Category Archives: caran d'ache

My Little Black Book

September 21, 2009 By in art journal, caran d'ache, creative therapy, mixed media, portrait, signo gel pen, travel, uniball 6 Comments

I’ve started a few journal pages in my black journal to work on while I’m traveling. I love the mystery that the black foundation adds to the overall look of this journal. I have used a bit of gesso to start, then I sketched in a portrait. Water soluble crayon is used to shade and add some subtle color. I will add journaling and more crayon to the pages while on the road, but it is nice to have a start to a few pages. I like switching between types of journaling, it helps me to be more creative.




It’s also fun to shade with different colors. I travel with my favorites (Caran d’ache) and a brush with a water reservoir.

Some of my favorite colors include: Olive Brown, Green Ochre, Sepia, Olive, Raw Umber, Beige, Ochre, Turquoise, and Cobalt Blue.

I also take Black and White.

A graphite pencil is a must.

Charcoal, kneaded eraser, and a blending stump are always with me.

And last but not least a Uniball Signo White Gel Pen.

These pages are too thin for collage, and that would defeat the black backgrounds purpose. So I am only using the simple supplies listed above in this journal.

I will show you the finished pages when I get back.

On another note, I was honored to be featured as this weeks catalyst on Creative Therapy. I would love if you would stop by and leave a comment! If you have not been to the site before scroll through for some amazing work. The contributing artists are listed on the left, and many of my favorites have been there.

Have a great week everyone!


A New View

May 27, 2009 By in art journal, caran d'ache, gesso, portrait, temperpedic, window 8 Comments

I never do this view of the face, but journals are all about experimenting so I gave it a try while journaling in bed last night. My poor husband would be shocked to see the amount of art supplies that come to bed with me when he’s gone, LOL! And barring the ‘Gesso Incident’ he has really no clue. He only saw the spot on the comforter after I cleaned it up! Remember that commercial for Temperpedic mattresses where they have a wine glass on the bed and they jump on it? Well it’s true! My water bucket can sit on the bed while I paint!! So glad we invested in a good bed that I can paint in-hehe.
Time to fess up, do you take your art to bed with you?

Another New Journal

May 26, 2009 By in art journal, black, caran d'ache, portraits, self portrait, strathmore, visual journal 13 Comments


I think I have a problem. I have 5 journals that I’m working in at this moment and I just added a 6th! This one is a 7 x 10 Strathmore Black Field Drawing Notebook. It has lovely heavy black pages. I got it to play with my Caran d’ache crayons in. I find it a good thing to mix up the size of book you are working in. It helps you to stretch your creative muscle. This little portrait was done with the water soluble crayons and fluid matte medium. Layer after layer of crayon was built up over the black. After working on white, this is a refreshing twist. I am looking forward to playing some more tonight.

Silent Consumption

April 11, 2009 By in art journal, caran d'ache, colored pencil, moleskine, pam carriker, pear, prisma color, zne 9 Comments

“A pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption”

I love to play around with pear shapes. There is no ‘wrong’ form as each pear is unique and slightly different.

This pear was done with my new Caran d’ache Pablo colored pencils. Smooth lay down, creamy, no waxy build up. Ability to layer color on top of luscious color and blend-able.

A perfect compliment to my Moleskine journal.

A side by side comparison to Prisma colored pencils. So many colors to choose from! A bit harder to color with, and a waxy build up, but still lovely and fun to play with.

And did I mention the color choices?

Endless possibilities…

I like playing with pears so much that I actually have some pear stamps, so I used those too.

This is one of my favorite pieces, it was published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors July/Aug ’08. Layers of papers, wax, inks, stamps, shading, writing on canvas.

This journal page was the inspiration for the piece.

Only Three More Days Until Shades of Grey!

March 20, 2009 By in art journaling, brush tipped pens, caran d'ache, creative workshops, faber castell, online workshop, pitt pens, shades of grey, water soluble crayon 13 Comments

What is the key to using the fabulous Pitt Brush Tipped Pens? What are their secrets? Peer through the keyhole to take a glimpse of some of the page samples from my Shades of Grey Journal Workshop.
This workshop will cover several techniques I have discovered while concentrating on Shades of Grey, including ‘painting’ with Caran d’ache water soluble crayons. Combine these techniques in a timeless Moleskine Journal and you have a winning combination.

To find out more about this workshop or to register, visit Creative Workshops.