Monday Photo of the Week - "I Made This"

I have to tell you I was sweating this week's theme - I didn't think I owned anything I made that I hadn't already posted here. At least... that I was willing to share in public. (I keep telling people that the secret to being a "good" artist is never to let the disasters see the light of day, LOL.)

I DID find a picture though.  This is Gatsby. He is not usually allowed to treat me as his own personal kitty bed, but it was so cold that day and he warmed me up as much as I did him.  I love the way he always tucks up his little paws when he sleeps...   


Anyway, the afghan I am under and he is on is a Fisherman knit design made with a double strand of Red Heart yarn that I knit back in college, nearly 30 years ago now. I could only afford a skein or two at a time in those days, so I used the double strand to camoflage dye lot differences. Red Heart may be looked on as the "trailor trash" of yarns in some of the more purist natural-fibers-only circles, but I'll say this much for it -- that old afghan has helped me raise 3 kids, stood up to countless pets, comforted me in good times and bad, been machine washed a zillion times, and it still looks pretty good. I wonder how many of the new uber-fancy yarns could do that!

At Last... a Finished Project!

This time of year, it is very hard for me to stay motivated to finish what I start. I wake up in the dark, go to work in the dark, and it is dark again by the time I come home, which makes it all too easy for me to make excuses and do nothing but read or tackle a sudoku puzzle. However, the days *are* getting longer, and we are even being given a forcast of several sunny days this week. Who knows - I may even finishthe other angel!


Anyway, here is the Warm Angel, finished at last.

In my defense, I had several setbacks while working on these canvases. I applied my first layer of color too heavy, which not only obliterated the collage underneath but made for a background too dark for the liquid pencils to show to good effect, which meant I had to switch to black ink, which meant I had to go to the city to GET some black ink... and on and on. Now that I think about it, I am actually pleased with myself for keeping at it, LOL.

My only regret is that the Gold Opal glaze finish on the angel doesn't show well in this photograph.  I had some serious buyer's regret when I bought that stuff, but now I am so glad I have it.  Such a touch of magic it gives.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Clouds"

Can it really be Monday again already? Between work, family, and taxes, this week has gotten completely away from me. Ah well, there is always next week. :-)


Mary, our fearless leader for this month, chose "Clouds" for our theme this week. OK, so it's February. This is Oregon. Have we got clouds, LOL!  Here is the the shot straight out of the camera.  I think it was about 2:30 in the afternoon.  (Yes, it really is that dark here this time of year.  sigh...)

To my eyes, this photo is very dreary, and much too much too blue. Let's play!

Here we have the same photo, cropped and edited to increase the amount of detail visible in the darkest and lightest areas using this tutorial I found on YouTube. I finished it off by removing those distracting power lines and applying a warming filter to tone down that blue.   I have attempted the High Dynamic Range technique with other tutorials, but this is the first time I have been so happy with the results. 

Woo Hoo!

Photo of the Week - "Hearts and Flowers"

We have other cows on the farm with more precise hearts on their foreheads (it is a common marking, no matter what you see in the papers) but this little guy is only half an hour old and too cute to pass up.  I would have gotten in for a closer shot, but his momma is being *very* protective and it wasn't worth the risk to myself or my camera to challenge her, LOL.

Photo of the Week - "From My Window"

I wish this week's theme would have come up at a time of year when the views from my windows weren't so grey and dreary, but oh well!

This is the view from the window by my computer desk.   That's Penny between the trees - she's a nice old pony, but she's not much more than an old lawn ornament these days.  The mess in the foreground is a pile of unspun silk I discovered in last week's purge of the studio.  I need to find another home for it - arghhh!  I (still) have too much stuff!

Next Step Finished

Both figures are shaded and ready for their sketched outlines.

For a miracle, even though I haven't done any pen-and-in work in years and years, I found my dip pen in the first place I looked. I also discovered that I already have some acrylic glazing liquid, even though I don't remember buying it and couldn't really tell you exactly what it is...



TWO good omens for one project? I'll take them!

Making Progress

I got my main figures sketched in and gessoed. I really like the cool toned one.

I have already started the shading on this warm toned one.  When this is dry, I will be ready to add the "reverse sketch" with liquid pencil. I've been playing around with it a little to get a feel for it, though I can't really say that the effect is all that different from regular acrylic paint. It is an interesting medium, but I don't think the little pots are worth the price I paid.  Oh well, live and learn.



It feels so good to have made so much progress in such a short time. I can feel my old sense of Fear of Ruining a Good Thing setting in, but I am *determined* to push through.

Of Paints and Purges

I always thought that a huge studio with unlimited storage space would make me happy. Lately though, I find that my stash of supplies has become more of a burden than a source of inspiration, and I also realize that, as I have gotten older, I am much less driven to "dabble" and join in on "the next new thing" -- I want to dig deeper into the processes and techniques that I really know that I enjoy. I have been making a mental inventory of the art activities that thrill me the most, and getting rid of supplies that no longer fill my need to create. Oh, the space!


The one activity that I keep coming back to is painting.  This is my little painting room.  Though it is only about 8' square, it has a large walk-in closet where I can store things that don't need to be immediately available, and that big window faces nearly due north and provides wonderful light even on dreary days. My favorite bonus is that it overlooks the field where the calves come out to play - it is a wonderful place to hide out.

Right now I am working on a pair of canvases I intend to display as a pair. I am using a project tutorial from a back issue of "Cloth Paper Scissors" that introduces Liquid Pencils. (OK, so Liquid Pencil is a new thing for me... it is still painting, LOL!)


Both of the canvases got a little more pigment on them than I originally intended (you can barely see the collage papers underneath all the layers,) but I am happy with the way they turned out.

I used "Gold Opal" glaze on this warm toned one for the lighter area in the center, so the reflection made it a little hard to photograph. If you look close you can see the beginnings of a figure sketched in the center. It took me several tries to find an implement that would make a mark on the painted surface, and I ruined several Sharpies in the process. (Does anyone know why??) A regular gel ink pen is the only thing I found that will leave a visible mark. Fortunately I am going for a "sketchy" look, so the fact that I can't remove the marks won't matter too much.

I'm not brave enough yet to paint without an undersketch. I am open to suggestions for other tools that will leave a *visible* mark and yet can still be removed.

Photo of the Week - "My Favorite Coffee Cup"

I have dozens of coffee cups, but this is the only one I use. I boought it from a potter at an Art Faire a few years ago, and it is absolutely perfect. Here is sits in its native habitat, on the work table next to my corner of the couch.

I would be lost without my coffee, so you can only imagine how much MORE lost I would be without my darling morning-person husband, who gets up an hour before I do and has a cup waiting for me every morning. (Needless to say, I am *not* a morning person!)  He even lets me drink the first cup without saying a word. Ahhhhhh... a jewel among men.

Photo of the Week - "Shadows"

This week's theme caused me no small amount of stress! I wanted to do something outside, but it has been so dark and rainy - alas, gray skies cast no shadows.

I thought about doing something with candles or a flashlight, but then this photo came along and I realized that I had been worrying a lot over nothing because it all came together in the end.

My daughter Alice represented Marion County this past weekend in the Oregon State Dairy Princess-Ambassador competition.  The theme was "Saturday Night at the Movies" and each young woman was introduced with a spotlight walk down a red carpet.  Talk about shadows!

I am so proud of her.

Slell Slice, chapter 1

I gave myself a kick in the pants last night to get going, mix up some clay, and start sculpting on that cool shell slice Linda sent me. My plan is to fill in each opening with a face, each with a different expression and gazing in different directions. I began by filling in the back of the slice with clay so that I would have a sturdy base to work on, then, beginning at the top, I started sculpting faces, baking in between each one. Each of these three is completely sculpted as even the largest one is too small to use even my tiniest beads as eyes.


So far, so good. I am especially happy with the color of clay I mixed up as it blends nearly perfectly with the shell. One half a bar each of Fimo Soft in Light Flesh, White, and Translucent combined into exactly the delicate pink shade I was looking for. ( I don't often get my colors mixed right on the first try -- woo hoo!)


I want to use some bead eyes in the next face. I have some great little malachite rounds that will make wonderful green eyes.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Something New"

Ack!  What has happened to Blogger?  OK, so let's see if I can figure this out...

OK, photos are up.  Oh my, this is different.  Anyway... our challenge this week was to photograph "something new" so I am sharing my very favorite kind of new thing - new art supplies!  (Picture me rubbing my hands together, grinning maniacally... LOL!)

These shells were sent to me by my good online friend Linda (oh wow... another new thing and that was so easy!) for no other reason than that she is a wonderful person doing something wonderfully nice.  I don't know whether it's more fun to fiddle with the little bumps on the sea urchin or stroke the beautifully glassy inner survace of the little spiral shell - they are so much more beautiful in real life than in this photo.  The cut-away shell is already designated for another sea spirit project.  Now I just need to work up the courage to get started.

I picked up these little canvases last weekend on a whim because they are irrisistably cute. I wish I had put something else in the photo to indicate scale - they are *very* tiny. Now I just have to think of something to do with them.



I think my very favorite part of being an artist is buying new art supplies, LOL.

Monday Photo of the Week

A new year begins, and with it a new Photo of the Week Challenge. Our format will be a little different this year as members of our group will take turns selecting a challenge theme for any given month. I am SO grateful because by the end of the year I had run out both of ideas and the energy to work at it.

We are still on our own this first week, so rather than agonize over choosing "just the right thing" to photograph, I grabbed my camera and walked into my studio to see what I could find. I am tickled to share this little pile of taxidermy eyes of various sizes and species that I picked out for my Christmas stocking stuffer last month. Oh, the possibilities!


I have been avoiding going into my studio lately as the room has become nothing but a dumping ground for things that needed a temporary home over the holidays, and as you can see, my work table is still a catastrophe.


I love the holidays, but I am more than ready to get back to a normal-ish routine. Here's to a creative New Year!

Out of the Frying Pan...

Well, it has warmed up a bit. We are no longer threatened with burst pipes, but now it has started to rain and it hasn't really warmed up all that much. The weather people are predicting it to freeze and cover us with a blanket of ice tonight. Isn't winter fun? :-)

I made another little pod face, this time in a seashell. The shell itself is 2" from tip to tip, and the little face measures just 3/4". Sculpting on such a tiny scale was a challenge, but also a good learning experiece. There are at least half a dozen things I will do differently next time, but I'm still satisfied with this little practice piece.


I want to make a little faux-coral stand for him, and maybe hang some pearl dangles off his tip. I didn't intend for him to look as if he has horns - that's just the way the shell is!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Can you believe this? This is our 5th day of single digit temperatures. We are just not set up to endure this! Fortunately, there has been no rain or snow. Yet. In case you can't read it, this thermometer is reading about 7 degrees F. Brrrrr!


I am taking a break from present making to take a class from Pattee Graham on her ning site. She makes the most wonderful quirky, slightly dark and twisted characters, and I have learned a lot already just watching her work. These little pod people are so much fun! I am quite happy with how my pod turned out, but even though I tried hard to copy her piece, the quirkiness just didn't come through.


Maybe on the next one...

Mount Hood in another mood

An arctic high pressure system is sitting over the Willamette Valley this week. I don't like the cold so much, but I am enjoying the sunshine. However, it was a different story up on Mount Hood yesterday. This is what we saw from our front door as we came home from church yesterday morning. Just look at all that blowing snow!


Temperatures were already well below freezing up there, but I don't even want to imagine what the wind chill must have been with these wind conditions, which gusted up to 60 mph. Brrrrr!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately - even though I have been creating my little fingers off, most of what I am doing is for Christmas presents and must remain secret for now. I LOVE Christmas!

A Pause

The creative wave I have been surfing since September seems to have run its course, so all I have to share this week are a few of my favorite time fillers - Zentangles. I discovered Zentangles while blog-hopping last summer, and I find them to be a wonderful way to keep up an artistic habit even though I may be unspired to create bigger things. They are also a great way to kill time during boring meetings. (Shhh... don't tell my boss.)


This is the first one I ever made - I was delighted with how well it turned out, even though I had only the barest clue as to what I was doing.


It didn't take long to start experimenting with less "traditional" formats. I have even seen some done in color, though I haven't tried that yet.

You can learn more about Zentangles at the website, as well as purchase their
official starter kit. The price seemed a little high to me, but I was glad to have the instructional DVD, and the pens and papers included are of very high quality, as is the box they arrive in. It would make a splendid gift, even to yourself.

Photo of the Week - Moonrise over Mount Hood

We are having a late burst of beautiful Indian summer weather, just in time for this month's full moon. (I used to know the monthly moon names, but my memory is failing me today. I think November's is the Hunter's Moon?)

Anyway, I got outside a little later than I intended, but it was still a most rare and beautiful sight, don't you agree?


If it is still clear this afternoon I am going to try again and see if I can catch it while it is still just clearing the horizon. Ahhh... I love the moon.

Can you stand one more?

One of the things Jean told us to do in our techniques class is to try to visualize a picture in the backgrounds we are painting. Kind of like finding faces in the clouds I imagine, which I've never been very good at by the way.

Anyway, I stared at the purple canvas for a while and I began to see (really!) a bird emerging from a starry sky. So I painted one in. I got a little carried away with the pearl white I'm afraid, and once again I had a horrible time trying to photograph the gleam-y surface. ("Gleam-y"... is that a word? LOL)


On my monitor, this photo skews a little yellow - the whites are much brighter in real life - but otherwise it's a pretty good representation. I think this canvas is my new favorite.

I need to go shopping for some more of these little canvases!

Too much rain... already!

The winds and rains of November have come early this year -- it is storming like crazy outside today and there is no way I am going out there, much less with my camera, LOL. (I think I would have made a good cat!) So this week's photo is once again of a completed project. I got the idea to finish one of the canvases I did in Jean's class with a little steampunk-style heart.


I really like the idea of the steampunk look, but judging by the sky-rocketing prices of watch parts and antique keys, it is going to become mainstream-trendy soon. (I wonder if the fact that someone like me even knows what it is means that it already has, LOL!)