Sunday Sketches and More

This is my sketch for Sunday sketches but it appears that there are no links to share yet. It funny how it takes taking a photo and uploading it before you realize how crooked the eyes are on your drawing.



















These pages are in my old book journal. Its a book about whaling so its always fun to cover up the pages with paint and lots of layers.

I  like how ethereal this page turned out. I used masks and stencils and a magazine image. These pages were both the same colors at one time but now one is muted and one is bright. I find that to be lots of fun.

I have my knitting/spinning friends from Salt Lake over for a long weekend. We'll celebrate the New years together creating lots of fun things.  Wishing you a fun end for 2012.

The Day After

Its still snowing here. I am cozy inside and watching a Dr. Who marathon. Sometimes the day after the holiday is a let down or disappointing in some ways but today I am just content.  I have my foot propped up with ice on it and project beside me and not a care in the world.  Its a great feeling.

I sketched this with charcoal pencil while watching tv last night. I love the immediacy of charcoal.

Santa brought me one of these.  Its a Japanese Screw Punch.  Its used to punch holes in papers in making journals and books. I have wanted one of these for a long time. I also got some ink for my fountain pen.

Sarah got me this book, a sequel to one I had bought when I visited her in Portland.  The real surprise was that is was signed by the author and illustrator. How cool is that.

Did you get some fun things for gifts this year?

Merry Christmas From Our House

My little snow couple are here to wish you Merry Christmas

My snowflakes are all hung up and blowing in the breeze, this is one of seven.

Only a spinner and weaver would have a woolen mill for a decoration. I love my little house.

My tree this year is all birds. It seems appropriate that a real tree should have birds in it.

This is a little bell pull of birds which I turned into a temporary garland.

This little cardinal is made some kind of straw.

My crow is a little ragged but loved.

My cats keep trying to attack this bird garland I added.

There are a couple glass birds but I have never figured out what kind of bird they are.

They have such character I love putting them on the tree.

I love this little owl, he is so cute.

This little glass cardinal is another favorite.

This little partridge has actual feathers on it, I love the idea of a partridge in my tree even if it isn't a pear tree.

For the top of the tree I have a funky cloth bird. He is big enough to make his presence known.

I have another small tree that this year held some favorite ornaments.  The nutcracker collection was from my mother.

Wishing you all peace this holiday season and in the coming new year.

Days of Blood and Starlight

My early morning sketch.  I pretty much can hardly sleep due to my foot.  So its draw and read till sleep comes.  Still no word on whether or not its broken.

This is what I have been reading.  It is the sequel to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I am definitely in another world.

Have you read any good books lately?

Tonight I am headed to a Write Like its The Last Day On Earth gathering with my writers group.  It should be fun.

Update on my foot : It is not broken, wish it was because then something could be done. Its arthritis in the joint of my big toe. Other than Advil there is nothing the regular medical community can do.  Its time to start researching alternative therapies.

My Poor Foot

On Sunday I slipped in a store. Mostly my dignity was bruised. I did get a bruise on my shin and had a sore foot. They foot just got worse. It may be broken or not. I  had an xray yesterday and I am waiting to hear the radiologists report.

So on my early morning times when I couldn't sleep because of the pain. I pulled out the journal and drew my foot. It was pretty cathartic. I was able to sleep afterwards.



Today I decided it was time to sharpen the pencils I have been using.  This led to sharpening all my pencils. Look at all the color in those shavings.

Here are just a few of my beautifully sharpened pencils.  I know I am going to be happy I took the time to do this the next time I sit down to draw.

I am off to have a Christmas lunch with a friend, what fun thing are you doing today?

Making the Holidays Yours

We are well into the Holiday Season. I find myself back at another stage. When my daughter was born I missed the big family gatherings and would lament about the loss of them every year. I had to make new traditions and create my own holidays.

I still watched all the sappy Hollywood movies, still longing for that wonderful time.

 

Too often I would feel like Charlie Brown with his sad little tree. No matter what I did it felt lacking. I know it was just my perception of things. I know that we had wonderful holidays.
This year my daughter will not be home for Christmas, and I am finding this to be hard.

I have been looking for ways to make this year special for Dave and myself. We've been remodeling so there is no money for a trip. I found myself not even wanting a tree or decorating. I decided that would really make me depressed. So we got a tree and the house looks festive, things are looking up. I added new decorations and that was fun to do. I want to be like the happy guy to my left.

So how do you do that. So many of have issues with these holidays. Maybe a parent died at this time, or we miss their celebrations, just don't feel like we are in a situation to be merry. It doesn't matter the reason there are always things you can do to make yourself happy and content. I thought I'd share some of the things I plan on doing this year. They are simple but they are enough.

1. Decorate even if its just for yourself, you'll get pleasure out of seeing the beauty in your home. I decorated my tree with all birds this year.
2, Celebrate the Winter Solstice. Do a search the internet for ideas on how to celebrate this holiday.
3. Cook new foods- I am planning on making home made cinnamon rolls for Breakfast on Christmas Morning.
4. Feed the ducks on Christmas Day - we do this every year and I really enjoy it. we head down to the river and pay attention to those animals who get neglected on this day.
5. I signed up for a class that starts  Dec 15, a new creative activity always gets me going.
6. I'll still watch sappy movies but I will work on knitting projects during them.
7. Go see Christmas lights.
8. Go to the Museum exhibit for its many displays. This year in addition to the gingerbread houses and santas there is a penguin display that I want to see.
9. Participate in secret santa buying for others. Its fun to help families in need.
10. Bake christmas goodies and invite friends over. I did this already and it was great fun.
11. Skype on Christmas Day so I can share Christmas with my daughter even if we are not together.

These are just some ideas but you can create your own, you can make the holidays be whatever you want them to be.  Just be creative and have fun.

Sunday Sketches

Todays sketch was made with InkTense Pencils. This was quite a challenge for me with no good colors for the skin, but I managed somehow. Make sure to check out Sophia's blog for more Sunday sketchers.

A little art here and there.

I  decided a face was in order for this background.  After the first underpainting she really looked Native American to me.  So that is what I went for.

This page was done awhile ago.  It is so vibrant in person, I continue to have issues getting colors tos come out. Oh well, it was fun, sort of like Tracy Verdugo's ideas of portals but was not created her way.

That is all the art to share, I have been busy decorating the house, finishing presents and all that jazz.

I signed up to take a ticket to Venice with Mary Ann Moss, it involves virtual travel, making journals and more.  I should be a fun thing to do during the holidays.  It starts in a couple days.  You can find out more on MaryAnn's blog

MIssing Ninnie

This is Ninnie my friend from Alabama,  She was one of the Glitter Sisters. A group of artists who met online through Violette Clarke's message board.  We shared our loves and lives and our art over the years. She lost her battle with Inflammatory Breast Cancer today.  Hold her family in your heart. Follow your dreams, take that trip, don't put things off.  Life is so short live to the fullest while you can.  I miss you Ninnie.

Sunday Sketches

Todays sketch resulted from several factors. I had packed my bag with sketchbook and inktense pencils. I forgot all my other pencils, erasers and pencil sharpener. I had brought 3 reference photos with me. I thought I'd choose one when I got to my location.  The bird idea translated to pencil easiest so that I went with that.  I think they are sorta cute. I love the bright colors.

Check out Sophia's blog for more sketching.

2013 Incredible Year Workbook

I just got my copy of these and they are fantastic as usual. Most of you only need the Life version but for myself I could use the business one so I bought both of them.   I have used the Life workbook for 2 years and I love it.  The questions that Leonie asks help you let go of 2012 and start planning what you want to have happen in 2013.  I think they are the best thing on the market. I only share things that I use myself. If you are interested in getting on click here or on the link in my sidebar.

Only art I have done this week is for DEEP so here they are, more oil pastel drawings.

This is just squares of color I was trying to use all the groups of color in different combinations.

This is four sheets of paper taped together.  I wanted to make a tree that turned into a woman.  The crazy hair was fun to do.

Hair Spray It Is

I think I have to say that I like the Hair Spray the best. It seals the page enough so it does not rub off, adds no brush marks and doesn't make it really glossy.  One of the point of using oil pastels is all the instant texture you get.  You lose all that when you put a finish on it. It seems that hair spray lets you keep more of your original look.  So that is what I will be using from now on.

Here is a fun story I wanted to share.  Its about a bird a woman and greeting cards, click on this link to read it. story

Exploring Oil Pastel Sealers

Oil pastel on mixed media paper.  I still seem to be making those rock cairns from Sedona. I love them as an image.  They bring a sense of peace to me. I have discovered that doing all these heavy il pastels in my art journal has resulted in a problem.  How to seal them so they don't bleed on to the next page.  The internet menions 2 ways to seal, gloss/varnish and a spray on sealer.  I have tried both.  The gloss varnish leaves a glossy look an brush marks, The spray is better but it still put a sheen on it and it smells.  I really like it without, so one I could just leave the page next to it blank.  Then I would not need to worry about it contaminating another page. On my next one I will try hair spray and see what result that gives.

I ordered some of Alisa Burke's stamps and they came today.  I cut them out and stamped them all   on some scrap papers.  I love them, they are going to be so much fun to use in backgrounds.

Today I have had the post nano blues.  I spent most of the day cleaning, first my bedroom and then my office/writing room. Went out to lunch with a friend, spent some time with my daughter on the phone, wrapped some Christmas gifts, dug out some new projects to work on but can't seem to settle on anything.  When you are involved in something so intense as Nano is, its hard to change gears. Its hard not to feel a little bit sad that its over.

I Made It

A Sketch In TIme

I believe all art is just a moment in time. I made this little sketch yesterday afternoon. I added a few words about what was I feeling at the time.  All a moment in time of this artist. What have your moments in time been like lately?  Do you capture them in Art?

Raven Makes Me Smile

I was feeling a little down yesterday and then I saw Connie's post about crows and thought maybe I need to paint one of my own,  I had this blue/green background in my art journal that I didn't know what to do with it. I picked up a black oil pastel and drew this raven. I like the idea of keeping him partially blue/green.  It was a satisfying little drawing and then I felt uplifted.  I love how raven does that for me.

Nanowrimo is winding down.  I'm just a couple days from finishing and that feels good.  I am going to my last write-in with my peeps tonight.  We'll write and cheer each other on. I so love the community we have created.

More Art Journaling

Art Journaling seems to be all the art I do lately. I know that isn't a bad thing but soon I hope to be able to share something else. The writing is going good. That will be over by the end of the week.

Art continues to help me cope with life.  My dog had another seizure last night.  He seems to recover just fine but it is not a fun thing to have to witness.  I am taking him to the vet again tomorrow.

I decided to put the oil pastel aside and work on a different type of page. This page used  spray inks and lots of layers of stamping.  It was fun to keep adding things. to the page in the same color scheme. I find it fun to mix things up a bit.

Here are some Pieces I have done for DEEP, they are created with oil pastels.

I continue to enjoy the intuitive painting process and love seeing where it takes me. Sometimes it just shapes and other times distinct images seem to take form. It is an amazing process.

Turning To Art

Its been quite a week. First I had to put Lucky to sleep and then Flynn has had 2 seizures today. The first at 2 am was pretty bad but the second around noon was short. He seems to be recovering but it is still pretty scary. It been hard to focus on writing so i have turned to art. Here is what I have been doing this week.

In DEEP the course I am taking from Connie Hozvicka; we are playing with oil pastels. This was created on charcoal paper and has layered colors and scraping with a stylus. The entire background became her hair.  This was fun to do.

I have been missing my kitty so last night I drew this little kitty to represent her. You know I really felt a whole lot better after doing this piece. It was like I put all my feelings into all the scribbling.  I used Portfolio oil pastels for these first two pieces

These next two are in my Canson mixed media journal. They both had scrapings from my palette as a starting point.  I added gelatos oil pastels for all the color in the background.  I also used some liquid acrylic. This is so vibrant in person. It annoys me that I can't take a good picture of this to share her.

This second one is created with the same materials.  Early on is started to look like an Abalone shell so tried to go with that. It is more vibrant in person.  Both of these pieces were very organic in their creation.

This last one was fun. Ink has seeped through from another page. So I started adding Portfoilio oil pastels. I had these 2 orange circles so I kept adding color and then I thought that looks like a mother and a baby, so I drew simple faces and kept going.  I am loving working with oil pastels this way.