Get a pack of your favorite candy or gum, share it with others. Save all the wrapping. Use a glue stick to create a dynamic composition using the wrappers. Leave some space for drawing/painting/collaging. Add your own style to the collage.
Study Suerat and other pointalist impressionists. Use either a picture in your d. book, or get an object from outside (flower/leaf, etc.). Briefly sketch the object. Use Qtips and acrylic paint to add color and value. Be sure to create a range of values.
Find an old photo at home; could be a landscape, vacation photo, anything with a good range of color. Glue the photo in the center of a primed page. Using acrylic paint attempt to mix and match the colors of the photo and extend the image to the rest of the page. Manipulate your brush to recreate textures as close as possible.
Garbage Art Collage- Recycle your old art,work you don't like or haven't finished. Add things from your junk mail, or a recycling box. Create a dynamic composition. Add a new image to become the focal point.
Heavy Metal - Create a design with good positive and negative space using scrap mattboard or draw with a heavy bead of white glue. Wait for glue to dry (overnight). Then use a glue stick to apply a layer of aluminum foil over the design. Burnish, create wrinkles in the foil if desired. Next add some india ink with a rag. Wipe on and off until you have achieved the look of aged metal. Add color if desired.
1. Illumination- skim through magazines and lookfor a high contrast pic that shows extreme artificial lighting. Look for color distortion. Draw then paint a piece of it in your d. book.
2. Illumination- use a flashlight and digital camera to capture an extreme high contrast self-portrait. Some detail should be eliminated, the focus is on color and value. Paint the self-portrait. Capture the mood.