What’s on your Wish List, Art Ideas Part 2

November 30, 2014 Artist

An Artist Wish List
My wonderful friend and fabulous artist, Pam Carriker, has come out with her own line of acrylic paints and inks! She has also written several books, Art at the Speed of Light and Creating Art at the Speed of Light and has a brand new book coming out soon.
Her new line is called Matisse and is available for purchase with Jerry’s Artarama Art Supplies. I was fortunate enough to be able to play around with some of her luscious acrylic colors and inks.
They are highly pigmented, light-fast and are perfect for working on watercolor paper and in your journals. There are 12 colors with yummy names such as Poppy, Nightfall and Mustard. The inks are washable while wet making them perfect for washes and calligraphy. Pam is a very talented artist and continues to bring us new art play things to try. Check them out!

What’s on your Wish List? Art Ideas

November 25, 2014 Artist

An Artist Wish List

I thought it would be fun to share some ideas that you may want to add to your wish list. I am going to review a few art supplies over the next couple of weeks. I would love to hear what is on your art wish list!
Today I want to tell you about a little printer that my CREATE student, Michelle, showed me. I couldn’t wait for Christmas so I treated myself to an early Christmas present. It is fun!
It is the –

Fujifilm Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-1

It is a smart phone printer. It prints using images sent wirelessly. I have used it with my phone as well as my tablet. It uses batteries so no cords or chargers to worry about. The photos are cute miniature versions of the old Polaroid prints. The photos are 3.5″ x 2.3″. I have been adding them to my journals.

Italian Memories – A Peak Inside Our Journals

November 15, 2014 Artist

Snow is falling softly outside. I am at home in Oregon and I am finally getting around to share with you some of our beautiful, fun watercolor journals from our week with Adventures in Italy, September 2014. We painted, played, lifted, cut and pasted, stamped, and just generally created wonderful artistic memories!
Here are some photos from our fabulous watercolor / mixed-media journals:

Italian Memories

November 3, 2014 Artist

Sifting through my many photos, I am feeling nostalgic for the lovely Orvieto, Italy. I miss the warm glow of the sunsets, the bouncing light of shadows on the walls, the rolling hillside, the arches and the brightly painted ceramic pottery.

I miss the angel statues and the cobbled stone streets.

I miss finding hearts in unexpected places….

The fun times we had together:

Orvieto – Thank you!

Who Are These Kind, Generous People?

October 28, 2014 Artist

Artists of course! I am just back from CREATE, Seattle and just love all the beautiful friendships that come with teaching. We share and give each other so much. We share ideas, new art supplies, creative thoughts and encouragement. And gifts!

Marlene gave me stencils – she says she bought too many, lol. Diana made me a beautiful envelope to keep all the cool Polaroid mini photos that Michelle shared with me. Michelle also bought me a pencil sharpener because I needed one. Susan gave me a magic wand (that can also be used as a pen).

Today in the mail, I receive two beautiful ceramic brush holders from the National Gallery of Art sent to me by Pat. Here is what she says about them:

“ceramic brush holders – like a mug w no handle – I had one in class. I think of you every time I look at it and would love for you to have one. I use it for my clear water and pipette when I paint – lets me know it is NOT the one with my coffee in it and the water is always clean to add to a half-pan without getting too much water over into the next pan that I don’t want wet. You of course, may actually drink out of it or use it for brushes. I find it interesting that they list it as a brush holder.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Wonderful Students!

October 15, 2014 Artist

I adore my students! They keep me motivated and inquisitive. I know that as I am getting ready to teach at the new Seattle CREATE Art Retreat, I will be meeting new students as well as many that have taken classes from me before. I want to offer new and exciting ways to draw, paint, add to journals, create and explore. As I am organizing and packing my boxes of art supplies I can’t help to try new things. It makes the preparation for my class take longer but it is so fun to offer new and creative ways to do the art that I like to do!

A Beautiful Time – A Peek into our Orvieto, Italy Watercolor Journals

September 28, 2014 Artist

Our time together in Orvieto was magical. Each day was a new adventure filled with painting, creating, exploring and learning about the rich history and culture. The Colors ofUmbria, Keeping a Watercolor Journal group was creative, fun and always up for learning new things. I loved making new friends and painting with our artistic group. As the week unfolded, our watercolor journals evolved into exquisite memories of our colorful time together. Thank you to all the wonderful participants of this fabulous time together, laughing and sharing good times!

A Peak Inside my Watercolor Art Journal, Italy and Croatia

September 25, 2014 Artist

Traveling to new and unusual places gives me the opportunity to paint in my watercolor art journal. I am always on the lookout for some fun and creative ideas. Sometimes I sit in little alleyways to paint on location, and sometimes I finish my paintings in my journals in the evenings with a glass of wine. The painting of the little church below is of a Church that my husband and I hike to while on a recent boat trip to 3 islands near Dubrovnik, Croatia, This lovely Church was built over 1,000 years ago! It had a tiny door. I guess people were smaller back then. If you are interested in painting with me and learning about keeping a watercolor journal, I am teaching four different classes at the Seattle Create art retreat There are several seats still available in each class.

Getting to know the Local Artists

September 22, 2014 Artist

Local shoemakers, Federico and Hannah, are a lovely couple and very talented. They design and make shoes as well as purses and other leather goods. After Kristi showed me her zippered pen pouch that they made for her, I thought I would see if they would design and make a leather watercolor brush holder for me “No problem!” was the answer. We spent several days measuring and working out the kinks and here it is!

Painting and Mixed Media in Orvieto, Italy

September 17, 2014 Artist

It is very scenic here in Orvieto. Every view could be a painting. We have been enjoying some mixed media art too. It is a fun treasure hunt to look for and collect wine bottle labels, restaurant cards, napkins and other creative things to add to our journals.