Drawing – Page 2 – Art Room Happenings!

A Few Of My Favorite Things: Pastels

July 2, 2020 Intheartroom

Morning Dove – PanPastel & pastel pencils, (7″x14″)

I received my first set of pastels when I was 10 – I don’t think I loved them quite so much at first, but now pastels are one of my absolute favorite mediums! They are what I use for most of my commission pieces and the medium I’m most likely to use for any of my own projects.

Pastels are created with pigment and a binder compressed into sticks – depending on how much binder is mixed with the pigment you get a harder or softer pastel. When I first started with pastels, and up until a few years ago, Prismacolor Nupastels were the only thing I used. These pastel sticks contain a higher amount of binder, making them a harder type of pastel – this allows me to achieve more details in my work than what I could with a softer pastel. These are also the pastels I use to teach with.

One of my earlier pastel pieces (2006?) completed with Nupastel on Canson Mi-teintes

I still use Nupastels in my pastel work but I also have a few other pastel mediums I like to use now too! For smaller detailed areas and textures I love Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils . They come in a wide range of colors and are a similar hardness to the Nupastels.

In the past couple years I’ve also started using PanPastels which are extra soft pressed pastels powders in a pan/cake form and are applied to your surface with soft sponge. I love how rich and smooth these go on! For the most part I use these in my backgrounds and base layers for larger areas and then add finishing details with the pastel pencils on top.

I also have used Sennelier extra soft pastels on occasion – I do enjoy them, however, they can be quite costly!

“Tux & Tsuki” – Completed with Sennelier soft pastels

The surface is probably the most important element though! I started to use Pastelmat a few years ago, it’s surface is velvety and does an amazing job of taking on layers upon layers of pastels. It also comes in a wide range of colors – I love using a darker surface with the PanPastels. I also find it holds the pastel so well that I don’t have to use a fixative on my finished pieces – which always seems to mess with the pastel surface anyway! There are certain times when I want a little texture to my pastel pieces though so I’ll use Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper but definitely doesn’t give you the same effect!

Pieces completed on Pastelmat with PanPastels, pastel pencils & Nupastels

Pieces completed on Canson Mi-Teintes

Some additional pastel pieces!

Art, Art activities, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Scratch Art

June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 Intheartroom

Scratch art or scratch board is a fun type of art where you typically scratch the surface of a paper or board, of a darker color, to reveal a lighter color or white. This easy project is a fun way you can create your own scratch art at home!

What you need:

Oil Pastels
Black Acrylic Paint
Card stock
Toothpick or Wooden Skewer
Paint Brush

Step one: Cut your card stock to the desired size (mine is approx. 6″x6″) and color it in completely with your oil pastels! Make sure to press firmly and fill in any white spots of paper.

Step two: Water down some of your black acrylic paint – we want to thin the paint out just a little but not enough that it’s dripping off your brush. Paint your entire piece of paper – going over the oil pastel you colored in the first step!

Step three: Let your paint dry and then use your toothpick or wooden skewer to scratch the black paint off the surface of your oil pastel! If you make a mistake you can cover it up with a little more black paint.

Continue scratching your design until you’re finished!

Not sure what to draw? Try a scratch art zentangle – check out this post on how to create a zentangle and apply the method to your scratch art! Send me photos of your scratch art to add to the followers gallery!

Art, Drawing, illustrations

Westside Series

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 Intheartroom

These are a series of small watercolor and pen paintings inspired by the area where I live here in Maryland. It’s a place that’s a bit outta the way and many think of it as the end of the earth – but I love it here. It’s full of history, plenty of nature & wildlife, it’s quiet, and you know your neighbors. Between where the Nanticoke & Wicomico rivers meet the Chesapeake Bay, we have several little towns including; Quantico, Tyaskin, Bivalve, Nanticoke, Waterview & Whitehaven – together known as the Westside. The Westside doesn’t have much in the way of stores or shops, however, we have a few post offices, a thrift store, the Westside Fire Department, Antique shop, Churches, community center, a Bed & Breakfast, marinas & parks, Campgrounds, Wades Repair, and a couple restaurants!

Building at Roaring Point Campground entrance

Former Tyaskin School House (over 100 years old)

A lot of the houses and buildings here date back to the 1800’s and many of them are no longer in habitable conditions, though, we do still have quite a few from that time period that have been kept up. I like to think about what it may have look liked here a hundred years ago when it was a bustling port town, filled with people and shops – all the buildings new. Then, there were oyster houses, canning factories, general stores, a saw mill, skip jacks, schools, steamboats, and later a shirt factory, town hall, hotel, & seafood packing plant. And even before that, when it was home to the Native Americans – the Nanticoke Tribe, what it must have looked like.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, est. 1798 (rebuilt 1845) –

The Westside is also filled with nature and wildlife. During a walk in the Spring you’re guaranteed to see Ospreys that have just arrived back from winter migration. Eagles and many song birds also call the Westside home – some of my favorite sightings are Bluebirds, flocks of Cedar Waxwings, Flickers, and Buzzards gathering to sunbathe. Fox, Deer, groundhogs, hawks, muskrats, frogs, rabbits, turtles, and snakes are often seen. Of course it’s also home to much marine life! And we can not forget about the insects – yes, there are days when some of these bugs make you regret going outside, but, butterflies, bees, praying mantis, & ladybugs, fill the gardens. The summer evenings glow with lighting bugs, cicadas and peepers, clear skies filled with stars. Not to mention the best sunsets all year round!

We may not have a lot in the terms most think of – and yeah, we’re a bit outta the way, but I can say we have a certain nostalgic community feel that not a lot of places can claim. It’s a place where time slows down, people wave and stop to talk, it’s a place that causes you to take in what’s around you – something I find inspiring!

Tyaskin Pink House and former Post Office building

I hope you enjoy these little watercolors from the place, and surrounding area, I call home. Prints and originals are available in the shop section – I plan to keep painting more!

Art, Art activities, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Shrinky Dinks

June 4, 2020June 4, 2020 Intheartroom

These have always been a student favorite! It’s like a magic art project – you draw on the shrink film, heat it up, and watch it shrink! Shrink film is so much fun, there’s really a lot of different ways you can create with it – it’s not just for kids!

What is it? Shrinky dinks are a type of plastic – polystyrene. Certain types of polystyrene are often used in food packaging and containers, it’s got the number 6 plastic code…..which also means if you have a take out container or some other type of plastic with the number 6 plastic code, you can make a shrinky dink out of it!

You can also buy Shrinky Dink sheets. I used the “Ruff n’ Ready” sheets. They’re my favorite, with one side that has a sanded surface, which, takes mediums really well! However, you can re-create this with recycled plastics too – just use some sandpaper to scratch up your plastic!

Shrinky dinks shrink about 1/3 their original size when heated – I use a small craft oven; a toaster oven, kitchen oven, or heat gun, can also be used! When they shrink, the colors on your artwork become more condensed, making them darker. I typically use colored pencils or markers on the shrink film. I’ve also use chalk pastels and pens. You can cut shapes out of the shrink film before you shrink it, as well as punch holes in it for key chains, etc.

For this project I’m making a key chain but check out some other ideas of things you can create at the bottom of the post! I’ll also be drawing my own design but as this shrink film is transparent you can also trace a page from a coloring book, magazine or book!

What you need:

Shrink Film, or #6 Plastic
Scissors
Hole Punch
Colored pencils or Markers & a Sharpie pen
Pencil
Paper
Key Chain – unless you plan to make something else!

Step one: Cut your shrink film to the desired size – keep in mind it shrinks to about 1/3 it’s original size! Trace your piece of shrink film on a sheet of paper.

Step two: Draw your design on your sheet of paper with a pencil – once you’re happy with your design trace it onto your shrink film with a sharpie pen. You can tape your shrink film to your paper to help keep it from moving!

Step three: Color in your shrink film design – I used colored pencils but you can use markers or pens as well!

Step four: Once your design is colored, punch a hold in your shrink film, using a hole punch, so you can turn it into a key chain later!

Step five: You can also cut out around your design if desired!

Step six: Bake your shrink film! 325* F for just a couple minuets – You’ll notice it crinkles up and then will flatten back out as a much smaller and thicker piece of plastic.

Let your shrink film cool for a few minuets. It’s fun to see how much it shrinks compared to your original drawing!

As it shrinks your colors also become more condensed, so they appear darker!

Step seven: Add your key chain pieces to your shrink film!

Trace a coloring book page instead of drawing your own design

Besides a key chain you could also turn your Shrinky Dinks into zipper pulls, magnets, pins, hair clips, jewelry, mini artworks, or anything else you can think of! I use the Shrinky Dink “Ruff n’ Ready” variety but they also offer several other types that you can use for different techniques!

Send me your Shrinky Dink creations to add to the Followers Gallery!

Art, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Embossed Foil Art!

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 Intheartroom

Using kitchen foil and some glue you can create some beautiful pieces of art! This project is fun for all ages and is something everyone can do! I’ve shown step by steps for the simple process and included some ideas below for more variations to try!

What you need:

Aluminum Foil – heavy duty works best but any will do if you’re careful!
Cardboard – for this project a smooth heavy cardboard works best….like what the back of sketchbooks are made from. Or cardboard from cereal boxes, or similar, works too – I don’t suggest corrugated cardboard, sometimes the texture of the cardboard gets in the way!
Elmer’s glue & Glue sticks
Sharpies
Coloring pages – optional

Step one: First cut your cardboard to the size you’d like your finished piece. Draw your design or pattern directly on your cardboard with a pencil – this is going to get covered later so it doesn’t matter if you make any mistakes! Keep in mind, in the following steps, we will be tracing your lines with glue…..it may be best to keep your design simple with less details. Not into drawing? Use a coloring page instead! Cut and glue the page down to your cardboard instead of drawing a design.

Step two: Now that you have your design on your cardboard carefully trace your lines with Elmer’s glue – make sure your glue lines are not getting squashed by the glue nozzle, lift your glue bottle from the cardboard slightly as you trace your lines! These lines are going to be the “embossed” portion on your foil. If you make a mistake you can gently wipe away a misshaped glue line while it’s still wet (q-tips work well for little areas). Allow your glue to dry completely! I let mine set over night.

Step three: Once your glue is completely dry cut a piece of foil slightly larger than your cardboard – we want it large enough to fold the foil around the sides of the cardboard.

Step four: Use your glue stick and go over the entire front surface of your glue design. Gently press your foil over your dried glue design and carefully use your fingers to smooth the foil over your dried glue lines revealing your embossed design!

Step five: Once you have your foil smoothed over your glue lines, fold the edges of your foil on the back of your cardboard – you can tape or glue if needed. Now you can take your sharpies and color your design! Your Sharpies will blend on the foil surface – I used blues, yellows & greens to create the different shades on my example!

Variations:

I’ve also done this project before with pressed dried leaves glued to my cardboard instead of using glue lines – make sure your leaf is dried if you want your artwork to last longer and use the leaf vein side up to get the most texture out of the leaf! Glue your leaf to your cardboard and use a glue stick to apply your foil. Instead of coloring my leaf I used black acrylic paint, painting the whole foil surface in a thin layer and wiping it away before it dried with a paper towel – you could use the paint method for the process above too. I also use corrugated cardboard for my leaf project – notice how the corrugated cardboard creates lines on your finished piece?

For younger ages you can change up the process and instead of drawing or tracing a design with glue you can dip pieces of cotton yarn, or string, in Elmer’s and create abstract string art on your cardboard, let dry, and then cover with your foil. You could also skip the glue and wrap the string around a piece of cardboard (use your glue stick over top)! Below, we’ve used the string wrapped around a heart cut out!

You can turn your finished projects into ornaments or hanging decorations like I did with the heart project by punching a hole in the cardboard and adding a ribbon. I also turned one of the embossed leaf pieces into an art journal cover! Send me pictures of your embossed foil art to add to our followers gallery!

Art, Art activities, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

Happy World Bird Day!

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 Intheartroom

For around the past 10 years, students have entered into an annual art contest that showcases Migratory birds living in Chincoteague VA. Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge holds this art show and contest each year, in conjunction with their celebration of World Bird Day – the second Saturday of every May! Artwork goes on display at the educational center for the day of the celebration. This is one of my favorite contests and displays for students as we are able to learn about birds in our area and the refuge does an amazing event filled with free educational activities! Sadly, we have to skip this year, but I’m looking forward to having students participate again next year! Enjoy some entries we’ve had from previous years and download the Chincoteague bird checklist (posted below) – how many can you identify?! Check out some online bird day activities you can do at home here!

BirdChecklist Download

These bird artworks represent our students from 2014 and 2016 – with ages approx. 6 – 18! They’ve been completed in a various mediums such as pastels, watercolor & pen, acrylic, and textile art! Happy World Bird Day!

Art, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Finger Print Doodle Art

April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 Intheartroom

Get creative and make some fun art that all starts with your finger prints! It’s a simple and easy project that you can turn into some charming pieces of art!

What you need:

Ink Pads or Washable Markers
Paper – I prefer card stock, but any white or light colored paper with a smooth surface will work!
A Sharpie marker or pen (or any felt tip pen & marker)
Some paper towels

Here’s the basic process:

We’re pretty much making your finger into a stamp – so the first thing you need to do is cover your finger print in ink! If you don’t have an ink pad you can use washable markers and color your finger prints instead! Try using your thumb and pinky finger to make different size prints!

Once your finger is covered in ink stamp it firmly on your paper. You might be able to stamp your finger more than once before having to apply more ink. Wipe any remaining ink off your finger on a damp paper towel before using a new color or use a different finger for each color – Unless you want to mix colors 🙂

After you have some finger prints stamped onto your paper, use your Sharpie and/or pens to add details and turn your finger prints into something!

Try “building” with your finger prints to create more complex objects! Remember you can make different sizes with your thumb and pinky too!

Here’s a few more ideas for your finger print doodles:

Add other elements, like googly eyes, to your prints! Some other elements could be: glitter, feathers, sequence, pom-poms, string & ribbon!

Instead of turning your finger prints into doodles you could also use them to embellish other projects!

Use markers, colored pencils or other mediums to add additional details to your doodles – like the stem and leaf in this picture!

Turn your finished pictures into greeting cards, bookmarks, framed art, and more! Get creative and have fun! Send me pictures of your doodle creations to add to our followers gallery! Happy doodling! 🙂

Art, Drawing, Happenings, illustrations, Make, Create, & Share!

Spit Happens!

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 Intheartroom

I’m excited to share with you the latest art project I’ve been working on – illustrations for a children’s book, written by Annie Trice, of Windy Way Farms! The book is a cute story based on the alpaca “squad” that lives there on the farm and is appropriately titled “Spit Happens”! I enjoyed getting to work on these illustrations and creating characters for the alpaca squad members – and I was was also able to meet them in real life! Here’s a few sneak peek pictures until the book is ready!

The illustrations were hand drawn and completed in pastel – one of my favorite mediums to work in! Copies of the book will be available soon in the shop section! 🙂

Art, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Foam Printmaking!

April 22, 2020April 24, 2020 Intheartroom

This is an simple project with a lot of variations and you’ve probably got all the items you need to make it on hand! Printmaking is the art of transferring an image from a template or “Matrix” to another surface – typically onto paper or fabric. There are several different types of printmaking techniques like, woodcuts, linocuts, engraving, lithography, screen printing & monotyping. With printmaking you are able to make multiple prints of the same image (with the exception of monotyping). For this project we’ll use a simple process to create your own matrix and original prints!

What You Need:

Foam – Like a foam plate or foam food package – I recycled a foam take out container for my examples!
Scissors
A ball point pen
A toothpick
Washable Markers (Sharpies or permanent markers will not work for this project)
Paper to apply your prints to – I prefer card stock but copy paper or any paper with a smooth surface will work!
Paper towels

Step one: First you will need to cut your foam! If you’re using a take out container make sure you cut out a flat area of the container. I find that a piece of foam around 2 – 4 inches works best to get started with! You can make your matrix any shape you’d like!

Step two: Use your pen to draw your design on to your foam – the goal is to make an indent on the surface of the foam, so you need to use a fair amount of pressure, but be careful not to go through your foam! Also keep in mind your design will be reversed once it’s printed – so if you were to do a letter or word it would be backwards when you printed it!

Step three: Adding color! Use your washable markers to color on your foam – you can go right over top of your design you made in the last step. The marker ink stays “wet” on the foam so your colors will also mix if they touch – this gives us some cool effects! Mixing colors on your foam may also make your marker tips dirty – you can scribble off any mixed up colors on a scrap piece of paper.

Step four: Now that you have your foam colored in it’s time to stamp it on your paper! Carefully flip your foam over and firmly press it onto your paper. Being careful that your foam doesn’t move, press firmly with your fingers all over the back of the foam to help transfer your print! Then carefully lift your foam from the surface of the paper to reveal your print!

Tips: Sometimes the first print does’t always work well – that’s okay! You can keep practicing with more prints until you find what works! If you want to change colors on the surface of your stamp without your colors getting mixed up you can wipe off any leftover marker ink on a paper towel or rinse your foam in water (just make sure it’s super dry before using it again). Don’t take too long on coloring your foam – this gives the marker ink a chance to dry up on the foam and it won’t print as well. I find that any paper with a smooth surface works best!

This heart print was made by coloring my foam and printing it several times to create one piece of art. It was inspired by the work of artist Jim Dine – An artist part of the Pop Art movement. Pop artists used images of popular mass culture (‘Pop’ art) in their works and many used printmaking methods to create their works of art. Check out other pop artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Liechtenstein, & Peter Max.

You can also make a more complex and detailed design on a slightly larger piece of foam, and instead of using a pen to create your impressions with, use a toothpick. While you are able to get smaller details with the toothpick the foam itself won’t allow a lot of tiny details close together (it just kind of gets smushed and that won’t make a good print!) so when completing your design keep in mind to make sure your lines are not too close together (notice on my fish print where his body curves that it didn’t print well – too many lines, too close together!). Also be sure that when you color your foam not to take too long as this gives the marker ink a chance to dry on your foam!

Go abstract! If you’re not sure what to do or want to create a more simple print, try some abstract lines, dots or patterns. Here, my foam is a triangle shape, and I’ve just done some squiggly lines and a couple dots with the pen. I printed my foam in a pattern to create a book mark!

These prints are a ton of fun to make and you can use them to create a lot of different finished projects with! Send me pictures your prints and I’ll add them to the follower gallery! Get creative and happy printmaking!

Art, Craft, DIY, Drawing, Make, Create, & Share!

Inspired Zentangles

April 15, 2020April 16, 2020 Intheartroom

If you’ve done classes with me before, we’ve probably created some sort of Zentagle inspired art! They’re one of my favorite activities to warm up with or combine with other art projects. They’re something anyone can create and have unique results! If you haven’t yet made a Zentangle; The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Learn more at zentangle.com. According to the method, true Zentangles are completed in black ink on white paper (and can include some pencil shading) on 3.5″ square pieces of paper, however, you can create art inspired by Zentagles many different ways – I like to mix them up with other projects too! I’ve included below my inspired method for creating Zentangles and a few examples of ways you can apply them to other art! *”Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc.

What you need to get started with a basic inspired Zentangle art:

Paper – I use white card stock or smooth bristol paper, however, any paper will do (you could even use colored card stock or construction papers). The traditional size for a Zentangle is a 3.5″ square – or change it up and make your Zentangle into a bookmark, greeting card or any size or shape you’d like!
Black Sharpies – a regular sharpie marker and a sharpie pen. You can use any black ink pen or marker you have on hand though! Or change it up and use the same methods but with colored pens & markers!

Step one: My favorite way to get started is by drawing a few lines across your paper – edge to edge. I use the sharpie marker for this step. It’s okay if your lines overlap or start and stop on the same edge. The lines can be wavy, zig-zagged, curvy, etc. My finished Zentangle will be a bookmark!

Step two: Your lines have created spaces, or shapes, that we now get to fill with patterns! I like the smaller sharpie pen for this step. Your patterns could be repeating lines, shapes, or a combination! Take a look around to find inspiration for your patterns – there are lines, shapes & patterns everywhere!

Step three: Continue to fill in your spaces or shapes with patterns until you have them all filled in!

Variations – Instead of filling in the whole piece of paper with Zentangles you could first draw an outline shape to fill in (trace your hand, use a stencil or freehand a shape/object). Make it collaborative – it’s fun to have everyone join in, each person can fill in a different space after the lines have been drawn or each person can start a Zentangle which can then be passed to the next person, added to, and then passed along again! You could also add color to your completed Zentangles. Or make a painting into a Zentangle – paint a picture fist and then draw Zentangles on top (see the butterfly and cat pictures below).

Some examples of student Zentagles and variations! If you still need more help getting started or would like more inspiration to get started with check out my inspired Zentangle packet! Happy Zentangling!