A Still Life Doodle?

One of the things I enjoy about taking online art classes is creating my own assignments from the class.

This one I made by drawing overlapping still life shapes in a 5.5 x 8.5 journal with a Micron pen.  Next, I colored the “shapes” with Prismacolor pencils.

It may look rather busy to you but it was very relaxing for me to create.

May you find JOY in the art you create!

Cheers! 🙂

One “Grape” Fish

I have been singing the song, well, not really THE song (MORE like the first stanza…)  I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” by songwriter, Marvin Gaye all day.

I think this whole grape thing started with Jenna’s post on Friday, Pour The Wine.  If you have not met this talented artist, cook and my friend at The Painted Apron – I do hope you check out her blog!

Here is my one “Grape” Fish:

Wishing you a HAPPY Sunday!

Cheers!  🙂

Yep It’s Yupo

I wanted to try yesterday’s technique – the crayon resist on Yupo paper.  In case you aren’t familiar with Yupo, it is a plastic surface – polypropylene to be exact.  Watercolor doesn’t soak into the surface and sits on top.

I started with quick drawing using crayons and covered them with water soluble markers.  I knew if I used a damp paper towel over it, it would remove color so I chose a dry one which basically just softened the crayons and didn’t add much interest.  I decided to try watercolors on top as you can see on the drawing below on the right:

I discovered that I could add texture with a paper towel if the area was still wet.  So I stamped my background with a clean foam stamp to create more interest.

After the watercolor dried, I decided to add Neocolors – which are a water soluble crayon.

And another layer of watercolor to add some shadows and create depth:

I really like how interesting this turned out.  I want to continue to experiment in this medium.

Cheers!  🙂

Very Gouda

I was having some wine with friends recently…

When this Gouda bird showing up:

I’ve heard that these birds hang out where wine and hors d’oeuvres are served.

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Wishing you a very Gouda day… Cheers!  🙂

Pass The Wine And Cheese!

At the lake, several of our friends gather at 5 o’clock for Happy Hour.  It really is a chance to talk and get caught up with everyone and share some laughter.  Everyone brings a snack to share and what they want to drink.  Some people just drink water but my hubby and I usually pour ourselves a glass of wine.  White or red – we like them both!  🙂

I created this in my art journal this summer.  It is a blind contour drawing (my eyes were closed and no I didn’t peak!)  After I drew it, I splashed on some watercolors – and yes, my eyes were open for this part.  😉

I like how the soft colors blend, don’t you?   Kind of like a winemaker blending his grapes together to create a varietal of wine…

I’d like to create this painting on a larger piece of watercolor paper and frame it.

Speaking of framing – do you cut your own mat board for your artwork?  I purchased a couple of mats today with the intention of matting some of my art but the mat opening didn’t fit properly.   Any ideas?!

Cheers Friends!  🙂

Painting On Vacation – Part 2

This is the second post of my art journal paintings I did while on vacation at the lake.  I posted the first week, here.

On Sunday, July 24, I saw four Evening Grosbeaks in a neighbor’s cherry tree at the lake so this was my inspiration for Monday’s drawing on July 25:

I added a few color pencils and white gel pen to my bird at the end.

Tuesday, I skipped a day in my art journal because I did a mixed media painting from Carla Sonheim’s FREE Kid’s Art Week that I posted last week on my blog, here.

On Wednesday, July 27, I was inspired by the purple color and shape in the wildflower, Fireweed to create this abstract feather:

Thursday, July 28th, I wanted to paint the quiet beauty that surrounds me at the lake so I painted this picture and later added a Bible verse:

On Friday, July 29, I was experimenting with gouache and was inspired by the circular shapes and colors in my flowers to created these swirls of patterns:

Saturday, July 30th found me floating in the boat and enjoying the lake!  I was inspired by the clear, natural water to paint it:

On Sunday, July 31st, I celebrated 31 days of painting with watercolor for World Watercolor Month by painting a bottle of wine and one glass.  I added a little pizzazz to the background with one of my Gelli-prints:

I hope I inspire you to paint on your next vacation!  I found it very relaxing and a perfect way to remember my time at the lake:

Happy Creating!  🙂

3 Cheers!

There are several reasons to celebrate today!  So I created a painting in anticipation of the weekend.

Here is my beginning or what I’m calling the “appetizer stage” of my painting:

I started with a simple sketch using a black micron pen and added watercolor pencils.

For the “main course,” I softened the watercolor pencils with water:

And for “dessert,” I added some pan pastels to the background with a stencil:

I found an all natural and odor free fixative at Dick Blick called Spectra Fix that worked well to set the pan pastels.  I’d highly recommend it!

Here are some of the reasons I am celebrating today:

It’s FRIDAY!  Wahoo!!!  And the beginning of a 3-day weekend

World Watercolor Month starts today!  3 Cheers to Charlie at Doodlewash.com for organizing this event!!

The weather is cooling down!  It has been in the 90’s and it will be in the 70’s at the lake!

More time to paint in watercolor – like these Friday Flowers

We will be celebrating our freedom with friends, good food and fireworks !!

How will you be celebrating today?!  I’d love to hear from you!

Enjoy your day!  🙂

Wine And Flowers

I added more color and pattern to this collage I posted on December 21st:

It is kind of fun to see the two side by side:

The first time I took the image on the left, my lighting was bad.  Good lighting really does make a difference!

I recently completed another collage:

I had fun adding patterns with color pencils to the background on this one.

I found this quote on the internet:

They are not long, the days of wine and roses.  Out of a misty dream, our path emerges for awhile, then closes, within a dream.  – Ernest Dowson

Cheers!  🙂

 

Playing with Paint – Part 2

Yesterday, I showed you papers I painted with acrylic paints.  Today, I used them to make a collage.

First, I drew my design loosely with ink pen and then I added my papers:

 

I really enjoyed making this picture and plan to make more of these collages.

Cheers!  🙂

A Sample Story

As I was giving out candy to children in Halloween costumes this evening, I started “painting” a short story with names of paint samples (highlighted in the text) and my imaginary faces:

Mrs. Pine Nut was considered a bit odd as a middle school teacher.  She liked to wear a small vial of Toasted Pine Nuts around her neck.  They were a reminder of her family tree.

She enjoyed teaching children how to cook and her favorite subject was Spun Sugar:

Mrs. Pine Nut would often keep a little Baggie of the crystallized candy in her desk drawer to nibble throughout her day which tended to make her look strung out…

One day while teaching her class about how to prepare Persimmon pudding –

Mrs. Pine Nut got a little Egg White on her face:

The children in her class all snickered and Mrs. Pine Nut thought she was being as cool as a Cucumber in her green pants suit:

Later when she stepped out of her classroom for some Open Air –

She discovered to her dismay that she had egg on her face!

She immediately turned a Fabulous shade of Red!

Mrs. Pine Nut went home that evening and relaxed with a Berry Red glass of wine –

While watching the Goldfinches in her yard:

She suddenly burst out in laughter at her Humorous Green appearance!

“Nonsense wakes up the brain cells.  And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age!”  – Dr.  Seuss

Happy Storytelling!  😄