Feeling Off Balance

Dear Friends,

I’ve been dealing with health issues from a car accident over a year ago…

It affects many aspects of my life.

I have not mentioned it because I want to keep my blog positive.  Yet, I am having a hard time keeping up with my blog and reading your blogs.

Please know I appreciate all your comments and likes on my blog.  I will try to comment on your blogs when I can. 🙂

I may not be posting as often as I need more time to rest.  Thank you for your understanding.

Cheers! 🙂

A Rare Sighting

This weird bird was recently spotted in a jungle somewhere…

A Crawfish-Bibbed Spear-Head Bird

It is so hidden in camouflage…

That it takes people time to recognize it.

Yet, if you are patient you will be lucky to see…

A rare sighting of this bird!

I hope it gives you a smile today…

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!!

Cheers! 🙂

Gelli-Plate Prints

Many of you know how much I LOVE to print with my Gelli-Plate!

When Carla Sonheim announced that she was going to teach a NEW online class on How to use more of your Gelli-Plate, I immediately signed up!  🙂

The class starts today, so if you want to learn more about it, check out her online class at CarlaSonheim.com

I’d been wanting to purchase the larger 9 x 12 inch size Gelli-Plate so I splurged when Dick Blick Art Supplies was having a recent sale.

I decided to do a test drive (so to speak) of my new Gelli-Plate so I made these prints using Golden fluid acrylic paints, stencils, leaves and household items:

I have A LOT more prints but these were a few of my favorites.

Which one do you like best?

Cheers! 🙂

A Woodland Fairy

I have found new JOY with pencil sketching lately.

It has become a relaxing activity in the evening and my day does not feel complete without a quick sketch!

I find myself focusing on faces yet I am also “drawn” to nature.

This woodland fairy combines a face and nature into one sketch:

My inspiration came from the cover of this book and an oak tree in my yard:

It is one of my favorite books for learning to sketch and paint fairies.  It has so many wonderful ideas to spark my imagination!

These are the supplies I used for this drawing:

From top of the page to bottom:  A Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle 8B pencil, Pentel waterbrush, Pentel Graphlet 0.7 mm mechanical pencil, shading stump and a kneaded eraser.  I used a Stillman & Birn Zeta Series sketchbook.

I started with the Graphite Aquarelle pencil and added shading with the waterbrush.  I finished adding details with the 0.7 mm mechanical pencil and shading stump.  A kneaded eraser is wonderful because it doesn’t damage the paper and can be molded to erase small spaces.

I encourage you to draw every day!  Try different pencils, papers and subjects.  It will change how you see the world around you!

Cheers! 🙂

Inspired By Autumn Colors

We had a sunny, blue-sky Autumn day in the Pacific Northwest yesterday.  It inspired me to take these photos of trees in my yard and then splash some watercolor paint around!

Nature is full of colorful inspiration! The name of each tree is under the photo.

River Birch Tree – has interesting bark texture and greenish-gold leaves.

Sunset Maple – Fall colors of a sunset!

Crabapple Tree – the birds love to feed on the tiny crabapples in the winter. This tree is color-filled all 4 seasons.

Larch Tree – needles turn gold in Autumn and fall off.

And my watercolor experiments:

How does nature’s colors inspire you?

Cheers! 🙂

A Strange Case…

Today’s weird bird is a strange case…

Could it be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

A before and after photo:

Perhaps it is just an ordinary “Two-Headed Hat bird,” not to be confused with this one: The Cat Bird

If you’d like to inspect it further, here is a close-up photo:

Hope your day is clearly fabulous…

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 🙂

Drawing Faces…

I continue enjoying drawing these quirky faces…

Experimenting with different drawing materials such as a Pentel Sign Pen:

I messed up her neck a bit so I gave her a high collar.  Hehe! 😉

I used same pen over watercolor for this gal – I like how this pen bleeds a little with water:

When I went to my local art supply store recently, I met Linda Schneider (LindaSchneiderArt.com) who does beautiful calligraphy.  I used to do calligraphy when I was in college.  Linda self-published a book using calligraphy flourishes to create women’s hair, hats, etc; called, “Designing Faces, Figures, Florals and More!”

She inspired me create the faces I’m showing you today.

I used a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen for this drawing:

What I like about this pen is the ink is permanent.  It is a little harder to control than the other pen however.  This pen also comes with refills.

And here is a mixed media piece that is a bit wild:

I started with a light background in watercolor, added her face with the outline using a black Micron pen, added Neocolor watersoluble crayons and more scribbles with the Pentel Sign pen.

Who knew that drawing faces could be so fun!

Cheers! 🙂

A Different Perspective

I don’t know about you but sometimes I get stuck in a creative rut…

When creating becomes less fun and spontaneous, I realize I need a break.

I need a different perspective.

Taking a blogging break has helped me realize that creating art doesn’t have to be about knowing the direction I am going in life or art.

It can be about the JOY in discovery.

It can be experimenting with different art mediums such as watercolor paints…

And being inspired by aerial photography at National Geographic to create abstracts by dipping my paintbrush in paint.

I don’t have to create a masterpiece, I just need a new perspective and keep experimenting with JOY! 🙂

I hope you find JOY in what you create today.

Cheers! 🙂

More Clip Art…

Remember  The Paper Clips ?

Well, these strange birds didn’t want to miss out on the fun…

So they decide to “clip” together…

And wish you a happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

I hope this gives you a smile today…

Cheers! 🙂

P.S.  Who knew that wine foils and paper clips could become Clip Art! 😉

A Blogging Break

Hi Friends,

As the cooler temps of autumn arrive here in the Pacific Northwest, I have decided to take a short blogging break…

 

I hope to get caught up on some housecleaning since I have been gone to the lake all summer…

And I need to get into an exercise routine again.

I have gotten behind on reading your blogs…

And I want to enjoy creating art without any deadlines for a little while.

I hope you enjoy these photos from my yard.  Nature’s display of color always brightens my day!  I hope it will for you as well.

Cheers! 🙂