The Art of Sketchbooking

I think I have a little bit of a commitment problem, when it comes to sketchbooks. I can never, ever, have too many, but I've also never been able to commit to one. I have basically developed a sketchbook routine of going to an art store, buying a sketchbook, immediately busting it open, and then tearing out pages because they don't "represent me" or look cohesive. Eventually I find myself getting a new sketchbook and abandoning this first one. Thus the cycle continues. 

So of course, a few weeks ago I got a new sketchbook. Below are some of the drawings I have done in it so far. With this one, I am going to try extremely hard to commit, and not relinquish it completely. If I am able to do this, I will post more art from it here, and also give updates and tips, on how to successfully stick with a sketchbook. It'll almost be like a relationship advice column, but instead of a dude, you're dealing with some paper. It's much more reliable anyway. Maybe I'll even get really into it, and make a break up playlist for when I get to the end of the book. 

Right now, my only tip is not to limit yourself. And I know that sounds cheesy or typical, but it's really true. One of my favorite things that my mom tells me is that you are your only limit. There's nothing else stopping you.

For me, in this case, I always limit myself with the medium I use. When I buy a new sketchbook, I devote it entirely to pencil drawings, or only watercolors, or only collage. But some days, I want to make art, but it's not really pencil that I feel like using. I have finally broken free from that box I put myself in, or at least I somewhat have, and I have started to experiment with different mediums in my new sketchbook. It was surprising how well the sketchbook held up with watercolors (which I used on the hands), since the paper isn't intended for watercolors. I am planning on heading to acrylic soon too, though my acrylic painting skills could really use some improvement.

"The world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another." -Ellen Page.

This is a drawing a did over the course of a few days that was intended to be Ellen Page. It didn't turn out exactly like her, but it is one of my favorite drawings that I've done recently. Ellen Page is definitely one of my favorite actresses, and role models. I was so excited to see an article about her in The New York Times, about a debate she had with the Republican candidate Ted Cruz. Not to get into politics or anything, but I love Ellen Page's stance on things, especially in her conversation with him. It's a solid article, and everything she says is thought out and intelligent. 

Coffee Shop Dreams

self portrait in a coffee shop

Autumn is here. I can feel it. When I wake up and step outside, their is a crispness in the air, it's sort of harsh, and very different from the mellow breeze of summer. I guess I let myself forget what fall was like in Virginia, since I was away for a while. But now I remember. Colorful leaves engulf the mountains, which encompass my town. We're surrounded by a wall of dark green with bits of red and orange poking their heads out, seeing if the coast is clear for them to appear. It's only early october, so they have much more changing to do, and that's when the view really becomes breathtaking.

I haven't had much time to ponder "fall" and everything that comes with it. I don't know if I've ever been so busy in my life as I am now. I don't get home until about 7pm during the week because of rowing practice, and weekends I stuff with everything I can, though I spend a lot of the time doing homework.

But that's not to say I'm not enjoying the school year. I love rowing so much, and giving up two hours a day for it is pretty much worth it so far. Well, that's not the only thing I've given up. Hopes of pretty hands is another, since they are so blistered from the oars. I also have far less time to play the cello and make art, and those are not things I want to lose.

But somehow I have had time to make some art, such as this drawing above. I have more to post in the near future, and some fun projects coming up as well.

I hope everyone is having a good start to the fall season. Make sure to drink lots of tea and hit up Trader Joes for some pumpkin flavored goodies (because really, what don't they have that is pumpkin flavored, this time of year?).

-India

Oceans and Rivers

I apologize for my lack of activity on this blog. I'm hoping to put an end to that soon. I've been really into drawing mountains and hair lately, as you may be able to tell from these two drawings I did recently. My schedule has been extremely busy lately, but I've been squeezing in as much art time as possible. These are two results of it.

arting outcomes + growing souls

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."   - Kurt Vonnegut

This week I have been neglecting my blog, which I'm not proud of, but I've also been neglecting my phone way more than usual, and I am proud of that. I've spent every day this week on a college campus, in an art studio at a figure drawing class, among only four other students. It's definitely been one of, if not the best, week of this entire summer so far, and it was a bittersweet ending when I had to leave. It made me excited and motivated to make more art, especially now that drawing the human figure comes more naturally. But I also had a great teacher, and a great group of teenagers in the class, so that always makes leaving difficult. 

But life goes on, and now I have all of these sketches to show from it. During the class, we drew on large pieces of newsprint and sketching paper on easels-which is something I wasn't used to. Every single drawing, since it was a figure drawing class, was done from a live model, and I wasn't used to that. Even the students got to take turns modeling, and I learned that 12 minutes can feel like an eternity. 

None of these are pieces that I spent a whole lot of time on, since they were all timed, but they were fun to create, and pushed me past my limits. 

(above) This is the only one not done on an easel. Instead, it was done on table paper as a warm up. 

noel

andrew 

reclining teacher

helena 2.0

           

maelyn

maelyn 2.0

         

timur

sitting teacher 

sitting teacher 2.0

I',m putting this one in so that maybe you can recognize who each drawing is of. 

I hope to take loads more art classes in the future, because not only do art classes help me practice art, they help my soul grow (as Kurt Vonnegut says) and I get to meet awesome people like the ones above.

Wallflowers

Happy Summer Solstice! These are a couple of summery-vibe drawings/paintings I've done lately.

To see all of my art in one place, go to my art tumblr. It's just getting started, so there isn't a ton there yet, but there's more to come!

Spending Money Puts You In a Real Party Mood

 I've always been pretty easily fascinated by certain things. Some things draw me in, and I can't seem to get away from them. Andy Warhol has done that.

Every aspect of him interests me, and the more I learn, the more interested I am.

Right now I am also extremely into the Velvet Underground, who were friends of Andy's, and a big part of his work.

So it is perfect that I am getting to be part of an advisory board at the Warhol Museum, one for just teens, and only about 15 teens from the entire city. In the advisory board, our main purpose is to put together a huge even (which takes place in May) at the Warhol, which will include bands, fashion shows, art making, refreshments, and more. So far it's been a blast. I love getting to spend time at the museum all the time, and being surrounded by the work and world of Andy Warhol. 

Anyway, back to the post. Because of my obsession with him, I decided to Andy-ize some stuff, and even draw him. 

I made a couple of pins, and a necklace quoting him. 

Here's a bad quality up-close shot of my drawing.

Andy Warhol was such an unapologetic person, and I really admire him for that. In one of his interviews, he is asked a question, and he just says to the interviewer something along the lines of: Can you just give me the answers and I'll say them?
In another, with Edie Sedgwick, as soon as they sit down to be interviewed, Edie announces that Andy will not be answering questions at all. Whenever he was asked something, he'd whisper a terse answer in Edie's ear, and she'd tell it.
He was (and is) so different than any other celebrities. He could not have cared less about people's opinions of him, and he embraced his social-awkwardness. His varying work and process inspires me a lot lately, and I wish I had more time to make art of my own.

I apologize for my lack of blogging lately. My blog needs some work and attention, and I will hopefully be giving it some of that soon. I also have some pages from my sketchbook to post, but I haven't gotten around to that either. My Saturday art classes end soon ( :( ) but then I will have more time to blog which is good!

Vegan Carob Muffins

Today is the last day of January, and I am so glad. It's got to be one of my least favorite months of the year, at least on the east coast. But, I have tried to make the best of it, and today I did a pretty good job of that. After brunch at a hipster coffee shop and then art class, I came home and tried to figure out what to do with the carob pods my mom ordered recently. I had never had one before, but they're really interesting. 

This is a carob pod, also known as St. Johns Bread, for anyone who has never seen one before. They're very dark brown, and pretty hard. The cool thing is that they are edible, except for the extremely hard seeds on the inside. They taste really good, sort of like chocolate, mixed with honey and bread.

Carob is used as a substitute for chocolate a lot, and is considered a healthy alternative to chocolate. It doesn't have any of the caffeine that coffee contains, and is naturally sweet, so doesn't have to be paired with as much other sweetener as chocolate does. 

Anyway, enough facts, lets get to the actual recipe. 

Vegan Carob Muffins 

 To break up the pods, which are pretty tough, my mom and I stuck a knife into the pods and then banged them on the counter. There isn't really a correct way to break them (that I know of) so I'd just say that if you are using them, try a few methods and see what you think works best. 

Here is what it looks like all blended up! Make sure you didn't miss any chunks before mixing the powder into the mixture. 

If you follow the recipe above, your muffins will turn out something like this! They aren't the prettiest, but they taste really good, and have a light and fluffy inside. I baked them for a little bit over 25 minutes, and they were a bit hard on the outside. I'd recommend less time than that.

Try them out and tell me what you think! Hopefully the recipe is good. Also, if you don't have any carob, this is a super simple and good recipe for just basic muffins, or a basic recipe to start with! Enjoy:)

Who Needs Jamba Juice?

No more mysteries about the content of this post! So, it's obviously a DIY acai bowl kinda thing, and absolutely anyone ca do it, but the main purpose of it is for the East Coast people (like me) who don't have a juice place on every single street, selling these bowls of healthy deliciousness. Wow, that sounded pretty cliche. But it's totally true! They are actually so good! In Pennsylvania, I have yet to come across a place selling them, but in California, they were everywhere! This frustrated me, since I already felt like those Californians were living in luxury compared to us, but this too?! So I decided to make my own. 

Let me just say it was extremely easy, and there are so any variations! This is just a very basic one. 

I wouldn't recommend adding the cat! It's a little too furry and ruins the flavor! 

This part is not limited to what I've shown! Do whatever you want with it!

Those little pinkish circles definitely do not resemble banana coins, but that is what they are.

And tada! It's not the prettiest work of art, but it tasted so, so good.

Playlist Number One: Night Music

It is finally starting to feel more like october, and so I decided to create a new playlist. At the beginning of every month, I like to do that, to sort of kickstart the month with some good music.

So, with that said, these are 13 songs I have been listening to lately, and I found that they sound the best at night.

Night time, My time - Sky Ferreira 

Nightmusic - Grimes

Dreaming - Mac Demarco 

Elegie - Patti Smith

Life Round Here - James Blake

Sad Dream - Sky Ferreira 

Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez 

Sleepless - Flume

In the Room Where You Sleep - Dead Man's Bones

Mad Sounds - Arctic Monkeys

Wandering Start - POLICA 

Lemonade - Cocorosie 

Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation 

I used Gouache paint for the moon phases

Virtual Gallery/Diy Number 2.

In my last post, I explained the whole thing about me sort of reinventing myself through art, or just my art I guess. Anyway, I have continued on that path and explored with even more new things than before. I've been working with not only watercolor illustration, but fine liner pens too and colic markers-which I've actually had for a while but never used much and by the way they are the best thing ever but so expensive as well! 

Above is one really recent doodle that I did to slip into a letter I wrote to a friend from where I used to live. 

As you can see I have a theme going right now: black and white plants. I promise you that isn't the only thing I'm doing, although it is my obsession (this week).

I'd like to also apologize for the bad quality photos. That won't be happening much I hope.

Here is me proving that I haven't only drawn plants.

Again! And this time I even used color(▰˘◡˘▰)!

And this one is way different than plants! I think it would be cool on a t-shirt, but my mom said it looks like the hand of the Grinch. Whatever. 

I know that this picture was already posted at the top, but I'm going to keep talking about it soo here it is. One thing you probably didn't think about it was that the flowers are actually doodles I did, then cut out and glued to my binder for school, since I didn't want to have a boring binder.

Ok here we go: My 2nd Diy.

First, Mod Podge or something similar will be needed for this. You'll also need some scissors, paper, pens, and a paintbrush. 

Oh, and a binder might help too. 

            

So, I started by making some doodles of plants (but they don't have to be plants) and then cut them out. 

The one above is my favorite.

Ok so once you get all of your supplies together and cut out your doodles, slather a bunch of glue on the backs of your doodles and put them on where you want them to be! It helps if you place them out beforehand so you have a plan-and also make sure the binder is right-side-up or it will be very weird and frustrating like it was for me. 

Once it's on, put glue all over the outside to make sure it's going to stay. You may have to re-apply once in a while if you're using it for school like I am. 

 It will look better in the end if you runoff some of the excess glue. Once that's all done, you can let it dry for a while and then you'll have the coolest binder in school!