2015 February Desktop calendars

2015 February desktop - Flowers

The Flowers desktop is a watercolour painting, calendar format was done on the iPad using Procreate.

Sad Panda - 2015 February desktop

Sad Panda is for those soggy wet February days.  Inspired by me standing at the bus stop one day after work and the bus was delayed for over an hour.   The reason given by the bus supervisor was that they lost the bus.  Seriously.

Knitting is like second nature to me.  I can almost knit in my sleep because I've been knitting for a very long time.  I've had a LOT of practice knitting.  You need to do something a lot in order to not suck at it.  I know that about my painting and drawing.  Opus has issued a challenge...28 Days of Practice challenge and I'm going to do it!

I'm so excited about this I started yesterday.  I mean, if I'm serious about this, why wait?  :)

Sunflower - watercolour and ink 5"x7"

2015...one year, 52 weeks, 365 new possibilities.

365 new possibilities

I've never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions having broken many within the first week.  I do like looking back on the old year and reflect back and think about what I would like to do differently for the new year.  It feels like the past five years have been transition years for me. The latter part of 2014 has been more so with son finishing school and husband retiring. It feels like it's time to look at the next stage of my life.

Top 10 highlights and game changers for me:

• Husband retired in September 2014.  His job was so hard on him physically.  He went back and forth on this but it was the best thing for him and us.  

• Son finished university this December.  Convocation ceremonies will be in June 2015 but he's all done!

• Son got a job right away in his chosen field with his first application!  The interview process was tough but he got the job just right before Christmas.  He starts in January.

• Taking the Watercolour painting class. I was nervous about it but I'm glad I did it. It was a small class (3 of us) and we all became friends. Although the classes are over now, we will still get together to paint. 

• A close coworker passed away end of January 2014.  She was 46.  She was was having stomach pains but she came in on the weekend to finish up something to meet a deadline.  She pretty much left the office, drove herself to the hospital and passed away a week later.  She had pre-existing medical issues that she neglected because she didn't have time.  That was a wake-up call for me.

• Another coworker whom I've known for 27 years passed away two weeks before his 60th birthday.  He was going to retire and spend more time with his family.  

• My boss telling me that although I'm a valued member of the team, the important ones are the ones who are flight risk.  On the bright side, at least he was honest about it. I don't feel bad about planning my early retirement. People leave because it's not worth it, not because the work is hard. 

• I was told I'm pre-diabetic. It's not serious but it made me take a hard look at my habits and lifestyle.  

• My crafts and hobbies are really important to me.  I stuck to my plan to create something everyday. 

• I can draw!  After 50+ years of thinking I can't draw and one needs talent to do so, I learned that it comes with practice. I'm never going to be Michelangelo but I'm ok with that.  

Looking at a new year is like looking at a bag of raw fleece...think of the possibilities. 

2014 December Desktop calendars

2014 December Snowman desktop calendar

2014 December Blue Bird desktop calendar

I know I'm a bit early for December...I'm rushing the holiday season.  :)

I got in the Christmas mood early and started making calendars.  Right now, I have the snowman one on my desktop.  I wasn't happy with the November one...it seems that Sketchclub had a bit of an issue with things saving as a low res JPEG instead of PNG so the quality was not there. Sketchclub is fixed now but I didn't want to re-do it so I went straight to December. 

Snowman desktop - done in Procreate.  Blue Bird desktop - done in Sketchclub. 

September 2014

2014 September desktop calendar

September is one on those in-between months where it's not quite summer anymore and not quite Fall yet. It's time to start looking at cozy sweaters without worrying about heat exhaustion. It was a really warm summer. The plus side is that our garden loved the heat...especially the tomatoes.

Tomatoes are at the end now, time to harvest what's left in the garden.

Painted in Sketchclub, Procreate, & Glaze on the iPad.

August 2014

August 2014 desktop calendar 

It's August and the year is more than halfway over. Hubby has another two months to his retirement and I have another two years to go.

As a kid, August was a time of laziness for me. It was ok to lie on the cool grass for hours at a time and do nothing but watch the clouds go by. August was endless.

As an adult, August goes by way too fast. August is the other side of the year. The days feel shorter now.  There always seems to be so much to do and so very little time to do everything. A two week vacation is gone in a blink of an eye. I feel like I'm running out of time.

August 2014 was done in Procreate, filters created in Glaze, with everything imported to Sketchclub to combine and final editing. Calendar insert is from here.

Scary blank pages

Why are blank pages so intimidating?

I've been trying to break the curse of the blank pages but not having any luck. I have no problem picking up my iPad and doodling away but staring at a white page is so intimidating. Tomorrow, I will face my fears.

Doodled on my iPad using Sketchclub.

July 2014 desktop calendar

July 2014 

I skipped June. No real reason other than I was busy and didn't make a calendar. So much was happening in June. Work was insane with our annual recruitment, new members coming into our team, and old members leaving. I've been doing more knitting and spinning lately. Less computer stuff and more real life stuff.

In my hand...

In my hand...

In my hand I hold endless possibilities.

I'm my own worse critic. I need to stop worrying that something is not good enough.

With knitting, I look at the yarn and I see possibilities of what I can create with he yarn. The possibilities are multiplied when I look at the fibre that I can spin into the yarn. Every step of the creative process gives me more possibilities. It really is endless.

Picture of my hand taken with the iPad camera, edited and painted effects on Sketchclub.

April 2014 desktop calendar

April 2014

To me, April is Spring. April is the month everything wakes up again. Flowers and buds are showing up on all my garden plants. The magnolia tree is covered with fuzzy green and pink buds and you know that in a few weeks, the tree will be covered with soft pink blossoms. Tiny green buds are appearing on the apple tree in the back yard.

The snowdrops photo was taken in my backyard, using the Nokia Lumia 1020. Calendar bit was done in Sketchclub app on the iPad.

The last week of February and the beginning of March was a couple of rough weeks. I just did not feel up to making a desktop calendar. I think this is probably my favourite picture taken so far on the 1020.  I love snowdrops. 

Chinatown, Vancouver

Chinatown

Chinatown has always been one of my favourite places in Vancouver. I remember walking around looking at storefronts that you never see open and wondering what kind of business they do, how do they survive and pay rent? Lately, there has been a quiet revitalization of the area. New stores and interesting business have been popping up here and there.  The old rundown storefronts were always interesting but I'm glad to see this area improve. Definitely an area in transition. 

Picture was taken on Nokia Lumia 1020, edited on the iPad using a variety of apps. 

I am here...

I am here...I am here to make a difference 

I am here...I am here to make a difference.

Photo taken on the Nokia lumia 1020, edited with Fantasia Painter app in cellphone. It's a fun app but I like the editing apps on the iPad for better range.

Fly

Fly

I'm not sure if this collage will make any sense. It's a head, lying on the walkway, looking wistfully up through the trees at the sky. This was for a Photo a Day challenge.

No real heads were harmed in the making of this picture. The head was cropped from another photo with the photo of trees overlaid on top then put through several filters.  The photo of the walkway was put through an app called Glaze, then through iColorama to highlight the colours and set as the background. All the pieces and the drop shadow effects were put together in Sketchclub.

Happy New Year - January 2014

January 2014

It really felt like 2013 just whooshed by so fast. I'm really looking forward to 2014. I have a good feeling about this upcoming year. I'm optimistic that it's going to be a good year.

Things haven't changed much at work but I've changed. I think it's really finally sunk into my brain that it is what it is and I have a life to live. I think 2013 was my wake-up call.

I'm not calling these my New Year's resolutions but more like a To-Do list for 2014.

1. Creative everyday - it doesn't have to be a finished piece of work, just anything - a couple rows of knitting, bake some cookies, doodle during a meeting.

2. Make sourdough - make a sourdough starter and keep it going for at least a few months.

3. Bake more - hmm...that means I have to eat more baked goods.

4.  Go out for a walk at lunch everyday for at least 10 minutes - rain or shine.

5. Focus more on the good than the bad.

6. Knit at least two projects using Continental knitting.

I'll probably add to this list as I think of more things.

Pithy details on the calendar - original photo was taken one very foggy morning. Apps used - Glaze, Sketchclub, Snapseed, Artrage.

December 2013 Desktop Calendar

December 2013

I really thought I might not have a calendar to post for December.  It was not easy coming up with one image that sums up December for me. Then I read Tammy's post at My Flower Journal  with a tutorial on how to paint watercolour lights. It reminded me  that as much as I love everything about December and Christmas, it's the lights that I love best.

When I was a child, I used to love sitting in the dark with just the glow of the lights on the Christmas tree. It was magical.

Lights were sketched and painted in Sketchclub on my iPad, transferred to Artrage for the watercolour paper texture.

To use, double click on image and save.

Linked to Art Every Day Month, Day 29.

Need to do something creative

Stitches came out today but thumb is still really bruised and sore. I'm bored! Can't knit, can't sketch. I missed Monday's Pen & Ink class. I can play around on Sketchclub if I don't work on anything that require fine motor skills...so I made a couple of backgrounds.

Wet paper texture

Paint drying texture

Sometimes you do need to watch the paint dry even if it's only virtual paint.

I did say I was bored.

Done on Sketchclub on the iPad.  The layers are left intact so I can change the background colours to use in other projects.

Remembrance Day

We won't forget

Thank you doesn't seem to be enough to say to all the men and women who served in our military so I can have the life I have today. I am grateful and thankful for the sacrifices you and your families have made for me and my family.

Pen and Ink Sunflower

Pen and Ink sunflower

Homework for the week - pen and ink drawing of a sunflower. This is one of my favourite pictures. The original photo was taken with my cellphone two summers ago of a giant sunflower in our backyard. The thing was huge!

This drawing is not quite finished yet. I'm still working on the fence.  The assignment was to do a stylistic drawing of a photo, using patterns and texture to show tonal contrast.

I've decided to take part in November Art Every Day Month at Creative Every Day.  I may or may not create something every day but I'm going to try. The point is to do something each day, no matter how big or small, and share it with people. I love going to the different sites and seeing what other people are making. It's a great way to get inspired. I know there's going to be days where I do nothing. That's ok too.

Painting done on iPad 

This is a painting I did on my iPad, using the Sketchclub app. I'm really getting my money's with from this photo.

Original photo

2013 November Calendar

2013 November calendar 

November was a tough month to do. To me, it's always been the in-between month. The month between Halloween and Christmas.  It's neither here nor there. Weather-wise, some days are gorgeous and sunny and other days it could be cold and dreary - typical Westcoast weather. We don't get the drastic changes in our foliage like back East. The landscape is still green, soggy but green.

The photo was taken with my cellphone on one of our walks along the Deboville Slough in Port Coquitlam. It wasn't raining but it was a very foggy day. The mist clung onto the spider web and the droplets looked like little pearls. Other than the calendar overlay, I felt it didn't need any tweaking.

Game Face

Game Face

Although I don't wear make-up anymore, every morning I wake up and put on my "game face". It's something everyone does, whether or not they admit to it. It's a way of protecting our inner thoughts and our vulnerability. 

Photo was manipulated in Sketchclub using the transform tool, mask was painted on a separate layer and feathered. Butterfly brush for the hair was created in Procreate. Hair and background was erased using a soft edged brush with the opacity down. I turned down the opacity in small increments as I worked into the figure to soften the blending and to make sure there were no harsh lines. Once everything was done, the picture was imported to Snapseed for the grunge effect and the border. 

Dressing up for Halloween

What? Doesn't everyone dress up for Halloween?

I'm running out of time...I need a quick simple costume.

A quick doodle on the iPad, using Paper53.