Its OK To Play!

It's easy to get in to the mind set that everything you do has to be something ... an end product ... a "piece" - and shaking that off can be pretty hard. So having had a few days of not liking what I was doing ... I decided to have a play and not worry too much about the outcome ... it's only paper and paint right? Nobody died! OK so I'm lucky to have the luxury of time to do this but sometimes getting your nose back in your sketchbook is the only way to move forward. So here it is ...not a commission...not a piece for my store ... just a bit of fun and scratching around.

And Now For Some Colour...

 Dutch Canal Houses commission (rather large pen and ink drawing) is finished, packaged and ready to go so it's straight back to the colours by way of a little gift tag! Bull Terriers are one of my favourite breeds to draw ... never owned one but just love their faces! Got 2 snoring hounds in the studio today so it's seems an ideal day for it!

Dutch Canal Houses

Back to it after a few exciting weeks off! 

Enjoying drawing Dutch Canal Houses today as ground work for a commission. It's going to an expat leaving the Netherlands I believe ... so my little houses will be going on a long journey! The final piece will be in pen&ink on a nice heavy HP watercolour paper. I'll post a photo once it's done. 

Then I think it will be back to the animals (though it's a nice change to draw straight lines!) .. got so much material to work from after a trip to Indonesia ... watch this space!

Dutch Canal Houses / Dutch Architecture /Commissions 

Birthday and Farewell Bull Terriers

Spent some happy hours on this part gift/part commission for a Norwegian friend coming to the end of his stay in The Netherlands. ... as well as celebrating his 40th! The scarves and bow-ties represent the nationalities in our group as well as NL. Hopefully it will bring back happy memories for Henning and Birgitte when they are back in Norway!

The image is mixed media on 220gsm paper (smooth) and available framed our unframed. Other dogs/animals/nationalities are available on request .. along with prices. Contact me via this blog or on face book if you're interested

 Afternoon Drawing Bears

Working on something familiar to get back in to the swing of things on a grey January day. Thought I'd go back a few steps though as some of the stuff I've been doing has started to look a bit toy-like ...not what I'm aiming for. I want the figures in my illustrations to still look like animals. I don't think I'm quite there yet but I did make a note of the different steps if you want to have a go!

  

The Bear was roughly drawn on 70g Canson marker paper - you can see all the mistakes and over-draws if you enlarge it. Then transferred  to 220g smooth surface cartridge paper using a light box. The colour was added gradually in layers using Caran D'Ache Pablo pencils (go from light to dark .. need to add gradually- there's a limit to the amount of pigment the surface will hold.)

 

Bulldogs, Bull Terriers and a Pinch of Patriotism for Good Measure!

Probably inspired by being in the UK during Remembrance Sunday .... my sketch book seems to be filling up with some pretty patriotic looking Hounds! Also might be down to my daughter Alex loving British Bulldogs (or Baggy Bulldogs as they are known here in NL!) I'm really enjoying drawing some new faces .... and hope to be filling my Etsy store with some new stuff really soon!

Pugs, Bears ... and Bull Dogs!!!!

Have been busy getting things ready to fill the shelves of my Etsy store again! I had a great response last year so working hard to produce some new stuff

Opening Soon!!!!!!

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

pug pug puggy pug pug ...work in progress ... nose to the sketchbook!

 

#pug

And Begin Again .....

Back again after a long break ... for lots of reasons .. but it's good to be back!

My main goal today was just to get drawing again ... and once I actually got my butt in to my seat it wasn't so bad after all. I read about a thing called "resistance" over the summer ... the feeling you get when it actually comes down to getting creative and suddenly you'd rather be anywhere else ... doing anything else??? If this sounds like you, you might want to take a look at "Creative Thursdays" by Marisa Anne Cummings. Not packed with earth shattering revelations but definitely a few "aha" moments and worth a read ... a pretty book too!

Anyway ... having accepted I have resistance on the scale of a world war 2 underground movement and also that not all drawings have to be a conceptually original and brilliant piece ... I decided to combine my love of Yoga with my love of bears just to get me going - and a new little pug popped up (lets call him Horatio for now!) - that I now have lots of ideas for. So here's hoping!

A comment or a follow would be much appreciated

New Pug Stuff coming soon!

Saving Puggy Potter

Today I went back to a drawing of a pug - just to finish it off ... and totally wrecked it. It's not a rare event ... it happens .... I just went at it with no thought and what started out as a knitted jacket turned in to a total smudgy mess. So the options are ... 1. the bin .... 2. try and salvage something.

Scissors and paper at the ready!

Cover up the failed jacket with a paper cape.

I decided to try and salvage something ... nothing to lose - so it was actually really relaxing to get a bit creative with it. I keep scraps of paper that I like along with other bits and pieces so I just played around for a bit ... and this happened. Hope you like it...

Complete with hat and paper bloomers!

You're a wizard Puggy Potter!

Monday is Pug Day ... or How I Draw Pugs

The start of the week can be a stumbling block for me ... just getting going! So I've gone back to one of the small drawings I did for my "Draw Every Day For A Year" as a starting point. Surprise surprise it's a pug .... but you can see the stages below from rough drawing to coloured piece at the end. I always do the initial drawings on layout paper (or marker pad paper ...the Letraset one is pretty good and easily available here in NL) The paper is nice and smooth and easy to do the many corrections I need to do!!! (you can actually see all the corrections on the first drawing where lines have been at the wrong angle ... or just ...wrong!)

Initial rough drawing ... you can see all the mistakes too ...

When I'm happy with the rough drawing ... I use a light box to trace through and add extra details like the collar. Then the light box again to transfer it on to a good quality paper. I find if you're using coloured pencil and you want a smooth finish .. then smooth surface heavy weight cartridge paper is pretty good (I use windsor and Newton 220gsm)

                        

 drawing with collar and crown(left) and final pug (right)

Then all thats left to do is add the colour. 

I used a mixture of Caran D'ache Pablo and Prismacolor for this one.

Finally just blend the colours with a colourless blender and then a burnisher to stop smudging (Derwent do some decent ones)  And thats it! TaDaah!

Thanks for looking in again.

Comments welcome!

Collars and Crowns

It's been a pretty productive week drawing wise. I was getting really stuck in a rut with a story I'm working on so I decided to work on some stuff to go in the Etsy store instead. I've also been trying to stick to my "A drawing a day for a year" ... and so far so good ... There have been a couple of days where I wouldn't have done anything otherwise ... so give it a go -  it helps get rid of that monday morning "creative stutter".

So I've been working on new Pugs and Bears for the store ... which I hope to re-stock and open again very soon. All done in pencil ... Caran D'Ache Pablo and Prismacolour ... and trying to bring the Pugs along a little with better faces and bodies. As for the book ... I'll keep plugging away!!

art illustration pug and bear

Suffering from TWA???? (.... Total Work Avoidance)

This is what I am clearly suffering from ... totally made up .. but sounds real enough!

I think a LOT of creative people suffer from this ... I know at least one writer who does (she knows who she's is ...don't ya buddie!) So how do you move on? How do you "feel the fear and do it anyway"? I just thought I'd share a couple of things:

I've been reading/looking at an amazing book .... "The Daily Zoo" by Chris Ayers. Chris decided to keep a journal of a drawing for every day he was recovering from cancer ... I know it doesn't sound very cheerful but it's hugely inspirational! I am no where near as talented as this guy ... but I am going to aim to do a drawing a day and see how long I can go ...aiming for the year!!

I always dip in to "How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be" (J. Canfield) I suppose its a bit flakey of me ...but it is really useful! Not where I want to be just yet ... but I WILL keep trying!

Good luck creative types out there!!!!

2014??? ... Bring it on!!!!!

Back to it in 2014!!! The Etsy store went amazingly well before christmas ... selling out and making the time I spent putting my work online well worth it! I had great support from family and friends but also from "strangers" ... so a big thanks to everyone ... even if you just did a little window shopping! I know selling this way isn't for everyone - but if you have creative stuff to sell .. Etsy is worth a look. I'm working on more stuff to refill those virtual shelves and I'll let you know when its open again.

So for now ... I'll be working on my book ... more stuff to sell directly ... and also trying to be a little better at selling myself! Wish me luck on that one!! :D (typical illustrator ... hiding away and putting more in the bin than I ever keep :/ )

(Still working on characters and developing the story .... hoping to get out of the sketch book real soon!)

Shop 'Till You Drop!!

I can safely say that when your a techno-phobe like me .... setting up online can initially be a DRAG!!!! It has taken ages to put my images up but but of course once they are there ... job done!!! More things to go in later this week too :D Hopefully maintaining the store will be easier ... just putting new stuff in as I produce it ... and taking old stuff out I suppose!  And of course hopefully getting all those lovely orders out in a timely fashion.

 So please "scoot" along to my Etsy store - it is now ... open!!!

https:www.etsy.com/shop/banham

Old Style Selling to New Style selling ..

 Today was the last of the Seasonal Markets this side of christmas. As usual ... it was a mixed bag ... and it is always a learning curve as to what sells. It can be hard to get it right ... but I was glad I had plenty of Pug cards! And of course there is the cost of the stall to take in to account as well as petrol etc. So how does this balance up against selling on the internet? Well I am about to find out by filling my Etsy store with cards and art work. I know from past experience that putting your stuff in to your store takes time ... but so does sitting at a craft market.

Time will tell .. and I'll happily report back! Thanks to everyone who has bought stuff from me in the past couple of weeks ... much appreciated!

Colour It In !!

Really enjoying getting to grips with some new materials and some new themes ready for the seasonal markets. I've always been a sucker for working in black and white ... but I know I need to do more in colour if I'm ever going to get anywhere. If you're a black ink addict like me ... colour can be scary! But I've really enjoyed "playing" around a bit ... and getting stuff ready for Seasonal Markets has actually helped. Working on cards and small illustrations has made it all feel a bit less risky. I've been using Caran d"Ache "Pablo" pencils which are really forgiving as long as you use them on a smooth surface.

And my sketch book has come in real handy ... makes life easier when you can pick out some ideas to work on rather than staring at that blank paper wondering what on earth to do next! Its something I'd really encourage any Artist or Writer to keep!

Well wish me luck at the Markets (at Thermae Son this thursday 10-3) and thanks for looking in on the blog! :D

#carandache #pablopencils

Festive Pugs and Kisses

Always be open to suggestions! Like so many others at the moment ...my daughter is obsessed with all things Pug. I have to admit I do love these cute little critters and their ability to wear hats well has meant they have found a place along side my Beagle and Bear designs! They are drawn in pen and ink and then the hats and scarves  are mixed media. Lots of fun to do ....

These hand made originals are available at the next ISE coffee morning on November 20th (International School Eindhoven) They will be on  Hollie's stall along with her Retro Kitchen produce. After that ... The IWCE Winter Market at Thermae Son on November 21st. And on Etsy this week ...so look out for the link :D

Winter Markets and Woolly Hats!

Just getting everything ready for the start of the Christmas Markets ....and noting how many of my characters are wearing hats! Must be the cold weather getting to me! My work will be for sale at The Hub in Eindhoven on November 3rd at the Arts/crafts and Flea Market and also at the IWCE Winter Market at Thermae Son 21st of November (10am - 3pm) I am also hoping to get some goodies in to my Etsy store in plenty of time for christmas ..so watch out for updates!

Thank you!!!

A big THANK YOU to everyone for checking out my Blog! I just went over 1,000 views which is small beans compared to some ...but we all start somewhere! 

Have a great weekend!!!!