21 Secrets Give-away!

21 Secrets is starting April 1st!  This one os going to be the best one yet! Leave a comment and I will get Mr. Random.org. to pick the winner on Sunday the 1st and you can start the class immediately.

Also if you don't win and want to take the class I would greatly appreciate if you will join the class through my blog. You will see the button on the right side of my blog: Just click it and it will take you to the class site.

Thank you much!!!!!!!!!!

Practicing loose---

One of my goals as an artist to just have fun painting and don't think too much about the exact shape of things.  Abd sometimes I come across an artist that sets my creative spirit free and helps me to loosten up. That artist now (I have had a few) is Robert Joyner. He is REALLY loose and sketches with a fat Sharpie for pete's sake!

So I decided that I was up for the challenge so I found my fat Sharpie and started to sketch. There is something about that fat Sharpie that set me free. At least for today. Sometimes I think I am free but the cage door is still open and at the end of the day I go back into my little cage. Ok, so I know why the caged bird sings...

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. 

Maya Angelou

She is not a poet that I read but I thought this was appropriate for my art life.

 I am that little bird in the cage that sometimes gets to soar--- because the cage door is always open.

PS Yes, I know, it does look like Robert Burridge. I like him too.

Hi big journal...I have missed you!

It's always so fun to finish up a page spread in my big journal with the grid. I like to use stamps and stuff I don't usually use. Plus I love to write with Calligra-FUN letters.   I am just about the fill this one up.

Another repurposed canvas

I painted this after spending the morning watching several Youtubes of Robert Joyner. He is very loose but I so enjoyed watching his instruction and demos. There are so many gracious artists on the internet who give away they expertise for free.

 This was a repurposed 12 x 24 canvas that was screaming to be painted over.  I had fun painting this because I had a plan before I painted it. It helps to have a plan.  I used a palette knife for the flowers, a credit card for the stick- like marks  and also for the border--- and my new leaf stamps I carved for the 36 x 36.

I should have taken progress pictures because it was an interesting progress but I got so enthralled I forgot to stop and take pictures. I started out gessoing over the failed spray paint graffiti underneath
then while it was wet with gesso I "smushed" down a stencil for some texture. Then when that was dry I decided to use some of my brown gesso that I bought at Art of the Carolinas but haven't used and put it all over the canvas. I sketched out the vase and the flowers quickly (like Robert Joyner) with some of Marc's sidewalk chalk then started painting. This one didn't take too long to paint. The dots were from underneath. I decided I would keep them.

All done!

I think I made the right choice with the grungy white-ish pot. I decided not to show you all the decisions that were rejected for the pot color. Painting is really just a series of problem solving, trial and error, and little sweat along with a little (ok, maybe a lot) of frustration but one thing I have learned about myself, if I just don't give up then usually I can pull it out in the end. So, I can't believe it...I actually painted a 36x36! Maybe I will start to feel like a real painter now.

Jackson-bill! Look who's coming to see us!!

There will be here in about an hour!

Can't wait to see my babies!

The big painting is done so I will post that tomorrow. Thanks for all your sweet comments about the progression. It was fun to do that. Maybe I will do more of that with my paintings.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Making progress--not sure which which direction..

I just didn't like the stems so ...

...when all else fails---crackle paste! I will have to decide what color it should be and it needs a darker glaze so the cracks will show.

YAY! Crackles. Not sure what color to paint it.  Maybe it should just stay white/light-ish.

I added a crackle top and some more crackles down the front.

More Texture...

Who knows is any of this will show in the end but it's fun putting it all. It's all about the surprises at the end.

I love Wood Icing.

Pretty cool!   I'm getting closer.

Hello leaves and texture...

I had an idea...I thought I would carve a quick leaf. I don't want to get too literal on this painting---but like a carved leaf stamp is literal anyway!

I think I like the effect of the leaf stamps.

So here I am so far with some of the leaf stamps  Now to stand back and take another deep breath and decide want to do next. I think texture...

Stay tuned---

Hello flowers...

Ok, so the flowers were hiding in the hodge podge!

I pulled out my new Crafter's Workshop stencils to play around a little bit. This layer will get covered up anyway. This might not be the color for the background that I end up with. 

It was time to take another deep breath and add some flowers. Red is in my comfort zone so I decided to try to say as comfortable as I could with this big canvas...which is the biggest I have ever painted in my life. So far I am enjoying the process...

Stay tuned...

There's a vase of Flowers in there somewhere...

YIKES!! The blank white canvas!!

This is a 36 x36 and these big canvases have been haunting me ever since I bought them. Actually I bought them with the intention of going down to south FL for a workshop called "Larger and Looser" by Robert Burridges but I had to cancel that one. So I am stuck here with about five 36 x 36s as well as some that are a little bit smaller. So today I thought I would just take a deep breath and just do it!

So I thought I would start by just putting paint all over the canvas to loosen up and get familiar with the paint again. I haven't painted with acrylic in a long time. And this is the first time I have used my new painting room and I do love it. The light is great.

I mixed up some yellow ochre and white just to do the negative painting and see if there was a pot of flowers in this hodge podge of paint. Looks like there might be some flowers there. Stay tuned...

Cutie-patootie...

Can't believe he's almost 3. Such a big boy now--no more diapers. He's got on his favorite boots Nana gave him. They are coming to Jacksonville on Friday. Can't wait!

Pair of Leanin' Pears

Is there a such thing as a red pear? I guess it really doesn't matter at all because I have painted blue ones before and I am sure there are no blue pears! 

This is on my favorite paper--300 lb Arches watercolor paper. 

This is a 10x10.

Apple of my Eye

Just doin' a little doodling and playing with my new colors of pan pastels my good buddy Lori gave me. They are so much fun to use with all my Crafter's Workshop stencils. There are so many different ones it will make your head spin!

And the winner is......

PAT!

Congratulations, Pat! 

Please send me your email so you can have a free Pear-ology class!

:))


Thank you all so much for your comments!

Pear-ology Giveaway!

Hey guys! I have been working very hard on this class. As you probably know I haven't had a chance to blog very much but I really enjoyed doing this class. I really do feel that after you take this class your pears can look just like these pears and believe it or not, it's very simple. There is a trick to it which you will learn in the class. I will also show you some other fun "magic" tricks that I use for the background that you can use on any backgrounds that you paint. 

So just leave a comment and Wednesday at 8 pm I will have Mr. Random.org choose a number. You all know how it works! 

Here is the video about the class:

Sixy Pears

I have been so slow starting up to blog again. When life interrupts the art flow it really is hard to get cranked up again. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way than to be able to help Chauncey's mother get well from her surgery and have his mom and dad settled in to assisted living.
I think they will enjoy their life there when Chauncey's mother gets back on her feet.

I have been filming my "Pear-ology" class so actually I have been doing art but as I said in my last post, I don't want to choke everyone on pears. So with that being said here are six more I painted! I hope you are with someone who knows the heimlich maneuver for safe pear removal from the wind pipe!
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Here is some sad news:
We had a shooting at Episcopal School today here in Jacksonville and the head master was killed by a disgruntled employer. We are so shocked and saddened. Macaul and Zachry attended that school and respected and admired this head master.