Favorite Life Sketchbook Artists

Hi again,
In my last post I discussed the wonderful reasons to keep a daily sketchbook of your life. I really do hope you get inspired by it.
I also promised a list of my favorite sketchbook artists, but I thought a better idea would be to showcase a sketchbook artist once a month, who always continue to inspire me.

So without further delay, my artist for this month is Liz Steel from Liz and Borromini.

 I found Liz's blog only last week and it is wonderful. Not only does she show her recent sketches, but she is also a sketch teacher and talks about her classes and lessons on her blog. I find this helpful and inspiring to see so many others learning to sketch their lives.

I have to admit, I  have a soft spot for Liz as she is a huge tea drinker just like myself, and has delightful sketches of many a tea and cake. She has even published her own book filled with these sketches, along with a few other fantastic sketch books showcasing her work.

Of course Liz sketch's more from her life then just tea and cake and is an an architect by trade. Being in the architecture field gives her a great love of sketching buildings and house of all shapes and sizes on her travels. Some of my personal favorites are below.

This is Luna Park. An amusement park in Melbourne, Australia, which I have also visited two years ago with my family. The kids loved it. I wish I too was into sketching back then.

I love how Liz has captured it. Her style is exactly my type of yum!:)

Do you recognise this little sketch in the bottom right corner? It's the Sydney Opera house.

I like the fact that in Liz's sketches, they are so simple yet so distinctive.  The sketchy little tourists don't take away from the building, the main focus at all.

Loving the layout.

Below is a shot of one of Liz's classes she held in Melbourne I believe, teaching the students a little tip about using red lines in the initial set of the sketch. I am so jealous that I can't attend one of her lessons, as I am too far away. You can read a little more about it one her blog. Here is the link to her post.

http://www.lizsteel.com/2013/05/manly-sketching-class-week-1-learning.html

Well, a big thank you to Liz for inspiring me and sharing her sketches with the world.

Make sure you visit her blog at 

http://www.lizsteel.com/

Thanks for visiting,

hugs

Sonya XXX

5 Reasons to keep a daily life sketchbook

Hello,
It has been approximately 2 weeks since I started my daily life sketchbook. Since then I have drawn in it everyday. I love it so much that I can see me doing this for many years to come.
I am so passionate about it, that I want everyone to keep one. I guarantee anyone who decides to keep a daily life sketchbook will be hooked! I'm positive... I really am.

So here for you, is my top 5 reasons for keeping a daily life sketchbook:

1. What is better, I ask you? Capturing your life in Art or Photographs? Just think of any favorite photo you have. A person, an event or object that you have, and now imagine if you had drawn it/painted it yourself? Now how would you feel about it?

2. It's simple- drawing and painting everyday makes you better at it. Think your not good at drawing? That's probably because you don't practice enough. It is like anything else, playing guitar, learning to read, riding a bike. Practise, practise, practise. I know I am not the best drawer, but I also know that in a year or two when I look back at my sketchbook,my art is going to look a lot different.

3. You will be capturing little parts of your day that you probably wouldn't remember in a years time. Not to mention next month, next week, or tomorrow.
In a daily life sketchbook you get to sketch anything you want. What you bought today, what you ate for breakfast, what's in your cupboard, your flowering garden, your favorite drink, a butterfly you found, your next door neighbours annoying cat... Anything to do with your everyday life.

4. You love art, and everyone wants to do their hobby everyday don't they?

5. What better gift to leave your loved ones when your gone. What an amazing insight they will have to the life that was you!
And it is this thought that keeps me going. I know one day my daughters and grandchildren will have something very unique and irreplaceable to always remember me by.





I hope I have convinced even just one more person to start a sketchbook and draw in it daily. Tomorrow I will be back with a list of my most favorite everyday life sketchbook keepers., to give you even a little more inspiration.

Thanks for visiting,

hugs

Sonya XX

Soartful challenge

Here is my entry for this months soartful challenge of a single flower with a minimalist design.
I just happened to receive my new colors of  Sparkling H2O's watercolor paints in the post the day before and couldn't wait to use them.

I painted the colors I used to the left of the page. I hope you can see the glittering shine to the paint. It's really pretty.

Thanks for visiting,

Hugs Sonya

New sketchbook pages.

Hi all!
Just wanted to show you all a couple of pages from my Everyday Life sketchbook. Basically I create pages with ink and watercolor paint about things that I have done in the day, or items I have used or bought.
I love this sketchbook the most out of all my art journals. I make it a routine to every night to draw in it. I highly recommend everyone to have a sketchbook like this. It is so rewarding and so much better then a boring photograph. You don't have to be the best drawer out there, just go for it!

MY TWO TEEN DAUGHTER AND I WENT SHOPPING YESTERDAY AND THEY BOTH FELL IN LOVE WITH THE SAME DRESS. THEY ARE ATTENDING A ONE DIRECTION CONCERT NEXT WEEK HERE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND I'M SURE THEY WILL TURN A LOT OF HEADS WHEN DOUBLE TROUBLE WALK IN!

My faithful friends, my adidas runners.

Inside my living room

My dog Lulu, is always looking for passerby's through the window on her chair. She is my little princess who always loves to sit on top of a cushion. She is a very spoilt little girl.

Thanks for visiting,

Hugs Sonya XX

A new challenge

Today I found a wonderful journal challenge site called "The Three Muses". It is run by three women from different parts of the world, who have never met. I find that so inspiring. To be friends and have a common interest that gets you together from other sides of the world, just shows there are no limits in this not so big world.
The challenge for this week is "Reflections or Repetition". I have had this image sitting around for a while. A beautiful bubble with a house reflection. I knew instantly I had to use it.

Here I am getting my collage elements ready for my layout. I have a small box where I keep all my magazine clipping borders for my journal pages. I love borders!!!

I arrange my images roughly before gluing.

My finished page.

All my collage pages are done in my recycled vintage childs storybook .

Thanks for visiting today,

Hugs

Sonya XX

Less is More

Last night I decided to participate in the Art Journal Journey September prompt of  'Less is More'.
My subject I picked was my cute little teddy I purchased from a market stall 2 weeks ago for the bargain price of $5. He is a pre loved ted, and his little face was just calling out to me to take him home. He is so adorable in his warm hooded pullover.
For the Less is More, theme I decided to use a minimum of color on my page and kept it to two colors for my bear and red for the backround.
I have added this to 'My life' journal, where I journal everyday about things that happen to me or are about me.

I used water soluble tombow markers in brown #969 and cream in #020, and then just used my water and brush to shade.

Thanks for visiting

Bear Hugs,

Sonya

Who's for some Tea?

Hi all,
Something simple today, but meaningful for me. As you may know if you have read my Profile, I am a great lover of a cup of tea. Or how we say it here in Australia, A Cuppa tea!
When it comes to a healthy diet my biggest downfall is cookies, cake and a wonderful relaxing cuppa tea.

I would say I drink between 4 and 6 cups of Lipton tea per day. The addiction started when we had family over from the Newquay, Cornwall. They were offering to put the kettle on regularly and when you are chatting, who can say no. It's just the done thing to talk over a nice hot beverage.

The funny thing is when it's evening time. We are all watching the television and I ask my daughter's who's turn is it to get me a cup of tea. There is always a squabble, no-one ever wants to get me one. I nornally end up with bribing someone. You know, "If you get me a cup of tea, I will rub your feet for 5 minutes" that sort of thing.

I am so in love with my waterpaints and have just started using Twinkling H2o's, which add the shimmer you can see in the pictures. They are stunning, give them a go.

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

Hugs, Sonya

Spring is here at last

Welcome back!
It's spring at last. I hate winter, and spring here in Australia started off great with a 30 degree day! Unfortunetly it didn't last and now it's back down to 18.
However with the great day, I took full advantage of it and went into the garden as I mentioned in my previous post.
I made a watercolor painting in my new small journal of our lovely flowers growing around our bird bath.

The bird bath in the middle of our lawn is my most favourite feature of our backyard. I can gaze at it for hours. In summer time on those hot nights, we are lucky enough to see maybe 20 or 30 Australian cockatoos come down and eat from the seeds in our grass and drink the water.

My husband planted all these beautiful flowers called snapdragons from seed. He is quite the gardener and is often outside in his vegetable patch, or mowing the lawns, while I have my head down in paint and paper.

 

I was lucky enough to be visited by this bird called a magpie here in Australia while I was sketching. I tried really hard to be fast and sketch him in place. It was a truly lovely moment.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Are you on your own path?

Good morning ladies,

Have you ever woken up one day and realised all the art you have been creating in the past months has been based on other artists. Techniques you've learnt, styles you have seen etc.
I had this horrible but wonderful realisation today.
I've always thought the internet was an amazing way to connect to other artists and provide 'inspiration'.
I still do think the net is absolutely wonderful to connect with other artists, and I can't imagine not being able to do that.
However, it is so very easy to unconsciously take too much of other artists work and incorporate it into your own. Before you know it, your making art that is no longer heartfelt or has meaning to yourself.
Sure, you like the art you are creating, but in a years time will you still love it, will it have meaning to you. Will it light up your heart when you see it? Would it be one of the first things you save from a fire? Does it have a little piece of your sole?
Sounds pretty deep, hey! Well, guess what ? Art is.

So the thing is, I find personally when looking back at my art, that it was very different.
I made acrylic and watercolor paintings, and some of these are the best work I have ever done.
Of course, I have learn't new techniques along the way and tried new styles and products, but I believe I have started to stray too far away from me. If that makes sense.

After thinking about all of this, I opened a blank journal, grabbed my watercolor paints and graphite pencil and headed outside to my garden.
I felt like myself again. Suddenly I wasn't trying to replica the style of someone, or please viewers. This painting was for me.

My point is that it's great to learn from others, it helps you grow as an artist, but never lose sight to why you create art and what makes it just yours. Don't wander from your path. Take time to try new things but remember to come back to your true style.
I'm on a quest to find my way back.
I hope you continue to follow my journey, as you continue your own.

I hope this has given others something to think about and has hopefully helped in some little way.
Hugs,
Sonya

Busy Days of Art!

Hi Ladies,
I have been busy today making my mermaid circus journal ready for the Jane Davenport and Teesha Moore course. It started this week and is very exciting. I decided to be a little different with mine, as it was encouraged by Jane to find your own style and follow your heart.

Instead of doing mermaids, I have opted for fish, and therefore will have a journal as the 'Fish Circus'.
Its going to be a pretty full 8 weeks, so I am not sure how much other journalling, I'm going to fit in the day.
I will definitely still be making my collage dog illustrations everyday and listing them on the 60 dogs in 60 days page for you to enjoy. Here is today's cheeky pup, Buster.

Also, don't forget to go to my Giveaway post further down this page and be sure to press the follow button, to enter my Free Give Away.  Make sure you read all the rules. Only one person has entered so far, so your odds of winning are pretty good so far!

On another note, I have also started my fabric journal I made recently. I am using this more as a everyday sketchbook of things that happen in my life and have limited myself to watercolor paints, graphite pencil and ink. The sketches I am doing are very basic and I am not caring if they are out of proportion or not 100% perfect. This sketchbook is just for me to draw without care, and I am loving the experience.
I hope to post some pictures of my pages soon.
Well that is all for now, keep healthy,
Sonya