C is for Candidates, chaos, calm and creativity

 #PostcardsfromthePandemic

This election day is not an easy day to settle down and focus on art or much of anything else. 

That said, art is just what I need to keep my mind and worries off of the events of the day. 

With so much looming on the horizon I feel the need for calm, clarity and light.   So, I paint. 

This seascape composed of simple and strong shapes is done with Arteza Watercolor brush pens on watercolor paper - 8x10. 

The blues and green are layered with yellow to create warmth and add light on the horizon - hope for a good outcome tonight. 

A is for Art Everyday AGAIN

Its November, again!!!

This is the eighth year that I am participating in this challenge and the eighth time I am anticipating creating and sharing my own work, and enjoying the work that others share.

Every time I do this I am surprised by what actually, in spite of any preplanning, appears on my blog pages.

This year my plan is to focus on the work I have been doing lately – creating florals.

But, though I’ve been drawing, photographing, painting, showing and selling my floral art, I know that over the course of the next 30 days, something else will catch my attention, and like my easily distracted dog Rosie, will send me off in a new direction – chasing lines, colors, patterns or a new and fascinating artist, technique or material.

That’s the fun of this challenge, where the most important rule is – do something – and do it everyday. And, allow myself to be inspired by the work and ideas of others.

Today's image is part of a series I am working on - small simple florals -based on, and abstracted from the flowers I've been drawing. 12x12 inches. Acrylic on canvas. 

A is for Another

Creativity is intelligence having fun  ― Albert Einstein.

A is for another year, and as always, I am looking forward to both the art and the words that will result.

A is also for Albert, Einstein that is, and the quote (above) that I recently  came across.  Somehow, in just these five words, Albert has managed to say what I have been trying to express through my art, my writing and most of all, through my teaching, throughout my career.

I believe that creative thinking is key to a satisfying life, that being creative frees us to use our brains in wonderful and often unexpected ways, no matter your age. And I know that when I teach and when I work on my art, and when I write about it in  this blog, I am not only learning, but having fun. I hope you will too as you follow this month's journey.

Student Age 10

So, this November I will my focus blog and my posts around this quote. As I have in the six (!) previous years that I have participated in this challenge, I will allow the letters of  the alphabet to direct the theme of each days post. And of course, I will  share images of art that I create, both for myself and as lesson preparation for the variety of classes and students I teach.

I will write about what I  learn as I as I paint and draw, and include tips, insights, recommendations and resources that work for me, and for my students, old and young.  I will also share some of the fabulous work that is created in my classes.

My drawing of apples in a bowl was created for an autumn themed lesson. I chose apples as the subject because they are easy to draw, the shapes are what they are and almost always look great. They remove some of the "oh I can't draw" energy from my senior artists, and let the young ones have fun with something they are familiar with.

I used color pencils (Prismacolor are my favorites) because they are easy for my senior students to handle, and can be layered to create wonderful depth of color for my skilled Young Artists. I chose a variety of reds, greens and yellows and played with curving lines to create the apple shapes. Then I added layer on layer of color until they looked good enough to eat. Fun!

Do you want to participate in the Art Everyday for a Month Challenge. To learn more about it, and sign up to participate, SIGN UP FOR ART EVERY DAY MONTH CHALLENGE

Z is for craZy Turkey

The kids in my kids' classes this week were all about making art for Thanksgiving. They all seemed to want to make something to bring home and share with the family. Great idea.

I needed a project idea. I thought about doing a cornucopia, but somehow I wandered off to look at illustrations and photos of turkeys. This was where I found inspiration for my lesson of the week.

In my senior class last week, we had great success with patterning (snakes), not to mention that I am on a patterning tear in my own artwork. The other day I drew a big turkey on 14x17 drawing paper and let him sit on my table. I had no idea what it would become, until today, thinking about how creative my kids were, and planning for seniors tomorrow, I started to pattern, first drawing words and then filling the spaces with markers.

Since I am up to Z in my alphabet, there are many z's worked into the pattern, and a few notes on our family Thanksgiving - hiding in the feathers. As I was coloring, a name appeared - that both describes my bird and fits by blog post.

This is craZy turkey and she wishes you a great holiday.

I brought my drawing into Photoshop to smooth out the marker lines, ended up adding a filter. I love the results -

Y is for Yellow

This is just a little painting, 12"x12 but I think the color contrast and the way the flowers fill the frame make it seem bigger.

 I keep this one in my bedroom so that I can see its sunny face when I wake up. I love yellow and I love flowers.

V is for Vibrant Variation

It is a cold, rainy and windy day. I need something warm and bright  - so I played with my soft landscape monotype  - inverting the image and playing with the palette - turning the lovely greens and yellows to yellows, reds and violet.

I love the vibrant crazy colors that result. They completely change the landscape image - day to night, calm to energetic - very different.
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R is for Red

Roses are red, and I live in the City of Roses, but I love amaryllis. Roses grow in my garden, but I grow amaryllis bulbs in a sunny garden window. They seem to thrive on my gardening style, also known as benign neglect.

Every year (not at Christmas when they are supposed to bloom, but in deep winter when their beauty and color are most needed)  they thrill me by producing a fabulous circle of huge, glorious red blooms. I have about ten plants that somehow manage to bloom in sequence (clever beauties.)

Year after year I photograph them from every angle and in every light. This piece, created by combining several photos, is my absolute favorite.

So, in honor of R day -  one of my favorite subjects - my beautiful amaryllis.

I love the abstract yet realistic effect - do you see this as flowers?

Q is for Quaint

Yesterday was cold, windy and clear. The light was that sharp, high contrast sun in the eyes that turns the world to silhouette.

I needed something warm and lush and green to remind me of summer.

 This is a simple watercolor monotype - done with Caran D'ache watersoluble crayons, a favorite technique.

I like the rolling, tree-filled landscape - reminding me of simpler times and places - quaint is the word that came to mind when I looked at the finished print.

P is for Process, (I really mean Play)

Word/drawing again. Same process which is mostly like playing around.

I draw words around a letter, paying attention to the shapes of the letters. There is plenty for me to say about the letter P - starting with my name. This time I kept the image small and simpler so I did not need to crop it, in fact focused more than before on composition.

Once in Photoshop I continued as I have this week, placing colors on layers and within spaces. When I add color, whether with ink or crayon or Photoshop I ignore the words and only attend to the shapes I see, applying color to create the picture I see on the page.

I wanted this piece to be filled with light and tried to keep larger blocks of color and fewer lines to keep it simple. I think this piece is joyful.

Every time I repeat this process, I find something new.

O is for Orange and Orchid and Olive and Ochre

Once again I am playing with a word/picture. As soon as I began to work, a list of O color names popped up for me, so that began the process and set some limits.

 I apparently have lots to say about O - and drew for a long time. Then, as I have been doing all week, I opened the image in Photoshop, cropped a section and began to work, using the colors I mentioned. But something felt off about the image.

I had an idea - I created a new layer and rotated that one - I was shocked to see the symmetrical image that appeared. I merged the layers and kept working.

Can you see the figure that appeared?  Every time I try this process I discover something new. Truly, I am feeling creative every day.

M is for Mysterious Mantis

This image is created from a photograph of a garden visitor I took this summer.

When I was a child I was told that if anyone killed a praying mantis there would be a $50 fine. I was never quite sure how someone would know who did it, or how they would know (shoe print identification?), but one thing is for sure, I developed a genuine regard for and fascination with these creatures. I thought they were praying mantises (not preying). So I knew I had to treat them well.

Now that I know that they are also good for the garden, I was glad to see this guy sitting on my plants. I took lots of pix and I have wanted to work with him ever since.

Here he is ...

I used all this weird color and light to show him as I always imagined him ... mysterious and magical.

K is for Kids

Today's project is a drawing I started in class with my kids this afternoon. This is K day.

I have the most wonderful students, but I feel a special bond with my older kid painting and drawing class. These young women (9-12) come to my class to make art , and their wonderful parents bring them and take them home from the Art Center where our classes are held in a wonderfully equipped art studio.

 I always look forward to this class because the kids are up for anything, and have great ideas and opinions of their own. And they work independently once the assignment is given.

Anyway, I'd planned flowers in pastel today, but I found myself telling them about the work that I am doing with word drawings. They all wanted to try. So, I worked along with them and drew this word picture on the subject of K, using fine sharpie on Bristol paper.

The kids' work (focused on their name, or their brother or Thanksgiving) is still in progress. ,

This new method has yielded unexpected opportunities to be creative. The drawing on the black background is my original drawing inverted. The results, up close, look like a tatted spider web.

The image above is a section that I cropped from my drawing once I had it in Photoshop. The drawing is the original black on white, but I added some strong whites and greys just for fun. I am now working on a color piece and I think it will be beautiful - or maybe, L for lovely.

Check back tomorrow and see what appears.

G is for Geraniums

I paint flowers. One room of my home is filled with bright bouquets on canvas.

Flowers add color and beauty. Their shapes are fascinating and ever changing.Though my painted flowers lack fragrance, they still add cheer and warmth to my home.

Looking at the collection of flower images I have created over the years, I seem to go through phases in floral design; sometimes flat and very abstract, sometimes rounder and fuller forms appear.

One of the ways I feel like I am growing (blooming?) as an artist is to practice drawing and sketching flower forms from life or books. When I feel like I understand the shapes and structure I like to simplifying them until the are abstract enough to appeal to my eye and yet "flowery" enough to read as something that actually grew in nature.

In this sketch I am trying to create flowers in different positions to add interest to the composition. I especially like the little red geranium clusters.

 This is watercolor and markers on cotton paper.

E is for Experimenting Everyday

Keep Moving

Creating and teaching art everyday leaves lots of room for experimentation.

Lately, I am enjoying the "take a line for a walk"  technique I wrote about earlier. I keep coming back to this easy abstract approach whenever I am stuck for an idea.

To keep me moving forward, I set limits and rules on each piece - in this case (and usually) I limit my palette. I also used warms going one way and cools the other.  This allowed me to play with blending in different ways. Then, when I feel done with the color layer, I add line and pattern.

I really like these results. It is fun to do, adds the element of surprise at what appears, and offers a great lesson in color and blending when I share it with students. This approach is also starting to show up in my paintings.

Keep Moving is 9x12 on board with paint, oil pastel and caran 'dache

Dd is for Done and Done and some Digital too

We've made it to the final day of the Challenge Month. November is almost done and December is just ahead with all the busyness, bother and pleasures it is sure to bring. So, I am glad that I have completed this task, but I will miss the daily-ness of thinking, planning, writing and creating.

Though I worried about my ability to fulfill my personal challenge of using the alphabet to structure my month's work, I find that I  have once again learned a great deal about my art, process and need for structure by doing things in this way. I still find that using the alphabet to organize my posts results in creative ideas - I don't fight myself, just let the words and themes appear. Then something always works out.

Today's piece combines monotype printing and some interesting digital tweaks. I won't share the process - just the results.  Thanks to all of you who have been following my work, and especially for the comments and connections. I am grateful to you all. Till next November ...

Cc is for Crazy for Caran D'ache Crayons

I first encountered them by accident. A practically brand new box of 15 Caran D'ache were part of a garage sale hoard of art supplies.From the first time I used them I was thrilled by their intense colors, and the variety of ways I could use them. Wet, dry, combination of both, rough surface or smooth - always a great result.

They have become a staple of my senior art classes because they are both easy to handle and bright enough to see, even with vision problems. And they ability to see work get better by adding water is always a huge hit.

So, if I wasn't crazy for these cool crayons before, my newest application for them would have put me over the edge. They are an amazing tool for use in monotype printing. I can use them to draw on even the smoothest plates and surfaces, and their water soluble nature allows them to transfer beautifully when wet paper is laid on top. I can't stop experimenting.

This is one of the pieces I have created. It is based on a favorite painting, and the colors are a close match to the original. The first print was a little light, but because the paper was wet, lightly going over the shapes restored all to full color.

Monotype with Caran D'ache on Arches paper. 16"x20"

Z is for Zephyr

Definition of zephyr (n)

Bing Dictionary

• zeph·yr
• [ zéffər ]

1. mild wind: a light warming breeze
2. delicate fabric: a delicate, usually woolen fabric or garment

Z is a tough letter to work with in the context of this alphabet blog - but it certainly fits with today's piece.

Not only does this little painting (9"x12" on canvas board) feel light and breezy - but I used delicate fabrics with a light weave to create the texture and foggy feel.

To create this, I played with different media on each layer - oil pastel, dry pastel, watery acrylic and, to create the sunlight on the water, I used gold spray paint and netting. Very fun. Maybe even a little bit Zen.

X is for eXpress Yourself

Every so often I have the urge to paint a face.

This one, though it does not resemble my actual features, is called Big Idea - and somehow expresses my inner self. And my white hair.

 I really enjoyed "fracturing the image" to create the light and interesting lines. So, painting a face, and abstracting what I find with color and line is one way I like to express the artist in me.

This is acrylic on canvas - "16x"20.

W is for Woman in White

It feels like winter today - clear and cold. But, this is a special day. We are celebrating the third birthday of my favorite boy.

Today's image is Woman in White. I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have been playing with torn paper collage. This wide-eyed woman is built on a drawing I sketched onto canvas (18"x24"). I especially enjoyed creating the swirls in her eyes and her curls. I added warm colors to the background. Looking at it now, I wonder why.


This is the birthday boy. He tells me he will be very tall when his birthday comes. Today's the day.

S is for Short and Symettry

Today I am short on time, short on inspiration and short on energy, but I do want to do something creative.

I have been teaching about symmetry in my kids classes this week - and this combination of drawing and digital imaging came to mind. This is the kind of art I do to relax.

Today's image began as a drawing that I copied and repeated in two positions - then I photographed it and played with it in Photoshop. The result is this double double symmetrical design - digitally painted. I love the colors.