Some news

Because I got complaints I am not updating.
I have after all these years better internet connection and a phone!
This should even make blogging more easy!

I had and have great plans for 2014!

1. Having more and better technical equipment and I have a scanner now!

You can see perfectly well scanned new pictures here: Deviantart Gallery

2. Fill a 600 pages sketchbook (and I already finished it these days! So proud)

There is the book. A very fine book bought here Retrofonts Blindband

My grannie sleeping. When I was still drawing with pencil.

The last pic in this book. I had changed and used RAINBOW PENCILS!

That are available again, seven colors in one!

Most of the sketches in this particular book are made with lots of great resources.

You want to get better: Off to Pixelovely!

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3. Concentrate more on artwork, sculptures, writing, all the creativity stuff! Show more of the creativity stuff. Take part in Sketchfest (My gallery). From today taking part in Illustration Friday.

I use Instagram nowadays and I am experimenting with colors a lot to inspire the people I work with.

In the end I wish to have picture books published (many ideas, am working at pics: Example)

And there is supposed to be an exhibition next year - maybe we get that going!

To see more pics of what I talk about here and the cat you should open this post!

Frankfurt Book Fair

I think I took to few photos in Frankfurt, where I visited the giant book fair with a friend (to be seen later). We wanted to check out, books, illustrators and
These are just some small glimpses. I saw so many fantastic and interesting books and met nice people, had quite good coffee... we even where in the international part of the fair and it was different and even more interesting.
So now the peeks. I really don`t know the names of all those fantastic artistic people, sorry but here they are!

Two pics from the great sketch battle between team glasses and team without glasses

The Gruffalo - an exhibition

Finally, the weather became sunnier, the days longer, I travelled a bit and went to the Gruffalo exhibition in Hannover. Seeing some original work for a lot of his books was great! I took a lot of photos and show you some impressions here.

With every pic collection went the book they belonged to and screaming kids where grabbing the books, running around and collecting them. I did not like! 

Some more original where to be found of Nick Knatterton and many other artists in the rest of the exhibition. Original sketches, landscapes by Wilhelm Busch (well, it was the Wilhelm Busch museum), and I loved all of them! I had an eye on the techniques used, the mastery of brush, pen, pencil, ink and learned that watercolor, gouache and ink are mostly the media of choice for a lot of illustrators.

I know there are others.

So have a look at some of my favourites. There were fantastic letters as well and sketchbooks you could only see one, two pages of :(

And I got to know of an Windsor McCay exhibition that I can maybe visit soon!

Now for some

GRUFFALO! by Axel Scheffler

Selda Marlin Soganci - another illustration course!

Fantastic news for me!
Next week (cross ya fingers that everything will be alright) I can attend an illustration course by Selda. I had two weeks in Marburg with her last years, this one will be only a few days.

She does such whimsical, fantastical art and I found her several years ago like 2004 in a book catalogue. You should go and look for books she illustrated. I ordered "Märchen für mutige Jungs" so she can sign it for me!

Some pics as this first one is the kind of flyer for it.

Last year Selda brought some originals. She is doing mostly all pics on wood,

also the ones for the books she illustrates and I could not resist and bought this tiny bird.

It was made for wrapping paper.

This is my life...

there isn`t anything better!

At least not for me.

Just snippets of latest drawings of me.

A self portrait of me sleeping and a trip me and some friends made.

They are both in one of my selfmade sketchbooks you can find in an earlier post.

There is quite some more to find in my bed than funny pillows. There are a lot of books lying behind me that you can`t see :). Eragon part 2 for example. The green pillow with eyes is a kind of puppet. The one with the blue eyes is a pillow you can play music with. The cat sleeps in my bed as well and I would never have a lightened candle there. 

I have mice running around though. One bit me in my toe.

Some more 

What I am at right now

I have a plan and calendar for 2013. The plan is (now that I am working full-time) to draw and paint as much as I am able to. Always with joy and not with the "I must" background. I am working at a picture book with pigs (see below) and a bunch of other ideas.

I even have a box with little papers in it. One paper for every idea. I can draw one and work at it. Though there are at least ten ideas in it I mostly draw "Tardar Sauce":D.

My workplace with some of the picture book pages. I used different color pencils and my beloved INKTENSE!  

Not to forget the Pentel waterbrushes. Favorites since last year as well. And a documenta 13 coffee mug. 

This is a morel inspired by a pic by probably formerly Death-of-rats, but I cannot find it anymore. A present for some great people who a shop once and now gift me remaining art stuff once in a while. Done in sepia ink and golden gel pen.

 

 Beautiful done lips in pictures is always an attraction to me and here I tried the same.

With some antique ink in a special blue.

Thank you for looking and till next time with pics or books or photos.... who knows ;)

It`s mine!

I think it takes quite some time to create a post as well as it takes time to scan art and prepare it for the world wide web.
That makes me a bit lazy.

What I now chose to present to you are pictures that I bought in past years (guess how many!), mostly pictures drawn and painted by Johanna Öst, probably my most favourite artist, though I prefer her older pics. Topic- and stylewise.

Now there are some of her older pictures that she deleted from her website and one of them that I bought is the "Girl with owl". If you followed her work for years you might recognize it.
Some days ago I went through the pics, picked this one and got the flash to redraw it. (Sometimes I can directly see what I will draw or paint next and often follow the urge.)

http://johannaost.com/

To see my version

Watercolors - artist, book, material

Might it be you know Stephanie Pui-Mun Law?
A great watercolor artist and ongoing inspiration for me.
I wish I could afford one of her elaborated watercolor pictures.
At least I got one of her books for working in a book-store and recommend it
to you as her technique is explained very good and easy to follow.
I have this one: Dreamscapes 1 and followed very close one of the basic tutorials on page 153 (Starry sky at dusk) and gifted it to my aunt :)

The paper she uses is Strathmore Illustration board, that I was finally able to afford. It would be lovely to never use any other "paper" again. On the starry sky I still used Torchon watercolor paper.
In the next pic you can see my workplace right now and some small pics I work(ed) on.

A sleeping baby in the moss (inspired by James Browne`s ACEOs), yet to be finished, a character - my first pic on illustration board, and the flow on it is great! A lady with red hair, sending death rays through her eyes. I used my new red antique ink from Rohrer and some colored pencils. The big white paper already has a sketch on it, hardly to see now. I use the light blue lead pencils Pilot Color Eno for sketching most of the time.

Sound like some advertisement here:) I am a art material fetishist and buy some new stuff when I can.
And mostly quality materials. If you ever would like to support me, you can ask if one of these pictures is available. They are not too costly for sure.

Small art from the heart

I present you my two original ACEO art entries for the "Small art from the heart" International exhibition in Michigan. I think it is great to participate. You should have a look at the website http://www.safth.com/ .
See the other participating artist, the art and what it is about.

"Please don`t forget me."

Ink, ink pen and gel pen on 

Arches watercolor paper, grain satinée 300g/qm

"Fish-Eye"

Ink pen on Strathmore

Bristol Smooth 300

Both are in the mail and I hope the`ll arrive in Michigan. It is a long way!

If you are interested in the eye you can see two more artworks done in this way at
my DA gallery:

My portrait

Pommes

I especially liked Naomi von Monsta`s toadstool ACEOs
and made me one creature for myself, as you can see here.
Mine got a bit more sweety than creepy :)

Thanks to Naomi for the inspiration

I made a lot more small art :) that you might see soon.