September slide show

Show time! The last day of each month we have a slide show of the Sketchbook Challenge Flickr group's work for that month's theme. To have your work in the slideshow, be sure to tag it with the theme's tag for that month, given on the first day when the theme is announced.





Thank you to all of our followers for playing along!

Adding Words to my Watercolor Travel Journals

Hi! Jacqueline here.  I love to combine words with my sketches and paintings in my watercolor travel journals.  It is like keeping an art diary.  I look for interesting painting shapes giving places for my words to wrap around and to go in and out.  Often, before I start a watercolor painting, I will make sure that there is a nice design to the painting just so I can write down my thoughts and feelings about the places that I am visiting.  Here are a few examples of how I combine words and watercolor in my journals:

Text, words, the artistic chalky way!

Hi everyone, Desiree here! Haven't you heard the saying a picture is worth a thousand words? Well maybe its worth more if the text and words are also added to the artwork!

I love text in art, art made from text and text on fabric too! Its all good. It can tell a story, add to a painting or even be the painting.

I thought for fun I would share some chalkboard art with you!! It is all the rage and so easy to do! I have several tutorials on my blog about different ways to create your own chalkboard art. I will post the links at the end of this post. Its a way to use your sketches and text to create wonderful signs, menus, etc. Here are some basic chalkboard backgrounds, green, blue and black. It think the resolution is high enough you should be able to download but if not I can post a link or you can easily make your own if you have a photo editing software. These work well for online cards or messages. I made my background in photoshop and on a different layer I added text and sketches. But there are so many different ways to do it! Here are just some fun examples with Halloween coming up its a great way to do your menus!

I then did some sketches and changed them to white, with the smug tool I smudged them to look like chalk.

 Make sure you pick some scary fonts and images if your doing Halloween Menus

 You can always do nice saying too! This is a saying I wrote for other cards I made also.

A fun project that I was licensed to create for wall art.

These are fun ways to create chalkboard art via your computer but…. you can make some great chalkboard art using chalkboard and chalkboard pens!! Here are the tutorials I promised. Have fun!!! I hope you will sign up to follow my blog while you are there! Text and art is such fun!

Making some framed chalkboard art tutorial #1 

Making fun projects using chalkboard art! #2

My Christmas chalkboard art and menu! #3

Here is the link to my sketching blog where I have a weekly challenge to keep you motivated to sketch more often! Join me and post you sketches right on my blog!

Words

I hope you have had a go at this month's challenge and tagged your work on flickr with sep237 to make sure that it is included in this month's slideshow.

Over on my blog I have added a brief tutorial of one way in which you can  make layered images on fabric or paper using words and writing. Do show your results if you have a go.
Jackie.

where to find the words...

Sue B here...

Grab a stack of old magazines and a pair of scissors and cut out words and phrases that catch your eye...

Toss them in a paper bag and when you're stuck for an idea pull one out randomly and paste it into your sketchbook and let it inspire you...

 watercolors

pilot marker pen

watercolor

This can be a great way to get unstuck when you're feeling overwhelmed by a blank page.

Check my website here for the schedule of where I'll be teaching this fall! 

Words about Fall, and other Things

Jamie Fingal checking in on 'words.'  I love using words in my work!  I have something to say!  Above is a 12x12 art quilt, that is in the process of being made, with houses, drawings and 'community' - made from my fabric line with Hoffman Fabrics.  The particular fabric is all about 'words' and was originally a watercolor.  Words and color make my world go-round!

Heart and Soul, another 12x12 art quilt, using the text fabric from my line

A watercolor of words about 'Fall,' outlined with a fine line Sharpie and painted with watercolors on watercolor paper.  The splendor of color in Fall.

also about 'Fall' which isn't in Southern California yet, but I am looking forward to it when it finally gets here.  A good book, a cup of coffee and autumn leaves.

I love to paint on tags, and these are about 3x6" and I bought them from ULINE.  I used a fine line Sharpie and watercolor paint.  I really like these tags, because they are white, and most of the tags that I've painted on are manila.  They say alot about the things that I am feeling.  What do you have to say?  Bring on the words!

Words

 

Hi everyone, Dion Dior here.  What a wonderful theme for the Sketchbook Challenge this month.  Words are such an important part of my own sketching process, particularly in my illustrated journals.

Since I was a child I've been keeping a journal, and as I grew, so did my desire to introduce pictures and color onto the pages. But words were first.

These days my focus is well and truly on the art, but I always, always, always, include words in my journals.  Sometimes they're my own, and other times they are quotes and inspiration.

When I'm working on a fine art piece, I use words in my sketchbook to describe color and form.  I make notes about mixes, and my approach.  Using words is a very important way to develop your journaling and sketchbook habit.

How do you use words in your sketchbook? 

Thanks for checking in. xx

Words

Jackie here, I am delighted to be setting September’s Sketchbook Challenge, which is what you do with Words in your sketchbooks. Over on my blog I am posting a video of some of my sketchbook pages in which I have used words and writing in various ways. I like my own handwriting and I hope you will learn to love yours as well, the advantage of using your own writing is that it can be as decipherable as you like, and include as many  loops and squiggles as you care for. Words are, I think, great prompts.

For many of the sketchbook themes in the past I have included words and used the words in the theme to act as prompts.

 Include words from a favourite song, a poem, something you hear on the radio or even look in a book of quotations for a starting point. I like to use pages from old books as well, you can mask out some areas with gesso, stencil over the page, tear the page up to make a collage background; there are so many ideas to start a unique sketchbook page.

My word for ‘Sketchbook Challenge’ the book was 'rhythm’, and I started by writing it over and over again, sometimes to music.

 

Please share your images from this months theme in The Sketchbook Challenge Flickr Group, and don't forget to tag it with the code sep237 so it can be included in the end of month slide slow on this blog.