Posted on Leave a comment

On a soggy summer morning…

A very good, though slightly soggy summer morning to all!

There are exciting changes going on all around at the moment, in real life and in digi-world: some of you more avid readers may notice the blog is under maintainence, or becoming more organised, with lots more interesting things to look at! I’m in the process of uploading a digital version of my portfolio that’s accompanying me to the New Designers Fair in London in the first week of July, along with a feature I’ve called “My Recent Sketchbook”- a monthly update on some highlights from my personal sketchbooks and recent ideas. This is really just an excuse for me to share more new, exciting stuff with you each month- and hopefully leave you inspired!

As promised, this post contains some wonderfully crisp photos (courtesy of one wonderful Matthew Otten- who can be found at http://matthewotten.co.uk/) of my exhibition space from the degree show (signed to increase security!)

Carina Roberts Graduate Show full space
Detail of shelf- left to right, children’s book concept, leather sleeve to protect and decorate book, snowglobe containing 3D realisation of Erik character (making of which was detailed in last month’s post!)
Detail of original framed artwork- “Welcome home Erik” – Carina Roberts

Finishing my degree has brought a set of new challenges- namely, how on earth will I be spending the rest of my days? Going from having a very strict programme of working around the clock to get everything finished to not necessarily HAVING to do much has brought on a definite feeling of flux and indecision. But this hasn’t been all bad- I’ve had time to try out a few new things- characters and processes, which I’ll touch upon more later on.

I’ve had some time to mull it over now, and I’ve decided: It’s going to be a hard and competitive road, but I ultimately want to stay on the Illustration route: working towards something based in children’s publishing. And as the wise ones say, the successful road is not always the easiest option, but it will be worth it in the end. So, as a promise to myself and to all you lovely readers, I will not give up: as long as you all promise to do the same. If something is important to you, fight for it!

Also as anticipated, I have (whenever I have a spare evening) been participating in a virtual plein air painting group with some friends- which above anything else, has provided me with a bit of structure in this greyish time. Without sounding patronising, for those of you who haven’t heard of plein air before, it’s basically just painting outside- on location, great for studying colours and the ambience of a place. Virtual plein air is pretty much the same principle, except it’s fantastic for soggy weather: you don’t have to worry about your paper getting wet or catching a cold, and you study locations on Google maps or views rather than face to face. If this sounds great to you (which it is!) you can find the group we’re part of on Facebook, by searching “Virtual Plein Air.”

About 99% of the entries in this group are digital paintings, which I am sadly awful at. So while my friends sit there flicking away at their tablets, I’m surrounded by paints, inks and water- and try to keep away from the electrics! Anyway, here’s some of the highlights so far from these sessions:

Norway- Snowy Scene
Mousehole in Cornwall
Þvera, Iceland
Scottish lake/rapids

In other news, I’ve had a request from some of my Facebook fans for my method of microwave pressing flowers- something I’m experimenting with for a small competition piece. It’s a great alternative to traditional pressing simply with the timings involved- the flowers I experimented with were fairly small, with the stem and leaves still attached, and it took only around 2 minutes for them to completely dry!

Basically, imagine this process as a sandwich construction- you will use two sheets of fairly thick cardboard as the ‘bread’, with several sheets of kitchen or blotting paper in the middle to soak up the moisture, like the ‘fillings’- the flowers go right in the middle of these sheets. So, in order, it goes- cardboard, sheet sheet sheet, flowers, sheet sheet sheet, cardboard. That’s exactly how I constructed it. Then secure the cardboard together using elastic bands round the outside to fix it all together (number depending on how big your cardboard is- my sheets were around a5 size and I used 6 rubber bands.)

I was paranoid about my flowers bursting into flames, so I put the microwave on with the sandwiched press inside for around 20 seconds at a time, on it’s highest heat. Just keep having a peek and a poke to check that they’re completely dry.

Have fun!

Once again, a big thankyou to all readers- we’re now nearing the 900 views readership, and I am very chuffed! Keep checking in each once in a while- each month now there will be new additions!!

Have a great month, and enjoy some sunshine!

– The AutumnHobbit.

 

© Carina Roberts and AutumnHobbit. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Carina Roberts and AutumnHobbit with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.