Monday, August 29, 2011

Peeking Inside My Sketchbook

Here's a prayer that those of you who share the East Coast with me were able to come through Irene's visit unscathed.  She was quite the unwelcome guest, and we've spent the day cleaning up after her mess -- however, we still have our home and our health, and we're  grateful.
In between the urges to sew, I've spent time during the past months learning and practicing watercolor and journal techniques, inspired by Alisa Burke's workshops and the encouragement of so many of you, dear readers.  Here's a peek:
I loved Alisa's whimsical paisleys, so I tried a few of my own . . .
In this sketch, I tried my hand at shading with watercolor pencils -- I used so much water in one spot that the background paper just melted away, and I had to glue on another piece (the fact that I didn't throw the drawing away shows that I'm learning to embrace imperfection, don't you think?) . . .
Here, I learned how to mix the color chartreuse (it was a bit like cooking: a little of this, a little more of that -- and then remembering what I did so I could repeat it) . . .
I decided to try the watercolor pencils again and had better luck with my Tree of Flowers (I am nothing if not persistent . . .)
The bottom of the page awaits some inspirational journaling -- with luck, that may happen on a future sleepless night.
My thanks to all of you for being there on the other end of my computer . . .
Diane






13 comments:

imquilternity said...

Wow...they are truly lovely...& inspiring. Wish I could draw like that. And, watercolors? I tried that years ago and it is difficult! You are gifted, my dear!

Terri Stegmiller said...

All of them are quite lovely, but my favorite is the second one from the top.

Lynne said...

Oh wow!

Robbie said...

And I thought you quilting/workmanship was superb! Your watercolor journal pages are just as perfect! Very nice!

Dawn Browning said...

Your work is beautiful!! I love the peeks into your sketchbook! You did such a good job of gluing on another piece of paper to your background, I can't see it anywhere! I love that you didn't throw it away! I'm having to learn to embrace imperfection in my own art this week. Thanks for the inspiration!!

Allie said...

I am so in awe of your talent - these take my breath away!

The Dotty One said...

These are gorgeous Diane! You are very talented. I love the tree of flowers!

Quilt Rat said...

What an amazing collection......absolutely Fabulous! I can see each and every one of these jumping off the paper and coming to life in fabric in your unique style.
PERFECTION!!!!!

Tangled Stitch said...

Hi Diane! Beautiful piece and glad to hear you are well after Irene, we are too thankfully!

Victoria said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, Diane!! Your sense of color and command of various medium is just stellar. What a gift you have!

So glad that you made it through Irene. We did too, except for some yard mess. Many of my daughter's high school classmates however are still without electricity and may have to wait several more days before it is fixed. I feel very fortunate.

Kerri Jean said...

thanks for the peek, Diane. I love the shading of the second one, that you had to patch back together. So glad you didn't throw it away. great work.

Chris Daly said...

Love your new designs. They would all make lovely quilts, especially the tree of flowers

Dielle said...

Oh my goodness, these are lovely! Such beautiful and yet playful drawings, just perfect (even with a glued on piece of paper... that I couldn't see).

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