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
  

Sybil's Rosette and Ribbon Drawings

Below are four recent marker drawings from my friend Sybil (used with her permission.)

• Her ribbon drawing (first drawing below) is actually two drawings, done several weeks apart, which are connected by the gray ribbon across the middle.
  
• The next three drawings are her free-form interpretations of my "how to draw a rosette" post.
  

For more of Sybil's drawings posted in my blog, click on the label, below or in the label list to the right.

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

Teapot with Cup - and Sybil's Teapot

An early morning pot of tea is my favorite way to start the day. For this simple drawing (above), I used a heavy line - 0.8 Copic multiliner, instead of my usual 0.2 or 0.3. Inspired by last week's Illustration Friday word, "early." I drew it from life, but I changed the teapot color and added the green cloth.

• Copic marker colors used: Table E43,44; Background airbrush E43; Cloth G21 with BG93 lines and dots, shaded with airbrush BG96; Cloth edge G24,28; Cup, spoon, and tea C0,3, E00,33, B26, BG93, G24,28, Y15, R24; Teapot base color Custom color B2000, dotted with R02, E11,43, BG32,72,93, B21,45, shaded with airbrush C3
  
• Paper: Neenah
  

Added May 31,2010: See below (posted with her permission) for my friend Sybil's teapot drawing, which she e-mailed to me after she saw my drawing. She drew it a few years ago "in response to a wonderful exhibit at an art museum ... all kinds of artsy teapots." Wonderful patterns, colors, and shapes. For more of her drawings and a link to her blog, click on "Sybil's drawings" below or in the label list to the right.

Patches with Black Dots

This started out as a drawing on a watercolor wash background. I couldn't seem to make it work. But such lovely colors! So I cut it up into strips, rearranged it, taped it together, cut it into strips crosswise, rearranged and taped it again. Then I added black lines between the patches, and some black dots for accent. It works better now.

• Copic marker colors used: A few touches of orange and rose, but I didn't write down what they were. The black lines are Copic multiliner BS (brush small). The black dots are Copic marker black 100.
  
• Background: Dr. Ph. Martin's radiant concentrated watercolors - lemon yellow, true blue, persimmon. 1 - 2 drops of liquid watercolor in 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of water. For more information about the watercolors, including my color chart, see this post.
• Paper: Canson Montval watercolor block, 140 lb. cold press, 4x6"

Red and Blue Swirls

A pencil doodle from my small sketchbook. Lines inked with red and blue pen. Colored (including the page edges) with red and blue markers.

• Pens: Cobalt Copic multiliner 0.3; red Uni-ball gel impact pen 1.0 (does not smear or bleed with Copic markers)
  
• Copic marker colors used: B21,26, R24,29
  
• Paper: Strathmore medium drawing paper, natural white, 4x6"
  

Turquoise Stripes - Drawing and Card

Straight lines, wavy lines, and long streaks of color.

Updated July 9, 2010: See below for the greeting card that I made from this drawing. Please click here for "Mostly Markers - Cards," my new "companion blog," for the card-related information (dated the same as this original post.) For the future, I'll post all of my new greeting cards in Mostly Markers - Cards. This blog, Mostly Markers, will also still be active with all of my non-card drawings and reference posts.

Mother and Child

I was wondering what to draw for "fearless," this week's Illustration Friday word. Then the church service this morning reminded me of this Bible verse, one of my favorites. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." Today is Mother's Day, so the words connected for me with the thought of a mother's love.

My drawing is very simple, a few curved lines on tan card stock, with a little color. I used a heart shape, cut from scrap paper, to guide the flow of the written words and to mask the shape for the airbrushed color (Copic airbrushing with my marker.)

• Copic marker color used: E4
• Paper: tan Crane's card approx. 4x6"
• Words: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)
  

Twisty Lines and Dots - Colors

Twisty lines with dots of color. A playful doodle. Click here for my earlier version in black and white.

• Copic marker colors used: Y38, YG63, BG49, YR14, RV17
  
• Paper: Neenah
  

Sketch of Statice Flowers in a Clear Vase

Warming up on scrap drawing paper, I did this sketch of purple statice flowers in a clear glass vase. I decided to finish it by adding some sketchy colors.

Because it was scrap paper, there were some stray marks and dots, so I added more. I let the marker drop, fine tip down, from a few inches above the paper, to make dots and marks in random sizes and shapes.

Then I ran a marker along the edges for a small, irregular border. A light wash of watercolor completed it for the table top and shadow.

To see my earlier, less sketchy drawing of statice, click here.

• Copic marker colors used: YG63,91, BG10, V04,09,12, BV04,08
• Paper: Strathmore drawing paper, cut down to 4x6"
  

Twisty Lines and Dots - Black and White

Black and white doodle, twisty lines (Copic Multiliner) with dots (marker).
Added May 4, 2010: Click here for a similar drawing, with colored dots, that I made two weeks later.

• Copic marker colors used: Black 100 for the dots
• Paper: Neenah 8.5 x 11"

Birthday Card with Yellow and Violet Flowers

Updated July 9, 2010: This post has been moved to my new "companion blog." Please click here for "Mostly Markers - Cards" to see it (dated the same as this original post.) For the future, I'll post all of my new greeting cards in Mostly Markers - Cards. This blog, Mostly Markers, will also still be active with all of my non-card drawings and reference posts.

Blog News 11

Updates to Mostly Markers, other than new drawings posted, since the last Blog News:

• Added a label for cards (greeting cards) on several posts, including today's birthday card post (above).
  

Reminder - my blog includes over a dozen easy-to-draw "try this" posts. Not drawing lessons, but drawing activities based on my drawings. Simple directions with lots of encouragement, because I strongly believe that Anybody Can Draw. To see what I mean, I invite you to click here, or click on "try this" in the menu bar in my blog header, or in the labels list on the right.

For more Blog News posts, click on the label (below, or in the label list on the right, or in the menu bar on my blog header.)

Sloping Lines in Green, Blue, and Purple

Layers of lines and colors. A feeling of gentle motion.

Inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "dip." Of all its different meanings, I thought of lines sloping down and curving into each other.

• Copic marker colors used: B21,24,26,41,45, G12,14,17,21,24, V000,04,12,15, C3
• Background was done with the Copic airbrush: marker colors B24, G14, V15.
• Paper: Neenah, cut down to 4x6"

Orange Pattern Card - Rescued

I made the patterned paper with two hand-cut rubber stamps (a circle and a square) and three colors of liquid watercolor. I wanted to rescue it from my scrap pile, and so today I used it for a birthday card. Posted for Illustration Friday's word for the week, "rescue."
Updated July 9, 2010: The detailed card information for this post has been moved to my new "companion blog." Please click here for "Mostly Markers - Cards" to see it (dated the same as this original post.) For the future, I'll post all of my new greeting cards in Mostly Markers - Cards. This blog, Mostly Markers, will also still be active with all of my non-card drawings and reference posts.

Bright Dots and Wavy Lines 2

I started with wavy lines and circles, using my plastic circles template to get "perfect" circles. Drawn with 0.5 Copic Multiliner - a thicker line than I normally use. Next I colored the circles with five colors of Copic marker, leaving some of the inner circles blank. To complete my drawing, I added a watercolor wash with three colors of Lyra Aquacolor crayon, picking up the colors directly from the crayons with a wet brush.

Bright and cheerful. I'm happy with it. For an earlier, simpler version, click here.

• Copic marker colors used: B24, R24, V04, Y19, G14
• Watercolor wash background: Lyra Aquacolor crayon numbers 5610008, 34, 51
• Paper: Canson Montval watercolor block, 140 lb. cold press, 4x6"

Geranium Birthday Card

I made this card for a friend's birthday. At her request, I colored my May 2009 geranium drawing for her, using soft colors. Click here for the geraniums with their original coloring.

Updated July 9, 2010: The detailed card information for this post has been moved to my new "companion blog." Please click here for "Mostly Markers - Cards" to see it (dated the same as this original post.) For the future, I'll post all of my new greeting cards in Mostly Markers - Cards. This blog, Mostly Markers, will also still be active with all of my non-card drawings and reference posts.

Lenten Prayer Calendar (2010) and Perspective

Tiny daily prayer drawings, each a little less than 1" wide. To put things into perspective for me.
It's my picture of Illustration Friday's word for the week, "perspective."

• If you'd like to do something like this, click here for a PDF calendar template to print or download with daily blank drawing spaces for Lent 2010 (February 17 - April 3). It prints on 8.5 x 11" paper, and then can be enlarged on a copy machine to 11 x 17" if you want more room to draw. (Created by my friend Sybil, and used with her permission.)
• Click here for Sybil's "Praying in Color" blog to see her prayer drawings.
• Click here for my 2009 Advent Calendar. Larger and more complex drawings than the ones in my Lenten calendar.
  

Garden Weeds

Weeds propagating in the garden. Dandelion with its many seeds, grass with its ground-level runners, and a plant that I know as "witch-weed," perhaps in the morning-glory family. Witch-weed propagates by a white underground rhizome that sends up threadlike roots and elongated heart-shaped leaves. It's difficult to remove, because the rhizomes are brittle, and just a small fragment left in the ground will grow another plant. Today's drawing was inspired by Illustration Friday's word for the week, "propagate."

Below is my 1981 pencil sketch of a small witch-weed plant that I found growing in my garden. After I drew the weed, I'm sure I thoroughly destroyed it.

• Copic marker colors used: Rocks W3, BV23; Soil E43+E21 (colored on top of each other), dotted with E33,71 applied with W0 brush tip, all blended with W1 and 0; Leaves and stems G07,40, YG05,21,23,63; Dandelion roots E41; Rhizome Copic opaque white; Sky airbrushed with B01, then mottled with Copic Opaque White applied on a wet brush.
• Paper: Neenah, cut down to 5x7"

Blog News 10

Updates to Mostly Markers, other than new drawings posted, since the last Blog News:

• Updated my post "about Sybil and her drawings" to include my friend Sybil's new blog location.
• Added a post on my watercolors, with color charts for my Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Concentrated Watercolors and my Lyra Aquacolor crayon watercolors, and my notes on the two different products.
  
• Not an update ... but while I'm discussing my blog features: In my blog, I've included more than a dozen easy-to-draw "try this" posts. Not drawing lessons, but drawing activities based on my drawings. Simple directions, sprinkled with encouragement ... because I strongly believe that Anybody Can Draw. To see what I mean, I invite you to click here, or click on "try this" in the menu bar in my blog header, or in the labels list on the right.
  

For more Blog News posts, click on the label (below, or in the label list on the right, or in the menu bar on my blog header.)