Under The Sea with NeoColor II Pastels

 Thanks to Suzie, AKA Smartcat, I bought a small set of Caran d'Ache NeoColor II watersoluble pastels! She mentioned in the comments on my oil pastel post that they were fun to use. I have had my eye on them for over a year. Her comment was all I needed to go for it.

They really are fun to create with. Think of them as soft wax crayons that behave like watercolors when activated with water. 

The colors make for some whimsical mermaids. The mermaid in the first photo was supposed to be singing. She also looks like she might be screaming.

In most of these sketches I also combined watercolor pencil and regular colored pencil. They are also done on mixed media paper. Next up is to try them on watercolor paper.

*Secrets*

I finally finished my art journal pages. It really consumed me for nearly three days. I had to remind myself that I don't get paid to do this, that I needed to squeeze in some pottery making!

This journal belongs to my friend Jane Kaufmann. Her theme is "Secrets".

The artwork below is one of my favorites in the journal. It was created by Leah Murphy.

I completed two painting in watercolor batik...

How do they fit in with the theme of "Secrets"?
... it's a secret that I am not telling.

getting back to work and trying out some not so new ideas

It seems like Jeff and I are having a hard to getting back into production. We really need to get ourselves back on track, because of orders to fill, as well as shows to get ready for. I feel like I have been moving at a snails pace., but some work has been getting done.

I started incorporating leaves into my pots shortly after moving to Seagrove, starting with slip resist (which I still do) and then adding carved leaves. From the very beginning, people were asking if I did ginkgo leaves. So many potters (and jewelers) use ginkgo leaves in their work, that I was resistant to the idea. After more requests this week I figured I may as well give it a go...

 I am fairly happy with the first incarnation. I am sure it will get tweaked as I do some more.


When I get a spare moment I have been creating more rattles and carving them. Some will get fired in wood and others I am going to try wadding and firing in the gas kiln.

I like the way the mermaid in the back, right, came out. Her body wraps around the orb, her flowing hair meeting her tail. Not too crazy about her face though. My carving tools aren't small enough to do a good job. Though I did find a different Dolan tool in Jeff's box today that makes a finer line and is easy to control. I will make a few more so that I can practice making faces... although my siblings would say I had no trouble making faces when I was a kid.

april art journal...

this months theme was "secret garden"
i had an idea right away...an under the sea garden...mermaids (i love them) seashells etc...
all this i envisioned being executed in oil pastels...of which i have very little experience with.

my initial sketch was great...the final SUCKED. i abandoned the oil pastel idea and went back to the tried and true berol colored pencils. i am just not happy with the results. the mermaids proportions are not good. i skimped on the whole "garden, seashells, tropical plant" thing (pretty much left it out!!) because my brain was elsewhere and i will admit it...
I WAS BEING LAZY!

i still photographed my spread...perhaps as a reminder not to be a slacker again. feel free to comment...it's ok, i can take the criticism.