Quarterly Recap: April-June

Well, looking back at April, May, and June, I realized how much time I actually took off. However, it was kind of necessary because I've come up with some changes I want to make to the blog...

April Review:

• Labyrinth Lost
• The Hate U Give
• The Crooked Sixpence

May Reviews:

• Windfall
• Strange The Dreamer
• The Gauntlet

June Reviews:

• Colored Pencil Painting Portraits
• Starflight
• A Crown of Wishes 

Other April Posts:

• Quarterly Recap

Other June Posts:

• So Many Questions + Do I Still DNF Books?
• Weekend Tidbits # 11: Some Exciting Things

I don't really have much to say for this section of the post, because I have a few upcoming things that will go more in depth with what I plan to do. So, it just wouldn't make sense to repeat some of those points.

Weekend Tidbits {#12}: Art Haul

I’m not going to bother with a long introduction because I meant to post this awhile ago (around Easter actually). This is just the kind of post that I kept adding to the longer it sat in the draft folder. Now that I've come back to it again and added a few more things to it, I figured that it was time to just post it so I can finally move on...

For Easter, I did some baking. The cookie recipe is Hershey's Doubly Chocolate Cookies just sans the chocolate chips, because they weren't necessary for what I was doing. I used the dough two ways: heart shaped cookies (pictured below) with the Wilton silicone heart mold, and the rest went to just ordinary cookies. The regular old cookies were used to make those sandwiches (pictured below). I also used up the left over candy melts from a different baking project, as you can see on the cookie sandwiches. The heart shaped ones also got a similar treatment, but I never got around to getting a picture of them before they got eaten. By the way, they were delicious.

In 2016, I focused more on developing my skills at digital painting, but this year I'm doing more than that. I've gotten back into painting by hand, and it's so much fun. It has been a long time since I’ve used watercolors, and I don't mean a couple of months. I'm talking about years. Yes, it has been that long, and during that time I lost my old watercolor pans as well as most of my supplies. So, I actually have a small art haul.

I picked up some Reeves Watercolour paints, new brushes, a watercolor pad, and a basic palette. I’ll probably talk about the paints later since I’ve only used them a few times. I also picked up some Papermate felt tip pens because they were on sale, and I wanted to try them. I’ve only used them a handful of times, but I love them so much. The colors are really nice and I’ve had a lot of fun just using them to doodle or quickly go over sketches. Like the paint, I'll probably have more to say about the felt tip pens once I've used them more than I already have. The last thing I picked up were two Gelly Role gel pens in white. My sister let me borrow hers, and I really loved how well the gel pens work for smaller details on top of the reeves paint. So, I felt that it was necessary to get my own since I plan on painting more.

Since I wrote this post a while ago, I've picked up more than just the above shown items. I've gotten some acrylic brushes, Reeves Gouache, and a new sharpener.

I forgot to mention this on twitter, but I picked up a few comics on free comic book day. I went to two different stores, but by far my experience at Ryan's Comics was the best. The staff was friendly, and they had a cosplayer by the door telling you about the event on the way in. So, there was no confusion about the event and how many comics you could pick. I've made purchases from Ryan's Comics before, and suffice it to say I will be going back again. 

 

Weekend Tidbits {#11}: Some Exciting Things...

Hi Adri here, today I’m discussing some interesting things I’ve done and bought between February and March. On a side note, when I say we, I mean co blogger Andrea and another relative. So here are some exciting things that went down.

Funko!

Between these two months, not only did I add seven Funkos to my collection, but I also out Funko’d Breana! By at least two now… I’m not going to get into details as this post will become overly long. Although I’ve been lacking in watching much TV, these are still some of my favorite characters. Anyway, I really wish there were Mirror’s Edge Catalyst and Miraculous Ladybug Funkos –though it is just a dream *Sigh*.

  

Marlon...

On February 24th we had the opportunity to attend the live taping of the season finale of Marlon, a new show premiering this summer on August 16th on NBC. In addition to that I actually got to see the taping of two other episodes –Including the pilot episode last summer when I got to meet Marlon Wayans. During the second taping, while we were in deep conversation, Notlim Taylor caught us off guard when she asked if it was okay to jump in line in front of us. She is really nice, and she does a great job in her role as Marley. I truly enjoyed every episode I went to see so much that I was laughing and crying all at the same time. So although I haven’t been watching much TV, I’ll definitely tune into Marlon.

Kong: Skull Island...

Next on March 6th we were able to attend a screening of Kong: Skull Island. What more can I say, I loved it; if I had to rate it now I’d say 4 bird cages. There were some parts that I was like: ew, gross! But it didn’t affect my thoughts on the plot. Also the theater sold chicken tenders and curly fires... Um, Yum!

Left Valentines day left overs…

I’m always looking for more accessories to accent my clothing, so on the way to see Kong, we stopped at a Toys R Us, which had a Claire’s section in it. I looked at the $2 rack, and near the bottom sat the last Valentine’s Day scarf. I was like “It’s pretty, it’s the last one, and I’m not leaving it!” And thus I brought it and sported it after the screening.



Beauty and the Beast...

Next I had the opportunity to see an advance screening of Beauty and the Beast at the TCL Chinese Theater. This was my first time going to that theater. It’s so nice in there. The elaborate architectural work gave me inspiration to create stuff. They gave posters out too. As for the movie, let me not lie, I assumed I wasn’t going to like it at all. However, as I watched the movie I fell in love with this magical rendition of Beauty and the Beast. Plus I also thought that the CGI blended well. As of right now Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie of 2017. If I had to rate it I’d say 4.5 bird cages.





Horizon: Zero Dawn...

Last but not least, after ordering two movies from the Red Box there was an option to get a free game. So I decided to try out Horizon: Zero dawn, knowing I hate stealth games. But, like Beauty and the Beast, I fell in love with it! I didn’t get far so I have no comment on the plot, but I enjoyed playing. I’m positive I’ll be glued to my controller when I get my own copy. One thing I must mention is the in game capture mode, which allows you to zoom and angle the camera around the character. I totally love it! There is the option of no filter (top left) and custom filter (bottom).

And that almost sums up February and March! What exciting things have you bought or done recently?

The Friday 56 (108) & Book Beginnings: Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life by Alyona Nickelsen

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Colored pencil painter Alyona Nickelsen reveals how to use the medium to push the limits of realistic portraiture...

Colored Pencil Painting Portraits provides straightforward solutions to the problems that artists face in creating lifelike images, and will prime readers on the intricacies of color, texture, shadow, and light as they interplay with the human form. In this truly comprehensive guide packed with step-by-step demonstrations, Nickelsen considers working from photo references versus live models; provides guidance on posing and lighting, as well as planning and composing a work; discusses tools, materials, and revolutionary layering techniques; and offers lessons on capturing gesture and expression and on rendering facial and body features of people of all age groups and skin tones...

Beginnings: "The colored pencils in my studio are amazingly resilient. They have successfully outlasted the many temptations presented by paints, pastels, inks, and other mediums and, umpteen years later, still hold the preferred position on my work table."

56: "In our attempt to match colors in life with colors in art mediums, we are actually searching for pigments with similar properties of light absorption and reflection in a never-ending attempt to create identical color sensations; however, even if we found the perfect color match, that factor is not enough to make a painted apple look like a real one."

Comments: This is one of the books I have for review. It's all about the art of creating portraits with colored pencils, which is a medium I rarely use. The beginning is taken from the introduction instead of the foreword, because honestly I liked what Nickelsen had to say about her preferred medium.

What are you reading this week?

Review: Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life by Alyona Nickelsen

Title: Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life
Author: Alyona Nickelsen
Source/Format: Blogging For Books; Paperback
More Details: Nonfiction; Art
Publisher/Publication Date: Watson-Guptill; June 20, 2017

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository


Synopsis from Goodreads...

Colored pencil painter Alyona Nickelsen reveals how to use the medium to push the limits of realistic portraiture...

Colored Pencil Painting Portraits provides straightforward solutions to the problems that artists face in creating lifelike images, and will prime readers on the intricacies of color, texture, shadow, and light as they interplay with the human form. In this truly comprehensive guide packed with step-by-step demonstrations, Nickelsen considers working from photo references versus live models; provides guidance on posing and lighting, as well as planning and composing a work; discusses tools, materials, and revolutionary layering techniques; and offers lessons on capturing gesture and expression and on rendering facial and body features of people of all age groups and skin tones...

This was a book I was honestly interested in reading from a purely learning viewpoint. Colored pencils aren’t a medium I typically use often. So, it was only a given that I wanted to know more about what could and couldn’t be done with them from the perspective of someone passionate about the medium. When I saw Alyona Nickelsen’s new book available for review, of course I signed up for it. I’m glad I did, because Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life was a comprehensive look at the art of creating portraits not with paint, but with colored pencil. Alyona’s process—techniques and paper preference among other things—was truly interesting to read about.

I’ve always liked colored pencils, but after reading this book I’ve got a new respect for the medium. Nickelsen is truly a pioneer in colored pencil art. She didn’t just learn how to create amazing pieces, but she also studied her medium too. Her writing showed her enthusiasm and technical know-how on the subject in a concise and organized manner. One of my favorite quotes was from the afterword of this book:

“Making and implementing a goal (in art and beyond) is sometimes not that straightforward, but if you know what you like, you are already halfway there. The other half is just figuring out how to get there.”(p.172).

There’s just something I find so inspiring about the above passage. I think it has to do with the fact that advice like that can apply not just to art, but writing (and blogging, Etc.) as well. And while I will use colored pencils more, my focus is still on working with watercolor and gouache. However, this book still had a lot of good advice, and gave me a lot to think about in terms of how I layer and mix my colors. Suffice it to say, I will definitely keep this one on my shelf for future reference.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by Blogging For Books (Publisher) for this review, thank you!

About the author...

Alyona Nickelsen, born and raised in Ukraine, immigrated to the United States in 1999, where she pursued a successful career as a professional artist. Alyona has dedicated her life's work to advancing colored pecvil painting techniques and promoting her favorite medium. To do this, she had developed a range of methods and materials that allow the once-limited colored pencil medium to challenge such traditional favorites as oil paints in most performance aspects. Alyona's art has received numerous awards and recognitions, and has been featured in a number of national and international publications, including The Artist's Magazine, International Artist, and Colored Pencil magazine. Alyona is the author of the bess-selling book Colored Pencil Painting Bible, which is highly praised by artists at all levels of expertise, has an impressive base of fans and followers, and has been translated into Chinese and Korean languages. Alyona Nickelsen currently resides in the state of Texas with her family and continues researching, teaching, creating, and inspiring.  Visit her website at www.BrushAndPencil.com...