March 2021 at the art table

Finding colour and marks

On the art table in March it’s playtime with some loose marks on watercolour paper. In Powertex I’m revisiting Easy Structure in some of my favourite art pieces and my book pile gets some birthday gift additions.

In the sketchbook

As March got underway I had a head full of ideas I thought I wanted to try but nothing was catching my attention for long. Clearing up the art space seemed like a good idea to put away any distractions. This included the sketchbooks, putting away completed books, tidying empty books and gathering up those in progress.

I did have a quick scribble on the open Seawhites sketchbook before I put it away though! This was done super fast through a piece of carbon paper which means it’s hard to see what you’re drawing. I love the reveal if I keep an open mind about the results!

Mixed media explorations

I found some pieces of watercolour paper when clearing up the art table and left them out with my jar of Caran d’ache Neocolours in the hope that they might spark something. I also grabbed the scrap of carbon paper I used in the scribbled sketches above.

The result was some loose playful colours and scribbles. I used the carbon paper and drew loose lines and words across the paper before I added any colour. Charcoal pencils which are much darker were better for marking some more intense lines and tiny details. It wasn’t long before the letter stencil made an appearance either!

These two pieces were made on different types of watercolour paper, the top one on cold press textured paper and the bottom one on smooth watercolour paper (hot press). I’ll admit I’ve never been too fussy about choosing my paper. I use what’s affordable and available but the Neocolours did behave differently on the papers so I might be more deliberate next time. I felt like I could move the colour around more on the textured surface before it started to damage the paper.

Powertex art

This month I was invited to share my Powertex art over on my @PowertexWithKore account. It’s always good to dive back into old pieces, I love it. I remember great techniques I’ve not used for a while and it’s good to see how far I’ve come. Take a look and get inspired by the incredible Powertex figure sculptures from Donna at Fairies & Fantasy Crafts who nominated me!

These pieces are really in my favourites. The textures were mainly created using Easy Structure but I threw in so many products and just had fun layering up different colours and textures from Rusty Powder peelings from my mixing plate to powder pigments sprinkled into wet Powertex, it’s all here!

[Want to make your own? I have a range of Powertex tutorials to buy in my Etsy shop. Download them instantly and get started creating your own textured Powertex art. Use the coupon code BLOG15 to get 15% off until the end of April 2021. You can read more about Easy Structure in this blog.]

On the bookshelf

March means it’s my birthday and sometimes I’m treated to something new for the bookshelf. This year brought two gorgeous books that I’ve had my eye on. These two were perfect for sitting in my sunny window during lockdown! I’ve put Amazon links below so you can see what I mean!

Bound – 15 beautiful book binding projects by Rachel Hazell

The End of Print by David Carson (graphic design and typography that’s just art!)

If you’re thinking about hand making books I can really recommend Bound. It goes right back to basics and explains supplies and tools as well as different projects to make. The instructions are easy to follow with lots of photos too. I’ve got started on my first project and will have to let you know how that goes!

Until next month from my March art table,

Kore

Read April’s art table notes here.