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My most recent ATCs. (6,4 x 8,9 cm)





I didn't take pictures of my art supplies this time, but it was again a mix of fineliners, watercolors, acrylic pens, gel pens, and a lot of glitter. :)

An ATC I made today, with material mainly from my advent calendar! Because it's one of my more detailed cards, I took photos during the process, so if you're interested you can view the step-by-step (with materials and methods) behind the cut.

( Documentation of the ATC )

Here's the finished picture:

Yes, someone asked for this plant. It was specific enough I felt inspired to draw this ATC.



It was fun. :)

How aggressive can botanical illustration get? YES! (It's all in the composition: triangles for the win.) Plus, of course, the most important design element are the thorns. :)



Materials I used:
Stillman&Birn Zeta Series sketchbook (270 g/m²)
Watercolors: Michael Harding Yellow Lake (PY180), Winsor&Newton Transparent Orange (DPP), Blockx Blockx Red (PR254), ROSA Gallery Magenta Rose PR(122), MaimeriBlu Faience Blue (PB60), Mijello Bamboo Green (PG36), White Nights Burnt Umber (PBr7), Rembrandt Spinel Grey (PBk26)
White gel pen (Pentel)

...aka the rodent repellent, needed in every garden. XD (It stinks of fox, which sucks, but sucks even more for rabbits and mice.)



Materials I used:
Stillman&Birn Zeta Series sketchbook (270 g/m²)
Watercolors: Michael Harding Yellow Lake (PY180), Winsor&Newton Transparent Orange (DPP), ROSA Gallery Magenta Rose (PR122), Schmincke Horadam YInMn-Blue, Mijello Bamboo Green (PG36)
White gel pen (Pentel)

The long weekend over Easter was artistically active. :) This one is completely with pigments that belong to my 'standard' set - nothing out of the ordinary. Weird tulips found, of course, in the Rhododendronpark Bremen.



Materials I used:
Stillman&Birn Zeta Series sketchbook (270 g/m²)
Watercolors: Mijello Bamboo Green (PG36), Blockx Blockx Red (PR254), MaimeriBlu Faience Blue (PB60)
White gel pen (Pentel)

North Germany's weirdest invasive species. Bremen has the world's largest rhododendron collection, which is a quite fascinating scientific project (it's not just a very pretty garden - though it is - but also a gene bank and everything, so, the 3000 species of rhododendron are not purely there for decorative reasons) but does horrible things to the local ecosystem. When I was a kid, people were like, "oh, we'll plant rhododendron because the bugs won't eat it". This used to be correct, except these days, we don't just get all the invasive bugs that come with what's essentially a monoculture of invasive bushes, but also, some local bug species have evolved to eat rhododendron. I've seen a maybug eat a rhododendron leaf, and you have no idea how weird that is! (Evolution in progress, I suppose.) Anyway, whatever I may think about the ecological impact of this weird gardening project, the view in spring is spectacular. They also have other plants (including some really fascinating ones) and I enjoy going there with my sketchbook and colors! So, uh, have some rhododendron...



...I have to admit I have no idea which of the 3000 species it is. Theoretically, all their plants are properly labeled, so, the bush should have had a tag somewhere with its name, except of course it was not visible because all those leaves get in the way. Some Rhododendron it is. ;)

Materials I used:
Stillman&Birn Zeta Series sketchbook (270 g/m²)
Watercolors: Turner Permanent Lemon (PY109), ROSA Gallery Magenta Rose (PR122), Mijello Bamboo Green (PG36), Daniel Smith Jadeite Genuine, Holbein Shadow Green (PBk31)
White gel pen (Pentel)

I almost never use blue... Except today I did. This ATC shows a typical spring flower that's everywhere these days: Scilla, sometimes in German also called 'Blaustern' (blue star). It also happens to be one of my mother's favorite flowers. :) I had a lot of fun with the composition.



Materials I used:
Stillman&Birn Zeta Series sketchbook (270 g/m²)
Watercolors: Schmincke Horadam YInMn-Blau, LUKAS Türkis (PB16), White Nights Burnt Umber (PBr7), Phoenix Yellow Ochre (PY42), Turner Permanent Lemon (PY109), ROSA Gallery Magenta Rose (PR122)
White gel pen (Pentel)

This fairy is again made with the help of the craft materials sent to me by Up-Quark.



Stuff I used:

These ATCs are for a swap that challenged us to use new materials. So, I used some things from my advent calendar and from Christmas. :)

Michael Harding watercolors and Schmincke opaque white on paper from a Paul Rubens watercolor sketchbook (hot pressed, 300gsm).