sharpening gouges

 handy tool. handy tips 

drawing the head

another one of these. i'm not a figurative drawist by any means but there's a lot to be said for sitting down of an afternoon with a bit of paper and a pencil and drilling some technique  

output

came across this purely by chance and there seems a lot of value in it, not least children learning their parents' behaviour. i'm doing lots of work these days where i'm wanting to push the boundaries of what i'm trying to do, partly because what i do well i feel like i've been doing for a long time but also, not unlike my cycling, i want to get back to my childhood state of just mucking about. that said, right now i feel like a recharge - i've never been less keen on cycling and constant making is just tiring. so the struggle now is not to be onvolved in the process of making, but to realise where it's time to have a rest. with cycling, i'm just not going out, still doing a few trainer sessions and watching my numbers dwindle (data and social media truly are the mind killer! lol), but the hard part is with all the rest, and persuading myself that putting my feet up, staring into space and having a nap, is an essential! 

*and yes, my practice pieces do not look good. but that's why i'm practicing!

macro and more

here's a vid about macro photography which, given the whole botany thing, has always been something i've been interested in. but it's not just about macro, or photography. the stuff he's on about can be applied to any endeavour. i'm doing it with drawing, different methods of pigment aplication and collage right now. just for a break, just for a laugh, but at the same time pushing my boundaries 

draw a face

 i'm doing a thing just now where i need a drawing of a face that's broadly anatomically accurate and repeatable. while i've got all the stuff in the house, drawing isn't something i do much more than once a year so i needed a simple method that i could do quickly. this fits the bill. so much so i'm tempted to do more drawing! lol 

*i respect the lad's commitment to a heavier paper but, for practice, i'm going much lighter and cheaper!

long exposure

 as i do a fair bit of pinhole photography (anthotypes on hold due to a chronic lack of sunlight!) long exposures are nothing new. but, seeing as photographic paper is such an effective way of emptying my bank account, weirdly enough i've been gravitating back to digital. point and shoot, beyonf my phone, doesn't interest me much, but getting my cameras on full manual and having a play certainly does, and i've finally found a way of enjoying digital that feels something like play. this vid's a decent intro

bass fretting technique

 yt is awash wiht how to videos and no less with bass playing. that said this one covers the basics better than any other i can think off. clear, concise and useful - the dropping the wrist thing and keeping your fingers perpendicular is something i sin against frequently! lol 

fun with filters

one thing i've noticed about photography vids online is that (aside from being very male, very white) there just doesn't seem to be a lot of larking about going on. really, nobody cares, so you may as well have a laugh. came across these the other day and this sort of thing seems an ideal way to fritter away an afternoon! 

*i'm not denying there's a time for seriousness but let's face it, a lot of the time you're just grinding and getting the job done. if you can't remember the last time you just let go and had a giggle, now's the time to start

easy project

 new year, new reolutions? get your creativity on! this one is super easy but, as with everything super easy, tricky in its own way. no excuses! 

shading

i don't love a computer it's true but this vid shows how you can have a play with the likes of photoshop and maybe make your drawing process a bit easier. or, just the ball thing is a great exercise. draw that and vary your light source for a bit, then work into more complex shapes 

drawing

 i can see the end of summer now and i can feel myself getting ready to be back making indoors. and, coincidentally, this got thrown up in my feed. i don't draw much these days, at least not representative drawing. and it hadn't occurred to me that when i did my pencil technique was completely different. asemic writing, it turns out, really is still writing! check this out. if you're already doing it it's a nice conformation but if not, loosen up that crampy hand and give yourself more freedom!

making something that looks like gerhard richter

am i just looking at german language technique videos! lol i really liked this one even if it's not a technique i use. plus, gerhard richter!

abstract technique - kunstlerstreich

partly because it's sunny and i can work outside (= make a mess!) i'm really enjoying experimenting with techniques and materials at the moment. that notion of having a bit of a play seems more and more important as i get more and more disinterested in interacting with anyone when it comes to work. so freeing!

so here's petra tholken - her videos aren't embeddable so you'll have to foll ow a link. supereasy, superinteractive (all in german so if you don't speak that you'll need closed captions). she's not the only technique person i watch online but she's the one i keep coming back to

mike tyson

my best ever moments for learning humility were getting proper boxers to practise some moves on me. but none remotely at this level. dazzling technique from mike tyson. 

linocut using xcut xpress

been an age since a craft post. so here's this one (note - third of a series). i actually own one of these xcut machine and i love it. note though that the long bed he shows doesn't come as part of the xcut package so you need to order it.

keeping a ukelele in tune

HOW TO TUNE AND STAY IN TUNE from Kala Brand Music Co. on Vimeo.

when you've got a new ukelele it can be frustrating keeping it in tune. don't worry - that's how they are for the first wee while. here's a handy guide.

learn the medium

handy wee bits of info about how paint works

transferring an image to a linocut bloock

i have to stress that this isn't a technique i've ever used but, if the image is transferred (and you don't mind a flipped image) without tearing the paper, it might be worth a try - you need to watch her follow up videos to see here whole process

making a collagraph

this is a pretty decent wee video on how to make a realistic collagraph. some good chat re tools - see the gripper for those people who have problems with prolonged, precise cutting. watch the follow up video for hand colouring tips

personalize your kitchen knives

why have stuff that looks like everyone else's? some handy techniques in this series from make