Advent Calendar 2022

I've finished my Advent calendar, the 12th since I began in 2008.  It's always a meaningful way for me to reflect, draw, and color using seasonal images and words, often taken from scripture, hymns, and prayers.  

Each drawing space is small, about 1-5/8" high, and it may look a bit fuzzy or faded above.  For a better view, click on the image.  If you'd like to see my calendar drawings from past years, click here.

• Copic markers
  
• Pen: Copic multiliner
• Words and sources:
• 11/27  We are leaving ordinary time  (My calendar each year starts with these words which point out the wonder of the Advent time, looking forward to Christmas and the birth of Jesus.  And in the church year, our long season of "ordinary time" - the summer and fall weeks after Pentecost - has now ended.)
• 11/28 Hope of all the earth Thou art (hymn - Come Thou Long-expected Jesus)
• 11/29 A light to the nations  (Luke 2:32)
  
• 11/30 Joy
  
• 12/1  Born a child, and yet a King (hymn - Come Thou Long-expected Jesus)
• 12/2  He shall reign forever and ever - Hallelujah!  (Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah chorus)
  
• 12/3  Peace
  
• 12/4  Grace
  
• 12/5  Let each heart prepare a home (hymn "On Jordan's Bank." There are various translations of the lyrics. My hymnal reads, "Let each heart prepare a home where such a mighty Guest may come.")
• 12/6-8 and 13-15  Unto us a child (Isaiah 9:6)
• 12/9 The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. (Isaiah 11:2)
• 12/10  The wilderness shall be glad. (from Isaiah 35:1)
• 12/11  Happy are they whose hope is in the Lord. (from Psalm 146:4)
• 12/12  Holy and mighty  (Trisagion hymn - "Holy Lord, holy and mighty, holy immortal one, have mercy upon us.")
• 12/16  Love
• 12/17  Stars keep watch (hymn - People, Look East) 
• 12/18  O come, Emmanuel (hymn)
• 12/19  Pour light upon us (hymn - O Heavenly Word - "pour light upon us from above, and fire our hearts with ardent love") 
• 12/20  Mercy
• 12/21  Wait
• 12/22  Awake
• 12/23  The day is near (Romans 13:12)
• 12/24  Anticipate ...
  

Advent Calendar 2016

My 2016 Advent calendar is finished. Always a good experience for me as I draw and color my way through Christmas.

Each drawing space is small (about 1-5/8" high) and it may look a bit fuzzy or faded above.  For a better view, click on the image.

With my daily drawings, I set aside a bit of space and time to reflect on the Advent season, and its message of hope and love.   If you might like to try something similar, click here for more information, including 2016 template links.  Or click here for my seven calendars from past years.

For a listing of words, sources of words, Copic colors, and other materials used,  see below (or click on "read more" to see it.)

Two Drawings for Friends

Two three-panel drawings from January.  The drawing above was inspired by three beautiful poems written by a friend, who included them with my birthday card.  I gave her my illustration with my thanks.

The one below was drawn for another friend who requested "snow on trees." 

• Copic marker colors used: I didn't keep track of them
• Pen: Copic multiliner 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 black
• White is the paper (top left, bottom right, large areas of bottom left) or Copic opaque white
• Paper: Neenah, cut down to 4-1/4 x 5-12"
• Words (top drawing): Blackbird sky, Paths of tears, Gingko gold

Advent Calendar 2012

My 2012 calendar is now complete. Another year of words and pictures for the Advent season.  Along with drawing and coloring, this year I experimented with some bits of colored paper, as mentioned here.

The drawing spaces are small (about 1-5/8" high), so you may want to click on the image for a better view, especially if it looks a bit fuzzy above.

Click here for my friend Sybil's beautiful and prayerful 2012 Advent calendar, in a very different format from mine.  You can read her thoughts on her first week here and her second week here on her Praying in Color blog.

For my previous Advent calendar drawings, click as follows:

• Here for 2011
• Here for 2010
• Here for 2009
• Here for 2008
• Here for all of my Advent and Christmas-related drawings and posts

For more information about the calendar and the template, click here for my template post.

For a listing of words, sources of words, Copic colors, and other materials used,  see below (or click on "read more" to see it)

Snail Trail

Garden snails. So cute. Except when they eat the flowers.

My doodle was inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "trail."

• Copic marker colors used: R08,59, G14,17, B05, BG49
• Paper: Neenah
  

Slithering Snake

A snake slithering through the grass. Drawn with olive and sepia Copic multiliners.
Inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "slither."

Click here (or scroll down) for last week's drawing "early," done too late to submit.

• Copic marker colors used: First I colored the snake with W3+E00 (two colors on top of each other). When it was dry, I dabbed it with colorless blender (0) on a piece of terry cloth, to make the mottled effect. Then I colored the grass with streaks of YG21,23,63,91, G40, and BG93.
• Paper: Neenah

Yellow Butterfly with Blue and Green

A yellow butterfly drifts in a space of blue and green.

Inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "adrift."

Starting with a watercolored base, I decided to experiment with a cutout butterfly. I drew a butterfly shape on a scrap of bristol board (just a bit lighter weight than my watercolor paper) and cut it out with sharp craft scissors. I used my Copic markers to airbrush the wings, add the spots, outline the wings, and color the body. I will try using cutouts again sometime.

• Copic marker colors used: Y15,38, YR14,21,24
• Watercolor wash background: Dr. Ph. Martin's radiant concentrated watercolors - grass green, ultra blue - 1 drop of liquid watercolor in 2 drops of water, brushed on wet paper. For more info about these watercolors, including my color chart, see this post.
• Paper: Base: Canson Montval watercolor block, 140 lb. cold press, 4x6"
• Paper: Butterfly: Strathmore Bristol Board, vellum finish (a lightly textured surface - not "vellum paper")

Confined in the Heart

The scene, imagined or remembered, is confined in the heart. Inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "confined."

• Copic marker colors used: RV19, E15, W1,5, Y11, B26,29,63, G07,21, YG05, BV20; Copic airbrush background Y15, B29
• Paper: Neenah, cut down to 5x7"
• Words: confined in the heart

Storybook Landscape in Three Frames

After several rosette drawings, I wanted to loosen up. Draw freely on a larger page, doodle, go wherever the drawing might lead me.

I started with the outer frames and then the sun. I was surprised to find myself drawing the storybook scenes inside the frames. It was fun using colors and patterns to tie the spaces together. I don't know what the story is, but I think the characters know.

• Copic marker colors used: E00,04,33,53; V12,15; RV32; W1,5; G12,14,17,24,28; BV20; BG72; YR20; Y11; B01. Drawn mostly with sepia and olive Copic multiliners; also orange, yellow, purple, cool gray, sky blue, and red Copic multiliners.
• Paper: Neenah classic cream, cut down to 8.25 x 11"

Cove Landscape with Herons

This is a cove drawn from life. It might be my first ever "real life landscape," because my landscapes are usually just lines and gestures. There's a lot I could do better, but I like it anyway. Especially the rocks, and the shading in the far hills.

Copic colors used: Cool Gray multiliner; Rocks W1,3,5, YG91; Hills BV20,23, C0; Grass G21+YG91, BG93; Sky B32wide, B21, C0; Mud & reeds E41,43,44, G07, YG21; Poles E00,09; Outer water BG72,75, BV20, B000, BG10; Inner water BG000,010,72,45, B000,26, W0,1, B21; Dark birds B41, C3; White birds C0.
Paper: Neenah, 8.5x11"

Fish Doodle

When I finish a drawing, I'm often ready for something different. After a detailed project, I was in the mood for simple lines & simple colors. This fish doodle was the result. In grade school, I think we would have called this a scribble drawing. The black Copic multiliner was 0.8, a thicker line than I typically use.

Copic colors used: R000,24,29,59, BG000,05, Y15, YR14 (eye)
Paper: white Crane's card approx. 4x6"

To try this, click here.

Advent Calendar 2008

During Advent, I drew something every day in my calendar, a Word table that I created and printed. Each day's space is 1-3/8 x 1-5/8".

It was a wonderful experience for me. If you're interested, click here for what I learned from it. Colors, words, and sources of quoted words are listed here.

Added November 27, 2010:
Click here for my 2010 Advent calendar drawings. Click here for 2009.

The "animals and people" labels are for 12/25. The "from life" label is for 12/7, where I drew a pressed-glass candlestick that is on my dining room table. The "still life" label is for the Sunday candle drawings.

In addition to Copic markers and multiliners, I used Copic Opaque White (12/7 & 12/15), colored pencil (a touch of white on the candles 12/7), gold Sanford Uniball Gel Impact pen (12/16, 12/23 & 12/24), and white gel pen (lace 12/14). Click here for details about the Copic colors used. The pine branch for 12/15 is drawn from Marianne Walker's tutorial on coloring palm and pine branches (her I Like Markers blog) - used with her permission.

Cat on a Sofa; Flower Basket; Abstract

One night I colored some bright, abstract shapes. (Below at right.) Then I was stumped for how to finish it. So I made three color copies (they look faded, next to the original, but that's probably a good thing.) I finished them in different ways.

The flower basket (below at left) made me realize that I didn't know how to make it look basketlike, so I did another basket weave project after this. The abstract (below in center) is kind of map-like.

My favorite is the cat on the sofa (above). I thought my color blob looked kind of sofa-like, and that was easy to draw. Then I struggled with the cat shape, but I still like how it turned out.

Animal Mask

This is a doodle, but it looks like an animal mask or headpiece. A goat? A dragon?

I used Spica glitter pen in some sections, but it doesn't show up well on the computer screen.

Copic colors used: BG000,45, RV11,29,32, E00, BV04,31, YG03,91, C1; Copic Spica in gold, silver, clear, and black

Starfish Doodle

I think they are probably starfish, but they might be flowers.

This doodle is very busy! But I couldn't stop elaborating. I do like the colors.

Copic colors used: W1,3, B06,29,32, Y11,19, YR04,09, V04, YG95, Streaks of 0, Wine multiliner

Landscape with Round Animals

Still experimenting with my new Copics, as the streaky coloring shows. The round shapes are animals, I think, but I'm not sure what kind of animals, or even which way they are facing.

Copic colors used: I didn't write them down
Paper: white Crane's card approx. 4x6"

Bird in Bright Colors

This bird was colored with Pentel fine tip markers (water based). The notched oval shapes are tracings around a beautiful Norwegian silver necklace, shown at right, a gift from my sister-in-law.

The background was done with some Bad Markers, and thankfully I have repressed the brand name. It just looked ugly to me - streaky and blotchy. Then, more than 20 years later, I used my Copic markers in similar colors to go back over the background. Now, I'm happy to say, it looks smooth and even. See Bad Marker Disclaimer.

Shell 2

A simplified drawing with bright patches of color. Same subject as Shell 1.

Landscape with Flying-Leaping Horse-Dog-Creature; also Sybil's First Marker Drawing

This is one of my favorite drawings. Simple lines, simple colors, but a great feeling of joy and energy. To draw the animal, I drew a shape on another piece of paper, cut it out, and traced around it. To try this, click here.

This was when I introduced my friend Sybil to drawing with markers. Below is her first marker drawing, from that same day. (Used with her permission.)

Shell 1

My Mom gave me this shell, which sat on her dresser top for many years. I like the line drawing with just a little subdued color. But I don't draw this way very often. An animal grew this shell, so I will label it as such.

See Shell 2 for a brighter version.