AEDM - Day Six

Hurry, hurry, I'm late for a very important date!! I've been rushing around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to get art done for both today and tomorrow so I can actually be kind of ahead. I've realized that if I add my link to the Linky on AEDM late in the day, no one visits, they're all so tired trying to get their art done for today and tomorrow too!!

So, my goal today was to finish a couple paintings to fulfill both today (hopefully the last time I'll be so late) and tomorrow's new linky that I can link up onto just after midnight. It's a plan but to get it done I had to make my second piece very simplistic. It had to be done, a page of test colors, but it's kinda boring. Oh well, I'll finally feel a little caught up.

I do have four other pieces drawn up and planned, I just have to execute them. I'm having a thrill of a time trying all the new paints I have. The silks are as amazing as the twinks I tried yesterday. If you'd like to see that, click here.

Once again, I'm working in my Moleskine. I'm loving how it's coming along, I've done 5 pages in it, building a start, theming that start on what I use and need to make art. Here they are in order...

My latest Moleskine page showing some of my Silks & Twinks

I'll be back very soon, within hours, with the other page I did today. It's a race to do a painting a day, I'm having a blast though and I love the new artistic muscles I'm making. :o)

Best,

If you're looking for this week's Artist's Play Room, all you have to do is click here then scroll down to the end of the post to read about this week's theme, SUNSETS, and add your art to this week's Mr. Linky. 

Day 5 - Art Every Day Month

Yes, I missed yesterday of AEDM. Sigh. I got half of a piece done, another drawing in my Moleskine. But time got away from me, I spent much of my time writing an article for FEATURING. I wanted to be diligent like Serena was, she said she stayed up until 3 AM to finish her art. But I was just too tired to finish. So this morning I decided to turn the page both figuratively and literally and start a new piece. I'll get back to the earlier piece in the next day or so.

I've been kind of adding things that I need to make art to my Moleskine, so this newest thing, after my Holbein paints and my travel watercolor kit has to be COFFEE. Hehehe. I'm a coffee addict. Like Tracey and her gallons of tea to help lubricate the artistic muscles, I need my hazelnut coffee. It's a need, not just a want people!

I did have a crisis about a month ago about my beloved hazelnut coffee and I thought I'd have to stop my favorite beverage!! Oh the horror! I found that I'm sensitive to or allergic to Splenda, the sugarless sweetener. I used buckets of it everyday (two tablespoons in every cuppa!) and all of a sudden after years of using it, I had all of these strange symptoms. Headache, illness, water retention etc. Because I'm working so diligently on my diet to get it clean of any wheat products (I have a severe gluten sensitivity), I knew it couldn't be anything else I was eating and that was proved out the moment I stopped all Splenda. I was better within 24 hours. Now what? I certainly couldn't add all those tablespoons of SUGAR into my life. I mean, 5 cups a day X 2 Tbsp sugar per cup = more than half a CUP a day. That's not including having a little in my oatmeal in the morning or what if I had a big coffee day, I'd not only put on five pounds but I'd be on a sugar high by dinner, lol.

Unfortunately, I had tried Stevia before and hated the aftertaste but I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to keep my hazelnut coffee. I know, I know, I can hear you all saying, "why don't you just cut down on the sugar?". Ya, that would be a good goal but I just recently cut the whitener down to a teaspoon so doing that to sugar would just make it undrinkable. Besides, I love sweet things and don't love bitter things. It's just my taste buds, they don't like bitter things. SO, off to the health store for some advice. They said try another brand of Stevia and suggested a vanilla flavored kind. I'll admit it took me a few weeks to get used to it and in that time I gave up for days and just had Earl Grey tea (my goto tea, Trace and I agree it's fab). But finally I'm back to loving my hazelnut coffee. I'm once again an OCD, Obsessive Coffee Drinker. ;o)

So here's my Ode to hazelnut coffee, the liquid gold that imbues my art with that certain je ne sais quoi.

Title: OCD (Obsessive Coffee Drinker)

This is the first time I'm using Twinks, can I say, I'm in LOVE? I have a bunch of Silks that I'm learning to use but now I know I'm gonna have to invest in a bunch of these little wonders. The three I used here, Raspberry Wine, Green Tea and Copper, I got from Dion. She generously sent me three colors so I could try them. Thanks Dion, I'm hooked!

Best,

If you'd like to see my first or second piece for AEDM, or if you need APR, just click on the appropriate button below!!

AEDM - Day Three

So I have a Strathmore Visual Journal that I'd purchased a while ago so I could play in it. I'm already in love with it's multi-media paper, it has a smooth Vellum finish and it's easy to both draw and erase on. Many of the papers I work with seem to leave a  shadow of pencil when I erase (which I do a lot). The weight of the paper is 90lb, which is good for laying down watercolors, ink or acrylics. I usually work on 140 lb but I think this will do fine for the purpose I have for it.  I plan on learning how to work with my Silks in this Journal and also play with different ideas on how to use my Holbein watercolors and new Inktense watercolor pencils. It'll be fun to have a place that I can just be free to try stuff and allow myself to make mistakes. 

Usually I'm so worried about ruining a piece of art that I don't take it farther, instead I get to a place where I'm happy with it even though I suspect it could be better if I tried something creative. That means though, that if I screw up, then all those hours of work are wasted. In this journal I can just let that fear go, I'm not trying to create great art, I'm trying to LEARN.

I've drawn up four pages so far, ready for playful paint, creative thought and inspiration. I still have my Moleskine but I'd like that to be an in-between kind of book. I'd like it to be somewhere I can try smaller pieces but put in the effort to make them good. I think this'll allow me to, in one way or another, find my way to where I want to go with my art. I guess that's why I'm doing "Art Every Day Month" this year. I was inspired by Tracey Fletcher King (oh, she's playing along again this year too, lol), she said doing the one month challenge really changed her art and the way she worked. I'd like that, to find my balance.

Even better, I'd like to not only find my artistic balance, but also learn to be more prolific. I want to do some kind of art everyday. I think the artistic muscle is something you have to use everyday for it to be healthy. I don't do that yet. I let life intervene constantly. Something is always more important than my sitting down and painting. I'm going to endeavor to change that this month. 

This is my second piece for AEDM put on by Leah at Art Everyday. I added a cool alphabet to my moleskine, it was inspired by a font Dion Dior loves to use. I noticed it on several of her pieces for her series "When Artists Cook" and practiced and played until I got to an alphabet that I was happy with.

Title: Acorn to Zipper

I'll see you again tomorrow as I continue to do the near impossible and create art everyday. Wish me luck!!
Best,

If you're looking for The Artist's Play Room, all you have to do is click here and then scroll down to the bottom of the post to read about this week's theme, SUNSETS, and add your art to the Mr. Linky.

Artist's Play Room #34

Last week's Spooktacular week of art themed on "SHADOW" was totally successful. I got two sorts of comments, some said adding shadows scared them and others said it was the most fun part of making the art because they brought the art to life.  I actually think that truism about shadow is what freaks some of us out. If shadows are what give a piece life and we screw them up then we've kinda ruined the piece, right? That's the basis of my fear. I have to thank Tracey Fletcher King though for helping me get over my fear. She encouraged me to be bold with my shadows and my light and now my artwork has improved so much since I listened to her. You'll hopefully see the change in upcoming pieces. Until then, let me show you all the beautiful shadows from last week!

Twinkletoes has done a
very creative tag about
the movie harvey. I'm
loving the use of shadows!

Catherine made a scary little
vignette with a halloweener
and a wolf, scary!

Tracey has painted a lovely
vase of Jasmine that she
cut from her own garden.
I can almost smell them!

Currie used a lovely shadowed
background to illuminate a
poem. Love the texture.

Gloria has drawn the baking
of croissants. This is making
me drool, I so miss a warm
croissant with preserves!

although my shadows didn't
photograph well, it was a
fun piece to do and it makes
me want a peppermint. ;o)

Ritu has painted a lovely
rendering of a woman
with a zendala heart, her
shadowing is exquisite.

Darla has done a black &
white sketch of a woman
walking, the shadow is
especially effective here.

Vonny has rendered an
especially spooky piece.
I thought her idea to do
stairs was brilliant and I'm
inspired to try it too.

Serena has done a black &
white journal page of
a goblet she owns. I love
how bold the shadow is!

Neesie is sharing some
spectacular shadowy
photos of her recent
holiday to New Zealand.
Beautiful photography!

Fern, the newest member here
in APR has done a stunning
piece, a study of leaves.
Truly lifelike Fern, wow.

Dion has used her Twinks
to create a stunning and
colorful piece, shadowing
boldly with black microns.
I love the color.

Hwee has drawn an amazing
bat to illuminate the theme
this week. It looks so darn REAL.

Terrie played with shadow with her
watercolors, making a haunting &
cool painting of marshy trees.

Minn has done two
gorgeous elephants
in shadow, I can
never get over her
talent with animals.

Linda has worked the shadows
under the awning and chair of this
sweet backyard painting. Lovely.

Stephanie has done some
stunning individual leaves
then piled them on a piece
of paper to show them off!

If you haven't read the rules & guidelines, please go here. If you've landed here after this challenge has been completed but would like to participate in a current or future Artist's Play Room Challenge, just either click on the APR button in the sidebar or click here and you'll be taken to the latest APR Challenge!

Are you having trouble using the Mr. Linky to add your submissions to APR? Well here's some help! Just click on HELP and you'll be taken to my Linky Help Page. Cool, huh? I've got your back!

Hi, I thought we'd do something simple and colorful this week with our challenge theme. I've decided to do SUNSETS. Now, you don't actually have to draw/paint/collage a sunset. You can just use the colors of a sunset or show the effects a sunset has on the water or even just do an abstract that feels "sunsetty". Ok, that's not a word, work with me here, people!!

When I think of sunsets I always think of the saying...

Red sky in the morning, sailors' warning. Red sky at night, sailors' delight.

John Elice's paper watercolored collage 

If you want to do something with sailors, hey, have at it. Here are some wonderful examples to help you on your way to create something spectacular.

Belinda Del Pesco sailor in a sunset.

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Michpendergrass

JustinVining

Two golden hours somewhere between sunrise and sunset. Both are set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered. They are gone forever. ~Horace Mann

Ashley Riner's cut paper sunset

Nina Robinson's acrylic sunset

I can't wait to see the art you all create using this theme. Go get your paints, crayons, colored pencils out and go wild. Make a mess, throw some color around, name it and come back here and tell me all about your cool sunset.

We'll talk soon, K?

Best,

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November - Art Everyday Month 2012

I'm going to be participating in a daily art challenge throughout the month of November. The challenge is hosted by Leah of ArtEveryday where she posts a linky everyday for any artist who wants to add their art. I'll endeavor to paint or draw something for everyday of November. I may not get a full piece done everyday and I may even miss a few days but I'm gonna try. I'm pretty sure it'll be intense but I also think it may help me form a better pattern of creation for my artwork. I don't like how haphazardly I work and I'd love to be more systematic (and prolific) with my art. That's my goal.

If you'd like to participate, add your name to this Mr. Linky then just click here and read all about it. There is also a Flickr group here that you can join and add your art to November is Art Everyday Month. You don't have to add art everyday, just whenever you have art to add.

I'm already a little late starting as it seems November first got away from me somehow. (I think it hid under the bed and I missed it, lol), I did make art for November 2nd though. Here is my first piece.

Title: "Jack"

I'll be back tomorrow with more art and the day after that and the day after that, and hopefully, the day after that, etc. ;o)

Oh, one last thing. My friend Dion has a cool cooking and entertainment series called "When Artists Cook" that I participate in. My newest submission is up and I thought I'd share. Go Here to read all about how to make a great "stick to your ribs" recipe. If you'd like to read the whole series click here and it'll bring up all the posts so far from all us artist participants. :o) Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween, don't eat too much candy!

Best,

Click Here for this week's APR, theme "SHADOW". But hurry, you only have until tomorrow early afternoon to submit! (scroll to the bottom of the post to find the Linky)