Wise Beyond Years…

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  My heart goes out to her and her family…

I was thinking of her as I created this face yesterday.

I pray that she will be able to fight this terrible disease and win!  This face below has the determination and strength my friend has…  And the knowledge that God is with her.

So MANY people are fighting and struggling with cancer.  Too many people!

I dedicate today’s post to my friend T and EVERYONE who is fighting for their lives or supporting friends and loved ones battling cancer – YOU are wise beyond your years…

Sending love and hope! ❤

Once Upon A Time…

I’m sure there is a story here… Somewhere!

Well, at least a “colorful” character or two…

Or six!  🙂

Technique:

I cut two pieces of 9×12 inch hot-pressed watercolor paper into 4 pieces.  Next, I painted  positive and negative shapes in watercolor in a variety of colors, randomly adding a few splatters at the end.

When I had a few minutes, I drew faces from magazines, old photos and/or my imagination. Some of my faces are simple and others have more detail.  I used a 2B pencil, Tombow markers, PrismaColor pencils and a Micron .01 black pen.

It was great fun to create these people!  I hope you give it a try!

Happy Creating!  Cheers! 🙂

A Weird Puzzle

How many weird birds can you find in these watercolor drips?

How about now?

I’d love to hear your names for these weird birds!

Cheers!  🙂

Textures In Nature

I’m a little behind… well, actually A LOT behind with Carla Sonheim’s 365 daily art class but rather than stress about it, I just do an assignment when I can.

Yesterday, I did this one when I was at the lake with ink pen.  Our assignment was to draw textures around us so I chose nature.

I added a little watercolor to spice things up a bit:

Did you notice the dead mosquito?  There seemed to be PLENTY of them this weekend…

Cheers! 🙂

The Professor And Maryann

The professor could be a drip sometimes…

So Maryann would come to his rescue!

OK, not really but the title sounded FUN!  Remember Gilligan’s Island?  If you lived in the United States the 1960’s and ’70’s… (I’m probably dating myself here a little…)  😮 Lol!

I created these paintings with watercolor paint drips and added shading and details with color pencils.

My hubby has the theme song memorized for Gilligan’s Island…Lol!  Do you think he watched this show wayyyy too much?

Cheers and HAPPY memories!  🙂

Crabapple in Opera Rose

I just love Winsor and Newton’s Opera Rose!  Such a brilliant pink – a perfect color to paint my flowering crabapple in watercolor that I drew previously here.

I tried to paint it looser and added a few splatters at the end.

Now, our second crabapple tree in our yard is blooming… with all the rain we had this Spring, it is “buzzing” with new growth!  I have never seen this tree so full of blossoms.

I have a new subject to paint.  YAY!

Cheers!  🙂

Ribbons Of Paint

Sometimes I just like to swirl my paintbrush around with watercolor in my art journal. No thinking involved… just playing with color:

Yesterday, I didn’t have much time but I still wanted to DO something! So I created this haiku over my ribbons of paint:

I remember using scissors to create ribbons for wrapped gifts before store bought bows became popular.  “Zip!!” And curls appeared like magic!

Wishing you a day with happy memories!

Cheers!  🙂

The Aim Of Art

“The aim of art,” according to Aristotle, “is to represent not the outward appearance of things but their inward significance.”

I used a melon baller, seed pod and seashells for my inspiration in these imaginary flowers:

I started with watercolor.   Next, I added layers of paper collage with matte gel medium, watercolor, and white gel pen.  I finished my piece with the quote from Aristotle:

What is the aim of art for you?

I think my aim for art is to create it!  I just love to explore new materials and discover how I can create it into something new for me – and maybe you too!

Cheers!  🙂

Bulldogs And Butterflies

Yesterday, I watched our local college basketball team from Spokane, Washington; Gonzaga win their first game at the NCAA championships in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gonzaga beat South Carolina in a close game, 77 to 73.  This is the first time that Gonzaga Bulldogs have made it into the Final 4 tournament so it was great fun cheering them on!

On Monday, they play against North Carolina for the championship!  Go Zags!!

I haven’t painted a subject in watercolor in awhile so I decided to participate in the World Watercolor Group challenge and paint a butterfly – no fooling! 😉

I’m not totally happy with my results.  I added a little Irridescent Fine acrylics to add shine to the gossamer wings…

Next, I tried to fix it a bit with color pencils and I’m not sure I like it much better!

Some days you win and some you lose…

Are you a basketball fan?  Who is your favorite team?

Cheers!  🙂

Moonrise

Sometimes I like to put brush to paper in watercolor without thinking about an outcome.

This experiment I did in my art journal recently.  As winter fades and Spring awakens:

The colors in nature change from greys and blues to greens and yellows.

I also painted similar colors and patterns on Lutradur in watercolor.  This photo tells you about this product if you haven’t heard about it.

The product can be used in sewing and paper arts. It feels like a heavy interfacing used in sewing.

I cut out a few strips of the painted Lutradur and glued them over my watercolor paper.  I like the subtle contrast with the paper.  I added a gelli-printed circle to represent the moon.

Have you ever used Lutradur?  I’d love to hear how you have used it!

Cheers!  🙂