decide where I am going to go with it. Do I continue and see where it leads and learn how to manage my resources or do I go back to a more spiritual path and find more time for a Higher Power? My family relationships have deteriorated and some perhaps irretrievably.
     One of the benefits of creativity is that it introduces you to something that makes you feel good about yourself. There is investigating the various aspects of design and art history. There is exploring new art techniques and the possibility of meeting people with similar interests. I have met many artists over the years but never really considered myself a creative type. All that has changed this year as long-ago conflicts have resolved themselves. More and more I find myself heading in this direction and I have thought that perhaps if things can continue to resolve there may be a return to employment. I have moderate asthma so I do have other issues  other than my disability. I have other health-concerns but with new creativity some of this may also resolve. Creativity is a wonderful gift. It is so nice to be intuitive and have ideas erupt out of nowhere. Some of this has left me. There is the danger of too much sugar and caffeine, these things stifle my creativity. They drain me. If others have ideas about how to resolve these issues and want to share your insights it would be nice to hear from you. Thank you. God bless. Dale