Danielle Calabro

Doodle done with Copic markers, multiliners and pencil Last Friday I did a little shopping, got paid and needed to (wanted to) pick up a few things.  One thing was a smaller sketchbook, something that could fit in my purse. I always have to get the first page done right away so above is page one of my new compact sketchbook. I was hoping it would stand up to my Copic markers but unfortunately they bleed through a bit. I will be trying out  watercolors next to see how it stands up to the water. You should be able to check that out in a few days, that is if the kids don't come home with loads of homework every night.

There is a place in Orlando, FL called Leu Gardens , it has been well over 10 years since I have been there but I remember it like it was last year. It is magnificent, I remember walking around there for hours. When I was younger I would go there to photograph the flowers. Sadly I have lost touch with it, talking about it makes me want to go again, take my kids to one of the movie nights they have there. Go during the day and photograph some of the flowers all while listening to my children tell me how hot and bored they are, it's great to torture your kids with a little fresh air. Honestly I'm not sure how they will act bit hopefully they would enjoy it. I sat down last weekend and started this sketch and I finished it up last night, it reminded me of the times I use to go to the garden. I sketched this out in pencil then went over the sketch with my Micron pens and color was added with Copic markers. I am sure you have heard me say this before and I am going to say ...

I originally started this garden with the intentions to do tangles on it and as you can see I changed my mind. I started with a watercolor background and used salt to add some little effects. Once the background was dry I drew out my little garden. I then painted it in with gouache, outlined and added some details to the plants and rocks. After staring at it for about 30 minutes I figured out what I was missing....some depth. To be honest I have been staying up so late lately that the last thing I wanted to do is get the paint out and then have to clean up a mess but I wanted to finish. I grabbed my copic markers and figured what the hell, lets see if they will work on top go the gouache and they did. All of the shading was done with Copic markers.

I know I have been away for about a week, I have been working on a few things. I got over my little grumble about the business license and I am moving forward. As I said in one of my last post I am making my christmas cards this year, so I have started my first one. The background is done, all I need to work on is the lettering. I have not decided if I will do the lettering myself or have a hi-res scan of the painting and just use a font. I think I will do a couple of more then go from there. The background was done in watercolor, I used a watercolor mask for the stars. While the background was still wet I sprinkled table salt on it and got a nice speckled effect. The tress were painted with gouache, I wanted a nice opaque cover, along with a gold paint pen, this added a nice little shine to it. Of course I doubt I will be able to get that effect on a printed card and if I can I may end up paying more, something to think about, I then tangled the trees.

Well it took me a little over a week and half but I have finally finished it. I wanted to put my tablet to good use for what I originally wanted it for, sketching. I was at a stand still, I have this huge piece of watercolor paper that I want to use for a large Zentangle™ project and I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I grabbed my tablet and just let it flow. I wanted to test out patterns and that is what I did.  I will admit, I think I would like this even more if I had added color. I am not advertising for Samsung, but I will say the Samsung Note Pro 12 is a great tablet. If you can not afford or just do not want to spend over a $1000 for an actual artist tablet (I am not talking about the once you use with your computer) then this is the next best thing in my eyes. I love traditional art, nothing is compares to it. There is so much in a piece of art that was created with a paint brush, pen, ink, etc. But the sad thing is a lot of things go digital. How long will...

In my attempt to find my niche I have used many, many different mediums. I have used acrylic paint, oil paint, water color, gouache, markers and pens. I know I am not finished finding my own way but I think I am getting a better idea of what I enjoy most. I love to paint and I love to draw so I have started to mix them. In this piece, my Zentangl™ Tree, I did the background in watercolors, the sketch in archival ink pens, the tree with black gouache and the tangle with a white gelly roll pen.  Here is a close up: This change in my creative focus has helped me in more ways then one. First, it is so easy to just grab my sketchbook and my pencils and start working on an idea. Second, it has simplified my life a little, I can take it anywhere with me, go to a cookout, take the kids to the park or outside to play, I just shove everything I need in my bag and I am all set. Can't do that with a canvas and paint, but like I said I still love to paint just on a s...

I have a funny reoccurring story that happened to me just about every night when I am at my art table and I am going to share it with you. It may actually be frighting to some. The house we are in for the moment is very tight so my art table is in the computer room in front of the sliding glass door that never gets used. It usually starts like so, I am minding my own business just working hard on a drawing of some sort, listening to some music, when all of a sudden I hear this little buzzing noise, sometimes I hear the blinds move too. I look around, see nothing and go back to work. Then like clock work I hear it again, again I look around and see nothing. This happens a few times, then out of the blinds comes flying this crazy bug, scares the shit out of me, making me jump back in my chair and sometimes a little scream. What is this little culprit that tries to terrify me almost every night? It would be that crazy flying beetle called a "June Bug" Once...