Oh lordy, it’s been 2 years!

So now that I almost lost my domain name (forgot to change email address), and we have moved to Santa Fe, NM I am really trying to get my act together once again. We are building a new house and should be moving into it sometime in September. I for one am thrilled because I will have a studio, and access to all of my art materials that have been in storage since last November. I’ll do my best to start publishing again soon, even if it’s just a note to say HI.

Have a great day!

Donna

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Holding onto Inspiration

Life has it’s ways of twisting & turning you around. This year will bring plenty for me because we will eventually be moving so my goals are set to wind in and out of the multitude of changes I am facing much like a curly ribbon. Let me say I am actually thrilled about this move, but it will surely impact my blog posts, as well as my artwork. Today I decided to share what my plans are for the year and hope my blogging friends can enjoy the journey with me.

I’ve chosen a word for the year FORWARD; this was suggested in a blog by Jane La Fazio, I’m not sure exactly why I did this (hehe) but it sounded good at the time. I’m thinking along the lines of taking this time to feed my ‘continuous learning’ habit on a more personal level and setting aside my love of teaching workshops to others because I won’t be able to set a strict schedule for anything. I’ll be continuing my focus on ‘a study of faces’, and starting a ‘moving to New Mexico Journal’ to share with everyone along the way.

If you noticed I’ve changed my photo in the header; this is our new property. It is a beautiful place and I’m so looking forward to building a new home WITH A STUDIO! Over the next several months the only thing I can promise is this is really going to be a trip. I’ll be sharing some tiny tutorials along with a lot of crazy sketches & journaling with no rhyme or reason to them, but they will reflect the curly ribbon of my life as it moves FORWARD. 

So for today you’ve got the low down on what I’m up against, and here’s a few more faces I created a couple of days ago. Have a wonderful day, and hold on to the inspiration. I’m gonna need it!

Faces, Faces, Everywhere!

Oh my it’s been a while (once again) but I must say that yesterday was a really productive and playful day. I had loads of fun working on these faces. I don’t know if I’ll use them as backgrounds in my journal but I’m thinking some will end up on a large scale canvas, sometime in the future. Once again these started with a magazine study, but after the original very quick contour drawings they always end up developing characters of their own. Hope you enjoy!

Sometimes it is a struggle….

It’s been more than a month since I’ve posted on my blog, not because I haven’t been sketching, drawing and painting, but because daily life has it’s way of taking over.

Since late October, my husband and I have  traveled to visit with our children and their families, finally found some property in New Mexico (more to come on this), and all the while I’ve done my best to keep up with the EDM Challenges (not always managing well) but drawing, sketching or painting on most days.

I’m pretty sure now that the changes that come with fall (including the time) really do tend to get me off track. In between the grey skies and storms I’ve spent a lot of time walking & being with the colorful leaves, crunching them beneath my feet (like a child) and sometimes painting them. At my worst, I hole up with a book and read the day away. Now here’s where my struggle comes in; the drawing, painting, reading and walking around the neighborhood doesn’t get the laundry and / or household chores completed and then I feel guilty (for a few minutes), and follow that thinking with a good ‘oh well, spring is coming’. So, the thought doesn’t last long.

I’ve also been busy (stuck) doing faces, only this time they are showing up as fast as the leaves are falling, so I just do my best to catch them in my sketches. I never know where they’ll end up at, maybe in a large format acrylic. Who knows? They must be popping into my head for a reason.

Along with all the other activities (like Christmas Cards, etc.)  I’ve taken time to play and experiment with all kinds of mediums that I don’t work in often as I break in my new journals from Stillman & Birn. I wonder just how long the childlike fascination will keep me in it’s grasp, and then giggle to myself because I know it’s part of the journey of life and the best way to get out of a rut is to let yourself play right through it thinking all the time, WOW! I should get some more watercolor pencils, and colored pencils….this is really fun!

And, of course –just in case I don’t get back until after the first of the year here’s a picture of ‘old St. Nick’ to wish you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Illustration Friday : A Tree

I love trees, and as I meandered through my saved images I came up on several but choose to share this one of a tree I sketched in Yosemite Village a couple of years ago.

A tree in Yosemite Village, I named it ‘curly cue’.

ART Journaling Step by Step

Every once in a while I get around to finishing a page or two that I had previously started. So today I decided I take one page through the steps of completion, especially since I haven’t posted in a while.

A month or so ago I was on a crazed mission doing many, many faces & now I can share my process through completion with you. I hope you’ll find it easy enough to try just for fun. In this case I’m thinking they can easily be used to print some postcards/note cards for myself or as gifts! All you’ll need are simple supplies: Waterproof pen, watercolor or colored pencils, and or markers.

Step one:

Complete a contour drawing of a face (or flower)  in waterproof ink using an old photo (magazine or newspaper). For sure mine never come out looking even close to the reference material no matter what, so don’t even go there.

 

Step 2:

Add Watercolor washes (or colored pencils, markers – whatever you wish)!

 

Step 3:

Using hand lettering or a stencil with pencil, add your message and design. Here I decided to add the word ‘Think” with dots, and I’ve now painted the background with brushed on ink.

 

 

Step 4:

Now finish up with whatever you’d like to use pencils, pens, colors. Whatever suits your fancy.

 

 

 

Here I’ve used Faber-Castell Pitt Pens (one of my fav’s). And, I’m thinking this can be used for special notes to my friends who have survived breast cancer, or a gift of note cards to them so they can share with others.

Have a wonderful day, and keep sketching my friends!

 

 

Soaring….once again: Transitioning from ‘fine art’ to ‘my art’

It’s been a couple of weeks-time goes by very fast sometimes, but in reality I think this time has allowed me to think deeply about the changes I see myself going through as an artist.

I began painting & drawing (full-time?) after I retired (ha) and for the most part I’ve been going through the paces of learning the working ways of life as an artist. I’ve joined organizations (still belong to some), was part of a cooperative gallery (closed recently). Years have passed and I have learned oh so much. This summer (July to the present) I have taken most of the time to just fill my hours with LEARNING, RESEARCHING, THINKING, DRAWING, PLAYING and becoming involved with various online groups engaged in personal art challenges.

All along I’ve found more & more about myself. A real journey of discovery and I’m liking what I’ve found. Over the past months I’ve had more fun with my art than I’ve had in years, completely unencumbered by negative thoughts like “will someone like this enough to purchase it?” I think I’ve come to the conclusion that “it just doesn’t matter, and I feel sooooo good about it”.

Making art for ME…fits so wonderfully that each day of discovery, whether it’s sketching, painting or digging into blogs I’ve never felt happier,and now I have a list of ‘to do’s because I WANT TO DO THEM (housework is not included).  I really hope the ‘universal creator’ gives me enough time on this earth to complete them. And, I’m thinking that sharing with the online community is just my ticket forward into free flight.

Here’s a few pieces (art challenges) I did over the past week and an old piece (2)  just for fun. Hope you enjoy.

A postcard to me, ‘Letting it all hang out!

Ha, this pic makes my studio workplace look like it’s neat & clean.

 

Just making faces….

 

I’m missing Yosemite

 

A Wizzard!

 

 

Illustration Friday Challenges

Once again it’s been a couple of weeks since I managed to catch up long enough to actually complete & be ready to post a submission to IF. This week..finally! Plus I had a lot of fun doing it. A few minutes in my studio to sketch the bottom two rows (about 1/3 of the length) of my prize purchase of a bookshelf (going out of business at Borders) for my studio. I am truly in love with this bookshelf and of course all the reference books, magazines & such that it holds. I hope you enjoy my submission, as much as I enjoyed doing it and writing about it.

In my studio you will find…….

Squeezing in the time to sketch…

Oh wow, I’ve been busy for a change and as I struggle with the balance of working on a commissioned piece I’ve thought about all the freedom I have (normally) to just sketch & play when I want to ….. most of each day. I really haven’t kept up with my normal Everyday Matter’s group & missed 2 weeks of Illustration Friday challenges (oh no), but I have indeed been sketching everyday no matter what. So I just decided to at least share the dancing of my pen, and acknowledge that it is truly hard to work everything in but it is really important for me to take a little time NO MATTER what else to sketch just for myself. I hope that you take time too!

Keep sketching my friends!

The fireplace mantle in my family room…watching TV?

Using up the blue ink?

‘rambling on’

Old Oak in the Park…listening to the birds!

Falling into ART Journaling, what’s next?

Yes I am a journal junkie, and sometimes I wonder just where I’m going in my art. I’ve been actively involved in Travel Journaling (it seems like forever), making art, doing the Travel Journaling thing, and teaching workshops. All along the way I’ve been buying all kinds of reference books that lead me more into the Art Journaling – Mixed Media style. I devour these books yet I can’t seem to just let go, and fall into the mixed media habit, and what I mean by this is the use of all kinds of materials, tearing up, and pasting down. Yet my inner child is telling me this is what I need to do,  just let go, and let the kid out. As I continue to contemplate just letting go, here’s a couple of pages where I have only swished on some ink to get the bright colors and ‘journaled a few thoughts’. I’m sure sometime soon I’ll get to the point where I can do the backgrounds without thinking I have to draw it in first. See, it’s like I’m beginning to fall into it.