A Step Forward

Prints From Original Artwork | Whims And Fancies

 

Prints Available In Shop

 

Hi Everyone!  I have something really exciting to share with you today.  A few months after the beginning of Whims And Fancies, I started creating paper piecing patterns because I wanted to create quilt blocks from the images that I drew.  Drawing and painting have always been a part of my world, ever since I learned how to hold a pencil.  After months of sharing my paintings here and being encouraged by your kind words, I have decided to sell some of my artwork as prints.

 

 

 

 

I worked on these prints every waking moment of the last few weeks.  I won’t bore you with the details, but somewhere in there, I sneaked in some quick sewing.  I needed a larger zipper-bag to carry sketchbooks and colour pencils.  I love making these two-tone bags.  The clock and the math fabric were made for each other.

 

 

 

 

I like the combination of red and grey, hence the red zipper.  I selected the grey lining fabric for two reasons – it won’t show the colour pencil rubbings and the red pops very well against it.  I really love this bag and now I carry it in my backpack whenever I travel.

 

Speaking of travel, you may have noticed that a lot of my paintings are inspired by my travels.  So, no surprise there that the prints I selected were inspired by places that I have visited.

 

Without further ado, here is the very first set of paintings –

 

 

 

Purchase Weatherd Scottish Abbey

 

I painted most of this one during the long hours of travel during our flight, both to and from England.  It is based on the picture I took at Dryburgh Abbey in Scotland. I so enjoyed the tranquil moment standing alone in front of this aged and wet stone abbey chapter house ruin that it became the subject of my painting.

 

 

 

Purchase Magician’s Bookshelf

 

If you have known me for a while now, you probably know how much I love books.  I also love old ruins and stonework.  I created a Magician’s Bookshelf full of magic books, featuring a candlelit bookshelf adorned with stone leaves, and a wise raven watching over the books.

 

 

 

Purchase Heather In The Yorkshire Moors

 

During one of our countless visits to the British Isles, we drove out one afternoon to the outskirts of Whitby in Yorkshire.  The fields were covered by heather as far as the eye could see, and the sky was full of flowing clouds.

 

 

 

Purchase Summer Sailing in Whitby, Yorkshire

 

As we were walking to dinner that same evening, a lonely white sailboat on the North Sea caught my eye.  The Yorkshire Sky was still beautiful with the setting sun.  It was so calming and peaceful that I relived the feeling while painting this on a much later day.

 

I hope you liked the selection.  This is a huge step for me.  Many Thanks to all my friends here who continue to be so supportive and encouraging!!  I would be very happy if you could please take a look at the prints in my shop and help spread the word.

 

You can still link up on this month’s  Wandering Camera here.

 

Thank you again!
-Soma

 

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.  

 

 

 

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Dryburgh Abbey

 

Purchase Weatherd Scottish Abbey

 

During the break I took over the last few weeks, I learned that Stillman And Birn, makers of wonderful sketchbooks, had featured my watercolour paining of Dryburgh Abbey, not only on their website, but on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages as well.  I am not an affiliate, so imagine my joy at the news!

 

I wanted to take a painting project with me to fill the long hours of travel time on the plane while travelling to England.  Of the places we visited in Scotland, Dryburgh Abbey is one of my favourites.  I enjoyed the tranquil moment standing alone in front of this aged and wet stone abbey chapter house ruin so much that it became the subject of my painting.

 

You can read about the artist statement I wrote for the feature on Stillman And Birns’ blog.

 

I am really very excited about it all.  So I thought I do a full review of the Stillman And Birn Beta Series paper and on why I love working with it.

 

 

 

 

At the time of my travel I didn’t have a travel-size sketchbook.  I am very heavy-handed with water when it comes to watercolour, so the new sketchbook had to be able to handle that. During my research, I came across Stillman and Birn.  Their Beta series sketchbook with 270 gsm weight paper seemed ideal to me.  I also like the white paper of the Beta series instead of the ivory of many others.

 

The Stillman And Birn paper stayed smooth despite my water usage. I didn’t see even the tiniest bit of the lint-like effect that other papers get when used with watercolour.  It also warped very little, which I was able to easily fix once the painting had dried. 

 

The Beta series is not rough like cold press watercolour paper, neither is it as smooth as the hot press ones.  It has an in-between texture.  I love to play with different painting media and the texture of the sketchbook handled them all beautifully.  I pulled out a few examples so you can get a good idea. 

 

 

 

 

The Dryburgh Abbey painting was done with watercolour pencils.  The picture above shows how much I had finished on the plane using a waterbrush.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Canoe Prismacolour Marker And Copic Marker | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Markers typically work best on smooth paper, but this paper was smooth enough for me to blend and lift off paint with ease on this marker landscape and canoe painting.

Note – if you use markers, the pigment does seep into the back of the page.  Therefore, you won’t be able to use the back side.  I only use the right side of a sketchbook, so it was not a problem for me.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Cat On The Wall Prismacolor Marker | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The sketchbook is great for quick, fun, comic-book style marker and ink sketches too.  I was able to layer different markers and blend them without hard edges showing.  I used a Micron pen to draw the black ink outlines.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Lavender Field Painting Derwent Pastel Pencils | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The paper has enough grain for pastel pencils to work just as well.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Vintage Tiles Winsor & Newton Watercolour Marker | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I used Winsor Newton watercolor markers to paint these rusted tiles.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Dance Copic Marker | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I worked with mixed media on this one – markers, ink and pen.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Steampunk Fleur De Lis Painting Marker & Winsor Newton Ink | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Water soluble Winsor Newton Ink gave me the vibrancy I needed for the steampunk Fleur-de-lis and the blue background.  I also used pens and pencils for the details and shading.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Birch Trees In Snow Schmincke Horadam Watercolour | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Of course, it does superbly well with watercolour.  Once I painted the background, I went over with more saturated paint for the details on the trees, finishing the painting off with white paint for the snow. 

When I originally posted this painting, many of you chose this one as your favourite and wrote lovely words about it.  Since I prefer colder temperatures, I used this one as the watercolour example.

 

 

Sketchbook 2017 - Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks | Whims And Fancies

 

 

If you are looking into trying out sketching, painting, or journalling, I highly recommend the Stillman And Birn Beta Series sketchbooks.  You get 25-26 sheets per sketchbook.  It is thick paper, which makes it suitable for both dry and wet media.  As you see, I have used all kinds of painting media along with pens on this paper.  Currently I am working on a travel journal, hopefully I will be able to share more with you soon.

 

Update

 

Since I have written this review I have worked on very wet on wet paintings.  The paper does not handle that kind of the water at all.  It becomes too soft and starts to lint severely.   It was an exersize in frustration.  I suggest using 100% cotton Fabriano or Fluid paper.  Fluid is a cheaper option of the two and does very well with wet on wet paintings.

Other than that Stillmand & Birn is quite a versatile sketchbook.

 

Until then,
-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

 

 

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