Art Postcards

Day 5 Play Ball

Plum Daily Doodles for May

#plumdd

 

 For a couple of months, I have been mailing postcard art to my eight year old granddaughter. I've been enjoying making art on the cards and writing notes to her on the flip side. The icing on the cake is watching the videos my son sends of her going to the mailbox and receiving the card! So fun!

                                                                                         

This time the art work is a version of a digital image from Plum Loved Art by Shelley Plum. The image is of a girl softball player. My granddaughter plays softball. The day the digital image arrived in the online group, my granddaughter just happened to go two for two with a triple in her game!

The image is among the freebies offered this month at Plum Loved Art. I worked on that card right away and mailed it. I couldn't wait for her to get this very special card! Which she loved!

Challenges:

https://craftinghappinesschallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-211.html 

https://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-636-use-colours-pink-blue-or.html 

https://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-321.html 

Bear at the Circus

 

 

This "Bear at the Circus," is from a digital image that was a freebie from Plum Loved Art by Shelley Plum.

I drew the "Bear at the Circus," with a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil using the reference picture of the bear for a guide. I added the tent and ticket booth details. I shaded the piece with pencil and a paper stump and went over my work with black Molotow liner pens. Small details were also added using these pens.

I used Jane Davenport watercolors to paint this piece.

Challenges: 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-99.html

https://craftinghappinesschallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-211.html 

https://alessandrasangels.blogspot.com/2026/04/allys-angels-105-anything-goes-theme.html

https://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-636-use-colours-pink-blue-or.html 

https://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-321.html

Pretty Girl

This "Pretty Face" is from a You Tube tutorial by Karen Campbell, to show how to use gelatos and how to solve an issue while working on a portrait.

I followed Karen with a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil as she drew this lovely girl. She's on a page in my Canson XL cold press watercolor book. I used a couple of Molotow liners over the pencil lines and shaded her with a blending stump. I painted her with both Prima and Jane davenport watercolors. 

I tried the Faber Castelle Gelatos, but no matter what I worked with, they did not blend. I'm happy they show as much as they do.

I'm really happy how this girl came out!

Challenges:

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-848.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-202604-april-2026-anything.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-99.html 

 

The Prince and the Swallow

 

This piece is from a tutorial by Eulalia Mejia for A Year of Magic and Fairy Tales. Her reference is to "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde. The tale is "The Prince and the Swallow," the tale is of selflessness and love featuring a statue of the prince who, with the swallow's help gives away his jewels and gold to help the city's poor. The Happy Prince wasn't happy, when he saw the city's poor suffering. It's a sad tale.

Eulalia uses acrylic paints throughout the project. I don't paint in acrylics and substituted gouache paints. Instead of painting a sheet of paper with acrylics for the background, I used Stonehenge black cold press 240 lb. watercolor paper. The gems were painted on computer paper. The snowy city was drawn on the black paper with a white Prismacolor pencil. I used Carn D'Ache cryons for the snow on the roofs.

Challenges: 

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-202604-april-2026-anything.html 

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/classic-design-challenge-04-2026-marapr.html 

https://creativecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-99.html 

Farmer Mr. Briar

 This fun painting "Farmer Mr. Briar is the result of a Guided Drawing Lesson on "Backgrounds," with Terry Mead for "Plum Loved Art." She noted ahead of the Zoom lesson to prepare a couple of drawings, in case students in the class wanted to draw the backgrounds to the images during the lesson. I did draw it ahead of time but watched the lesson and drew the background later on my own.

I drew Mr. Briar with a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil and following the lesson, I added farm details. I shaded the piece with pencil and a paper stump and went over my work with black Molotow liner pens. Small details were also added using these pens.

I  painted this piece using Jane Davenport watercolors. 

I totally enjoyed this Zoom lesson and drawing my own version of the farm was a lot of fun!

Challenges: 

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-202604-april-2026-anything.html 

 https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-847.html

https://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/crafty-catz-challenge-711.html 

https://craftinghappinesschallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/crafting-happiness-challenges-210-all.html 

Victorian Gown 1850s

 

This "Victorian Gown 1850s," is from a tutorial by Karen Campbell for Awesome Art School. This fashion came into being when the Crinoline was worn under the large skirts of the period. It was a weird cage like object that took the place of as many as 7 petticoats.

I drew this dress using a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil in my Ohuhu Marker Pad. I watched Karen's videos and used and a printout she provided for a reference. I outlined the dress using a black Molotow marker and colored it in with Ohuhu Markers. I added the detail at the top and the cording down the front with that same marker.

I enjoy both the history of fashion and drawing it! This was an enjoyable challenge to my drawing skills!

Challenges:

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-202604-april-2026-anything.html 

  https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-847.html

https://paperfundaychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-challenge-86-anything-goes.html 

Red Riding Hood

 Back in 2020 I was looking for a new creative outlet for my art. I found alcohol inks and explored pouring, blending and textures. I also discovered gelli plate printing and made -media monoprints without a press. Between the two, I kept busy making sheets and sheets of lovely prints, which eventually, I gathered into a handmade book. And there they all sat in the cabinet for years. Until now!

Then along came Tamara Laporte hosting "A Year of Magic and Fairy Tales."  I've always loved  whatever Tamara  offered and so I jumped into the course and found lots of art to work on. Now, I'll tell you about the tutorial by Artist Sylvia Gryczuk, that brought those printed sheets out of that cabinet. It was her lesson on Little Red Riding Hood!

I drew this little girl and the wolf from the reference provided, using a Graphgear 1000 Pentel Pencil on Canson 140 lb. watercolor paper and painted the drawings in Jane Davenport watercolors. I used a Micron Pen for details and enhanced the drawings. I cut the images out and put them aside.

Next, I painted a blended greenish oval for the imaginary entrance with a dark green background using the same Canson watercolor paper and Jane Davenport watercolors.

I cut pieces from those old prints and adhered them to the background illustrating the forest. I partially hid the wolf among those pieces. I put dimensional stickers on the back of Red Riding Hood and adhered her on top.

I love how this piece came together!

Challenges:

 https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-847.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-anything-goes-w-optional.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/04/challenge-202604-april-2026-anything.html 

https://paperfundaychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/04/april-2026-challenge-86-anything-goes.html