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GRID ART JOURNAL: African Violets

GRID ART JOURNAL: African Violets

by | Grid Art Journal, Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: December 2024

Grid Art Journal Page: African Violets

Preamble

Earlier

I had an idea about six months ago about creating some artist trading cards for my African violets. Now typically with artist trading cards you do twelve cards. It then occurred to me that I could do a grid art journal page of African violets with six images. So, last week I created a six grid African violet grid art journal page and then it occurred to me, “Why don’t I do another one and video it for you guys? This is what we’re doing today.

violet

Grid Art Journal Page: African Violets

Grid Layout

Today I’m using a Peter Pauper Press A5 sketch book. My grids are 5cm or 2″ square with half an inch or 1cm between them. You can find out more about how to layout an A5 grid art journal page in this video. I have lightly penciled in the squares using a 2H pencil.

grid-art-journal-page-african-violets

Pencil Sketch

One of the ideas, if you’re working with grid art journal sketch pages, is that you can look at one topic. And draw multiple images of the same topic. It’s a way to get your hand in or rather get your eye in on the actual topic. Now generally I would sketch out some concept art on subscript paper first, but because I had already done a 6-grid last week, I’m just going to use that as my template for this project.

Top Left

So, starting at the top left, I sketched in three blooms of the African violet. In this square one there’s no leaves. I’ve put the three blooms together. You will need to pay attention when you’re drawing flowers to how many petals each flower has because some will be different. You can get two petal 3-petal 4-petal, 5-petal and multiple petals. African violets have 5 petals and ideally you want 5-petals on each of your blooms.

Top Right

I chose one particular leaf to try to get a bit of a close up on the leaf of this plant. African violets have rather round leaves. They are quite a dark grey-green and quite furry and soft. Their edges are also scalloped and there are visible veins that curve out and upwards from the main stem.

Middle left

This sketch is one bloom by itself is more of a close up. I’m going to be doing this one bloom in a different colour (not violet) later on. I’m sketching in lightly the five petals. Here you can see the middle yellow bits as well so I make a note of that.

Middle right

In this grid box, I’m drawing a little part of African violets. There is a little yellow pot and it’s standing on a surface. I think there’s four or five little blooms and some leaves sticking out. Here you get a general idea of the silhouette of this plant.

Bottom Left

For the bottom left I also did a plant standing by itself, but this time the angle slightly different, so we’re looking down almost into the pot. It’s a bit of a closer view than the other full plant one. Here you can see a little bit more about how the leaves fall out of the pot horizontally and that the flowers stand up quite straight.

Bottom Right

In the bottom right, I was initially decided wanting to do a swatch of the colours I was using. Then I thought why don’t I write the word “Violet” and swatch the colours in from there. Because there are six letters I divided the block into six divisions. I wrote “V-I-O” on the top line and “L-E-T” on the lower line. Each of the letters will be colored in one of the shades that I was using, almost as a “swatch word” if you will.

grid-art-journal-african-violets

Colors

The coloured pencils I use are Faber Castell polychromos in a selection of greens, purples, pinks, blues and yellows. You can buy them one-by-one at art stores, but I was gifted the 72-color tin by my daughter a few years ago which I’m using. I’ll provide the full list of colours here.

Greens: Leaves

  • Earth green yellowish
  • May green
  • Chromium green opaque
  • Olive green yellowish

Violets, Pinks, Blues: Petals

  • Purple violet
  • Mauve
  • Middle purple pink
  • Magenta
  • Rose carmine
  • Pale geranium lake
  • Ultramarine
  • Prussian blue

Yellows: Centre

  • Cadmium yellow
  • Dark Naples ochre

Greys: Shadows

  • Cold grey II
  • Cold grey IV
grid-art-journal-page-african-violets

Colored Pencil

Top Left

I use two shades of purple on the petals with the lighter in the middle and the darker towards the edges, making sure that all the strokes flow towards the centre. I colored in the centre yellow.

Top Right

I used the darker greens and worked from the outside colouring in the edges and then also where the veins were on the leaves. Choosing dark green colors, I left the light bit above the vein. I came in with the lighter greens and gently went over the veins. Nothing is actually white on the leaf, but the veins are definitely lighter. I gave it more depth by blending the two greens together.

Middle Left

Not all African violets are actually violet, you do get them in pinks and blues as well. I coloured in a two-tone pink African violet again with the darker pink on the outside and the lighter pink coming from the centre. The centre I coloured in the yellow.

Middle Right

I put it in a little yellow pot, ideally it looks like it’s a brass or gold type of pot because I was picking up the yellow from the centre of the African violet plant as they all they all have a yellow centre. I then gave some deeper blue on the table and continued to colour in the rest of the plant.

Bottom Left

With this grid square I colored the plant pot in soft steely looking greys. I worked the petals with a two-tone violet color as well. Again, when colouring the leaves I used two shades of green.

Bottom Right

Because I had intended this “violet” word to be the swatch, which was the original idea, but clearly there’s only 6 letters and I had used multiple colors. I just chose one of the colors from each of the main color families which I was using. So, the “V” is in mauve the “I” is in earth green yellowish, the “O” is in rose carmine, the “L” is in magenta, the “E” is in middle purple pink and the “T” is in dark Naples ochre.

Overarch

Grid Art Journal

This is just me sharing with you how I created an A5, 6-grid art journal page of African violets. Now clearly, you can use any plant in this way. You can pick out bits of the plant like the petals, the leaves, the roots, maybe even say if you did an onion or something, you would be able to do the roots as well. 

What I love about grid art journaling is that each one is a very small artwork. Only two inches or five centimetres across. Grid art journaling is a way which I can continue to build my daily art practice. It’s a way that I can work with my coloured pencils in this particular case.

Hobby Artist

I am a hobby artist. I’d like to be better at art. I’d like to paint like Picasso, but at the moment this is the best I can produce. I’m enjoying myself doing these hobby art practice pages in my grid art journal.

Daily Art Practice

I encourage you to start a daily art practice with grid art journaling. 

It is pretty simple. 

It doesn’t need to be complicated.

It’s something you can do with your kids as well, which I think is a total bonus. Let me know if you’re going to be doing a grid art journal page and which plant you would draw first.

african-violets-pin

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Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.
Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Inspiration The idea of having a Perpetual Nature Journal which is different to a normal nature journal is that rather than starting at the front and working towards the back, depending on where I went and what I saw, I will be focusing on one or two nature features...

Artzlife Newsletter

Artzlife Newsletter

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: December 2024 Artzlife Newsletter Creative art journal inspiration for hobby artists Welcome to a Place for Passionate Hobby Artists Are you a hobby artist seeking inspiration, connection and gentle guidance on your creative...

How Many Sketchbooks Do You Need?

How Many Sketchbooks Do You Need?

by | Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: December 2024

Sketchbooks How Many?

First Sketchbook

I’d like to talk about how many sketchbooks you actually need as a hobby artist and let me be quite clear, when I started out, I didn’t have even one sketchbook, but that was a few years ago. I picked up my first sketchbook when I happened to be in Walmart one day. I found myself going down the art supplies aisle and I saw a Strathmore sketchbook nestled on the shelf. I thought, “Let me take that home and see how I do.” This was the very first sketchbook I had ever owned in my life. Ever…

I joined Vancouver Urban Sketchers, group and I went to a couple of their meetings with my brand new shiny sketchbook in hand. The other people there had their sketchbooks. They began sharing and thumbing through each other’s sketchbooks to look at the type of work that each of the artists were doing. All I had was blank pages. It was weird. I felt quite behind with my art.

sketchbook-shelf

Field Sketchbook

I carried on for several months and then decided to do some what I’m calling “on location” sketching where I went outside and down to the beach. For this coastal adventure, I purchased an A6 sketchbook which is a size that you can put into your pocket as I traveled on the bus down to the beach. I didn’t want to take a big sketchbook because it’s quite windy and the pages can flap about, so I grasped my small A6 sketchbook in my hand.

Watercolor Sketchbook

As the months went on, I realized that as I started to work with both watercolor and coloured inks that these mediums needed a sketchbook with more robust paper in the pages. That’s when I purchased myself a watercolor sketchbook where the leaves are almost like cardboard. They’re very thick and can absorb all the extra moisture so the sheet doesn’t buckle as much when you paint.

Grimoire

I started my grimoire probably three years ago. A grimoire is a sketchbook, or journal if you will, to do with more spiritual practices such as paying attention to seasonal shifts looking into New Age topics which interest me like crystal readings, Moon phases, the Tree of Life and things like that. A grimoire is more of a way to tune into the unseen in life with a little bit of Wheel of the Year and astrology thrown in as well.

Annual Sketch Journal

The next journal that I thought about getting was one which I’m calling my annual sketch journal. These annual sketch journals are wonderful for each year. I started one in 2024 and there’s going to be one for 2025. I use my annual sketch journal for casual sketching here and there. With this sketchbook I don’t necessarily fill all the pages, but I will have the opportunity to go back and see how my art skills have evolved from say, five years ago. My annual art journal is A5 because this is really the size that I love.

I’m currently working towards the end of the annual sketchbook for 2024. This year I’ve not only got sketches in it, but also ideas about where I want to take my art journey, layouts for artworks or some concept art, as in the grid journaling or artist trading card layouts, for example. I also make notes of hex color and Pantone numbers for specific shades that I want to work with in the future and general things like that. In this book I list the artists I admire and some creators whom I follow on YouTube.

Nature Journal

Two years ago I started my nature journal and this is actually a perpetual nature journal, which means that you can use it year after year. My perpetual nature journal is divided into twelve months, and the idea is that you track what happens in nature during the course of any month each year. 

The concept is to note, for example, when the first cherry blossoms bloomed, when the first fruit came, when the ice melted, what the high temperature was or things like that. If I had a garden, I would be able to use this nature journal a little better and follow the development of some plants over the course of the year, but I don’t have a garden. I live in a high-rise apartment and when I look for nature, I go into the city to visit the beaches and walk in the large public parks here in Vancouver.

Perpetual Art Journal

Now my perpetual art journal is something slightly different. This is a larger A3 size sketchbook. What I’m doing in this one is that it’s more of a sketch journal where every day, or at least once a week, I do a mini sketch. Each double page spread covers one week of the year of the 52 weeks. For example, December basically has four weeks and the first seven days of December will have their own double spread.

I’m just drawing what you would call a daily sketch journal piece. This is where I sketch what I did in my day. I’ll add maybe what I had for lunch, coffee I shared with friends, a new book I bought, a movie I saw, where I went, or even art related exercises that I practiced. I don’t always have something for each week, because I mean, one is not busy every minute of every waking day. 

This is a sketchbook which I began in January 2024 and so far, not every page has a sketch in it yet…

In the future I can, because of the perpetuality of it, go back over the years and see what I was doing that same week in years gone by. When we get into 2025, I will be able to go back to the beginning and look at the first seven days of January and create a sketch of my daily life, what I was doing, whom I met, things we did, what I saw and things like that.

Now this is the biggest sketch journal I own and it is the one I am least likely to complete a sketch in each week. I do get to circle around to it often, but not all the time. The sketches I put into my perpetual annual art journal are usually small, four inches, or 10cm, square. The mini sketches are just little vignettes, if you will, of what I did as I went about my day. It’s really nothing special. It’s more of a memory of how I live my life and what I found interesting that week.

Art Business Journal

Somewhere along the line, I got myself an art business journal. But let me be quite clear, I am a hobby artist, I’m not technically an artist running a business. However, once I started putting some of my artworks for sale through my art shop, it then made sense to have an art business journal where I pay attention to money coming in, money going out and that sort of thing. And to be honest, there is way more money going out then there is coming in. Overall, the software and systems you have to have in place, such as website hosting, Procreate and tech things like a laptop and pencils and what have you are where the money goes.

Let me be quite clear that I’m not an artist in business. My art business journal is more a point of tracking micro, nay nano, growth which may happen as my art gets better. Perhaps in five- or ten-years’ time this will make more sense, but at the moment I want to make sure that I am paying attention to what it is really costing me to do my hobby art.

Travel Sketchbook

The most recent sketchbook that I set up is my travel sketchbook. This is one where, if I go and visit someplace, I do a drawing and some sketches of the area and the experiences I had and mention how much fun it was. So far, I think I only have two sketches in this book, one was a visit to Victoria, BC and the second one was a visit to Mexico earlier this year.

This is not a sketchbook which I’m using all the time, obviously, because I don’t travel all the time. And honestly, I’m not much of a traveler either, so I don’t know when the next time is going to be that I’ll use this sketchbook, but it’s nice to have. It’s a great way to remember where you were, what you did and travel sketchbooks are fun.

AHAtober

I like to do art challenges of which AHAtober is but one. In AHAtober, the AHA is the initials for Alison Hazel Art and then the “…tober” is just because Inktober occurs in October. AHAtober is like Inktober for hobby artists, and for a few years now I’ve been creating my own prompts for AHAtober. I usually have one small sketchbook for each year of AHAtober, and they’re piling un on my shelf.

Grid Art Journal

My grid art journal is the latest one I have in my collection. I have one which is an A4 size and this is my larger one and then the A5 size which is the one I do prefer. You can see more of what I’ve been creating in my grid art journal in this video and some inspiration for your art practice.

Overarch

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you need to go out and create yourself multiple sketchbooks. What I am saying is that as I started to lean into my hobby artist journey three or four years ago, I realized there was a place for different sketchbooks and journals with diverse papers, dissimilar sizes and where each of the sketchbooks have their own special purpose.

If you are just starting out as a hobby artist, I urge you to work with what you have at hand today. If you just have some plain paper at home, start there.

Probably one of the first things you will purchase on your hobby journey is a sketchbook. If you do, I recommend the Strathmore A5 size sketchbook because they’re just great. To have a sketchbook will encourage you to start being creative on a regular basis in your life.

As far as I can tell, all the great artists of the past, had sketchbooks. Even today, the modern artists whom we know and love, work from sketchbooks. 

The sketchbook tends to be a place where ideas originate. It is where you get your first strokes down on the paper and the first mark-making occurs, Your ideas may survive, to become something great later on, or they may just end up being part of you practicing your techniques, shading, colouring or whatever. Either way, I do think as a hobby artist, you will benefit to have at least one sketchbook if not many more.

I’d love to know how many sketchbooks you have and whether you have sketchbooks which are designated for different types of sketching, such as I mentioned in my every expanding sketchbook collection.

aspiring-artist-diagram

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Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Inspiration The idea of having a Perpetual Nature Journal which is different to a normal nature journal is that rather than starting at the front and working towards the back, depending on where I went and what I saw, I will be focusing on one or two nature features...

Artzlife Newsletter

Artzlife Newsletter

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: December 2024 Artzlife Newsletter Creative art journal inspiration for hobby artists Welcome to a Place for Passionate Hobby Artists Are you a hobby artist seeking inspiration, connection and gentle guidance on your creative...

Artzlife Newsletter

Artzlife Newsletter

by | Newsletter

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: December 2024

Artzlife Newsletter

Creative art journal inspiration for hobby artists

Welcome to a Place for Passionate Hobby Artists

Are you a hobby artist seeking inspiration, connection and gentle guidance on your creative journey? Hi, I’m Alison a hobby artist in Vancouver, Canada. My Artzlife newsletter is your personal invitation to explore the wonderful world of art, nature, travel and sketch journaling.

What Makes Artzlife Unique?

Artzlife is my heartfelt exploration of creativity from someone who is right there with you, navigating the exciting and sometimes challenging path of artistic discovery. I came to art pretty late in life, but now I’m trying to make the most of it and I want to encourage you wherever you are to be creative every day as well. 

Personal Artistic Adventures

I’ll let you know about my art techniques, media, experiments and discoveries I’m experiencing. This can also include just going into my local art shop and browsing through all the fascinating equipment of the art world.

Inspirational Artwork

Regular features that showcase diverse artistic styles and approaches. There are a few art pieces by the masters that truly draw me in and I’ll be happy to let you know how difficult it is to interpret artworks and understand what they artist meant in the first place. But rest assured this will not be an art history class because I’m not the person for that, but I do want to let you know If I come across something that inspires me as I go about my day.

Practical Insights

Mastering art techniques in general is something that I’m working on. These are mainly through different mediums such as coloured inks, watercolors and coloured pencils. I have a love of journaling for artists like sketch journaling and perpetual art journaling which I hope to share with you soon. At this stage every piece I create I think it’s a masterpiece, ha-ha, no but really, each artpiece is one step forward on my artistic journey.

Share the Struggle

As a new hobby artist myself, I’m still trying to find my feet in the creative world. There are many things that I don’t know and I hope to share my explorations of them with you. Included in this will be the struggles I may have with some of the media or techniques along the way.

Why Join the Artzlife Community?

Inspiration

I’m at the beginning of my own art journey, which means I understand the mix of excitement, uncertainty and passion that comes with exploring your oen creativity.

Artzlife is about:

  • Inspiring the artist in you
  • Embracing imperfection
  • Celebrating small victories
  • Learning together
  • Finding joy in the process of creating
  • Thoughtful, consistent communication

Newsletter Frequency

Welcome Series

In the first five days you will receive a warm, introduction to my artistic offerings.

Regular Updates

I’m hoping to get fresh newsletters out every other Friday, just in time for the weekend and packed with inspiration for you to keep the art conversation going.

Past Issues

Get a peek at some past issues.

My Promise to You

To be clear what I’m about:

  • No spam, ever
  • Easy unsubscribe at any time
  • Transparent, genuine communication
  • Content that respects your time and nurtures your creativity

What to Expect in Your Inbox

Each Artzlife newsletter may include:

  • A spotlight on a recent artwork or creative technique
  • Sketching tips and challenges
  • Insights from journaling in nature or travel that can spark your artistic imagination
  • Personal reflections on the artistic process
  • Occasional recommendations for art supplies, books or resources

Join Me

Your artistic journey is uniquely yours and Artzlife is here to provide gentle companionship. If art is your jam, then there’s a place for you here. Ready to Begin?

Let’s create, explore, and grow together – one sketch, one newsletter at a time.

 

artzlife-newsletter
Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.
Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Perpetual Nature Journal 🌱 Setup and Cover Page

Inspiration The idea of having a Perpetual Nature Journal which is different to a normal nature journal is that rather than starting at the front and working towards the back, depending on where I went and what I saw, I will be focusing on one or two nature features...

Artzlife Newsletter

Artzlife Newsletter

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: December 2024 Artzlife Newsletter Creative art journal inspiration for hobby artists Welcome to a Place for Passionate Hobby Artists Are you a hobby artist seeking inspiration, connection and gentle guidance on your creative...

Grid Art Journal Page Setup

Grid Art Journal Page Setup

by | Sketchbooks and Journals

Grid Art Journal

Page Setup and Flip Through

This time I’m sharing with you some of the types of things that I’ve been putting in my grod art journal pages, as a hobby artist. I believe this will inspire you to get started. I’ll show you how to set up a grid art journal page in an A5 sketchbook.

 

How it Began

Earlier this year, I came across a couple of videos about grid art journaling. And the main idea for grid art journaling is that you have multiple small blocks on your page. So, you can do several different mini sketches of the same topic.

Watch the Video

Words

For instance, when I first started with my grid art journal page, I just put some simple words in the first few blocks.

grid-journal-words

Coast: English Bay

My next attempt I drew the coast near my city of Vancouver at English Bay. This is a subject I’ve frequently painted and on a side note, I’m beginning to think I might just be a seascape sketch booker but we’ll see. But within the six images I drew, each one showed a different mood for the actual subject, but really the topic was the same. In my early grid journaling art pages, I did watercolor washes first on the page and then went back over with the pencil sketch and then the black pen.

grid-journal-english-bay

Grid Art Journal: Shells

I’m really quite keen on nature journaling as well. I like working with shells. I drew six different shells on my shells grid journal page. I do have a small collection of shells, so this is always an inspiration for me. Then I colour them in with coloured pencil as well.

grid-journal-shells

Sayings to Live By

On the next page I only have three blocks. And I wrote some sayings that I like to you have about me as uplifting words to look at during the course of the day.

The first one is, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”. This is a quote from Shakespeare.

The second one is, “Don’t live someone else’s dream.”

And the third one is, “Fortune favors the brave” which my father used to say.

grid-journal-sayings

Seed Pods

My next grid sketch was of seed pods, and I had a few selections here. I don’t know all the names of these seedpods and I did draw them from memory because I do have a bit of a collection of seeds and pods, and I’ll show that to you one day.

grid-seed-pods

Fruity

Next came “Fruity”, which is watercolor. First, I penciled it in, then I did an ink over with a black pen, erased the pencil marks, and then went in with watercolor. And finally touched it up with a little bit of markers.

.

grid-journal-fruity

Sunflowers

On my sunflowers page, I drew many drawings of sunflowers looking at them from different angles. Some are single heads some are side on views and others are close ups zooming in on the actual sunflower seeds.

grid-sunflowers

Tarot Cards

When I divided my grid into four rectangles, it occurred to me to draw some tarot cards. I just selected for the Magician, the Empress, the Star and the Sun. Once more with pencil, then going in with a black pen and these were then coloured in with markers.

grid-journal-tarot-cards

The Creation

For my creation spread, this is the double page spread where I have eight grid segments. The first being the title which is Genesis 1: 1- 28. This is the first writing in the Bible starting at, “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.” I then go on to show the seven days of the creation with mini sketches of what happened on each day of the creation.

grid-journal-the-creation

More Shells

At this point I was gifted a book from my son-in-law called, “The New Beachcombers Guide to the Pacific Northwest” by J. Duane Sept. This is a book that has lots of images of shells and other interesting creatures that actually live here on the coast in Vancouver. 

This was brilliant because it gave me different shell shapes to draw. And on this particular page, I have named the shells because I happen to know what they are. They’re not just my imaginary shells that I’m working on. A lot of these shells have what I would call fancy names, but my favorite is the Money Wentletrap which I believe is a great name for a shell!

grid-journal-more-shells

Rock Pool Adventures

The next page I attempted I called my Rockpool adventures. Here I drew six different views of an intertidal rock pool that I would imagine would be in the coast here at the beach. A rock pool is created when the tide comes in, it fills up a pool and the tide goes out and some animals get trapped within the water and they can’t get out again until the next tide comes in. These are called intertidal rock pools and. I ended up drawing this sea star to which I added a face.

Now these sketches became the beginning sketches of a children’s book which I recently published. Before I did this grid sketch, I had no idea that I was going to create a children’s book. The idea only came to me once I’d done the drawings of the rock pools on the sea star, but I’ll tell you more about that project in in another video.

grid-journal-rock-pool

Leaves and Vines

For my next grid sketchbook page, I penciled in the actual box, but I didn’t draw it in ink. Then when I drew the leaves and vines with the black pen, they are in the shape of a box, but there is no line holding them in. This was a different way of working with the space.

leaves-and-vines

Prayer

The next page in my sketchbook I gave over to a prayer. I was feeling a bit low as I was having some surgery that week and I wrote these words down to let me be able to concentrate on this prayer.

the-lords-prayer

Autumn Pods

This next one I had six blocks, but it was a combination of squares and rectangles in a sort of windmill shape on the page. I was trying to break away from just straight up grid of two blocks by three blocks and going with a different kind of shape of grid. Within these squares and rectangles, I have some more seeds, seed pods, peapods, acorns and whatnot.

autumn-pods

A Well Woman

When I sketched this page, I was doing some recovering healthwise and it was taking a long time. This saying popped into my head, “A well woman has many wishes, an ill woman only one.” And this really did hook into how I was feeling at the time that really all I wanted to do was get better.

We’re seeing it was a well woman so I thought, well, I might as well draw a woman at a well although the image it really is slightly different to what the actual saying is about, but there it is.  Of course there’s always a cat somehow creeping in.

a-well-woman

Grace

Next, I have a page with grace because I was struggling still, as I say, with some medical issues, struggling to eat and just about managing to get down some bone broth. At this time, I started to appreciate what I was eating, so I wrote a page for grace.

grace

ABC

This ABC page is still a work in progress. I’m not very happy with the number two and the number three. I don’t think it’s working, and this is still in pencil, so I’m likely to erase it and not take it further. And that’s fine.

abc-123

Lambis Lambis

Next up I have a single page with one grid box, and I drew the lambis lambis shell, which is a shell that I actually own. It’s very tricky drawing shells with all the curves, but I do enjoy them.

lambs-lambis-shell

Sea Seahorses

Next, I did a six-grid page with some seahorses. This was the time when I’d published the Sea Star book and was considering the second book in the series, which would then introduce a seahorse. Now I found this was a particularly difficult animal to draw. I did give it several ways of working with it because there are many curves and the nose itself is quite tricky, but anyway. I created six different ways of looking at seahorses. This page I haven’t taken any further, but it’s still something that’s percolating in my mind.

sea-horses

Down the Garden Path

With this image I started with one large frame and then decided it would make a good window. So it becomes a window frame and I lightly shaded walls in cream to give it prominence. I’m calling this one, “Sown the garden path” because from where we’re standing, we’re looking out of the window down the path to endless possibilities.

There are some birds in a birdbath and a bench to sit on, there’s a pond with ducks and then you can go through the gate, continue on up into the mountains, past the sheep and to who knows where.

It’s one of those drawings where it’s taking you somewhere, but you don’t quite know where it’s going to take you, so I quite enjoyed drawing that one as well. And yes, I see there’s another cat snuck in there.

down-the-garden-path

Vines

The one with vines is a grid drawing that’s going across several of the grids. I’ve got five or so vines rooted in the two bottom squares and they are developing and unfurling as they go up. This sketch is still just in pen and I may or may not colour it in.

vines

The Plant Cycle

In my grid sketch for, “The plant cycle” I’ve got a narrow ribbon arrow running behind to show you which way to go. You follow the arrow as the plant develops leaves, grows, buds, flowers and so on and then eventually the leaves drop off. It depicts a plant cycle. This one is still in a sketch. I haven’t quite finished it yet because it’s an imaginary plant and I’m not quite sure if I’m happy about the two middle drawings, but that is something I can still think about and mull over.

the-plant-cycle

Draw Your Grid

Now I’m just going to tell you how I actually draw these grids in my A5 sketchbook. My sketchbook contains pages are 14cm by 21.5cm (5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches.)

From the right-hand edge, I measure 2cm in and put a mark and then count 5 centimeters across a put another mark, and then 1cm and another mark and then over to the last five-centimeter marks. 

If you are doing this is in inches, my squares are about two inches wide with half an inch in between.

So, if you start with the ruler 5 inches on your right hand edge, you would put a mark at 4 1/2 inches, 2 1/2 inches, 2 inches and 0.

You would then get two columns of two inches wide with half an inch in between, and then coming down the page from the top you would measure it down 1 inch and then have a 2-inch square, half an inch for the gap, two inches of rthe middle grid block, half and inch for the gap, and two inches for the bottom squares.

I draw my grid squares lightly, usually with a 2H pencil, although in the video I’m using an HB because I want you to be able to see what I’m doing. Once I’ve lightly sketched out the squares, I will go from there.

Your Turn

This is how you set up an A5 grid art journal page.

Now you can get started on your grid art journaling.

grid-sketch-page
Watch the Video
Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

by | Art Challenges

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: July 2024

AHAtober 2024

Welcome to AHAtober 2024!

AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge.

This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together, providing a space for artists to explore and express themselves through gentle and reflective prompts.

 

Acknowledgement

Inktober is an art movement devised by Jake Parker way back in 2009. To do Inktober you draw one ink artwork for every day of October.  At the end you have thirty-one artworks.

What is AHAtober?

AHAtober is an annual event that takes place throughout the entire month of October.

Unlike traditional art challenges, AHAtober focuses on mindfulness and meditation, encouraging artists to create with intention and serenity.

Each day in October features a unique prompt, making a total of 31 prompts for you to enjoy.

Why Join AHAtober?

Many artists choose AHAtober over Inktober because it offers a softer, more introspective approach to daily art challenges.

The prompts are thoughtfully designed to inspire calm and meditative creativity, allowing you to connect deeply with your artistic practice.

Get Ready for AHAtober 2024

We are excited to announce that the AHAtober 2024 prompts will be released on September 1, 2024.

This early release gives you ample time to prepare your materials, set your intentions, and get ready for a month of peaceful artistic exploration.

How to Participate

Check the Prompts

On September 1, 2024, visit our website or social media channels to view the complete list of AHAtober prompts.

Gather Your Supplies

Prepare your favorite art supplies and create a cozy, peaceful space for your daily practice.

Create Daily

Starting October 1, follow each daily prompt and allow yourself to create with mindfulness and intention.

Share Your Art

Join the community of AHAtober artists by sharing your creations online using the hashtag #AHAtober2024.

ahatober-2024-prompts-list

Previous AHAtobers

AHAtober has been inspiring meditative artists for several years now, offering a unique and calming alternative to traditional art challenges.

Over the years, many artists have found joy and peace through participating in AHAtober.

You can explore my past AHAtober posts.

One inspiring story comes from a dedicated participant who completed the entire AHAtober challenge. Her journey is a testament to the transformative power of mindful creativity.

You can read her story and see her beautiful artwork.

I encourage you to dive into these stories and artworks from previous AHAtobers, as they offer a glimpse into the serene and reflective nature of this unique art challenge. 

 

I hope you join us for this unique and enriching experience.

AHAtober offers a wonderful opportunity to slow down, reflect and create art that resonates with your inner calm.

ahatober-2024-pin

Save this pin to read later.

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

Travel Journal Pages: Mexico

Travel Journal Pages: Mexico

by | Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: June 2024

Mexico Travel Journal Pages

I recently went to Mexico with my daughter for a week in May.

We stayed at an all inclusive resort on the Riviera Maya, that is the Caribbean sea side of the country on the east coast.

I had been to Mexico twenty years ago and at that time I had four kids and a husband so it was quite hectic.

This time it was grown ups only.

There was a steady cadence to each day.

Mexico-resort-pool

Breakfast

Around 7am we went for breakfast with lovely fresh fruit and cooked eggs, meat and pastries.

The coffee was excellent.

Poolside

After breakfast we moved to the poolside and chose a different spot each morning.

The pools were sparkling and cleaned every day.

The water was warm and inviting.

Lots of lounging around…

Lunch

For lunch we could take a walk back to the restaurant.

Alternatively, we could choose from a cheeseburger and all the fixings tomato, lettuce, chili, pickles and a side salad.

That was available at the poolside burger grill kiosk so you didn’t have to walk far.

Dinner

For our evening meal we chose a different restaurant within the resort each night.

They had Mexican, Thai, a steak house, Spanish, Teppanyaki, American Country and Italian.

Each eatery was its own experience.

Mexico-dinner

Entertainment

The after-dinner entertainment was varied.

Some evenings were singing and dancing and on others, jugglers and a fire show.

I was not up to the late-night events every night and I frequently turned in early at around 9pm.

My daughter stayed out later for some shows, but that is youth.

There was a fabulous Full Moon gracing some of the early evening skies.

Travel Journal

I took my travel sketchbook with me as I had plans to make a sketch journal of the trip.

The book is an A5 size that’s about 5 by 8 inches.

The pages are plain with no lines or dots.

travel-journal

Travel Art Supplies

I took a few art supplies, but not too many.

These days I never check a suitcase and everything I need for a week’s vacation fits into my cabin overhead bag.

Pencils and Pens

I had tree pencils an HB, 2H and 4H.

Eraser

A small eraser.

Faber Castell Pitt Artist brushs in grey, beige, light blue, dark blue and a dull green.

Travel Paint Set

A travel watercolor paint set by Schmincke. It has twelve color pans.

Paintbrushes

Three paint brushes:

  • A fat number 16 for water only.
  • 2 x number 4 brushes, one with a red handle (for warm colors) and one with a blue handle (for cool colors).
sketching-in-the-gazebo

Layout

For my sketches I wanted to simply capture what went on in the day.

The drawings did not need to be everything we did, but just the essence of what happened, the mood and the highlights.

I thought I’d do about five small sketches on each page which then grew into three two-page spreads.

Each page has a little story block with a small sketch.

I like this idea because then you can do micro and the macro views.

First you zoom in for a closeup of something and then pull back for a wider landscape view.

travel-sketch-journal

Subjects

I tried to have one sketch for each of the seven days that depicted what we did, ate and experienced.

Wildlife

There was far more wildlife that I had expected.

So, a few animals popped up in the journal.

I’m not good at drawing animals, or humans for that matter.

The creatures we saw were:

  

  • Cats.
  • Coatis.
  • Lizards.
  • Alligator signs, but thankfully no actual snappy sightings.
  • Woodpeckers.
  • Big birds.
coati

Foliage

In the gorgeous rolling gardens were planted forests of palm trees.

I believe they were coconut palms, but I’m not sure.

The flowers on the shrubs were bright red and pink, bold and huge. This was a hot place and the plants reflected their environment.

No wishy-washy pale blues and pinks here as we often see in Vancouver.

The broad leaves were tropical, shiny, emerald, large and flat.

Mexico-plants

Weather

It was hot with around a high of 32C each day. On one scorcher it went up to 34C.

The UV (ultraviolet) index was through the roof at UV12.

I’d not paid much attention to this number before as back home it is only ever UV3.

The days were filled with sun, sun, sun and not a cloud in the sky.

Mexico-weather

Sketch Spreads

Below are the sketch pages I made.

I am simply a hobby artist and my goal is to capture some of my life through my art.

I hope this inspires you to make a travel sketch journal for your next trip.

Mexico-sketch-journal-page

Left Page

Top to bottom.

At the airport, the swim-up rooms at the pool, a map of Mexico, temperature 32C and a coati.

 

Right Page

Mexico name, rooms they moved up to, ice cream, poolside, thermometer, drinks and burger lunch.

Mexico-sketch-journal-page-2

Left Page

Blue drink, lizard, lazing by the pool gazebos and palm trees.

 

Right Page

Evening’s entertainment a Fire Show, Mayan sculptures, we watched an online stream for a friend’s graduation at UBC (congrats Marco) and the Air Canada airplane tail logo.

Mexico-travel-journal-page-3

Left Page

Teppanyaki dinner show with my daughter and I, a blue sticker from resort, a stray cat we called Senor Pickles and another Mayan sculpture.

 

Right Page

Large leafy palms, fancy cocktails, the UV index number and the Caribbean sea beach with a “beware of the alligators” sign over the river.

Final Thoughts

I’ve done a few travel journal pages before.

The thing is that I don’t travel much really.

But now, as I develop my hobby art lifestyle whihc includes a sketchbook almost every day, I’m looking forward to capturing some more memories in my travel sketch journal.

Extend Yourself

If you are interested, you can make some travel journal pages too.

In your travel journal please do the following.:

  • Prepare a two-page spread for your next weekend away or vacation.
  • Write the name of the place you visited at the top.
  • Draw a map of the city, country or how you got there.
  • Draw the transport that you got there.
  • Write the to and from dates for your trip.
  • Draw a circle and write in the high temperature.
  • Draw an animal you noticed.
  • Draw a plant or tree you saw.

Extend Yourself Further

Continue adding and embelishing your travel sketch jurnal pages as follows:

 

  • Draw a meal you ate on the plate. Perhaps add the name of the restaurant.
  • Draw a drink you had. It could be coffee or a more exotic concoction.
  • Write the name of the hotel or guest house or retreat that you stayed at in fancy lettering or use their own logo.
  • Write the name of some people you casually chatted with in passing.
  • Write the names or draw the faces of the good folks you went with, your travel companions and anyone who shared the experiences with you.
  • Sketch your luggage.
  • Draw your sun hat and sunglasses or snow goggles and skis.
  • If there is any space left on the pages create a themed border for the page. This can be a full margin or just a partial edging to show off the inner doodles.
  • Write one word in bold lettering which represents the whole experience.

 

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

How to Draw the Face of Jesus

How to Draw the Face of Jesus

by | Christian Art

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: February 2024

Reference and Acknowledgement

Today I’m going to show you how I draw the face of Jesus as an icon. This is not my original idea as I am following along and referencing the work of Mikhail Fadi at UK Coptic Icons and you can see more of Mikhail’s work on his YouTube channel.

 

Watch >>> UK Coptic Items Video

Getting Started

I plan to create more Christian art. It doesn’t have to be super religious, but calm and simple art that reflects what I believe. I’ve been trying more Christian art pieces recently.

  

St Chad’s

You can look at the watercolor I did of the church in which I was christened. This is trip down memory lane as clearly, I can’t remember the auspicious day. The place is a dim memory now, but still I enjoyed researching the church’s history as I tried to make a watercolor artwork. Watercolor is a medium that I do like, but I have not yet mastered. Maybe I never will and I certainly won’t get better if I don’t do more watercolor.

 

Read more >>> Ink and Wash: St. Chads Church

 

St Andrew’s

Then I did a pen and ink sketch of the church closest to my home here in Vancouver. St Andrew’s is on an extremely busy street in the heart of downtown Vancouver. I think it is on the highest point in the city. This makes sense as the early church builders want the churches to be visible for miles around. When churches are prominent on the horizon parishioners can see them and are moved to attend worship each Sunday.

 

Read more >>> Pen and Ink: St Andrew’s Church

 

Religious Sculpture Pencils Sketches

I’ve also been trying to sketch some religious sculpture such as la Pieta by Michelangelo. Which depicts Mary holding her dead son after they took him down from the cross. This is a sketch I did in graphite. I feel it requires some more darker shadows and I may do that to bring more depth.

la-pieta-pencil-sketch

Recent Project: Drawing the Face of Christ

Now I’ve turned my attention to religious icons and how they are styled. First up is my drawing of the face of Jesus. The layout is quite specific.

Paper Size

Here in Canada my paper size is letter which is 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches, but you can use A4 as well.

Art Supplies

To create this exact sketch, you will need a 2H pencil, a compass, a ruler and an eraser.

 

Read more >>> My Art Supplies

 

Guidelines: Crosshair

I use a 2H pencil for all my guidelines. Find the center of the page by lightly drawing a diagonal line from each corner. Draw a vertical line at the center. We will call this line A-B. Measure down from the top 110mm. Draw a horizontal line and we will call this line C-D. This creates a crosshair in the center of the face. We will create marks at specific points along these two guidelines A-B and C-D.

face-of-christ-crosshairs

Christ’s Halo

Proportion

Typically, His face is two thirds the width of the halo. Draw a circle with a radius of 80mm for the outside of the halo.

Face

For the face, draw a circle with a 50mm radius. Where the face intersects the line C-D, mark the points as E and F and the center cross as H.

face-of-christ-halo

Eyes

On the lines E-G and G-F inside the face circle, divide both sides into three equal parts as follows:

  • On the line E-G, divide into 3 and mark H and I.
  • On the line J-K, divide into 3 and mark J and K.

 

Irises

The irises are at the two points of I and J. The irises are the colored parts of the eye. The irises diameter is 14mm diameter or roughly the distance between the chin and the nose (see later). Draw a circle for each iris at positions I and J.

 

Pupils

The pupils are 5mm diameter or about one third the diameter of the iris. Draw the pupils in the center of the iris.

face-of-christ-eyes

Eyelids

Right Eyelid

Divide line H-I and mark with L. Divide line I-G and mark with M. For the right eyelid lower line, draw a soft curve from position L to position M and line up with the top of the pupil. For the top eyelid line draw a light curve from L just on the top of the iris to point M.

Left Eyelid

Divide line G-J and mark with N. Divide line J-K and mark with O. For the left eyelid lower line draw a soft curve from point N to O and align with the top of the pupil. For the top eyelid line draw a light curve from N to just on the top of the iris to point O.

face-of-christ-eyelids

Eyebrows

Eyebrow Guidelines

Place a P at the intersection of line A-G and the halo circle. Divide the vertical line G-P into 4 equal parts and mark with S, R and T. 

 

  • Draw a light guideline horizontally at position T. 
  • Draw a light guideline vertically at positions H, M, N and K. Where M and T intersect mark as U. Where N and T intersect mark as V.

Eyebrows Curve

The eyebrows curve from the above the eye, across the top of the eye and gently tail off slightly longer than the outside edge. The eyebrows begin directly above the inner eye position.

  

  • Draw a curved line parallel the eyelid reaching the top curve at U and outwards to slightly past the outer eyelid (between H and L).
  • Draw a curved line up to V outwards to slightly past the outer eyelid (between K and F). Slightly thicken the eyebrow where it is above the pupil and tail off at the sides.
face-of-jesus-eyebrows

Nose

Nose Guidelines

The nose is usually long and thin and in the center of the face. Starting from the inner eye position midway between M and G mark as W. From midway between positions G and N mark as W.

  

Nose Lines

  • Draw two vertical lines down from W and X to as far as U horizontal. 
  • Softly add a soft curve as the point of the nose below.
  • Lightly add two nostril curves on each side of the nose. 
  • You may wish to emphasize one side of the nose with a darker line for shadow (see later).
face-of-jesus-nose

Mouth

Mouth Guidelines

At position V draw a light horizontal line. The mouth width lines up to just past the nostril curves.

Mouth Lines

The mouth is typically closed. The upper lip is thinner but wider than the lower lip. 

  • Gently add a generous rosebud curve to the bottom lip.
  • Add the top lip peaking up twice for a natural look.

Do not to add a too small mouth as it can look pinched. Work on the mouth as this feature can give expression to the face. Ideally you want a generous expression.

face-of-christ-mouth

Cheeks and Jaw

Jawline

  • Draw a curved line from each side of the face to the chin.

Avoid a too sharp chin as this makes the image look pinched. Make sure both sides are the same evenly.

face-of-christ-cheeks

Ears

Ears Position

Where vertical H and F intersect horizontal U is the ear position X and Z.

Ear Shapes

Only the earlobes show in this image and not the full ear.

  • Draw in a fishhook shaped earlobe on each side of the face.

The earlobes are nestled just below the hairline.

face-of-christ-ears

Neck and Shoulders

Christ’s Age

Depending on the age of Christ that you are drawing, the neck starts in different places. In general, younger men (and women) have thinner necks. Mature men have thicker necks. 

Young Christ

For a younger Christ (and female Saints and Mary), draw a line down (from vertical L and O) in a slight curve from the edge of the face to the shoulders.

Mature Christ

For a mature Christ (and mature male Saints) start the neck at the full side of the face circle.

Shoulders

Sketch the shoulders in a gentle curve across the page. Again, a younger Christ (and female Saints and Mary) will have longer necks and slightly thinner shoulders. Whereas a mature Christ has a thicker neck and broader shoulders.

face-of-jesus-neck

Hair

Hair Guidelines

At position R draw a horizontal guideline. The hair is drawn in three separate folds which gently curve in an “S” shape.

  

First Lock of Hair

  • From position S, draw a soft curve to position E on the right of the face and to F on the left of the face (see diagram). 
  • Draw in more hair strands by following the original outside curves so each hair locks has parallel lines within it.

  

Second Lock of Hair

At the point where horizontal R intersects the first lock begin the second lock of hair. 

  • Draw a curve from under the first lock and gently curve in an “S” shape to the outside.

  

Third Lock of Hair

  • Draw the third lock of hair from under the second lock starting at the earlobe and curve it outwards gently to cascade on the shoulders.
face-of-christ-hair

Halo

Halo Design

Only Jesus has a cross in his halo. This is so you can pick him out in a scene. People without halos are not Christ. You can draw a second halo line just inside the original sketch to add emphasis to the halo. In religious icons the halos are always gold.

  

Halo Cross

Only draw the halo cross in images of Jesus.

  • Line up with the horizontal crosshair and draw a line about 20mm above and 20mm below.
  • Draw the vertical lines 20mm to the right and left of the vertical crosshair.

You can gently curve or taper the halo cross towards the outside halo circle for artistic effect.

face-of-jesus-halo-cross

Clothes

Jesus Garments

Jesus’ clothes are usually blue with a red sash and gold trim. The three primary colors red, blue and yellow (gold) and are often all you need for an icon image. Of course, you can choose other colors to match the situation within the image.

Mary’s Robes

For example, Mary is always in blue robes and often baby Jesus is in white wraps. The trick is to avoid being too busy with your color palette.

Other Color Options

If you have a particular theme or place where this icon image will be displayed you can choose colours to suit. You may have a church with special color theme inside and you may wish to make the artwork feel a part of the whole.

Or perhaps you plan to hang the picture on a wall in a room with a color theme. You could change the robe colors to align with the decor. This will create a cohesive feeling for the space.

face-ofjesus-robes

Backgrounds

Traditional and Plain

The backgrounds of icons should always be plain. You can choose a color that complements the robes of the icon. The backdrops must be simple and not detract from the glory of Jesus, angel, saint or religious figure in the portrait.

Backgrounds to Avoid

Avoid busy backgrounds with:

  • Patterns
  • Wallpaper
  • Animals
  • Furniture
  • Landscapes

  

Keep the background as plain and simple as possible.

Finishing

Your Art Style

Your image of Jesus will be slightly different to mine. This is a natural expression of each of us and our own art. You are not trying to reproduce the exact same image every time. You can add some nuance to your artwork.

If you do this project with your children, they too will have different results on the look and shape of Christ’s face and this is okay. Everyone draws art in their own style, through their own hand and with their own brain. Individual artistic expression and interpretation is the beauty of each original drawing.

Darken Outlines

Continue slowly darkening the main lines to make the image just how you want it. You may carefully erase the pencil guidelines if you want to pen and ink the final image as I did.

Color

I have a digital image of Christ.

I have one with colored pencils to show you. The last one is the very first attempt I had of drawing the face of Christ. You can see the evolution of my style and skill with this drawing.

face-of-jesus-watercolor

Where to Position Your Face of Jesus

In Your Home

Your face of Jesus artwork needs to be the focus wherever it is located. Place your icon either in a corner, in a shrine or hang it on wall where there are no distractions.

People who visit your home and see this art will want to take a moment to pause and appreciate the piece. Individuals will need room to sit, kneel, stand or pray. Give your artwork some space to be enjoyed. Let this art piece breathe.

Where Not to Place Your Face of Jesus Image

This art needs respect which is found by carefully choosing a place for it to live. Do not hang your face of Jesus in a complex wall gallery of other images from your vacation, your kids and your cat. Avoid unsuitable places like hot kitchens and wet bathrooms.

The Face of Jesus in Your Sketchbook

If you have this drawing of Christ in your sketchbook, place a sheet of tissue paper over the face to protect it. It is usual to have many practice drawings before you get the best one and these sketches may be in your sketchbook. Due to the importance of Jesus always slip in some tissue paper to protect the image and give respect.

face-of-jesus-heavy-lines

Free Template

When I first followed along witrh the video I found that this was not an easy design to start with. I personally had many attempts at drawing the face of Jesus. To help you out, I have created a template with all the lines and shapes you need to draw the face of Christ.

This design can be used as a guide and you can pen over and color in to your heart’s content. I suggest you follow your intuition when working with this template.

  

Final Image

Here is my final image. An icon of Christ colored in shades that I like with red and blue robes. I do like the cross in the halo. I will probably repeat this drawing in my sketchbook. It is one that needs time to be perfect. And it is what I want, a perfect drawing of Christ’s face. Let me know how you get on drawing the face of Jesus.

 

face-of-christ-color

Older Christ

This is the saem drawing but with a moustache and beard. I also added some crow’s feet and brow furrows to add age.

face-of-christ-when-older
Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

Seasons of Art: Spring

Seasons of Art: Spring

Seasons of Art: Spring 2023 Group Meeting Learn more about the recent Seasons of Art group meeting. See more about the Seasons of Art group here.  Satvvir's Artwork Below is Satvvir's artwork (Instagram @theambivertsbb). She used watercolor and combined orabges...

The Creation: 7-Day Challenge

The Creation: 7-Day Challenge

by | Christian Art

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published:  January 2024

Inspiration

I’m trying to do more Christian artwork on this channel. It occured to me just to go back to basics, so I thought I could just do some simple artworks that depict the Creation in Genesis for the very first week.

7-Day Challenge.

I am a fan of art challenges. Some art challenges are harder than others because there’s just so much you have to do. I have a few challenges on this site.

When I started looking into the Creation Seven Day Art Challenge. I thought this is a good idea, I can do a 7-Day Art Challenge and it’s not going to kill me. It’s a way of continuing working with daily art practice. I created these seven simple, extremely simple images for the Creation.

 

Read more >>> Seasonal Art Challenge

 

Day 1

Light and day and night.

day-1-the-creation

Day 2

The vault of the sky.

day-2-the-creation

Day 3

Sea and land.

Vegetation plants, trees, fruit and seeds.

day-3-the-creation

Day 4

The Sun to light the day and the Moon and stars to light the night.

day-4-the-creation

Day 5

Birds to fly in the sky. Sea creatures to team in the oceans.

day-5-the-creation

Day 6

Land animals, livestock and wild animals. Mankind, male and female to rule the animals and the food and seeds of the green plants and the seas.

day-6-the-creation

Day 7

The Holy day of rest. The sun is shining and all is good. Everything is there. Everything is poised for greatness and to continue to flourish.

day-7-the-creation

Final Thoughts

These few drawings have to be the simplest depiction of the Creation with flat color and limited palette. The idea is that if you reduce your art down to the most minimal strokes, it can still denote what it is supposed to represent.

Symbolism

I think this type of work can be the origin for symbolism where one stroke can symbolize a nation, group, or movement.

 

 

Read more >>> St.Chad’s Poulton-le-Fylde: Pen and Wash

Read more >>> Christian Art and Sacred Places

the-creation-challenge
Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

Acrylic Overpainting: Ikea Artwork

Acrylic Overpainting: Ikea Artwork

by | Living a Creative Life

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: January 2024

Overpainting

Last month I decided to paint over, or overpaint, a large Ikea artwork I had in my living room. Over painting is a technique used by many of the great artists when supplies were short and canvasses hard to come by. It is an age-old tradition and I decided to use it on this artwork.

Original Image

The original image was a photograph of a London bus in a bustling street. It was in black and white except the bus which was a bright red and stands as an icon for London, England. We’d had this piece for over seven years, and I had become a little tired of it, so I wanted to make a change.

Rather than giving it away I thought that as it was such a large canvas, I could do something with it art wise in my quest to be a better artist.

 

Read more >>> Alison’s Art Journey

 

Ikea-original-image

Acrylic Overpainting Video

If you want you can watch the video I made for YouTube about this exact process. 

Process

Creating an acrylic overpainting of an Ikea artwork, or any other artwork, can be a delightful and creative process. As a hobby artist with a liking for mindfulness, my approach to this project is that I wanted it to be both relaxing and fulfilling.

Remember, your hobby art is a sanctuary for your thoughts and creativity. Enjoy the process, be kind to yourself, and let your upbeat and creative energy flow onto the canvas.

Ikea-bus

Material Preparation

I gathered my meagre acrylic paints, brushes, palette and any other materials I might need. I made sure that my workspace was organized and free of distractions to maintain a mindful and focused environment.

I was going to do this work on my dining room table. This is a very old table made from 100year old floorboards. We originally got it so that the kids could work at it and if they made a dent or drew on the top, it didn’t matter. It is a working table and I’ve now commandeered it as my creator studio table.

masking-tape-detail

Acrylic Paint

I began by trying to cover the very black and darker parts of the image. I used both white and yellow acrylic paints whcih were left over from my kid’s school art classes.

Next, I bought some dollar store white and red to continue to cover the darkness in the painting. This took several coats and I left each one to dry overnight.

Then I bought some better acrylic paints and a few colors. Additionally, I purchased a half-liter bottle of white which finally managed to cover the canvas.

white-and-yellow

Inspiration

During this process I’d been watching the YouTuber Betty Franks and watching how she was working with acrylics.

If you recall this was my fifth every acrylic painting and I was not sure what I was doing.

Betty worked he canvasses by adding colors in blobs and circles. Her palette was bright much like mine, so I thought I’d do what she was doing.

I began adding blobs of yellow, blue and green. I added ciclles and groups of bigger blobs and shapes. This I did for several days allowing the paint to dry each night.

Then I realized that because she was drawing flowers that was why she did blobs and circles. This was a revelation.

By this time, I had a highly colored very busy canvas that was almost humming.

I took the art from the table and propped it up against my wall in the living room and lived with it for a few days.

This was a very distracting piece and there was no where for the eye to rest.

abstract

Seascape

I though then that I’d like to have a seascape as that would be restful and easy on the eye. This painting hangs in a place and dominates the room. I wanted something that I could live with and that would not be intrusive.

I live at the coast and I decided to try to create the visual from English Bay which is the closest beach to me.

seascape

Read more >>> Sketching English Bay: Vancouver

Completed Layer

The seascape is what I did in the end. I partitioned the whole canvas into three horizontal bands thus:

Top

The top horizontal band is the sky.

Middle

The middle horizontal is the sea.

Beach

The bottom horizontal band is the beach.

I then brought in colours more related to these three areas. Whites and light blue for the skies. For the sea I tended to go for more a green/blue because really that is the colour what the water looks like.

For the beach I used a variety of colours in yellows, oranges and reds with a lot more dots and speckles to kind of represent the sand and the roughness on the beach. I finished up with some seaweed on either side, just to give a visual focus towards the center of the painting and draw the eye towards the white on the horizon.

seascape

How Long it Took

This final painting took about six days of daily paint and then let it dry overnight then painting again the next morning. But in the end, I was quite happy with what I created.

I added some finer details with Posca paint pens. I signed it in the bottom right with my gold pen that I love.

A few days later when it was dry, I removed all the masking tape and hung it back on the wall. This is an incredibly heavy painting for one person to wrangle, but I did. Phew…

acrylic-abstract-seascape-of-english-bay-vancouver

Final Thoughts on Overpainting

When I started this project, I didn’t really know where it was going to end up. I just knew that I couldn’t live with the grey photograph anymore.

This painting has gone through several iterations of colours and shapes. Until finally I found my groove. In a way as I created the two smaller paintings that are almost, miniatures, if you will, of the actual big painting.

I’m beginning to think that perhaps acrylic seascapes might be my thing. This is the first painting I’ve done which is acrylic and abstract and a seascape. I’m bringing these three components together might be a way forward for me.

Previously I’ve dabbled in watercolors and coloured inks, which I still love, but I found a lot of satisfaction working with these acrylic paints. I think I’ll explore more of this medium more in the future.

Now I’ve just got to find a name for the piece. Any ideas?

Art Supplies

You can find links to the art supplies I used on this page.

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Send Alison a quick message.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

Meditative Art Coloring Book: Neurographic Inspired for Self-care

Meditative Art Coloring Book: Neurographic Inspired for Self-care

by | Books by Alison

Meditative Art Coloring Book (Blue)

I am delighted to announce that I have published a meditative art coloring book with 52 original artworks crafted by myself.

I have enjoyed creating each artwork for you and this has been a labor of love.

This is now available at Amazon on this link.

Introduction

“The Meditative Art Colouring Book: Neurographic Art Inspired for Self-care” represents the initial release in a series of adult coloring books created by artist Alison Hazel.

It’s important to note that this particular book is designed in a captivating shade of blue, and there are plans for additional editions in various colors to be introduced in the near future.

 

Self-care

These artworks are carefully designed to support your mental well-being and personal self-care journey.

As a part of your self-care routine, consider selecting one image per week.

By incorporating these pages into your artistic activities alongside other projects, they can be valuable tools for exploring and refining your preferred color palettes.

 

Read more >>> Make 12 Neurographic Inspired ATCs

Explore

Delve into the images within this book for inspiration that ignites your unique artistic expression.

These pages can serve as springboards, propelling your imagination towards new and exciting ideas in your personal creative journey.

 

Artworks

Within the pages of this book, you will discover a collection of 52 unique artworks skillfully crafted by Alison Hazel.

This equates to one stunning piece of art for every week of the year.

Each of these beautiful creations is presented on the right-hand page, and on the following page, you’ll find a smaller version of the artwork where you can personalize it by adding your signature and the date of your artistic endeavor.

This thoughtful touch allows you to make each piece your own as you embark on your creative journey.

 

Display

You have the option to carefully detach each page from the book and frame it, creating a wonderful opportunity to adorn your walls with your favorite artworks.

 

Teachers

For educators, whether you’re working with children or adults, you have the flexibility to separate the pages of this book.

You can distribute one page to each child in your class or provide one image to each person in your adult teaching sessions.

This approach enables everyone to engage with the artwork individually, making it a versatile resource for both teaching and learning.

Read more >>> Neurographic Art Basics

How To Use This Book

Coloring

Color the images in the order that speaks to your preference.

It’s worth noting that certain images are more intricate, so they may require additional time and attention to complete.

 

Neurographic Principles

Several of these images incorporate principles of neurographic art such as:

  • The neurographic line
  • Circles
  • Connectors
  • Lines extending from one edge to another.

In fact, a chosen set of these images symbolize the synapses that form when you forge new pathways in your brain through creative expression. 

 

Color Palettes

Before you start your coloring journey, take a moment to contemplate your color palettes.

You might consider employing a restricted palette as a creative challenge.

For instance, you could opt to color one page using only three colors like red, blue, and yellow.

Alternatively, you could immerse an image entirely in shades of green.

Give yourself the freedom to delve into the rich and vibrant realm of colors, allowing your artistic exploration to flourish.

 

Hobby Artist

For those pursuing art as a hobby, these pages can serve as a valuable resource.

You can incorporate them into your creative repertoire, using each artwork as a warm-up exercise to flex your artistic skills before you plunge into your main projects.

 

Children

These coloring pages are designed to be enjoyable and engaging.

While they were initially crafted with adults in mind, they can certainly be appreciated by children too.

Feel free to involve your kids in these pages, offering them a chance to join in the creative fun.

 

Layout Painting

Once you’ve discovered an artwork which truly speaks to you and have colored it to your liking, consider using it as a foundation, a kind of preliminary sketch, for a larger painting you wish to craft independently.

You have the freedom to choose your preferred medium, whether it’s colored pencils, markers, watercolors, or acrylics.

The choice is entirely yours, allowing you to explore your creativity in the way that resonates most with you.

 

Get Your Copy Now

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Read more >>> Neurographic Art Quotes

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Alison Hazel

Author Bio

Alison Hazel is a mature woman who shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Go here to read more about Alison’s story.

If you want to send Alison a quick message go here.

AHAtober 2024

AHAtober 2024

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Published: July 2024 AHAtober 2024 Welcome to AHAtober 2024! AHAtober is a special event for meditative artists, inspired by the popular Inktober challenge. This month-long journey is designed to bring calmness and creativity together,...

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