Art Marks

Why hello there Bugs! Funny running into you here! It’s been so long!

Okay, okay, so I am just going to come out and say that I am aware of the fact that I haven’t blogged in over a month, despite my seemingly “genius” weekly-whimsy plan. But I have a good excuse. Well, a kind of good excuse. And that excuse is…. that life has been a little crazy lately. Then again, that’s nothing new. So maybe it’s a lousy excuse. I’ll leave that up to your discretion.

At first my blog posts were nonexistent due to the fact that I was actually able to spend time with my family –  one week during their spring break when they came to see me and one week during mine when I went home to see them. It was great to see everyone again but now it’s even harder to get through these last few weeks because I got a little taste of home during break… but I just 4 more weeks left now! Anyway, after getting back from that extravaganza, I pretty much was immediately thrown into pre-finals finals week for 3 weeks in a row; within the last 3 weeks I have literally had 6 tests and a speech to give in my classes. Oh my goodness. That’s college for you. Today was my last big test for another 2 weeks so hopefully life will calm down a little bit now. Well, that is, until ACTUAL finals week. Oh, and on top of all of this my first triathlon was this past weekend! I would love to give you guys more information about that but I actually think I will make another post within the next week dedicated completely to my triathlon story, so for now all you need to know is that I had a terrific time and am already gearing up for my next one in June!

Anyway, let’s talk about some art!

So, do you guys remember when I told you about the online art classes my mom and I have fallen in love with? Well, this is from that! This is the “Artfully Inspired Life 2015” class by Joanne Sharpe and if you like what I’m posting you should definitely look into taking some of her classes! They are simply awesome.

Anyway, I have not completed the March pages yet (even though it’s currently the end of April, eek!), but I HAVE completed my “art marks”. For this lesson we were told to make what are basically watercolored bookmarks, called “art marks”, and also some watercolor pockets. To actually make the page we simply stick the art marks in the pockets and then stick the pockets in the art journal! Super cute idea!

I really enjoyed creating my art marks, I made each of mine represent a different aspect of myself. And plus, I got a lot better at watercoloring throughout this process! I used to always feel like the color went everywhere and I couldn’t control it and color “in the lines”. This project (well, part of a project) was a success because it was a mixture of learning how to control the color a little more AND of being okay with the color not always staying in the lines, which is quite the dilemma for an OCD mind like mine.

Anyway, these were a lot of fun – and I absolutely LOVE the way they came out! I honestly can’t decide which one of the 8 is my favorite, every time I think I’ve made up my mind I end up changing it again.

The bike and running shoes represent the triathlon-and-fitness-loving side of me. Although the bike also kind of represents the fact that I can enjoy a nice bike ride without it being for a “workout” as well, since it’s more of a ride-out-to-the-park-for-a-cute-picnic type of bike than a competition bike. This works out well though because it shows that I can be the type of person to go out for a leisurely ride, as well as the type of person who goes out for a ride intended to be for exercise.

By the way, it took me a long time to get the running shoes to look right – it’s apparently really hard to get the proportions just right when drawing sneakers. Who knew?

The dress represents my girly side – and honestly if this dress existed in real life I would be really excited and buy it in a heartbeat. I love the way the colors came out on this one.

The guitar of course represents my musical side – and although my guitar in real life does not have flower tattoos, you have to admit that they do give the guitar some wicked personality.

The hummingbird I won’t get into too much detail about because it relates to an inside joke among my friends and I, but the basic idea is that it represents my friends because it reminds me of laughing and having fun with them.

You guys have seen enough giraffe pictures on my blog by now… I don’t think I have to explain this one anymore. You are all aware of my obsession by this point.

The snap dragon is pretty straight forward… snap dragons are my favorite flower. If you say that you’ve ever met another flower with more personality than one that can bite your finger off, I won’t believe you.

And lastly we come to the mushrooms. These represent me because they are my two favorite colors, purple and yellow, and of course because they have ladybugs on them. Plus I really enjoy drawing mushrooms for some strange, unknown reason. I find their shape to be whimsical.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my lovely art marks bugs! Be sure to check out Joanne Sharpe’s online classes if this looks like something you would enjoy 🙂

Also, tell me which one is your favorite! I can’t decide, so I’m interested to see everyone else’s opinions.

Happy arting bugs, keep your heads held high – the semester is ALMOST OVER!

Signing off now,

Love,
Laney-Bug ❤

(Medium used: black Micron .1 pen, Koi watercolors, Proart Watercolor Paper)