"shadow"

Illustration Friday "Shadow"

There have been a lot of cold and windy days recently. Today is milder but the heavy rains have been coming down since last night. Fortunately, Turkey Day is expected to be bright and sunny tomorrow with temperatures in the 30's F.

It's nice to have my girls home for a bit, while we celebrate Thanksgiving with the extended families!
Best Wishes for a happy day!

"Tail" Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday (pony)"tails"

I wasn't one of those little girls who drew horses all the time, so I'm hoping my rendering of a horse's behind is somewhat accurate.

Raw and rainy here today. Kind of drab now that the autumn leaves have browned up and fallen off many of the trees. I'm looking forward to a field trip this week to the MFA, and having a tour of the John Singer Sergeant watercolor exhibit. It is supposed to be sunny but cold in the 30's.

I've been working on a sunflower print for a while, and am finally getting closer to the end. I'll post some images of the process in my next post.

"Secret"

Illustration Friday "Secret"

Just a little graphite pencil illustration this week. I started sketching in my sketchbook, and liked it enough to finish it up there.

Very sad to see the sun go down so early after changing the clocks for Daylight Savings time. It's 4:45 pm right now, and quite dark---makes it a bit harder to change into exercise clothes and head for the YMCA for 6 o'clock class!

Gelatin Prints

I spent a recent Saturday at a Monotype workshop, learning how to make Gelatin prints. Yes, regular old Knox Gelatin can be used to make monoprints without a printing press. Below is the gelatin plate ready to be inked up. (we used Akua Color inks and a brayer)

Our paper was attached to the plexiglass surface under the plate, so that it was easy to register the multiple layers of of the print (there is a "ghost" print on the left, and the first print on the right).

A grouping of leaves were placed on the inked gelatin plate to create the design you can see on the right.

Other materials included stencils, feathers, bubble wrap, lace, etc.

 (anything flat and textured worked well)

A variety of prints made with multiple layers!

The possibilities are endless, and the process is suitable for all ages!