Mail Art Progression

...mixed media fishy...

   Bored yet?! Hope not! Wanna walk through another one with me? ...Still here?....cool let's get started at our usual place, a simple sketch. Today I'm sorta feeling like it's an abstract kind of day. So, do'in my favorite thang....sketching a fish. Think of it as an almond shape, that has fins and an eyeball. That's simple enough yes? To sketch my lines, I'm using a fine tipped Sharpie and a Micron pen.

 What's that on the bottom you ask. It's just a piece of scrapbook paper that I have in my fodder box. I glued it down first. (Sorry, forgot to mention that.) Why is it there....well why not? No worries, it doesn't have to make sense and....it'll blend in and add interest. ....so hmmm, where was I? Oh yes, the sketch! I colored in the eye and added lines to all of the fins and tail. Vary the lines. Make them curve one way, then another. Now for some color. I'm using Derwent watercolor / Inktense pencils. With a dark orange, I'm only lining the fins and around the eye. I try to imagine where it would be darker, had I been looking at a real object. 

 Now in with some yellow. Think of it as a highlight. Where do you want light to hit this fish? For me, it's coming from underneath. I add the yellow along side the orange/red color as well on the fins. Along his back and near his tail a dark gray/green is added. With a brush loaded with water, I start to manipulate the colors. I do little circles where I added color. Then slowly drag them further away from it's beginning point. This will help to make your colors fade or show a gradation. It's better than having one flat color.It'll give your painting / drawing more depth. 

 The first place that we look at a living thing, is it's eyes. So, I want to go in and make the eye more of the focal point. I started off with just a solid black pupil. I added some white glints with a  Uni-ball Signo pen and also colored in one of the blank rings around his eye. Next, I took an orange/brown watercolor pencil and colored in the top part of the eye. Orange is colored on the bottom half....then a touch of yellow at the very bottom. Take a liner brush loaded with water, dampen the top color and slowly go into the bottom colors. 

 Some folks might stop at the point that I am at, in the first pic of the above cluster. Why? Keep going! ....If you can't think of what to do next. Let it sit in front of you for a few days. Add something from time to time. Anyhoot, I went further by darkening the edges of the fish. I colored first with a black Inktense pencil.....then, with yet another water loaded brush , I did circles near the fish....and dragged the color away from it. I wasn't happy with the naked envelope at the edges, so I used a black Distress Ink on the perimeter.

   At this point, are you happy with the outcome? NO! Add more! :) I darken the edges even more with a Spectrum Noir pen. I wasn't trying to be neat...some places are thick and some thin at the edges. Next I took some punchinella and acrylic paint to add some stenciled looking dots. it ended up being too light, so I went over some of it with Distress Ink. (Only what was left in my blender.)

  Done yet......ha...no! I added the addresses, some stamping, postage and some white lines quickly scrawled across the drawing. Hmmm, what else?.....

Ah yes, some stippled sparkle from a silver Sakura Stardust pen. ...let's not forget the back too!

   I use wax beads and a wax spoon to apply my seals. I also like to use a gold stamp pad, it makes the design from the seal, pop! This design is a Claddagh. Some of the meaning of it has been described as, "Loyalty, friendship and love." .......Okay, are we done now?! Yeah, I think so...