For me, July started slow. Or maybe it was just me feeling like a sloth from the heat. Chug, chug, chug, then whoosh! I was in the mood for flowers this month. Still, I did manage to change it up here and there. I made an effort to use scraps, small bits of paper. And I had fun with those. The largest I worked this month was 5 x 5 inches. That felt like the perfect size for a daily painting.
I found a terrific video about painting wet on wet cats. Furballs. She also does birds, dragonflies and flowers that look really fun. I have since done about a dozen furry critters, that may turn up in a pattern soon. I stopped my watercolor month at 30. Monday was crammed, and I decided to cut myself some slack. I even snuck in a short nap. Actually, it snuck up on me. 🥴
Falling leaves placed at #1497 of 1723 with 15 votes. I knew it would not place well when I voted and saw all of the fabulous florals. So gorgeous! But I am happy with this design and will do a few more colorways.
Thanks so much for following along with me this month. It went by fast, didn’t it? And thank you for taking the time to vote on Falling Leaves! I know it is a chore.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂 Chat with you soon!
I am taking part in World Watercolor Month. I was tempted not to, there is already so much on my to do list. I know you know exactly what I mean. 😄
But I missed my colors. And brushes. And I am so enjoying my “new” desk. I have two other large projects going, and I am squeezing out a tiny little spot to paint these tiny little pieces. Even still, the work area feels so much more spacious. Ahhhh.
I think a little bit of the Feng Shui, rejuvenate the chi flow has made a difference as well. Isn’t that part of why we do our spring cleaning?
You can click any gallery image to see the full piece.
Doodle Bugs was our Spoonflower assignment this week. I am not a fan of bugs in general. I wouldn’t choose to draw them. I do admire bugs that other artists create. And I have to admit, I was surprised at how many colorful, pretty bugs there are. I had a hard time narrowing it down.
The brief called for hand drawn or painted bugs. My Talens Angora watercolor palette came to mind. Warm desert tones. (Their skin tone collection.) And I decided on Moths. There are so many pretty ones. Some are neon pink and yellow. There were lots of yellows, in the images I researched. And warm earthy rusts and salmons.
I created the bodies and details using the pen tool in Photoshop. I wanted nice crisp lines. I painted blobs, trying to get some bleeds and blooms. I wasn’t as successful with that, but I did end up with a few that were usable. I trimmed them digitally to fit the moth bodies.
I have never considered painting a butterfly. Always felt it was beyond my abilities. But I surprised myself. I am learning to think in pen tool. Haha. 🙂 No way would I be able to draw them by hand though.
I am really happy with how this turned out. Happy with the hues. Happy with my little taught-me-so-much doodle bugs. 😉 Voting is open until next Tuesday, the 25th.
Last week I received notice that Spoonflower was making changes in the challenge voting. They have already changed the main challenge page, and WOW! I am looking forward to seeing what changes they made on the voting page. Fingers crossed.
I just read in a Facebook Spoonflower group, that the voting is messy and takes you through 21 pages. BUT, it does allow you to exit and come back to it. It saves your votes, but shows the designs in random order. So you may see some designs more than once, if you re enter. Sounds like they need to work out some glitches.
It will take people using it, for them to gather info for improvements. And if you do consider voting, I am very interested in hearing your opinions, so I can pass them on to Spoonflower.
They did mention, that there would be two columns instead of one, on the phone app. That is a huge change. And will help make voting a little faster. They will also be verifying that designs meet the requirements, and are repeating designs. One key to voting on the phone, is to open the page, and give it a few seconds to load the images.
WOO WHO!!!
Spoonflower calculates the counts now! Awesome! I don’t have to search through the entries now, to find my placement. Thank you Spoonflower! 🙂
Rugged Line placement in the Miniature Dollhouse Wallpaper challenge.
Woo Whoo! 176!! That is the top 10.45 %. (If the online calculator is correct. LOL)
You can see the top 65, here. I would have needed only 30 more votes to make the top 65. WOWzers! 🙂 This simple design is one of my favorites. So nice that so many others like it too. 🙂
Sending out a huge cup of appreciation, to all of you who voted & to those of you taking the time to vote this week. 🙂 And to all of my followers. I am so grateful. 🙂
