Babbling Brooks & Books

A collection of art and books by a babbling Brooks - she/her. (Note: I do not take commissions, I'm just having fun doing art 😊)

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Prompt Sketchbook Time!!

Today's prompts are Valkyrie and Gnome

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Prompt Sketchbook Time! Where I do a painting in my small sketchbook that has various (mostly fantasy based) prompts on the pages.

I have been procrastinating posting from this sketchbook as I have a large backlog of paintings in it. But it's never gonna get done unless I start, so we are starting with today's prompts, which were Ghost and Brownie

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Master Study

A watercolor master study of Charles Chaplin's "Feeding Pigeons" in oil. I really liked the soft color palette of this one and the lil pigeons 🐦❤️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Master Study

A watercolor master study of Onorio Marinari's "St Cecily" in oil. I really liked the expression of exasperation on her face and the fetching green cloth adorning her. It's been a while since I've painted, and I could definitely feel the rust flaking off me during this one 😅

I should be posting regularly now as I am established in my new job now and have figured out my schedule for creative pursuits (since I am no longer able to attend my art group at the library 🥺).

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 22 (and maybe the last one....🥺)

I did another art study, this time of Robert Cree Crawford's "Picking Turnips."

Unfortunately, this will be my last regular Art at the Library segment as my new work schedule conflicts with the art group hosted at the library. I still plan on making art, it just won't be at the library.

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Death Head Moth Fairy Collecting Snapdragon Husks in watercolor and colored pencils.

This one took me a couple weeks (hence why I haven't been posting). I'm very proud of her ❤️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

"Koi Fish Mermaid being Serenaded by a Geisha" in watercolors (with colored pencil and white gel pen detailing).

I was very excited to paint this piece, and I'm very proud of how she turned out. ❤️ This is the first 8x10 watercolor painting I've done. I tend to do smaller pieces, and this is my first original piece in a while (and one that was just for me and not a gift for a friend 😅).

Behind the scenes pictures below 👀👇

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 21

Just some sketchy plans for some future paintings....👀 (featuring a koi fish mermaid 🧜‍♀️ being serenaded by a geisha in a Japanese garden and a death head moth fairy 🧚‍♀️ collecting snapdragon husks)

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 20

After going to the Ren Faire one weekend and then being sick the next, I have finally gone back to my art group at the library. I've been a bit stressed lately (mostly work 😅), so I went back to my comfort zone and painted a pretty lady with a skull, aka an art study of Alfred Stevens' "Mary-Magdelene."

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 18 & 19

Since I missed posting last week, here are 2 weeks in one 😊

I practiced with painting from photo references instead of paintings. I also painted some subjects I'm not as comfortable with: landscapes and animals. I am very proud of how my crow and mouse came out 😁

Despite having a lot of fun with gouache lately, I definitely prefer watercolors and my style of painting in them. Maybe I just haven't developed enough of a style in gouache? Or maybe it just depends on my mood? Either way, I think watercolors will always be my first love ❤️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 17

I did another art study in gouache, this time of Jan Matejko's "Stańczyk," or what I like to call this painting "the depressed jester" or "an angry lil guy." It was fun using more vibrant colors than I typically do. I also used my black pen afterwards to do some of the small details since he's so tiny and I think he needed that.

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

Art at the Library 16

I did another study in gouache today. This time of Theodoor Rombout's "A Young Soldier." I loved the look of exasperation he had in the original. His eyes gave me trouble and I eventually gave up on getting the colors 100% true to the original, but I'm still proud of him 😊

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

As a Christmas present to myself, I have abandoned my art challenge and instead played around with the gouache set I got for my birthday 🥳.

I have missed painting studies, and I've had my eye on "Love's Shadow" by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys for quite some time now but I've always been intimidated 😖.

My excitement to play with gouache outweighed my fear, so I gave her a shot and I'm so proud of her 😊.

I've also put off attempting gouache for quite some time, but I had a lot of fun with it. I've always been very heavy-handed with my watercolors, preferring them to be more opaque, which was part of the draw of using gouache for me. I used gouache very similarly to how I use watercolors, and the process went very smoothly.

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

December, Week 2: Christmas Cookie (but I did a gingerbread house cause those are more fun 🤫)

I created a holiday drawing challenge with one of my friends at my weekly art group at the library. ❤️

For the months of October, November, and December, we will create 5 pieces each based on seasonal prompts. 🍂🦃☃️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

December, Week 1: Sweater

I created a holiday drawing challenge with one of my friends at my weekly art group at the library. ❤️

For the months of October, November, and December, we will create 5 pieces each based on seasonal prompts. 🍂🦃☃️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

November, Week 5: Corn

I created a holiday drawing challenge with one of my friends at my weekly art group at the library. ❤️

For the months of October, November, and December, we will create 5 pieces each based on seasonal prompts. 🍂🦃☃️

[babblingbrooksnbooks]

November, Week 4: Mushroom

I created a holiday drawing challenge with one of my friends at my weekly art group at the library. ❤️

For the months of October, November, and December, we will create 5 pieces each based on seasonal prompts. 🍂🦃☃️