Hello readers,

I can’t believe it is already December! My how time flies! Amongst the Christmas craziness and commercialism that surrounds the holidays, I take great solace in drawing in my journal. There is something special about putting pen to paper creating lines, words and adding a splash of color. It’s very meditative and calming. Just what the doctor ordered!

Last year was no expectation in my need to escape the holiday rush. This entry highlights the day I spent with my husband Chris who surprised me with concert tickets to attend a St. Vincent concert. St. Vincent is one of my absolute favorite bands and Annie Clark, their lead singer is simply sensational.

Annie Clark is a wonderful music artist in her own right who writes inspiring music. One of my favorite songs is “Digital Witnesses” which is the theme I choose when drawing this journal page. I love how the song exposes our over obsessive behavior with digital technology as we walk through life. I wanted to visually encapsulate the song with explosive bursts of color and splashes of ink. Throwing ink around a page can be very cathartic- let me tell you!

I think I captured the mood of the song and my own personal feelings about our society’s mind-numbing compulsive behavior about our digital oppressors.

Materials used: Derwent Graphik Line Painter, Sakura Micron Pens

The process: I began with a light pencil sketch with the main drawing of the eye and adding song lyrics leading from the center and circling around the eye. I pix-elate the center of the eye using Derwent’s Graphik Line Painters. I moved to the words next by outlining them with my Micron pen, making lines thicker as I moved over each word. Next, using the line painters again, I began dropping paint around the page and blowing areas to spread the ink and turn the journal page in different directions to get paint drips down the eye like tear drops. As a final step, with my line painters once again, I sketched in geometric style lines to unify the colors. This was the first time I used Derwent’s Graphik Line painters. While they were totally messy, I had an absolute blast using them. They definitely allowed me to let go and have fun with creating this entry.