From my sketchbook ~ the moon and the stars ~ and a tutorial!

Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

I was inspired by this month's Sketchbook Challenge theme of Moon & Stars, to create this page.

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

And here's how I created the page:

cut up squares of collage paper

collage them, mosaic style, on your page
(I glued two of my sketchbook pages together, to make it a heavier weight paper)

Use matte medium or Mixed Media Adhesive to glue them down

make sure they well adhered and flat

OOPS!!

cover the page and let it dry completely

draw your image in pencil first

Use a sharpie to create a heavy outline

outline the whole drawing and erase the pencil

Use diluted gesso and paint the areas you want to cover

Daniel Smith Gesso, of course.

I left the tree unpainted.

paint in the shapes

paint the moon shiny gold!

in progress

I diluted the paint with water, to make sure you could see the collage underneath

in progress

in progress

in progress

letter stamps

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

 detail of Moon and the Stars ~ from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

from my sketchbook ~ Pumpkins 2012

a page from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio

The theme for the Sketchbook Challenge this month is a cabinet of curiosities. Kind of like a collection. My sketchbook page is kind of like a collection of pumpkins, except it's one pumpkin drawn from different vantage points and in different styles.

a page from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio

I love pumpkins and look forward to drawing them every autumn.

 detail from a page from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio

drawn with a water soluble pencil

I find myself drawing more quickly, and in a loose style. I'm learning to trust my basic drawing abilities and letting them emerge, like my handwriting and just as unique.

patterns in a pumpkin......a page from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio 

As I hope you know, I teach an after-school arts program called Mundo Lindo, for 4th and 5th grade kids, and it's starting up again this month. This page was also a way to work out an assignment for the kids. Drawing a pumpkin realistically, then another filled with pattern. Click here to see what the kids did with this assignment.

The Sketchbook Challenge BOOK! and a giveaway

The Sketchbook Challenge, by Sue Bleiweiss is now available! (ArtPantae, Amazon, Barnes and Noble )

You're all familiar with The Sketchbook Challenge blog, of course. It was Sue Bleiweiss who thought the whole Sketchbook Challenge concept  up, then created it, and continues to maintain the momentum. All, while writing a book about it!

I'm proud to be included in the book and the blog!

from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook, by Jane LaFazio

Everyday Objects,  a wall hanging (inspired by my sketchbook pages)
 by Jane LaFazio (33 x 15 inches ) $550 plus shipping

And there are prizes!! Leave a comment on this blog post and if I select your comment by random number on July 13th, you will win:

From The Artist Cellar  A complete set of Artist Cellar Stencils - that’s 28 stencils total!  Total retail value $120!

and

From ArtPlantae Today  The book Botany for Artists and one package of Plant Notes Bookmarks Total retail value $41!

New E-zine from The Sketchbook Challenge artists

The Sketchbook Challenge E-zine

is 83 full color pages of creativity, inspiration and projects!

Brought to you by The Sketchbook Challenge artists.

Click here to peek inside!

Inside you'll find:
Learn how to draw a pinecone with me, Jane LaFazio
Exploring Text Collage with Kelli Nina Perkins
Make a Scrappy House Quilt with Jamie Fingal
Working in series by Jane Davies
Make bad art with Lyric Kinard and become a better artist
Sue Bleiweiss shows you how to make a sketchbook sleeve
Carol Sloan shares her remedies for blank pages
Take 5! with Carla Sonheim
Screenprinting for the Mixed Media Artist by Leslie Tucker Jenison
Take your sketchbook out to eat with Susan Sorrell
Stacked Journaling with Judi Hurwitt
Learn how to use your inner GPS to create journal pages with Violette
Learn a trio of pamphlet binding stitches from Diana Trout 

Click here to download  The Sketchbook Challenge Ezine  for $9.99.


Enter your name into a drawing to win a piece of mail art from one or more of the Sketchbook Challenge artists!  Send a link to your published review by 12/1/11  to sue at  to be entered into the drawing.  Winners will be announced in December - good luck!

In the Ezine, there are step by step illustrated instructions from me, on how to draw a pinecone.

Everyday Objects tutorial

It's my month to pick the theme for The Sketchbook Challenge, and it may come as no surprise to my loyal readers that the theme I've chosen is "Everyday Objects." And so to celebrate the theme, here's a tutorial on drawing your everyday objects using a Tombow water soluble pen. (I like the black or grey pens and use the tip, not the brush end of the Tombow dual brush pens--but any water soluble pen will work for this.) This method makes it quick and easy to capture drawings in your sketchbook!

1. Sketch your object with pencil first. (The proportions are a off in the drawing, which I didn't notice till I looked at the photo, but I'm not going to worry about it. No time or reason to completely redraw this.)

2. Pencil over your sketchlines a little darker, getting the details and symmetry as best you can.


3. Using your water solube pen, and still looking at the object, redraw your lines. Erase the pencil lines.( Notice the slight smears? Tombow pens take a few minutes to dry.)

4. Use my fave Niji Waterbrush, or any paintbrush with some clear water.

5. With your brush, touch the edge of the line and shade with the ink. Do this sparingly and try not to cover very much of the white of the page. (It's a great way to learn to practice learning to see subtle shading and shadow.)

I'm working in a Strathmore Visual Journal (mixed media~ 9x12) and plan to add more Everyday Objects to this page (and to my journal.) I'll post my images throughout the month of August.



I added a little red watercolor to my chicken timer.

And, throughout August I'll show you how I have leveraged some of my sketches into my other mixed media and fiber arts projects using some of the ideas from my DVD/dowload "From Art Journaling to Art."
You can see my complete 'in person and online' teaching schedule here.