Another finished painting!

Two in one month...I'm on a roll!

This beautiful little girl is our granddaughter, Piper.  I painted her with colored pencils on Mi-Tientes paper.  The paper is colored, a shade called "hemp", which is sort of a medium, warm flesh tone.  I expected that the colored paper would make it easier to create skin tones, but I think I still ended up using every single peach, light pink, beige, tan, light brown, white, and cream colored pencil in my collection. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'm heading back to my studio.  There's still a week left in June, and who knows, I might just finish another painting this month!

Happy Summer!

Here's to summer--long days, abundant sunshine, open windows, gardening, song birds, thunder storms, outdoor picnics, vacations at the beach, sitting on the deck, walks in the woods, and all the other good things that summer brings!

Card info:  Stamp used are Donna's Lighthouse and shells from Starving Artistamps; colored with pastel pencils using the Pastel Pencil Blending tutorial from Technqiue Junkies.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Latest Painting

I just finished this today--I think the paint was all dry when I took the picture.  This painting is the final project for my Draw and Paint in Your Pajamas course.  It took me much longer than I thought it would to get here, but I finished, and that, my friends, is a very good feeling!

Mayan Gold, acrylic, 12" x 12"

Promise of Spring

I just finished this painting for Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course. One more painting and I'll be done! I've got some rubber stamping stuff to get caught up on, but I hope to get started on my final project later this week.

As for this painting, the assignment was to create a simple original painting using one of three different painting styles. The style I used here is semi-abstract hard edge acrylic painting. I haven't gotten any feedback on this yet so I don't know how successful I was in emulating that style, but I am pleased with my result and I learned a ton in the process.

Promise of Spring
Acrylic on canvas board
9" x 12"

Thanks for stopping by my studio today. I'll be back later in the week with some rubber stamping and paper craft projects. Later!

Just one more to go!

I finished the Paint and Mix Color unit of the Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course leaving me with just one more unit to go before I can claim my certificate.  The final unit is Compose Original Art, and I'm so excited to finally be here.  It will be a proud moment when I get my certificate, but at this moment, right here, right now, I feel like I've reached a destination.  This is what I came here to learn.  I'm finally here! 

This was my final project for Unit 2, a copy of Cindy Wider's "The Holiday Makers".  In the dead of winter, it was fun to work with Cindy's bright, tropical colors...it truly did feel a bit like being on holiday.

Thanks for stopping by my studio today.  Happy Friday!

Progress

A few weeks ago I told you about my goals for the coming year, and I'm glad to say that I've made some progress.  I'm working on the final project for the Paint and Mix Color Unit in Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas Certificate course.  If all goes well I should be done with it by Monday.  These are the rocks I painted the other day.

On the card-making front, I'm happy to report that I've been chosen for the Class Act Design Team.  My term starts at the end of February, but I'll be adding links to their site and challenge blog before then.  The Class Act image collection strikes just the right balance between cuteness and realism, and they're versatile and very usable; not gimmicky or overly trendy so I'm really looking forward to working with them.

Speaking of things to look forward to, it's almost time for the next edition of the Technique Junkies Newsletter. I've seen all of the beautiful artwork created by Pat the design team so I can tell you that you won't be disappointed!  Pat is also releasing a new CD soon.  We'll be doing a blog hop on February 1st to introduce the CD so be sure to stop by.

I have one more card to share with you from the Dec/Jan newsletter before we move on to February's edition.  I used the Bricks technique with scraps of printed paper in pastel shades and copper patina colored embossing powder.  The butterfly image is from I Brake for Stamps, and it's stamped in Adirondack pesto ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Really? Haven't we had enough?

I'm dressed in polar fleece from head to toe today.  This is why:


Issued at: 3:18 PM EST 1/23/11, expires at: 12:00 AM EST 1/24/11

Wind chill warning in effect from midnight tonight to 9 am est monday,
The NWS in taunton has issued a wind chill warning, which is in effect from midnight tonight to 9 am est monday. The wind chill watch is no longer in effect.
Locations, southwest New Hampshire, central and western Massachusetts and hartford county Connecticut.
Hazards, dangerously cold wind chill values.
Wind chill values, 25 to 35 degrees below zero.
Winds, northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Temperatures, 10 to 25 degrees below zero.
Timing, late tonight through mid morning Monday
Precautionary/preparedness actions,
A wind chill warning is issued when the wind chill index is likely to fall to -25 degrees or colder for at least 3 hours. A wind chill index below -30 can bring about frostbite in as little as 10 minutes. Outdoor exposure should be limited. If you are heading outdoors, dress in layers and keep your hands and head covered to protect against frostbite


Oh, and there's more snow headed this way for Wednesday.  Really?  Is that entirely necessary, Mother Nature?

At least this crappy weather means that I have plenty of time to spend in my studio.  I've been working through the acrylic painting unit of my Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course.  I painted this tree the other day, and at the moment, I'm painting some rocks.  It's fun, but boy do I have a lot to learn!

Thanks for stopping by my Studio.  Stay warm out there!

Little Drawings

Last week I told you about my big plans for the year, and those goals will take up a good portion of my time.  But what if I need a little instant gratification along the way?  My rubber stamping hobby fills part of that need.  Cards are quick to make (in theory, anyway), and making them gives me opportunity to experiment with my art supplies. 

But what if I want to do some instant gratification artwork that is entirely my own?  For me, the answer is to work small.  I've fallen in love with the Artist Trading Card (ATC) format and find that the 2.5" x 3.5" size is just perfect for practicing and experimenting.  Small enough so that I can finish a drawing in about and hour, but still large enough to allow for a fair amount of detail. 

These are a few of the ATC's I did for the holidays.  With the exception of the poinsettia with I painted with acrylics, all are colored pencil on Bristol vellum.

Christmas Poinsettia

A miniature version of my 2010 Christmas card.

My little chef nutcracker.

Santa Nutcracker

Soldier Nutcracker

Snowman Ornament

Thanks for stopping by my studio today!

Happy New Year!

Wow.  I know.  Long time, no blog.  It's not that I didn't have anything to show you and it's not that I didn't have anything to say.  It's just that day after day, I just never seemed to find the time to get here.  All in all, I had a very busy and thoroughly enjoyable holiday season.  I hope yours was wonderful, too!

So now it's January and time to get serious about a few things I've been trying to accomplish.  I don't really believe in making resolutions because I've always found them to be counterproductive.  Too often we resolve to do things that aren't completely in our control, and when we can't accomplish them we feel like we've failed.  I'd rather have goals to work toward and give myself the flexibility to adjust those goals if I need to. 

One goal I have is to finish up a couple of classes I've been taking.  The first one is Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas certificate course that I've been working on for the last year.  I've learned so much, and my confidence has really grown, but now it's time to finish!  I'm going to be pretty busy with that for the next few weeks, and I'll try to keep you up to date on my progress here on my blog.

Although I haven't finished Cindy's course yet, I've begun training to be an instructor for the course on her website, DrawPJ.com.  So my next obvious goal is to finish the instructor training and start teaching.  If any of you out there reading this are like I was and always wished you could draw, I'm here to tell you that you CAN draw.  You just need some guidance, some encouragement, and some practice.  OK...you need lots of practice most likely, but it is something you can do.  If you're interested in giving it a try let me know, or visit Cindy's site.  She has a free two-week trial available so that you can preview the course if you wish.

Another goal of mine is to revamp this blog and improve my web presence.  I've purchased the rights to the Deesstudio.com domain and plan to build a website with galleries for my artwork and cards.  I plan to make some of my work available for sale.  As I said, my confidence has really grown, and I feel ready to take that next step.  My plan is to sell original drawings and paintings, commissioned portrait drawings, as well as greeting cards and other craft items that I make.

Speaking of greeting cards, I'll be continuing my on-going rubber stamping obsession, excuse me, hobby, because I just plain love it.  It is an active goal of mine to get onto one more design team in addition to Starving Artistamps and Technique Junkies.  I'd also like to see if I can get some more of my work published, but with everything else I have planned, I'm not sure how much time I'll really devote to that one.

So there you have it...my grand plan, or part of it at least.  I've got other things in the works, but I'll save those for another post.

If you're still reading this post, thanks for hanging in there!  I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment so I know who my most faithful blog readers are.  Come to think of it, you deserve a reward.  I have an extra copy of the Technique Junkie Newsletter Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD to give away.  Leave me that comment by January 15th, and I'll enter you in a drawing to win the CD.

Just one last thing before I go...I have a card to share with you.  I made this one for the December 2010 issue of the Technique Junkies Newsletter using the Deconstructed Collage tutorial.  The stamp is from I Brake for Stamps, and the papers are from Basic Grey.

Happy New Year!

Finally!

I can finally start sharing some of the projects I've been working on lately!

I'll start off with this set of Artist Trading Cards that I just finished for a trade over at Drawspace.com.  The theme was Windows and Doors, and I decided to use Art Deco stained glass window designs for my cards.  I sketched the designs in pencil first and then inked them with a Rapidograph pen.  The coloring is done with Inktense pencils.

Have a great day!  I'll be back tomorrow with a greeting card or two to share.

A Mixed Bag

Happy Friday, everyone!  It's weird, but even when you aren't working, Fridays still feel good.  The big difference is that Sunday evenings and Monday mornings also feel good.

As the title of this post says, I've got a mixed bag for you today.  First, I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments on my last post...they mean so much to me!

And while we're on the subject of comments on my blog, I realize that I forgot to choose a winner for the Technique Junkies CD #8 at the end of October.  Better late than never, I just shook my iPhone for a random number and the winner is #10, Donelda.

Yeah, and I missed my semi-regular Tuesday post again.  I did think of it, and even got as far as getting my camera out to take pics, but the battery was shot.  I put it on the charger and one thing led to another, and here it is Friday already.  Anyway, here's what I'm working on at the moment.  First up is my Bug Light picture.  I don't even know how many hours I've put into the sky so far.  It's not quite done yet, but I'm going to leave it for now and move on to a different area. This is a pretty lousy picture, but it is proof that I've gotten at least a little bit more done on this one.

The project I'm really excited about at the moment are these mittens I started knitting last night.  The cuffs are done with corrugated ribbing, which I had never tried before.  I haven't done stranded knitting of any kind in quite awhile so at first it felt like I was knitting with two left hands with all thumbs.  But, once I got the hang of it, I was zipping along pretty well.  I found the pattern on Ravelry.  If you knit or crochet and haven't discovered Ravelry yet, be sure to pay them a visit.  The site has tons of patterns, forums, blogs, groups, databases that let you catalog your yarn stash and supplies, and project albums.  It literally took me days to explore the whole site!

The final item in my bag today is a card that I made for the Design Junkies blog using the Designer Tiles technique from the August 2008 newsletter.  The stamps are from Inkadinkado, the papers are a mix of scraps and new Basic Grey Jovial, and the "grout" is Ranger old paper Distress embossing powder.

OK.  I think that's it for now.  I'll see ya when I see ya!

Tuesday in My Studio

It's Tuesday, and I almost forgot my "regular" Tuesday post again. Almost. It's not midnight here yet, so this still counts.

Last week was a very eventful week--Riley (our adorable new little granddaughter) was born on Friday; also on Friday, my husband Dave retired after more than 40 years at the same company, we went with friends to see a Patriots football game on Sunday (they won), and on Monday we got to meet Riley for the first time. She's a cutie, isn't she?

I did manage to find some in my studio, though, and almost finished this drawing.  I did the main part of the drawing with Prismacolor pencils on Colorfix sanded paper.  I've used rough paper before, but never anything this rough.  The paper demands a much looser style than I'm accustomed to, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable.  Since Colorfix is a paper intended for use with pastels, I thought that doing the background in pastel would be absolutely perfect.  And, it may well be a perfect solution.  The only catch is that I don't have the first clue how to use pastels.  So as soon as I take care of that little detail, I'll finish this one.

Thanks for stopping by my studio!

Tuesday in My Studio

I just realized that I missed my Tuesday post last week.  So much for this being a regular feature on my blog...guess it'll just have to be semi-regular now. 

My drawing table is empty at the moment.  I've got a few projects started that I should be working on, but they aren't quite capturing my attention right now.  I've got some class assignments that I should be working on, and I think I will work on them this afternoon.  But for the most part, I'm in "I just finished a drawing and I don't know what I want to do next" limbo. 

I did finish up a little drawing of a cardinal yesterday.  It's a copy of a drawing from Kaaren Poole's "Drawing Birds in Colored Pencil" book, and I did it in hopes that it would help break me out of my limbo.  I'm starting to get some ideas for my next project, so maybe it's working.

Well, I'm off to tackle some of my classwork.  Have a great day!

Tuesday in My Studio

I think I'll make this a regular feature on my blog.  Tuesday will be my day to show you my works in progress, and every now and then, a finish or two.

Today I actually have a finish to show.  It took me all day yesterday, but Hannah's portrait is done.  It's such a good feeling to finish something.  I should do that more often!

Hannah, Graphite on Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper, 9" x 12"

Thanks for stopping by my studio!

Tuesday in My Studio

I spent the entire day today noodling around in my studio.  I made lots of cards, worked on room layout for my drawing class, and I also did some more on a portrait of our granddaughter Hannah.  Not a bad day's work, if I do say so.

Here's one of the cards I did today.  It's a quick little card that I made using the DoodleFactory Gourds and Pumpkins set from Starving Artistamps and this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems.  I stamped the pumpkin and gourd onto orange paper and colored them with Prismacolor pencils.  The printed paper I used is Basic Grey Indian Summer and my scalloped mat is embellished with cinnamon Stickles.  The rest is pretty straightforward, I think, but if you have a question, just holler.

And here's where I'm at with Hannah's portrait.  I've got about 10 hours into it so far, and I'm guessing it will take me at least another 8 to 10 hours to finish.  I have no idea how long it should take to do a graphite portrait this size (9" x 12"), but I thought it would be quicker.  I've spent a lot of time fussing with her mouth and eyes, and I'm not through fussing yet!  It's coming along, though, and I'm pleased with it so I'll just take my time and finish when I finish.  Thank goodness I don't have a deadline!

Well, that's a little peek at what Tuesday looked like in my studio.  What I should also show you is a picture of the mess I made, but I won't.  Not that I wouldn't show you, but if I go in there to take a picture, I'll have to look at the mess again, and I just can't bring myself to do that.  Yeah, it's pretty bad!

Have a nice evening (or morning, or afternoon)!

Bug Light

This is the other of my illustrations that is now available as a stamp from Starving Artistamps.  I drew this from a photo I took of Bug Light on the breakwater at the entrance to Portland Harbor, near South Portland, Maine.  This little lighthouse isn't very far from Portland Head Light, and there are four or five other lighthouses nearby so my husband and I made an afternoon of touring the area and photographing them.  If you're ever in that area, it's a fun way to spend an afternoon.

For my card, I stamped the lighthouse on white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers.  Then, I cut out the top of the image, along the horizon and lighthouse, and layered it over a background that I stamped with light blue using Starving Artistamp's new Build-a-Cloud stamp.  To finish of the card, I added some layers and a sentiment.  Wicked quick to make and suitable for anyone from Down East...or a Connecticut Yankee like me...or anyone who likes the sea.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Rest of the Fish

These are the last two ATC's in my tropical fish series.  Both are done with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils on Arches hot press watercolor paper.

These were fun to draw, but I'm ready to move on to something else. 

I'm off to contemplate my next project...have a great day!

Me

It's done.  It pretty much looks like me.  I'm happy.  No...I'm ecstatic.

This is done with charcoal on grey Mi-Tientes paper.  I guess it wasn't so bad to do in the end, but I'm still glad to have it done!

Something's Fishy!

I've been having a blast drawing fish for an ATC swap over at Drawspace.  I'm loving that I get to use all the really fun colors in my pencil sets!

This first one is a Black and White Heniochus Butterfly Fish.  I love the way the fish came out; not as thrilled with the coral/rock stuff I concocted, but I'm calling it done before I make it any worse. 

And, this second one is a Queen Angelfish.  I used LOTS of pencils coloring this one!

I've also been using these fish as an excuse for not starting my super-scary-I-don't-want-to-do-this-maybe-I-should-just-quit self-portrait for the online art class I'm taking from Cindy Wider (awesome class, btw). Well, I'm happy to report that I've finally started said scary project. The deal I have with myself is that I can't do anything else until that portrait is finished.  No excuses.  Period.  So next time you see me here, you'll be seeing...me.

Celebrating Another 100...and a First!

I'm going to start with the first because I pretty darned excited about it.  This card features my very first illustration-turned-rubber-stamp!  It's available from Starving Artistamps and I shamelessly encourage each and every one of you to order one, or even two!  I also have a lighthouse stamp that I illustrated, which I'll show you a little later, but you can feel free to buy that one too while you're there, lol!

Alright now, let's talk about the card itself.  I colored my image with Copic markers.  The colors I used are as close as I could approximate the colors for Color Throwdown Challenge #100.  So there's the 100, and it's a biggie, too!  Go check out the prizes (including that sweet Giggle Bears, Birds and Bees set from Starving Artistamps) that are up for grabs and tell me it not worth making a card and joining the fun.  Go ahead...try to tell me that! 

There could be yet another hundred here today, but I'm not celebrating that one.  It was 101 here yesterday, it's supposed to be near 100 here today, and tomorrow doesn't look much better.  Yikes!  Every day like this is 100 more reasons I'm happy we decided to spend the money to install central air in our house, which believe me, I am celebrating.  If you're stuck in this brutal heat wave, too, I hope you've been able to find refuge from the heat. 

Stay cool!