Friday always feels like it’s sneaking up on me these days, especially since I tasked myself with finding favorites to share here. All week long I find great things, don’t write them down because I think I will remember, log in and slap my forehead that I have forgotten them all and here I am, so I will give it a go (and make a note to actually start jotting things down!).

I. I have been doing a lot of contour drawing this month, I think it’s partially the anticipation of spring in the PNW that has me so motivated.  With each drawing I learn a little more and get a little better (Michelle is a natural at this and her lines are so confident). One of my major influences and inspirations (besides Michelle) is the great Ellsworth Kelly  his book Drawn from Nature is sure to inspire if you are interested in this simplistic approach. Kelly was inspired by the contour and line drawings of  Picasso and Matisse . This book you can see the influence, I have to say I can totally see the ‘joie de vivre’ in these simple drawings, even Matisse’s  lines seem happy.

II. I always like to read about supplies other artists use since I have never taken a proper art class (or design class for that matter), I feel like I don’t know what’s available for the style I am trying to achieve so I experiment a lot. These are some of the supplies I have been using for my botanical sketches. I love this sketchbook, it’s a good size if I decide to do a series of smaller flowers or go larger (which I have been lately), it’s not the best quality, but certainly not the worst, it’s perfect for me because I get really weird about using sketchbooks that I feel are too nice. I use two pencils often, a mechanical pencil with a soft 4b lead, and I have one of these pencils stashed in every bag and drawer in case inspiration strikes! When I draw in ink I use this brush pen, it’s my favorite, I feel like it draws on its on, its that good!

III. This book cover caught Michelle’s eye, it has great reviews so she’s giving it a go!

IV. For those looking for things for kiddos I stumbled across the coolest little art blog. I can’t wait to try the jungle themed project and the blue cut out t-shirt!  Most of you know that I am a picture book addict, sometimes some books are beautiful but lack content and some have great content but visuals may not be my fave, this series falls into the latter, the books are little biographies of individuals that have made great strides, my favorites so far are the Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln (we are big Abe fans in our house).

V. My hands have taken a beating this winter, I used the excess of this serum on my hands one day and I felt like it was an almost instantaneous change. I have since only used it on my hands and I feel like it has made them look better than they have in years!

drawing by tristan b. | cleaned + digitized with lettering rx