bear square

i recently spent a fabulous workshop weekend with a room full

of very talented and enthusiastic artists at donna downey studios….

and our instructor was the uber-talented danielle donaldson! 

our first day was spent painting squares.

beautiful, boxy squares painted in a row…..

and some painted in a grid.

{i couldn't resist labeling them….

those heavenly boxes were just calling out for some letterforms!}

and then we stretched the square into a rectangle

and created our own "paint strip".

on the second day it was back to squares in a more nostalgic way….

danielle showed us how to paint a rainbow viewfinder disc!

then we switched things up a bit and created a collage square, 

and i'll be honest…..

while my inner-grid girl was absolutely thrilled with

painting squares,  i tend to hit a brick wall when it comes to collaged

squares.  while a collage looks like just a bunch of tidbits randomly

placed on the paper, there's still a lot of intuitive order going on 

when it comes to placement,

and i've never been able to figure out what that order is!  

but thankfully, sweet little rachel who was sitting at my table gave

me some great suggestions and jolted me back to reality,

and my deer-in-the-headlight stare slowly faded away.

and just so we'd have something to sit on top of our collage square, 

we ended our day with a drawing lesson from danielle.

she has the most wonderful imagination, and her little animals are

as precious as she is.

by the end of day three, everything came together as a finished piece….

and every time i look at my bear square i'll be reminded what a 

truly marvelous artist, instructor, and sharing person danielle is,

and i'll think of all the awesome energy in donna's studio,

the inspiring people i shared the weekend with (hi joanna!), 

and how hitting a brick wall can sometimes be one of the best lessons

of the entire weekend!   :))

{danielle offers online workshops, too…..click here for info!}

ladybugs and daisies

my Mom has a heart the size of Texas…..

and is cuter than a little bug in a rug….

and i celebrate her, not only today,

but every single day!

happy mother's day, Mom!

i love you!!  xox

♥

…..and i'm also wishing all of you sweet Moms across this 

big, beautiful world a very special day 

that's filled with all your favorite things,

and spent with those you love!!

{supplies:  strathmore 140 lb. CP paper, daniel smith watercolor,

.5 and .3 mechanical pencil}

griddy-girl palette number2

i took this photo a year ago when our family took a trip

to visit my little dutch sweetie's hometown in the Netherlands…..

and the memory of that fun day at the market
lives on in my heart,
as well as in my art journal!


{note:  the original color palette includes a dark green, but when i printed
the palette out, it looks like my computer saw it as a green/charcoal.
i created this page based on my printed version, rather than the
palette as shown on the computer, because i hadn't noticed the 
difference until just now!  as it turns out, the photo actually contains this
green/charcoal color, so i'm going to think of it as a "happy accident",
but next time i print a color palette, i'll check for accuracy.  :)) }


{supplies:   strathmore visual journal for mixed media 9"x12",
sennelier watercolor,  .3 mechanical pencil,  Photoshop Elements}


{read my post featuring my first palette here,
and you can find more color palettes here on my pinterest board!}

giddy inner-grid-girl

the book "Local Color" by Mimi Robinson was recently featured
on my "Amazon recommends" list,  and i must admit that
the cover spoke to my inner-grid-girl so loudly
 that i was pressing the "purchase" button before i knew it!
 but the cover is just a sampling of what's to come inside, because
sprinkled amongst the pages are beautiful watercolor blocks
that Mimi uses in her art journal to celebrate and document her travels.

 after swooning over every page,

 i was really inspired to get in on the watercolor-grid-fun and

  i decided to focus on the trip my family and i took to Brussels a year ago.

this photo of my favorite hot chocolate was taken when

we first arrived in Belgium….after a long plane ride,

it tasted fantastic!  :))

 to help break down the colors in the photo easier,

i created this color palette using the eye dropper in Photoshop Elements.

{Mimi prefers to work from nature and 

does not mention creating a computer palette as part of her process,

but i found it helpful to get started!}

once i had my computerized palette,  i decided to get busy in my
art journal.  i printed my photo and palette, and then i started mixing
watercolor and i tried to match the colors as closely as possible.
the nice thing about this process is "getting close" is good enough….
whatever looks right to your eye is perfect!

once i had my watercolor palette mixed,  i painted blocks.
my inner-grid-girl was absolutely giddy…..

especially when i finished it with some lettering!

and while painting the watercolor blocks is great fun,
i couldn't wait to give my new palette a test-run
by creating some micro-doodles…..

and when inspiration strikes again,  i've got lots of room left on the page
for more micro-doodles and grid-girl block painting!
but for now,  i think it may be time for a cup of hot chocolate….. xox


you can find more photo/color palettes here on my pinterest board!

{supplies:   strathmore visual journal for mixed media 9"x12",
sennelier watercolor,  .3 mechanical pencil,  Photoshop Elements}

for more information about "Local Color" and a peek inside, click here

sweet life

i've been having more fun with some graph paper and a 6B pencil!

i hope this weekend finds you spending lots of sweet time 

with your favorite supplies!  xox

{supplies:  graph paper, 6B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

i went out on a "retail safari" the other day and found this new grid paper pad.   i know it seems a bit kooky to get excited about a pad of paper with lots of non-repro-blue boxes on it, but i'll openly admit i absolutely love me a grid!  and once i added a new pencil to the mix, inspiration wasn't far behind…..

because before i knew it,  i was doodling fun letters and little swirlies…..

along with some whimsical little scallop banners…..

and other things straight from the heart.

but what surprised me was this little girlie.  i don't normally draw people, or pencil-shaded trees, and i don't know anyone named phoebe…..but here she is with her hair blowing in the breeze and a basket on her arm!

which just goes to show…..when you go on retail safari,  you never know where inspiration is going to lead you with all your new supplies!  

p.s.  and speaking of retail safari,
i also picked up the mar/april issue of Somerset Studio magazine…...

thank you, christen,  for the absolutely beautiful feature!!  xox
(i. am. SO. excited!!!)


{supplies:  bienfang grid paper, 6B uni pencil}

around the house

the other day in this post i mentioned that i tend to be very "grid oriented and in-the-box". i don't think i realized how grid oriented i really am until i started looking around my house. i've got grids in my studio bookcases.....

at the end of my work table....

and on the wall!

then i noticed that it has spilled down the stairs into the family room....

and even into the kitchen (yikes!)!!

and just when i was about to give up and declare myself a total square, i found a circle in the living room (please overlook the fact that the chairs are arranged around the circle... in a square)! power to the circle!!

:))

three in a row....

tic-tac-toe, three in a row!  continuing on from yesterday's post, here is another piece of canvas that has been treated with gesso and then a light wash of watercolor.  the grid was created using a running stitch and black cotton floss.  each element has been created by hand, including the "tic-tac-toe buttons" in the center of each heart, which were made by taking a wooden disc, stamping a letter on with staz-on ink and then punching the holes with my crop-a-dile.  i really love doing these mixed media projects, and i've especially enjoyed all of the hand stitching.  which reminds me, my husband's shirts have been patiently waiting for new buttons, so i'd better do that today...

p.s.  who won the game, the x's or the o's? (click on image for larger view)