Inktober Day 29, 30 and Halloween

I took the day off on Friday from sketching and art work.  I'm sure you are not surprised.  I've had a lot of days off lately.

I sketched in the big book with a Micron 02.  For Inktober the items are not "from life" and are from photos and memory so they don't fit in the Scavenger Hunts.

You can click on images to see them a bit larger.

 

 

For Inktober Day 29 - patch - a pumpkin patch and the patch on the knee of the overalls.
For Inktober Day 30 - slither - some ice melting on a plate, it kept slithering together when I tried to keep it positioned like I wanted to sketch it.  I couldn't bring myself to sketch a snake.  I do have photos of snakes, but....  I could have sketched a slithery person sneaking out of ???

For Scavenger Hunt 699 - Halloween, a small pumpkin I bought (for what I don't know, is it enough for a pie?  It's about 8 inches tall and in 7 inches in diameter.  I can't remember how much will be left after it is seeded and cooked.)  We never have any trick or treat goblins so I buy lots of miniature candy that we like.  Mixed Hersheys, some Snickers and a mixture that has Hersheys with almonds, Reese's and Mr. Good Bar chocolates.

The Scavenger Hunts are moving to CreativeSpark.art after 699 ends.  It will be interesting to see if we pick up new sketchers on that site.  The few of us still left are all moving or have moved there.

It was coolish out this morning, about 42 degrees before the sun came all the way up.  The warm lakes were steaming in the cold.  Looks like Halloween, eh?  Maybe some floating ghosts.

Hope you have a good Halloween.  We will go to the fall ball Longhorn Baseball game.  Hook 'em Horns!

A Plethora of Sketches

A plethora of sketches or at least five.   I've been working on a sketch for a friend and trying to do the Inktober and Scavenger Hunts.  I am also working on some 12 x 12 acrylic paintings for the Art Center for the Christmas show.  We shall see if I get that done.  So no blog for a few days.  Thanks for your patience.

Inktober Day 18 Moon (numbered wrong on the sketch)

This is my mom when she was about 12.  There is a photo of my Grandmother and Grandfather on the moon as well.  I just saw it recently for the first time.  I've liked this of my mom.  The photo is in the archives here on my blog. https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/happy-mother-day.html  This is in the big book with a Micron 02.

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Inktober Day 19 and 20 are in the big book.  These two sketches on the same page are from photos so cannot be in the Scavenger Hunts which are sketches from life.  In the big book with Micron 02.  Mary said it looks like the kids are on an overpass over the highway.  

Day 19, Loop - Loop 150 around Bastrop.
Day 20, Sprouts - our sprouts, the 5 great grandkids

You can click on the images to see them a bit larger.

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Inktober Day 21 - Fuzzy

This little stuffed hedgehog in a bowl with Lamy pen in the big book.  He is also for the Scavenger Hunt 698, inside - inside a bowl.

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Inktober Day 22 - Open
Scavenger Hunt 698 #5  Appliance

This is in the big coffee table book with a Zig Millenneum 05 and a Prismacolor Chisel pen.

Have a good weekend.  We plan on that.

Inking and Hunting Sketches

Inktober Day 13 found us in Smithville.  We ate at the Blazer's Bar and Grill.  It was good, pretty average.  "Roof" was the prompt so we drove around looking for a good and different roof ... well we found it.

I took a photo and sketched in the big book at home with a Sharpie Pen.  It was a challenge free hand to get all the different sections of roof.  I could have drawn it in pencil first with a ruler but that ain't me.  Mary said it looks haunted in my sketch.

 

And the real thing.  There is even a little bay window by the porch.  Someone went crazy with roofs and decorations on it.  I guess that is a little star gazing balcony on top.

Inktober Day 14, tick - I thought of ticking off the days of October on my fingers with a double for the Scavenger Hunt.  In the big book with a Lamy pen.

Day 14 tick
SH 697, #3 want to spend more time doing - making art

Catch Up Sketches

Catch up time.  I've been sketching and playing in the pastels but haven't written or posted the photos.  

Inktober Day 10 - pick
Scavenger Hunt 697 - favorite tool - shovel is a favorite if you need to dig a hole.
In the big book with a Sharpie Pen

Inktober Day 11 - sour in the big book with Micron, Zig and Pigma Brush pens

Inktober Day 12 - stuck, the tops on these paint containers.  In the big book with various pens.

I played in the pastels for a class with Enid Wood.  October was a month for studying lines and how they affect a painting.  We tried outlining to move the eye around.  This was fun to do.  It is on a wiped off piece of Pastelbord, 8 x 10 inches.  Fun to do something so different than how I paint normally. Next class is Calligraphic Marks.   Many thanks to Enid for sharing her expertise and time with us.  She stays so busy with the Austin Pastel Society and her other painting.

The next class we were going to use lost and found lines where you blur the edges of hard lines and use the difference in color for lines or the light as a line.  I started this in the Zoom class but the internet and computer were not working for me and I did not finish this.  When I came back to it later I had lost my enthusiasm.  This was on Art Spectrum Colourfix Sanded Paper so I could wipe it off and put some water to blend the leftover for a new under painting.

For the monthly challenge on wetcanvas in the Southwest Forum where we paint from photos and you know how I feel about that, I picked these old milk cans.  I used the paper from the exercise above and did a version of the cans.  There wasn't much I could do with the composition without adding from my imagination.  I decided to just have fun with the rusty cans and fence.  This is about 8 x 10 inches with a variety of pastels.  I was going to outline again and just forgot after I started painting.  This is more of a sketch than a painting.

The prompt for Inktober Day 13 is roof.  This means sketching outside or from a photo.  I vote for outside!  See ya later.

Inktober Day 8 and 9 and Hunting

Have you been busy?  We haven't been doing much but sitting on the porch in the mornings and again in the evenings.  That takes me away from the computer, which is good for my brain but puts me behind in posting.

For Inktober Day 8, watch.  I combined the watch with the Scavenger Hunt #9 quarter and #10 money.  I numbered the Inktober as 7.  Oh well, I have the right number of sketches.  

This is in the big book with the Lamy pen.

For Inktober Day 9, pressure - I got out the old pressure cooker.  I use it mostly for tamales at Christmas.  I have an electric one that I use for beans and  soups.

For the Scavenger Hunt 696  https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/topic/scavenger-hunt-696-oct-01-oct-09/

# 11 - kettle, subbing the ice tea maker Jennie gave me for my birthday.  These are in the big book done with a Zig Millenneum pen.

I was making a birthday card this morning and sketched some geraniums with the Lamy pen on a watercolor card.  When I went to put some watercolor on it I realized that the Lamy pen is not waterproof and the black ran into the red of the flower.  Drat, why had I forgotten that.  It just made it darker which I caught, but had to be careful with the rest, not to touch the ink lines in the bright part of the flowers and leaves and background.  We were in a hurry to mail it this morning and I didn't get a scan of the card.  You will have to use your imagination.  And, a big reminder to me that the Lamy ink doesn't take water!

Hope your weekend goes well and your day is beautiful as it is here.

Sketching the Yard and Fan Inktober Day 7

We walked out by the easterly pond/lake this morning so I took the travel sketchbook and a Sharpie Pen.  I'm stretching this sketch to be the "yard" on the Scavenger Hunt list.

 Number 8, yard for Scavenger Hunt 696

Off to the left there were some amazing reflections.  I did a little study just to try a technique for reflections.  Not too bad....

Reflections in the lake with Sharpie pen in the travel sketchbook.

It is day 7 of Inktober.  I sketched in the big book out on the porch.  The prompt was fan.  I decided to sketch with a real pen, a Lamy.  The nib is about the size of a Micron 05.  Stronger lines than the Micron 02 for sure.

Remember you can click on the images to see them a bit larger.

 

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Repeating in case you missed this.

The Lost Pines Art Center here in Bastrop has some upcoming events.

You can go to both and you have time to have a table at the Holiday Market for a reasonable price.  Looks like fun.  More information at https://lostpinesartcenter.org or on facebook.

More Inking and Hunting

Inktober is going strong.  Because I sketch in ink most of the time the challenge isn't hard except for following the prompts and sketching every day.  I haven't had a "real" ink pen with a bottle of ink in a few years.  I mainly use fine line ink marker/pens.  

Here are a couple of posts I did about the ink pens I use

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/end-of-hunt-553-sketching-pens-info.html

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/sketching-with-pens.html

I've tried a few markers but in general they don't have ink in them or at least of any quality.  The color soaks through the paper and smears around.

I do have a Lamy pen which uses cartridges with real ink.  I will have to use it for a sketch or two.

For today I used an assortment with Micron, Zig, Prismacolor and Rumcent (for the orange)

The prompt is spirit, so thought of Gene's school spirit from college.  He has some banners from the universities he attended attached to a pole for safety when riding his trike.  You can see him from a ways off!

He is missing one from Eastern New Mexico where he took some classes when he was in the Air Force stationed in Roswell, New Mexico.

I also sketched in the big book for Scavenger Hunt 696.

Number 7, room or part of a room - from the dining room toward the living room in the big book with a Micron 02.

Hunting and Inktober Day 4

Separate sketches for today and back to black and white for the Hunt and Inktober.

I sketched in a travel sketchbook for Inktober Day 4 - knot with the Sharpie Pen.  A knot in my apron strings.  I hope to do the Inktober prompts in order.

For Scavenger Hunt 696 the prompt I picked was "tree".  I've sketched off the porch so much that I decided to drag a chair and the big book across the drive and sketch the front tree again.

Number 5, tree - This has grown from about 6 feet tall in 8 years.  I was happy that Gene had put the flag out.  With the Micron 02 and a Prismacolor chisel pen.

Inktober Day 3 All Together Now

 I am trying to stay true to the Inktober list and sketch every day.  It is nice when I can combine with the Scavenger Hunts.  

I worked in the big book with Micron, Zig Millenium and Rumcent pens/fine markers with ink.  I don't have orange in the good pens so used the cheap Rumcent for the orange.  I thought they might run out of ink, but we made it.

For Inktober Day 3 vessel - cups from our Whataburger lunch yesterday.  

For Scavenger Hunt 696 #3 -  eat, some Jalapeño saltines
#4 fruit, some grapes

Our niece, Mary, did some spade playing cards for suit.  I thought of that but have so many sketches of cards in the big book.  I may have a Whataburger something but not much.  Whataburger is good for fast food.  They used to cook the burgers when you ordered them but  had to go fast to keep up with the other places.  Still much better than the nationwide places.  The Lottaburger in New Mexico is a split off I think or one way or the other.  Both started in 1950 or so.  Lottaburger is my all time favorite,  but they are going fast food as well.  When we lived in NM there was nothing better than the Lottaburger with green chile.  Well maybe Shirley's taco burger. 

I think I've talked about the taco burgers before.  The drive-in would cut the top quarter off of a round paper plate, put a big corn tortilla on it, a half circle of hamburger, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and red chile.  Fold the plate in half with the tortilla burger sticking out and staple it closed.

Lots of memories relate to food in our family.  My mom would say if your were feeling bad to eat and you would feel better, to celebrate we would eat .... eat to live, etc.  I'm still a huge fan of eating food cooked from scratch.  Especially cakes and tortillas.  

This is making me hungry.  Maybe I'll have some of the saltines with some avocado.  Hmmmm.

Inktober Day 2 Suit

The Inktober list holds my idea for today, suit.  I immediately thought of an old one piece bathing suit I have.  When we lived in Phoenix, I swam almost everyday.  Now, it has been a few years.  I should sign up for water aerobics, right?  Too lazy, right?  Traveling back and forth to an activity is something I'm not fond of.  Seems such a waste of time.  I'm happy wasting time all on my own, not paying someone else to waste it for me.  

For Inktober, Day 2 - suit and for Scavenger Hunt 696, Number 2 - cloth doubling up for the sketch of my swimsuit.

 

 

This is sketched in the big coffee table sketchbook with Micron and Zig Millenneum pens.  I started with the Zig blue which was darker.  I didn't check right away.  When I discovered the Micron was a lighter blue I went to that for the base color adding the darker for shadows.  I'm pretty well pleased with the results.  Too bad I didn't start with the lighter blue.  

We hear that Whataburger is having the green chile burgers again so guess that will be our lunch today.  Yummy.

Hope you are having a great weekend.   Texas is ahead of TCU at halftime so that is good.

Scavenger Hunt 695 to 696

Already a new Hunt so from 695 to 696.  Our wetcanvas is going away.  They plan on shutting it down before the end of the year or early next year.  Us sketchers are moving to CreativeSpark as an alternative.  It is always hard to change and make new friends.  So for now, the Hunts are on wetcanvas, we are thinking through the end of October and switch.  We are all getting our brains and artwork over to CS to be ready for the move.  It seems easier to navigate CS than WC if you want to check it out.  I am Jo Castillo on both sites.

For Scavenger Hunt 695

Number 5, pair of something - Genes bicycle/tricycle shoes.  Maybe if I drew his feet better he could walk better!

I didn't get too many sketches done for that Hunt.

Inktober is starting today.  Artists sketch in ink  from a list if they want to for the month of October.  The ink part is not too hard for me as I usually sketch in ink.  I will try to make the prompt for the day fit into the Scavenger Hunts.  Cover both challenges with one sketch.  Lazy me.

Scavenger Hunt 696 Number 1, crystal - substitute for can from the SH list.
Inktober Day 1, crystal

The crystals are on the wall hanging made for us by T Stewart-Young.  Pretty nifty with the arrowhead, bone, etc.

I sketched in the big book with the Sharpie pen.  I think there are only about 50 pages left in the big book.  Yay!

This is the Inktober list if you care to join in.  You can post on social media with the hashtags to share.  I'm not on social media anymore so there.... It is fun to see all the ideas and creations from the list.