A Busy Weekend....

I'm really late in the day getting anything posted....just busy with errands and such. My daughter just called....she went to Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity that was held in Washington, DC. She said it was lots of fun and soooooo many people! If she got any good pictures I'll share them but so far she's still on her way back home to Delaware.

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I recently joined another workshop! This one is Paint Free by Wyanne. One of the first things we were supposed to do was use crayons to color a picture. Here's the one I'm working on.



It isn't finished and possibly won't ever be finished! I hate trying to color on printer paper, and crayons don't have the same consistency that they used to have. They much more waxier and slick. I don't like them! But the workshop is fun and I'm learning some new stuff. More from that later.

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The other thing I've been doing is drawing a doodle for a fun project. Warren over at World Doodle Challenge is trying to get one million doodles! Here's the info on how you can join in:

1. You don’t need to be able to draw well. A doodle is meant to be whatever comes to mind.
2. You can doodle on anything, a blank piece of paper, a napkin, a post-it, a lined page, a note book anything at all.
3. Your doodle can be any size, the ideal size would be 5 x8 inches or what ever you like.
4. You can use one color or many and the doodle can be done while you are in a meeting, on the phone, watching television, on the train…. anywhere you like
5. The doodle can be of anything, what ever pops into your head. just pick up a pen and draw.
6. The important thing is you must date stamp your doodle and list which City and Country you are in.
7. If you are traveling you can submit doodles from multiple cities.
8. Scan your doodle or take a photo and e-mail it to: warren@tjomiesvintagestationery.com
9. I will begin to post the world doodles as I start receiving them (I anticipate it will take a while to kick off, with the first few trickling in)
10. Your doodles will eventually wind up in a world book, and will be used to support charities.

Doesn't this sound like fun?? I hadn't done any doodles or zentangles for a long time but I got out my 5" x 8.5" journal that has graph paper and I started drawing. Here's where I worked on my entry:



And here's a close-up of my zen/doodle....



I forgot how soothing it is to sit and do one of these. I just get lost in the lines and forget about whatever is happening around me. Using the graph paper was fun, too. It made it a lot easier to do some of the designs. I may just do a few more of these!

Happy Halloween!!!

Beatrice, the Bird Girl....

Hey, everyone....I haven't posted in several days 'cause I've been busy in the studio. Remember I won that gorgeous, huge journal a little while back? I finally officially christened it! I had lightly sketched some faces in it right after I got it so I wouldn't just keep avoiding it because it's so nice. I know me!

So a couple of days ago I actually began putting some paint on one of the sketches. For some strange reason I was (and still am) drawn to the little bird girl sketch. She just looked so different from all the things I usually do that I wanted to work on her first.



As you all know, I don't like painting hair! I can never get it to look like what I want so I use other methods like doodling to fill in the hair. This time I used dots. I've been reading and looking at Aboriginal art which uses a lot of dots. So I was inspired by that but didn't want to do an entire dot painting....maybe some other time. So I filled her hair with dots.



She has great big eyes so she can see where she's going as she flies through the clouds. Unfortunately they don't show up in the photos! I used a very light touch and put some clouds in the background....they look good in person, just don't show up here.



I had to use a big office clip on the upper corner of the page, to keep the page opened....and you can see my messy work table! I love this journal even though it takes up a lot of space on my table! I much prefer working bigger rather than smaller. I think this journal is going to be so much fun to fill up....but it will take me quite a long time!

Here's a little side note about her name, Beatrice. When I was a little girl I was reading a book where the character's name was Beatrice. I asked my mom why anyone would name their child (read this how I typed it) Beat rice! To a kid, beat is one word and rice is another and that's how I was pronouncing her name!! So ever since then I've had a "thing" for the name Beatrice.

Now I'm off to play with crayons! Getting in touch with my inner child!! I hope you have a good weekend....remember to play a little bit!

A New Place for Artists to Have Fun....

Today I'm here for a couple of quick things. I don't have any art to share today but some new stuff will be coming soon. I'm working on a couple of things....so stay tuned.
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This is my daughter's 42nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Molly!!!! Molly lives in Delaware so there will be no cake baking or party giving....sad face.... :-( But I sent her a little package so I'm sure she'll have some kind of celebration. It's difficult when your kids live so far away. And mine are on the complete opposite coasts. One in Alaska and one in Delaware....and me in California.
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On another note, I want to be sure to let everyone know that Kate has started a new ning site for artists. She's just getting it started so if you'd like to join please go HERE and sign up. Kate is planning to offer classes and challenges and knowing Kate, it will be a fun place to be. So go on over and get signed up....it's free....and then the fun can begin! Also I put a badge over on the right side of the page and you can just click on it to join.

If you don't know Kate be sure to check out her blog. She is a multi-talented woman....she does painting, art journaling, just about any type of art you can think of, weaving, and so much more. And she's one of the nicest people I know here in Blogland. I love supporting fellow artists when they spread their wings and start something new. Kate IS The Queen of Creativity!!!

Meet Desiree....

Hi everyone! No storms yesterday and today we have bright sunny skies. I'm feeling energetic so I'm going out for a bit and thought I'd get my post done early.

I have some more art to share with you. I think my muse is back in full force so I'm taking advantage of that and keeping busy in the studio. I don't want to go back into one of those art slumps any time soon!

Remember I showed you that background page yesterday (you can scroll down to the previous post if you missed it)....well, I was sitting there looking at it and a face popped out at me! I hope you can see the line drawing in this photo....Desiree is calling out to me to bring her to life.



Those two blue rings on the right side were just begging to be an earring! I saw her neck first, then the earring and then her face came into focus. I LOVE painting like this!



Desiree is starting to get some definition. I used cheapie craft paints with glazing medium to achieve very transparent colors, and then added them layer by layer until I reached the effect I wanted.



I knocked back the background with some zinc white just to take away the glaring, too bright color.



The photo above is without any outlining. HB likes her just like this....but....



I wanted a little more definition so I used a soft pencil to go around her. Can you see the difference? Which do you prefer?

You can't really see it but there are some white dots on her earrings and white highlights on her necklace. I'm happy with how she turned out. I only wish she had been painted in my new journal. Desiree would be the perfect beginning for that journal of women.

Ok, I'm off to enjoy this beautiful day. I hope wherever you are that you have a great day, too.

Storms and Sketching....

Yesterday we had rain, lightening and thunder off and on for most of the day and night. So far today is sunny and bright but there are some clouds rolling in over the mountains so I expect more rain by afternoon. With all that going on I wasn't online very much yesterday so you might not have seen me visiting much. We need the rain so I'm not complaining. And it's cool and very nice.

I took some photos of our roses right after a light rain. If you're interested you can see them here in all their dewy glory.

Now on to some art....or lack of it. I didn't do ANY art yesterday! You'd think with a cool, gray day I'd spend it in the studio with bright colors. Instead I read most of the day! I'm reading this book.

I did do a background in one of my journals a couple of days ago....



Not sure where it's going yet. I'll just wait and see what happens. I also started sketching out some ideas in that new journal I won....



I think I'll lose the ribbon around her head and the heart but maybe replace it with something else.

Here are a couple more pages from that journal....



I hope you can see these. I did very light sketches so they didn't show up too much in the photos but maybe if you click on them and see them bigger they might show better. I'm just playing with different faces. My decision was to make this a journal of women....faces, fashion drawings, etc. That may change as I go along because this is a very BIG journal but for now that's my plan.

Oh, and I almost forgot....I added a little bit to the Bubble Headed gal....



Just a flower in her hair and a bit of a border. That's it for now. Have a fun day!!

Bubble Headed Bleach Blond....

I'm up early today so I thought I'd get some art on here to share with you. I've been working on that other unfinished painting that I showed way back in September....the other drawing on a black background. So without further delay here she is.



She didn't turn out anything like I thought she would but that's ok. I think she has almost a cartoon-ish look about her but I like it. The line from Dirty Laundry about the bubble headed bleach blond keeps running through my head!



She also sort of reminds me of the old Archie and Veronica comic books. If you're not as old as I am you may not know what I'm talking about! HB had a completely different take on my painting. He said the face shape made him think Aztec, or Mayan, or something along those lines! I don't see that at all.

Profiles are definitely not my normal drawing and I had to have a picture to look at in order to do this. I doubt if I'll do many more of them. Straight on is so much easier.

Anyway, I wish I'd made her hair a little brighter but with the black background it was difficult. And I haven't finished the edges yet. Maybe some kind of paper border. I still have some of the paper I used for the cut-outs on her shirt. That might work.

Have a fun weekend....

Books, Art, and TV....

You know me....I'm very last minute on some things. Dawn over at D'Blogala had a giveaway contest. All you had to do was make a doodle bookmark. Simple. Easy enough. It was due by today. Wanna know when I did mine?? Last night! And it isn't even anything very good. But here it is....

I thought it looked better sitting on a stack of books than just plain....

I haven't done a doodle or a zentangle for such a long time....unless you count the hair on a couple of the pictures I've painted recently. But it was nice to just sit and zone out with some paper and a pen. I need to get back into doing that again. It was always so relaxing and something I could do while sitting with HB in the evenings while the TV is on.

Speaking of TV....are there any of the new shows that you like? Of course, you know I'm watching Hawaii Five-O because of Jin from Lost! And this is the first season of Dancing With the Stars that I haven't really gotten into....only watched two at the beginning and lost interest. I've been watching some shows on Hulu. I check out some of the new shows during the afternoon when I have my slow time. I always lose energy in the middle of the afternoon and then get a second wind in the evening. So I just pop over to Hulu and sit and watch a show for an hour or so and then I'm ready to do again.

A Great Mail Day!!

Back in September I entered a giveaway for some handmade journals. Kristi at Lark Books made several journals and was giving them away. Since September was my birthday month I decided to enter my name and see if I got lucky....and I did! I won one of the journals.

Yesterday afternoon it arrived in the mail. And it was even more beautiful than I imagined. Here is the original posting about the journals including a YouTube video all about them. The one I won is the sixth from the right in the photo....and in the video it's the next to last book Kristi shows. Be sure to watch the video to see all her journals.



To say it's gorgeous doesn't even begin to explain this journal. The size is just perfect for me at 9.5" x 12.5" and 1.25" deep....the papers are a wonderful mix of white, cream, and tan in different weights. Some are smooth, some have a bit of tooth and there are five signatures of pages. This is a very well-made and substantial journal and I won it!!

Here is the beautiful journal in its new home....



I almost didn't want to put it down on my work table with all the mess there is! But I did....and I already have some ideas of what I'm going to do with this journal. Believe me, it will not go unused. I've finally gotten over that "I-don't-want-to-mess-it-up" thing with books. I can't wait to get started using this new journal. Thank you Kristi for creating such beauty and then for giving it away. This is a journal I will treasure forever.

Two in a Row!!

This morning I finished one of the paintings that's been sitting on my work table for awhile. You may remember I showed you the beginning layout back in September....



She looked a little eerie at that point and she stayed that way for several weeks! Every day I'd walk into the studio and see her staring at me with those blank eyes. Yikes! You would think that would have been enough to get me to paint but it didn't work.



But when I saw her this morning I knew I had to finish her. Her hair got a layer of Golden's Nickel Azo Gold....it has a beautiful shimmer and depth that I like. Then I got busy with my black paint pen.



Here's a close-up of the hair detail. I didn't get carried away this time!



The scanner cut off the bottom border and also there's a bit of a shine to her but I think it's ok. I'm happy with how she turned out.

After looking at yesterday's painting I decided to give her some eyelids and a few dots on her face....



and I think she looks better although I think her eyes still need some work. For now I'm just happy to be painting again!

Ta-Dah!!!!

I am happy to tell you I have finally done some art. This stupid art slump has been going on waaaaay too long and personally I'm just fed up with it. I said I wasn't going to take any more classes but finally I did in the hopes that it would jump-start my creative juices again. And it did! You can see the new button over on the side for Paulette Insall's Color Me Beautiful workshop.

This is what I created using some of the techniques I learned from her. I took them and used them in my own way and didn't follow her procedure exactly so my picture isn't as good as hers but I'm thrilled to have created something at long last. You may recall the beginning drawing from my earlier post....and here's what I did with it....



For this painting I used mostly Golden's fluid acrylics. The eyes are not very good....they need a lot more work but for now this is all I've done....



I decided to go with a bird on her shoulder. Here's a close-up of it....



After such a long dry spell of not creating anything I guess she isn't too bad.



I would like to publicly offer my apologies to all my blog friends for my lack of response over the past several weeks. I know I owe you lots of visits and many of you are probably wondering when I'll answer your emails. The past few weeks have been such a trial for me. I just felt so disconnected and some days didn't even look at the computer at all. Maybe I just needed time to re-charge my batteries. Whatever it was I hope it's over for now. Over the next several days I'll be visiting your blogs.

If anyone is interested, I've posted a couple of pictures over on my photo blog.

Remember me???

Remember me?? I'm the missing blogger going through the art slump. Nothing much has changed but I thought I better check in and let you know what's going on (or not going on) so you don't forget about me.

I won't bore you with all the details but will say that no creative juices are flowing much at this point. This morning I got out some paints and splopped them on some paper, then sketched in a face but I don't know how long it will be before the urge strikes me to actually paint her....



The thing on her shoulder will either be angel wings or a bird....not sure how it will play out yet. This was a bit of pulled art so it might evolve in a completely different direction when I finally begin to paint it.

And since I don't have anything new to show you I thought I'd show another one of my older drawings. This is from 2003....



I'm not sure what I was thinking when I drew her. She's sort of a cross between a space queen, a bride, and a mermaid! I used to draw a lot of these women....faceless and always standing with their hands behind their back. I hate drawing hands!

On another boring subject....we are having some wonderful cool weather! By the weekend it will be back to summer again but for now I'm lovin' the fall-like weather around here. I actually had on a sweater last evening. I know many of you who live in other parts of the country won't understand my excitement about this but we usually have summer right up until November so this little chilly spell is much appreciated.

And since I haven't done them in quite awhile here are a few little snippets....

Listening to: Pride and Prejudice on CD while I'm in the studio

Eating: Very carefully as my tummy has been in rebellion recently

Wearing: Jeans and a sweatshirt

Reading: Beach Trip by Cathy Holton

I hope you're all enjoying lots of creative goodness. I promise to come visit soon but for now I'm trying to stay away from blogs and all their inspiration overload and let my muse recover from whatever ails her.