A Face Haiku

Is it possible to create a face with just 7 lines?  Yes, I say!! 😄

 1.  It starts with a line

2.  And connects to a feature…

3.  They are easy and fun –

4.  But may look like a creature!  Lol! 😉

And here is a step-by-step example:

I hope you give one a try!

Seven lines for a face…

Is all it takes!

Cheers! 🙂

Dreaming in Color

Do you ever dream in color?

Charlie at Doodlewash.com loves to paint AND dream in color…

And what a wonderful dream it is!!  He is encouraging everyone not only to paint every day with watercolor for #WorldWatercolorMonth but also give financially to the Dreaming Zebra Foundation to help children have the opportunity to create art or explore music! 🙂

Here is more information about how the Dreaming Zebra Foundation got its name!

About Dreaming Zebra™

The Dreaming Zebra Foundation is a (501)(c)(3) charity providing support so that children and young adults are given an equal opportunity to explore and develop their creativity in the arts.

How did Dreaming Zebra™ get its name?

The answer is that every zebra is unique, just as every child is one of a kind! Zebras are black, with white stripes that are as individual as fingerprints. At Dreaming Zebra, our mission is to encourage children to embrace their individuality, to express themselves creatively, and to follow their artistic dreams. Hence the name, Dreaming Zebra!

The Dreaming Zebra Foundation was incorporated in Portland, Oregon in the interest of promoting greater access to the arts for children and young adults. Our founders recognized a pressing need in many communities for the promotion of charitable donations of art and music supplies to support individuals, schools, and other nonprofit organizations serving youth and the arts.

Core to our identity is the belief that all children, regardless of their financial circumstances, should have access to art education. As a public charity powered by volunteers, this belief drives all that we do.

The Dreaming Zebra Foundation’s supporters share a common passion for education, the environment, and community, and as such, we are able to connect the synergies between those who support the arts and those in need.

I am so thankful to have ART to express my creative JOY!

I hope you join me in sharing this gift of expression by giving to the Dreaming Zebra Foundation.

All it takes is one dream to make a difference!!

Cheers!  🙂

Inspiralized!

Last week, I showed you this pasta salad that contained NO pasta – instead it contained zucchini!  I am totally amazed how GOOD this salad tasted!  Here is another photo of it, if you missed my post, here.

I had so much fun spiralizing my zucchini for this salad!  I’m now INSPIRALIZED!

I love this cookbook by Ali Maffucci – she also has a blog, Inspiralized.com

The recipe I adapted from her cookbook:

For the salad – Prepare in a large bowl:

2-3 medium zucchini  Note:  slice the zucchini about 1/2 inch through on opposite sides before spiralizing – I used the largest blade but any size would work – this just gives your “pasta” a half-moon shape.

1 cup artichoke hearts – I used whole ones in a can as I find them to be the most tender and then I cut them up.

One handful of cherry tomatoes, halved – I don’t measure these but use what I like.

1 cup diced sweet peppers – I used mini orange, red and yellow ones that I had in a bag.

1/4 cup of pepperoncini diced – the recipe called for red onion but I didn’t have any.

1/2 cup cubed Monterey Jack cheese – the recipe called for Provolone

3/4 cup diced salami

1/3 cup whole black olives, sliced in half

For the Salad Dressing – Whisk in a separate bowl:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning or a mixture of dried oregano, basil and parsley

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine the dressing with the salad ingredients.  Toss to combine.  Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes – I did 2 hours for the zucchini to soften.

Serve chilled.

Enjoy!  🙂

Red Heads

Do you know anyone with red hair?  I was drawing one-liner faces last night and a few red heads appeared on my page:

I hope they give you a RED smile today!

Cheers! 🙂

 

Lake Memories

My parents had a cabin at the lake where I spent many wonderful summers as a child.  One of the best memories was my mom making Huckleberry pancakes from the fresh berries we picked – like these that I recently made for my hubby:

My hubby and I still spend our summers at the same lake – Priest Lake, in Northern Idaho but in our little trailer by the lake.  The views are similar:

Our friends we’ve made – extraordinary! ❤

We love nature:

And our little piece of heaven on earth:

Happy Summer!

Cheers! 🙂

A Letter Day

Yesterday, I finished doodling my letters in my World Watercolor Month sketchbook that I posted recently:

This inspired me to use the letters, “WBW” for today’s Weird Bird Wednesday:

I knew if I moved my paper around, I could find a weird bird in the letters… Can you find one?

This one flew off the page at me – so I added a few more details with watercolors:

Next, I decided to doodle my letters with an ink pen to finish it:

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!!

Cheers! 🙂

Grumpy Cat

My cat loves to be outside during the summer months when the weather is warmer.

But yesterday evening he got trapped (briefly) inside the garage…

He was one grumpy cat!  😦

Carla Sonheim recently gave an assignment in her 365 video class – day #177 –  to draw several quick one-liner cats and my grumpy Jack cat appeared!  Lol!

Happy Drawing!  🙂

Write And Draw

I used to spend hours writing my thoughts and ideas in a journal – not the journals you see now… mine were yellow note pads.  Nothing fancy…  Yet, writing helped me deal with life – the good times and the not so good.  Can you relate?!

Yesterday, I decided to try combining writing with DRAWING – my new love! ❤

First, I did some writing with a permanent black pen.  (I love “fine” black Sharpie pens and Amazon sells them really cheap).

Next, I found a face on Pinterest to use as a reference to sketch over my words with a pencil.  I added a little color with Tombow markers.  I softened them with a water brush.  Here is my result:

I will definitely try combining writing and drawing again.

Cheers! 🙂

Connect The Dots

Remember connecting the dots with a pencil to form a picture as a child?  Well, this exercise was a little like that for me.

The exception was starting with watercolor circles and splatters like this example:

And then drawing a face on top of the dots!

I used a photo in a magazine as my reference and this “Queen of Imagination” appeared… almost magically, like connecting the dots as a child!

Perhaps you remember my earlier experiments with this idea.  If not, you can find them here.

Wishing you the JOY of creating art with childlike discovery!

Cheers! 🙂

Faces And Flowers

I have recently discovered mixing water soluble pencils and watercolors.

I quickly sketched these faces with a 6B water soluble pencil and then splashed some watercolors on the paper – trying not to overthink it.

After the watercolor dried, I added more details with my (Faber Castell) Graphite Aquarelle pencils – in 4B, softening the lines with a Pentel waterbrush:

It was so fun that I decided to try the same technique with flowers:

I tried to create a quick sketch and loosely paint it with watercolors so the colors would blend on the paper.  Below, I added the water soluble pencil in 4B:

Next, I hope to add some collage papers to these paintings.  I will post my progress next week!

May your day bloom with happiness!

Cheers! 🙂