Books We Like! -- A brand new page

Hi, all!

Just wanted to let you know I've reorganized the blog a little, removed the bookshelf from the sidebar at right and added a brand new page--well, THREE of them, actually, so far--of books I think you'll find useful.  You'll find it at the top of the page, or click this link: http://artistsjournalworkshop.blogspot.com/p/books-we-like.html

Yep, there are some of mine (though not all those pictured above) but a LOT more from people whose work I love and have learned from.  (What can I say, that was the quickest photo I could find that had a lot of books! :-D )

You'll find artists, journalers, watercolorists, travel journals, calligraphy, how-to and much more.

There's an arrow at the bottom of these links to let you know there's more to come, and I set them to shuffle, so you don't see the same thing all the time, when you open the page. (If you don't see a favorite, look on page 2 or 3--or whatever!) 


I'll be adding to these as I go along...if you have particular favorites, please let me know and I'll check them out!

New Fall Low Country Journaling Workshops

Autumn in the low country of South Carolina.... kiss the humidity goodbye and say hello to perfect Carolina blue skies and temperatures that will sooth your soul. Plan an Artful Autumn Get-Away and visit the delightful destination of Beaufort South, Carolina.

A Garden Journal Workshop with Pam Johnson Brickell

October 25, 26 and 27, 2011 • Beaufort, South Carolina

In conjunction with Coastal Art Supply and The Beaufort Inn

 

Pam is excited to join forces with Beaufort County's own Laura Lee Rose, a Clemson Extension horticulture agent and one of the area's foremost advocates of horticulture. She teaches the Master Gardener curriculum, oversees county-wide horticulture projects, speaks to schools and community groups, and has been active in organizing and promoting Beaufort's downtown community garden.

Learn sketching, page design, watercolor, lettering and artful journaling techniques from Pam and valuable plant identification/information and other horticultural goodies from Laura Lee.  

By the end of the workshop you'll experience the joys of keeping a garden journal and discover first hand how it can be utilized to plan your garden and serves as a record of your gardening trials and triumphs.

Oh yes..... lunch is provided by Southern Graces - the ultimate treat!

For information and registration call Coastal Art Supply at 843-524-2787

And.............

Pam just can't contain herself and must share the fun :)

Being offered at 

Coastal Art Supply in Beaufort, South Carolina

843-524-2787

Painting NightScapes Plein Air - The Hunter's Moon

November 8 − 10, 2011
Tues: 1 − 4 pm
Wed and Thurs 4:30 − 7:30 pm

For the workshop description, please click here

The Beaufort, SC link above has hotel and vacation rental options under the 'lodging' link.  


No matter which part of the these wonderful United States you want to head off to for an Artful Autumn Get-Away.... or if you would like to try an online workshop, there are plenty to choose from. Check out the complete listings on this blog here.

The Making of a Page

Just because a sketch is made in the spring doesn't mean the page gets finished then :)  I got caught up in some research about May Day...

There was a lot of room left on the paper when I finished my plein air pen and watercolor sketch. And, since it was May Day and the sketch of Sparkleberry... Well you know, just that tree's name on my tongue makes calligraphic notes sing in my head! I decided to settle into a more controlled environment to finish the dressing on this May Day page.

A tissue paper overlay is a great way to experiment with the placement of other elements you want to add to your page. It keeps the paper from being compromised from too much erasing.

The trick is matching the same placement that you like on the overlay. There are transfer papers you can use, or you can flip over the overlay and trace what's on the front side using a very soft pencil. Once finished, flip it back to the original side,lay it over your journal page and retrace your original lines with a sharp pencil. Lift the overlay tissue off of your journal page and your lettering will/should be on the paper beneath.


But, I know from experience that I lose total spontaneity when I use these methods. My lines become stiff as I get caught up in left brain control. I honor my free flowing plein air sketch too much to let that happen. I want all the elements to compliment that freedom. So I guess-ti-mate :)

My version of cooking without a recipe :)

Click on images to enlarge :)

Full Thunder Moon

 
Full Thunder Moon, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

This was the scene last evening when I took the dogs out for their last pee trip. I had written off being able to see July's full moon.... but the clouds parted briefly and I was there.... quite accidentally!  It brought to mind the Lemony Snicket's line that I read on Jan Yates blog recently....
It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting.  ~Lemony Snicket
I painted the sky and moon from memory and the tree plein air today :)

Fast Sketching My Way Around a Wildlife Center

Back in March, Rob and I spent a lovely afternoon walking along the manicured trails of the Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah, GA.

The second feature along the trail was an area where two Sandhill Cranes reside. I didn't want to leave!

They walked over from the far side of their area to right below the bridge we stood on. A few more people came a long and the cranes let out a sound that made all of us jump!  Goodness, they are loud!

I sketched and painted for a bit then we made our way to see the Bobcat..... very well hidden.

On to the Red Foxes.  Yes! From there we walked to the Birds of Prey area. By then. the no-seeums were having they're way with us!

We saw the Center's herd of White-tailed Deer and then moved on to see the pack of Gray Wolves.

You can observe the wolves from a bridge that overlooks their area or you can go into a building with one-way glass. Both vantage points were exciting as it was feeding time.  Nothing like seeing the pecking order of a wolf pack first hand. I'm hoping the addition of color will help the wolf head sketches....

Our last stop... the American Bison.  Wow! Pappa is one big dude!!

We were on our way back to the parking lot and I just couldn't stand it... I had to go back to see the cranes again :)

So, a few more crane sketches to surround the Bison :)

I've been hoping to finish these pages with color using the reference photographs we took... hopefully soon.  Then I'll add some more words. The first crane page is begging for a calligraphic touch :)

What a great place to practice fast sketching! I can't wait to go back :)

Another Lettering Book!

Cheryl Gebhart, one of our regular readers, commented on THIS POST--she also suggests The Scrapbooker's Handwriting Workshop: 20 Unique Fonts to Practice and Play With (oops, out of print**) and it DOES look like fun!

**NOTE: I had the wrong link--this edition is NOT out of print: The Scrapbooker's Handwriting Workshop: 20 Unique Fonts to Practice and Play With


It's on Amazon, with the "Click to Look Inside" option, so I did.  (Don't forget to hit "Surprise me," you can see a lot more.)

Has anyone else used it?  Cheryl, can you tell us more about why you like it?

I can see I'm facing temptation again...

Lettering for your journal?

How important is this to you?

Does anyone have a favorite book on hand lettering?  We've seen some wonderful examples already, and that was one of the big winners in our poll at right., on what our readers would like to see on this blog (by the way it will be open for a year, so vote any time you like!)

I'm practicing my own brush lettering because I like the contrast between words and images, and how they can complement one another.  Sometimes I had a colorful or harmonizing header, sometimes not...

It can be a lovely design element, providing balance as well as adding information--several of our correspondents use it to wonderful--and varied!--effect.  Color, style, position, of your letters can all work when designing a pleasing page.

We featured this one in THIS POST, along with a few suggestions for further reading in the comments, but what's YOUR favorite?

This one looks interesting--has anyone used it?  (You can click on the image to get at the "look inside" feature on this one.  It's got a lovely cover, but it's fun to poke around, too!)







Do you use lettering on your pages?  Do you want to?  Do you feel it adds to a page or detracts? Do you care about what your letters look like, or are you just interested in making notes on what you see, think, feel?

Let's open this for discussion!

* NOTE: I've added Roz's link from her comment below so you can click on it directly...don't know if you can make live liniks in comments, but here it is:  http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/2008/11/calligraphy-from-traditional-to-funky.html?cid=139517498