Meet Dan

Some Guy Called Dan(black fine liner, watercolor, waterbrush)

This is a sketch I made of a photo I found on the internet. It's some guy called Dan. I think he looked kind and interesting so I decided to make a sketch of him. I chose a black fine liner and started to draw without thinking about the likeness very much. Finally I added some watercolor and that was about it.

Nature's Little Wonders at Lake Lestijärvi

The End of a Roach(pencil, black fine liner, watercolor)

A Happy Dragonfly(pencil, black fine liner, watercolor)

For these sketches I used my Ogami sketchbook again.  I was very excited about how the paper reacts with watercolor. The paper doesn't absorb the water right away so you have some time to play with it. With the pink background I kept moving the watercolor around with a brush for few minutes until it started to dry. I'm very happy with the left page, but the right one is too messy. I would have wanted the color to be more even. Now it takes some attention away from the dragonfly itself.

The other thing I thought about while drawing these was the use of an empty space. Especially with the roach and the pliers I tried to place them on the spread differently than I usually would have. Every sketch doesn't have to be in the middle of the page. Actually placing the objects differently has a huge effect on the end result and in many cases makes the work look more interesting.

Something I Saw on TV

A Factory(black fine liner, watercolor)

One evening I was watching TV and felt like drawing something. I started with the frame before I knew what I was going to draw inside it. Then I saw this picture on TV, pressed pause and started drawing. First I wanted to draw only the pipes, but I couldn't stop and ended up drawing everything else too. After a while I didn't look at the original picture anymore, so the result is pretty different from the image I started with. I don't mind though, I'm happy with this spread.

Rock Paper, No Scissors

Hanging Gardens(fine liner and ink) Valley Low(ink)

Scales(fine liner, ink, watercolor) A Horse(ink)

I bought some new sketchbooks a couple of months ago and now I couldn't resist them anymore. We were going to draw and paint with ink at school and I wanted to try it out before my lessons, because I felt a bit rusty. This was a great excuse for me to start  my new Ogami sketchbook. Ogami uses a recycled material called Repap in all their products. It means that the paper is made of calcium carbonate and non-toxic resins. It sounded so interesting I wanted to try it out as soon as possible.

I noticed that it took some time for the ink to dry because the paper was very smooth. This is why I could play a little with the ink. I could add and remove ink before it had a chance to try. Unfortunately I didn't wait long enough and made a little mess with my fingers. I used so much ink that it got to other pages too. With all the small details in Scales and Hanging Gardens I used a Micron 0,05 black fine liner, that has become my best buddy. Finally, I added some watercolor to Scales trying to cover up some of the smudges I made.

Here's another spread I made after the small ink accident that occurred earlier. I started with the stains and ended up with some birds. A lot of smudges here too, but I don't mind.

A Migration(ink, fine liner, watercolor)

Plan B

Faces(fine liner, colored pencils)

One Orchid Left(fine liner, watercolor)

A Game of Chess(fine liner, colored pencils)

Before I show you some new material, here's a few sketches from spring. I hurt my shoulder doing sports and couldn't draw for a while. Then I had an idea to try to do some sketches with my left hand. I had already practiced my motor skills by doing basic things like cooking. At first it was difficult and my hand was shaking a lot when I tried to draw. Then I noticed that the shaky line was actually quite nice and very different from my usual line.

I added the color, also with my left hand, and was pretty happy with the result. It made me realize the importance of my sight. A very big part of drawing happens inside your head. Everybody can make lines on the paper, the hardest part is to understand how to make them work together. When your head knows what it's doing, your hand will quickly follow. No matter which hand it is.

Painting Horizons

Windmill (pencil, watercolor)

Here's something I made before my summer holiday. I wanted to do something with watercolors and ended up drawing houses with a small windmill. The sky was the most interesting part for me in this work. I decided to paint a sunset so I could use bold colors. I used a photo as a model for the sky, but unfortunately I don't remember where I found it.

Although I've been busy this summer with other art projects and gardening, I'll be back soon with some newer sketches.

Serious Work

Serious (fine liner, watercolor)

Someone Smiles (fine liner, watercolor)

One day I decided to practice drawing faces. This time I decided to do so without lifting my pen. It proved out to be difficult and I only managed to draw some weird, unhappy people. When I concentrated, I managed to make ONE guy look happy, but it was hard. I used a black fine liner for these sketches and I think that the watercolor I added on the background made the spread look much better.

This practice was fun to do although it may not seem that way. Using fine liner instead of a pencil and never lifting my pen made drawing a bit scary and that's why this was a good practice for me. I'm still thinking too much about the end result when I draw. That's why starting is sometimes hard for me. I'm getting better though. Practices like these help me a lot. I can enjoy the final spread even if most of the faces are far from perfect. Actually the most weird ones make me as happy as the good ones.

Bugsy's New Improved Spread

Bugsy's New wallpaper(pencil, black fine liner, watercolor)

Wallpaper(black fine liner)

This is a page I drew one night while watching TV. The spread looked a bit empty with just the bug so I decided to draw something simple on the other page. I started to draw with a black fine liner and tried not to be too strict with symmetry. First I meant to do just a small pattern but didn't know how to stop drawing until I reached the edges.

I think that the spread looks much better now. It almost looks like Bugsy went shopping for a nice wallpaper and chose this one to look at.

Sudden Sketches

Some Guy I Saw on TV(black fine liner, watercolor)

I was watching TV one day and saw this guy being interviewed. He looked so cool I had to start drawing him. I was afraid that the interview could end in any minute and took some photos to be sure I could also finish my sketch. I drew these two sketches pretty fast and added some watercolor to make the page look more interesting.

Pencils and Prejudice

Lemons and Oranges(colored pencils, black fine liner)

I have never been a big fan of colored pencils, because I like to use a lot of color and with colored pencils the result is often a bit dull. One day I decided that I don't want to be so prejudiced and as a teacher I want to encourage my students to try out as many different techniques as possible. In order to do so I had to get to know these pencils better myself. That is why I ended up ordering a nice, brand new package of colored pencils.

I happened to have some fruits in a basket and chose to draw those. I think this sketch took me for about 20-30 minutes. The colors seem a bit dirty because I didn't want to stop coloring when I should have. I noticed that I can create powerful colors with colored pencils if I want to. Maybe it was about time to give these pencils a change.

The Key Element

Faces(colored pencil, pencil)

Planes(ballpoint pen)

When I had practiced to draw the different parts of a face, I decided to sketch some complete faces. I drew some from pictures and then started to draw from my imagination. This turned out to be quite difficult, because it was hard for me to draw the "empty space" between these awesome body parts I had studied before. I managed to give my faces some shape, but I was hesitating and feeling a bit lost all the time. I realized that now I had found the key element of learning to draw the human face. This "empty space" between all the "important" parts is what connects it all together. Of course it is difficult to draw the parts that you usually don't even notice, but all the different planes on a face makes it recognizable as much as eyes or noses.

I had to take a step backwards and learn to draw the planes on a face. I drew them on pictures I found on magazines until I started to find some repetitive patterns. After that I started to sketch some faces, but now I did't think about the noses and lips or eyes and ears so much. I didn't want them to distract me. I made some mistakes, but I think I made some progress too.

I still need a lot of practice, but it's fine with me. Actually I'm really happy about it. I don't remember when I have been this excited about drawing. Maybe when I was four years old.

So Many Stories

So Many Stories 1(pencil, watercolor)

So Many Stories 2(pencil, watercolor)

My fourth lesson was all about eyes. I have often wondered why so many of my students like to draw eyes. Drawing eyes has always seemed so complicated to me. Well, now that I've tried it, it seems that it's not any more complicated or more difficult than drawing noses or ears or lips. They all have their own set of rules and when you understand them, it gets easier.

I started my eye lesson same way I start every other lesson; by finding models and looking pictures of the day's topic. I used my own eye as a model and looked out some old photos. When I had sketched enough eyes from a model, I started to design my own eyes. The first sketch without a model is always the hardest, but then it gets easier. You just need some courage and patience.

Backgrounds for these sketches were made with water mister and watercolor once again. It's a really quick way to add some color to your sketchbook pages.

Lots of Lips

Lips(pencil, watercolor, water mister)

After drawing noses and ears, it was time for my third lesson, mouths. I took some photos of my own mouth and found some pictures that had somehow interesting looking mouths in them. Then I used these pictures as a model and started to practice. After drawing a few, I understood some basic rules and started to draw without a model.

Drawing mouths is different from drawing ears and noses, because you can move your lips and also show some teeth. Therefore there are so many different possible combinations that I just decided to draw a few different shapes and sizes.

The background was made earlier with a water mister and some watercolors. I think it was suitable for this lesson as it was pink and not too dominant for my pencil sketches.

A Hard Working Builder Wanted

My Future Summer Cottage(pencil, watercolor, water mister, salt)

I made the background for this spread earlier, because I felt like I needed to splash some watercolors. Those small patterns up in the sky are made with salt. The salt absorbs some of the water and creates  interesting shapes to the color.

Later I came up with an idea that I wanted to draw some kind of a building. And not a very realistic one. I wanted the drawing to look like it's from a fairy tale. I started by looking a lot of pictures of different buildings. I like to do some research before I start to draw so the different things I add look more credible. First I drew a high house on the other page, but then I decided to add more parts and make it even higher. Finally I used the whole spread for this project.

I think I have to do some more buildings, because it was so much fun to draw. Big part of the fun was to imagine who lives there. I think I could.

On the River Bank

A River Bank(pencil)

This is another sketch from Lake Lestijärvi. It wasn't too cold so I decided to go sketching outside. I had a plastic carpet with me that I placed on top of the snow and sat down to. I was right on the edge of the river bank. Here's where the lake ends and the river Lestijoki begins.

The scenery here was beautiful, all the trees had a reflection on the water. I even saw two swans flying above me. I think I drew for about an hour before it got too cold. I took some pictures so I could continue working inside, but I was satisfied with this sketch so I let it be.

All Ears

All Ears(pencil, watercolor, water mister)

This is my second lesson on my way to drawing different faces. I started with noses and now it's time for ears. I had to draw the first ones from a model, because the shape of an ear is actually based on some basic rules. When you know these basics, you can make all kinds of variations. I also drew few ears from different perspective because it's important to me to learn to draw people from different viewpoints.

My next lesson will be eyes or lips. I haven't decided yet, but I'll be posting.

Gone Fishing

Ice Fishing(pencil, watercolor on the next page)

At Easter holiday in Lestijärvi, we decided to go ice fishing. When ever we go to the lake, I usually fish too, but this time I decided to do some sketching instead. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining and the wind was mild. I had three jackets and three trousers on me and that way I was able to sit still and draw.

All the sketches were made of the same person. I had about 20 minutes at a time and then he changed his position. He had only one fish and it was so small he threw it back to the water. Maybe you can see his frustration on these sketches, or then I just imagined it.

Getting Nosy

One day I decided I have to start practicing more. I have always wanted to learn how to draw different faces and all the interesting details on them. Of course this is only one area I have to improve, but you got to start somewhere. Or continue somewhere, because I've been practicing over seven months now.

So I started my practicing with noses, just because I like them. Noses can be very distinctive and they are fun to draw. I did the first few from a model, but then I started to design my own noses. Few of these look pretty unnatural, but I don't mind, as long as they can be recognized as noses.

The background I made earlier with a water mister so the white page wouldn't be so intimidating.

Noses(water mister, pencil)

A Sick Looking Chick

A Chick(watercolor, black, non-permanent ballpoint pen, feathers, white ink, pencil)

I wanted to draw something for Easter. I chose a green ballpoint pen and when I added some watercolor I realized the pen was not permanent. The green color spread and it didn't look very nice. I tried to fix it with white ink, but it didn't help very much. The background was made earlier at the same time as the next page with a frog on it(The Frog Prince, posted 29.1.2015).

If I could start this page again from scratch, I wouldn't use a green pen because it makes the chick look a bit sick. Obviously I wouldn't use a non-permanent pen either. I would like to use happier and brighter colors. Maybe next Easter.

The Whole Spread(watercolor, black, non-permanent ballpoint pen, feathers, white ink, pencil)

You Should See My Kitchen

What a Mess(pencil, watercolor)

Sometimes you just have to make a mess. And I really did. It was fun and the end result looks quite bad. When I realized I have to show this to people I went pale at first, but now I'm just happy of the brilliant mess I made. What a good way to wind down and then teach myself another good lesson about courage by posting this here. You should all give it a try!

Important Things to Learn

Dried out Tulips in a Lazy Vase(ballpoint pen)

It has been a while since I've drawn something with a ballpoint pen. Perhaps the watercolors have taken all my attention. I love watercolors and usually I'm the most inspired while using them, but I think it's important to use different techniques. When I keep changing my way of working I have to stay alert and challenge myself all the time.

This time I happened to have some dried out tulips on a vase. I had been too lazy to throw them out and actually I kind of like the way tulips look when they get old. Originally, I was meant to paint a colorful picture of the fresh tulips, but this sketch was a good variation for me.

I still need to practice my thinking while drawing. With this one I didn't bother to draw all the reflections on the vase and now it doesn't look very convincing. It's almost impossible for me to draw something and leave it unfinished so that I could continue working later. I'd rather finish a work quickly than let it wait for me to get my inspiration back. That's actually a big problem for me, because when working tired and uninspired, I usually do something stupid. Like get lazy and leave something out. I think I'm going to add this thing to my list of Important Things to Learn(That I just made up). Point one: Don't force it, it's ok to continue later.

Art Gallery

Art Gallery (collage)

This time I asked some help for my sketchbook page. I would like to thank Senni, Jukka, Siiri, Pietu, Miina, Titta, Anne, Mika and Raimo for helping me out with this art exhibition. I only made the frames and drew one of the portraits and the rest was made by this great art crew. Although they are all great, my personal favorite is the groovy red cat on the top row made by Senni, our youngest artist.

A Brief Moment with Some Tulips

Tulips (black fine liner, watercolor)

Here's a quick sketch of tulips lying on a table. I should definitely do more of these pages that take so little time and effort. Still, when they turn out to be good they give you so much joy. The only problem with these is usually the lack of courage that troubles me sometimes. I tend to worry that I somehow ruin my whole sketchbook with a bad page. Maybe I should do one really bad work to get rid of this problem once and for all.

Although this is not one of the best works in my sketchbook, I'm still happy I made it. I've noticed that with art the more I'm afraid the more I learn.

Something Different

Tractor (pencil, watercolor, waterbrush)

One day I was visiting my friend and her son Jimi asked me to draw him a picture of a tractor. He brought me his toy as a model and decided to draw one himself as well. I was a bit scared, tractors are not my thing(although I have driven one). Still, I decided to be brave and started to draw.

While I was starting my sketch, Jimi was already finished with his! Luckily this way he had the time to help me color my work. So this sketch ended up being co-operational too. I asked Jimi many times if he thinks the work is finished, but he encouraged me to continue my work repeatedly. Finally, the work was done and we could sign our work. Looks a lot like a tractor, and no wonder, I had an expert to help me!

The Shining

Bugsy the Shiny Bug (pencil, watercolor, waterbrush)

I found this great picture of a beetle at M.E. Smirnov - photos of exotic scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) http://www.zin.ru/animalia/coleoptera/eng/m_smirn6.htm. I chose this particular beetle because of the shiny armor it had. The colors changed a bit when I printed the picture, but I only noticed it when I was done. The aim of this project was to find out if I could use watercolors to imitate the shining and the texture of the shield. Well, it took me few hours, but I was quite happy with the result. Maybe I was even too happy, because I didn't make any background for this cutie. I just decided that it was ready.

First I made a drawing with a pencil and then started adding color layer by layer. I think I made about ten layers for some parts of the shield. So this is perhaps not the best project for an impatient person, but it was a really educational one. Also, my students are always wondering my interest towards insects and they are bored with the bug-related assignments I give them. I think I kind of owed this one for them.

What a Day to Visit a Woodshed!

In a Woodshed (black fine liner, watercolor, waterbrush)

I was visiting my parents few days ago and decided to go outside to paint something, because the weather was quite nice, only a light rain and three degrees Celcius.. Somehow I ended up in a woodshed making a sketch of logs. It was interesting, but as it seemed, possible to draw and paint with your gloves on. I also tried out my new Derwent water brushes that I found the day before. The brushes have their own water container which was very convenient as I was outside without any water source.
I had to work quickly and take a break to warm up, but it was still nice and the end result is ok. The water brushes worked perfectly and I can recommend them to everyone who likes to use watercolors.

My Heart Beats for You

Valentine's Day(pencil, black fine liner, acrylic paint, felt tip pen)

So I didn't send any Valentine's Day cards either.. But I drew this picture of a heart instead. I used an old background made with a sponge and acrylic paints because I thought that the colors were just perfect for this occasion. And what could be a better topic than a heart? I drew it from a picture (http://thegraphicsfairy.com/royalty-free-images-anatomical-heart-vintage/) with a pencil and then continued working with fine liner and a felt tip pen until I was ready.

With this picture I want to wish everybody a wonderful Valentine's Day!
With heartfelt regards, Anni <3

The Frog Prince

Waiting for a Kiss(collage, watercolor, pencil, feathers)

Here's my newest sketchbook page. I did the background few days ago when we were trying out collage technique with my students. Today I had a day off so there was a lot of time to finish this page. When I was looking up some ideas I saw this photo of a frog and wanted to practice coloring its different textures. It took me few hours to make this page but I think it was time well spent although the frog and the background don't quite fit together. Maybe a bird of some kind would have been a better match. Well, I'm still happy with this page.

I almost forgot to tell the name of the photographer. The original photo of the cute frog was taken by Sebastian Lassie.

Co-operative Art

Onni and the Sea (pencil)

I wasn't the only one who had some difficulties staying alert at the teachers' lecture. My colleaque Raimo looked like he needed something to cheer him up so I gave him my sketchbook and encouraged him to draw anything he wanted. I also told him that I would then continue working with whatever he drew. After a while he handed me this lovely sketch of a landscape.

I happened to find a photo of my friends' dog Onni from my phone. Onni looks a bit depressed in the photo, so I decided it could be missing someone at the beach. I think that the end result is something I wouldn't have done by myself. The background made me think differently. I think I should do more sketches together with someone.

Greetings from Tallinn!

Teachers' year started with a day that was full of speeches and lectures and because I had some difficulties to concentrate for eight hours straight I had to come up with something to do while listening. Luckily I knew how the day was going to be and was well prepared. I took my sketchbook with me and the day just flew by. Eight hours felt like three because I was drawing almost the whole time. Drawing usually helps me to concentrate on the lectures as well and I think it did so again. 

I had these two watercolored backgrounds that I had made earlier and now I finally came up with something to use them for. I went through the pictures of my cellphone and found some pictures of Tallinn. I took these pictures in December when I was visiting Tallinn Polytechnic School, Tallinna Polütehnikum. I really liked Tallinn and all of it's beautiful streets and buildings. I took a lot of photos I could make sketches of later.

I chose these two pictures because they show two different sides of Tallinn. The other one is from the old town and the other looks more modern. Both scenes have something in them that I found appealing.

For both of these works I used pencil and watercolors. Finally I added some light with white ink. I had to water the page so the ink didn't look too sharp from the edges. I added the watercolor and ink at home because it would have been too difficult at the lecture without a table. That's why I had time to draw other stuff as well. I will post those later.

Two Scenes from Tallinn (watercolor, pencil, white ink)