Derwent " Inktense" pencil with watercolor & white ink

We thought we would seize the opportunity to have a yard sale

over the weekend.

There was a nice turnout,
and now back to art.

. . .  . . .

If you're interested in drawing faces, this is a good link that explains proportions:

5 Proportions of the Face.

Scroll down to "Proportions of the Face" - easier than you think:)

Charcoal

This rainy morning was spent drawing

with Renee Mueller.

I started with this as a warm-up, 

and then went into a lesson drawing three faces on the same page.

Part of the new lesson was to learn how to

pretty much obliterate some of the facial features of these three women
with a black wash.

Well, that did not go well. 

This is it for today:)

Charcoal with Acetone / Renee Mueller Class

Powdered charcoal with acetone

During this block of the class, 

I drew along with Renee Mueller

 using a charcoal pencil and willow charcoal

 (homemade with twigs from our old willow tree).

Near the end, I sprinkled powdered charcoal 

on the upper left and lower right parts of the drawing.

It was then spritzed with acetone.

The effect resembles a kind of bubbly texture,

though maybe not so apparent in the photo.

Ditto with the lion

though the camera didn't pick up the texture very well.

The next exercise is charcoal with water.

Hope to see you on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

A Few More Sketches / Renee Mueller Class

Charcoal

Renee Mueller's class has been really interesting.

She suggested doing a few more drawings 

before progressing to the next lesson.

Charcoal

A new technique combining acetone & charcoal is coming up.

Renee Mueller Online Class #1

Charcoal / 10X8 (25.4cmX20.3cm)

This is the first drawing from Renee Mueller's online class, "Les Femmes."

This class is offered through Jeanne Oliver's teaching site, "jeanneoliver.com."

Renee has such an easy teaching style.

She is so encouraging:)

A few more of these to come before lesson #2 is started.

Hocus Focus

Got a couple of journal pages started, lost my focus, so I moved on.

Journal pages - in progress stuff

Then I thought I would start a batik. 

Unfortunately, I messed it up.

Batik fail

Must be the change of seasons.

  Slow motion in summer; hyperdrive in the fall:)

This and That

Most days have been spent outside this summer; not much has been happening in the world of art except a little of this and a little of that. 

Over the past few months, I signed up for some online classes, but have yet to dive into them.  I chose these classes at artist Jeanne Oliver's awesome teaching site:

"Les Femmes" by artist Renee Mueller

"The Raw of Silence" by Emma Petitt.

Since I'm clueless about landscapes, I went over to artist Carla Sonheim's teaching site & signed up for this class:

"Translating Landscape" by Anita Lehmann.

The classes will be great for those "I don't know what to paint" days.

Have a great weekend!  Hope to see you next week.

A Blogging Fiasco

Friends - Watercolor Batik on Rice Paper

Last month, I downloaded & deleted the blog because I intended on making some big changes in it.  As it went, I got humbled, so I am back on Blogger.  Blogger allowed me to  republish the downloaded blog, but would not let me use the same blog title. Why? I don't know.

And I lost every follower because those connections are attached to the old blog title.

BUT I kept the reading list, so I hope to reconnect with blogging friends.

.   .   .   .   .   

Hope your summer is going well, and that you're staying cool.

Here in Eugene, the temps have been hot lately, so we've been taking trips to the Oregon coast (about 60 miles / 96 km).

Tim and I also did some exploring in the opposite direction (central Oregon).  He was a good sport and wandered around Sisters, Oregon with me during their annual Outdoor Quilt Show - 1300 quilts! 

Saw this driving over the Cascade Mountains to Sisters.

The quilts were hung everywhere - on buildings, in parks, on racks in streets and inside businesses.

There are at least 10 quilt / fabric stores in this small town; fiber artist heaven.

So between lots of field trips, a few online classes, and visits from out of town company, it's been a nice summer.   I hope you're enjoying it, too!

Monday Again

Knife practice
Oil on Ampersand Gessobord / 6X6 (15.2X15.2cm)

While digging through the storage unit last week, I came across more than three dozen new Ampersand gessobord painting panels.

These are popular with artists who sell online.  The small size makes paintings more affordable and they are inexpensive to ship.

Luckily, I found some more oil paint, too.

Monday - Monday

Respite / Pastel / 16X12 

It's good to be back.

Lately I've been wondering where to go with artwork.  I've decided to start building an inventory and go back to dailypaintworks.com.

So then I thought I'd better open an Instagram account.  When I signed up, I learned that this is where most of the artists who have fallen off Blogger and Facebook have gone.  It's nice getting reacquainted with old blogging friends.

Will I see you on Instagram?

X, Y and Z

WikimediaCommons (Tadrarto1.jpg )

"X Marks the Spot"

A point of interest is usually placed in a particular spot in a composition
to make the overall image more pleasing to the eye.

You can find these spots by dividing the composition

into threes - vertically and horizontally.

A best spot for the focal point is where any two lines intersect.

This spot is also known as the sweet spot or

X marks the spot.

Of course,  rules are meant to be broken.

Watercolor Batik / 12X16 (30.4X40.6cm)

If you want to emphasize symmetry,
if you want your subject to confront the viewer,
or if you just like the way it looks,
break the rule.

. . . . .

"Y is for Yupo"

Yupo paper has a slick, non-porous surface a lot like glossy photo paper.

If you have control issues, it might not be for you,

but it is loved by the alcohol ink crowd.

Alcohol ink on Yupo

Alcohol ink on Yupo

If you want to see how to make ink silhouettes,
click here.

. . . . .

"Z is for Zebra"

Watercolor Batik / 8X10 (20.3X25.4cm)

Zebra - a favorite wild thing.

If you want to see how to make a watercolor batik,
click on the tutorial button at the top of the blog.

. . . . . . . . .

I'm going to southern California in a few days to visit family until the last week of May. 

Since our dog Cobie is too old to board at a kennel, 

Tim and a friend will be dog sitting at home - 

just the guys for a couple of weeks. 

Hope you have a safe, happy month!  

W is for Where

"Look Into My Lips"
Pastel / 12X12 (30.4cmX30.4cm)

W is for where.  Where to look.  I just wanted you to look at her lips :)

V is for Vintage

Sketchbook Revival / Mixed Media / 7X5

"The question isn't who's going to let me;

it's who's going to stop me."

Ayn Rand

Another Sketchbook Revival lesson; this time from Australian artist Toni Burt.

The lesson was a mixed media vintage girl.  She doesn't really look that vintage to me, but that's okay.  I loved the assignment.

I'm a little behind in the lessons because the sun was shining and the Oregon coast was calling.

These are a few photos taken yesterday.

 Hope you're having a great weekend!

U is for Unusual

Sidewalk crack drawings

These silly figures were inspired by a couple of books written by Seattle artist Carla Sonheim: "Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists" and "Drawing & Painting Imaginary Animals."  

 The drawings haven't been "embellished" yet, but they're kind of interesting starts.

The animals were made while doing one of Carla's exercises called "Exploring Sidewalk Cracks."

What you do is take some photographs of cracks in the sidewalk or street and bring them home for a look.  The object is to find pictures or images in the cracks just like you found pictures in clouds when you were a child.

These would make great cards or art pieces (nursery art, mixed media, ACEOs, ...) once finished.

I also signed up for the free annual online Sketchbook Survival workshop.  And guess who was teaching on the first day of instruction?  Carla.  And guess what Carla was teaching? Yes, sidewalk crack animals. 

Might not be too late to sign up, if you're interested.  The classes started just a few days ago and they feature two artists per day.  The free video tutorials have been running about 30 minutes each & will be available for the duration of the workshop (ends May 4th).  Lots of fun.

Carla can also be found on her blog.

T is for Tube

... as in YouTube.

An out of town friend is here for a visit.

Hope to see you soon.

S is for Street Photography

Around town.

R is for Rhinoceros

Rhino / 5X7 / Watercolor

When human beings were granted dominion over animals, I doubt that meant we have some self-serving right to torture and exploit them.

I was thinking of doing something different for the letter "R" until I read a story in the New York Times about consequences; human consequences for poaching.

The headlines read, "Rhino Poacher Killed by Elephant and Eaten by Lions, Officials Say." Here's the story if you care to see it:  New York Times.

Q is for Quick Ones

Watercolor

These faceless females are quick & fun to paint (the less detail, the more fun).

The point of doing something (anything) creative is to make a deposit into your creative bank account. This way, when you need to make a withdrawal, there are enough creative "funds" to spend.

Or, it is like filling up a well.  When the time comes to drop the bucket, you've put enough down there to dip into.

Watercolor

Years ago, in a weekly watercolor class, I told the teacher I just didn't know what to paint. She said, "Paint anything.  Paint an apple."  I wondered what the point in doing that was; she already taught us how to paint an apple.  I figured she meant to practice a lot.

Well, I see more value in painting "anything" now because it also means making a deposit into that creative account (or filling that well).

Watercolor

Talented illustrator, Jake Parker, explains this in one of his YouTube videos:

He's made me look at creative practice in a new way.

P is for Prophet

Prophet
Graphite & pastel on paper / 10X8 (25.4cmX20.3cm)

This drawing was done by first smearing powdered graphite onto paper with a cotton ball.

The lights on the face & hair were removed with an eraser.  The drawing was then enhanced with some white pastel and charcoal pencil.

. . . . . . . . .

The Old Testament Bible is rich with prophecies made by men who were divinely chosen  by God.  It is written that God called women into the prophetic ministry as well.

My favorite prophecies are those predicting the coming of the Messiah - perfect for a
Christmas series.