Comfort Cottage

Tangled Tabby

Hello, my friends!  In between doctor's appointments for my son, I managed to complete another drawing.  Cats are one of my favorite subjects, so today, I present to you the Tangled Tabby.  I am just loving combining representational drawings with Zentangle.  Let me know what you think!

 

 

These little 3.5 x 3.5 tiles are like m&m's.  I can't just stop at one!  Well, I really did stop the m&m's.  So far, on my fitness program, I've lost 15 pounds.  Yay for me!!  I think I've replaced m&m's with Zentangles :)  They're non-fat and guaranteed not to raise your blood pressure. 

Tomorrow, we're off to Univ. of Pa. to see the surgeon.  Please keep my son in your prayers.  Hugs and blessings to you!

Until next time,

 

The Winds of Adversity

Hello, my friends.  You may have noticed my absence of the last week.  Into every life a little rain must fall.   Last Saturday, my son went to a concert his friend was playing in.  It was to be a night of fun with friends before the spring semester started.  Unfortunately, the fun ended when an unknown person accidentally hit my son in the eye while dancing.  At first, it just looked like a black eye.    It wasn't long, however, before it became apparent that something was terribly wrong.  Long story short:  severe facial trauma with multiple fractures of the left orbit (bony structure around and under the eye).  We spent last week making the rounds and collecting CT scans, X-rays, and bad news from several specialists.  We're meeting with a specialist in facial trauma and reconstruction this week.  Extensive surgery is a given.  My son will be setting off airport metal alarms for the rest of his life :( 

The good news in all of this?  He's alive, he's not brain damaged, and there's no damage to his optic nerve.  Everything else can be fixed.  I'm incredibly grateful - I've seen cases where this sort of thing has not ended well.  Please keep my son, Michael,  in your prayers and pray for the skill of the surgeons.  They will most likely operate on Thursday.

Needless to say, by Saturday, my brains were more scrambled than my son's.  I escaped to the craft store for a few hours.  By Sunday, I was ready to make some art.  Zentangle is remarkably therapeutic for the stressed mind.  I've resisted working as small as Zentangle artists normally do, but today, working in miniature appealed to me.  I cut my Bristol Vellum into the traditional 3.5" x 3.5" squares and tackled my first piece of miniature art.  I was inspired by a photograph I shot of a wren last summer.

 

 

I enjoyed working this so much, I think I'll be doing many more in this size!  I used Sakura Pigma Micron pens, sizes .005, .01, .02, and .08; a Sakura Pigma Micron brush pen; no. 2 pencil for shading; and Strathmore Bristol Vellum (100lb.)

I sincerely hope your week was less stressful than ours :)  I missed all of you and I probably won't be able to post between Wednesday and Friday.  Take care of yourselves and stay well.  I'll try to keep you updated.

Hugs and blessings!

Until next time,

 

 

 

Feloons

This one was inspired by my sister's cat, Gus. He's a huge orange tabby that looks like a balloon with four paws. I just couldn't help myself :)

 

Feloons

18 x 24

Mixed media on 140lb Cold Pressed Paper

Materials: DaVinci watercolors, Caran D'Ache Neocolor IIs, Portfolio Oil Pastels; Decoart Americana Acrylics, Speedball Super-Pigmented Black Ink, Bic Wite-Out Correction Pen, Watercolor brushes round, size 8 and flat size 10, liner size 2, bubble wrap, hand-carved rubber stamps

 

Until next time,

 

Paint Out Loud

I worked on another spontaneous water-media painting today.  Come on in to the studio and I'll share the process!

 

 

Initially, it looked rather ugly, but I'm learning to roll with the process.  If I let that pesky inner critic of mine get the upper hand, I'd never get past the first step!  I sprayed some watered down watercolor over some stencils.  Then, I remembered Traci, our wonderful workshop teacher suggesting that we find different ways to make marks with common objects.  I took a bamboo skewer (the kind that normal people would make shish-kabob with), dipped it into acrylic ink, and dragged it across the paper to make star shapes.

 

 

Using Davinci watercolor in Indian Yellow, I painted some shapes with a size 8 round brush.

 

 

I chose three of my hand-carved rubber stamps, and stamped patterns using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II crayons to apply color.

 

 

As I developed this painting, I started thinking about what I'm about as an artist and a person.  Mostly, what you see is what you get with me.  I'm excited about making art, enthusiastic, and I believe in letting it show.  I'm not afraid of color (can't you tell?) and I want people to be excited when they look at my art.  No snoring allowed!  I want my art to exude joy.  Life has enough of its own troubles with adding somber, sad art to the mix.  I want to lift others out of that sadness, and make their hearts skip a beat!  The affirmations I've included in this piece reflect this philosophy.  I penned them with a Sakura Brush marker.  I love the Sakura pigma pens.  Once they dry, you can get them wet or paint over them, and they absolutely will not smear or bleed!

 

 

At this point, the piece needed something to help tie it together.  Since I've used so many warm colors in it, I decided to spray a watered-down wash of DaVinci Lemon Yellow over it.  It is the cooler of the yellows, and it served to make the other elements pop out more.  I then used a Bic Wite-Out Correction pen to "find the doodle in the doodle" as Traci says.  As I stepped back, I realized that it needed some cooler dark accents.  I used a Cobalt Blue Neocolor II crayon for this.

 

 

The last step was to use a red Sharpie pen to add more linework to the red flowers.  The best, however was yet to come.  Traci told us to take close-ups of selected pieces of the finished work.  As I looked at these photos, I began seeing all sorts of possibilities.

 

 

Some of them would make fabulous original note cards.

 

 

This would make a great framed print for the studio.

 

 

This would be great printed on a coffee mug for a favorite artist friend.

 

 

And wouldn't this make a cool cover for an art journal, or sketchbook journal?

 

Well my friends, it is 11 p.m. in Morgantown, and I'm about to turn into a pumpkin!  I'll be back soon with more fun in the studio.  If you haven't checked out Traci Bautista's fabulous online workshop, Doodles Unleashed yet, please do.  And while you're at it, why not visit Traci's blog, Creativity Unleashed?  It is an artist's garden of inspiration.  I promise you, you'll have a fantastic time and you will come away on fire for making art.  God bless you all, and I'll see you again soon!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making My Mark

Today I'm sharing my first piece of art for Week 2 of Traci Bautista's online workshop, Doodles Unleashed.  This week we're working BIG.  The idea is to explore making marks with different water media and stamps.  The finished piece will be cut apart later in the workshop, and used for other art.  I worked it on Strathmore 400 series 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper.  I photographed my process in order to give you a closer look at how my work evolves.

I'll begin with the scene of the crime:

 

For this project, I'll be using two brushes:  a one-inch flat, and a size 8 round.  I worked at my easel so the paint could roll freely down the paper.  Watercolor paper has two sides to it-a smooth side, and a more textured side.  To enhance and speed the dripping, I used the smooth side.  I kept a spray bottle filled with water handy in case the drips didn't roll far enough down the page. 

 

 

Using my flat brush, I loosely painted lines and squiggles.  I mostly use DaVinci Tube Watercolors.  They are a professional grade product, which means that they have a very high concentration of pigment and very little filler.

 

 

Next, I added thinner lines with the round brush and some affirmation words.  I used a limited color palette.  It's important not to mix colors with their complements (Complementary colors are those that are positioned opposite one another on the color wheel).  If you do, you'll get mud!

This project gave me the chance to use my own hand-carved rubber stamps.

 

 

A few were derived from Dover images, but most are my own hand-drawn designs.  I chose two of my own designs to use for my painting.

 

At this point, I switched to using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons.  I experimented with getting a good coating of color onto the stamp.  I found that the strongest images were produced when I swiped the stamp with a damp flat brush, and then rubbed the crayon over the stamp until there was a generous coating of color on it. 

 

 

After stamping, I used Derwent watercolor pencils to enhance the images.  I kept a small cup of water close, and dipped the pencils directly into the water as I worked.

 

 

It's time to step back and assess my progress!

 

 

Now, it's time to pull it all together.  I used Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels and Caran D'ache Neocolor II crayons to add in blocks of color and accents.

 

 

 

 

After I shot this photo, I noticed the curious effect of the light filtering through the blinds.  I think that it would be interesting when printed out and incorporated into a collage.

 

 

My Neocolor IIs are my favorite art supplies!

 

 

I decided to use my alphabet stencils at the end so I could choose small parts of them and place them where they would be visible.  I sprayed watered down watercolor paint over them.  I love the look of splattered paint.  I had a Neocolor II crayon in my hand, so I tried dipping it in the water and flinging it over the paper.  It worked great!  A word of caution if you have bad aim:  cover the wall behind your easel.  Fortunately, I painted my walls with scrubbable paint.  Dark blue splatters were not what I had in mind when I decorated the room!

 

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this time in my studio.  Let me know what you think of the post.  If the response is positive, I'll plan more posts like it in the future.  Happy painting!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discover

Over this weekend I painted the third in my series for Traci Bautista's online workshop, Doodles Unleased.   To see all of my work for this workshop, you can click here.

 

 

Materials:  Jo-Sonya's Artist's Gouache, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, Bic Wite-Out Correction Pen, Speedball Super-Pigmented Acrylic Black Ink, 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper, Sharpie markers

 

I hope your weekend was a restful one.  Blessings to you.

 

Doodles Unleashed!

Hi there!  Sorry I've been away for a few days.  I've been busy working on art for Tracy Bautista's online workshop, Doodles Unleashed.  It's one of three, free workshops being offered at Strathmore Artist Studio.  Tracy is the author of Collage Unleashed, and her new book, Doodles Unleashed is due to be released in February.

I have two paintings to share with you.  It was so much fun to work without any preconceived plan. 

 

 

I've tried lots of "opaque" white pens, but Bic's Wite-Out correction pen is by far the best!  It really pops against a colored background.  I did the black line-work with a script liner brush and Speedball's Super-Pigmented Acrylic Ink.  It flows beautifully off of the brush.  I used Jo-Sonya's Artist's Gouache, diluted it with water for the first layer and sprayed it over plastic canvas and stencils.  You can find the spray bottles at your local discount store or dollar store.  I used the paint full strength to paint in shapes.  I enhanced the color a little with Portfolio water-soluble oil pastels.  The piece was worked on Strathmore's Windpower 140lb cold-pressed watercolor paper.

 

 

On this one I printed the texture with bubble wrap (can you tell?).  I also sprayed diluted artist's gouache over plastic canvas and torn masking tape.

 

Stay tuned for more Doodles Unleashed through January.  Also, on the horizon, I will be participating Brave Girls' new online workshop, Body Restoration.  Yes, I've decided that it's time to do something about my health.  Brave Girls' workshops are both fun and supportive.  You can check out the new workshop here.

That's all for now.  I hope your New Year is full with life and love.  God bless you all!