Painted Thoughts Blog

And Now For The Strawberry Surprise.....

2012-01-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's post, I mentioned adding a surprise to the strawberry spread.....

The surprise is in the lower lefthand corner of the page where the real strawberry was sitting.

And the surprise, you ask?

You can't really tell from the lousy photo,
but the ink is a very dark chocolate-y brown!

First, I took a piece of scrap watercolor paper and tore it down to the size I needed, height-wise. After that I determined how wide it could be to create the strawberry. I then created the two folds.

Once I had my additional piece, I painted the surprise inside. After it dried, I added my text inside and out. Using my my heart punch, I made two little "paper buttons" and painted them. I punched holes through one and added a piece of thread that held a tag onto an antique I purchased this last weekend.

Using glue, I glued both hearts down on the outside to keep the enclosure closed and hidden until someone gets curious enough to open it.

My other challenge came when I realized I would need to stay as loose on the chocolate-dipped berry inside of the enclosure as those on the outside. I think I pulled it off even though there is a bit more detail on the inside berry.

I know several of you mentioned strawberry shortcake and that was a possibility, but what kind of shortcake? A biscuit, angel food cake, real shortcake? In my experience (I grew up the daughter of a strawberry farmer and my older brother still farms berries today), folks are very particular about their "cake!"

So, what say you—what kind of "shortcake" do you like best?!

p.s. my apologies for the lousy photos, the weather is very gray and overcast today. Ick.

No Art Time = Cranky Person

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-05:00

Strawberries (No pencil)
Watercolor with ink for the text only
Double Spread
Pineapple Journal

I spent the day in the technological world of web sites yesterday.

All day.

It made me cranky.

The best antidote I know to getting over crankiness is to paint.

Here's the results of my "fix." And just like painting outside on location, painting live in your own kitchen can be an adventure.

Midway through, the clouds covered up the sun and I lost my shadows.

So what does any good artist do when the shadows leave?

Make up their own, of course.

After looking at the photo, I've decide this spread needs a "surprise" element added to it.

Wonder what it will be.........

Do You Like Surprises!?! (NOLA)

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

I like surprise...........compartments, unexpected finds and delightful treasures! So when I recently read an article by Jacqueline Newbold in the new Cloth Paper Scissors Pages Magazine, I decided to give some of her ideas a whirl in my own style.....

Cafe Beignet Sketch

On the day we arrived in NOLA, it was blues skies. Within the hour it was clouding up and quickly started to rain. KJ and I knew we were going to do a test taste of beignets when we went back to NOLA. (Inquiring minds wanted to know and so did our taste buds!) We happened up on Café Beignet and decided this was a perfect location to wait out the rain and begin our testing.

While we were waiting on our beignets, we noticed a small presence in the shop who had also come in out of the rain....

A sweet, little tuxedo cat was hanging out under one of the tables. It took a bit of coaxing, but he was finally convinced that an ear scratch might be just the thing on such a soggy day.

If you look closely at the photo,
you'll see where I used a paw print punch
to create a kitty paw print—more info below!

It was such a delightful and unexpected visit, that I knew I wanted to call out the special moment in a different way on the page. I wanted something that provided delight for the viewer of the sketchbook page the way the cat's visit did for KJ and I.

Jacqueline mentions using library pockets, cards and index card dividers in her article. Since it was late in the evening and I didn't want to wait until morning, I did a quick online search and discovered a library card pocket template.

The template I found is from Mirkwood Designs. Once I had the basic design, I created a pocket the size I needed to fit in the corner of my page since I'd already sketched the main image on the page. After I built the pocket, I then created a simple tag-type card from watercolor paper and painted the tuxedo cat.

I used green ribbon on the pocket and tag to coordinate with the green awning. Before gluing the pocket down to the page, I used the paw print punch to create a foot print at the top of the pocket and then used ink to distress the edges of the pocket a bit.

In my search for a template, I found lots of other ideas too, so I think you'll be seeing more of this on my pages. It's such fun to create a visual treat that's not immediately available to the viewer and it provides a nice surprise to see the special visitor we enjoyed all over each time the little card is pulled out!

Walled Gardens and Pageant Dress, Only in NOLA

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

Our last full day in NOLA dawned cold and clear with a strong wind from the northwest that robbed the warmth from the sunshine. However, that morning we spent touring the Beauregard-Keyes house (Keyes rhymes with eyes) and then sketching in the walled gardens. The walls made it possible for us to sketch without being totally miserable!

St. Francis in the Beauregard-Keyes Walled Gardens
Sketched on location

The house is named after its two most celebrated owners, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard and author, Ms. Frances Parkinson. We had an absolutely delightful guide and learned a good deal about what it might have been like to live back in the mid-1900's in New Orleans.

[I recently had someone ask "Don't you ever make mistakes!?!" Take a close look at the page above and you'll note one colossal mistake—the bricks....I drew what I THOUGHT I saw there rather than what I OBSERVED to be there. To downplay the wrong perspective, I washed some darker color over the bricks so that they are less noticeable. So the answer is "YES. I make mistakes. I also do what I can do downplay or correct them and move on. Lastly, I seldom point out mistakes because most of the time, if we don't say anything, no one notices anyway!"]

Other shots of the house and gardens:

Interior Courtyard behind the house

Cold, but determined sketchers in the walled gardens

Resurrection Fear growing on the wall of the garden

We took off for lunch and then spent the first part of the afternoon doing some shopping (purchasing pralines) and we then gathered to go to the Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum at Arnaud's Restaurant:

Sketched on Location

The museum houses dresses worn by Ms. Wells, who is Count Arnaud's daughter. She is the one woman who has presided over more Krewes than any other. There were also outfits worn by her mother, daughter and the Count as the King of Mardi Gras. It was a very interesting and close-up look at the opulence and details of the Mardi Gras dress of yesteryear as contrasted against our visit to Mardi Gras World on our first day.

The dress is encrusted with beading and other
embellishments. The train is made of velvet and
trimmed with real fur—it had to weigh a ton!!

Intrepid sketchers sitting on the floor
after a mishap with a broken stool

Our evening finished off with a fabulous meal at Arnaud's. The restaurant harkens back to another era where you wore your best to go to dinner, the door was held for women and the chair pulled back. Men wore jackets and the ladies were dressed to the nines. (It's more relaxed now, but only by a little bit!)

It was a wonderful way to wrap up our week in NOLA with a fabulously wonderful group of sketchers!

[I have a few more pages to share (that are out of order) where I've done a few different and fun things to change them up a bit!]

Travel Safe, Girl

2012-01-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Andi, Gatlin and Susie
Possible Painting Thumbnail

Let me tell you a story about a couple of dogs named Gatlin and Andi.....

Gatlin was a mountain dog. When Chris and I met her, she was homeless and wild. Scared wild. She was so afraid of people, no one could get near her. We were on vacation up in Gatlinburg and had been visiting some friends on the Artist's Loop, when our lives collided.

We told our friends that if they caught her, we'd take her. We tried before we left, but she was too smart for her own good. Fast forward three weeks. I was on location in Atlanta, on a Friday, due to fly out that afternoon. I received a phone call—they'd caught the dog! Did we still want her? Yes!

I turned in my rental car at the airport, rented an SUV and drove to Gatlinburg that night. I picked her up the next morning and started the 12-hour drive home. By myself. With a dog I didn't know. Let's just say it was a memorable experience.

It turned out that Gatlin had been abused by her prior owners. Badly abused. She was terrified of people but wouldn't so much as raise a whisker to defend herself. She had the most expressive eyes of any dog I'd ever known.

Gatlin was an old soul.

We started working with Gatlin, to acclimate her to her life. Turns out, she didn't know how to play and she really didn't know how to interact with humans—nice or mean. Finally, we decided that maybe another dog would help.

Andi entered our lives.

We rescued Andi, our second dog, from a no-kill shelter two months after we brought Gatlin home. The two became fast friends. Andi taught Gatlin more about playing (by example) in two months than we would've been able to in two years.

Andi was a kind-hearted dog who had also seen some abuse in her life prior to coming to us. She loved to chase squirrels, to play, to pull the stuffing out of toys, out of balls, out of beds, out of anything! Andi was as high-key as Gatlin was low-key—the (mostly) perfect yin and yang.

The years slipped by and one day we learned Gatlin had cancer. It was deep inside her throat and it was inoperable. She left us in 2006.

Andi missed her friend, but by then, she had two other playmates, Susie and Specky (both were rescues and deserve a story of their own).

Again, the years slipped by.

As you know, Susie left us on December 30th. We lost Andi this morning.....

Travel safe, girl, and know that you'll be missed!

_____________________________________

The image above is a very rough idea I have for a painting....of Gatlin greeting the two latest arrivals at the end of the Rainbow Bridge. I know she'll show them the ropes and help them get settled in.

I'll probably wait to do the painting until our last pup leaves us. For now, Specky is healthy, just very, very lonely.

On a different note, many of you have sent well-wishes for my niece.....who has recovered from her seizure and seems to be just fine. The doctors believe the seizure was brought on by a fever. She's teething right now and having a devil of a time, so it makes sense. It would also seem that these seizures are quite common in toddlers.

Again, thank you for the kind words of understanding as we do our best to cope with our losses and concerns.

Splatter, Splotches and Fuzzy Brains

2011-12-28T21:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, my.

Splattered. Splotchy. Fuzzy thinking. Long periods of staring at nothing.

That about sums up the last two weeks of my life.

I seem to have missed that time of year....that transitional period between ending and beginning, as if time is paused, so I could get my new year off to a great start by laying out plans, goals and dreams.

The ending of 2011 was a tough time and the beginning of 2012 is not off to a stellar start....

We lost our sweet Siberian Husky, Susie, on December 30th.

She had been sick for a while now, and it was touch-and-go during the holidays.

We then took Andi, another of our puppies, to the vet on Monday as she has been feeling poorly.

She has lymphoma.

Andi has a very limited amount of time. It depends on how she responds to the meds we're giving her.

Yesterday, my 15-month-old niece was taken to the hospital after having a seizure.

The baby was moved from ICU to a regular room and we're hoping she'll be released today. So far, no conclusions on what caused the seizure.

As I said, not a great ending nor a recommend way to start off a new year.

What I'm learning.....is that life, and that mythical thing known as balance, is a very fluid thing.

In my case, most of the fluid of life has shifted towards my pets and family. The blog has been (too) quiet, my work hasn't been getting the normal attention I show it, and daily chores haven't been kept up as normal.

I've decided to give this time to myself, as a gift and that it's okay.

To take the time to grieve, to let the new year take off without me being in a happy, celebratory mood, to put family first.

WITHOUT guilt.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, I'll be back.

Full throttle.

Right now, I need to heal, to be close to family, and to spend time with Andi.

I hope you understand.

I wish you the very best of the new year.

Baby, It's Cold Out......Not!

2011-12-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

Let It Snow!
Watercolor in Pineapple Sketchbook

For those of you in much colder, snowier climates, please disregard this post and go about your blog reading elsewhere......because it's in the 80's. As in temperature. Outside.

Yes, this is Florida.

But it's the 22nd. Of December! Come on—it could at least be cooler!

We're not in any danger of getting snow. Or cooler temperatures. Well, not until the day after Christmas.

Then it's suppose to cool off to the 70's.

It makes it a little difficult to get into the spirit of things.....like snowmen.....when it's 85º out.

I suppose this is a blessing I'm not yet seeing.

BTW, do you see the second face in the image above?!

Is It Hope....Or Stupidity.....

2011-12-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

....that blooms eternal? Maybe both in my case!

Watercolor and Ink
Pineapple Sketchbook

I noticed late on Saturday night as I was putting up the last of my snowmen, that most of them had on top hats and a good many of them had either a bird, a bird house, or a bird feeder with them or on them. I decided to capture one of them in my sketchbook.

As I sat sketching I realized I had done it again. I had so many ideas and plans to sketch and paint some of my favorite ornaments and teapots, like the one again. I was going to send out my Christmas cards of MY VERY OWN DESIGN this year—early.

I thought the house would be decorated early and I'd have plenty of time to paint. Ha!

Not.

Here I am staring down the 19th day of December and I still have a naked Christmas tree standing in my living room.

No cards are going out and that really grieves me. I had a plan to start getting things ready to go in January of 2011 so I wouldn't be in this situation come the 19th of December!

Most of the gifts are bought, but not wrapped. And still I had hoped....

But as I sat sketching at 10:30 on a Saturday night, I started letting go of my hopes for a peaceful, artful, less stressful holiday.

Mind you, family will still be coming over, the house will be decorated, the tree will get dressed, presents wrapped and it will still be a wonderful opportunity to spend time together, see old friends, laugh and have a good time being a kid again for a few hours. And that's what really matters.

But will I ever learn? Will I ever have a peaceful, artful, less stressful holiday?

Maybe if I start in January of 2012..........

A Place To Linger....(NOLA)

2011-12-12T10:03:00.000-05:00

Place d'Armes Hotel
Watercolor and Ink

Seldom have I stayed at a hotel where I wanted to linger, but this was the case with the Place d'Armes hotel! It is a property of 8 town homes built back in the 18th and 19th centuries, cobbled together around the most gorgeous courtyards you could ever want to sit in.

The old bricks were the perfect backdrop for the fountains and lush greenery. There was a quietness, a peaceful ambiance that slipped up and soothed you whenever you stepped foot into the courtyard. The doors were the old style with the wood mullions, shutters on either side.

I knew if we'd ran into some ugly weather, that the courtyard would provide many days' worth of sketching materials all by itself! In fact, this was one of the places I sat to sketch on my free afternoon. You just wanted to be out there soaking it up!

Others on the trip felt the same tug—you can see Cheryl's beautiful courtyard here and Claire's lovely room here. If you're headed to NOLA anytime soon, I highly recommend this hotel.

19 Years

2011-12-05T08:58:00.001-05:00

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary! The photo was taken just before we left the reception. We've been talking a lot lately about what we knew, what we thought we knew and what we had no clue about back then (or today!).

We both realize now that we had no idea what it took to make a marriage work, what it meant to be married, and what it meant to be a half of a whole.

There have some great times. There have been struggles. And as I write those words, it is evident that they don't begin to cover the depth nor the breadth of the experiences we've shared.

During my father's recent illness, my mother commented to me that "You got a good one."

Yep, I did. I didn't really know it at the time, but I know now that I got one of the best.

Sometimes, I think I'd give him away, but in truth, I wouldn't trade him for anyone in the world!

Happy anniversary to my love!

Now, about painting the front door....

So Much To See...and Remember (NOLA)

2011-12-02T15:16:00.001-05:00

UPDATED to include text from cemetery page at the bottom of post.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
Watercolor and Ink
Drawn on location

Those raindrops I mentioned in the last NOLA post? Well, they were a little more serious come Wednesday morning. We walked to the street trolley and had to open our umbrellas about two books from our stop. By the time we actually reached our stop, it had stopped sprinkling again.

We loaded up onto the trolley and hadn't gone more than 3 blocks when the bottom opened up and it really rained! That, however, was the last of it. We arrived at the cemetery with gray, overcast skies which seemed rather appropriate for the morning's adventure!

There is a lot of information about the "cities of the dead," the above ground crypts and the traditions of New Orleans when it comes to honoring the dead on the page above. Please click to enlarge so that you can read more if you're interested.

MORE Decadent Desserts—Commander Palace Style
Memory Sketch
Watercolor
Click to Enlarge

Next came our three hour lunch at the Commander's Palace with 25¢ Cosmo martinis! Synchronized serving (all the entrees and desserts were sat down on the table in front of each person at the same time), a tour of the kitchens and wine cellars, as well as outstanding food were all order of the day.

Luckily, we had the afternoon free to walk off our meals and more decadent (and delicious) desserts. Some of us moseyed up to the bookstore on the corner while others went back to explore the city via the trolley.

Collection of Memories
Memory Sketch
Watercolor and Ink
Click to Enlarge

If you ever find yourself in NOLA, pause and look, I mean really look around you. Look up, look down, look at the ground, look at the balconies, just look. There is something to see EVERYWHERE you look! The fire hydrant in the image above most have had 500 strings of beads on it. I'm not sure how many times I passed it before I actually saw it!

The other ephemera on the page is from places I wanted to remember and memories I wanted to collect. There was several cigar shops and bars in NOLA that I don't remember from last year. Whereas cigars are not my thing, I do think they have very cool wrappers on some of the cigars.

The green book shop piece is actually a bookmark that I've folded down to fit on the page and attached with a clear tape hinge. That way I can read the info without it sticking outside of the book. The sticker at the bottom right came off from a great cup of coffee.

Simple items, but each evokes a strong memory of where I was, what I was doing and who I was with—pretty cool for just a little piece of paper!

_______________________________

From the Cemetery Page:
Cemetery founded in 1833 by the city of Lafayette. City was later incorporated by New Orleans.
Many early immigrants buried here, especially German.
Many died from the Yellow Fever Epidemic.
Cemetery is non-segregated and non-denomenatinal.
Unlimited internment.
Many society tombs - firemen, orphanages, etc.
Crypts built of many different materials, sometimes painted the same color as [the] family home.
"Property" returns to the city after 150(?) years of inactivity
Crypts could hold two coffins—one on top, one on the bottom.
Mourning time - customary was one year and one day.
(And this final is a note to myself) Look into "4 Gentlemen Crypts" secret society

Time for Thanks and for Sketching

2011-11-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Sketch
Watercolor and Ink
Stillman & Birn sketchbook
Click to Enlarge

Our Thanksgiving was wonderfully relaxing this year—near bliss after the crazy weeks leading up to the holiday.

A small gathering at my brother's home. Nearly perfect weather. We were able to leave the doors open and enjoy the breeze. (It can be hot enough to run the air conditioner on Thanksgiving here in Florida!)

After dinner, I headed outside and sat by the koi pond to sketch.

I think I could have stayed all day.....

I do know I'll be going back.

Care to join me?

Living LARGE (NOLA)

2011-11-28T07:50:00.001-05:00

Sketched on Location
Click to enlarge

Oak Alley is a (still-working) sugar cane plantation upriver from New Orleans. There are 28 Live Oaks that line the path to the house from the river that were planted by a settler back in the 1700's. They're estimated to be 300 years old.

Front of the Home
Image courtesy of the Oak Alley Plantation

The Roman family later purchased the land and built their home in 1830's, using the 28 oaks to inspire 28 columns that are 8 feet in circumference and walls that are 16 inches thick. They also planted an additional 28 Live Oaks in the back of the plantation. Those are estimated to be around 150 years old and are what show in the journal page at the top of the page.

Back of the Home
Click to enlarge

The large kettle featured in the journal page and the image above is one of the kettles they used to boil the sugar cane juice down into syrup. Today, they are often used as koi ponds and planters as manufacturing has long since surpassed the use of these pots.

As the fates would have it, the weather was being rather fickle this day and it didn't know if it wanted to rain or not. After a few warming sprinkles, the rain finally started to get heavy enough that most of us retreated to the café.

Introducing my latest "coffee passion:"

Memory sketch,
created after returning
Click to enlarge

Praline coffee. YUM! There's not much more that needs to be said about it. It was sooooooo good! I went by two of our local liqueur stores only to find they don't carry it. It's a special order. Needless to say, there is a bottle winging its way here as we speak.

Last but certainly not least, we had dinner at the Napoleon House. It looks like a dive on the outside and it's as dark as a cave on the inside with an old world, European feel. The walls are brick and stucco with an open air courtyard.

Memory Sketch,
crated after returning
Click to enlarge

Several of us had difficulty reading the menu due to the low-lighting (no lighting?) conditions. Our helpful waiter brought us a big yellow and black flashlight so we could read the menu. No kidding! Apparently, they'd had this kind of trouble before.

Napoleon House is also known for their "Pimm's Cup" cocktail and I just had to try one! It is made with Pimm's Liqueur. It is garnished with a cucumber slice and is quite refreshing. (One of those drinks that sneaks up on you if you have too many because they're not hard to drink! And, no, that's not experience talking—I only had one!)

Despite the few showers of the day, it was a fun day with many laughs and some great sketches!

A Dangerous Combination...

2011-11-23T12:34:00.001-05:00

...for me, anyway! I know other artists that do quite well sketching and eating at the same time. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing as this poor sketch proves:

Southwestern Soup
Ink and watercolor
5.5 x 5.5 inches

I would love to tell you it's a contour sketch, but it's not. It's just....sad.

This is what happens to me when I try to divide my attention between two masters—eating and sketching. You can easily tell who won this battle! All the same, I am happy to report that the green is spot on! I just purchased some new soup cups and that's really and truly their color—acid yellow-green!

Love that color!

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in America, I would like to send to each of you a very grateful thanks for being a part of my life, the blogosphere and the Imaginary Realm. I can't imagine a world without you as you've touched my life and my heart in countless ways.

I hope you'll hug those around you that you're thankful for, smile at a stranger today as it may be the only kindness they will know this day, and tell those you love just how much you love them...this day, this hour, this moment, and take time to count the many blessings that fill your life.

Since I'll be putting down the paintbrush tomorrow (so as not to slaughter anymore unsuspecting food items), I will be picking up a pen to write a page of thanks—and you'll be at the top of my list!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Makin' Of Mardi Gras (NOLA)

2011-11-21T15:35:00.001-05:00

Click to Enlarge

Page started on location,

finished after the trip

We actually started off at Tujague's for dinner on Sunday night. Because I haven't finished that page yet, I've skipped ahead to Monday morning. We started the day off at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World! We started with a video tour about the Kern family and the history of Mardi Gras. We also has a taste of a tradition King cake and then went out to the work area and warehouse.

Click to enlarge

Note the golf cart in the image above. I took this for scale in this huge warehouse. Everything seemed larger than life! Mardi Gras World makes a variety of props and floats for 40 of the 54 krewes that have a parade during Mardi Gras. They will often repurpose a prop from year to year. The example shared was taking a hobbit's house and restructuring it into Shrek's head the following year.

Click to enlarge

Here we see one of the artisan's creating a pelican's head out of styrofoam. Most of the props and floats are made of styrofoam and paper mâché as the materials are inexpensive and the labor less intense than the fiberglass props they complete.

Click to enlarge

This little jester is made of fiberglass. He only stood about 3 feet tall, but weighs considerable more than the styrofoam pieces as well.

Click to enlarge

This giraffe loomed high above over our heads. He seem to have a benevolent look to his face though so it wasn't so bad to have him looking over our shoulders.

Click to enlarge

This isn't a great photo, but it does give you a sense of scale, and if you click to enlarge the image, you'll see several folks walking around in this kingdom of props and it gives you a better understanding of just how huge this place was! It was so much fun to be in the warehouse and walk around in, let alone sit down and sketch!

We had a great time sketching and painting these larger than life "caricatures!" It was really cool being able to take the tour, spend some time looking around at the "sights" and THEN deciding on what we wanted to sketch and knowing we had time to do so.

From The Beginning (NOLA)

2011-11-16T10:48:00.001-05:00

I had made plans to go into NOLA early to make sure that everything was in place and to check a couple of logistical matters that I couldn't check out any other way. Boy, am I glad I did!

I arrived tired—emotional, physically and mentally. You see, both of my parents had experienced major health crises the week before I left. Since life is what happens while we're making other plans, I had little choice but to roll with it. Luckily, I have a great family and both parents were beginning to show improvement before I left.

It took a few days to switch from worried caregiver to maven of Imaginary Trips Made Real. Luckily, I had KJ (of Catching Happiness) to keep me from getting lost or worse. One of the other "travelers" arrived late on Friday evening as well.

Click to enlarge

On Saturday, while the other two roamed the French Quarter, I caught up on a few emails and some other necessary business. Finding a good internet connection turned out to be a sizable challenge this entire trip! I had to sit in the front lobby or breakfast room to get a fairly reliable connection.

After I completed my work, I sat out in the sunny courtyard to sketch one of the doors leading into the Armstrong House as well as the breakfast nook. The others returned and joined me for a wonderful afternoon of sketching.

Click to enlarge

This second page I'm sharing was started at The Decadence Shoppe....which turned out to be a bakery/breakfast joint, but with a name like that in NOLA.....you never know!! The umbrellas hung from the ceiling and were just to cute to pass up as a drawing opportunity.

The decadence came in the form of Praline Pancakes and Maple Spice Chai Latte. Oh. My. Goodness! Yummy! Though I have to say, everything we had was excellent. We went there for breakfast twice. The second morning the doors were open and we sat gazing out of Louis Armstrong Park which was just across the street.

After more exploring of the French Quarter, we decided to go back to Bistreaux (having been there on Thursday evening). It was close to our hotel and the food was very good. LSU was in an epic battle to retain their No. 1 ranking against Alabama, ranked No. 2 and the joint was full.

To add to the frivolity of the evening there was a wedding being held in the hotel next door. Once the vows were exchanged, the happy couple, wedding party and everyone who attended as well as a band went around the block, waving handkerchiefs to celebrate. The image below is not of the same wedding party, but you'll get the idea. That's just how you do it in NOLA!

Click to enlarge

It was a very lively evening and yes, LSU won—in overtime!

To be continued.....

I Would Have Brought You a Praline, But....

2011-11-14T11:49:00.001-05:00

....I wasn't sure if you would want chocolate, traditional, creamy, rum, coconut or spicy!

I've just returned from New Orleans and the BEST ever 1st Imaginary Trip Made Real, NOLA Live!!

I'm not sure where to begin to describe the fun we all had, the things we saw, the food we ate, the places we visited and all the cool things we learned about this vibrant and wonderful city!

Without a doubt I'll be talking about this trip for weeks (maybe months) to come and I want to say a few words of thanks to the most wonderfully, intrepid "travelers" a gal like me could hope for—you MADE this trip fabulous and I thank you for your sense of adventure and friendship!

To KJ (of Catching Happiness), for being there, for talking me down off the ledge more than a few times as well as for being a great friend and travelmate!

To Chris for believing in this crazy dream of mine even when I didn't. I could never have done this without your unwavering faith in me.

I am amending this post to add a very special thank you to my family for keeping the home fires burning and allowing me to go to NOLA knowing my parents were being well taken care of!

What I did bring you was a few short videos of some very fun street performances in NOLA! To set the stage for the beginning of our trip, I took a few minutes out of the day to video some of the lively performances you're bound to experience in the French Quarter.

This is one of the things that makes this city soooo great—you never know what you'll find around the next corner!

Drawin' and Paintin' at the OK Corral

2011-10-24T08:55:00.000-04:00

The other day, Chris and I went to LongHorn® Steakhouse for dinner. For some reason, the hostess always seems to seat us in one of the booths in the bar area. This was my view and I fell in love with the color on those boots! Of course, I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw them in pen and after our meal, my plan was to add color.

Chris asked what I was sketching as he couldn't see my sketchbook. When I showed him, he decided he wanted to give it a whirl, too. So I handed him the other sketchbook I had with me. (Yes, I had two sketchbooks in my purse that day. One is good for watercolor and one is good for pen and ink and not much else. I usually use it for notes and lists. Since Chris prefers ink it worked out well.)

Chris' interpretation in Copic Gray ink:

My interpretation in Carbon black ink and watercolor:

And here is the dynamic duo caught in the act!

It's kinda fun being married to an artist! He "gets it" and he even enjoys playing along on occasion!

A Life Well Lived

2011-10-18T17:59:00.000-04:00

She fought her way to Chris in a torrential downpour because she wanted to live.

She was feisty and she was willing to fight for what she wanted.

She was little, maybe 5 weeks old, soaked to the skin and cold as ice by the time Chris picked her up.

We didn't know if she'd make it home. She did. She was chewing on my metal jacket zipper pull before long.

We had no idea she was white until we cleaned her up. She looked to be grungy gray at first sight.

It didn't take long before she had us both wrapped around that furry little foot.

You seldom wondered what her opinion was because she was only too happy to share it with you. And she always had an opinion.

She was vocal about what she wanted. She'd put others in their place (vacuum included) if they dared to cross her.

She could be temperamental and if you were going to be around her, it was best to learn the signs and give her wide berth when she was in a mood.

Her love for us was bottomless.

Her spirit was so incredibly strong....over 20 years strong.

However, her body was not. It simply gave out on her.

We have a cat-shaped hole in our hearts, and yes, we grieve.

Still, we're so glad she chose to spend her twenty years with us.

Booger
June '92 - October '11

Bye, Boo Girl, you'll be missed for sure......

Anyone Care For A Pamplemousse?

2011-10-17T18:01:00.003-04:00

Pamplemousse
BFK Rives Paper
Watercolor with
white and brown-black ink
Click to enlarge

I don't know about you, but I've been around citrus all my life and I'd never heard the word "pamplemousse." Today, when I needed a subject for a quick paper test, I decided to use some grapefruit that were sitting on the kitchen counter.

I was rather surprised to find that pamplemousse is French for grapefruit!

After I did the kitten in the prior post, I decided I wanted to test out the BFK Rives paper a bit more. I really wanted to see what it would do with just watercolor without a lot of ink. Since I had also purchased some new waterbrushes (Pentel Aquash) and some new pens (Uni•Ball), I figured I'd test them all at one time.

First the paper...if you click to enlarge, you'll see some odd marks on the large (whole) grapefruit. I'm guessing that's something to do with sizing. Look at the edge of the fruit...see how the edges bled and feathered? I'm not sure if that happened because the paper wasn't totally dry or if it's a characteristic of the paper. Either way, I'm no liking it overly much.

The pens are both Uni•balls, one in white and one in brown-black. The white was great for reclaiming the lost highlights and section lines in the cut fruit. The brown pen was used for the journaling and border. No problem with bleeds or feathering on this paper.

The Pentel Aquash waterbrushes are fun to work with if you like long pointed brushes! I primarily used the large one and find it very generous with water. A little to generous at times. All the same, I'll probably be taking those to NOLA Live!

I'm going to try testing the paper one more time, but if I had to decide today, I'd have to say it would be staying home!

So what fun new art toys have you played with lately?! Do share!

Testing Paper and Pens

2011-10-10T11:42:00.003-04:00

Kitten and Yarn
Watercolor and Carbon Black Ink
BFK Rives 175 g paper

With the upcoming trip to New Orleans getting ever closer, my search for a sketchbook paper that makes me happy is picking up pace. The kitten above was sketched in carbon black ink and then painted with watercolors.

The BFK Rives is a printmaking paper and accepts watercolor well. The paper has a very soft finish to it that allows for wild and varied results from the pens I normally use on location. (It always pays to check how your favorite tools act on a new paper!) I finally used a flex nib fountain pen with the Carbon Black ink to sketch this. My Lamy (with the same ink) bled and feathered to the point of distraction. Not pretty!

I've also found there isn't too much correcting on this paper. If you click to enlarge the kitten, you'll see I had difficulty with his mouth. I like the paper and I think it would work well on location, but I'm still searching!

I also tested out Cartiera Magnani Acquerello watercolor paper and knew as soon as I started out with my color swatches I wouldn't be taking this paper. The paper has a very distinctive pattern to it that become very evident when I put down my washes. Not unpleasant, just not what I'm looking for in my sketchbook!

______________________________________

Next up is a test I did to see how lightfast the ink in the Tombow® brand pens is.....

Tombow Lightfastness Test

The swatch on the left went up on a shelf in my studio for 3 weeks, while the swatch on the right sat in a south-facing window for the same period of time. You can see some fade as well as more pink showing on the righthand side. To be clear, Tombow does not advertise these pens as lightfast nor permanent.

Does this mean you shouldn't use these pens in any artwork? That depends. If you are concerned about longevity of your work or want to display your work, it doesn't seem like the best of ideas. If, on the other hand, you're not displaying and you consider your sketchbook your personal playground and only want it to outlast you, then by all means, play and have fun!

These pens give some great effects when diluted with water and can make some very interesting textures.

What new adventures in art supplies have you had lately?

Cooler Temps Plus Outdoors Equals Bliss!

2011-10-03T06:30:00.000-04:00

Autumn arrived in Florida on October 1st with much cooler temperatures and lower humidity! I didn't need much more of a reason than that to get outside and get in some sketching.

Osprey Drive Park
Stillman & Birn Sketchbook
Watercolor and Ink
7 x 7 inches
Click to enlarge

I didn't get a particularly early start, but it didn't seem to matter. I went to one of our local "no-name" walking/biking paths and set off with my sketch kit....and the requisite travel mug of coffee!

Lots of people were out with the dogs, getting some fresh air, roller blading, biking, running or just sitting on the benches to enjoy the day. I wasn't hopeful of spotting much wildlife with so much activity and figured I'd working on capturing a landscape.

I wasn't more than an eighth of a mile down the path when I noticed the Anhinga doing his thing up in a tree by the pond. More of a bush really. He bobbled and bounced as he went through his grooming process.

He seemed to have a very itchy neck! He would start scratching right above his chin and then work his way up to to as far as he could go. His neck would get longer and longer with the effort.

The bird was quite busy moving around, but every once and a while he'd just freeze as if he'd seen a bug floating by. Or a ghost. I didn't see him snap at anything so maybe he caught a smell of danger or .....who knows!

Further along the path, I just happened to catch a small movement out in the left field of my peripheral vision—it was the swamp bunny! I totally missed his shape, but this was drawn from mostly memory because as soon as I took an interest in him, he took an interest in leaving—two hops and he was gone!

The little Downy Woodpecker was about 15 feet up a palm tree. Unfortunately, I couldn't see his face in either of the fuzzy snapshots I took of him, so I must assume it was a Downy rather than a Hairy Woodpecker which is similar in plumage but larger in size. The body shape isn't quite right...like most critters, he was busy going about the business of his life and didn't have time to pose for me!

A glorious morning altogether! And I'm off to do it again today!

Service Announcement About Waterbrushes

2011-09-29T11:40:00.002-04:00

Imagine my surprise when I happened to glance at my waterbrush the other day and saw all these black floaty things INSIDE the barrel of the brush! Yuck!

Click to enlarge

I usually wear the point off from the brush tip long before I get gunk in the barrel of a waterbrush. This brush has a very small tip that is used for detailing and I don't use it often. That may be the reason why I have the yucky stuff in the barrel.

Besides not wanting to contaminate my paper or paints with mold, this kind of trash will also plug up a waterbrush, rendering it useless because the water can't flow through to the tip.

Click to enlarge

I used a chenille stem, folded in half and twisted, to get down into the barrel and scrub out some of the sticky offending black spots. I didn't use any soap as I didn't need it to remove the gunk. If you choose to use soap, please make sure to use something like dish soap that doesn't have oils and moisturizers in it. (Oil and watercolor don't mix well and the soap could leave a residue!)

Click to enlarge

No more nasties! I'll keep an eye on this brush to make sure that all the gunk has been removed. If it comes back, I'll rinse just the barrel with a very, very weak water and bleach solution, dry it out thoroughly and then refill it. (Don't get bleach on the bristles!)

I'm not so concerned this will ruin the brush, even though it could, as I'm concerned I could contaminate my paper and paints. I'd had to find mold growing in a sketchbook sometime down the road!

Check your brushes!

Stillman and Birn Sketchbook Review

2011-09-22T09:24:00.000-04:00

Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks
Beta Series on the left;
Alpha Series on the right
Click to enlarge any and all photos

There has been a lot of discussion about the Stillman & Birn sketchbooks on several blogs and FB groups that I play with, so I decided to order a couple and see what they were like.

I purchased a 7 x 7 inch (17.8 x 17.8 cm) Beta Series with extra heavy weight paper and a rough surface as well as a 6 x 8 inch (15.2 x 20.3 cm) Alpha Series with heavy weight paper. Both papers are Natural White in color. When compared to Arches, Winsor and Newton, Fabriano and Strathmore, the paper was very close in color to these watercolor papers with some being a little lighter and one being a bit darker.

The paper in both books is alpha cellulose which is a wood pulp that has been processed to remove lignin and other impurities. It is consider to be a very strong paper that is acid and chloride free.

Beta Series

Beta Series
Daisies Test Page

My first test page in the Beta Sketchbook was a sketch of some daisies. The sketch was done with Copic marker and I had no trouble with the pen skipping. The paper surface is very much like you would expect from Arches cold press watercolor paper with slightly less tooth.

Things to note: while you can lift (see daisy shapes in the background) it is nearly impossible to go back to white. If you do, the paper surface is damaged and it becomes difficult to paint over the area without it being obvious.

I found priming the paper with water was necessary to get a good flow to the paint rather than painting a straight wash. The paper tends to grab the paint quickly making it difficult to get a smooth was without hard lines or edges.

Please forgive the crooked scan
Private journaling has been blocked
at the top of the page

The paper is 180 lb. weight so there was no bleed through to the daisy page. Even with the heavy application of paint and water, the paper still dried flat with minimum buckling. The food collection is the backside of the daisy page. I found no noticeable difference in the surface of the paper after the earlier saturation of the front page.

I also did an eraser test on another page to see how easily the paper erased and whether the paper surface changed. I noted no damage from the erasing and the pencil lifted easily.

Alpha Series

Alpha Series
Daisy Test Page

To keep my testing fair, I decided to use the daisies again. This paper has far less tooth and texture than the first. The weight of this paper is 100 lb. and the buckling was much more pronounced (as would be expected of a lighter weight) when I created the background wash. There is little room for correction and even less lifting ability on this paper. I used the same Copic marker to draw the daisies.

Backside of the daisies page
Note the buckling

When I started to draw on the backside of the daisies, I immediately noticed the paper surface had been altered by the heavy background wash. The ink feathered and the buckling was so pronounced that I finally dug out my binder clip to hold the page flat.

Notice the binder clip on
the left of the book

The "Let Go and Grow" page is a mixed medium page of watercolor, marker, ink and a touch of colored pencil. There was bleed through to the front daisy page, however the scans do not show it well. It wasn't bad, but there was definitely bleed through. I also noticed that when I used pencil and then erased, it left an impression on the page, sometimes making it difficult to lift the graphite. The surface did not seem altered by the erasing.

Final Evaluation: If you use a lot of markers, heavy ink or moderate watercolor, your best bet is to opt for the heavier paper in the Beta Series. If you are looking to do very light washes, pencil work, colored or graphite, I think you'll be fine using the Alpha series. Writing on this paper (when not altered by heavy washes) was a dream no matter which pen I used.

The paper in both books has a nice feel to it and performs well. I think I'll enjoy using both books, however, I don't see myself purchasing more when these are filled.

Please note: The paper in each series is the same whether the book is hardbound or wire-bound. The Beta Series with the heavier paper is only available in the wire-bound form. To keep my unscientific tests as similar as possible, I opted for two wire-bound books.

We Interrupt Our Normal Program....

2011-09-20T07:21:00.001-04:00

Food Sculpture
by
Chris Ferlita
Click to enlarge

We had a family celebration last night, and of course, there's always lots of hugs, laughter and mischief going on. Chris contributed one of his (in)famous food sculptures. This is made of lemon, zucchini, tomatoes and rib bones.

Don't you want to come and join us for our next dinner?

Oddly enough, the waiters and waitress always seem to remember us.

____________________________

Our normal programming will return tomorrow......

There's A Chill In The Air!!

2011-09-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

Well, actually, I think maybe the humidity has just dropped as the high for today is suppose to reach 92º! Still, you can see and feel the changes....you just really have to be paying attention. Some of you though, have really begun to feel the chill and see the changes.

And all this means it's time to start preparing for An Imaginary Visit to Autumn's Garden! This class is scheduled to begin on November 18th and run through December 16th. There will be one assignment each week.

For more information and to register for the class, please click here. If you're interested in registering, I suggest you not wait as this is one of the really popular classes over at Imaginary Trips!

Sam's Got A Brand New Bag!

2011-09-16T07:12:00.000-04:00

Front Detail
Click to enlarge

Inside Front
Click to enlarge

Outside Front
Click to enlarge

Pockets Galore!
Click to enlarge

More Inside Pockets
Click to enlarge

Outside Pocket Detail
Click to enlarge

Bag Back
Click to enlarge

Sam's been a busy gal! We just finished this art bag up last weekend. It's colorful, fun and functions super well—just what the muse wanted (almost)! For new subscriber's to the blog, Sam is my muse. She makes periodic appearances on the blog. Usually when she's gotten me into a mess of trouble!

The overall size of the bag is 10 inches tall and 9 inches wide by 2.5 inches deep. Style-wise it's called a vertical messenger bag. It has a padded pocket so I can easily carry an iPad tablet as well as a 10" x 7" sketchbook with room left over for supplies, keys, iPhone and the like.

The back pocket is handy for an umbrella, maps, and souvenirs. The strap is adjustable so that the bag can be worn cross-body as well as over the shoulder.

And while this bag is close, it's not yet quite right and so the muse has been playing in her fabric stash, putting together some new ideas for a fall colored bag with a few modifications on to this one.

The girl just doesn't know when to quit!!

Cecilia Sketches

2011-09-15T10:58:00.002-04:00

Preliminary Sketches of
Cecilia DeBearvoire
Permanent Ink
Click to enlarge

My apologies for not posting the preliminary sketches of Cecilia in the last post here. Her face is actually much more accurate in these sketches than in the painting. She looks a bit, ummm, grouchy. Or maybe she's just mad. Either way, her face is not a "happy face."

Something else I was having trouble with was her body proportions. She doesn't really have shoulders and her arm are longer than her legs. Working out proportions on this page gave me a better chance for succeeding in my painting.

I've got a few more critters in my collection that I think I'll be using for practice as well. They're light and small if I want to carry them with and they usually have such endearing faces that they're fun to sketch!

When I get more sketching done in my "junk journal" (see prior post), I'll post them here!

Happy drawing!

Drawing and Bears

2011-09-13T13:13:00.002-04:00

Cecilia DeBearvoire
Watercolor and ink
5 x 5 inches
Pineapple Journal

How often do you draw?

I'm talking about a piece of paper and pen* for the purpose of JUST drawing rather than drawing something to plop paint on top of later. Once a week? Once a month? Ever? Never?

If you answered hardly ever, you're in good company. The majority of artists I know only draw when they want to create a finished piece of art, be it a painting, sketch or plein air work.

Can you image what the NFL or pro golf would look like if the players didn't practice the very basics every day, for long hours?

A very unorganized circus flits through my mind. Maybe the Keystone Cops.

So why do we, as artists, think we shouldn't have to practice our basic skills? Regularly?

Let's face it...drawing is the foundation of most art. Values, shadows, form shapes, proportions and use of line are some of the very things that trip us up if we don't practice them.

Does the mere mention of these things make you cringe and want to flip to the next blog? I understand. It doesn't sound like much fun. But when I realized that my lack of knowledge and how to create values, shadows and use line was what stood between me and enjoying the creation of my art, I decide to learn.

And it wasn't hard. It just took being willing to try and acknowledging that I was gonna look bad some of the time. I had to keep putting marks on the paper. It took willing to do a really lousy job. Again and again until I finally got to something I liked. Did that mean it was perfect? Nope! Far from it. It just meant I could live with it.

Working in a junk journal** took all the pressure off from me. Since the paper was lousy, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece before I ever put pen to paper. Using pen made me look more closely at what I was drawing because I only had one shot at getting it down accurately.

I'm often asked "how do I learn?" or "where should I start?" and here is my very best advice:

Grab a junk journal and a pen. Doesn't matter what kind of pen or what color. Sit down anywhere and begin to draw what is in front of you. Doesn't matter what it is. Draw. Draw badly. Draw for 15 minutes. It is your choice whether you stop for the day or if you go for another 15 minutes. Come back the next day and do it again. And again. And again. Once you start getting the hang of your chosen scene, move to a new one.
Too intimidating?
Start with a cup, a box, a glass, a vase or some other simple structure. Draw it for 15 minutes every day. Change your perspective by looking up to the item, down into the item and then turn it on its side or at an angle. Once you've mastered that item, add another. Play with lighting to give you shadows. Draw. Every day. Draw, draw, draw.

These drawings are not for creating finished art though there may be some good candidates. They're to help you learn to see, to help you develop eye/hand coordination and to help you demystify drawing.

We're talking 15 minutes a day here. Surely, you have 15 minutes a day?

Classes help, but you don't have to wait to start with a class. Start where you are, use what you have.

Agree to do it badly so that you can improve. Be honest, but not brutal, when you look at your work. This is right, this is not. Done. Turn the page and do it again.

Look through some drawing books at your local library. Look at children's color books and draw what the artist has drawn. Not to steal their idea, but to learn how they created the image using just lines.

There is no magic pen, pencil, brush nor paper that I know of to make us morph instantly into the artist we all want to be. Just some practice learning the basics.

Now, how often do you draw?

_____________________________________

*When we use a pen, we eliminate the possibility of erasing/correcting and so therefore we learn faster because we observe more closely. Without that eraser, we give up our safety nets. Our observation skills improve much faster.
**A junk journal is a cheap journal/sketchbook of blank pages. The paper is cheap junk. It's not good for much more than pen and ink. It may bleed through to the other side. It doesn't matter. It doesn't take color, washes or anything else. That's okay. It's simply a tool for learning. Once you're skills start improving, using the "good stuff" (read that the "expensive stuff") won't be nearly so intimidating.

Rainy, Windy Day at the Beach!

2011-09-07T10:27:00.000-04:00

Chris and I managed to get away this weekend and we headed down to Venice Beach because it was a rainy, windy, overcast kinda day—our kind of day at the beach! In another lifetime, I would have wanted the sun to shine so I could tan, but I've learned there is a certain beauty at the beach that can only be found on days like this.

Unless, we're having hurricane force winds, the Gulf of Mexico seldom gets in an uproar. The waves were stronger than normal, but certainly not ferocious. The rocks are placed at strategic points on the beach to limit beach erosion.

We weren't really prepared to go as it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of decision. We didn't have any dry clothes, towels, chairs or any of the other usual beach paraphernalia. Just us, my little point-n-shoot camera and a strong desire to feel the wind blowing across the water.

I'll be cleaning sand out of the Jeep for a while, but that's okay, it was worth it! It's hard to tell from the images, but the sand also did a pretty good number on my pedicure, so I'll be redoing that as well.

This was shot about six o'clock Sunday evening. I decided to have a little fun and added an artistic flair to it, making the film old and grainy. Hope you enjoy your quick visit to the beach!

____________________________________________

P.S. No art was made at the beach as it was intended as a total break for both of us, but don't be surprised if something shows up a little later!

Fall Classes Starting Next Week!

2011-09-02T10:53:00.000-04:00

Gosh, it seems odd to be writing Fall when it's still hotter than blazes outside! All the same, the new classes start next week over at ImaginaryTrips.com!

An Imaginary Trip to Paris will begin on Tuesday, September 6th. You can find more information by clicking here.

An Imaginary Trip to New Orleans will start on Monday, September 12th! It will be a whole lot of fun in that great city. Please click here for info on this trip!

Also starting on Monday, September 12th, is Artful Journaling: Foundations class! For more information on getting started with watercolor journaling, please click here!

Please let me know of any questions you may have.

Thanks!

Painting In High Winds - Not Recommended

2011-08-31T07:32:00.001-04:00

Windy Day
Cachet Watercolor Journal
7 x 10 inches
Watercolor & Coptic Ink
Click to enlarge

You'd think I would have more sense than to go out the day after Hurricane Irene passed through and try to paint on location. You'd be wrong. I wanted to test out a new stool I'd purchased the weekend before. So off I went on Saturday morning.

The winds were stripping the crape myrtle blossoms off the trees and cascading them through the air onto the surface of this very dirty pond. At times, it looked like pink froth!

The winds were steady with periodic gusts up to 40-45 mph.

Did I have a clip to hold the pages? No, but I had my new stool.

Did I have a band to hold the pages? No, but I had my new stool.

Did I have a grand time juggling my pages and my palette in high winds? No, but I did get to test out my new stool!

The new stool is a Byer Tri-Lite Stool. I'm testing out various stools for the upcoming trip to New Orleans! Click here for more information.

I don't recommend this stool for sketching. It is a bit unstable even with the additional leg support and twice, I thought I was going to tip over! The weather really played no role in this tipping nonsense. Both times I was either stretching or reaching for something.

Too bad it didn't work out as it's quite light and folds up to 13 inches! Not bad! I have a new stool on order, so I'll let you know how that one works out.

New (to Some) Tools To Check Out

2011-08-29T07:08:00.000-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, hubby and I headed up to Ocala where they have two stores that Tampa does not—a Gander Mountain and a Hobby Lobby! Something for everyone! It turned out to be a nice day away as Ocala is horse country with lots of rolling hills and gorgeous oak trees. We managed to get "lost" once and didn't even bother to turn around because we were enjoying the views so much.

Anyway, while wandering the aisles of Hobby Lobby, I stumbled across a Sharpie® Liquid Pencil. Hmmm, I thought. I gotta give this a whirl. I mean liquid pencil—would it smear like regular pencil? Would this eliminate the problem of broken leads let alone having a sharpener? I could see potential here so I chucked one into my basket.

A few aisles over, I stumbled across the Chatterbox Journaling Genie which is a fancy name for a stencil. A stencil used to draw lines quickly on the journal page so that your text will be straight! These have apparently been around for the last 10 years, but I just found out about them.

I liked the idea of a quick way to get lines on the page without having to get a ruler and measure each line, especially for when I'm traveling. What I wasn't liking was the full page of stencils. So, I did a little surgery.

I even rounded some of the corners so they wouldn't scratch me and I could use the shape of the stencil as a template to draw boxes on my journal page. The last thing I did was to glue an envelope in the back of my sketchbook so I could stow the templates and take them out as needed.

As for the Sharpie Liquid Pencil? Don't bother! It looks and writes more like a pen than a pencil. It leaves an indention in the paper with even the lightest of touches and it requires an even amount of pressure to get the liquid "lead" to come out.

The stuffed puppy on the right is a baby toy and he barks when you squeeze his tummy. For some reason, he reminds me of my sweet cinnamon girl, Gatlin, that I lost to cancer a few years ago. You can see the stenciled lines in action over on the left with a Copic® gray marker.

The one thing I will say for the liquid pencil was that I was able to erase most of the lead after the watercolor was complete. I tried some more tests with it on other types of paper and different paints, but did not have similar results. Oh well! You don't know if you don't try!!

A New Medium - Gouache

2011-08-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

Let me start this post out with a big thanks for all the kind comments and thoughts on the previous post with regard to my total backslide into deep water filled with piranhas (also known as insecurites)—your words meant the world to me! I have begun sketching on some of the wedding photos again, but so far, have not completed anything. I'll post when/if I get something together. Thanks also for the compliments of the wedding and for the well wishes for the lovely couple!

M. Graham Gouache and Copic Marker
on recovered paper

The sunflower above is gouache and Copic marker. It's the first time since art school that I've done a complete painting with gouache. I remember why too. As much as I love the effects you can get with the opacity of gouache, I absolutely LOVE seeing the transparency of watercolors more!

This is done on a piece of paper I salvage from the retreat package I received at Christine Kane's event last month. Hard to believe it's been a month already!

As for gouache, I think there's room in my world for this medium, I just don't think I'll be doing to many full paintings with it. This went quickly. It was complete in just one evening and it was fun to change gears from my usual medium to the gouache.

I love the creamy consistency of the M. Graham watercolors as well as the ability to mix just about any color you want from just the triad. The sunflower was painted with Hansa Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Ultramarine Blue and white.

If nothing else, switching to a new/different medium helps to remind you what it is that you love about your "regular" medium. For me, it usually knocks a little rust and sediment out of the crevices as well. Primes the pump for further adventures and creative pursuits.

Not sure what I'll try painting next, but I do want to play with the gouache a little more to see where it may be useful to me.

What new or different mediums have you tried lately?

Sometimes, It's Best Not to Listen....

2011-08-16T18:05:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, my niece Amanda was married at an outdoor wedding.....in August.....in Florida. Yes, you read that correctly. In the photo, the flower girl is spraying Amanda's face with a water mister/fan thingie that helped to keep the girls cool before the ceremony.

I had started to put together a sketch of some of these images. I wanted to do a more personal representation of the day and I was struggling with my sketch to make it look like Amanda and her new husband, Dustin.

When Chris came in from work and saw the sketch, we started to talk about it. I was not happy with it at all. Since it was family, I definitely wanted the people in the sketch to look like who it was suppose to be and not the Asian folks that had shown up on the page.

Chris offered some constructive comments....Dustin's head was too small for his body, but the proportions were good. Then he criticized the photo I had chosen. I admit it wasn't the best, and the angle was crazy, but it was the one that I thought best summed up the wedding.

Then he went on talking about how hard it is to draw people, let alone family. Throw in that crazy angle and well, it was just about impossible. That's why he'd quit doing artwork with people in it. At the end of the conversation I decided he was right. It was impossible and I couldn't do it.

Amanda & Dustin

I wasn't good enough.

Mind you, that's not what he said at all. It's what I heard. My insecurities were already raging, nipping at my heels and chewing on my toes. (I tend to think of my insecurities as piranhas...they move in at the first scent of insecurity and work into a feeding frenzy.)

I took my sketchbook back to the studio and erased the whole page......

I shouldn't have listened.

Not to my insecurities. Nor to my fears that I couldn't complete the sketch to my satisfaction. And I shouldn't have erased the damn thing.

Cheesecake and Cupcakes!

What did I learn?

1. The next time my insecurities are that raw, it's probably best not to enter into a conversation about the art no matter how well-meaning the person may be.

2. Wait before erasing. Nothing would have changed if I would have waited until this morning and still decided to erase.

3. I shouldn't have listened to the fear. I know better. Fear is not a good leader.

4. I would have learned something if I had gone ahead with the sketch, even if I had not done the work satisfactorily or to my satisfaction (two different things).

5. Nobody but me would have seen it anyway. Especially if I didn't think it was good enough.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Watkins!

Fail. Epic Fail.

2011-08-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

Two posts back (here), I laid out clear goals for the new sketchbook...keep it LOOSE and leave lots of WHITE SPACE. So what did I do? I promptly blew one of the goals!

Spot
Watercolor on Handmade Paper
in bound journal
Art size - 5.5 x 5 inches

I knew I was in trouble shortly after I started this. The vision of this art in my head was much, much looser with just some detail around his eyes and nose.

I did not take into account the paper. Or all those wonderful little details just begging to be painted with patience and precision!

So. Fail. At least with regard to the goals.

The dog belongs to "superheroine" Lani Harmon, whom I recently met (in person) at the Uplevel Your Purpose retreat. She said that Spot was so exhausted after they came home that all he wanted to do was sleep—he couldn't even be bothered to follow them around the house! Lani is a very talented photographer—check out her fabulous work here!

Full page view of Spot
Page size 8 x 8 inches

Two things really surprised me about this....one, this was quite enjoyable to paint. I s..l..o..w..e..d down and consciously chose to get lost in the details. Second, the paper is proving to be a lot of fun to paint on! Who knew!

I've looked all over the book and its packaging for some idea of who made it because I'm gonna want another one now and there is NOT the first clue as to who made it! Drats!

Still, I'm sure I'll find it or something similar when I go looking.

Now, what "mistakes" or "epic failures" have you been creating?!!

What Makes It a Sketch or a Painting?

2011-08-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

Bar Patron at Chili's
Junk Journal
Permanent Pen
5 x 5 inches

I recently found myself in a wonderful discussion when I was asked what makes a piece of art a sketch vs. a painting. The artist I was discussing this was rather amazed and a bit dismayed at what some folks put into a sketchbook.

Her frustration showed in her comment, "But, they're paintings! Just because they're on a page in a sketchbook makes them no less of a painting."

We started out by talking about time and speed first. Did the amount of time you spent on a piece of art make it a sketch or painting? No. What about speed? We've all seen paintings that have "come together" and nearly painted themselves in no time while a sketch got out of hand and took three times as long as it should have. But in the end, remained a sketch.

The we talked about paper and materials....did doing the work on a loose piece of paper rather than putting it into a sketchbook make it a painting? No. I have plenty of loose sketches floating about the studio and what started this discussion was paintings in a sketchbook. Did watercolor make it a sketch and oils make it a painting? What about pen and ink combined with watercolor? No, we had both seen evidence to the contrary. It seems you can make a sketch with any materials. Same goes for a painting.

We started to talk about size, and then quickly realized that size wasn't going to work as a determining factor as there are sketchbooks out there that are 11 x 14 inches (and possibly larger) all the way to the smallest of smalls.

Next up, we discussed planning....was a sketch an unplanned, spontaneous piece of artwork? Hmmmm, since I teach the idea of planning your artwork, regardless of whether it is a sketch or a painting, before your brush or pencil ever hits the paper, that argument sunk quickly.

From there, the discussion turned to intent....and this is where the discussion became murky. How could one ascertain an artist's intention when looking at a piece of art? No matter if the art was in a sketchbook, on a loose piece of paper, regardless of the materials used or the size, nor how much planning the piece did or did not show, it wasn't always possible to tell if it was a sketch or a painting.

So, dear readers, it's your turn to weigh in with your thoughts and opinions.

Mind you, this discussion is not about "labeling" or "categorizing." It is merely to see if there is any consensus about what makes a sketch a sketch and a painting a painting.

Oops! I Did It Again....

2011-08-08T07:07:00.000-04:00

...I've started another journal. *Sigh.* I've tried to be good and focus on the ones I currently have going. Really. I have.

Beaufort, SC
Handmade Paper Journal
8 x 8inches
watercolor, watercolor pencil
and Inktense pencil

However, I'm learning that once a journal 'ho, always a journal 'ho.

The thought process behind starting this journal is that I want to loosen up. I want to get better at shapes and only adding the bare necessity of details.

I've had this handmade paper journal for....I'm not sure how long, but a long time. I've had it for a long time because I'm intimidated by it.

Painting on handmade paper is not like painting on Arches paper. It's hard to futz and fuss with handmade paper. There's not a lot of sizing and if forces you to edit yourself.

Recently, I've noticed I've been drawn to pages that have a lot of white space around them and so I decided that this journal would focus on leaving lots of white space.

So simple shapes without too much detail and lots of white space.....we'll just have to see how that little self-imposed "rules" last.

Frankly, I don't have much hope. I mean really. I can't even stick to the FOUR journals I already have on the go!

All the same, it's good fun and I'm already learning—the image above has watercolor, watercolor pencil and Inktense pencil in it. I'm not sure what I think of the Inktense pencils. It may be the paper, it may be the subject matter or it may be the artist holding the pencil, but so far, I can't say I'm impressed.

I'll continue to experiment to see if they have a place in my studio.

A Secrt Garden Gate?

2011-08-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

Secrt [Sic] Garden Door
3.5 x 8.5 inches
M. Graham Watercolors
and Ink
Click to enlarge

Each day as we walked to the trolley in New Orleans, we passed this really cool doorway. It led to someone's backyard. There was a house, a garage and other structures back behind the doorway, but for my purposes, I chose to edited them out.

I've always been enchanted by the idea of a secret garden. Maybe it has something to do with Alice In Wonderland or Harry Potter's adventures. Whatever it is, I seemed to be drawn to unusual doors and gates—they are a portal for my imagination.

The title "Secrt Garden Door" is a typo. My right brain was ~~writing~~ creating and it doesn't know how to spell. So I've decided you have to know the "proper" spelling of secret to gain into into my "secrt" garden! Who needs that extra "e" anyway?!

(And as a wise woman once shared with me...if you can't fix it, feature it!)

This was completed with M. Graham watercolors and ink in my NOLA sketchbook. If you're interested in joining me for a real adventure in New Orleans, please click HERE for information about NOLA Live!

For those of you who are interested in learning more about creating journal pages and using watercolors, Artful Journaling: Foundations and Explorations has been added back to the schedule over on ImaginaryTrips.com. Click HERE for more info on the journaling classes.

Happy Weekend, Y'all!

Choosing Pigments for A Palette

2011-08-04T11:20:00.000-04:00

When I posted the recent images of color swatches and the post of the blueberry video, I received a number of questions around how I chose the pigments on my palette—all 27 of them and I promised to address that it in a separate post. Today's the day.

I generally work from a split primary palette in that I have a cool and a warm of each primary, a selection of neutrals, some convenience colors (for painting on location) and then what I call "subject matter" pigment choices.

As an example, I LOVE to paint rusty metals and copper that has the green and blue patina, so I have added Anthraquinone Blue and Cobalt Teal Blue to my palette as these two pigments are extraordinary when painting metals.

I also like to include an unexpected "pop" of color in my work. I often drop in Cobalt Teal Blue for this, but I digress...

The palette used in the video has all M. Graham watercolors in it and is an ongoing experiment. There are 5 reds on that palette—Quinacridone Red, Naphthol Red, Pyrrol Red, Cadmium Red Deep and Scarlet Pyrrol. Do I need 5? No...I'm experimenting with them all to find which ones work best for me.

I have found I can't really find out if a pigment is a good addition to my palette unless I've used it in several paintings/sketches as well as completing some color swatch/chart pages.

To distill down my process for choosing colors* for a palette:
1. Do a color mixing chart. Mix each pigment with every other paint on the palette to see what I'm going in mixes. You will often find that another pigment does the same or better job than a newcomer.
2. Study what type of subject matter inspires me to paint—it may be florals, birds, rusty metals, architecture, the desert landscape, etc. Whatever it is, I assess my pigment choices for any paints that I can add that will enhance my work.** This is also known as a "color signature" and can make artwork easily identifiable to collectors as long as I am consistent in my use.
3. Add the pigment to the palette and commit to using it in a dozen paintings/sketches. Some sketches should be the focus of that pigment (the reason I paint said image) while others should use the pigment as a subordinate in mixes.
4. Add in pigments that "speak to me." Again, I add them in just as I do subject matter pigments and experiment with how they work.
5. Neutrals do not have to be Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Quinacridone Gold. There's nothing wrong with those earth pigments. They've stood the test of time. They've earned their place on the palette. However, there's more than one way to arrive at browns and grays. Scarlet Pyrrol and Cobalt Blue make a fabulous coffee color that when thinned down is the color of beach sand!

One of my favorite neutrals is Neutral Tint—but only the one made by M. Graham. It doesn't have any black pigment in it. Instead, it is made from violet and green. It doesn't deaden other colors and is easily influenced by the addition of blues, purples or browns when I need a super quick dark.

Approach your palette with an attitude of exploration. Test, experiment, and play. See what "speaks" to you in the way of color. Thinking that the pigments on your current palette are the end all, be all may work for you. I've found I do better when I think of my palette choices as an evolutionary process. As I grow, my palette changes.

_______________________

Words of caution...it's really easy to get 47 (or more) pigments on your palette....add slowly, thoroughly testing each pigment....compare pigment numbers so you're not buying duplicate colors from different brands....make sure that each pigment has "earned" its place on the palette....evaluate the colors you use most on your palette by noticing which wells you have to refill frequently. There may be some colors that you simply do not use enough to make it worth your while to leave on the palette. Use them up and replace them with new candidates.

*My choices are also based on the specific pigment properties as well...opacity, granulation, whether the pigment stains, etc. You need to consider these things as well.
**I could easily create the same image with the split primaries and neutrals on my regular palette. This just gives me more room to play.

Extraordinary Event - Christine Kane's Uplevel Your Purpose Retreat

2011-08-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not having any pictures to go with this post, but taking photos, drawing and painting were the farthest things from my mind during my 3 days in Charlotte, NC at the Uplevel Your Purpose Retreat.

In the many events I've attended over the years in corporate America, I don't believe I've ever experienced the openness, energy and willingness to connect as I did at this event.

Wow! The energy was amazing.

The event was centered around getting clear about who we are, what our business is about and how we can step into our own power with clear, decisive steps and take action to serve others authentically.

This meant leaving behind (or working through) preconceived notions, old mindsets that in some cases we didn't even realize we had! It meant (and will continue to mean) being scared and doing it anyway. It meant leaning on someone who had been a complete stranger just moments before to help us move forward to a more positive mindset.

The information we received is a "nuts and bolts" plan to making our businesses grow—authentically. Make no mistake, we still have to do the work to make it happen. This isn't a magic bullet, drink this magic potion or even a magic pill.

Success was modeled for us by several members from Christine's coaching circles. Businesses as diverse as the women who created them. From a neonatal nurse to an astrologer to a cosmetic surgeon.

One of the biggest things I learned while at the retreat was that will it takes work, sometimes hard work, to build a successful business, it doesn't have to be a struggle. We get into the habit of making our lives difficult so we can celebrate our victories over the struggle by sharing it over and over again with friends and family.

I'm coming to understand just how much this behavior limits me and what I can accomplish. This type of behavior drains me and steals energy that I could be using to accomplish more.

One of the other lessons I heard time and again, was that life is a process just as success and failure are as well. I create success, or failure, through the myriad decisions I make everyday. Neither success or failure is a one time event—it's the thousands of decisions made each day.

As I move forward with what I've learned/learning, you'll begin to notice changes. Some big but mostly small tweaks to what I'm already doing.

I look forward to sharing the growth with you. Meanwhile, I encourage you to check out Christine's blog—it's chocked full of goodies!

Growth, Expansion and Art

2011-07-25T22:16:00.001-04:00

Beaufort, SC
Watercolor in
Hand•book Watercolor Sketchbook
8.5 x 3.5 inches

On my way up to Charlotte, NC, to a business conference with Christine Kane, I stopped by one of my very favorite cities in the south, Beaufort, South Carolina. This sketch was done about 8 in the evening on Saturday and it was still in the mid 90's!

Ugh. The humidity was unreal.

The marsh grasses completely captivate me when I'm in this area and I could spend, well, let's just say a really, really long time, learning to capture the nuance of colors in the shifting sawgrass. Since I don't get to stop here as often as I'd like, it was worth it to brave the heat.

Especially since I knew I could pass out in the AC after I finished the sketch!

Just as we practice to improve our skills to learn to "see," to paint and draw, I've found that I have to practice and improve my skills to continue growing my creative life. I am very excited to be working with Christine Kane as a mentor/coach.

Sharing my passion for art, for sketching, for painting, for gaining confidence in our skills is so very important to me so I took a huge step earlier this year and hired Christine to help me reach a new level in my business!

I'll being stretched, challenged and nudged to new mindsets and perspectives. I'm stepping waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out my comfort zone and I'm learning to do things imperfectly...........this should sound familiar to some you who have taken my classes.

I'm getting in a little bit of sketch time and I'll share it when I get the chance to take some photos.

What are you doing to get out of your comfort zone?!

Painting Blueberries - A Video!

2011-07-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

Why is it that fresh fruits seem to taste better when it's so darn hot?! Is it that little bit of coolness or the sweetness or the crunch? Maybe it's the distraction from the heat. Whatever it is, these blueberries were deemed special enough to gain entrance into the sketchbook!

Watercolor and Ink
in Hand•book Watercolor Sketchbook
8.5 x 3.5 inches
Click to enlarge

I made a Blueberry Poundcake this past Sunday. Chris toted 3/4s of the cake out the door on his way to work Monday morning. The plate came back empty Tuesday evening.

Only two people work in his shop.....

Blueberries are so much fun to paint that I thought I'd share the process with you! I use M. Graham watercolors in the video and I've gotta tell you, the more I use them, the more spoiled I become! In case you didn't know, M. Graham has just relaunched their web site and they also have a Facebook page.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Italy, Paris and New Orleans—All Aboard!!

2011-07-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

An Imaginary Trip to Italy gets underway on Tuesday, August 2nd! That's just a few weeks away. Come and join in the fun, but hurry, there's only a few spaces left! More info HERE.

An Imaginary Trip to Paris will be leaving on Tuesday, September 6th! Breakfast, gardens, castles, strolling down the side streets to take in the sights and sounds....come join the trip. More info HERE.

We're also headed for an Imaginary Trip to New Orleans on September 12th! Talk about fun—we have too much of it with beignets, trolleys, balconies, and iron lace! Check out the trip HERE.

There's also a few spaces left for NOLA Live! An Artist's Painting Holiday this coming November! We'll be taking all of our skills and spending the days painting on location with visits to an old plantation, Mardi Gras museums and homes. It's the perfect opportunity to actually visit the city and develop your skills for painting on location. More info HERE. Come and join us!

Pigments, Oh My!

2011-07-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

Various color swatches, palettes and necessary pieces
of flotsam and jetsam

I recently had lunch with Kathy of Catching Happiness, and was describing my very lengthy, messy, all-consuming process of choosing/updating pigments for my palette. She said, "You should have taken a picture!"

Well, KJ, this one's for you!

These photos were actually taken after the worst was over. I had and still have whole pans, half pans, tubes of paint and scraps of paper with a bazillion swatches scattered everywhere, and I do mean, everywhere!

I tend to go all out when I start to change my palette around and it's all I focus on until I make my decisions as to the changes I'm going to make.

"Your passions sweep you away."
Fortune cookie from dinner
over the weekend.
They must have peeked into the studio!

How often have you gone into the art store and fell in love with a tube of paint based on a romantic name (Rose Doré) or the paint sample above the rack? All excited, you rush home, paint it out on a piece of paper and either think, "oh, pretty" or "ugh, not what I thought."

Maybe that doesn't describe you, but it sure describes me!

I have more tubes of paint than I care to count for those reasons.

One of things I've learned over the years is that until I know how well a pigment will play with the others ALREADY on my palette, it doesn't matter if it's a "pretty" or an "ugh."

Taking the time to test out the newcomer with my core pigments and see if I get any new, glowing mixes I can't live without is the only way to know if a pigment will make the cut. I sometimes find that I already have a color on my palette that does as good or better job than the new pigment.

There are a couple of pigments on my palette just because I love the mixes I can make by adding them to some of my tried and true colors. As stand alone pigments....they "ughs."

I highly recommend doing color swatches of all the core colors you have on your palette as well as any new pigments you might want to try—bet you'll be surprised!

Testing out possible color choices for Rainier Cherries
All images can be clicked to enlarge!

Caffeine Challenged Sketching

2011-07-08T10:09:00.000-04:00

Some days I wonder what I was thinking about when I look back at my sketches because it's obvious I was not thinking about what I was sketching!

IHOP Coffee Carafe
Watercolor and Ink
5 x 5 Inches

To continue that yippee-we're-on-vacation!!" feeling that Chris and I found in Gulfport (see post here), we decided to go out for breakfast on the 4th of July. The only time we ever eat breakfast out is when we're on vacation or unusual circumstances (like the Jeep had to go into the dealer at 7:00 am for a recall).

I decided to get in some people sketching practice while we waited for our food to be delivered....and picked the one guy in the whole restaurant that was getting ready to leave 13 seconds after I put down my first line on the page.

Okay, then.

I decided to shift my attention to the coffee carafe that the waitress had just set down on the table.

I knew it wouldn't be leaving.

When we arrived home, I decide to go ahead and add color to the piece....and wondered why in the world I didn't turn the pot so that some of handle showed for a more interesting sketch...what was I thinking?!

My "save" was to paint in an imaginary shadow showing the handle. Not highly accurate or convincing, it does save this from a totally useless sketch.

I think I need more practice. Or maybe I just need more coffee before I tackle this again.

Will you be sketching this weekend?

Christmas....In July?!

2011-07-06T09:28:00.000-04:00

Yes! Christmas in July! Why? Because if you're like me, you have dreams of creating your own designs at Christmas time every year. You realize on the 18th of December that it's probably NOT going to happen. Again.

So this year, I decided to do a MINI Christmas In July class! You can find more information here. It's a 4 week class with a creative prompt each week as well as a video demo covering some aspect of making the artwork card-ready for the holidays.

Come and join the fun! Class starts tomorrow.

Dinner....and a Mini Vacation!

2011-07-05T09:51:00.000-04:00

Impressions of Gulfport
Watercolor and Ink
10 x 7 inches
Cachet Watercolor Sketchbook

Saturday evening, we met friends Wayne and Myra in Gulfport, Florida for an early dinner. Little did we know it would be a mini vacation! We met at Backfin Blue Cafe for crab cakes and a grouper sandwich before strolling around the little beach community.

The cafe is in an old house that's been converted into a restaurant. There were about six tables inside with a dozen on a porch that wrapped around the outside of the house. The food was good and the company, excellent as always! By the time we left there was a long wait at the front door.

After we finished our meal, we walked towards the beach. Antiques and collectibles, beach wear, home decor, and restaurants were everywhere!

There was live music going on at a number of the restaurants and bars adding to the ambience. Lulu, the famous feline, was hanging out on the front porch of the Peninsula Inn and Spa to greet guests (though she was trying to catch up on her beauty sleep).

We walked out on the small pier when we reached the water and enjoyed the cool breezes coming in. The signs posted mentioned manatee, but we didn't see any. From there, we began our walk back up the other side of the street, admiring the different houses and gardens. We eventually arrived at an ice cream shop where we just had to stop and enjoy the goodies!

What we expected to be a very nice dinner with friends turned into a mini getaway as we walked through the town and into some of the small eclectic shops. They were advertising an Art Night on the first Friday of each month and the third Saturday. Sounds like a good time!

The four of us decided we needed to go back (soon!) and check out some of the other restaurants in the area as well as for the fun mental break of a mini getaway.

I opted to leave my sketchbook in the jeep and instead took photos with my iPhone as we strolled around. Sunday, I painted the collage while the vacation feeling was still strong.

Just looking at the page brings back that "vacation state of mind!"

Hope you had a fabulous weekend too!

Sketch 'n' Lunch!

2011-06-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was errand day and I had about a half dozen places I needed to visit. I wanted to make it home in time for lunch, but it was not to be. Running around in the rain (finally!) seems to slow things down a bit.

Anyway, I stopped off at Panera as it happens to be right next to the book store. I moseyed through there first and picked up a couple of magazines with the intention of reading through lunch since I didn't have my usual partner in crime with me.

As I sat looking at my lunch, I thought, "well, gee, that kinda looks like a picture....."**

So, what is one to do with a pretty-as-a-picture salad? Why, draw it in their sketchbook, of course!

I drew out the main shapes of chicken, tomato, pecans, blue cheese crumbles and some of the purply lettuce. Once I had enough down on the page, I started eating. By the time I finished my lunch, I just about had the sketch completed.

After looking at it at home, I realized I needed to go back and throw in some darker greens and darken the bowl too.

This was one of my more successful "sketching food" adventures, I'm pleased to say.

It was kinda fun. It was even more fun when I saw the one guy leaning over the banister to watch what I was doing. He never said anything though. Bet you didn't know that sketching in public is another form of performance art!?!

Pen and Watercolor
in a crummy sketchbook

And this is where I finished.

This is a "sketchbook" that came with a leather portfolio I purchased several years ago...for the portfolio. The paper in this sketchbook is not worth a plug nickel! Ink, watercolor, even ballpoint pen all show through to the other side. If it didn't say sketchbook on the front cover, I'd wonder....

However, paper is paper and 'tis good for playing around!

**Side note: With the rain, comes lots of really bad headaches for me from the drop in barometric pressure and allergy flair-ups.....which leads to a rather slow reaction time otherwise known as "doh!!"

Woohoo! Another Interview!

2011-06-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

The lovely and talented Cathy (Kate) Johnson has just posted an interview that she and I did during the creation of the book, Artist's Journal Workshop over on the blog by the same name! So, if you're just dying to know more about me (ha!), hot foot it on over there....

...while you're there I seriously recommend checking out the book that started this awesome journey—Kate has knock this one out of the ballpark with the bases loaded! It's chocked full of inspiration, phenomenal art, and she has a knack for making it accessible no matter where you might be on the road of discovery!

Drawing For The Sake of Practice

2011-06-23T17:51:00.000-04:00

Chris and Booger
No Name Fountain Pen with
Unknown Black Ink
In Junk Journal

A comment from Monday's post by Cris from Cris, Artist In Oregon fame started me thinking about why we draw, why we draw in a journal...and why it can be so difficult. She wrote the following in response to my question at the end of the post, do you draw regularly:

No, I dont draw regularly Laure. I was in the garden this weekend trying to draw something and what a mess. I NEED to do this regularly. But I find excuses not to. Groan. Number one excuse is WHAT to draw and TWO how to put it on the paper. Should I do it in an order etc. I am so looking forward to my new Northlight Artist journal workshop book coming that deals with these things

Pondering what Cris had written, I realized that many artists (and on occasion, myself) get hung up on what to draw, should it be in order, should it be pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, colored pencil, some combination of mixed media, and then we wonder if it should be a vertical format, maybe square, or horizontal maybe! Oh, wait! We remember we just got that new journal with the handmade paper and we can use our Cray Pas crayons in it! No, wait, the new walnut ink, or maybe we ought to just stick with something simple like pencil......

Sound familiar?!

And so, we draw nothing. Held captive by the overwhelm of choices and possibilities. My response to Cris was simple:

Cris, this is going to sound odd, but it really doesn't matter what you draw if you're drawing for practice. It's more important that you simply draw!

Like most things, it helps to have a clear idea of why we're undertaking a task in the first place.

Are we drawing to improve a certain skill set? How to draw with a certain media type? Or how to draw roses? Or watercolor or pen and ink? Or just plain, old practice?

For me, drawing is the foundation element of all art. To be good at drawing only increases my ability to put something on the page I'm going to really like. I want to be able to draw anything, anywhere, any time. Am I there yet? Heavens, no! But the fun is in the trying and you can bet I'll keep trying!

The sketch above is poor with regard to the perspective, shading and so on. That's okay. It records a moment in our lives of our 20 year-old cat curled up on Chris' pillow. She does this every night. I sketched this in under 5 minutes because Chris was waiting for me to get in the bed and turn the lights out!

I couldn't have done this if I wasn't willing to fail. I couldn't have done this if I hadn't been practicing quick sketching in a hurry. Since Booger's health has begun to fail, I can't wait until I'm good enough. I have to do it now or the chance will be gone forever.

Failing is as much a part of learning as success and what I've learned is that it's okay to fail. In fact, fail gloriously! It means we're learning something! How else can we learn if we don't fail?! Success is not nearly the teacher that failure is.

Cris wrote back, saying:

Thank you, Laure...What you said in your comment to me seemed to free me. I have been drawing something every day. They aren't the greatest drawings and it's in an old torn sketch book, but I am drawing. It feels good to just do something that means nothing but practice.

Sometimes, it really is just that simple. It's practice. It's making a mark on the page. It doesn't matter how, the paper, the book, the order....it's about the practice.

So I ask, what's holding you back from practicing your drawing skills?

Running Away....To The Kitchen

2011-06-20T09:49:00.000-04:00

Watercolor & Ink
Junk Paper Journal

Between Father's Day festivities and a "to-accomplish" list longer than my arm, I didn't get to run away and paint on location this weekend.

Instead, I ran away to our breakfast nook (part of the kitchen) to sit and sketch. These flowers reside on the corkboard/shelf that Chris made for me several years ago.

In a recent conversation with a friend who has been away from art for several years, I realized how important it is to keep my hand "in the game!" After just a few days of not sketching or painting, I can feel the rust start to accumulate.

Trying to get back in the game after several years has to be brutal! You know where you once were and what you were capable of......but those skills seem to have disappeared.

They haven't. They're just caked in rust, and to get those skills cleaned off means having to be willing to paint badly for a while. The saying, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly" seems to apply in this situation.

The only way to get those skills back and to knock the rust off is simply to do it. We have to go through it to get to the other side.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice simply makes us better. It is a necessary ingredient to keep our eye and hand coordination strong, our visual vocabulary rich.

And it's kinda like riding a bike again after a 20 year hiatus.....it's gonna hurt until those muscles get strong again!

Do you practice sketching and drawing on a regular basis?

Experimenting On Location

2011-06-15T11:47:00.000-04:00

I have a problem.

Okay, I have more than one problem, but this post is going to be about just one of them....

I can't see.

I've worn contacts and glasses for years. Up until a few years ago, that was fine.

Now, I can't see with them and I can't see without them.

If I have on my contacts, I need readers to see close up.

If I have on my glasses, I have to look under them, rather than through them, to see close up.

And if I hold an object too close to my naked eye, it becomes fuzzy. Argh!

Recently, in passing this restaurant in the early morning hours, I noticed the light playing on the umbrellas, especially the yellow one. I decided to try and capture the effect in my sketchbook(s).

In these 3 images, I also decided to play around with "my eyes"....sketching with just my contacts, then just my glasses and without either. Can you guess which is which?!

The Oaks Restaurant
Watercolor and Carbon Black Ink
Strathmore Aquarius II Watercolor Paper

Second Attempt
Watercolor and Carbon Black Ink
Strathmore Aquarius II Watercolor Paper

Third Attempt
Watercolor and Lexington Gray Ink
Cachet Watercolor Journal

Just to keep the challenge level high, I've also swapped out my usual paper for two different ones, Strathmore Aquarius II and Cachet. BTW, you can enlarge any of the three images by clicking on them. There will be one more attempt and that's with contacts and readers, much to my wounded pride....

Has anyone else been experiencing the joys of changing eyesight?!! How are you handling it?!

Noodler's Flex Nib Fountain Pen

2011-06-13T09:31:00.000-04:00

Heart of Darkness Ink
on Strathmore Aquarius II Watercolor paper
using a Noodler's Flex Nib Fountain Pen

New ~~toys~~ tools! The latest batch of Noodler's Flex Nib Fountain Pens released this past Monday, and you may be wondering what the big deal is......

....it's the nib. Actually, it's the nib that makes any pen what it is, but there are other elements to be considered such as the materials used to make the pen, aesthetic appeal, weight, balance and so on.

In this case, the nib is very flexible, making it easier to get a wide variety of line widths from one pen. It makes for lovely writing with thick and thin strokes as well. The nib allows for more expressive writing or drawing.

Since the advent of the ballpoint pen, we're used to being able to press down with a lot of pressure as we write. Flex nibs quickly fell out of favor because it takes controlling the pressure on the pen to create the line variety and too much pressure could damage/ruin the nib.

In our hurry-up world, a slow-down like this was not welcomed. Manufacturers took note of the consumers' preferences and quit making these nibs.

Finding an older, flexible nib depends on a good amount of money and an even larger amount of luck. It is considered dicey at best. However, since whatever is old is new again, the flex nibs are seeing renewed interest.

My main interest in the pen is for it's drawing capabilities. I was pleasantly surprised by the pen's versatility to create very thick (2mm) to very thin (hairline) lines.

The quick sketch above is the first test with the pen straight out of the box. If you look at the eyelashes, individual pieces of hair and the eyebrow, you can easily see the variety of lines, all created with the one pen.

Of course, not being able to leave well enough alone, I went in with a waterbrush to add some shading.

The pen is lightweight, the cap fits securely on the end when the pen is in use and the nib glides across the paper. All this for the princely sum of $14, depending on where you purchase. If I were to lose it, I'd out the dollars, but that's better than $200 or more than one might pay for an antique flexi nib.

Kate Johnson has also done a review of the pen over at the Artist's Journal Workshop Blog. Speaking of the Artist's Journal Workshop book, it is now available as a download for your Kindle! Check out the details here! The paperback will be shipping June 27th! Can't wait to see it!

Random Musings

2011-06-10T14:09:00.000-04:00

This week has flown by, or more accurately blown by, in the blink of an eye. I've spent a good deal of it mired down in the world of technology.

On the one hand, I LOVE technology as it expands my view to encompass the world. I have cyber buddies around the world. I am exposed to new ideas, cultures, art works, and thoughts every time I fire up the internet.

Then there is the other side of technology...the infrastructure that makes all these ideas, cultures, artworks, thoughts available to us.

Anyone who has built a web site, customized a blog, tinkered with code knows what a fine balance there is between order and chaos.

Maintaining this balance is what some would refer to as delicate, mind-numbing and infuriating....but worth it.

So I'm pleased to announce that there are now six months of classes now up on the schedule over at ImaginaryTrips.com and you can read about it on the i•Trav•e•logue!

In addition to the updates at Imaginary Trips, there is now a new web site, ImaginaryTripsMadeReal.com, the new sister company that takes all the fabulous skills we learn in the online classes and provides an opportunity to put them to use in an exotic new locale!

First up, New Orleans! NOLA Live will be held in November—come and join the fun! Click here to learn more about the trip.

Next up, I owe Michael over at Michael's Scroll blog an update on the Pen and Ink Fountain Ink saga that started with this post. I don't care for this ink...turns out Michael has had great results with it. I promised to try again....and got the same miserable results that I got the first and second time I tried this stuff. My results below:

Pen and Ink Fountain Pen Ink Test

80 lb. Strathmore Aquarius II WC Paper

Watercolor

Moving right along, (if you're still with me) I promised to share a secret with you on watercolor paints. I'm still promising. I will be back at some point next week with a video on some really cool watercolors!

Last but not least, I think many of us are feeling "splattered." Our attention and focus is splattered over so many different events, projects, ideas, and tasks we feel like we're going around in circles. Kate, over at the Quicksilver Workaholic, has a good post on this.

I've spent the morning finding the top of my desk (it's brown), organizing papers into nice, neat stacks and in general, taking a reading on where I am before I plunge headlong into the summer months.

I believe this "taking-a-reading" business may require some serious contemplation time in a hammock, out at the end of a deck next to a large body of water.....you can join me if you'd like, but I've got dibs on the hammock first.

Happy weekend, ya'll!

"Honey, Come Look At This....."

2011-06-06T09:08:00.000-04:00

Whenever I hear my husband say those words I know I'll usually be looking at something cool and unexpected in the next few seconds. Friday morning was no exception. Chris was getting ready to leave and noticed something unusual hanging out by the door:

A stunning Luna Moth! I was so excited!! One of the artists in the Imaginary Visit to the Garden class had painted one and several of lamented we had only seen these in photos. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise to find one perched by our door. I hustled back inside to grab my camera and sketchbook:

Luna Moth on
Strathmore Aquarius
Watercolor Paper

In my hurry to get the moth painted, I managed to drop my palette. Fortunately, I was standing on concrete when it happened so the paints did not get muddy/gritty/dirty. Turns out I didn't need to worry as the Luna bug hung around until the next day, when this one showed up:

Two Luna Moths in one weekend when we've never seen them before? What was going on? Was it simply a case of courtship? Don't know. When we woke this morning, the first Luna had taken flight, but the second Luna is still hanging out in the exact same spot.

Bugs and moths are generally not good "posers" as they're busy going about the business of life. Two things made it possible for me to capture this gorgeous creature in my sketchbook (besides the fact that it hung out for a couple of days)...first, I keep a kit ready to go all the time with sketchbook, pencil, waterbrush, and watercolor palette. I didn't have to search for my "stuff" so that I could get started. I also took a photo first so that if he had fluttered off, as I fully expected him to, I would still have material to work from. The second reason is the watercolor paint I used and I'll be sharing more on that in the next post.

Some Luna Moth facts for you:

• Luna Moths only live seven days.

• They do not have mouths so they do not eat.

• Depending on the climate they live in, they may produce up to three generations in that 7 day span. In warmer climates, more generations are created.

Wanna Come To NOLA Live! With Me?!!

2011-06-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

St Elizabeth's Asylum
Guardian Angel
8.5 x 3.5 inches
watercolor
(please click to enlarge)

From the very beginning of ImaginaryTrips.com, I have been dreaming of a way to follow through on the skills and learnings from the imaginary trip classes at a live location! Some of you even asked for such a trip, where we could all come together to sketch and paint in these wonderful locales we visit virtually.....

I am so very pleased and excited to announce that Imaginary Trips Made Real, LLC is a reality and will be hosting:

NOLA Live!

An Artist's Painting Holiday

November 6 -11, 2011

All of the info is in the itinerary here. Just click to download a copy.

I hope that you'll join me in the wild adventure!

Please let me know of any questions I can answer.

_________________________________________

The angel in this post is one of two angels that stands outside of St. Elizabeth's Asylum in New Orleans. It has been a girls' school as well as an orphanage. It has a ballroom and a chapel with the original stained glass windows.

It was also the home of Ann Rice, author of the famed Interview With The Vampire and The Vampire Lestat novels. The home had an unusual designation of being one of the largest private homes in the United States at just under 50,000 square feet.

Ms. Rice sold the property after her husband passed away and it has recently been converted to luxury condos.

I took quite a few artistic liberties with this image. The glass window behind the angel is not as large nor low as I have it shown and there is a huge column that seems to have disappeared from the image as well.

I lost track of the time it took to create this image as I started it several months ago. I was sidetracked with other projects and would occasionally come across it, paint a little and then set it aside again.

When I was in NOLA, I visited the location twice. There was a strong sense of peace emanating from the building. Did the angels have anything to do with it? I'm not really sure. I just know there was a serenity to the place that I wanted to capture in my image.

I do hope you'll come and join me on the return trip—it's going to be a blast!!

Sam Is At It - Again!

2011-05-31T09:01:00.000-04:00

The Bag Saga continues....

Bag Prototype I
Watercolor and Ink

Sam* got loose at the fabric store the other day and decided we just have to have a new bag for our big adventure!** I'm not even going to tell you how much material we came home with, but let me just say that if we make up all the material she just had to have, we'll have a coordinating bag for every outfit in the closet!

But I digress and Sam is giving me that look that tells me I need to get back on subject....the bag you see in the sketch above is actually made. It is missing the handle(s) and the flap is not sewn on yet. That won't be done until after handles are complete.

Sam wanted to use the two materials, the blue stripe and paisley....until we returned home and she found the green stripe in our stash to use as the lining. Of course, the whole point of this is to create a bag that's not too big and not too little and has just the right size/amount/type of pockets.

Much debate ensued with regard to what was big enough and what was too big. It turns out this one may be a bit too small. Which thrills Sam no end as she gets to make more bags. When and where we're going to find the time, I have no idea, but that small detail doesn't bother Sam. She has no concept of time.

Must be nice.

______________________________

*Welcome to new readers and followers! For those of you unfamiliar with Sam, she is my muse, alter ego and all around troublemaker that gets me into worlds of trouble....and loads of fun!

**Big announcement about the big adventure Sam is excited about later this week!

Rude Awakening

2011-05-25T06:44:00.018-04:00

It's not quite daylight.

I roll over and look at the clock. I've still got 20 minutes before the alarm goes off.

I'm thinking about whether I want to go ahead and get up....or just drift off again......

Before I'm completely comatose, I feel a large "plunk" on the bed.

Next to my head, I suddenly hear a Harley crank up.

Even with eyes closed, I know it's Joey. He always sounds like a happy Harley with his super loud purr.

And worse, he knows I'm awake.

I reach out and scratch him on the head, eyes still closed, hoping he'll go lay at the bottom of the bed until I'm ready to get up.

No. Such. Luck.

He gently head butts me when I haven't moved in the last three minutes.

This time I crack an eye open to locate the not-to-be ignored cat and again, scratch his ears.

Somewhere, deep in the recesses of my mind, an unpleasant notion starts to take shape and creep upward.

I ignore it.

I lay there trying to drift off again when an odd thought drifts across my mind about not remembering the toy I just saw in Joey's mouth.

It's not full light yet. I just didn't recognize it.

Still resisting the vague but insistent worry becoming stronger in the back of my mind, I note that the cat is walking up and down the length of the bed, occasionally pouncing on something.

Suddenly, the vague panic breaks through the surface of conscious thought and I bolt upright in bed!

To see a very happy feline sitting there looking at me, very proudly I might add, with what's left of a brown wolf spider in his mouth.

"Gwof mrfing!! Lokf wha I brft uw!" says the happy boy. (Translation: Good morning!! Look what I brought you!)

Gonna be a fine day.

Just fine.

Joey and His "Toy"
Watercolor on
Strathmore Aquarius II Paper

Fresh From Garden!

2011-05-23T07:58:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and Black Carbon Ink
3.5 x 8.5 Inches
Handbook Watercolor Journal

Someone's garden, anyway! Would love to say these are from my own, but they're not. I didn't put one in this year. These tomatoes were fresh, though. Anybody want a BLT?!

Another Grand Finish to the 100 Paintings Challenge!

2011-05-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

Tiger's Nest Monastery by Brinda Crishna
© All Rights Reserved

Please join me over on the 100 Paintings Challenge Blog to congratulate Brinda Crishna of a fabulous finish to the 100 Paintings Challenge (and she says she may do it again!!)! Brinda's work has been inspiring as her "window to the world" shows a view of India and other places she's visited while completing the challenge. I think you find some words of wisdom in the interview as Brinda shares what she's learned about her work and style.

Again, Brinda, congratulations!

Fountain Pen Inks: Buyer Beware

2011-05-19T09:52:00.000-04:00

I have a renewed interest in fountain pens. Maybe I should just go ahead and confess to having a new (old) obsession with fountain pens as I've purchased a number of them over the years and very much enjoy writing with them. However, I'd never used them in my artwork as the inks tend to be impermanent.

With my renewed interest, I've discovered there are actually some really nice inks on the market that are permanent and waterproof.....as well as those that simply make the claim, but do not deliver.

On a recent trip to the art store, I discovered a bottle of Pen & Ink Brand Fountain Pen Ink. "Woohoo!!" I thought.

Ink Samples in the background
as well as my Esterbrook Fountain Pen

I brought it home and the testing began. I tested it on several papers all with dismal results. This ink is not waterproof. You cannot wash over it with watercolors and expect to get clean colors. It bleeds like a fiend:

The sample above is a test strip completed over 36 hours,
starting on the right side with a wash of water almost
immediately after the ink was laid down -
Click to enlarge

Starting on the right, I hit the ink with water immediately. I repeated the process at 60 second intervals, then 7, 10, and 15 minutes apart. Then I waited 36 hours and the ink still bled. I had the same results on different papers.

I reread the statement on the bottle:

In case you can't read it, it says "Ideal for sketching, dry ink does not bleed when used with a wash." Well then, I guess the question then becomes "How long do I have to wait for the ink to dry?"

If after 36 hours, I'm still getting a bleed, I'm not going to be using this ink to sketch with UNLESS I want tonal grays and have no intentions of putting down a watercolor wash.

On the good side of things, the ink does appear to be lightfast and permanent as there has been no fading in my samples so far. Still, if you're looking for a permanent ink, I suggest you avoid this one.

If someone else has had radically different results, I'd love to hear from you!

Video: Using One Pen In Place of Three!

2011-05-17T12:56:00.001-04:00

When you find a new tool this good—you just have to tell everybody!!

Disclaimer: I nor Imaginary Trips are associate or affiliated with Duke Pens. Purchase and use at your own risk.

I Don't Know That Dog!

2011-05-10T08:50:00.000-04:00

An attempt to capture Andi
Gray ink on cheap paper

Andi had to go to the vet yesterday morning. At 8:00 AM (which is much too early). It takes two of us as she's like a tornado in a furry suit. Our best estimates are that she was born in 1999. When the vet came in to look her over, he asked if we were sure that Andi was nearly 12 years old. We assured him that she was.

He allowed that perhaps she was just hyper because we were in the vet's office. Again, we assured him that, no, she's like that pretty much all the time.

She's always been a tornado. From the day I brought her home and she refused to go into the cage but decided she preferred the front seat, riding shotgun. So you can only imagine the fun of trying to capture any part of her in a sketch. She's a blur!

I thought there might be a few moments of stillness at the vet's office in which I could capture a likeness. It was not to be. Not sure what dog I sketched, but it's not mine!

Tucker on the floor
Platinum Carbon Black Ink on scrap paper

A few nights before, Tucker curled up at the foot of my office chair. I thought great, he's still, he seems to be asleep, now's a great time to get a sketch! Ha. His internal alarm system went off and before I could get much more than an outline, he was sitting up. I tried for the second sketch of him in that position (in the upper left) when he decided to leave.

How do they know?

Practice What You Preach!

2011-05-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

Wild Morning Glories
3.5 x 8.25 Inches
Watercolor
Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook

Coming home from my outing on Saturday I spotted a morning glory vine with hundreds of blooms! It was absolutely gorgeous!! I noted that it was close to the road and I'd have no trouble sitting on the sidewalk to sketch and paint.

I waited until this morning to go and paint on location. I should have guessed today was going to be an exercise in the adventures of painting outside.

We're having some serious wind today, 5 to 10 miles an hour with higher gusts. However, I had my little WHITE binder clip (I'm generally a quick study!) so I wasn't overly concerned. See prior post here to learn about binder clips.

And it probably wouldn't have been much of a problem except I also had a leaky waterbrush! Brand new, straight out of the package....and untested. If there's anything my students hear from me, over and over, is to test your supplies before you get to the field!

Between the wind, the drowned page and palette, I gave up on the notion of trying to capture some of the gorgeous shadows I saw and went instead for the blooms and a few leaves.

All told, this is about 50 minutes of work. I finally gave up, put the book (open) in the Jeep so it could begin to dry out and took some photos to try again later as the blooms won't last long with the dry, windy weather we're having.

I'm looking forward to working inside the studio. Away from the wind. I'm also going to see if I can figure out why that &*#$ brush is flooding the paper every time I turn it point down!

Working on location is always an adventure and never ever dull—get out there and try it!

Lessons Learned On Location

2011-04-30T17:42:00.006-04:00

Brandon Parkway
Watercolor and Carbon Black Ink
8.25 x 3.5 inches

Another title for this post could easily be "What Makes a Painting Successful?"

What makes a painting successful is sometimes (usually?) beyond the obvious. Most of us consider a "pretty picture" to be a successful page, but what about all those "all most, not quite" practice pages we do? Do they count?

I consider the page above a success, and you may be thinking "she's losing it if she thinks that's a successful painting." And that's okay. Because you can't "see" my goals for this piece.

I am NOT a landscape painter, but I have hopes of one day mastering this genre. When I left the house this morning to go out and sketch, I had a TOTALLY different image in my head. One that was loose and charming with just the right touch of detail.

And then I arrived on location and got busy.

And.....failed. On the first goal anyway. This sketch is not loose nor charming. It is an improvement over this image (third shot down) of a lake not too far away. This image is not as overworked and muddy. I actually managed to leave a couple of areas alone rather than "fix" them.

The things I learned are:

Next time, take the stool. Even if I don't think I'll need it, I will. I have no problem sitting on the ground. I do, however, dislike ants. Ants crawling on me. Ants biting. Enough said.
I wore a hat to help shade my eyes from the bright sunshine. So why then did I take a shiny, chrome document clip to hold the pages of my sketchbook open? I will be swapping that out for flat black. Unless I need to use the shiny clip for mirror signaling. I could get lost, you know!
It's best to take the tissue out of the package before I need it.
Use of black ink helped this sketch tremendously. In fact, it wouldn't have made prime time without the ink.
I have recently started wearing a white sweat band on my wrist to wipe my paint on when I'm on location. It makes life a little easier. I don't have to hang on to the paper towel. Unless I happen not to have my wrist band and decide to use my wrist anyway. (It must have looked pretty bad because the guy at the deli told me where the ladies room was—without me asking!)
If it's working, leave it alone. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today, but since the sky kinda worked in this, I decided to leave well enough alone. Oh, and there wasn't a hill either.

Goals for next time...no shiny clips, a wrist band, loose and charming, more variation in the greens and no mud...

Piece a' cake!

And Thy Name is Redundancy! Or Maybe Just Dunce....

2011-04-27T06:45:00.003-04:00

Poppy!
Watercolor and Ink
3.5 x 8.25 inches
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

I wanted to make sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you knew this was a poppy. Did a good job, didn't I?!

Duh. I'm not sure what possessed me to put the word "poppy" behind the bloom, but.....well, there you go!

I like the strong graphic quality of the word, but next time I think I'll opt for something a mite more subtle.

My intentions when I started this was to ink it.

I did ink the outline of the letters and knew immediately it wasn't going to have the pop I was after. I went over it with neutral tint watercolor and hid the ink. Then I was going to ink the flower.

Then I wasn't.

Then I decided it would be best to turn the page and just begin again.

Maybe tomorrow.

After the laundry's finished……

Wash Day.....

2011-04-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and Noodler's Ink
3.5 x 8.25 Inches
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

Need I say more?

Mainlinin' Caffeine

2011-04-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and Noodler's
Lexington Gray Ink
3.5 x 8.5 inches in
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

I like to sleep, so when my mind decides, against my will, that it doesn't want to....well, let's just say I find the whole situation unnecessary and nothing short of annoying!

Woke up at a little past 3 AM on Monday morning. WIDE AWAKE. It was like someone flipped a switch. My mind was awake and that was all there was to it.

Finally got up a little after 4:00. Did some stuff on the computer, did some reading.

My mind was NOT slowing down.

Thought about going into the studio, but it's across from our bedroom and I was afraid I would disturb Chris. Back to the computer for a while.

About six, I gave it another go. I managed to cat nap off and on until around 7:30—gaaaaaaaaa!

Nothing like having a full day to slog through when you would like nothing more than to curl up and catch some more shut eye.

This sketch was my attempt at humor about something I didn't find funny at all! In my exhaustion and hurry yesterday, I misspelled mainlining and had to correct and shorten the spelling. Misspelled caffeine and didn't even realize it. However, it's not fixable so I'm leaving it.

It's kinda funny now.

It wasn't yesterday.

By The Lantern's Glow

2011-04-13T09:22:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and Ink
3.5 x 8.5 inches
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

As I mentioned in an early post, I find that the days are whizzing by so quickly that I (and my husband) are having trouble keeping track of the what event happened on which day, and I feel a "need" to capture more info about those days in my sketches.

Does this mean I'm getting old?

You would think that the date of the day you lost power for 17 hours would lodge in your brain, but no, it didn't. When I asked Chris which Thursday the storm happened on, he wasn't sure if it was two weeks ago or three. I had to google it to make sure I had the date right. It was March 31st.

What did we do before Google?

I had already drawn the lamp a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to painting it last night. I turned out the lights, lit the lamp and away I went. I recommend painting by firelight once in a while—it will show you just how familiar you are with the paints on your palette and their layout!

The first thing Chris noted about this sketch is the purple background.

I made a couple of missteps, adding green rather than blue a few times, but for the most part, I was able to relax and just go with whatever I happened to pick up on the brush.

Painting and reading by lamplight gives me new respect for my grandparents and the generations before them—it takes a real desire and dedication to do much by lamplight, most especially if you're spoilt by modern day conveniences!

More From N'awlins

2011-04-11T09:08:00.000-04:00

Il Posto Café
Watercolor and Ink
Arches Paper
3.5 x 8.5 inches

I am finally making my way back around to the New Orleans sketches....this little café was just down the street from the house we rented during our NOLA stay, and it's where we ate our first meal upon arrival. Getting to our rented home was a bit of an adventure and by the time we finally found it, it was lunchtime!

The building is in an old house and sits in a residential area sprinkled with a few other businesses like a dry cleaners, steak house and such, but still considered as "off the beaten path." The menu was full of anti pasta plates, sandwiches, subs, soups, salads and desserts. Old, uneven wood floors, mismatched furniture, original windows, the place had a unique charm all its own.

KJ had a panini and I had tomato basil soup with freschetta—yum!! Not the usual food associated with New Orleans, but good stuff all the same. From there, we navigated (walked) our way to Zara's Lil' Giant Supermarket to stock up on coffee and breakfast supplies. Not much bigger than a convenience store, the store had everything we needed. They even had the old fashion conveyor belt checkout counters that I remember from my youth!

Plan to Fail?

2011-04-08T11:05:00.001-04:00

Watercolor
Strathmore Aquarius II 80lb*
Before Ink
4" x 5"

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day with a friend in a garden. The University of South Florida's Botanical Gardens to be exact. The day was already warm when we arrived and it was on its way to getting down right hot by the time we left.

We arrived after 10 and by the time we'd walked and talked and photographed the various things that captured our eye, it was lunch time. And we hadn't brought any lunch.

As we strolled around, we noticed a great deal of seating, though it never seemed to be in quite the right location nor did it look all that marvelous for sitting on. We've had buckets of rain in the last week and most all the seating was wood—wet and green.

So far we have a very hot day, we've arrived late, we didn't take any lunch with us and we didn't take our stools for sitting where we could sketch and draw where we wanted to...would you say we planned to fail if we went to sketch? I would. We failed to plan.

Watercolor and Ink
Strathmore Aquarius II 80lb*
4" x 5"

We didn't take into consideration the need for seats, that it would take two hours to wander around and that we might get hungry nor did we consider that we would take all of time photographing but none for sketching. But that's what happened.

To be fair, I concede that I did go with the intent to photograph flowers for the Imaginary Visit to the Garden eClass that starts in a week. However, sketching on location still takes pre-planning and more than a bit of determination. Getting there with your supplies is only half the battle. You still have to get them out and USE them.

This sketch is of some plants I bought while we were at the gardens. I did it last night. Since I was dog tired by the time I arrived home this is not my best effort. I will have to revisit and try for a better sketch. Regardless of the quality of the sketch, it captures the day. With a few details about the day, I'll have a good journal page.

After thinking over the day, I realized that even though I failed to plan, it was still a day well spent. Next time though, I'll plan to succeed with my sketching too!

_______________________

*To those of you who have read my prior post about being a journal 'ho, the use of this paper was a deliberate choice as it is a new paper for me. It is Strathmore Aquarius II 80 lb. watercolor paper. I will continue to experiment with it and then post on the paper later.

An Interview Over At A Whole Latte Life!

2011-04-06T07:56:00.001-04:00

I am delighted to share an interview with all of you that I did with Joanne DeMaio over at Whole Latte Life! In the interview series, "Coffee With," Joanne chats with folks who live their life's passions.

It was a great deal of fun to do the interview and to give thought to why I do what I do.

Simply said, I love what I do, I love to share and I love being a part of the process of growth and change, whether mine or someone else's. So hop on over to Joanne's blog and check it out!

Thanks, Joanne, for this fabulous opportunity!

BTW, for anyone who doesn't know me well, I normally drink coffee with cream and sweetener. The drink above is tea. When I painted this, it was a cold blustery day and I needed something to WARM me up. Tea did the trick!

It's That Time Of Year. Again.

2011-04-05T05:49:00.013-04:00

Garden Gloves
Watercolor and Ink
3.5 x 8.5 inches
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

Yep. Time to rake the yard, trim the hedge, yank up vines, remove weeds and generally, subdue our jungle. It needed it before we had a huge storm front move through last Thursday, but it really needed it afterwards. We have two huge maple trees in our front yard and they produce the meanest little spikey balls you've ever seen. DO NOT try to walk through our front yard barefooted. You will be sorry. Very sorry. (Ask me how I know!)

And so, blisters, sore muscles and all, we spent a good deal of time outside communing with nature (or cleaning up nature's sh...stuff, as Chris says) over the weekend. Time well spent (for me). There's nothing quite so therapeutic as getting your hands in the dirt, smelling the fresh air, clearing out the mental cobwebs, pulling weeds that made the mistake of growing in the wrong place and feeling the accomplishment of a job well done, even if we're not finished.

I'm going to have to get some new gloves though. These had a blow out and when I came in, my finger was black as......well, dirt, and somehow, I don't think that would look all that great on a video. They've been good ones and I love the color. They're easy to find whenever I make the mistake of taking them off and forgetting where I've left them. Which is often.

I have recently begun to feel a pull towards capturing some of the odd bits from my days as they are flying past. I've never really felt the need or the pull to do this before. I guess too many conversations starting with "when did ____________ happen?" being answered with, "I dunno....a month ago maybe" has had an effect on me. We can't remember sh...stuff, anymore.

I've realized I am a bit of a journal 'ho. I'm not faithful to any one journal for more than a few pages before I'm off to another. Sometimes, it's a paper thing. Other times, it's a size thing. But it's not very conducive for creating a day-to-day or even week-to-week type of journal. I'm going to give using just one journal—start to finish—a go. Wish me luck as I seriously doubt it's gonna work. I'm too fickle.

Meanwhile, I leave you with an image of someone who knows how to take it easy in the hottest part of the day....

Isn't he a cutie pie?!!!

Playtime - Spraying Pigments

2011-04-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

Watercolor sprayed through a stencil
Words and hard lines created with gel pens
Click to enlarge

I saw an image (second image down on the post) on a blog the other day that captivated my imagination. I asked the owner of the blog how she created the image. The owner was none other than Sammie Kari of the Journal Girl blog. She answered right away with details and offered to do a video tutorial for me—you gotta love that! And she did. Here is the link to check it out.

Sammi used Adirondack Color Wash sprays to create her image. Not having any of those and really, really, really not wanting to add to my overloaded studio, I decided to see what would happen if I used watercolor and water in a sprayer/mister.

It worked great!

The only thing different I noticed was that achieving a level of color saturation that was comparable to the Adirondack sprays was difficult. My design is a bit on the light side. Altering my choice of pigments to a darker valued pigment or doing multiple layers of color, letting each dry, would also work. I think using a stencil with more complexity would also have helped.

In the image above, I used a teal blue and a light yellowish green. I would spray the stencil, pick it up, wipe it off*, and then reposition and spray again. After I was done with the stencil and the work had dried, I worked some of the green into the background. Later, after everything had dried, I doodled the words, and then added some lines to emphasize some of the swirls.

*In the video, Sammi shows how to use the ink/watercolor on the stencil to "print" a negative on another page—wish I'd of thought of that as I was doing my image!

I have no doubt this idea will be showing up in my work again soon as it was great fun and adds an interesting element to the page.

Now it's your turn to go play and have some fun!

Are You Failing? Fail Better!

2011-04-01T07:31:00.000-04:00

Farm Fresh
3.5 x 8.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

I painted the latest image in my sketchbook direct with paint, no pencil. I consider it a failure. You may wonder why and I'll explain in a moment, but first, let's look at failure for a moment.

When I started the Artful Journaling eClasses, I was amazed at how often the words, afraid, fear and failure kept coming up in the comments.....afraid of failing, of not being good enough, of not doing it correctly, of being judged.

Then I started to take note of how often those words came up in all the classes, on blog posts (not just mine but also in my travels around the web), and in email conversations. It was OFTEN.

Words have power and they quite often provide a peek into how we think and what we value. Usually, we're not even aware of how much we're revealing.

So with all this fear creeping into our language, do we consider ourselves fearful? Do we walk around expecting to be judged as "not enough" or "less than" all the time? Are we so unsure about our abilities that we question whether we can learn every time we set pencil or brush to the page?

It's worth pondering.

Going back to the piece over on the side....I say it is a failure because it failed to meet the goal I had set for myself—which is not necessarily obvious in the piece. I was seeking to capture that translucent look of the onion skin. I managed to get close in a couple of spots, but overall, I did not succeed.

It would have been more accurate to say "I did not meet my goal with this piece of art." Instead, I called it a failure, and chances are good that several of you were getting ready to argue with that assessment in the comments.

When we first start out creating, it takes time to learn (and baby, there ain't no shortcuts!). What is the quickest possible to learn? To sketch, draw, paint and pursue the "doing" of our chosen craft as often as we can, as much as we can. It is in the "doing" that we will learn and only in the "doing." You can read, study and think about drawing until the cows come home each night, but if you're not putting it into practice, you're not learning and improving……and making mistakes.

Which brings up another point....practice is not a dirty word, but I'll save that for another post. Back to the point of this post, failing.....how often do you fail? How often do you count the high cost of failing—the wasted time, the wasted materials, the wasted effort? Every time? Most of the time?

What if I were to say you've got it on the wrong side of the ledger? That failing is a necessary ingredient to growing, to improving, to learning new ways to see, to draw and to create? For the price of some time, materials and effort, I'd say it's pretty damn cheap, not to mention a great bargain!

As we grow in our chosen craft, we continue to fail if we continue to grow. What happens is that we fail better. Our failures become less obvious. We see them because we're the ones setting the goals. The more often we fail, the more we learn, the better we get, the more fun we have! Even failures become fun because there is always something to be learned. And we stop fearing failure quite as much.

Do we ever reach a level where we stop making as many mistakes? Yes. At some point, the mistakes we make change from "Damn! Why couldn't I see that?" to "I wonder what will happen if I put blue here? Oops, maybe not." And occasionally, to keep ourselves humble, we miss something basic. It's a reminder to go back and refresh, but we need not start over.

So again I ask you....are you failing? Are you failing better?!

I hope so!!

Galoshes of Fun!

2011-03-30T06:01:00.001-04:00

Watercolor, Ink and Stamps
Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook
17" x 3.5

This was fun! I very much enjoyed creating this double spread. First, I really love the long format and second, I've finally found a way to work with the paper of this particular sketchbook. I've been working in this sketchbook since October. The paper has given me a fit from day one. I've tried working with various tools, ink, and watercolors. It wasn't until recently, that I remembered one of my old rules*—get in, get it down, get out!

What does that mean? You've only got one chance so make it count! The paint sits up on the paper. Very little soaks in, so if you try for a second wash, chances are very good you're going to have a mess on your hands. Such was the case in this image. The red of the boot gave me fits! So, I pulled out another one of my old rules*—add penwork to de-emphasis the watercolor.

It never fails to amaze me how much pen will change a watercolor from a painting to a graphic image or a sketch. In this case, I used that to my advantage. Before the pen was added it was very obvious the washes were blotchy and uneven. With the pen, they're still blotchy and uneven, but it's less noticeable now.

*I say rules, but they're guidelines that have worked well for me over the years working with watercolors. Your results, should you try these "rules" on for size, will vary wildly as you are a different artist than I am! I have been using this sketchbook as a place to practice getting in, get the pigment down in a heavy-enough wash the first time, and getting out—so I don't have to go in a second time!

It's Time To Celebrate Spring!

2011-03-29T11:31:00.003-04:00

Not only is Spring finally getting underway, the Spring Schedule for Imaginary Trips has been posted!

We'll be going on "An Imaginary Visit to the Garden!" starting Thursday, April 14th and the Artful Journaling classes, Foundations and Explorations are starting on Tuesday, April 19th!

Come join in the fun! For more information, you can visit the links above or visit the i•Trav•e•logue here.

Day Pretties

2011-03-24T06:26:00.001-04:00

Day Pretty
Watercolor, ink & stamps
3.5" x 8.5"

I've long wondered why day lilies were not called "day pretties," as the blooms only last for a day. My aunt and uncle grew day pretties for years. I went and took some photos, but I don't think I realized what a happy dose of sunshine they truly were/are until recently!

Again, I've been playing in my neighbor's garden. He's retired and spends most of his days in his yard and it is the prettiest on the block.

I liked the flower once it was complete, but it seemed lacking. Not the flower so much as the background.

I didn't want to repeat the text background that I did in the amaryllis piece, so I decided stripes would do the trick. They didn't. So I add the black pen line stripes. Still didn't like it. Added a second black pen line. Nope. Not doing it.

Then I happen to digging around my studio and happened up on some swirly stamps....and a light bulb lit. I decided to give it a go as I didn't like the page anyway.

And here is my latest installment in the Handbook Watercolor Journal. If I were to do it over, I'd do some things differently. Still, I had fun and that's what counts!

It Was Worth A Shot

2011-03-22T06:21:00.007-04:00

Amaryllis
Watercolor and Ink
Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook
3.5 x 8.5 inches

Something happens to my brain when I start to add text in outline form....I forget how to spell.

I guess because I'm seeing shapes and not letters. Still nursing my headache from the weekend, I decided I needed some color. Lots of fun, bright, bold, obnoxious color.

My neighbor's amaryllis are blooming with lots of vibrant reds. Since they were so handy, I decided they would do the trick. I went with a gray outline of J. Herbin's gray ink to begin with. After splashing color around, the gray didn't quite show up as much as I had hoped.

Then I decided to add the word "Amaryllis" at the bottom. Despite having looked the word up (just to be sure) and having it displayed on the computer monitor as I was adding it (just to be sure), I misspelled it. I had "Amam" down before I realized my mistake. What's with the brain freeze?!

So then I was going to feature it with the word "Amam-oops." Didn't like that. I thought I could lift the gray as it's not permanent ink.

It didn't lift. Not completely.

Decided "oh, well." Got out the black marker and outlined everything including the proper spelling on the word "amaryllis." Yes, the mistake is still there in all it's glory but is slightly less noticeable.

Hubby looks at it and says "Shouldn't that be a 'y' instead of a 'v'?"

Time to turn the page. Next......

UPDATE: As of this morning, Tuesday morning, I am headache free! Yay! Thanks everyone for your concern!

A Day In The Woods

2011-03-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

Woodpecker—anyone recognize what kind?

Red Stags and Doe
(Stags are still in full velvet)

I had the opportunity to tag along on a wild boar hunt this past Saturday. My camera and I were quite busy with all the various creatures to be seen.....

Sweet Fawns
(Safety in numbers!)

Wild Boar Piglets

I thought I would get in more sketching, but it was not to be. Once again, I am reminded of how quickly animals move. Especially skittish ones. The page above shows a combination of deer and pigs. The numbered sketches are the pigs. Most of these sketches are an "amalgamation" of several different animals or from memory as these critters were not still more than several seconds at any one time.

Watercolor and graphite sketches
in Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook
3.5" x 8.5"

I quickly realized if I was going to get any watercolor sketching done, I was going to have to find something that didn't move quite so fast. I finally settled on these tree stumps as more my speed. They primped and posed ever so kindly for me and for as long as I needed. In fact, they're probably still standing there primping and preening.

The top stump was about 4 feet tall and had been drilled repeatedly for bugs and other delicacies. The second stump was nearly 30 feet tall, but as you can see, the bottom is being chewed away, then another section above that and finally, the actually width of the tree. It will most likely fall with the next good blow we have.

The two fawns at the bottom are part of the group from above. The littlest one kept behind the others and would peek over their backs to see what was going on as her curiosity would get the better of her fear.

I came home with a massive headache bordering on a migraine, a sunburn, and many photos to play and practice from. Hopefully, you'll be seeing a little more work based on those images soon.

More info on Wild Boar can be found here.

Other Gifts

2011-03-18T10:33:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and WC Pencil on recycled paper with
Gel Ink for the text
4" x 6"

I went otter hunting again yesterday.

I didn't find any. I'm not sure if I expected to see one or not.

I was extremely fortunate to have seen the otter last Saturday. After doing a little research on them, I found they can have a territory range of up to 50 miles! He may also be a little put off from this particular location as well since he was so annoyed at me for disturbing him. Not likely, but possible. This particular area is a riddle of creeks, rivers, ponds, and puddles so he has much to choose from.

However, other gifts were waiting.

I went to the otter's creek early yesterday morning and as I stood watching, I heard something hit the water. As I turned my head to see what it was I caught a flash of something speeding towards the top of the tallest pine tree just north of the creek. Try as I might, I could not make out a distinct ID.

I had the long lens on the camera and I tried to focus in on the bird, but there were too many branches fluttering in the breeze and the I couldn't bring anything into focus.

Time was running short as I was meeting a friend for a day-long outing so I abandoned the watch and headed out.

_______________________________

Late in the afternoon, I decided to go back by the otter hole and see if maybe, just maybe, that sweet whiskered face would show itself.

No luck.

However, there was the sweetest breeze blowing, bees buzzed and butterflies floated by, a peaceful symphony reigned....a gift in itself to just stand there and take in the beautiful "silence."

The water was dappled with sun...I watched as seemingly lazy fish would swim in and out of the sun spots until they spotted some bug hitting on the surface of the water. They would shoot up like a rocket, leaving nothing more than a rolling of water as they swam back to the bottom. Silent ripples spread across the water.

Once again, a flash caught my attention.

Looking in the direction of the flash.....nothing.

Just as I started to turn away, another flash....maybe 6 or 7 feet above the water and no more than 10 feet away from me, almost at eye level, then straight up, fast as a bullet....again to the tallest pine, this time on the south side.

Ah, but this time I had a positive ID, a male Belted Kingfisher!!

I stayed south-facing and within 4 or 5 minutes, I saw him leave his perch and high above me, fly north, for parts unknown.

Nature seldom disappoints if we are open to receiving the gifts offered rather than the ones we came seeking.....

'Tis A Day To Celebrate!

2011-03-17T05:10:00.003-04:00

Corned beef and cabbage, Guinness and green beer, wearing of the green, kissing the blarney stone!

Let the festivities begin—Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Beginnings

2011-03-15T08:58:00.000-04:00

Chris and I had dinner with my parents a week ago and my mother gave me these two drawings she had found in the very back of a closet in my old bedroom! I was stunned to see them....because I didn't recognize either of them.

Unfortunately, I have little recollection of either and since I didn't date either one, I have no idea how old I was when I created them. I know there mine though, at least the top one, because it has my initials on it. Talk about a blast from the past.

And humbled to see where I was and how far I've traveled.

It surprises me as well that I have little memory of doing these...not the thoughts behind them, why I chose to create a mouse or a cowboy, why I chose to use graphite and colored pencil, nothing.

I expected some flood of memories to come back, but there was none. I suspect the top one is from my years in art school—a long time ago. The bottom one is on notebook paper. High school or early days at college? Dunno. It definitely appears to be done by a younger me.

What I do recognize is a beginning. Tentative maybe, grasping certainly, but a beginning.

Otters and Pigs

2011-03-13T06:38:00.001-04:00

People are pigs. Nasty, filthy pigs.* Does that statement shock you? Does it come across with every ounce of viciousness I can summon? It should.…because it also contains anger, nay, fury at the stupidity of of some people. And what might be driving this fury and viciousness you wonder?

This.

Please click to enlarge

This is a no-name creek where Chris and I went to sketch Saturday morning. In case you can't tell what this is an image of, I've added captions to the various items in the creek. Please enlarge to see for yourself.

And this.

Old carpet padding, old paint cans rusted through, empty motor oil cans/bottles, a clothes detergent bottle, an old frilly nightgown, broken glass of every make, color and kind, beer bottles, soda cans, styrofoam cups, plastic bags, and more. We counted 3 televisions/computer monitors and a full size mattress IN THE WATER. The box springs was up underneath the foundation of the bridge. The next good rain and it will be in the creek as well.

Are you disgusted yet?

How would you feel if you knew this little guy lived in this creek?

Memory Sketch
Created with J. Herbin ink and Fountain Pen
in my Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook

"Go away and get outta my creek!"
Memory Sketch
Black gel ink and watercolors
in my Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook

Mind you, I live in a county that provides a drop off areas at various places for paint, mattresses, old TVs, computer equipment and the like. For FREE. You don't even have to show ID. There is NO reason, none, for this trash to be in this creek. None that I'll have. Other than some human beings don't deserve to walk upright.

*(I apologize to all pig lovers and do not mean to malign pigs in anyway.)

Okay rant over. For now.

The two images of the otter were done much later in the day as the whole encounter with that sweet face lasted less than a minute! The otter was none too pleased that we interrupted his romp. I was thoroughly scolded with an annoyed bark as he disappeared down the creek. Looking to see if we could see where he went, we encountered that pile of trash....and my heart broke.

The top image of the otter does not quite capture his agitation and annoyance at the intrusion. The bottom one comes much closer. And if we humans are responsible for the deplorable shape of his creek, who can blame him?

Playing with Pigments

2011-03-11T06:37:00.001-05:00

Watercolor on
Stonehenge Paper
Click to Enlarge

Funky flowers. Another name would be memory flowers. And I was way off, but I had fun. This was painted using my regular palette of handpicked pigments. Back in this post I mentioned finding all the boxes of pretty pigments and so I decided to do a test run with the Sennelier and Schminke.

Sennelier Watercolors on
Stonhenge Paper
Click to Enlarge

The image above is closer to the flowers that I recall seeing, but in truth, the flowers were not that large and pretty. They were mostly blues and lavenders as they show in this sketch. This illo was painted using just Sennelier pigments.

Schminke Watercolors on
Stonehenge
Click to Enlarge

The last page of flowers was painted using Schminke pigments.....can you tell a difference between the three if I had not told you?

The things I noticed:
• The Sennelier pigments were a joy to paint with. The colors activated easily when water was applied to the pan and gave a saturated color when put down on the paper.
• The Schminke pigments did not seem to be as creamy to me as the Senneliers nor did they seem to activate as easily, but the pigments were bright, clean and saturated once they did activate.
• The Stonehenge paper is fabulous. The texture is very creamy and the paint seems to sit up on the surface but not too much so. Just don't think you're going to be doing a whole lot of layering or correcting as this paper is best kept to one layer.
• I also found that the Stonehenge mars easily when erased. Erasing seemed to easily alter the texture of the surface so all of the samples were painted directly with no pencil lines.

The biggest problem I had with both palettes were the color choices. I do not use a lot of phthalos or viridian in my regular palette and spent a lot of time trying to make the greens look natural rather than fluorescent. I didn't have too much trouble with the blues either, but all of the colors I used required some mixing. In a studio, that's no big deal. On location, where every second counts, that makes it a bit more of a challenge.

It pays to spend the time learning what mixes with what, what give you the look you want, what won't give you a good mix BEFORE you step foot out the door. I'll probably be showing some more work from these different pigments. I have to say I'm intrigued by the challenge of learning these pigments.

I hope you get a chance to get out and sketch this weekend. That's on my agenda as we're having a spell of cooler weather and I hope to take advantage of it!

A Cool Bloggy Award!

2011-03-10T10:16:00.000-05:00

The lovely and talented Carole from Carole's Creative Corner surprised me with a "Stylish Blogger Award!" Thank you, Carole! Carole lives in Australia and has many diverse talents including painting, zentangles, photography and cardmaking. Please stop by and check her out.

And you know these awards always come with a "to-do" list and this one includes liking back to the giver, listing 7 things you don't know about me and passing the award on to others. The official "to-do" is 15…I'll probably pass it on to 5. So here goes....

1. I was raised on a strawberry farm.

2. Lime green and purple are my "power" colors. Whenever I am faced with a tough day or need cheering up, I almost always reach for green or purple in my closet. These colors make me happy thought I wouldn't call them my favorites. I have many, many favorite colors.

3. I don't much care for the taste of bananas and specifically don't like banana pudding with vanilla wafers.

4. Many long years ago, I thought I would be a pastel artist rather than watercolors. I loved the saturated colors that pastel provides. Just not the dust nor the mess.

5. When Chris and I married, we spent our honeymoon meandering around the state of Florida with no reservations or plans as to where we would go. In fact, there was only one destination and that was an antique flea market! One of the best trips we've ever taken.

6. I love old watches. There is something about the old watches that touches me deeply though I cannot say what or why exactly.

7. If I had to name a favorite fruit, it would have to be………blackberries. Did you think it would be strawberries? They're okay, but left to my own devices, I will generally pass them by. My grandfather grew blackberries when I was little. Sometimes he'd let me pick berries with him. I'm sure on those days his yield was a little low as most of them never made it into the bucket!

Now to name the other recipients.....

Myra of Simple Inspirations - this woman is a master magician with a sewing machine!
Elva of Elva's Field Notes - this blog is a treat…to read, to see the sketches, to experience nature through Elva's eyes.
Jacqueline of Art in My Heart - delightful art, fun tutorials and this woman is going to France and Greece on painting holidays and you can go with her!
Cris of Cris, Artist in Oregon - such gorgeous photos of flowers, birds and a life well lived. Always fun to visit!
Gillian of The Fading Rose - you never know what she's up to, but you can bet it's going to be fun as she's a very talented artist and photographer.

I do hope that you'll check these blogs out as they're all a lot of fun! Again, thanks, Carole!

All Aboard....For New Orleans!

2011-03-09T10:55:00.000-05:00

The party's over and now, it's back to the business at hand. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, the culmination of over two months of parades, parties, soirees and all manner of merrymaking....but wait! Don't be sad that the party's ending!

The party need not be totally over as www.ImaginaryTrips.com leaves this Friday for an "Imaginary Trip to New Orleans" and boy, are we gonna have fun! Wanna play too?! Just click on the link above for all the details!

As Requested.....Guest Artist

2011-03-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Your wish is my command—usually. Some of you asked to see Chris' work from our one-day staycation.....above and below are Chris' sketches from our outing to Davis Islands. (You can see the first post here.)

Chris worked larger than I did, his pages are 5"x 7" and he worked in colored pencil. Using colored pencils, especially for location work, is a real challenge as you generally have to build up many layers. Chris is an extremely quick sketcher yet the pencils slowed him down considerably. A few things both of us agreed on is that our values were off on the fountain guy and we wished we had simplified the background.

I had finished my fountain face and was nearly finished with the bench when Chris turned to start sketching the bench. Having no way to really capture the whites of the Bridal Wreath shrub, he decided to capture some of the local wildlife going about their daily business.

Believe it or not, this door is part of the same house that I sketched. We both agreed that it seemed out of place for the house. It's looked like they were trying to marry different architectural styles and they just didn't mesh well. There were no bats....that's Chris' special touch he adds to his work. I was really surprised that the top sketch was not given the special touch as well. As Chris said, "I can only take this stuff seriously for so long."

One-Day "Staycation!"

2011-03-02T05:44:00.005-05:00

Watercolor only in the
top and bottom sketches,
white and black ink in the
middle sketch;
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook
3.5 x 8.5 inches

I'm not sure what to think of the word "staycation"....I don't think of staying at home as a vacation since I work out of my home. I'm there a lot. Sometimes, too much, but I digress.

Chris and I decided to go out sketching Sunday morning... a kind of spur-of-the-moment Spring madness took over, and we were off!

We went to some little islands that are linked together called Davis Islands. They're located just off from downtown Tampa in Hillsborough Bay. Even though the islands are linked to the mainland, it was like stepping into another world....

We found a small park and decided to start there. There was a tall tower in the middle of the park with dedication plaques on the sides. At the bottom was the cool looking stone fountain face. Unfortunately, the fountain was bone dry and looked as if it had been a long while since it worked.

The other cool thing about the tower is that it threw a long, wide shadow that was very pleasant to sit in as we quickly climbed into the 80's on Sunday. Next, I shifted around and drew the bench with a bridal wreath shrub blooming behind it.

Shifting once again, I noticed the house (it might have been a business, not sure) across the street with the gorgeous cut-out work over the front door. The building was under construction and up for sale, but the red clay tiles shining in the sun were gorgeous. Each of the sketches took about twenty minutes each.

We made our way back to main street to find some lunch and stopped in a Grecian cafe....that was only serving breakfast! We had hoped for an gyro, but the breakfast was good, it was cool and we felt refreshed after our meal.

Going to a place we were unfamiliar with (we've both been there, just not a lot), eating lunch in a restaurant we weren't familiar with, then getting served breakfast instead of lunch all contributed to the feeling that we were on a real get-out-of-town vacation. Kinda cool actually.

And just thirty minutes later, we were home.....can't beat that!

All Aboard....For England!!

2011-02-28T07:51:00.001-05:00

The next Imaginary Trip to England will be leaving promptly at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1st! We'll be visiting the Queen's palace guards as well as the wilder side of England. This trip shows the different sides of a country that are often overlooked.

And don't forget we leave for an Imaginary Trip to New Orleans on Friday, March 11th! This is shaping up to be a really fun trip with a few surprises thrown in along the way! Want to join the fun?! Come on!

Note(s) to Self...

2011-02-25T06:13:00.022-05:00

...I thought y'all might benefit as well, especially if you've been as distracted this week as I have:

1st Note: When filling waterbrush with the black stopper thingie, do NOT do it over the garbage disposal side of the sink.
1st Sub-Note: Cease eye-rolling and sighing immediately. They are no help.

2nd Note: The time to think about cleaning the garbage disposal is BEFORE you drop the black stopper thingie, not after.

3rd Note: Before you get brave enough to stick your hand down in the garbage disposal to retrieve the black stopper thingie, be sure to move the knife with peanut butter on it, out of the way.

4th Note: Black stopper thingies seem to diminish in size when they are at the bottom of a garbage disposal. Check internet to see if phenomenon is true.

5th Note: Once you have retrieved the black stopper thingie, and find peanut butter on your arm, check your clothing. BEFORE you go to the market. Not after.

6th Note: Better yet, change out of your good shirt BEFORE you attempt to retrieve black stopper thingie out of the garbage disposal.

7th Note: Back up two steps and scrub hands and arms up to armpits with anti-bacterial soap.

8th Note: AFTER arriving home from the market, check the seats of the Jeep to see if you managed to smear peanut butter on them, too.

9th Note: Switch to using a regular brush with a container of water so that you can avoid losing the black stopper thingie down the garbage disposal with the peanut buttered-knife lying in the way so you can avoid looking like a 3-year-old with peanut butter smeared down the side of your good shirt while strolling casually around the market.

______________________________________

Don't be a Laure. Learn from my mistakes. Please.

It's too late for me.

Addicted to Color

2011-02-23T09:46:00.000-05:00

I succeeded in getting lost in a world of color yesterday though it was purely unintentional! After the disaster with the sap green in Monday's post, I decided life was too short to waste time painting with icky paint. I went in search of another half pan of sap green that I was fairly certain I owned. I just had to find it....

And eventually I did find it, along with some palettes I'd totally forgotten about and being a color junkie, I just had to play with them all. Again.

It all started with that BIG box of 64 crayons...really. It's my parents' fault that I'm a color junkie. Really! There was something mesmerizing about ALL....THOSE....COLORS....in one box. And for the first month or so they had to be kept in perfect order. I would spend hours lost in that box of magic!

Some things tend to fade away with childhood, but I've found that I can repeat that particular magic whenever I get out a palette and start playing again. And I thank my parents for that gift. Time and place disappear. Something I desperately wanted to happen yesterday.

At the top of the photo above, you can see a small Sennelier palette with half the paint missing (harvested for other palettes, no doubt), a large Sennelier palette, and continuing in a clockwise circle, a Schminke palette and the smallest one is (mostly) Winsor Newton.

I save little scraps of watercolor paper to test colors and mixes on which are all those little pieces of paper you see scattered about. Most hit the trash bin, but every once in a while I come up with a combo I want to repeat. I've decided to do some sketches dedicated to the various palettes I own and see if I (or you, my lovely readers) notice a difference in the sketches.

All this play in a timeless world has led to the start of a painting. It's not quite ready for prime time yet, but maybe by the end of the week. Surprisingly, something good out of something not good.....I'll just have to go looking for sap green a little more often.

Icky Paper + Icky Paint = Icky Watercolor

2011-02-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Watercolor, gel medium,
gesso, and tissue paper
in Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook

This is one of the worse watercolors I've done in a really long time. It doesn't show so much in the scan, but the paint would not dissolve, so there are little clumps of paint everywhere. This particular paper doesn't allow for layers as all the paint sits on the surface. Blah, blah, blah....

Wondering why I'm posting a sub-par image? Because I haven't painted anything else lately. In our family, we have something we affectionately (not!) call the Black Ass (BA). It simply means that you have a bad case of the blues, your mood is quite dark (black) and occasionally(?) you act like an......ass. BA has a particularly negative effect on painting.

Whereas I did not get roses for Valentine's Day (a good thing), I have received them in the past for no good reason (a very good thing). I thought about all the roses that were given for the holiday and wondered how many folks save a bud like I do to dry.

This little bud is a few years old and I wanted to capture it as a memory. This didn't turn out quite as expected due to flawed choices at the beginning. I'll try it again though as the experiment worked....I recently made a purchase that came wrapped in some fun tissue paper. I saved it for use in a collage.

The piece you see is a very small section cut out and pasted to the page with gel medium. Once dry, I added clear gesso over the top so I could watercolor over the "tissue tag." I need to do a bit more experimenting, but the idea is solid.

Why the black mood? We've have a very dear friend that has been given a rather grim prognosis of congestive heart failure and we'll likely be losing them soon. My heart breaks just typing the words. I recently read an article the said our relationships don't end with death....the relationship merely changes just like it would if someone divorced, moved away, etc. I find a great deal of comfort in that thought.

If I'm not around much this week, please bear with me. I'll be back.

"Anatomically Correct" Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

Chris and I are not your usual sweethearts on Valentine's Day, exchanging boxes of chocolate and roses for power tools....no, we go in for things that are just a little off-beat. We have also been on an anti-clutter campaign for quite a while now, so if we give each other "stuff" it better be some really kickin' waaaay cool "stuff!!"

With this in mind, I was pretty sure that Chris was going to be thrilled with getting a box of artificial eyes for Valentine's Day....

I distressed this with sepia ink and tore the corner off
to add to the look of antiquity

I overlapped the end pieces as if they were seals,
and then "broke" them as if the box had been open
a long, long time

Click to enlarge and read—it's pretty funny!

Is that not just wicked cool?!! I had the best fun making this from a piece of clip art I found over on the Graphic Fairy's blog (do check it out...Karen's got some really cool stuff!) and a wooden tea box that my sister-in-law sent to me because she knew something awesome could be made out of that box!

I spray-painted the box black and touched up a few areas with a black marker. I then measured all the surfaces and sized the art to fit. I had to put a black border around some of the pieces because it didn't quite work out to size. I printed the art on the back of some paper headed for the recycle bin. Once I cut down the art, I blackened the edges and "distressed" the pieces with some sepia ink. After gluing everything down, I went and found some antique glass marbles and put them inside for "sound effects!"

I wrapped it in an old paper box with lots of stuffing and bubble wrap to complete the "look." When Chris went to open it and the marbles clacked together, I cautioned Chris to be careful so as to not break anything! He was trying to figure out how to open the eye box (the lid slides open) when he realized what he was actually holding in his hands—the tea box. Too much fun!

He gave me an anatomically-correct squeeze heart.....

...with our initials written on it. He seems to think I may occasionally need some stress release......I'm not sure where he gets that idea from????

What did you get for Valentine's Day?!!