#Inktober Showcase

Inktober was started in 2009 and is still going strong today.  Mr Jake Parker, the creator of the project, has assigned very few rules

Pick up a pen, draw, hashtag it #inktober, repeat.

Anyone can take part and it seems like artists from all over the world do. I posted a picture and within 2 min 100 more pictures had been posted!

The goal is to practice your drawing skills and develop the positive habit of doing it daily.

Below are a few examples of my own work and a few from others within my surface pattern design community. Click on the pictures below for direct links to their Instagram accounts.

Julie Hamilton

Playing with light and dark. Flower shapes, some seeds and pods and an owl for good measure. When in doubt stick a bird on it.

Julie Hamilton

Next we have Katy Halford.  I found it hard to choose between all of her lovely drawings. This one made me smile so here it is

Katy Halford

Mary Tanana made some beautiful drawings on black paper with touches of gold, courtesy of uniball gelpens.

Mary Tanana

Heather Dutton spent her time illustrating every letter of the alphabet with beautiful patterns. Check out her instagram account to see more.

Heather Dutton

Amanda McGee  pretty much described all of us with her illustration. I am a big fan of her beautiful hand lettering!

Amanda McGee

Below is Flora Chang of Happy Doodle Land. Her name says it all. She loves to draw. Check out her new colouring book!

Flora Chang

Inktober will be back again next year, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a pen and just busting loose. Until then, feel free to share it with the rest of us on hashtag #shareyoursketch – another fun community to share your creative process.

Ink on!

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A World of Artist Journal Pages

Getting my crazies out!

That is pretty much how I roll when it comes to my black and white journal pages.

No worry about colour. No thoughts on composition. Not a care in the world how they turn out.

Quite a bit different from my coloured pages where I just can’t help but wish for a good outcome.

I am very happy to say that someone else also liked my craziness.

Three of my black and white pages have been included in  A World of Art Journal Pages curated by Dawn DeVries Sokol.

It is pretty cool to be included especially since I remember my  purchase of her first book, 1000 Artist Journal Pages, very well. It was at Anthropologie in Seattle. I had stood glued to the spot with it for almost an hour. I had never heard of art journalling at the time and I was just in awe of everything in the book. It was definitely an A’ha moment.

Well, this one is no different, except this time I am in it!

I am including my pages today. I like to think of it as a little art therapy for my artistically afflicted ways. If I had have known they would be published I might not have revealed so much or been quite as messy, but then I guess that’s the beauty of it.

One more inspired by rainy day camping in the Pacific Northwest. I was actually sitting outside in the rain under a tarp freezing while this one was created….just trying to make myself happy.

I was hoping to include my favourite pages here, but there are so many great pages. The book is full of a variety of hand lettering, different textures and colours, paint, collage, mixed media and an endless stream of hand drawn goodness. If you are thinking of getting involved in the art journal world then this is a really good place to start. It is full of inspiration.

I love glancing through it again and again because  I find there is always something I have missed the first, second, third… time around. There is an extra bonus too – all  of  the artists websites are published right beside their work so if there is something you fancy and you want a bit more, you don’t have to look far.

A big Thank you to Dawn DeVries Sokol. What a wonderful piece of work you have curated and shared with the world. Well done!

Say YES to 2014!

Happy New Year to all my friends near and far!

I have a few minutes peace here. An hour, maybe two if I am lucky, to just sit, sip tea and think about the holidays.This is a rare moment right now. Our home and life here in Whistler is alive with the hustle and bustle of happy times. Amidst it all, I am finding a spare moment to reflect and set a few goals for the upcoming year. The chaos will continue for weeks to come, but if I can find a small sliver of quiet time daily all will be good.

At this time of year I can’t help but feel melancholic. I am so grateful for the health and happiness that we are  surrounded by right now. I am grateful to have my friends and family together.I am grateful for the supportive and positive community that I have surrounded myself with this past year.

My creative journey has been such a large part of my life these past two years. This blog and everything within – stories and work from fellow creatives, the trials and tribulations of creating,accomplishments (and a fair share of rejection too). All of these stories help make help make up the fabric of my life right now and it all makes me smile. It’s just awesome!

Thank you to each and every one of you!

Sharing my intentions for 2014! I am hoping you will all hold me accountable. I am a bit of a dreamer as you can probably tell as I doodle my way off into 2014.

Thinking of lots great things…for me and you!

If you are interested in creating your very own intentions for 2014 I really enjoyed Do What You Love’s   New Years Revolution. It is very well thought out and a great planner for the year. (it’s free!) I am a believer in pen to paper for all intentions. It has a bit of sticking power and great to review monthly. Have a go!

Wishing you all the best throughout the holidays and into 2014!