August 5, 2026 Sheri Edwards Welcome On most Wednesdays, check this blog for a strategy, process, or reflection for illustration with the iPad app ProCreate or Affinity Designer. This week I’ve been busy with Peggy Dean’s Summer Creative Retreat and CatCoq’s Mini Collection Challenge. CatCoq’s Mini Collection Challenge Last week’s CatCoq’s Mini Collection Challenge was to create a complex pattern to fit with the hero and blenders. I designed four more folk art birds and settled them into pond life in a diamond pattern using the same palette and plants from the hero illustration. I also created pattern of flowers and a vase as another blender. Here are the hero with the two new pieces: Below is the tear sheet of the mini collection so far, including the hero, three blenders, and a complex pattern. At the end of this week the prompt is to add a quote. You can see the progression of connections moving from the first column into the second. I’m liking this set more and more. The color palette is calming and so are each of the simple patterns– just enough for a look at pond life. Summer Creative Retreat In Peggy Dean’s Summer Creative Retreat. I watched the replay of Brandon Campbell’s class on dog anatomy / cartoon sketches. In the picture below, the top multi-colored dog is actually a helper illustration to remind me of the essential parts of drawing a dog. Notice the top dog: the different colors on the dogs body show the different elements of dog anatomy: head and ears, protruding chest, swooping contour of chest/belly and back, placement of tail, legs. That’s a big help and I’m thankful I could still watch that replay! It’s going to be fun trying to draw my own dog! I think I’ll check out his YouTube channel, BrandCamp. Here’s some of what’s essential for dogs: Sketch: the shape featuring ears, neck, chest, back legs, tail Color: Shape of butt, thigh, leg, paw; the swoop of back and chest; chest protrudes in front of front legs And I enjoyed a bit of fun this week too with cats. Digital Acrylics. This was from a class by Brenda Bakker of the Netherlands in Peggy Dean’s Summer Creative Retreat. I’m only taking the Procreate classes and a couple others in the free version. I love the fun and free style and the vibrant colors. Most often I choose less saturated autumn colors. I decided to create a series in different colors with different quotes as a trio of images. Now isn’t that fun? Splashes of color; the shapes of cats, and silly quotes. One More Thing Blaugust2026! On Mastodon my #CLmooc friend, Sarah Honeychurch, put out an invitation to join Blaugust 2026. Needing a distraction from the US decay, local wildfires, and the heat, this sounds like a great idea to connect with other creators during the month of August. You can find all my Blaugust posts on this blog at The Daily with the tag #blaugust2026. It will include art, poetry, memories, and photography. What is Blaugust? “For anyone arriving here for the very first time Blaugust is a month-long event that takes place each August which focuses on blogging primarily and has started to include other forms of serialized content over the last several years. The goal is to stoke the fires of creativity and allow bloggers and other content creators to mingle in a shared community while pushing each other to post more regularly. Above all the goal of Blaugust has always been to prove to folks that they can in fact sit down every day and create something fresh and then share it with the world. Posting regularly builds a community and in this era of AI-slop content, our voices are needed even more than we ever have been at any point in the past. Our hope is to create a nurturing environment where Veteran bloggers can help those just getting started and the cross-pollination of ideas can create something truly spectacular. Your blog gives you a permanent foothold on the Internet that you own and have complete control of, and that is a really good feeling in the midst of shifting trends.”BLAUGUST 2026 You Can Join To If you want to learn about Blaugust, click here: Blaugust 2026 If you want to join, the sign up form is here. Hope to see you there! Thanks for stopping by! August starts another fun month for drawing — Peggy Dean’s Summer Creative Retreat and comping up, another Spoonflower Design Challenge due next week: Merry Maximalist. I’m still working on the last week of CatCoq’s Mini Collection Challenge , which is a perfect way to learn how to create a collection, complete with information on hero and blender illustrations in a surface design collection. Check out her many resources. This is free too. You can find many helpful artists teachers on my Artist Resources page. Take a look at their IG and YouTube. Find one that fits your learning and art preferences and stick with them a while to develop your skills. You’re welcome to follow this blog for art inspiration. We can share with #warmup4art to enjoy our work together! I look forward to your sharing and find me at @42Sheri, on Mastodon Sheri42, on Flickr teach.eagle Sheri 42. And, I’m so thankful you’ve been joining me with art this year! Take care! Published by Sheri Edwards Geeky Gramma ~~ Retired Middle School Language Arts/Media Teacher ~~ Writer and Thinker~~ Art from the Heart View all posts by Sheri Edwards