Come on, follow me!

I am continuing the pattern development that I started below over on Apples and Orange. Ultimately, Apples and Orange will be the avenue I take for things such as patterns and surface designs, so I figured I'd start now.

I hope you join in.

Surface Design, step 1

One of my goals is to do surface design. I want to develop patterns and have them printed on fabric. Eventually, it would be great to have the space to do my own fabric printing. But, for now, I'll stick to small scale printing and Spoonflower. I would love to ultimately see my fabric used by others to make wonderful things. I love fabric, but I don't really sew. You'd think it was in my gene's, my grandmother was a seamstress ( a very good one) and she was also super creative. So, I aspire to design fabrics that my grandmother would be proud of.

So, here's a sketch I made that I will begin to develop into a repeating pattern. If anyone has suggestions (now, or as I go through the process), I'm all ears. This is new territory for me.

Beginning Again

Sometimes life gets in the way of plans. I was on a roll drawing pretty regularly (most of it not such good quality, but good exercises) and I got interrupted. Granted, part of it was vacation, but I took my sketchbook with me, I just didn't draw anything.

Anyway, to get back on track ... here is a drawing (with color!) of my breakfast sandwich. I added the color because the line drawing didn't do it justice. For comparison, I took a photo of it (with my phone, the angle is a little different) before I ate it. By the way, it was yummy.



I have to say that food is an interesting subject. Each object is totally unique and much easier to draw realistically than a coffee mug. Asymmetrical is so much more interesting than smooth and symmetrical.

My plan is to get back to it. Even if it's once a week, that's better than not at all. Also, I'm going to do some screen printing. I haven't done any in years and I would like to because I always enjoyed it. I will share examples here when I have them.

Drawing What I See

Cream Cheese Brownie from Karsh's Bakery

For the past week I have been working on drawing what I see. Just pen drawings, no color, no erasing. This is something I have never been very good at ... drawing what I see from real life. I have always preferred to draw from photos. It has been a good exercise to be patient and draw the lines as I see them and to complete it in one sitting. I tried to draw Addie laying on the floor, but I rushed because I was afraid she would get up. The proportions turned out pretty hinky. I decided it's best to keep practicing on inanimate objects for now. Once I get better at that, I can work on things that are more fleeting. I did manage to draw Robb while he was watching TV. It's kind of rough but, in my defense, he did move a couple times.

Robb watching TV

I realized something about myself a few months ago. I've taken countless art and design courses. I've always done reasonably well in them. I've loved drawing and making things since I was a kid. People have always said I'm the creative one. But, I've always felt that I don't fit with those I view as creatives. The weird part about me is that I've always been good at math and paperwork and linear things like that. I'm drawn to creativity and I love to drink it in.

So, I am working with drawing what I see. Let's see where that leads me.