Saturday, April 26, 2025

creatively speaking.... this week, two portrait drawings, and several sewing projects

 

I love a hexie shape, and doing EPP hexies. I saw a spiral set hexie block online (can't find it now) that intrigued me for rainbow scrap challenge. This one is all together, so I'll catch up with the colors from last few months, and then figure out how to put them in one quilt top. (of course it's done by hand)

For this week, I have two pencil line drawings to share, and two other sewing projects in progress

First the sewing projects... 

after looking at the red improv piece on the design wall this week I decided to make it larger and include more colors.  I made some red stars with turquoise this week, they are 4" star blocks
I had just enough of the center fabric for 5 2.5" squares, it's one of my faves but virtually used up now that I cut 5 centers from it
design and making stage is messy!

Got four made, one to go... then decide on which colors I want to add to the whole


I enlarged the pentagon shapes to make another bigger basket. You baste fabric around the paper with glue since you're leaving in the papers this time. I plan to hand embroider vines around the top before sewing the side seams rounding the basket. You make two units, and tuck one into the other so all edges are finished when bowl is done.
 Also gives it more stability. I plan to embroider just the inside pieces you see when the basket sits on a table
when cutting the shapes some fabric was wasted but I hate waste so I just overlapped them onto a batting scrap and sewed over them...
and it goes back into the parts dept for some other project... maybe a brooch? with some beads? 

the colors are so pretty, I forget how pretty pastels are in my reach for saturated colors

Drawing in the art journal

I like these erasers... I want to practice drawing to develop my skills so I need good tools

these will smear or shade pencil lines a bit


AND different pencils have different hardness

a place to draw and paint
I love B & W photos from the 1920's and loved this cheeky pose... so here goes!
My attempt to capture a gesture photo

thought I would paint it but changed my mind, so the washi tape wasn't needed, shrug...
what's not right... something in the mouth proportion this time. LALAMO (live and learn and move on)
next, a man. I find them harder to draw plus a hand? yikes! 
top my drawing, inspiration photo copy tucked beneath
I print out a photo for inspiration, and tuck the loose copy next to my drawing and turn the page
I did use a tombow fudenesco pen for brows and eye liner
I like the shadows around his hair line. 

Drawing teaches me to SEE.  You must look closely for details that make a unique face, n'est pas?

10 comments:

Sara said...

The portrait drawings are really good! Wow! And the spiral hexie is really calling me to try one. It's so pretty!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

You did a lovely job on that 1920s drawing. And on the silver fox guy too, although I'm with you -- effen hands are so hard to do. I didn't learn about the different types of hard/soft pencils until I retired and started taking art lessons. It was a REVELATION to me, a much needed epiphany that revolutionized my graphite drawing skills.

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Hope you're doing okay, love the drawings they are brilliant and your patchwork quilting too. Hugs Angela xXx

Helen said...

There's nothing quite so satisfying as using up scraps. I'm going to watch for the little scrap fan shape to show up in a project one of these days.

Duke said...

Your people drawings are wonderful! Love them both!

Susie H said...

Very cool Hexie Spiral!!!!

Tigger's Mum said...

Your female in pencil might not be a proportion thing so much as shade - in the photo her lower lip is light/bright. You have worked really hard on capturing these two and got them very well.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I love the spiral hexxie. Makes me toy with the idea of using them in a landscape again at some point. I do love the addition of the turquoise star blocks to the red, particularly because it picks up the little bits of that colour in the red. Really wish I could draw but the best I can do is work with fabric.

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Great idea to spiral the colors in that hexie block! Love the addition of turquoise with the red improv. I saw someone else use that color combo and it fascinated me as I wouldn't have thought of it but boy do I love it! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2025/04/29/wednesday-wait-loss-430

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Turquoise and red are wonderful together, these little stars are beautiful! Love the spirale too, and the pretty patches for the bowl. Your drawings also are beautiful, and you have great tools for great projects!
Thank you for sharing your creativity and linking up.