Saturday, April 30, 2016

2016 Fake Journal Wrap-up


I’ve participated in 6 IFJM’s now.  And every year as April approaches, my mind seems to go blank and I can’t think of what I want to do.  I have amassed a list of “good ideas” for fake journals, but when I look at them in March, they suddenly do not seem like good ideas anymore.   Some of them would probably not hold my interest for 30 days.  Some of them would require too much research, and I’m too lazy to deal with that for a whole month.  Some of them just don’t appeal to me at the moment, but maybe another time.  As it got close to April 1 this year,  was thinking about the past winter, and how I was sick with colds and bronchitis for most of it.   I spent a LOT of time watching TV, and simultaneously playing solitaire on my android tablet.  What if I had spent that time sketching instead?  What if I sketched what I was watching on TV?  Aha!  I had my character.   She was a shut-in, and spent most of her days watching reruns of her favorite TV shows.  She would use the “on demand” feature to freeze the action, and sketch the characters in these shows.  (I had been meaning to get more practice sketching people, so this worked out really well).   I used a Strathmore mixed media journal, and a Micron sepia .05 pen, directly in pen with no pencil.  A few pages into my journal I discovered that if I DVR’d the program, I could freeze the action indefinitely, instead of the two or three minutes “on demand” gave me.  And so, I met three of my goals.

1.     To practice sketching people

2.     To add some redeeming value to my habit of watching too much TV.  LOL!

3.     For my fake journal to hold my interest for the whole month. 

       Oh, and 4.  To make this journal different from my usual work.

I did miss a few days, but I’m happy with what I’ve done.  Did my people sketching improve?  That remains to be seen.   

April 30

When I tought about who I would want to sketch for the last day of IFJM, this came to mind. 

April 29

Lieutenant Columbo was one of my favorite detectives.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

April 28


I remember when these four were funny old ladies, good for a laugh.  Now I'm old enough to be one of them.

April 27

Watched this movie for the first time.   It would have been scary for me as a kid, but my grandkids would probably love it.

Friday, April 22, 2016

April 22

Some of my old favorite movies seem to always be on TV.  This sketch was a little difficult, as I couldn't see the horses clearly.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

April 21

.....da dada da dum da da!   Don't forget to say it as a question.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

April 19

Doing Dancing with the Stars again - this time a closeup. 

April 18

Last night I tried something different - figures in motion.  This was not as easy as drawing faces.  But I may try this again.
Some comments after the performance:  "Torrid", "Too much going on", "No holding back".


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Thursday, April 14, 2016

April 14

"Pa and Mr. Edwards are worried about something.  Life was hard for a family on the prairie."

"Pa called her half pint and she grew up to write about her adventures."

April 13

"Helping clients get away with their crimes is her specialty.  You need to pay close attention so that you don't miss any clues."

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

April 12

There's no crying in baseball! 

I can't even count how many times I've seen this movie.

(Scanner works so much better - when it works!)

Monday, April 11, 2016

April 11

There is always a lot of drama as well as romance among the doctors of Grey's Anatomy.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

April 10

I don't like the way my camera is making these pages come out, but my scanner is not working again.  Today my alter-ego was watching one of the episodes from Project Runway Allstars.

"Creativity
I love watching Project Runway and seeing what the designers come up with each week.
They can be so creative.
On this episode they are making outerwear for "naturists".
Amazing to see the models come down the runway after watching the designers as they struggle with the challenge and second guess themselves."

Friday, April 8, 2016

April 8

Watching a rerun of Blue Bloods and struggling to get a likeness before "on demand" loses my image.  Not very successful, I think.  I sometimes have to laugh, as Erin and Danny rehash the same issues almost every week.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

April 7

Yes, I missed two days.  Today's 2 page spread is also from the American Idol auditions, and part of the first round.

Monday, April 4, 2016

April 4

Left: She came with her Samurai sword, her fiddle, and her pretty red hair.
Right: And she came with her big hair, her big voice, and her big personality.

Note:  My scanner gave me trouble with this, so I took a photo, which accounts for the darker pages.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

April 3

"I'm the Police Commissioner.  I know everything." - Francis X. Reagan

Saturday, April 2, 2016

April 2

Is there a doctor in the house? 

Seriously, there are so many strange, bizzare, frightening illnesses on TV that a person can become a hypochondriac.

And whatever happened to Marcus Welby?

Friday, April 1, 2016

April 1

I came across some really old friends today.  They were always good for a laugh.

(I stayed true to form for April Fools' Day, and inadvertently did my sketch with the journal upside down.)

Time to Be a Fake

It's April 1 - better known as April Fools Day, or the first day of International Fake Journal Month.  Time for a "fake me" to make an appearance.  This year, my alter-ego is a shut-in, who watches an awful lot of TV, including re-runs On Demand of her favorite shows.  This month she decided to sketch while she watches, so you may see some people you recognize in her journal.....or.... maybe not, as getting a good likeness doesn't happen very often. 

I've prepared a few pages with some background color, but don't know if I will continue that.   I'll have to see how that works out.

I'll be posting the first entry later today.