Happy Holidays

 Every December my art critique group has a holiday gathering instead of our regular critique meeting.  Good food, friends and an original hand made card exchange.

Being the only tangler in the group I did some Zentangle trees.  Looks a little greyed out in the photo…maybe it's going to snow!

This is the card I received from Annie!  A beautiful and very fun water color.  All the cards were great, not a bad one in the bunch which makes us all winners!

Happy Holidays to all!

Art Day with Jessica

Last time Jessica was here I proposed a color blocking project of sorts and had her draw this butterfly.  I enlarged it and got the images onto a pieces of white Bristol board.  Then thinking about contrast she picked her colors for each of the butterflies.  We trimmed them to 6" squares and mounted them on black Bristol board.  Not bad for a 2 hours class with a yummy cookie break.

15" x 15" finished

Tuscany May 2014

My friend Marj and I have planned an artist trip to Tuscany for May 17-31 2014.  We have a few spots left and I thought I would throw it out there to any of my followers who are feeling adventurous.  We will be staying at this lovely villa for 14 days, 20 km from Lucca.   The cost of the workshop is 2500 euros or approx. $3,400.00 US. Airfare not included.
If our workshop does not work for you check out the others.  I have not been here but it comes highly recommended from multiple artist.  You can check the trip schedule through the link.  Email me for availability.

http://www.abbondanzatoscana.com/gathering_of_artists.htm

The End of Everyday in November….

well sort of.  The last five days were busy, fun, exciting and almost artless.  Spend four days coming, going and enjoying Palm Springs for Thanksgiving.  I did try to go to the botanical gardens with my sketchbook but they were closed.  I did manage a few minutes here and there to do this one 3.5" Zentangle.  I had my brown and a black 01 micron so played a little with them both.

The 30 days were a real challenge at times but it kept me thinking of art even if I didn't have the time.  All in all I am pretty proud of my efforts even though I didn't quite make it through every day.

Days 23-25 Everyday in November?

Oh my goodness, what was I thinking taking up this challenge??  Very little art the last three days.
Day 23 I thought I would get a start on a few Christmas cards which turned out to be one.
On Day 24 I spend many hours with my daughter looking at color, texture and prints…unfortunately for art's sake we were shopping!


4" x 5.5" Blank card and Pen

With even less time Day 25 produced another Christmas card which is very simple.  I may have to go back into this one with some shading at a later time but I kind of like this little modern looking tree.

4" x 5.5" Blank card and Pen

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, see you after the turkey!

Days 20-22 In November

Day 20 started out with my art critique meeting.  There was thirteen of us and lots of wonderful art to look at.  It is always a great time each month.  Then that night I went to my friend, Sharla's Botanical Zentangle class.

6" x 6" Strathmore paper
Brown 01 Micron pen

It was a great fun night of playing with botanical shapes and meeting some very nice ladies.  We also played with colored papers, pens and shading. Next class is in December.  Can't wait!


3.5" x 4.5" Strathmore paper
Black 01 Micron pen

Day 21 I got to spend with my grandson and again nap time is built in art time.  I was only able to get the sketch done before nap time was over.  These are some of M's favorite things to play with.  Day 22 I applied the colors.



5" x 7" Robert Bateman Sketchbook
Pen and Watercolor

Days 17-19 in November

Day 17 was all about prep for the next day with Jessica.  I prepared some mandala patterns for us to explore and color.  I decided to tangle one of the patterns that had larger open spaces.  It was started on Day 18 and finished on Day 19.  It was really fun to watch it develop. I will do more of these.

9" x 9" Stonehenge Paper
01 Sukura Micron Pen

My other project for Jessica was collaging these tissue boxes for her parents for Christmas.  I found paper mache tissue box covers at Michaels.  Using gloss medium and hostess napkins which had been peeled down to just the top layer and torn in pieces, she collage the pieces to make these unique one of a kind boxes.

Days 14-16 Everyday

   Busy, busy, busy!  It has been a challenge these last few days to fit in my "Art Everyday in November".  But I guess that is the bottom line of a challenge.  It took me three days to do this one little page in my outings sketchbook, a little everyday.  Some things from my garden including an owl rock from Sharon and a stone angel of stacked rocks. The magnolia seed pod is from playing with my grandson.  He always wants to hold one of these whenever we see them outside.  It was fun to try and sketch this one with the open seed pods and funny angles it gets as it opens to release the seeds.

Robert Bateman 5" x 7" Sketchbook
Pen and Watercolor

Days 11, 12 and 13

Day 11 was art day with Jessica.  I had her paint a background on 1/4" foam core with acrylic craft paints and while that was drying, tear and cut shapes from magazines for the tree and borders.  Lots of sticky fingers but we thought it turned out fabulous!

About 10" x 12"

Days 12 and 13 were mostly spend on the computer and phone figuring out my new medical insurance.  My little head was ready to explode!  But nothing like working on a Zentangle to settle your nerves.  It is great when your hand overtakes your mind, such a calming effect.  This ended up looking like either a fancy warrior's helmet or a cool piñata.

5.5" hand.book

Days 9-10 in November

Day 9 landed on a Saturday so I turned my art into an outdoor session in the sunshine and worked out in the garden.

 

 Toiling in the soil, trimming back some foliage and even chasing the little buggers away from my roses has the same calming effect and is as rewarding as sitting and doing my art.

Nature is our living canvas with amazing shapes, colors, hues and light, a never ending story.  Mother Nature is a great teacher, we only have to  listen.

Day 10, Sunday, I again went in a little different art direction and finished the binding on my great nephew's quilt.  Pictured only half done here but now ready for Thanksgiving Day.

Day 8 in November

….and the last day of teaching printmaking for the fall, always a long but fun day.  Some actual printing was still going on but the big push was for "Bookmarks".  Even if you are an "e" reader you have to admire the beauty of these little art gems.

We take what I have decided to call "un-wallable prints" those that you may not want to frame and hang on the wall.  Then we add more information to the prints with rubber stamps. Some add a lot of stamps and some less.  Then the prints are cut into bookmarks and laminated.

There are always oohs and aahs when they are finished and an occasional,  "Can I have that one?" The laminating really makes the colors of the ink glow.


Sorry for the poor quality of the group shots which were taken with my cell under fluorescent lighting.

Days 6-7 Everyday

This first picture is of a monoprint I did as a class demo to show students various ways to get textures and depth into their prints.  It is fun to take these demo prints and make them into bookmarks or cut them up and give them another format.  This is an 8" x 10" print.

Here is that same print cut into 2" squares and then rearranged and glued onto an 8" x 10" piece of black bristol board.  It is a fun way to further explore my creative side and make good use of my demos.  Day 6 complete.

Day 7 was mostly used up playing with my grandson but there are build in creativity times called "naps".  I had taken along my 5" square Zentangle book and had about 45 minutes to play with some tangles.

Days 4-5 of Everyday

On Mondays, Jessica who just turned 9 comes over for art time after school.  This week we made some cool papers using wet into wet watercolors and then placed saran wrap over the wet paint to get the  pattern you see here.  Just let the colors dry and remove the wrap to see the jewel shapes that seem to magically appear.

Then we cut the papers into rounds of petals and constructed our flowers.  We did the colors on both sides of the paper so there was color everywhere.  They were lots of fun to create and Jessica took home the little bouquet.

Then today my ZenFriends group met so I took some of the papers and cut them into 3.5" squares and gave them to the ladies to play with while we chatted away.  We always have a good time sharing our Zentangles and our lives.  It is time well spent sitting, laughing, supporting, creating and yes, just breathing as the busy world goes by.  Thanks ladies, I needed you.

Day 2-3 Everyday in November

 Quiet weekend, just little stuff around the house so I got out a couple of in progress drawings to finish up.  Thought  it was a good way to complete the challenge and clear up a few unfinished items.

Saturday, I picked up this one which only had the main flower part done.  It is on a piece of 3.5" x 9" card stock done with a Micron pen.  I like playing with weighted flowing lines.

Sunday, I played with finishing this page in my 5.5" square "hand*book".  It is a great size and I really like the square format.

I wanted to play with a new Zentangle pattern called "Well". It reminded me of a plumeria flower only with less petals. Stacking four in a grid gave it a Hawaiian feel to go with my little palm tree.

Art Everyday in November

Okay, so I joined this challenge to do art everyday in the month of November.  http://creativeeveryday.com/art-every-day-month

Don't ask…it seemed like a good idea at the time.  No, no it is a good idea.  I will post a few times a week to display the fun I am going to have!

Day one: November 1st. I taught printmaking today and because I have such great students, I had a little time to play.  I made these little monoprints using 2.5" acrylic plates, file folder cut outs and smashed pill packages.  When I got home I tore mulberry paper for the long strips and glued everything down to make 3.5" x 5" greeting cards.

On this one I decided to use a darker paper for the strip.  I may go back and do something with the whiteness of the card itself but too tired tonight.  I'll have to think about.

One day down….29 more.

Saint George, Utah

Lucky me, I was included in an artist trip to St. George, Utah for four days of painting even though I  don't paint but I do sketch! There were four of us and we had a grand time.

This page really shows the colors of the area.  Beautiful orange reds and browns all complemented by the wonderful greens.

I also tried my hand at doing some nature watercolor monoprints using foliage from the area and rocks to print.  Didn't get what I was trying for but really liked what I got and had a blast doing it.

Here's a close up of a couple from the last day using cad yellow, indian red and indigo.  It was a fun way to spend four days with four friends.  Thanks ladies!  Where to next?

Cheerful Zen for Nancy

My good friend, Nancy had surgery and will be in rehab for quite a few weeks.  I am taking her this Zentangle to brighten up her room.  Speedy recovery my friend!

5 1/2" piece of watercolor paper with a splash of color.

This 3 1/2" zentangle greeting was done on a 5" x 7" blank greeting card and is waiting to go out as a special delivery.  Don't you just love a "quahog"!

A little Zen Play Time!

Actually found a little down time to play with some more Zentangles.  The square is a 3.5" x 3.5" Zentangle tile and the little laminated bookmark is a scrap of printmaking paper which started out as an example for someone.

Had some colored card stock laying around so decided to play a little more. Very cool! These are also 3.5" square but I think a bigger square is called for........don't you?

Hawaiian Zen

 Lucky me!  I got to spend 10 days in Hawaii with very, very close family friends. It was beautiful, relaxing and fun, fun, fun!  Of course all of this bought out a little Zen, how could it not?  We saw turtles and man of wars  (Jellies) at the beach. I decided to do a couple of Zentangle memories.

My friends had lots of river rocks in the yard which I tangled and left as a little thank you.  These were done with an 03 Sukura micron pen and then sprayed with a matt finish.  There is something very calming and spiritual about working on the rocks warm from the sun.

Mahalo M and C you are the best!

Last of the Baltic Sea

 This is a part of the wall around the city of Visby, Sweden on Gotland Island.  The keys were worn by the women as a symbol of their homes and their command over running it.  The sea birds were nesting by the ship and if anyone walked too far to the right coming back to the ship they were dive bombed.  Quite intertaining for those of us already aboard!

St. Petersburg, Russia was amazing.  We only visited palaces but they were crazy in opulence! The grounds were just as massive and beautiful.  This lizard was part of some hand painted wall paper.  The door knobs were fantastic.

Of course I had to get a few of those wonderful domes.  I was intrigued by the massive inlaid wood floors.  There were so many types of wood in each of the intricate patterns.

More from the Baltic Sea

Gdansk, Poland was a lovely and interesting city.  We toured a museum of their med evil history and after a hearty lunch got to hear a huge pipe organ concert

On a day at sea we made a stop off the coast of Finland and took zodiacs ashore to hike around a beautiful little island, Kallskar.  The island in not inhabited but there are little shelters you can rent for a night or two.  No amenities...camping in a shelter.  Sounds fun to me!


In Stockholm, Sweden we went to an open air museum which was buildings and structures from all around Sweden and from different eras.  There were people dressed in period costume demonstrating activities of the time.  I loved the wooden tree signs.  This one I know is apple but I don't think it is a granny smith.