This is the front of my townhouse condo. It looks pretty sad, with an empty window box and dead perennials in the garden. There are some tulips poking up through the ground, and yesterday I saw a fluorescent orange nubbin of the rhubarb coming up. We have lived in this house for 16 years, and we have filled it with love and laughter, friends and family, tabby cats and books. It's been a good place to live, and I wish I could have done a better job portraying it.
I succumbed to the hype and bought a Moleskine sketchbook. I have the watercolor sketchbook which I like a lot. But this new one I'm not so sure about. The paper is very slick and smooth, the pen seemed to slip and dance across it. It's also quite yellow. It absorbed the paint quickly so it was difficult to get a smooth patch of color. I think it worked much better with the water color pencils and no water. The whole experience threw me off a little, I felt very hesitant and unsure how to lay the lines and paint down. (And aren't there a lot lines! )
10 comments:
I know what you are saying about your new Moleskine; I had the same reaction. I finally got a Strathmore watercolor journal for when I paint, and I use the Moleskine for pen and ink. It is wonderful for that, and I have learned to love the creamy color as well. I hope you do too.
I have several sketchbooks included a couple varieties of moleskine. Haven't used them yet but I have the regular sketchbook and a watercolor sketchbook. Since I am still fairly new at this I will probably experiment until I find what I like best.
Nice house.
Despite the struggle with the moleskine, you did a great job. I wanted to find out what they were, I had only heard about them before reading the JPeterman catlogs about Hemmingway and his moleskines. I thought they were journals, but, when I did find them, I was turned off!
"Art" and sketching, imo, mostly helps us see things more clearly. Sometimes we like what we see, and sometimes we don't. And sometimes we sketch what we see and sometimes what we WISH we'd see!!
I, too, think you'll get used to the color, and eventually even WANT to use this particular color of paper. Your house looks great, and the rhubarb poking out is so exciting-rhubarb is delicious!
I have a greater appreciation of other peoples work and the detail in their moleskines since I bought one. I felt awkward and my hand so clumsy working on the small pages, had to think more about what to draw in it, as I usually draw on a bigger size. I am glad I got one,it has pushed me to think differently about drawing in a journal.
So I do feel drawing your house in the moleskine is a great achievement, well done.
Wow! I just received my first moelskine yesterday via UPS....Here's hoping! I think your drawing and your journalling are great...Words and arts together make the deepest impressions...You did a great job here!
Thanks for "popping" by for a visit! :)
I think the house looks cute because your love went into it - I would love to see the inside as well - I bet it is a lovely jumble of your creative life. Good luck with the moleskin!
I can relate with to the Moleskin for I myself found that I didn't like how it had taken to wetness and so now I only use it for rough pencil sketching on occasions and even then I still do not care for it.
I normally just use Card Stock for mix medium, I like how it takes well to heavy inks and have use this paper for only light water washes.
This is my first visit here and I have enjoy your blog and I am looking forward at coming back again.
With the Moleskine I like a micron pen or some pencils and also gouache works well, but its always experiment and see what works for the statement you want to make.
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