Journal Junkin'

Just a little journal junkin'. Some of it is left over paint on my pallet and  one of the images is a fabric painting and two are a fabric print.  Does anybody feel guilty about all the journals they have going?  Maybe one day I will complete one of them.  Some are half full---and one of these days maybe I should write something in one. I love to see journals with art work that has writing in it. Don't know why I have a writing block about that. Just crazy that way I guess. Love the way Carol Sloan does it. She is going to Birmingham, AL, for the DJ Pettit workshop. How lucky is she??????

"Stencilry" Book

I really thought this spray painting Stencilry online class was really fun. As I look at the colors again I guess they are not really all that bad although they are not my favorite color combinations. I need to get to HL and get more spray paint colors. But.... the only bad thing is that it is so hot in my little red shed out back and the mosquito jihad is even worse with all this monsoon rain here in FL so I guess I will have to suspend my spray painting with the stencils for a while. As I said in the video, my good buddy Lori, at Elvie Studio will be so proud of me for sewing this book together.  She knows how "sew challenged" I am. 

Do you see why I call my blog "Art du Jour"---the art of the day?  Well, each day, I never know what it will be---so it is the art of the day. It's like a box of chocolates--you never know what you are gonna get.   Maybe one day I will settle on one.

nah....

For some reason beyond my understanding, the video within Blogger gets cropped a bit. If you double click it it will take you to YouTube for a better viewing.

Calligra-FUN Workshop Example

Here is another example of the calligra-FUN lettering you will learn in my workshop that starts July 22nd. You can learn to do this! I take you through all the steps.  Calligraphy is a series of strokes of your pen (marker) and when you practice these strokes it will become second nature. But you do have to practice. But with this lettering--practice is FUN...it's Calligra-FUN!!!

Watercolor "Wash" Day

Just playing around with some watercolor this Sunday afternoon while my mounds of clothes are washing. (My mama always said you shouldn't  wash clothes on Sunday--and she never did) I never understood that unless it was an old Baptist Sunday day of rest thing that she learned. Anyway, Mama really wouldn't mind if I was washing. She probably be glad I was tackling these growing mounds. 

These are just little quickie things and here at the house my scanner isn't very good so they really do look better in real life.  Excuses excuses....

Tee Shirt Design

Above is this year, 2009---as you can see...
This was 2007--on a purple tee
2006--a the yellow tee---

Every year I design the tee-shirt for my sister- in -law's Fine Arts Camp in West Point, Ga. It is the church I grew up in so I am glad to do the tee shirt but every year I struggle with the design.I am not too good with simple logo designs but for the past 4 years I have managed to come up with something.   I guess this year I was diminished to stick figures--although cute stick figures. This year we will use a white tee-shirt since the printer said I could use 4 colors. Usually I have only had two.  So...that's one thing I have checked off my list and was hanging over my head. Here are the ones I have saved. I can't find 2008. 

One More Painted Birdie

Here is another birdie from the back yard feeder in Greenville, SC.  I wish I know the name of this bird--it might be a Finch but I am not sure. It is so fun to watch the birds on the feeder and see the big fat brown Doves come and push all of the pretty little birds away.  It is truly a "pecking" order.  But oops, looks like he only has one leg. I will have to add that in..poor little thang...

"No Think Thursday"

This one above is my favorite and is actually much cuter in real live.

Above is my second favorite--CREATE--is actually a very poorly hand- carved stamp.

Sometimes I try to create without thinking (can you tell? :)---well, you know what I mean by that...I try not to think it out too much but just start putting color, stamps, frames, collage or just whatever and see what emerges. (Sometimes it delights me...sometimes it doesn't!) But what I try to do is say to myself  is, "Can this piece be salvaged before I drown it in gesso?" I try to also use some of my supplies that have been pushed to the back and not used in a while (that will take a few lifetimes to get through that).  It's hard to do this without thinking that it might not have a purpose other than it was an intuitive little ditty just for the sake of creating a little ditty.  If something emerges for the Etsy shop then great...if not...it's ok(yeah right--try prying the hammer out of my hand before I start beating myself over the head with it!).  So on some Thursdays I will try to post some little "no think" ditties. Here are a few . They are on 5x7 panels. Some of these might turn into "Hangy Thangies" for the Etsy shop but......we'll see. And I want to create some more Knobetts....well we'll see...

Rainbow Row in Charleston, SC

Absolutely one of the most favorite places on earth for me is Charleston, SC.  There is just something about that low country attitude and accent that just get inside and you just can't get rid of it. After several of us Converse girls failed our freshman language requirement (oops--!speaking another language was not our priority at that time in our lives) we took a make up class at the Citadel that summer. I just can't describe to you what it felt like to be the only girl in a Spanish class of 15 cadets. My other 4 friends were in the French class. I also made an A but I earned that A by studying---really--I did!! But those Charleston days were magical. I made friends who are some of best friends still today. 

Rainbow Row in Charleston is historic I am sure and charming of course but when you get there you always say---ok,so  is this it?--this is rainbow row?? It's not as colorful as one would think but in the painting above I punched up the color a bit because I am sure at some point the colors were brighter. Well, in my mind they were anyway...

...In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina...

My Photo-Spring 2008

Online Calligra-FUN class!

Gail from Creative Workshops had gotten all of my information up for my upcoming class which will start on July 22nd.  I have finished all the 5 lessons which are anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes long. 

Lesson 1: Getting to know your Pens and what fun things they will do.

Lesson 2: Learning the Lower Case Alphabet--calligraphy style!

Lesson 3:  Learning the Upper Case Alphabet--Calligraphy style

Lesson 4-  Learning Fun variations with the letterforms and other fun stuff;ribbon, trees,all kinds of flowers

Lesson 5:  Embellishing Words and painting flowers in flowers pots , envelopes and more fun stuff

Plus lots of handouts and help sheets

The cost is $45

You can watch the videos at your leisure and in your own time. You will have a password and can watch then as much as you want.

Hope you can join me for some CALLIGRA--FUN!!

On the Road to Callaway Gardens

Ok, well, some painted photos turn out better then others. For some reason this one doesn't send me ...and I think that the more detail I have the more tendency I have to paint it exact and actually I am trying to alter it as I paint. I really don't know what I am doing but when I find out I will let you know. I will post a few of these I have been working on. Some are better than others but they are all fun to do.

This scene is very dear to me. It is on the same road as the Crossroads Store going to Callaway Gardens and I went by it almost everyday because I used to ride horses out that way when I was younger. I use to ride Hunter Seat, fox hunt and jump over very high jumps. We rode these fabulous Connemara Ponies that would jump over the moon if you let them. They were beautiful horses, not really ponies, some dappled, some mulitcolored---oh, what fun I had back then out in the open field and in the ring, carefree and feeling powerful on top of these beautiful horses. Ok, I am back to earth now...thanks for letting me daydream and reminisce out loud...maybe someday I will see my "Rosie,"again, the wonderful horse that I trained when I was 15.  

More Painted Photos

The top image is the painted photograph and the second is the actual photograph of Macaulay's birthday flowers from Marc. I actually printed this one with a Photoshop pallet knife filter to help further separate the colors then I painted it with acrylic. All of these things are trial and error, just trying different ways to paint it.  It is a 5 x 7. 

Painted Photos

I have been playing around with some painted photos. I really enjoy painting the prints of the photos that Marc, our son- in- law, takes of the birds in their back yard feeder. He is a very good photographer and gets some really great shots. I tried it with two different backgrounds.  I used acrylic and add some mat medium first to make the paper less absorbent although I am not sure if that really makes much difference. I think it's a fun thing to do!

Left Over Paint into The Journal

I don't like to waste paint that is left on my pallet so this is left over paint. Sometimes it is nice to just slap it into the journal and see what happens. This is one of those. I added the create and some other writing and a stamp with French lettering---or or maybe it's not French--anyway it is foreign. So this is just a quickie journal entry. 

I have been very busy working on my online marker brush calligraphy class. I have all 6 videos filmed but have had to go back and do some further editing which brought out the gremlins to thwart me. So hopefully today I can reshoot the little snippet that took me about 6 or 7 takes yesterday and I never got it. Anyway, I think the class will be finished really soon and up on Creative Workshops possible the latter part of July. 

Gallery Show

A few sitting on the pedestal.

My photos aren't really so great but I thought they did a great job placing my paintings together on the wall. There are three other artists also in the gallery and it will hang until the end of June.  I had several other pieces that had calligraphy on it that they didn't put up.  I was a bit disappointed that they didn't puts those up but I am just thankful that I have this opportunity. I had about 10 more pieces so they needed to make room for the other artists. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day.

Marc and Audi

Dogs are so amazing. Macaulay and Marc have been very careful that the two dogs, Audi, the German Shephard and Dixie, the Springer Spaniel, have kept their distance although they are the sweetest and most loving of dogs. The German Shepherd is very curious and loves to sniff when allowed but the Springer Spaniel is the very protective one and lies by baby Marc's door if he is crying and bounds over to the crib and stands on her hinds legs to see him.

 We are heading home to Jacksonville today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day.

Layer Love Online Class

I love online classes and I try to restrain myself and not take them all!  I think it really is the way to go to learn new techniques and a way to keep learning and creating. My only concern is that I start to depend on others to tell me how to create and at least for me, I try to take the techniques and use it is a style that I feel like is mine. My style?  HMMM...My style might be a combination of many people whom I admire, at least in the mixed media genre. I know that is becoming a problem in blogland with people fudging on other's style and selling on Etsy.  So it is a little bit of a dilemma for me, I love the styles I learn but I am very skittish in its application and use for sales. But, all that being said, I am enjoying the Layer Love class with Julie Pritchard.

I like how she layers her colors and leaves a lighter area then drips the color. It is very organic and fun. I am enjoying it. Unfortunately, the original has much more detail than I could capture in the photo.

More Griddy Art

I like grids---it's in boxes and I am happy with boxes---I love staying in the boxes--I love the order of boxes--it's so boxie!---so you can probably guess, I love to sometimes stay in the box--and then write outside the box.  Yep-I sure do.

Back with my little precious

Just flew in to Charlotte today for a quick weekend while Daddy Marc goes out of town for a wedding. Even in a week and a half he has already gotten bigger. He is three weeks old today!

Knobby Art with a Grungy Attitude

Here is one more 4x4 Knobby Art that has brass tacks (ouch, I hit my thumb and it hurt) and some wire. I love working with wire although I am new to it but it's fun.  The bird image is also

 a potential Knobette. I wrote the calligraphy with gouache(opaque watercolor) and it slid all around and didn't adhere very well because of the mat medium so I had to use my .005 Pigma pen with my magnifying loop and clean it up. I wonder something---I wonder if I add some clear gesso first in the place where I want to write (which would provide a grittier surface) would the lettering with gouache go on better?? hummmm...I would be a happy girl if that worked. Anyway, I took a deep breath and posted the Knobette up on Etsy.

More Songbirds

What a rainy rainy day here in Jacksonville, but my flowers need the rain.  It's a good day just to paint. In fact, I haven't even gotten over to the Red Door Studio today but I have been working in the Closet Door Studio here at home. I really should take a picture of my walk-in closet studio here at home. Actually I get quite alot done when I am here. I don't have much room but I have plenty of room to paint small things and it is well-lit.  I just have to clean as I go or I quickly run out of room.  

These two birds are more painted photographs. I included the photograph that I painted from and you can see that it is altered quite alot.  

Ok so now I need to put on my rubber boots and raincoat and brave the storm to take Bucky out.  I hope he does his business fast---