Happy Mail

I participated in a "vintage" themed twinchie exchange sponsored by Gingersnap Creations.  You can see the little two by two inch pieces of art I sent out in this post.  Yesterday I received a wonderful envelope from hostess Ali Manning, filled with the wonderful pieces up top. Aren't they all lovely? It's hard to pick favorites, but I did especially love the button lady in the top row and the silvery red butterfly in the bottom row.  What about you? Is there one that catches your eye?

I also recently received these two lovely cards from two amazing card makers - Karen and Jacky.  If you like cards, you should definitely check out their blogs. Thanks Ladies!

PPF: Watercolored Sketches

I just started taking the online course, The Art of Wild Abandonment, taught by Junelle Jacobsen and Christy Tomlinson. The first week's lesson introduced me to the idea of working in a sketchbook.  I sketched some lavender sprigs and colored them with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush:

I'm really quite pleased with how they turned out because, before this year, I would have said that I couldn't draw!  Practice really pays off.  Working in a sketchbook is completely new to me.  Although I work in art journals often, the sketchbook feels different.  The sketchbook pages are done more quickly, and I feel even less concern about whether the drawings turn out "right."  It's a very freeing process.  And I'm really beginning to understand how my sketchbook will provide tons of ideas for things that will become art journal pages - or prayer flag samples, canvases and other works of art.  I think I'm hooked!  What about you? Do you work in a sketchbook?  How doe you see it as different from your art journal?
I'm sharing this as part of Paint Party Friday.  For more painterly goodness, check out the artists listed in this link.

Cards, Cards, Cards!

I occasionally say that I'm going to give up making cards.  

But . . . sometimes when painting or art journaling just seems like too much work; 

when I don't want to haul out all my scrapping stuff and figure out where my pictures are; when my wrist hurts too much to work on editing images; 

but . . .  I still want to create, then it's fun to pull out a stack of patterned paper and make a bunch of cards.

And it's good to have a stash of cards for the important events in life, including the sad times when someone needs a sympathy card:

Thanks to Ali Manning for sponsoring this de-stash challenge which encouraged me to use up some of my patterned paper.  Each of these cards used 3-4 different patterns, and it was fun to get them out of my stash and into my card bin.  And easy. And sometimes that just what an artist needs.  Is there something you turn to when you want to create but are low energy?

Signs of Spring

Just a simple art journal page, with a certain sign of spring around here.  Has spring arrived where you live? And what signals its arrival? 

Modigliani Monday

This month Ayala is hosting this challenge to paint pictures based upon the work of the artist Modigliani.  I started this week and have made pretty good progress.  The first one I completed was this watercolor:

based upon this painting:

It's a reasonably accurate representation, and I got some good experience working with my watercolors.  But. . .

it many ways, it didn't really feel like me.  So, I stared at this painting for a while:

And looked at an article called "Narrative Collage" by Anne E. Quinlan in the Jan./Feb. 2009 edition of Cloth Paper Scissors, and I came up with this:

Now that's much better!  Much more me! And very much where I want all this painting practice to be able to take me in my art journaling.  I've got a representational acrylic painting in the works and another narrative collage. Thanks Ayala for encouraging me to practice and for giving me the opportunity to find my muse.

Sunday Inspiration

I've been working on art journal pages inspired by my photography.  You can see a one here and one at the end of today's post.  Today, since its Sunday, I'm sharing this page based on another photograph.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I laid down white paint in the shape of the angel and then went in to add the outline with black paint and sharpie marker. It's similar to the process for making faces starting with either watercolor or acrylic "face blobs" that I learned in Carla's 101 Faces Class.  Here's the inspiration photo:

The only element I drew out of it was the angel. I love the shape of the angel, as well as its symbolism and personal connection (my late mother made it for me).  So, it felt right in this page reflecting on the value of a religious upbringing.  I'm definitely feeling much more confident these days with my drawing and painting.  The various classes are really starting to pay off. 

P.S. To answer my challenge from yesterday, the art journal page was actually based on the photograph of the bicyclists in the Cambridge alley.  When I went to complete the page, the background and sun/moon face were already on the page.  In looking to complete it,  I drew on the sense of scale, the sky and sense of movement in the photograph.

Can you see the connection between the journal page and the photograph?

Ten (12 actually) on the Tenth: Inspirational Starting Points

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently worked my way through the wonderful free class "Finding Your Muse" by Alisa Burke.  I shared a painting I made based on one of my photographs.  Today, I wanted to share ten more photographs that I find inspiring. The problem was that I couldn't stop at ten, so with apology to the others who are playing along with Shimelle's Ten on the Tenth, here are Twelve on the Tenth! 

Photograph 1: I love the sunflare and the perspective of taking a picture of the back of someone. I like the sense of movement which is implied.

Photograph #2 Love the street photography feel of this. Plus, Mexican wrestler parody - what's not to love?

Photograph #3 Love the sky, love the strength, love the anonymity of another shot taken from behind.

Photograph #4 I love the difference in scale between the boy and the firetruck. I love that I know he is thrilled to see this truck. Another photograph taken from behind and another street photograph.

Photograph #5 Love the solitary feel of the tree and the movement suggested by the path. Love the subtle color palette, too.

Photograph #6 There's something about the way this tree hugs the wall that suggests family to me.  Nature composed such a beautiful pattern with those branches, too.

Photograph #7 More street photograph, catching a slice of life from behind, with lots of movement and interesting scale. I'm certainly seeing some common threads running through here.

Photograph #8 I love the magic of the forest suggested here through its texture, as well as the color palette.

Photograph #9 I love the colors and the rustic nature of these animals, and I love the packed composition of the photograph.

Photograph #10 - I love the composed nature of this photograph, the depth of field and the texture.

Photograph #11 I love the intensity of the color (juxtaposed with the pop of white) and the sharpness of focus.

Photograph #12 I love the subtle colors and the way the ribbons flutter in the wind. I'm sure this is what first got me thinking about prayer flags.
The next step is the process suggested by Alisa is to actually do something with your inspirational starting point.  Up top is an art journal page based on one of the photographs. Can you guess which one?