Dress for success. | art inspired by @thuylan_pham #fashion #glamour #art #artist #illustrator #illustration #drawing #sketch #dress #style #model #mikebone #mikebrennanart
A little doggie sketch tonight | art inspired by @flechaslife #sketch #dog #art #artist #njartist #pet #petportraitartist #petpirtrait #doggy #dogs_of_instagram #doglife #petparent #petpreneur #mikebo
Goldens. Ya gotta love the loyal faithful. My guy is a golden mix and always near by. | art inspired @jaxson_thegolden #goldenretriever #dog #art #pet #artist #sketch #digitalart #njartist
It's even a sucky photo...
The moment it all changed. And it could for you, too.
About 5.5 -6 years ago I picked up a pen and a sketchbook after a 10 year hiatus.
This is what I sketched...
Read MoreMe too
Seeing all the #metoo posts on social media today breaks my heart. So much pain... I’m sorry. I so want to say something helpful, and truth be told I’ve written an deleted much already. So please just see my heart. And know that I am for you. #art #sketch #heartbroken #loveoneanother #artist
Be mindful of now. Today. This moment. Because it's all we really have. What are you doing with it? | art inspired by @mumma_joy76 who was inspired by @robinmartinyoga #yoga #yogi #yogaart #yogaartist
Pray for vegas
I hate that I woke up to the news of the shooting in #lasvegas - and I hate that there's so much pain that's filling our headlines and hearts. But I am thankful for hope. And for me that comes in the person of Jesus. So it's not just posting another "pray for" image but really talking with the Prince of Peace. My heart goes out to you Vegas, and standing with you @judwilhite @centralonline as you serve your hurting community. #prayforvegas #peace #hope #nevada #art #mikebone #mikebrennanart #artist #prayer #mandalaybay
What if we just mourned with those who mourn?
What if we just mourned with those who mourn? What if we held our tongues and just listened? What if we cried and embraced and loved and suspended our desire to fix? With so much hurt these days, let's move about our days with compassion & grace. #hurt #pain #sadness #art #vegas #lasvegasshooting #artist #digitalart #sketch #drawing #illustration #illustrator #illustrationoftheday #mikebone #mikebrennanart #njartist #artwork #compassion #grace #loveoneanother #embrace #comfort
Dear feet, keep going. You never know what hangs in the balance. You might be right around the corner from breakthrough. But if you quit now, you'll never know. Take that right next step.
2 minute pose 2
2 minute pose 1
2 minute pose. I'm trying to make quicker bolder marks. Still over working longer times. Practice practice practice. #drawing #sketch #figure #art #model #artist
Artists in their natural habitat. Art inspired by @thanimara #art #artist #paintings #digitalart #visualart #drawing #sketch #figure #illustration
What's in my Sketch Bag, Part 1
I thought I'd take a few minutes to share a few tools in my sketch bag. When I'm not sketching digitally on my iPad, Here's a few tools I like to keep handy for sketching while I'm out and about. I've provided amazon affiliate links below for easy purchasing as well if you're in the market or want to try some new supplies.
A great little fountain pen that is a no mess solution and has a great feel in drawing is the Lamy Safari pen (Extra Fine Nib). It's a great option if you're looking to get something affordable yet a step up. Be sure to get the Lamy refill converter as well, so you can use the ink you desire (waterproof and your color of choice) or you'll be limited to the available non-waterproof cartridges.
LAMY Safari Fountain Pen Charcoal Ex-Fine (L17EF)
Speaking of ink, I have found the Pilot Bamboo Charcoal Black a nice smooth black ink option. It's rich yet over done. You might want to experiment with a few brands of inks, but if you intend to use with watercolor paints, you will want waterproof ink.
Pilot Iroshizuku Bottled Fountain Pen Ink, Take-Sumi, Bamboo Charcoal, Black (69224)
The TWSBI fountain pen was my first. I was attracted to it because of the ease of use yet versatility. It does require more maintenance than the Lamy, but also has a well (that you can see how much ink is left if you get the clear barrel model) as opposed to a cartridge. It's a bit tricker to use but another great option if a full on fountain pen is intimidating.
TWSBI Diamond 580 Fountain Pen nib EF or F
There are certain moments that you will want to blend ink, so using a water-soluble ink will be your ticket. You can fill one of the pens above with such an ink, or if you'd like a different option check out the Tombow. It had two sides and is a BRUSH pen as opposed the extra fine nibs on the fountain pens. One side is like a brush, the other is like a fine tip marker.
Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Black N15, 6-Pack
I live for color, so I always have my Windsor and Newton Watercolor travel kit handy. There are a ew different sizes, depending on how many pans of color you want available. I suggest starting with the one I've listed as it's a little more budget friendly as well as more compact for travel. When the pans of color run down, they are easily replaced. You can even swap out colors if the stock colors aren't your colors of choice. This set is a staple of my travel bag. I never go anywhere without it.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Color Compact Set
And if you intend to use watercolors, you'll need a handy option for brushes that travel well. You don't want to be fiddling with brushes and water cans while on the go, so these water brushes are a necessity. This set has 4 size options which is also nice. You just unscrew the cap and fill with tap water at home, or refill on the go. Simple.
Water Brush Pen, Self-moistening, Portable, (Assorted Tips, Set of 4)
And Lastly, there's a myriad of options for your sketchbook, and a lot of it is personal preference. I do suggest however that if you are planning to use watercolors or wet media, get a sketchbook with watercolor paper. I've used the Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook. It's taken some getting used to the size, but it captures my watercolor nicely. I've also used other Moleskine (as well as other brands) that weren't watercolor paper but with varying degrees of success. It might come down to how wet the paint is.
Moleskine Art Plus Watercolor Album, Large, Black, Hard Cover (5 x 8.25)
The point is to get out there and start sketching! Try different supplies as your budget allows. Go with friends, and swap supplies. Now get out there and sketch!
My 100 Day Project Completed
This image represents the last 100 days of my life. 100 Days of sketching photos from my Instagram feed using only my iPhone and a stylus as part of the 100 Day Project with Elle Luna and The Great Discontent.
What a journey. I would choose a photo, sketch it (using an app called Sketchclub), upload and tag the original Instagram user who posted the photo.
Friends. Social Media buddies. New friends. Organizations. Other artists. And celebrities.
Fun moments happened. Like when Emily Kinney (from the Walking Dead) repost my art. Or my portrait of fellow artist Jon Burgerman shared my sketch in the official 100 Day Project email sent out to the thousands of participants. Or people I don't know expressed gratitude and said they were honored to be sketched. Or friends who I made smile because I captured them in sketch format.
I may take some of these sketches and use them for some other projects. As a matter of fact I already started to turn a few into actual physical paintings.
And perhaps I'll continue to do smaller 30 day sketch projects. What do you think? What themes should I explore? This time I reached to include surfing, yoga and some underwater sea life. Leave a comment if there's a subject matter you'd like to see me tackle.
So farewell for now. Until next time 100 Day Project!
How I Live Sketched an Event
On Sunday, May 31st, I was live sketching the Liquid at the Shore event from start to finish. This was a historic event with over 4,000 people in attendance, so it was a great opportunity to try to capture the day in a new way. (Click through the images above).
What exactly is "live sketching"? I documented the happenings of the day as i saw and experienced them. My choice of tools for the day were my trusty iPad, Pencil stylus, and the apps Skectchclub, Picfx and Snapseed.
I roamed around looking for the iconic snapshots of the day. For example, we had magician Justin Flom come and perform, so I captured a moment with he and his lovely wife Jocelynn.
First, I took a photo with my iPad for reference. Then I loaded the photo into the app Sketchclub on a bottom layer. On the top layer, I draw a black line drawing of my subjects. I then select spot areas where i paint in some color on the layer below the line drawing. Next I import some textures and play with the layer modes until I get a desired effect.
Once complete, I export and sometimes import into Picfx or Snapseed to add a bit more texture, a vignette, or some other subtle effect.
Being that I had a lot to capture and draw on the spot, and uploading to social media as I went as well, I had to keep thing real loose and quick. Each drawing took about 20 minutes form snapping a photo to uploading to social media.
It was a fun way to capture moments of the day. For an extra level of fun, it's always nice to tag people in the drawing when posting on social media.
Sketchclub video: Drawing my Daughter
This time around, I'm going to show you my process in an app for the iPad called Sketchclub. One of the great features of Sketchclub is the ability to add layers and gives you a host of options for brushes and pens. I combine some of my analog drawing techniques with some of my photoshop design background. The result is a very fluid, organic process and feel that takes advantage of the tech side as well. Hope you enjoy this recording straight from Sketchclub itself. https://youtu.be/xIYaRU_VUFM
Sketch process: an old woman
Here's a quick video of me sketching of an old woman. Enjoy!
A Quick Sketch
A quick time lapse video of me sketching in my Moleskine watercolor sketch book.
30 in 30: Day 30
Day 30 of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I'm using sketches i created from Instagram photos on my iPhone I did as part of a 100 day project and turing 30 of them into paintings. User: @popesaintvictor
Original Instagram photo:
100 Day iPhone Sketch:
30 in 30 day painting:
Acrylic & Ink. 8 x 8 on 140 lb. watercolor paper.