Friday with laurels and new supplies

What is it with wreaths and laurels that seem so appealing? And they're so easy to draw, it can get addictive. You'd have to eventually stop drawing leaves so you can make room for text to be readable. Coloring them is equally fun (sometimes I think I'm too old for this but never mind).

I recently became curious about using the brush pen for lettering. The calligraphy nibs seem very fine and require a lot more work for bigger artworks. I didn't like how the walnut ink looked on paper initially but it seems to get a lot of raves from other users so I am trying it in good faith.

PS. I am looking outside my window as I write this and the sky looks gorgeous in crimson and light blue!

Long Live Cursive

There are some days I want to try so many things I have in mind when I get the chance to sit in my arts and crafts table. I like mixing colors in particular and coming up with the palette. In fact, it's my favorite part of the whole process when I'm determining the colors that go in an artwork. Unfortunately, I'm not as wildly imaginative as I'd wish. I almost always need a reference, something to look at to be able to recreate something like a photo or a scene, to get do a rough drawing and color it.

Modern calligraphy is growing on me. It's just amazing if you get to perfect it. Blame it on Pinterest that I want to try out everything in the results when I type the keywords "calligraphy watercolor." But it takes a lot of patience. The ink, the paper, the nibs and their compatibility with each other, it's crazy. Right now, it gets very frustrating when I write and the whole process is scratchy. It ruins the whole artwork and most times you can't redo them.

There's also this really nice shade of navy blue ink that I love, although it gives out a very strong smell that sometimes gives me a headache. But, it looks great on cream paper and kraft paper or cards. It's Prussian Blue gouache by Daler Rowney mixed with a bit of water. It's perfect for nautical-themed artworks and crafts.

Here are a few things I've tried with watercolor, gouache and some gold and silver ink. My strokes are still quite wobbly so yes, must practice more on that.

Background artwork by Hersley Casero