Basil & Ford - Screenprinted Wit

I have been smitten with Basil & Ford's lucky dip screenprints for quite some time.

What do you get when you combine vintage illustrations with a bit of screenprinted English wit?

These one of a kind prints which are such a clever combination of old and new. They're really striking, aren't they?

I had the hardest time picking just a handful to share, so do pop over to their website to ogle them all!

Basil & Ford are Lucy and Matt, a married pair of British designers. You can also follow Basil & Ford on Instagram. I do!

Nasa Funuhara - Painting with Tape

Happy Monday & Happy New Year!

Couldn't resist popping in to share a little eye candy / inspiration to look at common materials with new eyes.  Can you believe these portraits are made out of tape?

Artist Nasa Funuhara recreates classic paintings using washi tape. So incredible right? You can see more of her work here, follow on Instagram or visit her online shop.

Spotted over on Spoon & Tamago (a highly recommended read for interesting art, design and culture coming out of Japan.)

Peek Inside Molly Egan's Sketchbook

I love following artists over on Instagram because we so often get to see the process - rather than just perfected finished work, it's a chance to peek inside sketchbooks, see moments of inspiration and experimentation. It really makes you want to make, sketch, paint, draw... something of your own.

Molly Egan, a Philadelphia-based illustrator, was herself inspired to take on a 100 day challenge of doodling in mini sketchbooks - and I'm so glad she did! Colour, pattern and so much eye candy abounds within these pages!

Love Molly's work? Visit her website for more info and finished work. Pick up a print in her shop. And don't forget Instagram for more juicy sketchbook work and other process peeks.

Posca "Painted" Garden Rocks

Back in March, I found a bucket of perfectly smooth lake rocks gathering dust in the basement. They were clearly lurking around in hopes that creative inspiration would strike.

So, I grabbed a rock and a handful of Posca paint markers and did a little doodle - just to see if the markers would work on stone. They did, but I wasn't particularly enamoured with the doodle in question, so I tossed the rock into a garden bed and waited for nature to wash the (water-based) paint off.

And waited...

And waited...

While the rock weathered two ice storms and a snowstorm and many a torrential summer storm. And still that doodle would not budge...

So, I grabbed more markers and more stones and got to work, making colourful freeform mandala-esque rocks to hide in the garden.

For more vibrant opaque colours, I recommend going over larger sections with a second layer. A single coat can look a bit too streaky / transparent. With Poscas, as they are poster paint in marker form, you want to make sure to let the paint dry between coats and before adding details. Don't worry, it's fast - much faster than actually watching paint dry anyway!

So much fun, right?

They're a lovely little creative project for whiling away a fair weather day in the garden. Or, you know, for scratching the art itch while you binge watch something on Netflix.

I love them. They remind me of Easter eggs - a burst of brightness even on a grey day!

Have you tried any new creative projects lately? I'm always looking for something new to explore!

Getting Fashionable with Washi Tape

I spotted these adorable illustrations made out of washi tape over on the Artistic Moods blog. Aren't they the cutest?

I'm totally inspired by Sandra's work to try a little fashion illustration... using my very favourite material! You can see more of her work here.

Have you tried drawing with washi tape yet?

Summer Doodles

 

A handful of my favourite doodles from July. I'm a little behind! 

You can see all the doodles here.

I'm not going to lie... between packing and moving and book writing and traveling and life... I kinda failed my daily doodle challenge this summer.

On top of which, my phone took an icy dip and while it mostly works, the camera mostly doesn't. Clearly, without daily instagram posting to keep me in line, my motivation to doodle took a dive.

All of that to say... I had good intentions for a creative summer... but bad follow through.

But I'm gritting my teeth and arming myself with markers and paints and soldiering on... even if that loss in motivation also means a big dip in my love for the results.

I'll keep trying to get back into a routine (returning to blogging and business this week should hopefully help) and keep looking for a way to respark that doodle joy.

How did your creative pursuits fare over the summer? Did you make time to make? Or did you take time off to just enjoy those long summer days that are over too soon?

Mapping Memories with Speckled Canary

Ready for your next creative challenge? Grab your washi tape, things are about to get interesting!

Omiyage has teamed up with Speckled Canary for a fantastic new art project - Mapping Memories. Using washi tape, participants will create art that depicts memories and then share that art with the world. More on that in a moment.

But first...


What's a speckled canary?

Speckled Canary is the new endeavour from Sara Barnes, the artist and blogger behind Brwn Paper Bag and The Collage Scrap Exchange. (See some of the work from that project here).

Speckled Canary produces art projects that everyone can enjoy. Often collaborative, often on a global scale, these projects aim to push your creative boundaries. Mapping Memories is the first project Sara is producing under the Speckled Canary name.

I asked Sara a few questions about Speckled Canary and Mapping Memories. Here's what she had to say:

What inspired the Mapping Memories project?
The Mapping Memories project was inspired by the vibrant colours and patterns of washi tape. Over the years, I've fallen in love with all of the different designs, and seen them used in so many creative ways. I thought they'd be the perfect tool for recreating vibrant memories - the ones that you'll remember of the rest of your life. And, seeing what kind of things people around the world remember? That sounds even better!

Who can participate in the project?
Anyone can participate! Speckled Canary plans projects for all people - regardless of their artistic skill level - to make art, have fun, and challenge themselves.

Is there any limit to the number of memories each participant can submit?
Nope! I would love to see all the different things that artists can come up with.

What's your favourite way to use washi tape?
I work in collage (specifically cut paper), so I like taping strips of washi tape onto paper and cutting shapes from that. Then, I assemble all of the pieces into a composition. But, honestly, I think washi tape is fantastic in so many ways. I love using it in my everyday life... it's especially great for adding some special pep to little notes or mail!

What kind of future projects do you envision for Speckled Canary?
I will always want to keep my projects arts and crafts-based, which gives me a lot of opportunities to try new things. For a future project, I'm planning on incorporating embroidery on handkerchiefs.

How sweet is that washi tape house? It's Sara's take on colourful Baltimore house and the first piece on the Mapping Memories map. I must admit that my mind is overflowing trying to pick which memory/ies to create out of tape. Have you started thinking about what to make?

Mapping Memories celebrates the power of memories. Here's how the project works:


Sign up! (a very important step)

Remember a special moment, a special place and, using washi tape, create a piece of art depicting that memory.

Submit your artwork to Speckled Canary.

Each piece will then be mapped on an online world map.

Explore! Find your artwork on the Mapping Memories map then take some time to discover the places, memories and art of the other participants.

Oh, and did I mention prizes? Terrific tape prizes? 


Sounds pretty great, right?! Visit Speckled Canary for more info and to sign up!

Have any other questions about the project that I didn't ask? Leave them in the comments and I'll see about getting the answers for you!

June Doodles

 

A handful of my favourite doodles from June. You can see all the doodles here or follow along daily on Instagram.

June was full of flowers - as it should be - and lots of watercolour fruit. Faces started looking like faces - hurray for practice! - and drawing on top of painted doodles was my favourite.

I'm now officially 6 months into this project - that was fast, wasn't it?! Not quite sure where this doodle adventure is headed, but so far I'm enjoying the trip.

Make: Magazine Collage Patterns

I've always been a bit intimidated by collage - great collages are really great, but not-so-great ones are more like visual clutter.

Wanting the final product to be something that I wasn't embarrassed by has always stopped me in my tracks when it came to trying collage... but part of my year long doodle challenge is trying different mediums and learning not to be afraid of art... so I took a deep breath and convinced myself it was time to try.

I love seeing collage pieces that cleverly use vintage images... but I don't love sourcing materials before I know if it's something I like doing. Test then invest, if you will. So, I decided that the best place to start was with what I already had - magazines... a bit of a mine field though if you're trying to avoid the crafty dream board look. But then I had a bit of a revelation...

As I flipped through magazines looking for inspiration or a starting point, it hit me...

Don't look AT the pictures. Look IN them - for interesting patterns, textures and colour combinations. Suddenly I had a starting point I could work with and went through ripping out interesting bits and pieces to play with.

But what to do with all these magazine pages? My conclusion - build patterns!

Susan (a fab artist I follow on Instagram) suggested sticking with a limited palette... so that's just what I did. Picking a narrow range of colours and then cutting them into small pieces.

Whenever I work with a repeating pattern, I like to first create a template out of card stock or cardboard and then use it to cut all the pattern pieces. I cut heaps of shapes - I find it easier to start with too many than to wind up scrambling to find more or using pieces which are just okay at the end.

Next, I arranged the pieces into the desired pattern and, once satisfied with the combinations. started sticking. This was not my favourite part and had me proclaiming that I was sticking with tape - no sticky fingers - but I'm a sucker for a pretty pattern, so went back for more!

Pink, coral, red and orange herringbone pattern.

Blue scallop pattern with a touch of hot pink. My favourite!

And diamond pattern in neutral shades.

All in all, I loved this first toe dip into the deep pool of potential that is collage. Will I be back for more? Maybe! I feel like this is a nice starting point - and I really am smitten with the blue scallop pattern.

Are you a collage lover? Any tips for me? 
Is this something you would try in your own sketchbook / art journal?

February Doodles

Some of my favourite doodles from February. You can see all the doodles from this month here and follow along day-by-day on Instagram.

Thoughts at the end of February:

Patterns are my favourite. Especially tropical ones.
A month-long theme (even a loose-goosey one like "Things I Love") feels suffocating
Posca markers are still the love of my doodle-life.
I'm enjoying adding in other materials like tape and paper.
I'm not enjoying my new sketchbook - a new new one is in the cards.