I’m Leaving this Blog - Follow Me to My New Blog Home!

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to combine my blog with an art portfolio, something more professional looking. Blogger has its ups and downs, and so does my new site on MosaicGlobe, but hopefully we’ll all learn to like each other.

So it is with sadness and yet great joy that this will be my last post on the Blogger site. To continue our journey from here, please visit:
http://kristameister.com/

Yep, that's right - I've got my own domain name too. Don't I feel special... :)

This site will remain viewable, so please feel free to poke through the archives. You can still even leave comments on posts and I'll see them. In the meantime, hope to see you over at the new place!

**UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 15, 2009**

My new blog at MosaicGlobe was not to be.  They were experiencing growing pains and my site was up only intermittently.   After my blog crashed for almost 24 hours the last time, I decided I had to find a more reliable site to have my blog on.  So, I am now over at TypePad.  My domain name has not changed, so when you click on the link above, it will take you to the current blog.  Hope to see you over there!

I’m Going to Be Published, But That’s Not the Good News!

In Fall of 2007, in my former life as a rubber stamper, I submitted samples to RubberStampMadness Magazine for a special feature publication about scenic stamped art. I had moved from cutesy greeting card stamping to scenic stamping mostly using individual stamped images from Alextamping, an online store, and leftover inks and cardstock from my Stampin’ Up! days. You will not find a finer stamp company or kinder, nicer people than the owners of Alextamping, Karen Canto and Carlos Canto. I’ve gotten to know and work with Karen Canto through stamp conventions and being involved in Alextamping’s Yahoo Group. You can see my further artwork on my page of scenic samples on the Alextamping website.

So, back to the RSM publication: each person was allowed to submit four samples. I was notified in July, 2008 that two of mine were picked, one of a horse crossing a road, and one of a cat waiting in front of a gate. Here are the Flickr links if it is easier to view there: Lone Horse and Cat Curiosity.

But that’s not what I’m so excited about! The book is due to be released mid-September, and they used one of my submissions in their website order advertising! There were thousands of submissions for the scenic album. Hundreds were selected for the book. And they chose 5 of those in the book, and one of them was MINE (you must scroll down to see photos - mine is the lower left). I am doing the happy dance right now!

Unfortunately, little did I realize that scenic stamping art would take me into the realms of fine art watercolor painting and that stamping would fall to the wayside.

If you want the sordid details of my life and how I jumped from scrapbooking to rubberstamping, to watercolor painting into the Fine Arts arena, you can check out my very first blog post. Prepare to be bored, it’s quite long :)

Graphite Portrait of My Niece

This is Miranda, my 9 year old niece. She was visiting from Florida last month, saw me sketching and of course asked if I would draw a picture of her. I snapped a photo of her and she sat patiently for about 10 minutes so I could get the basics down.

Photo reference of Miranda

I told her I would have it ready for her in a week or two (My sister and her family always come for an extended vacation to escape the Florida heat).

The above portrait is the final result. I am happy to say that for the first time, I have achieved a “likeness” of my subject. I felt I didn’t get the exact Miranda-ness I was looking for, but I got enough of it that it looks like her. Miranda loved it, her mother/my sister loved it, and everybody agreed it looked like her. I had to draw in an imaginary pony tail swinging over her shoulder instead of down her back. It just looked wrong without it.

Children are much harder to draw - you have to lessen the shadows and the facial lines or you risk “aging” the child, as my first attempt shows.

This is the first draft showing way too many shadows

Now of course, she wants me to paint her. I told her it would have to wait a while, as I don’t know how to paint people yet. But what a great challenge to work toward!

Watkins Mill Garden Challenge - Watercolor Sketch

You may recall from my previous post about the monthly challenge set up by Cathy (Kate) Johnson’s alumni art group. Here is the same scene in a watercolor sketch. Again, you can see the reference photo on Kate’s Flickr account.

I tried to take special care to keep it simple, but it is a constant struggle to do so. I always noodle it too much. Still, I’m pleased with how it turned out. The shading on the arbor came out a little light in this scan.

I’d be interested in hearing which version people like better - the graphite or watercolor sketch. As always, thank you for stopping by!

Watkins Mill Garden Challenge - Graphite Sketch

I am a part of Cathy (Kate) Johnson’s alumni art group, having a taken a previous art class from her. It’s usually coffeehouse talk and showing our art here and there. We have a private Yahoo group and a private Flickr group. Sometimes a suggested topic is thrown in as a monthly challenge. The challenges have dwindled down a bit, so someone suggested putting up a reference photo for all of us to use in any medium of our choice. Kate gladly provided the reference photo on her flickr account.

I chose graphite because it’s what I’m more familiar with, but I would really like to paint it as well. It is on the “list of things to do”. I found it a little daunting (in a good way!) because of the angle of the arbor slats and the lights and darks in the bushes. To a non-artist, this is called “negative painting”, where you paint/draw the darks behind a lighter source to give it depth. It feels like drawing or painting backwards. Also, I tried to keep the drawing simple, because I have a tendency to include every single thing. If I paint it, I’ll try to be as loose as possible. I do admire Kate’s talent for simplifying a complex landscape. Thank you, Kate, for providing this reference as a challenge!

You can also see this as a watercolor sketch in my next post.

Finding Balance - Where Does All the Time Go?

I have a tendency to lose things. It’s a joke in my house. Once I even lost plane tickets (before e-tickets) and had to buy them again. Never did find those airline tickets.

The worst part about losing things is not being able to find it. (I know, you’re thinking “Well, of course!”) Right now, I can’t find TIME. Do you lose time too? I long for 40-hour days. The days are just speeding by and I’m not using good time management. Big time wasters for me: TV, internet (whether social networking or research), and just generally laying around trying to get energy after a busy work day.

My "balanced" pear was done in many glazes of watercolor,
trying out a new technique, on 140 lb. hot press watercolor paper.

In addition, I am not a natural writer. Sure, I can talk until your eyes glaze over, but it is hard to structure words and sentences together, so it takes me a long time for each blog post. However, blogging is important to me, so I persevere. I struggle to find a consistent schedule in which to blog.

How then, to also find time to create art, structure scout meetings and outings, computer site management, general household needs, and of course, spend time with my family? It’s not a new issue - everyone struggles with time management.

I know most artists have outside jobs, with only a lucky few able to be a full-time artist. Still, I struggle with balance between the two. Art always gets pushed aside, and ironically, I feel further behind every time I get back to it.

Am I realistic to think I can really do it all? Logic says to cut some things out, but I love all the activities I’m involved in.

Has anyone found a balance in their life, or how to create 40-hour days? If so, please do share!

Seven (or Eight) Things You Didn’t Know About Me

I was given a blog award by Laure Ferlita of Painted Thoughts! Thank you, Laure, you’re so sweet. By the way, if you haven’t visited her blog, Laure is very generous in sharing her painting process and providing helpful tidbits discovered along the way. And her watercolors are just amazing, I could stare at them for hours.

Apparently I am to share 7 things about myself and then pass on the award to seven other worthy artists.

1. I was a full-time casino dealer in downtown Detroit for a year and part-time for 10 years prior to that. Being a people person, I loved the flow, the rhythm, the excitement of it all, whether dealing blackjack or craps. Just not again in Detroit. Too much desperate gambling, not fun vacation gambling.

2. I am of 100% Polish heritage (who married a German!). Don’t know the language, but sure can cook the foods. Since a child, my grandmother taught me her secret to making the most awesome kraut pierogi. Even though she’s gone, we still carry the Thanksgiving tradition of making DOZENS of pierogi for the holidays and the coming year. Last year we made 600, with lots of friends and family and kids, complete with lots of margaritas to go around.

3. I’m not very girly. More of a tomboy but without the athletic ability or hand-eye coordination. Which is great that I have a son and not a daughter. I can relate more to boys.

4. Used to be a sprinter in high school track. Wish I could still run that fast without doing major damage to my hips, knees and ankles.

5. My best friends are essential to my life, and have been around for 20-35 years: Lori since 1st grade; Sue since 10th grade and Tina since my mid-20's. Oh, the blackmail memories we have.... and there have been some new friends too, like AnnMarie, who make life fun.

6. I’m a Cub Scout Den Leader. I love sharing with my son all the wonderful times I had when I was in scouts. My son used to be a scaredy cat about everything, but he is growing up very independent and confident because of scouting, and that alone is worth it.

7. I find solace in the quietness of nature, especially in wooded areas. I am comfortable being alone in peaceful and reflective silence. That’s where God waits too, and we have some great conversations sometimes.

8. LOVE the small town life. Moved out of the suburbs five years ago and into a small farming community. Lake Erie is a mile away. It’s wonderful to run into your doctors and teachers at the grocery store. Unless you have no make-up on. And of course all of your friends and neighbors go to those same doctors and stores, so you always run into someone you know. You’d think I’d learn to wear make-up by now...

Well, ok, that was 8 things, but I just didn’t know which one to leave out....

I pass this award onto these artists, and hopefully we’ll learn more about them too:

Ann Nemcosky of Blue Bird Hill - Ann creates absolutely amazing art with colored pencil and has recently been branching out in with watercolor pencils and achieving impressive realistic results.

Marge Bennett of Art Alive - I love Marge’s fun illustrative painting style, and her topics always hit home with me, as if she knows what I’m thinking.

Brenda Yarborough of Amber Ridge Desert - Her enthusiasm is infectious and she’s always to first to tell us about the newest product or website or other gold mine of information she found!

Vicky Williamson of Vicky’s Journal - I am in awe of Vicky’s journaling, both of her sketches and how she adds so much of her personality in each page, but also for her dedication to sketching daily. Vicky was one of the first people I started following when I was a mere lurker, and I just love her journaling style.

Lin Frye of View from the Oak - Lin is truly amazing. She’ll be the first to tell you she only started painting a few years ago, and boy, has she come far! Her art is wonderful. And she also makes it a point to do a painting every day - such tenacity!

Kim Bennett of Kim Bennett’s Studio - She is a well traveled artist, going back and forth from England to the U.S., and keeps herself very busy with creating art, teaching and blogging.

Marianne Post of e.scape artist - Her sketches are wonderful and her talent with pastels is so realistic they look like photographs.

Please visit these artists’ wonderful sites - I know you’ll love them.

Seeing Nature with New Eyes

--The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.
Marcel Proust--

I spent last week working in a wooded area as a chaperone for Cub Scout Day Camp. Myself and a few other adults were in charge of our 13 scouts (150 scouts total at camp). Our job was to get our group to each event, such as BB gun shooting, archery, wrist rockets with paint balls, bottle rockets, slingshots with water balloons, games, crafts, hiking, science and nature experiments. We were outside every day, all day long, braving the hottest days of the year.

During each event, the adults were able to sit down and relax for brief periods. I was able to breathe in the sights and sounds of nature in the woods and the clearings. I also checked my Blackberry way too much. It was necessary to keep track of the time, but did I really need to check my e-mails or the news every half hour? Next time I’ll bring an old-fashioned watch and leave the phone in the car.

Because of our fast-paced schedule, my attention was too scattered for sketching and I only got in a few sketches. But that’s ok. Just observing and experiencing nature was relaxing enough.

I love this excerpt by Bill McKibben in his Foreward to Clare Walker Leslie’s book, “Drawn to Nature”:

“In a world where we no longer depend physically.... on understanding the world around us, we have stopped paying attention. We think we live in an age of information, but, in fact, we live in an age of distraction – the next new e-mail grabs our attention, rather than the next new sight or sound or smell in the world, for which our biology actually built us. Even – and this is the great tragedy – when we find ourselves out in the natural world we tend to be distracted, to carry our opinions and plans and news around in our heads, an engrossing personal website that blocks out other sights and sounds.”

We go overnight camping in a few weeks with the scouts. My goal is to keep a nature journal to record what I see, hear and feel. It will still be a fast-paced time, but I’ll use my time better to experience my surroundings. And the phone will stay in the car.

Color, Glorious Color!

This is Part 5 of my “Design Your Own Art Class” series, this time about Color. See where the series started in Part 1 (Sketching) and continued in Parts 2, 3, and 4 (Drawing, Watercolor and Design).

Nita Leland’s book, Confident Color, is not a typical “color theory” book. It is a hands-on, get messy with your pigments book. I didn’t intend to do a book review, but in working through this book, I see how useful it can be to all levels of artists, enticing them to explore color and be a five year old again.

No matter what your medium, be it watercolor, oils, yarn or fabric, Nita Leland encourages you to play with your colors, build your own color reference file, become best friends with your pigments and your palette, be creative and bold with color. It’s about using color strategy in your own way, with frequent “color assignments” in the book, laid out in a very user-friendly manner.

There are no boring color recipes or color techniques, other than a brief explanation of color theory and color schemes. However, she does introduce numerous triads, from traditional to modern, and how they can be applied.

You will develop an awareness of color infused with your own personality and style. Even if you’re an experienced artist, it’s easy to be trapped into a signature color style that perhaps has become boring and repetitious. This book will refresh your love for color.

Nita also mentions Seven Contrasts of Color, and accordingly, we should:

• Be bold with pure HUES.

• Experiment with all VALUE contrasts: high key, low key, full key.

• Contrast INTENSITY to play pure colors against low intensity hues.

• Suggest depth, light, form or mood with TEMPERATURE.

• Use color COMPLEMENTS to neutralize each other when mixed, and to visually excite your senses when placed next to each other.

• Utilize QUANTITY (size) as it relates to large masses v. broken color areas.

• Let your eyes do the color mixing through PERCEPTUAL CONTRAST, whether by simultaneous contrast (a color subtly casting its complement onto the edge of another color), successive or mixed contrast (seeing colored after-images) or optical color mixing (pointillism).

As for me, I plan on working through many of these hands-on lessons and getting my fingers and brushes full of pigment. I recommend this book for those going back to their own “art school.” Anyone have any favorite color triads or schemes to share?

Intelligent Design? Or Just Smart Design Choices?

Sorry, couldn’t resist the title.... My alternate title was “I Flunked the Design Test”.
This is Part 4 of my “Design Your Own Art Class” series, which focuses on the Principles & Elements of Design. See where the series started in Part 1 and continued in Part 2 and Part 3.

The following is an excerpt from “Tony Couch’s Keys to Successful Painting”. The Elements of Design are the main components to a painting, much like human anatomy, the raw materials from which to build a design:

Size - variety in sizes
Shape - irregular, more interesting shapes
Line - variety in straight and curved lines
Direction - horizontal, vertical or oblique lines
Color - hue, temperature, etc
Value - patterns and balance
Texture - surface appearance of object

There are also eight Principles of Design which are useful in creating an attractive painting:

Dominance
Balance
Contrast
Gradation
Variation
Alternation
Harmony
Unity

Interestingly, the above Principles apply to ALL the arts: drama, choreography, music, photography, interior design, industrial design, literature, speech, even flower arranging. Makes sense. I learned about these things when scrapbooking and rubber stamping greeting cards. However, crafters may have different design rules, as you’ll see below when I took the Design Test.

The Principles of Design are the “Rules of Design” which you apply to the Elements.

Given these tools, each Principle can be applied to each of the Elements. For example, Color can be used to be:

made the dominant color (Dominance),
balanced in hue, chroma and value (Balance),
placed next to a complementary color (Contrast),
gradually changed to another color (Graduation),
used with a variety of other colors (Variation),
alternately placed between colors (Alternation),
placed next to a similar color (Harmony), or
used to make the design a unit (Unity).

Of course, it’s not necessary to use all principles in one painting. One design principle applied to three or four elements will usually be sufficient.

Composition
In his book, Mastering Composition, artist Ian Roberts states artists should sketch a quick 15-minute 4" x 5" composition each day of everyday objects in your house, with the idea that in a year, planning composition in your paintings will be second nature. Another excellent resource is Watercolor Composition Made Easy by David R. Becker.

Perspective
As to perspective, I already have a fair idea of it from high school and college drafting classes, but I also found Watercolor Basics-Perspective Secrets by Phil Metzger to be very helpful in review.

Color Theory? Ran out of room here, sorry! Next post, I promise.

My Own “Design Class”
I plan to study these concepts during my free reading time, as well as take up the composition-a-day idea.

So, here’s part of the Design Test that I flunked. Which ones are more pleasing to the eye?

A or B above?
A has more variety.
B is boring, but a common scrapbooking/stamping layout.

A or B above?
B is more balanced.

A or B above?
A shows gradation in line thickness, direction and length.
B is boring, but a common scrapbooking/stamping layout.

Apparently I’ve had boring compositions programmed into me from my scrapbooking and rubber stamping/greeting card days. I picked all the wrong ones. How did you do?

Design Your Own Art Class - Part 3 - Watercolor

Painted from First Steps Painting Watercolor (First Steps Series)
and posted with permission by author Cathy Johnson

Part 3 of my Design Your Own Art Class series focuses on Watercolor painting. See where the series started in Part 1.

Before I talk about watercolor, let me mention my college days.

At age 18, I went to college and essentially learned nothing. But then, I didn’t have any study habits either. I dropped out after a few years.

Years later, I went back to college, working toward an associate’s degree in history. I discovered that while I am not a natural genius like my husband, I could be just as smart if I applied three times more effort. Lucky for me, I love learning. I had to be consistent, persistent, and learn great study habits. I’m the person who has to pore over a textbook, work through it backward and forward, pore over my notes, and soak it in my brain to get the same result that my husband does by a quick glance of the facts. My husband was impressed by my tenacity and effectiveness of my study habits, something he wished he had cultivated. I became an ace at taking essay tests by methodically laying out the answer - so different than when I was a freshman in college!

One thing that particularly helped was re-typing my illegible class notes. It was a two-fold bonus: As I typed, it reinforced what I’d learned in class, and when reading them later before a test, it was so much easier to read printed text notes rather than my messy handwriting.

So how does this help me in art?

When I read an art instruction book or watch an art DVD, I find it impossible to just read or watch it. I have to physically paint or draw along with it, doing each exercise in sequence, in order to really grasp the artist’s ideas. I’ll essentially duplicate the entire book on my own. Much better than just passively reading it, and it reinforces the idea in a way that reading alone or watching a video can’t do.

I don’t hope to paint exactly like the artist did. I just want to understand what they meant. You can’t learn to ride a bike just by reading about it. So, too, with art. “Talent” has so little to do with it - it’s more about the desire, enthusiasm, lots of practice and hard work.

Painted from First Steps Painting Watercolor (First Steps Series)
and posted with permission by author Cathy Johnson

It’s probably a good thing I didn’t obtain an art degree in my 20's. I would not have the understanding of art or the discipline that I have today. Even so, now that I have the desire to learn, I have to carve out the time for it.

MY WATERCOLOR PAINTING CLASS
As mentioned in Part 2 of this series, this is not a real school. It’s just what I use for myself to keep on track.
Class Meets: I paint in two-hour blocks whenever possible on weekends by working towards a final painting or practicing techniques. It all leads to the same goal.
Class Description: Learn watercolor techniques and planning from sketch to final painting. Practice painting both in studio and on location. Explore a variety of techniques including wet-in-wet, dry brush, creating washes, masking, and experimental techniques through the creation of still lives, land/cityscapes, and figurative painting. Elements of color theory, value, form, texture, space, and perspective will also be touched on.
Supplies / Media Used:
Transparent Watercolor at first
Experimenting with Gouache later
Syllabus / Course Outline:
Basic techniques, Texture, Positive and Negative Space, Gesture and Human Form, Landscapes, Adding people to paintings, From sketch to final painting, Painting on location (plein air)
Homework / Projects:
Plan during weekdays with value sketches and practicing watercolor techniques, working out problems
Goal: Paint final artwork on weekends, at least one painting finished

References & Textbooks Used for Instruction, Exercises and Inspiration:
Try your local library, favorite bookstore or online at Northlight Book Shop.
First Steps Painting Watercolor (First Steps Series) by Cathy Johnson
Creating Textures in Watercolor by Cathy Johnson
Daring Color: Mix and Mingle Watercolor on Your Paper by Anne Abgott
Putting People in Your Paintings by Laurel Hart
Painting With Your Artist's Brain: Learn to Paint What You See, Not What You Think You See by Carl Purcell

Design Your Own Art Class - Part 2 - Drawing

This is Part 2 of my Design Your Own Art Class series, this time focusing on Drawing, more formal compared to sketching.

Please Note: This is not a real school. This idea started because I wanted to feel like I was in art school in keeping moving forward with art and to be accountable to myself, so I made up my own loosely-based curriculum to follow. Along the way, other people became interested in the idea, so I posted my “class courses” to show what I was doing to keep up on my goals. Please feel to use my ideas or develop your own; hence, the idea of “Design Your Own Art Class”. See where the idea first originated in Part 1.

Why do I do this? Because otherwise I’d spend too much time in front of the computer and not get any art done. Caroline Roberts had an excellent post about time management. She talks about having an essentials list - things not practical to give up, a “To Stop” list, as well as writing out your commitments. Kim Bennett also has some ideas how she stays on track.

As for me, I work full-time outside the home, with an hour-long commute. I have a family to spend time with, my health to maintain, Cub Scouts to be involved in. Where do I fit it all? I have to manage my time like a drill sergeant if I want anything done. Determination. Lack of sleep. Whatever it takes.

I rise at the crack of dawn for work, so getting anything done before that is out of the question. Birds are still sleeping then! I’ll read in the car if it’s not my turn to drive in the carpool. Lunch hours are currently spent at my desk sketching, doodling, fast drawings. However, I’m going to push myself more to sketch outside in the summer, because I work in downtown Detroit and the riverwalk is shaping up nicely, like downtown Chicago. After coming home from work, it’s off to exercise, make dinner, and family time. When my son goes to bed, I spend time in front of the TV, drawing more complicated subjects, and talking with my husband.

I save painting for the weekend, when I have larger chunks of time available, like staying up late on Fridays and Saturdays if we have no plans, and getting up (still at the crack of dawn) on Saturdays and Sundays to get a few hours of painting in before the family wakes up. And then, with every available spare moment, I have a book in front of my face, usually art-related. I’ve been that way since childhood, walking around with a book. I can even cook dinner while glancing at the pages of a book. Or, much worse, if it’s not a book in front of me, then I spend time on the computer. That would be on my “To Stop” list - to set a time limit on the computer.

So, here is my “Drawing Class” for myself:

DRAWING CLASS
Class Meets: Weekday evenings for 1-2 hours (usually in front of the TV!)
Class Description: A more formal approach to drawing, learning values, pencil and pen techniques, composition, measurement, negative space, shadow and light, and perspective to capture form and render texture. Drawing accurately from life as a means to accessing creativity. Topics include anatomy, life drawing, animals, landscapes, portraits, children.
Supplies / Media Used: Graphite, Charcoal, Pastels, Pen/Ink, Colored Pencils, Graphite Washes, Graphitint pencils, Neocolor Crayons
Syllabus / Course Outline:
Making a more formal drawing from a sketch, Line drawing - anatomy, movement and animals, Values, Pencil techniques, Measurement, Negative Space, Shadow and Light, Perspective
Homework / Projects:
Draw for at least one hour, five days a week, in the evenings on weekdays.
Use larger 9x12 sketchbook.

References & Textbooks Used for Instruction, Exercises and Inspiration:
Try your local library, favorite bookstore or online at Northlight Book Shop.
Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy by Christopher Hart
Drawing Animals Made Amazingly Easy by Christopher Hart
Drawing with Your Artist’s Brain by Carl Purcell
Pencil Magic by Phil Metzger
Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure by Barbara Bradley
Drawing Expressive Portraits by Paul Leveille
Secrets to Drawing Realistic Children by Carrie Stuart Parks
How to Sketch Animals by Kaaren Poole
The Artist’s Guide to Drawing Realistic Animals by Doug Lindstrand

Now off to draw!

Design Your Own Art Class - Part 1 - Sketching

I mentioned earlier about my self-designed art curriculum. I think of it as “self-taught college courses”, to make me feel I was actually going back to school, with definite time commitments and “homework”. This will be the first in a series of all of my “college courses”. I take them concurrently, fitting each class into my schedule during the week when I can.

Here is the entire curriculum for my own art degree:
(Each class will be discussed in future posts)

Sketching - informal
Drawing - formal
Watercolor Painting
Other Water Media (Gouache and Acrylic)
Design Elements (composition, perspective, color theory, Photoshop, etc)
Art History
Art Marketing and Starting Your Art Career
Independent "Field Trips" to art museums, art fairs, and taking workshop classes when available

Electives:
Illustration Techniques
Greeting Cards for Fun & Profit

Anyone want to join me in taking classes? I don’t want to be the only one in the class. Instead of having a teacher, however, all courses are independent study, so you work at your own speed and decide on your own projects. Class meets according to your own schedule. And, you need only take those classes that you are interested in. Don’t care about ceramics or printmaking? Not necessary for your self-taught degree! Want only watercolor painting and not oil painting? You tailor your own major and your own degree.

Hmmm, the only problem is...... what do we call ourselves? What shall the name of our art college be? Any ideas?

And, if any of you real-life college graduates are out there, please feel free to post on your blog as a guest speaker, let us know, and we’ll attend your “class lecture”!

So, here goes:
SKETCHING / VISUAL JOURNALING

How many of you keep a sketchbook? There are many types of art journals: visual journals, decorated journals, collage journals, journals filled with doodles, quotes and/or just your daily thoughts. A scrapbook is also a way of keeping a journal of your life. I’ve always kept a written journal since my teens, but in the past year or so, I’ve loved keeping a visual journal as well.

The artwork in this post is some of my daily practice in my sketchbook. I may not post artwork every day online, but I am still creating something everyday.

Don’t know where to start? Need inspiration? Check out an online group called Everyday Matters started by author Danny Gregory, based on his book of the same name. EDM started as a Yahoo group where weekly drawing challenges are posted, but has since expanded onto Flickr and its own SuperBlog. [Note: since the posting of this article, Yahoo has mistakenly categorized the EDM Yahoo group as an adult-only group. It is NOT of adult content, and no artistic nudity whatsoever is posted, but apparently the glitches with Yahoo means it is not changing the category. Rather than subjecting my viewers to adult advertisements, I have removed the link to EDM here. Danny Gregory has decided to move the EDM forum to Facebook rather than continue to deal with Yahoo's misconception.]

Blissfully Art Journaling is another Yahoo group, more about decorated journals and collage journals. They provide daily idea prompts and quotes to help jumpstart your creativity.

In both of the groups mentioned above, you can post your artwork to the group for comments if you like, or if you are more private, there’s no pressure to post at all.

So, who’s in? Who wants to go to their own college on their own terms? We’ll keep each other encouraged and inspired and you can tell us what you’ve been working on. Don’t have time to start right now? No problem. If it’s six months from now, I’ll still be sketching. Join our group whenever you’re ready or just watch from the sidelines.

Ready now to register for a class? Here is the first one:
ART JOURNALING / SKETCHBOOK / CREATIVITY ART CLASS
Class Meets: Weekdays on lunch hours and various times on weekends (for me, anyway). When will your class meet?
Class Description: Keeping a daily journal to improve drawing skills, work out projects, and doodle both from life and photos. Drawing accurately from life as a means to accessing creativity. Practice composition, measurement, negative space, shadow and light, and perspective.
Supplies / Media Used: Graphite pencil, Ink, Watercolor, Watercolor pencil, Graphitint pencils, Copic Markers, Neocolor Crayons. What supplies do you own to use?
Syllabus / Course Outline:
Doodling and illustrations
Watercolor sketching, in studio and on location (en plein air)
Working out sketches for paintings
Creativity Exercises
Botanical / Nature Studies
Field Sketching
Collage
Homework / Projects:
Follow exercises and demos suggested in art books
Use challenges posted on Everyday Matters and Blissfully Art Journaling Yahoo Groups
Record daily sketches
Keep sketchbook with you everywhere - sketch whenever possible
Textbooks Recommended for Instruction, Exercises and Inspiration:
(Check to see what your library has. I am able to do an online search for all the libraries in Michigan and they will deliver the book to my local library, who will call me when it comes in).
Another good online resource for art books is:
Northlight Book Store

Art Escapes by Dory Kanter (for creativity exercises)
The Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn
An Illustrated Life and/or The Creative License by Danny Gregory
Watercolor Journaling DVD by Gay Kraeger
When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift
A Petoskey Watercolor Journal by Catherine Carey
Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook by Brenda Swenson
The Art of Travel with a Sketchbook by Mari Le Glatin Keis
The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature by Cathy Johnson
Creating Nature in Watercolor by Cathy Johnson
Watercolor Journeys by Richard Schilling

HAPPY SKETCHING!

A Kreativ Blogger Award!

Laure Ferlita made my day when she recently gave me the Kreativ Blogger award!

It’s ironic, because in our Blog Triage class, our assignment this weekend is to talk about blog envy, and what is it about other people’s blogs that seem so successful. It just so happened that I thought of Laure. Her watercolors are exquisite and wonderfully detailed. I envy that she is able to be a full-time artist and paint and blog every day. She is definitely an inspiration in so many ways.

Therefore, I am extra honored that she considered my blog worthy of a blogger award.

According to the Kreative Blogger Award rules, I must link back to the person who gave me the award (Laure), state 7 things I love and give out this award to seven other bloggers who are deserving of this award.

Well, I love ....

❖Living in a small town where everywhere you go, you run into someone you know.
❖All four seasons - every one of them!
❖Watching my son and our puppy bond when playing
❖My husband’s homemade (and hot!) salsa in the summer
❖Sitting next to a campfire or fire pit in the evenings, by ourselves or with friends
❖Seeing inspiration everywhere in nature
❖Waking up to birds singing in the morning

Who do I feel should receive this award next? I could only come up with four of them who haven’t already received this award.

Kate, GeekyGirl
Kate’s drawings, done in watercolor/ink washes, and journaling are very inspiring. She is definitely one to watch.

Donna, The Happer Painter
Donna has the ability to think directly with her brush, and her art, humorous imagination and quick wit captivate many people.

Kecia, 4th and Goal
Kecia’s blog creatively details her rubber stamping artwork. She boldly uses Copic markers to bring her images alive with color and intensity. Mention if you are an Ohio State fan, and she’ll be your new friend.

Claire, Claire’s Sketchbook
Claire has discovered how watercolor journaling enriches her life and always posts wonderful stories to go with her sketches.

These are just some of the truly talented bloggers and artists out there!

Hines Park Revisited

Today’s homework for the +Blog Triage class, taught by Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris, is to take a previous post that was dull and re-write it. Here it is, "revisited" and revised, as well as mentally revisited in my memories:

My favorite thinking spot during my teen years finally has a name! Well, it always had a name, but I just never knew it until now. It's name is......*drum roll*

Mead’s Mill Ruins, situated in Hines Park in Northville, Michigan.

Unfortunately, I don’t know much more about this place other than its name. What I do remember from my teen years is a small river, water rushing over a small waterfall, the ruins of a stone wall, a tower with a window overlooking the waterfall. Photographer Rein Nomm sent me back in time with his photo:

In the early 1980's, I would drive my 1973 Cutlass Supreme (sigh... I miss that car) and visit Mead’s Mill Ruins alone. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about it until now - my mother didn’t even know of this place, and that was perfectly fine with me. It was my own place to ponder whatever important teenage angst was ailing me at the time.

A few months ago, I went through some old photos to develop my own reference file. Lots of memories came back to me when I came across these photos taken at that time:

As you can see, the drawing at the top of my post is taken from one of these photographs and shows a stone tower window overlooking onto a stone wall on the other side of the stream.

There was something so compelling and sad about this place, and yet so peaceful. Perfect for a teenager. I never saw anyone there, but apparently it’s a popular site for taking wedding pictures. I’m just glad that I didn’t have to share it with anyone.

If you’ve never heard of Hines Park, it is a linear park in southeast Michigan with a scenic drive stretching from the outskirts of Detroit to Northville, approximately 20 miles. Our family used to drive along the roadway every Sunday to visit my grandmother, and our family reunions were at one of the many parks along the drive. Other memories come flooding in: cruising down the park drive with my friends, running with my track team through the park trails, biking those same trails, and just hanging out. The serenity of this photo by friday1970 on Flickr really caught my eye.

Ask anyone from southeast Michigan and they’ll jokingly tell you it is the roadway that always closes down due to flooding after heavy rains. Well, it was designed to flood, actually, existing as a flood basin of the Middle Rouge River. But mostly it’s noted for its beautiful scenery, parks, trails, picnic areas, baseball diamonds, sledding, cruising. Autumn is spectacular along Hines Drive, and during the Christmas holidays, Hines Park transforms itself into a huge lightfest of Christmas lights at night for viewers to drive through.

Those were wonderful memories of my childhood. I’ll have to visit it again soon just to see how it has changed through the years.

Can this Blog be Saved?

Ok, I actually did it – I signed up for a 4-week +Blog Triage class with Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield in order to revive some life into this blog. Follow along with me...

Our first assignment is broken down into two parts: (1) describe the people I wish to visit and read my blog; and (2) describe what kind of change and growth I would like to experience through blogging.

I’ll tackle the last part first.

Well, as I’m just beginning to learn about art and obviously not selling anything yet, I’ll document my progress as an art student. Due to finances and time commitments with my family and full-time job, I can’t attend formal college-level art classes. Instead, I’ve created my own independent study – a home-schooled art curriculum, if you will. It has flexible guidelines but also some fixed goals so I keep moving forward in learning.

So how does this relate to my blog?

I’ll utilize my blog by
❖documenting particular topics as I learn them
❖posting artwork related to that topic
❖commenting on workshops, museum or art fair "field trips" that I attend, and
❖posting relevant information I come across that would be useful to others.

Posting on my blog and sharing what I’ve learned with others would enforce accountability for me to create art daily, even if only a quick sketch. We can all learn together through my trials and tribulations. See, I’ll NEED people to follow my blog, or I’ll succumb to my own lack of willpower and never accomplish anything!

Which leads into what kind of people I hope might migrate over to my blog....

• Other Self-Taught Artists, perhaps on the same path as me, would view my blog as a useful resource and a place to trade ideas.

• Established Artists who would hopefully pop in to offer guidance, critique and act as general cheerleaders to keep the momentum going.

• Any Non-Artist Who Wants to Know More about Art either because they secretly wish they could draw or paint and my blog would give them enthusiasm to learn, or maybe because they just love looking at art, which I’m all for that!

• Commenters ideally would provide thought-provoking comments and constructive feedback leading to discussions beyond just a simple "nice job!" comment. On the other hand, a "nice job!" comment can really make my day, too.

• Subscribers to my blog would unknowingly push me to blog more consistently, since my blog tends to languish because I think no one is viewing it.

• Artists Interested in a Supportive Community where we could inspire each other. I love seeing other artists’ work and how they interpret their world. I have a great circle of art friends on Flickr, and it would be great to have that here as well.

Whew! All of that really made me think too hard... Have to lie down now.

Plein Air Sketching in My Neighborhood

We had a great weather weekend, one of the first warm, sunny ones. I opened up the windows, sat on the front porch steps and sketched my neighbor’s house.

Drawing Practice with Carl Purcell

About six months ago, I bought both of Carl Purcell’s books, “Drawing With Your Artist's Brain” and “Painting With Your Artist's Brain”. They were very enlightening for me in terms of how to SEE shapes and values. Lots of light bulbs went off in my head when he demonstrated his concepts (yeah, it’s pretty dark in there most of the time). However, I hadn’t had time to do any of the demos until now. Carl Purcell has graciously allowed me to post some of my drawings that I’ve done right out of his drawing book. I worked through the book, practically page by page, in order to really grasp his ideas. Much better than just reading it. Now I’ve got to apply that knowledge to my own subjects, and then on to the painting book!

For more information, Carl Purcell’s books are posted on his Flickr site and his website.

Water / Wave Practice

I chose this exercise for water practice, but I really like the look of the sky too. Also, I concentrated on the reflections in the wet sand. There's an "oops" in the upper right corner where the tape ripped off part of my paper.

Updated - Study of People / Movement

Ok, I've taken new photos in natural daylight. Not very much of an improvement. I'll take any advice if you have any for taking better photos. Here is the link for my previous post re: what book I'm working from:

http://hopeineveryday.blogspot.com/2009/04/study-of-people-movement.html