another iPAD sketch

I wasn't happy with this "Oil Painter" app because I don't like the color choices, they're all too bright, and not happy with the tools.  They're too childish, and I think that was the original intent of the app, made for kids.  So now I've tried something more serious with it.  I think I can make it work with more practice to learn to pull more detail out and mix the colors I want from what they offer.   There isn't much choice for oil painting, this probably the only "free" app.  I've tried ArtRage free for a PC, not free for iPAD. Parrot from this week's WDE reference.

iPAD sketches

These are made in Paper by Fifty-Three, references from a book I've been meaning to use for 3 years.  I upgraded to get the watercolor tool, which acts like the thin, unsized paper I use for Chinese Brush painting.  Didn't get the color mixer because you can layer the watercolor.  Didn't seem that useful.  It's the only app I've paid for to date, the only one I've been 100% satisfied with (does everything I want it to do.)  Oh no, what will become of my sketchbook goals?

Productive weekend

Cold, rainy weekend.  Plans were to be elsewhere but weather cancelled those plans.  I baked!  The pot pie came out great as did the bread pudding.  I was too busy with the art to do biscotti today.

I knew I had alot of sketchbooks started and I knew I had alot of acrylic paint. I have alot of paper, too. After taking that Color & Design class in 2008, I went a bit crazy with the paint purchases.  They're getting a bit old now.  The earth colors/browns just aren't holding up.  I was taking stock.  OMG, that's alot of paint tubes. Half are the small, skinny tubes but I recently bought a color I thought I was out of--whoops.

So I filed away another sketchbook, #15.  I started the day with the three film canisters of left over paint from that 2008 class.  I get to end the day with just one--blue.  I made two new sketchbooks, actually they're reused/repurposed old notebooks.  I'm going to need more Mod Podge, hehe.

My art goals in the past few years was to (2009) use up paper, (2011) to use up sketchbooks, and to use up paints.  Okay, two goals for 2013:
  1.  To use up all the skinny paint tubes plus Galeria.  The Galerias were my starter paints.  I guess I have to learn to paint thick.
  2.  To use up all the sketchbooks that were on my 2011 list plus "Julie Sketches 2013."  They're the ones with the checks and list how many pages I have left to go.

Sketchbook #15 put away

This is the end of my first homemade sketchbook.  Mixed media.  I've been wanting to do orange & blue, I've been wanting to do circles.  I've been wanting to finish this sketchbook and put it away.  This also makes half of my 2011 goals list of 10 sketchbooks, I finished off five in the last two years.  Unfortunately, I'm such an addict I seem to start two for every one I finish.  What's up with that?

Just this morning, I've started making another home-made.  I had an idea while I slept to take one of my wire notebooks which is going nowhere and glue pages together with Mod Podge.  Then I glue drawing paper on top of that from a pad I don't like.  It's going to be my next "smash" book.

Grumpy Cat

I'm a new fan.  Acrylic in the Smash journal.  The other is a study in colored pencils in the 6x8 inch sketchbook.

Rainy, boring weekend

Something "soft" for this week's scavenger hunt.  Acrylics on 4x6 inch cardboard.  A little birthday present I got this year, first chance I've had to sketch it.