Blue Landscape

Sketch

Green Spiral

Blue Pinwheels

Bare Branches

This time of year, bare branches are everywhere.

Letter Z

Ta Da!

Letter Y

almost done...

Letter X

Letter W

Letter V

Paisley

Fanciful pen and ink doodle.

Repost: Halloween Eyes

This is an oldie but a goodie. And in honor of Halloween, I couldn't resist reposting. Enjoy. And sleep well.

Leaf and Tile

A small pen drawing of a leaf against a background that looks like tiles.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54594571/leaf-with-tiles

Bamboo Floral

A small pen drawing of a flower against a bamboo background.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54594445/bamboo-floral-original-ink-drawing-aceo

Letter U

This letter U is similar in feel to the previous letter T, I think. It feels organic and woodsy. Originally, I'd wanted a design with a retro 70's feel. I just couldn't make that work for this letter so I'll have to try it for another one later.

Letter T

Letter S

I didn't start out to make a sweet S, but it seems to have turned out that way.

Letter R

In contrast to the Q (and S to come), here's a lowercase letter r.

Curly Qs

Oh, sorry about that...just couldn't resist the pun! Enjoy.

Another Leafy Green

Another experiment with contrasting patterns.

Tropical

This one reminds me of a tropical vacation. Or sherbet. Very cheerful, either way.

Letter P

Letter O

I like the contrast of textures in this one.

Letter N

Next in the alphabet series is letter N. A nice combination of textures.

Letter M

A little tipsy, but here's our letter M.

Frilly Pink

This charming little pink design makes me smile.

Woodsy

This one feels organic and outdoorsy.

Purple Points

This one has such a nice fanciful feel.

Leafy Green ACEO

I love this light green, so fresh and springy.

Plays with Pens

Another little pen sketch...lots of little curlicues.

I'm an Artcardist!

Corey Brown over at Artcardist.com surprised me -- on my birthday no less! -- with the news that my gallery page was live. I'm delighted and honored! Stop over and take a look:  http://artcardist.com/gallery-2/karen-koch

Be sure to browse the other artists in the gallery; they're wonderful!

What's an Artcardist? I'm so glad you asked. Here's a really nice definition, as well as descriptions of ATCs and ACEOs:  http://artcardist.com/about

Corey also runs a blog about artist trading cards and ACEOs: http://whatisanartisttradingcard.blogspot.com

Free Shipping through March 15

March 12 is my birthday, so to celebrate, I'm offering free shipping on everything in my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lifeneedsart

Since I plan on celebrating all weekend, the offer is good through March 15. :)

Anyone else having a birthday this month?

Blue Burst

I like these new Micron pens! The colors are terrific and the ink is very easy to use: intense colors with no bleeding or smudging. And they seem to last a long time. 

Drawing is so much more fun when the tools work well.

Thicket

 

Quite the jumble! I thought about calling it highways or spaghetti or something, but thicket works as well.

This one is black ink on a cream-colored paper. The black spaces aren't meant to be colored in fully; they're meant to have little open spots. Keeps up the jumbled theme.

Spotted Leaves

 

Another purple doodle. I like purple! Very simple leaf shapes against a spotted background.
I thought about filling in the leaves with a pattern, but I like the simple shapes just as they are.

Stones Throw

 

A change from our alphabet letters. This one is done with a dark purple ink instead of black and looks like lots of pebbles.

Letter L

Full of swoops and swirls and fancy designs, this letter L is anything but melting into the background!

Letter K

 

Compared to the letter L yesterday that had so much depth, this letter K seems to blend into the background.

Letter J

 

A capital letter J, done with contour lines inside and out. I like the depth that the lines give it.

Letter i

 

A lowercase letter i. It looks something like a butterfly, though I wasn't thinking of butterflies while I was drawing it. I was thinking of flowers. Close enough, I guess. :) 

Letter H

 

The straight lines in letters give me fits. I'm more comfortable with curved lines. However, I rather like this one -- especially the wiry looking designs on the sides.

Letter G

Back to our alphabet series! Black ink on white bristol stock. It's similar in feel to the letter e from earlier.

Lasso Doodle

I started this doodle with the tear drop shape in the lower right, the one full of little pebbles. From there, I built each ring of patterns outward. I wanted patterns that looped around each other - spirals, circles, etc. The vertical lines on the left recede into the background, almost as if the other patterns have been torn away to reveal the lines.

Enjoy!

Pinecone Doodle

I didn't have pinecones on the brain when I started this doodle, but looking at it now, that's what it reminds me of. Or country-style curtains.

Empty Screens Doodle

Here's a change of pace from the alphabet series. Kind of retro looking. The shapes in the foreground remind me of TV screens. Or maybe mirrors.

The background looks like bamboo on the sides, and the center reminds me of one of those beaded things that hung from doorways the 70's.

Letter F

So to face the challenge of an uppercase letter with all its straight lines, I bring you a capital letter F.

Very straight, very regular - but more interesting than I would have guessed starting out.

Letter e

As with the letter d, I find the lowercase version more interesting than the uppercase. I guess I like the curved shape better than the straight lines in the uppercase E.

This one is kind of fun...I like the flow and movement in it.

Letter d - Again

What was I saying about the shape of a letter d being interesting? Well, it is interesting enough that I had to do another. Obviously, the patterns I use to fill throughout have nothing to do with the letter d -- I just think they're interesting patterns.

Letter D

I think the shape of a lowercase letter d is more interesting than it's uppercase form. So, here you go!

Letter C Again

I liked the letter C yesterday so much that I thought I'd try another. This one stands out more from the background rather than blending in.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38337712

Letter C

I like this version of the letter C a lot and intentionally let it creep outside the top border. The letter blends into the design rather than standing out.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38337876