Spotted WeaselRat-Thingie Reading A Book

Quickie doodle in ink and watercolor this aft, to loosen up. I'm a lazy watercolorist and didn't stretch any paper or wait for the Pentel Pocket Brush ink to dry before laying on watercolor. I quickly discovered that although the ink looked dry, it wasn't completely dry! Rather than wait, I decided to keep painting but to try to avoid touching the ink line. Sometimes I missed and you can see where ink and paint smoodged together a bit.

Found Object Doodle: Sugar Jump

How I created the image above:

- Did a quickie sketch in my paper sketchpad to get the basic gesture. 

- Used my Artograph Lightbox (a Christmas gift from Jeff!) to draw the figure on Strathmore Watercolor Coldpress (300 series) using a Pentel Pocket Pen Brush. I guess I could have drawn the figure directly on the paper, but I find I waste less watercolor paper if I do at least a basic gesture/shape drawing as a guide:

- Added watercolor. I was too lazy to stretch the paper and just glopped on color, so the paper ended up a bit buckled. 

- Too lazy to flatten the buckled paper, just poured the sugar on top. Because the paper was buckled, the sugar all puddled into the valleys so I had to spread it out a bit with my fingers. Next time I'll be less lazy and take the time to either stretch the paper or flatten the paper before adding my found objects.

- Here's my photo setup:

It was the first time trying out a nice Canon 17-40mm lens that my friend Ray was kind enough to lend me.

The tripod is a Manfrotto Horizontal Tripod I got specifically for photographing my found object and other physical art. 

And of course there's the SUGAR:

I still do a lot of much more casual found object art using index cards and my iPhone camera but I'm also trying to get used to an upgraded process so I can start using my found objects in potential future book projects.

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I love creating found object doodles and post them on Instagram, "Found Object Art" gallery on Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr  and in my Found Object Art portfolio.

Thank you notes from 3rd-graders in MN after a Skypevisit

I was so delighted to get a package of drawings and letters from 3rd-graders at Parkview Center School (MN) after doing a Skypevisit with them. I know that virtual visits can never replace in-person visits, but doing virtual visits enables me to chat with far more young readers than I would have otherwise. Living in Toronto and having a full schedule (plus I don't drive), there's no way that I'd be able to visit with many of these schools throughout the year, even if I could afford all the flights.

So great to be able to connect with these young readers! 

Teachers and librarians: if you're interested in a free 15-20 minute virtual visit with students at your school, here are details.

Got distracted by kale during dinner prep tonight for Colby Sharp's #IDrawThisBig project

And yes, dinner prep almost always takes longer these days because I'M SO EASILY DISTRACTED.

This time, at least I can blame Colby Sharp, who has invited illustrators to participate in his #IDrawThisBig project for his class. :-)

One of my favorite photos ever

Getting excited for our Skype visit next week with @inkyelbows!@AAELibrary pic.twitter.com/t221l2cIPa

— Ms. McClelland's K (@KKidsNY) January 22, 2015