Gotta go Go GO!

Wow! I'm really behind on posting... Is it Monday already? And it's AUGUST!?!?! When did that happen?!?! That means that there is exactly 30 days till school starts! \O.O/ I'm not ready!!! *cries in a corner*

Okay.... So the reason why I didn't post on Friday was because this past week has been hectic. Last Sunday was my birthday and I had to work. My sister got me playing slither.io and now we are both addicted. We probably spent a whole day playing and watching each other play... Also, I got hooked on a series called The Steampunk Chronicles. I read the first 400 page book in three days and the second one in two days! I was literally reading for most of the day. I probably should have stopped to do some more work in my sketchbook, but I just couldn't stop myself!
Besides being sucked into the series, I did manage to get some work done in my sketchbook. I finally finished the cut paper thing that I was working on. Here it is!!! ^.^

It took me four days to finish cutting all of the pieces (332 cut pieces all together. And yes, I did just count all of them). I then spray painted it with hammered metal spray paint (which took a day to dry and it still smells bad... e_e) and it took me a day to layout and glue down all of the leaves on the other side. 

Here is the page with all of the leaves. (yes they are real pressed and dried leaves from last year)

A couple days later I did a quick sketch of Italy. It's not that great, but thats why you call it a sketch. ;)

Here are some photos I took on my Birthday trip to Cave of the Mounds. ^.^

 

For some reason now I want to do a sketch of a cactus... So I might go do that now...

Birthday Week! Woo! \O.O/

This week had been crazy for me, mainly because it is my sister and I's birthdays. It's her birthday today and she is having her party right now with all of her crazy loud friends... I'm probably just going to stay up here and work on my current ongoing project in my sketchbook.

Like I said last week, I was working on a page, which I now have finished. I painted it with water color and used some new markers that I got. I wish that the sky was a little more faded into the background because it almost seems like there is to much texture with the wind and the willow tree.

 

The next day, I randomly decided to do some word art. It's a little boring looking, but I wasn't really sure what to do that day...

The next day I saw this cool thing on Pinterest where someone cut a design into their sketchbook and had magazine images on the page behind it. I really wanted to try something like that, but with a leaf. At first I was planning on using magazine images of leaves, but I couldn't find any and my mom told me that we had a bunch of pressed leaves from last fall in the basement. I grabbed a few and I am planning on gluing them down after I finish the cutting. I still have a lot of cuts to do, so this is diffidently going to be a more than one day sketchbook page. So far it has taken me two to three days to do this... (I'm not really sure anymore. I work a little bit on it whenever I can) I'm thinking about painting the cut page black, because the pencil left gray marks all over the paper and I can't erase them for some reason. Hopefully by next week I will have it finished along with a couple of other pages (and hopefully some more photo edits)

  

And I probably won't be doing any more or a lot of work on this page because my birthday is in two days and I have to work tomorrow, and god knows how long I will be stuck there... -_-

Tiered, hungry and wait... my birthday is next week?

Wow! Didn't mean for this post to be two days late! I was literally at work all day Friday (10:30AM-6PM no breaks... e_e). Friday was probably the most stressful day at work I have ever had! I diffidently didn't have time to do some art and I still had to work Saturday. I'm really trying to get some sketching in, and I feel so behind! Whenever I have the time, I try to sketch (but knowing me I want to make each page perfect and it takes me like 2 days to finish! That could be why I have fill so little pages...). This past week, I got to complete two pages and start a third.
For the first one, I decided to use one of Mrs. Bjork's ideas for what to do in our sketchbooks. I asked my sister to give me random words (which she read off to me from a web comic she was reading) and I attempted to make them look like what they are. It was fun to do and I might do it again later. :)

In my next page, I wanted to do something with the flowers that I pressed a week ago. I laid them out, painted the background with water color (and metallic watercolor) and glued them down. I'm pretty happy how it turned out, but I was sad to see when the glue dried that you can see some of the yellow watercolor underneath the purple petals... Oh well.

That same day, I also wanted to get some Photoshop work done, so I took one of my favorite Snapchat selfies and messed around with it. You can't even tell it was a Snapchat photo now! (well, besides the fact that it is a VERY poor quality image and it looks a little grainy)

On the page that I'm working on now was inspired by the wind. It is always really windy at my house (because I'm at the top of the hill, surrounded by fields, and there are literally no trees to be found) but it was more windy than usual. 

I am really pleased with myself how good the person looks! I usually suck at people! I just can't figure out how to do the bottom of her dress without it looking stupid... I might just leave her as she is. I was planning on making this one a mixed media piece by using markers, colored pencils, and water color. This is diffidently going to be a multiple day sketchbook page.

I'm still planning on doing a collage page in my sketchbook, but I just haven't found the time...

Here are just some of the photographs that I posted on Flickr recently. ^.^

I should be cleaning right now...

Hello everyone! I'm writing from my new desktop! I love it so much. It's huge! O.O

Anyways, as the title says, I really should be cleaning right now because my family is having a deck party tomorrow and the house is a mess! I really wanted to get my weekly post in though (because I'm afraid I will forget to do it otherwise).


During this past week, I have been very busy, but I still have had the chance to get creative. A week a go, I picked some flowers and pressed them because I wanted to do something with them in my sketchbook. Not sure what I will do yet though... I also wanted to try doing an architectural sketch so I decided to sketch off of one of the photographs that I had taken when I was in Italy. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. :)

  

I also had the chance to edit some more photos. (FINALLY I will be able to finish posting my Italy photos. Why am I so slow and lazy?!?! :P) These three I'm thinking of making as my finals. :) (and I edited them on my favorite phone app, Enlight. I'm planning on editing on PhotoShop soon, just don't really have the time at the moment)

    

The one of the Bridge of Sighs is my favorite ^.^

I also randomly decided yesterday that I wanted to change my Instagram username and make a little logo for myself that I can put on all of my Instagram photos. So I went on PhotoShop and created this. :)

I also posted more photos on Flickr. :)

Busy Busy Busy

Oops... I forgot to post yesterday. I'm still going to try to post every Friday, I just was doing a lot yesterday.

Anyways... I have been trying to do more sketchbook stuff this week, but I just have so much to do. At the moment, I'm helping my parents plan and set up our annual deck party for next week. That has taken up a lot of my time and I also had to puppy sit (the most adorable puppy) this week, which took a lot out of me. Besides everything that has been going on, I have had the chance to do some sketching and stuff in my sketchbook.

I wasn't really liking the cover of my sketchbook so I decided to paint it white and decoupage it. It took me almost all day to complete because I had to do four coats of paint, cut out all of the triangles, and decoupage them on.

I also really felt like doing a mandala so I dug out my compass and sharpie pen.

                 

I then dug out some watercolor paints and painted it. This is actually the first time I have completed a mandala (probably because this one is smaller than the one that I had started a while ago) and the first time that I have decided to paint one. I guess I just wanted to add a little color to my sketchbook.

I really have been meaning to edit my Italy photographs, but I just haven't had the time. After the 4th of July and the deck party, I will try to do that. Diffidently because I now have Photoshop!!!! I'm just so excited! My Dad got my sister and I a Mac desktop with all of the programs that he has on his computer at his office. ^.^ Now I can edit my photographs and my sister can digitally draw and animate.

Try to keep a look out for photographs to be posted on my Flickr. :)

Self Portrait Update

          Yesterday I finally finished my self portrait that I was working on. When it was right in front of me, it looked fine, but after I left to go get a glass of green tea, I came back horrified! The face is very disproportional and the eyes are WAY too big! My face even looks a little skeletal like... I didn't really feel like fixing it, so this is what it is. The photograph is WAY better.
          Maybe this is a good thing that I'm probably not going to do the drawing portfolio! XD

          I also have been working on the cover of my sketchbook. Just have to do one more layer of decoupage and it should be finished. :)

So I got a plan...

          What's up everyone? So, I'm going to try to make a weekly post every Friday about how I have improved and stuff. (let's see how long this lasts...)




          So, I have many photographs that I want to try to redraw that I took from Italy, but I just really haven't found the time to do so. I'm going to try to make myself a schedule to make sure that I have time to sketch. I just feel very disorganized at the moment... e_e
I did have a chance to sketch some photographs that I took earlier this year.

          They're not that great, but what the heck! I tried.

          Sometime yesterday, I decided to try to do a self portrait, but I only had the chance to start it. Here is my reference image and what I got so far. It isn't much, but keep checking for updates to see the finished product. :)

          Also, I have been seeing many interesting textures lately and they have inspired me to want to do some collaging. Maybe something monotone or ombra or abstract. With a bunch of little pieces.....
          Oh god! What am I getting myself into?! Why do I always do this to myself? :P