The Blank Page

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Some people have a fear of being faced with a blank page. As for me, I love having a clean sheet of paper to play with, poised and ready to cover with lines and colour and mess and ....oh the possibilities!
The one above took about 3 minutes or less, I just let the pen doodle away, travelling around the page.


This one was drawn in a few minutes, the tree might look complicated at first but I splodged an area of black acrylic ink which dries very quickly and drew on top of it with a silver pen. The dots of blue ink were added with a brush.

A lot of my pictures begin their lives as doodles, such as this one below...
I had no intention of her wearing a lampshade on her head and wasn't planning on showing this one at first but I added watercolour to it and it looked like a finished picture. I'm still not sure about it but it's there for the world to see now!


This bat lady doodle stayed safely in my sketchbook but there are aspects of it I'm sure I'll repeat again in another picture.

 Once there's something to play with, you can add to it and steer it towards something that pleases you.
Jump straight in and see what happens!Are you frightened of the blank page?


PS... my blog list in the sidebar has disappeared! I was trying to add another address and the whole lot vanished and as I type, Blogger won't let me put it back. I'll keep on trying, any helpful hints are welcome! xx





Comments

Flotsam said…
If you have a busy mind a blank page is no obstacle. Having a sketchbook I put ideas, scratchy outlines of ideas, and I use it to decide on the basic arrangement of a painting. It saves money in lost paint and is a good way of firming up ideas in my head.
29 February 2012 at 13:21
Jess said…
Hi Bella, I have a busy and messy mind! ;o) I love to look at other people's sketchbooks! People have so many different ways of working don't they?
29 February 2012 at 13:39
Micki Wilde said…
I'm a bit irratic with the way I work sometimes I work crazy and free and other times more planned and pre thought out.
I love the freedom in your work and your colour choices are always fabulous!!
29 February 2012 at 14:43
Jess said…
Thanks Micki :) I do plan occasionally but then I get too inhibited to make anything I'm pleased with. On the whole, I'm better at surging ahead before I can talk myself out of it!
29 February 2012 at 17:06
Periwinkle Paisley said…
Love the blank page! It's so exciting getting a new sketchbook (I'm getting one today!) and looking back at the old ones whether they're mine or someone else's.
29 February 2012 at 17:53
Jess said…
Hi Jen, I love getting new sketchbooks too, such a treat!
29 February 2012 at 18:37
Els said…
Ha, you're one lucky bird : no drawer's block for you there ....!
29 February 2012 at 22:11
Ginny said…
I used to doodle all of the time when I was in school. I am so inhibited now when I paint or draw. I am going to start doodling again and see what happens. I will let you know. Your work is always so inspiring. Your colors and detail work is amazing.
29 February 2012 at 22:13
Anonymous said…
Your black acrylic and silver pen technique is great. One of my daughters is doing a Fine Art degree and needs to be able to cope with vast empty spaces on paper - your uniqueness gets great results jess.
1 March 2012 at 09:00
rachel awes said…
your play is our paradise. :)
xox
1 March 2012 at 10:50
Jess said…
Thankyou Els, it's not having expectations to make a masterpiece that gives me confidence! ;o)

Thanks Ginny, that's great to hear. It's quite telling that you let yourself doodle when you were at school. Give yourself that same permission today! I'll look forward to seeing what you do! :)

Hi Lizzie, tell her to wet the paper and drop paint on and let in merge together just to get rid of the vast whiteness. Sometimes once there's something there, it's easier to add to it. I hope that helps! :o)
1 March 2012 at 11:08
Jess said…
Thanks so much Rachel, yours too! :)
1 March 2012 at 11:09
Julia Christie said…
These are all so fun and full of your colorful signature style! Love me a blank page also!

Glad I stopped by! Its been ages...

Smiles
1 March 2012 at 23:01
rossichka said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
1 March 2012 at 23:55
rossichka said…
Oh, you drew all these pictures for such a short time?! Wonderful! The black and white one keeps rather an interesting story! I like especially the squirrel.
In the second one I find your Night and Day idea (according to me!) very original - just a hand that's holding the almost invisible line between them!
The lamp-hat, the reflection in the mirror and the butterfly - they are all so nice!
As for the blank sheet... I like to write on paper my dramatizations for puppet theatre, although I'm slowly getting used to type them on my laptop, but it's not the same!!
1 March 2012 at 23:59
Jess said…
Thanks Julia, I'm glad you dropped by too!

Thanks Rossichka, I like your idea of the night and day, sometimes these things come out spontaneously and I don't know what they are until afterwards! I agree abut the computer, it's so much nicer to have paper to write or draw on. :)
2 March 2012 at 12:01
illustration poetry said…
3 minutes????
wow, i could never do that!!!!
2 March 2012 at 12:40
Jess said…
Hi Lakhsmita, I think you could. :)
2 March 2012 at 13:55
Sandra van Doorn said…
i guess it depends what i am working on...
It’s wonderful that you let us take a peak in your sketchbook. I must say it’s a rather beautiful book
I am not sure i could show mine!! such a mess!

I absolutely adore that first sketch, don’t know why but a wonderful Marie Aantoinette party came to mind... Would love to see it in colours.
x sandra
2 March 2012 at 15:48
Jess said…
Thanks Sandra that's a lovely thing to say! :)
2 March 2012 at 17:12
Dear Fireflies said…
Your doodles are magic, Jess! I absolutely love the last one...so dark and quirky in the same time. Loved to see the bat and the butterfly getting along! :D oxx
2 March 2012 at 18:11
Jess said…
Thanks Amalia! :o)
2 March 2012 at 20:06
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