Folktale week 2018

Another month

another challenge!

In the previous post I described my first experience with Inktober, a
31 days drawing challenge,
and here is another one.
Differently from Inktober

Folktale week was not only about drawing,
and it was the FIRST time ever that it was on this year.

Folktake Week  is an art challenge
hosted on Instagram
by a group of artist and illustrators around the globe
(like Tanja Stephani, Devon Holzwarth, Sofia Moore)
It takes place in a week, this year from
November 12 to 18
and it doesn't have any technique requirements at all.

In fact, it can include painting, drawing, photograph, video, all sort of arts.
The only requirement so far,
as I understood,
is about the telling of a story, either existing or created.
It is like a community assignment where
we push each other to make steps towards our goal of illustrating stories,
either drawing characters, scenes, making colour studies or a dummy.

This challenge is probably more niche like
then Inktober,
but given my interest in illustration ,
I gladly  took part!
This time, I very broadly followed the prompts,
and did my own studies for
Little red riding hood.

Even from this challenge,
I came away enriched.
I spent some of the most fun time
drawing with just coloured pencils,

and trying out some setting studies,
which I had never done in this way before.

I think having an assignment and
having somehow commit to the event
I felt more motivated .
In fact, from long time I said I needed to try
illustrating a classic, but never got round to it.
So I'm thankful to the opportunity to invest in myself
even through this art challenges!

My first Inktober

INKTOBER!

(WEAK was the prompt for this drawing)

If this word sounds a bit unfamiliar with you,

it did to me until this year, too!

Inktober is a 31 drawing challenge hosted on

the social media app

Instagram

by the renowned illustrator Mr Jake Parker in 2009.

Since then the event grew bigger and bigger.

Basically, each day of the month we challenge ourselves to make a drawing,

not a finished artwork or a colour study, just a drawing, 

as simple or complex as we want. 

For 31 days in a row.

           

            

 STAR was the prompt for this drawing)

I decided to give it a try, and 

even if I couldn't persist every single day (it,s harder than you think!)

I did most of them.

I was very happy to follow the official prompts, as

I think Jake is a teacher, and he knows how

to challenge and sparkle the imagination.

Sometimes the most boring words are the most difficult 

to illustrate in a new way.

(EXHAUSTED was the prompt of this one )

Also, having to post the drawings on our Instagram feed, 

everybody strives to do his/her best.

It becomes a real challenge, also a real community of people 

achieving, struggling, cheering, and crying.

All because of pure passion!

(PRECIOUS)

What I can say, and it was hard to believe

when I started,

is that now I love to find time to draw.

I don't fear the white page of the sketchbook anymore,

because I can do things for myself,

warm up my hand,

drawing from imagination, from reference, 

and even study my favourite characters from other illustrators 

 I always write date and who is my reference, 

as I think it is nice in the future to see who influenced my days!

(EXPENSIVE prompt)

For Inktober, I decided to try something new

( which is I think also part of the challenge)

and did my drawings on paper, then imported most of them in Photoshop

and played with ink brushes a bit.

So I became even more familiar with my new digital tools

and that was immensely helpful.

(SPELL prompt )

Now , do I recommend Inktober for you?

Yes, either if you are a pro, or a beginner,

because I could see that assignments

pushed me more than what I normally do .

(STRETCH prompt)

I haven't been taking part to art challenges before, 

now I will hunt for more interesting ones, and let you know!

Summertime

Hey Folks, thank you for visiting my blog!

We had a gorgeous hot ( sometimes too hot!) summer here in the South Coast of the Uk

and I have spent as much time as possible outdoors.

I have taken again the habit to draw outside, from time to time, and it's something that I love, because is very meditative.. and it makes me discover even more nature's treasures. I miss sketching people and children, and I didn't find yet the right solution for this.

As every summer, naturally I feel the desire to learn and experiment with new mediums, and this time I discovered PHOTO TRANSFER, a method that allows to transfer an image on different materials.

here the background has been done with a photo transfer on thick paper

People use different methods, and I tried a few... for now, the most relevant has been using InkAID alchool solvent (called Transferiez) with INKaid films, following a Skillshare class with Cathy Anne White.

But I didn't have very good results so far, as I didn't have the time to experiment a lot and this is just one of those things you have to do to understand, also given that every physical environment has got a different degree of humidity, heat, and these details make the difference. It reminded me about Icons making, when we had to do the gold leaf foiling, which is very volatile... that was so tricky! 

some of my first photo transfer experiments, where I learnt that dye based inkjet printers

easily bleed ink ... good to know! I compare two different test and one look more set but more faded too..

As I mentioned in my previous post, I upgraded my technology, buying a Wacom Mobile Studio Pro. So far what I can say, is that using a drawing software with a stylus pen is a fantastic experience.
 I come from a Mac so I still find it a bit hard to switch to the Windows interface,
but I'm sure it is justmatter of time.
I recommend this tool for pattern making, for avoiding the frozen shoulder that I had trying to use the mouse to draw, and for illustration, because it makes everything easier.
But I noticed that sometimes, having to many tweeking choices is not always good, as I find myself so undecided about layout after a while ! Problems we don't have so much in the analogic process.

here I managed to do my first pattern repeat using one of my paintings

I' m now creating new artworks, 

updating my website and portfolio, working on my new greeting card designs 

(out soon in my Etsy Shop!) 

and studying, always studying to improve my skills!

Lately I have enjoyed the book "The Noble Approach", which is the testimony of the work of one of the most eminent designer in the animation world, Maurice Noble. I'm not an animator, but this book tells so much about visual storytelling, color schemes, layout, that I recommend it to anyone that wants to understand more about this matter.

I have 2 favourite podcasts at the moment: 

3 point perspective and

 your creative push, check them out!

In this summer I discovered the work of

Jessica Love

Sonia Maria Luce Possentini and

Sonja Wimmer

and I have loved studying their approach to images.

I feel the autumn would like to be born soon and I still didn't start my new knitted hat, so I can't say I'm ready, so I'd better go and make a start before the wind starts to blow all the leaves of my head!

Upgrading and sketching!

What have I been doing lately?

good question!
As always I tried to connect with nature, that's always the number one on the list!

Also I started to  get back to my sketchbook,

as I joined the fantastic two weeks of
Sketchbook Revival 

a free workshop held by Karen Abend,

where 24 artists shared their approach to creative practice, 

their techniques and insights.

I was lucky that my Illustration teacher Nina Rycroft

( check out her website, she s on Skillshare, and a brilliant teacher indeed!)

was one of the featured artists, so she told her students about it.

And there we were, surrounded by boosts of creativity!

It was so much fun to try new things, 

and go back to old things,

because as you may guess, being a self employed artist and illustrator,

often we are so critical of what we produce, 

and then it's more difficult to enjoy our own art.

So, in these two weeks, I went back to do art for my self and..

oh, it was so liberating!

Also, I have been trying to update my technology, 

as for some time I have been thinking of getting a graphic tablet.

…...…

My laptop also, is trusty and old, repaired and tired,

so I though: ah, I will get one of the 2-in-1 fancy new  convertible laptops..

Little I knew then stepping from the Apple world into the Pc world 

I would have been overwhelmed by information...

I bought a Surface Book 2, fantastic device, but then I discovered

it doesn't have a great Adobe rgb gamut

(oh yes, I didn't even know what it was at first, but quick I learned)

and for artist that work for print, 

is something very important, as it is related to the 

CMYK colour spectrum, so the one still is mostly used for print.

So after so much research, and no wanting to go back to Apple

( only because they switched to a completely different 

colour gamut approach with their late models)

I decided on a Wacom Mobile Studio Pro,

which primarily is a professional graphic tablet,

with an in built computer ..

Not ideal for writing, but I'll let you know.

the only alternative would have been a Dell 2 in 1 laptop, 

but something didn't feel in my chords about that.

So , as boring as it can seem,

this are my past weeks of work and research.

What's next?

My first wedding design collection 

with my lovely and trusty printers at Context Design

( more new to follow on that, stay tuned!)

and a dream camping holiday in Snowdonia,

which I am looking forward so much!

Shop updated!

Good news!

My Etsy shop is now

updated 

with all the new cards designs

of the spring/summer 2018!

These are really the most colorful cards I have ever seen

in my range..

which seems appropriate for the lightest

time of the year!

They arrived just in time for my trip to Italy

(so that I could bring some with me !)

and it was so much fun to 

take photo of them, choosing fabrics

and objects, looking for a sunny spot

(in the Uk it can be quite a hard task!)

and also for the right food and flowers

for a color match!

I even went round the corner to Queen Victoria's house 

on the Island where I live,

'cause she's still got the best garden of the neighborhood!

And most of all , they arrived in time for 

my exhibition at the Quarr Abbey

and people literally loved them so much,

that I couldn't keep up getting them ready!

What a joy, after all the work done!

I didn't create a dedicated post for this exhibition, 

as I accidentally deleted all my pictures in the phone

but here I could rescue for my Facebook page

a little video where I show you around,

trying to keep it short to make it easier to load

in every device!

Hope you can see it!

If not, just check here

After a little holiday with my family

(we went to check the stones at Stonehenge

where still all right)

i took part in the wonderful 

Sketchbook Revival

a 12 days full immersion and FREE course

to help creative people to start and keep up

with their creative play time!

New retailers for my cards!

From today you can find

my lovely cards in two new shops on

the Isle of Wight!

Chezabelles in East Cowes

is a passionate florist, with a special eye 

for arty bouquet!

I always dreamed to have my cards in a shop like this,

as a lot of my images are inspired by nature!

 Bluebells in Brighstone

is a gift shop,

set in the most wonderful little village,

where I love to go for recharging my soul, for the peaceful atmosphere 

and panoramic walks on the sea, where unspoiled beaches 

offer rest, beauty and magical days!

 If you ever come on the Island, 

you will not be disappointed in visit these two

little gems...

The picture book Village

A new project

has been brewing 

this winter....and

it's time for it to hatch now!

THE PICTURE BOO VILLAGE 

is an arty display 

which I'm dreaming to create at the 

QUAY ARTS CENTRE (Isle of Wight)

to collect WONDERFUL PICTUREBOOKS

to help children grow up with Beauty

and get the best visual education

with a selection of outstanding titles

from many cultures,

to help them develop a sense of adventure and self confidence.

I'm raising money to help build this dream, so please if you 

can help in this,

just drop a line below with your contact and I'll get in touch!

This dream is for all the children out there

who deserve to grow with colorful stories and 

beautiiful positive messages,

and for the ones inside of us all!

It will be at the Arts Centre for everybody who 

loves art in the form of a shelf!

Today we received the first donation

from the lovely tutors at Anglia Ruskin University

(Cambridge)

who are truly supporting this project...

Please help us to spread the voice!

Exhibition coming up!

Great news on the way !

With my artist friend Rosanna Pancot,  

we are delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition

at Quarr Abbey
from the 12 to the 17th of April 2018!

From 10,30 am to 16,30 pm
we'll be there to greet you, talk about our work and process,
and answer your questions, but
mostly
showing you or heart in colors!

I will bring lots of originals,

plus my ever growing 

range of cards, prints and posters!

Come and say hello if you're on the Island! 

We'll take with us many happy news too!