Tonight I offer video number two, in a series of coloring how-to videos. People have asked me how to shade or create some of the effects that I do in coloring. Creating videos has been a fun way to share that information, and it pushes me a bit, out of my comfort zone.
For this clip, I did the videoing myself, while also coloring and narrating. Talk about multi-tasking! In addition, there were thunderstorms moving into the area. Although I could hear the low rumble of thunder as I colored, it isn’t evident on the video. However, shortly after I wrapped up, the thunder became quite loud.
I will continue to share videos about different coloring techniques. If you have a question or want to see something specific that would be helpful, please let me know in the comments.
Thank you for watching. And be patient as I perfect my videoing techniques!
I am coloring in Joanna Basford’s book, Secret Garden. The colored pencils I use are the Prismacolor and Crayola brands. You can order all of these items below:
I am an Amazon Affiliate and may make a commission on products sold, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for considering making a purchase of these products, or any other items, through my Amazon link!
My days have been really full lately. That’s not a complaint at all. I absolutely love my life and my journey. After a busy day I come home, eat a healthy dinner, sometimes do a creative project and write a blog post or two. I’ve looked at the coloring page next to my chair every night for a month, and then after checking the time, I’ve thought, I’ll color on that tomorrow.
Today I realized I’m up against the clock now. That coloring page, printed from the This Old House website, needs to be finished tomorrow if I’m going to enter it in the contest.
So guess what I did this evening?
I came home, rather late, ate a healthy dinner of leftovers…and I colored. I spent the whole evening coloring. Earlier today, I considered not completing the page for the contest. However, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make the attempt to get it submitted in time.
And…I really do enjoy coloring. Laying color on to the page, building up color, creating shading and highlights, is not only fun for me, it is centering, meditative, creative.
This is where I started this evening, barely further along than I was a month ago. I filled in sections, one area at a time, using the colors that I felt drawn to. One of the things I love about coloring is how the picture evolves as I work, and often in different ways than I imagined when I began with a blank page. This truly is a creative process and there are no mistakes. What the finished picture becomes is always perfect, as it is.
That is an important life lesson for me as well. I color in my own life as I go, and I am often just as surprised by what comes together, delightfully so.
This is how far I got tonight. I made good progress and I’m pleased with the results. And truthfully, I don’t yet know if I will finish in time. Because tomorrow is another very full day. I will do my best, and enjoy what I do, and live with the “I don’t know” and the outcome.
Whether I get the coloring page submitted in time or not, I’ve enjoyed the creative process and the lessons learned. It’s all good!
I’m sharing a fun first tonight, a quick little creative project. I have had several people ask me how I create shading when I color, and give the appearance of highlights. Rather than write about the simple techniques that I use, I decided to create a short instructional video.
I tried setting up something to hold my iPhone  while it recorded my work, to no avail. I couldn’t get the right angle. Special thanks to Greg for being my cameraman and offering encouragement.
Forgive a giggle or two, and a pencil drop…I really just dove right in to this demonstration. It was fun though.
Let me know if this video was helpful! I intend to make a series of coloring videos, each one under five minutes in length, with simple techniques and suggestions. Coloring should be fun, first of all, and art according to the artist’s style and preferences.
Enjoy! Play with shading and highlights. And I’ll see you on YouTube!
You don’t have to own expensive colored pencils. Although I often color with Prismacolor Pencils, I started out with Crayola Colored Pencils and still use them. Check out both brands below:
I am an Amazon Affiliate and may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for considering making a purchase of these products, or any other items, through my Amazon links!
Tonight’s blog post is brief, and mostly pictorial, as I am working on a couple of different creative projects. Greg drew my attention recently to a coloring contest, sponsored by This Old House and Sherwin Williams. I am excited to participate…any excuse to color is good, after all…and printed out the coloring sheet.
Although I have until the end of March to submit my finished page, I began coloring tonight. I enjoy very detailed coloring and layering on colors to create depth and shading. It is not too soon for me to begin!
Because I am a nerd, and detail oriented, I spent time researching Sherwin Williams’ color of the year for 2017.
It is Poised Taupe. Sidenote: I’d love to be the person who names new colors!
And I studied Sherwin Williams color palettes that complement Poised Taupe, as seriously as I would if I had decided to paint my house exterior.
Only then did I begin coloring, once I had color palettes in mind and felt inspired.
A blank coloring page calls forth such creativity from within me. It is an invitation to create with color and shading and highlights. I have barely started, and yet I am enjoying the process very much. Coloring is a meditative act for me, a spiritual practice happily joined with art.
It doesn’t matter to me whether I win this coloring contest or not. The challenge lies not in competing with others but in doing my best work and having fun while I create.
Because the play’s the thing.
Hamlet was remarking about a performance, in which he hoped to gather proof about who killed his father. I mean play, as in having fun and playing. I am playing as I color. I am creating. I am making art a little more robust in my life.
You can join in the fun. Go to This Old House on Facebook or HERE.
I love how inspiration calls to me, as I maintain an open mind and heart. It can arrive and nudge me, or drop a creative idea into my head, in unexpected places, and through unexpected sources.
Today my sister Linda and I took our granddaughters to lunch at one of their favorite restaurants, Chick Fil A. School begins tomorrow, after a long four day weekend. We wanted to get the girls together again before London headed back to Oklahoma.
A card game came with the girls’ chicken nuggets. Intended as conversation starters, Aubrey opened her deck, selected a card, and read the question:
If you had free time today, to enjoy a favorite hobby, what would you do?
Good question!
We took turns answering. London wanted to skate. Linda picked reading. Aubrey decided she would draw. After sorting through several enticing possibilities, I answered I’d like to color.
That idea stayed with me the rest of the day. As I drove home, well after dark, I thought about the new coloring books I received for Christmas, from Greg, and from grandson Jonathan and his mom. And I tried to recall when I had last enjoyed the meditative art of coloring. It had been too long. The thought deepened into an intention, and I looked forward to gathering my colored pencils and a stack of coloring books when I arrived home.
What a perfect way to settle in for the evening.
While a cup of hot tea brewed, I returned to my last unfinished project, from the Doctor Who Coloring Book. I felt inspired to add to the coloring page by sketching in a TARDIS in the background. The Doctor’s time machine, cleverly camouflaged as a blue police box, is the quintessential symbol for this long running BBC television show. I like the idea of creating a subtle TARDIS, by way of shading, behind Doctors 9, 10, 11 and 12.
I became so absorbed in my creation, I forgot about the tea. I am sipping on one strong, and cooled, cup of Scottish tea.
I will enjoy coloring in all of my new books tonight. As I laid color onto the Doctor Who page, I smiled from the pure and simple joy of coloring. I connected again with the pleasure and artistic satisfaction of this hobby, carried forward from my childhood.
The Lord of the Rings coloring book has rich details and many colorable quotes throughout its pages. It will take me a long time to finish this book, and I am okay with that. It is art, and it will be a work in progress. As I am typing my blog post, the LOTR coloring book is open on my lap, where a scene from the Shire beckons to me. For the first time, I feel drawn to color the pages in chronological order. I will honor that inclination.
I am grateful for the fun game we played at Chick Fil A this afternoon. And for the invitation that Inspiration offered through a simple question read by a sweet child.
Yes, I will return to coloring, and open further to where this journey takes me.
