Calendar pages & watercolor palettes~

My little mushroom brush is just as important as my paint brushes!

Keeps the wool dust, lint, strings... 

All that crazy stuff fling around my studio, off my palettes.

I leave my palettes open to air dry~

It may be a few days in between painting.

If I forget to put my palette covers on (always) they get dusty.

I brush out the wells, brush off the little dishes...

I rarely wash my palette...

With a touch of water those messy puddles are perfectly usable!

Calendar time~

As I finish each month, I tack them up. It gives me a little distance

from my paintings. Sometimes they need a little more work.

Sometimes I soften an area...

The wintry months are still to be painted.

I should paint January & February mid-summer, on hot days~

When the winter cold seems like a welcome thought!

Just a few more paintings to go and

Outside My Window for 2020 will be complete.

Each year is a little bit different.

Always filled with my favorite things & feathered friends who visit!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Thank you for stopping by~

Photo Reference...

 My flow blue spot art  is from several years ago~

 

I enjoy working from photographs~

I tend to move around a lot, never getting the same perspective twice!

Saves me time when working on deadlines

by taking a lot of the guess-work out.

The light is perfect for calendar photo shoot #3!

Hope your week is off to a great start, Sweet Friends!

Antique Pen & Ink Blotter, Glass Pens etc...

When folks share, "They don't make it like they use to..."

It is true with many art tools.

I'm very thankful for acid free papers and the longevity they promise~

Museum glass that protects valuable art and prints~

I'm thankful they left the minerals in paints... I promise not to eat mine.

I love hand-worked.

As much as I try to jump into the interesting & exciting tech world~

My heart returns to simple.

A young student looked at me and asked~

"Aren't you afraid of being left behind?"

Nope.

I love what I do.

Everyday I strive to improve my unique skills~

Try to share a little more of my heart in my work~

Heart.

Unique.

There are many artists in the world...

I admire the ones that search their own hearts and render unique.

These little glass gems are fun!

Metal tips have their own look~

When you find the perfect angle, point side etc.~ these pens dance!

Looking through antique/vintage ephemera can be daunting & dusty.

The finds are rewarding!

Old lesson pages are great tools!

Perhaps flourishes and scrolling were the Zentangle of our past?

I love watching people sketch, doodle, zentangle, pattern etc.

One of the most important things I try to teach my students...

Loosen up.

Let go of your wrist~

Let your hand move with your mind.

Hope your weekend is filled with creative!

My Studio...

Years ago I had seen a child's size dish drainer.

An antique shop by the lake~

Shopping wasn't planned... it was picnic time.

On the way home I couldn't stop thinking I should have grabbed it!

I went back for it a few days later~

It was gone...

I've been trying to come up with a way to store my

little butter pat palettes~

Remembering how PERFECT the little dish tray would have been!

I went to Etsy and typed in "vintage wire dish drainer"

Found this treasure!

It's perfect at 6" wide!

Absence of Color~ Cool Vintage Finds

The store has oodles of vintage treasures~

I wait for my little palettes to dry~

They don't touch each other... no more paint on the bottoms!

Hope your day is creative!

Strawberry Treasure and Glitter...

As we sorted through mounds of linens one Saturday...
Our antiquing friend, Sweet 16 and I
came across this gorgeous treasure~
She gave it to me as a birthday gift!
All hand stitched... each berry different.
If you click on the photo for a better look
you can see the highlights, seeds...
The piece has been used, loved, worn~
So delicate...
So perfect...
So treasured!

My sweet friend, Diane Knott posted about how
she stores her glitter here... so pretty!
I shared how I like the salt/pepper with the slide tops.
I store fine glitter in that piece because I
am able to slide the holes closed for a smaller opening...

The top with the round nub closes itself...
That one is nice because it will pour out in a tiny
area... only one larger hole.

Plenty of days the kids go to school with glitter
on their cheek or hands because I chose
to make a fairy dust mess somewhere in the house!
Hubby... the engineer, a dept. of men... with glitter kisses!
Oh my!

Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Mellow Yellow... Colored Pencils...

Yellow pencils today...
Our Forsythia is so beautiful!
The yellow dandelions will soon follow~

Containers of colored pencils line desks in my studio.
Each sorted... but not precisely...
I'm not patient enough to sort through a rainbow
when I'm in need of gray...

I add details to my watercolor paintings with them.
They give a vibrant "pop" or a rich shadow etc.
I still have some pencils from twenty years ago~
Many colors have retired...
Some manufacturers have closed...
So I am careful to not waste.
I use metal sharpeners... they shave off just a little.

Thrifty... frugal... sparing... but not cheap.
It's not because these pencils are expensive...
It's when I need "that certain color"
That perfect color, at 2 am when the deadline is near~
That I'm glad I save the 2" nubs!

Sunny yellow... sunny wishes for you!

Gift Tag Time!

My daughter and I LOVE to have
Christmas craft days!

We turn the house into an artists dream...
ONE BIG STUDIO!
We have rubber stamps here~
mounds of paper scraps there~
punches n' paints~
ephemera and photographs~
fabric n' buttons...
GLITTER!!!!
a nightmare for anyone else who lives here!

These cute mini file folders will be
the perfect size for wallet portraits...

Double sided papers are sweet for these...

Last December I made buttons & tags
with tissue papers...
This is a different look...

Thin coat works best...
Try not to move it around once it is in place
tissue paper becomes very weak...

I put a solid tissue layer on the back...
Once it dries I will write a Christmas message
with a fine tip black marker.

Held to the light...

This tag is going on an antique glass trivet.
They hang their colorful trivets against windows...
The light flows through them so beautifully.

Hope you're having time for some holiday fun!

Photo Reference...

The best start in any drawing/painting/sculpting medium
is to have excellent reference material.

SKETCHBOOK
Always bring a sketch book along...
or a few napkins...
or a receipt...
or a ticket stub!
You hear me...you've done it before!

Take your own pictures...or draw to record.
Most images are protected under artist copyright.
It is important to respect those laws...
You can look at TONS of pictures for inspiration,
details you may have missed...background ideas.
But don't design your art from them.
Your photos~
1st~ Your perspective is unique to YOU.
Keeps the design fresh.
2nd~ Seeing the actual subject helps you capture
the neat little details you can't discover
from 1,000 images...sheen, texture...
sometimes SMELL! (Whooo-wee!)
3rd~ It's safe. If your design is selected for
production on cards, mugs, fabric etc.
You know it is your property!
Copyright infringements are serious.

I take my camera where ever I go...and
SKETCHBOOK!
I've asked antique shops if I could take pictures...
(After I put my handful of FINDS on the counter!)
ponds, front porches...window boxes...flags!
Apple orchards...flower nurseries...the fair, zoo...etc.