Inspiration

Which witch inspires you?

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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When I was little I loved Hazel the witch on Bugs Bunny. Every time she flew off, she’d leave behind her bobby pins floating in the air.

Every October since starting my creative resolution, I’ve been inspired by Halloween – drawing haunted houses among other things. This year I seem to to be drawn to witches.

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Using a model from a catalog as reference, I drew this witch strolling down her path.

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Then I created the inside of a witch’s house (the first illustration in this post). That illustration had a mind of its own. On the following day, instead of creating a new illustration for InkTober, I added a new floor to the witch’s house. And I may not be done. Don’t you think it needs some rats scurrying around in the attic? 😂

Waiting for the leaves to change

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Here in New York the leaves are beginning to change. Only a few have fallen. I am so looking forward to the bright colors and to walking through the leaves – that “swish swish” and the beautiful reds, purples, and yellows everywhere. Cleaning up the leaves I am not looking forward to!

In years past, the leaves have been a huge inspiration to me.

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See how I made this watercolor leaf here.
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You never really know how a drawing will turn out

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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As you put your pen to the page to make that first mark, you never really know how things will turn out. At least I don’t know. Sure I have a vision in my head, but that doesn’t mean it will turn out that way.

Personally, I don’t really plan much, I get an idea and just dive in and see what happens. If I’m drawing in ink – which I’m doing a lot this month for InkTober – I rarely do a pencil sketch first. Unless the drawing involves a face or body, then I will do some planning in pencil to get things looking “right.”

I was really pressed for time with this “little guy in the leaves.” The inspiration photo was one of my youngest son probably 8 or 9 years ago. I used pencil first to plan things a little – because you can’t erase ink. I was pleasantly surprised with the results in such a short time.

This drawing experience was the opposite of yesterday’s! I was drawing in the car during my older son’s practice. I first focused in on a nearby car. Within a minute or two of drawing the car, it drove off! Without the car there I had a hard time finishing that part. I drew the car in front of me, but my pen started running out, probably because I was drawing upright on the steering wheel. I ended up focusing on drawing the chain link fence. Like I said, you never know what the result will be when you start drawing!

See all my InkTober blog posts:

NY Comic Con and meeting the creator of InkTober

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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My young son was thrilled to win tickets to Comic Con. So on Sunday we took the train into the city to check it out. The fun started on the train where we spotted people in costume. When we arrived, crowds of people were pouring into the Javits Center, many in costume. We walked the convention floor trying to take it all in. We attended a “panel” of the creators of Gravity Falls, of which my son is a huge fan. It was great! Very inspiring for a young creative.

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Back on the floor of the convention, my son found a book he liked. As we purchased it the woman happened to mention that the Author/Illustrator was in the “Artist’s Alley,” if we wanted to get it signed.

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“Artists Alley” was probably a half of a city block away (inside the Javits Center). It was a mini convention of artists. We walked around trying to find the author. (Above some spidermen in Artist’s Alley.)

We walked past Jake Parker’s table. Hmmm that name sounded familiar. He’s the creator of InkTober!! I went over and said hello. My son said I acted like a fan. Ha ha. Such a coincidence to run into someone who is inspiring my creativity this month.

Check out Jake Parker’s work! My son is a big fan of his graphic novels.

 

InkTober inspiration

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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9 days into InkTober and I’m going strong. Some of my sketches I’ve been proud of, some not so much. Some days it takes a while to figure out what to draw. The reference photo above is from Mollie Makes, a creative magazine I love. I find the magazine inspiring even though I don’t sew or crochet or make any of the crafts in it. I think I just like reading about the creative entrepreneurs.

Yesterday I drew our front door. It’s funny the things you end up drawing when you’re doing a drawing a day. If you want to see all my InkTober drawings follow me on Instagram @eileenmckenna. 😀

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What a difference a challenge makes

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

img_0405Today I grabbed my sketchbook when my son and I left to visit my mom. I never would have thought to bring it, if I wasn’t trying to draw everyday for InkTober.

By the time we arrived at the beach the sky had cleared and it was beautiful out. We walked barefoot in the sand, put our feet in, collected shells, watched the surfers. What a beautiful, peaceful day.

I took several photos to draw from later and did a sketch before we left. 😀

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Inktober

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’m participating in InkTober this year. Jake Parker created InkTober in 2009 “as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.” Learn more and see the official InkTober prompts here. It starts Saturday, October 1st!

There is something about fall and Halloween that really inspires me – as you can see from last year’s sketchbook above. For me, InkTober is just some extra motivation. I’m back in a creating groove, which makes me really happy. Anyone else participating? 🙂

A new painting on an old watercolor wash

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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This morning I came across a couple of one color washes I painted a couple of years ago. The watercolor washes were backgrounds for a product photo shoot for a client’s Etsy page. I decided I would reuse the washes.
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I thought it would be interesting to use one as the background of a painting. I selected the yellow one and pulled up a photo on my phone that I had taken several weeks ago. At the time, I was out for a run and I was passing an old house surrounded by hedges. I thought it would be a good reference photo if I decided to do any haunted house paintings this year.
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I started by drawing in pen and ink on the yellow. Then I painted the hedges and the trees, and then some of the other areas. Lastly the details on the house. I decided not to turn the house into a haunted house because as it turns out, the house had a secret of it’s own. Not even a week after I took the photo, my husband said to me, “Did you hear about the house in town with the pigeons? They found 350 pigeons living inside the house. The house didn’t even have running water.” I knew right away it was the house I had taken the photo of.

I decided to paint the house the way I saw it. No extra spooky details. Just an old house hidden by overgrown hedges.

The change of seasons and inspiration

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

imageIt’s a funny time of year. School has started so summer feels over. When I look around the house for something to draw, I see the shells we’ve collected. Every year I say I’ll continue creating in the beach theme after summer ends, but it loses its appeal. I get inspired by the changing leaves, and then the winter sky against bare trees, followed by the beautiful flowers of spring. I guess I’m a seasonal girl. 😀