Daily Sketch III - Day #21-30

Here comes the next 10 sketches I did. I have started with two done on my phone and then I had a bit more time so I got back to watercolour ones. Because I adore watercolours :)

To move my brain even more than I do through daily practice, I've decided to do some quick splash art. "What's that?", you ask. Here comes an explanation. First I leave some watercolour marks, dots, splashes, strokes, whatever on paper and leave it to dry. Then I take the paper and rotate it in my hands to see if the shapes formed by splashes remind me of anything particular. It may be a thing (a tree) or just a feeling (sunny afternoon). Sometimes it's hard to see anything, sometimes it's really easy. Try it yourself, just for fun :)

To make things a bit more complicated I use colour schemes randomly selected by Color Scheme Designer - click "random -> randomize palette" on the top menu to see how it works. Some colours it selects are pretty wicked but they always go well together.

Enough of the talking, here are my sketches:

 Day 21 and 22 done on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in SketchBook app by Autodesk (totally worth buying).

 Day 23 - painted while listening to The Civil War's new album. It's amazing as always.

 Day 25 - This is a cat character in which I put great expectations. But since it's a secret project I cannot tell more yet ;)

Those "splash sketches" vary pretty much from what I usually do. But, because of that, they are quite a relief to do - no one expects anything particular from them, not even me. Plus, it's really a lot of fun to force my brain and imagination to work harder and differently than usual.

A.

Reflect - Illustration Friday

That was quite a big coincidence with this week's Illustration Friday's topic.
I paint my Daily Sketches each morning and since for some time I've been painting in a splash method* I don't really have much influence in what I will paint. And my Friday's, 27th Daily Sketch's, splashes reminded me of a lake :) So here it is - a peaceful reflection.

I will post next bunch of sketches (#21-30) tomorrow so you can see the rest of the splash art. Also, I think I will add photos of how the splashes looked before I got down to them :) It's quite interesting - everyone or anyone can see something entirely different in them.

If you can't wait for those photos you can check my Instagram, where I show them daily.

A.


* I splash some paint on paper and when it dries I try to find some sense in those strokes, dots and marks.

Daily Sketch III - Day #11-20

Here's a next batch of daily sketches. I didn't have much time this week for watercolour ones so I had to sketch digitally while commuting to and from work. Which was really good - I never knew that you could make such nice pictures on your smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with a stylus + Autodesk SketchBook app).

 First went 2 more postcards I needed for Christmas/New Year purposes.

All those were made on my phone.

Here's part   #1-10

As I've mentioned before, I post those sketches daily on my Instagram (I'm alexadelaida), Tumblr and Twitter :)

A.

Daily Sketch III - Day #1-10

If you haven't already seen it on my Facebook profile, nor Facebook fanpage, nor Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr - then I have to announce I have started Daily Sketch again. It's my 3rd edition and I'm full of willpower to make this one longer than the previous ones :)

Here are my first ten days:

They all are quite small (two last ones are the biggest - postcard sized). I start making them every morning before I go to work then finish as soon as I get back home. It's about 0,5h for each.

A.

Pattern - Illustration Friday

I woke up today to a view of overwhelming whiteness outside. It was snowing only a bit yesterday so I guess that the night must have been pretty busy for the Snow Queen ;)

Anyway, this squirrel has been prepared for a situation like this for a long time. Warm hat and cute mittens hand sewn by his grandma just couldn't wait to be worn!

This little fellow is also my day #7 of the Daily Sketch III marathon. I will post the sketches/illustrations every 10 days so I hope to see you back in here in 3 days' time :)

A.

Refrain - Illustration Friday

When a cat meows to me I can not refrain from meowing back!

Now you know :)

A.

Underwater - Illustration Friday

Yesterday I received a fabulous package - even 2 packages! Both were presents I have bought for myself to celebrate finishing book illustrations and to celebrate a new career start. First was a brand new set of French watercolours + fancy watercolour paper (oh I love those); second was a brand new Wacom tablet. I've been using my sister's Wacom Bamboo for some time now and I thought it was high time to have my own professional piece of equipment. So I bought new Wacom Intuos Pro :) And it's great. I'm getting used to all those smarty-pants keys and thinking of the best way to place it on my desktop.

And creating! :)

A.

So you'd like to teach?

This month I will start to teach art to kids :) I don't know if you know, but I'm a trained art teacher though I never really wanted to work at school. Art classes in Polish elementary/junior high schools tend to be treated, by both teachers and students/kids, like a prolonged break-time, where you can additionally mess with paint. There's nothing wrong in messing with paint, truly, but the attitude where art is thought as something unimportant has always taken me aback from the idea of finding a job at school.

However! Now I will be teaching art to kids who want to be taught - during after-school art classes. They will held at my sister's Drawing School and I can teach whatever I want. There are so many ideas and techniques that can be shown to kiddos that are just perfect but unsuitable for school's art classes.

I'm super excited!

Here's a poster image I did. It's all around town now and in all elementary schools.

Four sketches from which my sister chose number 1 and 4.

 Getting things done. My computer, Kalliope, was struggling with the size of this file. 

*That's Tina being helpful*

Final image without course info + logo. The text says "art classes for kids".

And here's my sister's Drawing School "Kreska" (="line")
- Website
- Facebook page with lots of students' drawings!

Keep yours fingers crossed for me, please!

A.

28 things on my 28th birthday

 *Gosh, I'm old...*

Because last year the list did not go as "used" as I hoped it would, some things will stay on it once again. And this time I DO HOPE that I will get down to them asap just to not put them on a list next year ;)

This year it is more about making me a better artist and using my skills to the full than just doing stuff I wish I would/could/might do/have done. I am starting a new job + working only half-time at my previous job and it really is a big step forward for me. I hope that in a year's time my ideal of creating in my home-office everyday will be closer to fulfilment than it is now.

1. Do charity work.
2. Illustrate 1 old fairy tale.
3. Publish 2 of my books on the Internet.
4. Make a 2014 calendar.
5. Resume  Daily Sketch.
6. Re-make 2 of my old artworks.
7. Study light and colour.
8. Paint on canvas again.
9. Learn how to make GIFs from my drawings.
10. Make a new avatar.
11. Get my blogs up and running again.
12. Plan posts for blogs and actually make them.
13. Introduce 3 new ideas to my Etsy shop.
14. Search for an artists' agency and maybe even find one.
15. Win a contest.
16. Plant flowers and watch them grow.
17. Go on a long bicycle ride.
18. Go swimming every week.
19. Finish reading everything I've started.
20. Read "The Witcher".
21. Read 10 new books.
22. Try out 10 new recipes.
23. Learn 3 new things.
24. Try 3 new things.
25. Visit 3 new places.
26. Practice yoga everyday.
27. Answer quickly.
28. Work harder.

As I am controlling my anger pretty well and doing something good everyday is quite obvious too - I've decided to push it a step further and really show my support to some charity organization; which will be a local animal shelter. I've been sending them monthly donations for some time now and I think it's time to do something more. So I've got a year to figure out what it would be and do it the best I can!

Let's get down to work!

A.

27 things on my 27th birthday - summary

First of all, I have to start with stating that this year has been crazily hectic. I have never ever had soooo many things to do during one single year. I feel like I have not created anything purely for myself for ages. It's a good thing to have so many commissions and custom orders but it also overwhelming at times (especially when I get ill, can't work for few days and everything is piling up in a very scary speed).

And now let's see how much I have not done this year even though I've been working everyday ;)    


1. Do something nice every day. DONE! I loved the feeling :)
2. Illustrate 1 old fairy tale. I've chosen few tales and I'm soooo excited about this project but since it's rather time-consuming I will have to give it another shot next year. But I will definitely do it!
3. Publish 2 of my books on the Internet. Same as above ^
4. Create and wear my T-shirt design. Nope.
5. Sew and decorate 2 pillow cases. I have not even use the sewing machine once this year...
6. Get prints in my Etsy shop. Done. Must get more though!
7. Make a set of pendants to sell. Done, but not in my shop yet :)
8. Introduce 3 new ideas to my shop. I've got moleskine notebooks and few things waiting for my time to create listings for them, so I guess it's not really done.
9. Draw at least 1 cat comic a month. Started well and then I have abandoned both my blogs (shame on me).
10. Create a short animation. Nope.
11. Make a 2013 calendar. Started! Will make it a 2014 calendar :)
12. Learn basics of Finnish on my own. Nope.
13. Go to a language school and study hard. If I had a time machine that would be possible...
14. Finish reading 'The Witcher'. Started but not finished.
15. Win a contest. Done! I + my Love have created a garden design and won an iPad :)
16. Wear more skirts and dresses. Nope.
17. Make 5 recipes from my pasta cook book. Done! Yummy!
18. Go on a long car trip. Went but I wasn't driving so it doesn't count.
19. Fly on a plane. Nope.
20. Create a Book Of Adventures. Nope, and that's a big shame. Will do it this year.
21. Try 3 new things. Done! Blue hair, eating sushi (it's kind of OK), travelling by ferry.
22. Learn 2 new things. Done! Learnt to make colourful muffins and bake delicious tart.
23. Visit 3 new places. Done! Solina, Hel and Sopot (with it's water taxi on a super fast motor boat!)
24. Make my life more Zen. Kind of done. Can do better. Will do better!
25. Practice yoga. I need to practice it more.
26. Control anger. That went astoundingly well! I've got angry like 2 times this year, and both times were mainly because I was hungry ;)
27. Work hard. Worked my butt off!!

I kind of feel I could have done it better but, all in all, it was a good year. 

Sum up:
DONE - 13/27
NOPE - 14/27

A.

1. Do something nice every day.
2. Illustrate 1 old fairy tale.
3. Publish 2 of my books on the Internet.
4. Create and wear my T-shirt design.
5. Sew and decorate 2 pillow cases.
6. Get prints in my Etsy shop.
7. Make a set of pendants to sell.
8. Introduce 3 new ideas to my shop.
9. Draw at least 1 cat comic a month.
10. Create a short animation.
11. Make a 2013 calendar.
12. Learn basics of Finnish on my own.
13. Go to a language school and study hard.
14. Finish reading 'The Witcher'.
15. Win a contest.
16. Wear more skirts and dresses.
17. Make 5 recipes from my pasta cook book.
18. Go on a long car trip.
19. Fly on a plane.
20. Create a Book Of Adventures.
21. Try 3 new things.
22. Learn 2 new things.
23. Visit 3 new places.
24. Make my life more Zen.
25. Practice yoga.
26. Control anger.
27. Work hard. - See more at: http://aleksandra-chabros.blogspot.com/2012/08/27-things-on-my-27th-birthday.html#sthash.1MswIGmW.dpuf

1. Do something nice every day.
2. Illustrate 1 old fairy tale.
3. Publish 2 of my books on the Internet.
4. Create and wear my T-shirt design.
5. Sew and decorate 2 pillow cases.
6. Get prints in my Etsy shop.
7. Make a set of pendants to sell.
8. Introduce 3 new ideas to my shop.
9. Draw at least 1 cat comic a month.
10. Create a short animation.
11. Make a 2013 calendar.
12. Learn basics of Finnish on my own.
13. Go to a language school and study hard.
14. Finish reading 'The Witcher'.
15. Win a contest.
16. Wear more skirts and dresses.
17. Make 5 recipes from my pasta cook book.
18. Go on a long car trip.
19. Fly on a plane.
20. Create a Book Of Adventures.
21. Try 3 new things.
22. Learn 2 new things.
23. Visit 3 new places.
24. Make my life more Zen.
25. Practice yoga.
26. Control anger.
27. Work hard. - See more at: http://aleksandra-chabros.blogspot.com/2012/08/27-things-on-my-27th-birthday.html#sthash.1MswIGmW.dpuf

1. Do something nice every day.
2. Illustrate 1 old fairy tale.
3. Publish 2 of my books on the Internet.
4. Create and wear my T-shirt design.
5. Sew and decorate 2 pillow cases.
6. Get prints in my Etsy shop.
7. Make a set of pendants to sell.
8. Introduce 3 new ideas to my shop.
9. Draw at least 1 cat comic a month.
10. Create a short animation.
11. Make a 2013 calendar.
12. Learn basics of Finnish on my own.
13. Go to a language school and study hard.
14. Finish reading 'The Witcher'.
15. Win a contest.
16. Wear more skirts and dresses.
17. Make 5 recipes from my pasta cook book.
18. Go on a long car trip.
19. Fly on a plane.
20. Create a Book Of Adventures.
21. Try 3 new things.
22. Learn 2 new things.
23. Visit 3 new places.
24. Make my life more Zen.
25. Practice yoga.
26. Control anger.
27. Work hard. - See more at: http://aleksandra-chabros.blogspot.com/2012/08/27-things-on-my-27th-birthday.html#sthash.1MswIGmW.dpuf

I'm still here!

Wow, that's quite a big break in posting on my blog - sincere apologies for that!
I'm up and running here, as always, so no worries :) I've been busy as hell with actually no time for personal projects and I cannot really show you all those commissioned works I have been making. But I keep on posting snap shots on my Facebook FanPage!

I have some new stuff to show you, however, and I will do it as soon as I find a free second in my busy schedule, I promise :)

Here's a cute wolf cub to accompany you today.

Did you know that I drew them back in the 2008?

A.

The big ones - custom illustrations

Some time ago I've created a set of 3 big pet portraits (for the same customer as this one; hello Bea!). And it was great. I mean - amazingly great! It's been such a long time since my last big watercolour illustration that I was literally astounded how great they can look. Because of concentrating on small pictures I have almost forgotten how beautiful those big ones can be.

Let me introduce: Chewy, Dexter, Chloe, Emmie and Maggi. Now guess which one is which :)

Take a look:
(warning, there's like 100 photos here - it may take a bit to load) 

 First idea sketches.

Colour and composition sketches.

From my sketchbook #14

Wow, that was quite a long time since my last post! But although nothing new appeared on blogger, lots of new things appeared in my sketchbook (or rather on those thousands of sheets of paper stuffed in every possible free space on my working desk :P).

Just kidding, in reality I'm a very tidy person so those sketches are quite organized. At least in my point of view!

Here are just a few of my sketches done at work:

 This one is already changed into a silkscreen print. I think I have shown some snapshots of a finished vector illustration on my Twitter or my Facebook.

 This little skater boy is also a silkscreen print already ^^

 Mr. Unicorn will be my upcoming week project.

 Hanging doggie is a remake of something I did earlier, but this one turned out super cute ^^

 And there's also a fishing fox, of course :)

 All those projects were made while I was looking for an idea of a simple print on toddlers' clothes and onesies. It still hasn't hit me.

 Victorian fox. It seems that those two on the left are begging for something; don't remember for what though..

I have a ton of drawings like this - warm up sketches made before drawing something which actually presents an idea. Almost all those warm-ups are cats ;P

That's all for now :) But I still have photos of some custom illustrations I did during this holiday season.

A.