The last days of February

 Today is the second last day of February. So it's time to look back at this month regarding my art activities. I actually managed to paint six pieces done with alcoholbased markers and colored pencils, and with the last piece which I scanned in today I switched to the combination of markers and inktense pencils.

I also managed to sell a digital file of one of my art pieces. The lady I sold it to had it printed on a canvas. She sent me a photo of it hanging on her wall, and I must say I am quite pleased of the way it looks. I might as well have one of my files printed on canvas for my own flat!

In February I also did a lot of AI Art pieces, focussing mainly on three AI Art Generators: Nightcafe Studio, Bing and Starry AI. 

What are my plans for March 2025?

• I plan to explore possible color combination of markers and Inktense pencils. 
  Up to now I have been selecting the pencils rather spontaneously, without doing color charts in the beginning. I will try to work on this a bit. I also plan to paint at least five pieces with markers and pencils.
• As the month of March is a month with some birthdays I want to create new cards with new images. I also want to refill my stack of stickers and address labels, using my AI art pieces. So in March 2025 I will continue to create images with AI art.

Starry AI

Sometime last year - or even the year before - I discovered Starry AI. I wrote down the webadress, but other than that I didn't do anything with it. A few days ago I found the note with the address on it, and tried it out. I must say that I am very pleased with the results I am getting. 

First of all, I have the free version. The free version has got its limits regarding the format: you can only create images in portrait format. But: you are able to get five lumens (or credits or tokens) by logging in each day. You are also able to earn lumens every three days by posting your images on instagram or X (twitter). And, as I mentioned above, the results are very, very nice!

I wanted to create an image showing a cute rat carrying a bowl with coffee beans. I first tried Nightcafe Studio, but didn't quite get what I was going for. So I used the magic prompt Nightcafe had created and applied it on Starry AI.

The image on the left more or less shows what I had in my mind. This is one of four images and the one I liked best. 

So Starry AI has become one of my favorite AI Image Generators, together with Nightcafe Studio, Bing and Mage Space.

Sold!

Yesterday I sold the digital file of this painting. Actually it was my first sale. I gave two paintings away as a gift, one to one of my cousins and one to a friend of mine here in Berlin. One of the paintings was done with colored pencils, and the other one with soft pastels.

Of course I felt very honored when the woman who I have been meeting regularly in my neighborhood cafe asked whether she could buy the original. However I told her that it was done with markers mostly which are not lightfast. I had done a bit of research on Etsy and found out that many people there are selling the digital files of their artwork. So I asked her whether she would be interested in getting the digital file which she then could upload to a printer. She said yes and we agreed on a price.

Yesterday she handed me the money, and I felt great and I am still feeling great! It motivates me to keep on creating paintings in that kind of style. Some time ago I mentioned "The complete book of Color Harmony". It gives you hundreds of possible color combinations. I just have to go through this book, select a color combo and then go for my markers. 

Trying out a new color combination

This piece is the last artwork I did in January. I went for a new color combination - blue and brown/yellow hues. I got loads of markers in various shades of blue, from light blue to darker colors. 

I have been quite productive in the first month of 2025: Eight paintings on watercolor paper and one doodle in my little sketchbook. I also ordered two photo prints of my paintings - which I haven't done for a long time. 

I am still enjoying the combination of alcoholbased markers and colored pencils, and I intend to continue creating art in February!
 

Using one of my tiny sketchbooks

A long time ago I got a tiny little sketchbook as a gift. I have been using it now and then, but not very often. I did the colored doodle on the left using markers and colored pencils, mainly to try out color combinations of alcoholbased markers and colored pencils. 

I have organized my colored pencils quite well and know which pencils I have; unfortunately I didn't know how many markers I have until the moment when I decided to get them organized. Now I am in the process of doing that. Knowing which colors I have definitely helps to keep me from buying the same colors a second time (something which happened in the past!).

Some kind of strange fish

This time I tried something different - creating a shape out of shapes put together. When I showed the illustration to other people and asked them whether they could identifiy a certain object most of them went for "fish". So "fish" it is. 

Medium: Alcoholbased markers and colored pencils 
Surface: Watercolor paper

Markers and colored pencils again

This is the second piece done with alcoholbased markers and colored pencils, the latter blended with baby oil. After having finished it I noticed that actually quite a lot of thinking went into it: Which markers to choose for a pleasing underpainting? Which pencils go well with which markers? Which colors go where? And not to forget: Which shapes please the eye? 

I also realized that the process of creating such a piece is a slow one and it has to be a slow one. Trying to rush things can lead to an absolute failure. 

I also notice that I am still focussing on doing this kind of art. I still create art using AI Art Generators, but I am spending way less time doing it.