So what's with 365 Days of art?
It's all about inspiration and a love of creating. I create five pieces of art a week, one of which I'll show you how to do.
Learn how to create a gorgeous watercolour and ink butterfly. But if that doesn't take your fancy there are also experiments with pencil crayons, creating cute little blob characters, and trying not to break space and time with Day 68.
I'm taking my tasks from the fabulous artist and art author Lorna Scobie.
I also have a Facebook page thingy-majiggy. If you like what I do, then head on over and give us a like, you'll never miss out that way.
Day 66
Task; Fill the squares with different marks
What can I say... sometimes I follow instructions. Don't get used to this though.
Day 67
Task; Pattern time.
Cute blobs: Check Cute colours: Check Cute Patterns: Double-Check
This one turned out so darn cute I broke it down into a simple three-step How-To.
Day 68
Task: Draw your hand, drawing.
If I break the space-time continuum with this inverted head screw and I get sucked into a the void, tell my family... I left the oven on.
Day 69
Task: Continue creating your own patterns.
So, not that I wasn't well into yet more patterns, I thought I'd use this task to have a go at something I've been mulling over for a while now. Watercolour and ink butterflies. I'm sort on on point, I mean butterflies are covered in patterns, smug beautiful bastards.
What you'll need
A piece of thickish paper, plus the watercolour paper you'll need for the art itself.
A pencil and waterproof black ink pen, (I use Uni fine line pens, no; 0.1)
Watercolours and a paintbrush.
A white gel pen.
Step 1
Cheat time. Draw one half of a butterfly on a separate piece of paper and cut out. You can use this as your template to create a whole butterfly. Draw in pencil around the butterfly and then flip it over and do the other side. Fill in the pattern and then ink out baby.
Top Tip; don't fill in one wing and then move onto the other. Each time you add an pattern element do the same on the other side, it's easier to keep the pattern as perfect as possible that way.
Step 2
Create a light paint wash for the background and then for the love of the Gods, let it dry.
Step 3
Once everything is drier than a mid-day desert fill in the wings. Remember watercolours like to move so fill the wings with a light dampness and shimmy those paints around. I placed a dark emerald green in the centre and then quickly added the dark blue into the edges. Keep adding the paint, remembering the colour will dry lighter. Cha cha cha. Let some of the 'white' shine through to create an iridescence to the wings, by lightly dabbing with some scrunched up kitchen roll.
Leave to dry on a flat surface and once it's good to go get your gel pen out and dab away. (I also added a touch of pink because I'm a bloody show-off, bow before me.)
Day 70
Task: Experiment with different art materials, get your colouring pencils at the ready.
This was great... pencil crayons aren't something I normally mess around with; too childish for the likes of this 30+ greying swearing mama-jama.
How wrong I was.
The trick is a good old rubber and a strong technique...woof woof.
Rubbing at some of the pencil lines creates a softer look, give it a go, it's a lot easier than painting.
That's it folks
... Join me next week when I dip my toe in the dark side, draw the weather and show you how to paint your very own sunflower.
But if you can't wait, here is where it all began Week 1.
