January

While I enjoyed working from word prompts from October to mid December, I will be following a different regime in January.

The goal is to make one ATC for each day of the month, but there will not be a word prompt for each day. Instead, I will choose from this list of options:

Finish an ATC from my "pile of partially-made cards." (3, 5,18, 26)
Learn about a new artist, and make an ATC inspired by that artist's work. (6, 17)
Choose one of the artists I have met in the Facebook Groups, and make an ATC inspired by that artist. (12)
Draw or paint a study from a classical work of art. (15)
Try a new technique or a medium that has not yet appeared on this website. (It would be very hard to find a completely new medium at this point in my ATC life!) (5)
Draw or paint something from my own photos. (24, 25)
Draw or paint an object or scene .... um ..... live. (27)
Make an interactive card. (21, 22, 23)
Follow one of the word prompts from the 365 Days of Drawing group. (32)
Find inspiration from WORDS: a quote, a rhyme, a challenge of some kind. (31)
Watch a video or read an article about art or attend a class and apply what you've learned. (8, 16)
Draw an object you have never before drawn. (20)
Make a new coloring card for the Art Lab. (7, 9, 10)
Take a request from the Facebook group, draw that request, and mail it as an RAK. (1, 2, 4)
Make a card based on current events. (11, 13, 14)
Do needlework of some kind. (19)

Rules: Use the prompts in a way that works! (The original rules were "Do no prompt more than three times" and "You do not need to do all sixteen." I broke the first rule on day 26, but I DID do all sixteen, so minus one, plus one, I made it!)

January 1 and January 2

I could hardly wait to start the new year, with a new plan. Earlier in the week, I saw a request for memorial pet portraits. I made myself wait until January 1 to draw "Gracie."

Gracie: First Attempt

I used to be very confident in my ability to draw pet portraits. I spent quite a bit of time on this one, but I think I over-worked the eyes.

Gracie: Second Attempt

I like the second attempt better. Both cards will be mailed as RAKs.

Woodland Rabbit

I converted an acrylic painting to an ATC by slicing it from the stretcher bars and mounting it on a piece of heavy watercolor paper, using double-stick tape.

The Rest of the Story...

Months ago, I vowed to quit trading online. I was still checking Emily's group often, but I resisted the urge to make offers for any cards. It was difficult.

I simply could not resist some of the ATCs that got posted on January 1. For the first time, I sent links to this new website, along with trade requests, to two artists. One was an artist with whom I have traded before. The other was new to me.

In exchange for some lovely linbocut prints, I have mailed If Vincent had Metallic Watercolors and the Inktober drawing "Skeletal." But none of the cards fit the collections of the other trader. In all of the ATCs posted over the past three months, there were no "ravens OR - human body / figurative ATCs OR - woodland creatures OR -fantasy creatures.

I did have one ATC with an ocean creature . But I did not have a second ATC to include in the trade. So I cut up an old mini painting and mounted it and I am pleased with the result.

Another Gracie...

Well, I goofed. Gracie: the First Attempt, shown above, was drawn on translucent Yupo and mounted on black watercolor paper. I forgot to mount it on white first, then black, and so the colors are... foggy. I tried to fix it (that's another story for another day) but could not. So I made a third Gracie, quick and easy but I like it. Two ATCs will be mailed today, as RAKs.

January 5

Dancer, from One Strand....

I didn't stitch this on January 5, but I did write an article on January 5 that includes this piece as an illustration.

The article was prompted by an interesting discussion on Emily's board, about copying an ATC made by someone else and offering it for trade.

January 5

Abstract Eye

For the January 6 ATC, I went to the art_dailydose account on Instagram and read about Claude Mellan. I tried six times to do a drawing with one continuous line. But I was not able to pull it off.

Then I just got interested in drawing an eye, using only straight lines. It's not great art, but it was a great art experience: I learned. I practiced. I made an ATC that met the second option in my list.

Year of the Horse

Today's ATC is a set of three digital images which I will produce as coloring cards for the Art Lab.

The four interlocked horses have been reproduced in many publications, and the design is well-known in the art world. Here is the link to the image found on Wikipedia Commons.

January 7

Neurographic...

I went to an art workshop at the Topeka Art Guild last night. There were only three people there, but I had fun chatting and making "Neuographic" art with marker and watercolor. The technique works better on larger paper, and these ATCs are not good enough to trade, but the most interesting thing I learned today: The colors show up as much more vivid in the photograph than they are in "real life."

I looked for a good article on Neorographic Art, and found this link: https://www.vanvaf.com/post/origin-and-power-of-neurographic-art-a-fusion-of-science-and-self-discovery

I will write more about "Art Play Wednesdays" once I've attended a few more sessions.

Hybrid Horses

When I print a doodle card and then color it by hand, I call it a hybrid card.

So now I have "hybrid horses!"

Usually, I do hand-made dots in the background. This time I got lazy. A couple of days later I took the time to make a "hand-drawn" background, and I like it SO much better.

For the rest of the week, I continued to experiment with the Hybrid Horses. I decided to document the process on another page.

AKC and CCBR

Sadly, the first two Hybrid Horse ATCs are no longer available.

No, they didn't get traded.

They got dripped on.

With red paint.

It happens.

THIS card will be an AKC.

I am also coining a brand-new term for it: CCBR. Custom Copy By Request. If you want a card very similar to this one, you can request one. It will be numbered on the back, and I will write my standard blurb about series cards.

January 10

Heroes Among Us (#11)

I REALLY wish that I could draw people. Even when I attempt to TRACE over a screenshot, I just don't do faces well.

But I think the concept of this card is good, and I plan to do more cards as a form of resistance in the future.

I was inspired by this video:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1482274436402080

The Secret Life of Toe Spacers

Many thanks to Joey Katzer, who gave me permission to make an "inspired by" card, based on an ATC she recently posted on ATC Artist Trading Cards.

I drew my version using Procreate, on my iPad. I traced an image from a zenToes ad that I found on the internet, shaded it with a brush that looks like pencil, and added the details. It prints up as a pretty decent ATC! I like the way I can quickly and easily combine the look of a hand-drawn card with simple and perfect text. My lettering skills are not good.

Renee

It is January 13 and I still have not been able to make an ATC that captures the feelings I have about the murder of Renee Good. This one isn't what I'd hoped for, but it is here on the January page, late, but I can't seem to capture the feelings I want to capture.

Boston ICE Tea Party

I spent too much time on my computer, searching for images that could express my sadness over what has been happening in the USA so far this year.

I missed this event earlier... but did a quick sketch because the Boston ICE Tea Party lightened my mood for a few minutes. Resistance. We need hope.

TRADED

Shove

I think I have found a way to record a bit of what is going on. Each time I see another example of the WRONG THINGS going on, I want to put images in this record. This image was created by recording a screen movie, locating a 'drawable" frame, and making several layers of "over drawings." Works for me.

DIGITAL- prints on demand or "free" PDF via Messenger

Watercolor, with Overdrawing

I went to another watercolor session at the Topeka Art Guild. The goal was to work loosely, and I had three little pieces to keep originally. Once again, I left them on a table in my studio and accidentally dripped paint on them. This is the only one left!

January 14

Modigliani-inspired

I looked at my list of prompts and decided to try a study from a famous work of art. First I tried copying one of da Vinci's faces, but realized working white on black when copying a face was .... um... too hard.

Then I went for this quick piece, inspired by Modigliani but with a background added.

Meditation Circle 260116

I still have a very large pile of unfinished ATCs in my studio. This one started out as a black circle, but I decided to make the top layers with Phtalo blue.

Simple Flower

Wool yarn on wool fabric. I have had this fabric since the 1980s! I'm not really sure just where I bought it... but I started out with a very large piece and there is very little left of it. I will definitely miss it when it is gone.

Q-tips

One of the montly prompts is to "draw something you have never drawn before." I have never before drawn Q-tips.

TRADED

#21

On January 18, I took a look at the list of prompts and wrote down which ones still needed to be done.

The next three cards are definitely interactive cards!

Matrioshkat!

I am really excited to share this one!

Matrioshkat 2

I WILL be making more of these.

Matrioshkat 3

I love the name.

Interactive X

I first learned the pattern for the "Interactive X" card from a card made by ....

...folded one way....

These cards are fun... but itk is very hard to design something that works from every angle.

...folded another way...

I also failed to "score" the card before folding, so this one is obviously not for trade. But a good experiment.

Here is another "Interactive X" card. It took a long time to get this one finished, even though it is just covered with doodles.

I think this idea definitely deserves further exploration, with better doodles and better balance of lights and darks.

It would be great to figure out how to actually CONNECT the front of the card doodles to the back doodles.

All in all, I am very pleased with this ATC! Unfortunately, the folds do make the card easy-to-wear-out.

Woodland Path

Painted from a photograph I took while hiking near the Governor's Mansion in Topeka Kansas.

It still needs some fixing. Photographs always accentuate the flaws. THe base of the large tree looks unfinished...

Sunset 2601

Another little painting based on one of my own photographs.

Meditation Circle 260222

This one is not as "detailed" as the previous meditation circle. I was going to do more, but I decided they might be fun to compare during a workshop, so I shall leave this one as a "Grade B" example.

Redbud Trees in Winter

A simple little sketch that didn't quite fill the page, so I trimmed it down and added a frame.

Fantasy Scene

Not much more than a doodle, drawn over an acrylic background. I guess I can't really do rocks without somthing to copy from.

SmSSS 260125

I had paint leftover from the adjustments I made to "Woodland Path," and a lid with the last of the Pthalo blue, so I decided to do a "Six Minute, Six Step Scene."

Abstract 3MS

Using up the paint from the previous ATC...
This one is quite abstract and was very fun to do!

Bored Board Board Meeting

The prompt was: Find inspiration from WORDS: a quote, a rhyme, a challenge of some kind.

Hunger

To finish off the prompts, I used a word from the 365 Days of Drawing list. more

January 25

I made four new cards on January 25. I also did "touch-up" on a card painted earlier in the month.

Sometimes it feels good to get ahead.

I am really enjoying this web site. As I update the site on January 27, I plan to add more links to the site so that it will be more useful to artists who are new to ATCs.

THAT is why the site will work so much better as a web page than a book. Books lack links!

January 27-28

I've been working to make PDFs of some of my digital ATCs.

On the 26th I added a page about the "Hybrid for History" cards that I plan to continue in February. I made a PDF of one of the cards on this page: "Shove."

On the 27th I drew another card for the series. Today's card, unlike the others, is humorous. Sometimes we just need a morale boost.

January 30

I am continuing to explore the concept of making a "Hybrid for History" whenever I see an image that meets the topic of Resistance.

Today Emily H. posted a link to a video from the Daily Show Facebook group.

At 1:03 I took a screenshot from the video.
At 1:07 I had three layers of the Procreate file: the image, a background color, and an enlarged loto at the top right corner.
By 1:20 I had the rough sketch and the first draft of text in place.
At 1:32 I took a screenshot of the final layout, replacing the hand-writing with text and adding the final word: But...
I didn't time things for the next few steps. I added the link (which took a LOT more time than it should have taken. Procreate's text capability is awkward.) Then I exported the file to TIFF and posted it online.
Next I did an experiment to compare how the TIFF looks to an image taken right off Facebook, just right clicking and choosing "Save As." There is no noticable difference at ATC size!
I colored a card and decided that the "White House Press" text could not be easily colored, so I put in a second layer of cardstock to see if that was better. Then I decided to just color in one portion of the Procreate image. ( That was also a learning experience...) I took a photo of this version at 2:05.
At 2:18 I posted the color version. I really like it, so that's the image I will display on this page.
The text for the Facebook posting is shown below.

Color your own....

inspired by Emily's "But..." card....

and the link she shared....

This is a digital image made by tracing a screen capture, so not for trade but freely available for sharing and coloring and dropping off by the dozen....

ADDITIONAL INFO: I just printed a PDF in which I used the original TIFF image and then compared it to the images I get if I right click and use "Save As.." to save a copy to my computer. At ATC size, there is no real difference. So feel free to use the "Save As...." and enjoy. I'm off to color one and put it in the comments....

I am very pleased with the art I created in January.

I used a new set of prompts and adjusted them so that they should work for me in the future.
I made at least one card for each day of the month.
I made up a new "method" for creating the ATCs that I am calling "Hybrids for History."
I added quite a few pages under the Resources Tab and took a screenshot of the pages as they exist at this point in time. I wish I had taken one at the end of December, but I believe that the entire "Resoure" section is new this month. Making this web site is SO much fun!

Forward to February >

< Backwards to December

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