February 30 in 30, Day # 11

30 paintings in 30 days.

Today is a commission piece.

I had a great time at the Nicholas Conservatory last night. We were painting orchids as a part of the In Full Bloom; The Orchid Exhibit. It was a great opportunity to tell people about the Rockford Art Guild and JR Finally Art.

Crab Apple BlossomsII

Alcohol Inks and Pen on Yupo Paper

11" x 14"

NFS

New friends, Jim and Vicki

Pam, The Guild President

Cristi

Beth and John, the Vice President.

February 30 in 30, Day #10

30 paintings in 30 days

In celebration of  In Full Bloom; The Orchid Exhibit at The Nicholas Conservatory, The Rockford Art Guild wild be hosting a  Make and Take this evening, 5:30 -7:30pm. Come on down and paint an orchid on Yupo paper with alcohol inks. It's free to everyone that has purchased a ticket for the exhibit. These are the sample orchids hopefully showing the many varieties and colors they come in.

Be sure to visit the Conservatory again next week as the Rockford Art Guild has a show of art February 14th - 25th.

Nicholas Orchids

Alcohol Inks and Pen on Yupo

The exhibit runs through March 11th. 

For More Info on the In Full Bloom- the Orchid Exhibit click here 

February 30 in 30. Day # 9

30 paintings in 30 days

Today's post in in honor of Galentine's Day. Galentine's Day is the day before Valentine's Day. It's an opportunity for women to celebrate their gal pals. Downtown Rockton will be hosting a big party with lots to do at each shop. Their will be photo booths, waffle bars, Margaritas and a lot more including a chance to win a 16 bottle wine refrig filled with goodies from the local shops. JR Finally Art will offer two Make and Takes. A friendship bracelet and these Love Tiles.

Love Tiles

Alcohol Ink and Pen

Come on down to JR Finally Art Tuesday night and make on yourself for $5.

JR Finally Art Studio & Gallery

210 W. Main Street

Rockton

February 30 in 30, Day # 8

30 paintings in 30 days.

Do you remember spin art when we were kids? You dropped paint onto a paper that was spinning and all the colors would expand out to the edges of the page in a really unique design. I've been wanting to try that with alcohol inks for some time now. So I asked for a Spin Art set for Christmas, $10, Walmart. The 30 in 30 gave me the perfect chance to try. I will say the Spin Art has gotten really cheap since we were kids. It is no longer battery operated. You need to pump a button to spin the much smaller paper. The paints they give you to use are pretty useless too. BUT, I was able to try it using Yupo paper. Here are the results. Okay, I've had enough. A bit disappointed but that's okay. It's just that I remembered it so much cooler than it was. Maybe I was thinking about Creepy Crawlers.

Spin Art

Alcohol Inks on Yupo

February 30 in 30, Day #7

30 paintings in 30days.

I had a hard time with this one. I will admit it. It started out as a piece about recommitting to goals and not letting little stumbles get in the way of the directions you want to move in. I wrote myself a lovely little pep talk in silver across both pages knowing that enough of it would be covered up and that my private pep talk would stay just that. But then I lost the direction when I stenciled with molding paste. I like them very much but they are way too centered and there's four of them, an even number, I know better than that. Anyway, I was never able to get back to any kind of a focal point after that. I decided to stop trying so hard and doodle my way through the rest of it. So I let everything dry and plopped down in front of the TV and casually doodled. It still doesn't have a point of interest, but I'm okay with it.

Celebrate the Ordinary, See the Extraordinary

Mixed Media

February 30 in 30, Day # 6

30 paintings in 30 days.

This is a commission I was working on.

Dahlias II

Alcohol Inks and Pen

11" x 14" on Yupo Paper

February 30in 30, Day #3

30 Paintings in 30 Days

A day back in my comfort zone. Today's apple blossoms were a bit of a challenge, to keep the whites and soft colors using alcohol inks which are known for their vibrant colors.

Apple Blossoms

Alcohol Inks and Pen

8" x 8" Canvas

$185 +S&H

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February 30 in 30, Day #2

30 paintings in 30 days.

Continuing with the art journaling I now have found a home for all those cool incidental pieces of art that you can't quite throw away but you don't know what to do with them.
This was a quick demo on what alcohol inks can do. I saw a face in it, drew it out then thew it in a pile.( You know the pile... we all have them.)

On a side note, I have to say, I'm thrilled to see how great pan pastels are for journaling. It's so fun to be able to so many supplies at one time.

I wasn't happy with this piece. I wasn't sure how to finish it. Then the song "The Impossible Dream" popped in my head and I decided to write the lyrics on the page. I found a U Tube of Susan Boyle singing the song and proceeded to write the lyrics. As I did this,  I remembered why I loved this song so much. My mom loved music and had a lot of classical music but also some show tunes. When I was 6 my folks got a new cassette player and started collecting music. My favorite was Man of LaMancha. I spent hours dancing around the living room and singing the songs. "The Impossible Dream" was my favorite song. So I wrote the lyrics and all of a sudden the piece felt complete.. and I liked it. I was happy to have recaptured that memory.

Let Your Mind Wander

Mixed Media

(Sorry, I see that the large picture isn't so clear.)

September 30, 30 in 30

Day #29 & #30, 30 paintings in 30 days
hosted by Leslie Saeta.

This one actually took me 3 days. I can't believe we're to day 30 already.This was one of the easier 30 in 30's for me. That's because I paint in my studio 5 days a week. I look forward to posting more paintings in the future. Now that my illustrations are done I can devote more time to commissions and paintings. There's a ton of paintings I still want to do.

Orange Orchids

Alcohol Ink and Pen

11" x 14"

$185 + S&H

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September 28,30 in 30

Day #28, 30 paintings in 30 days
hosted by Leslie Saeta.

The summer is over. That went fast. Time to slow down and look back.

In Northern Wisconsin, there are two lakes dear to my heart. They are call The Twins Lakes. One is much bigger than the other, they don't have much in common except they are connected to each other. The place they join is a shallow ... sandbar possibly? I'm not sure how to describe it. Anyway, the land comes to a point where it meets the channel between the lakes. So, it's called "the point". I walk down to the point each summer with family or friends dragging a small boat to collect stones or driftwood found along the way.

 I like to tell the history of the land we are passing; how Julius logged the area. He delivered the mail to the ends of docks using a  kayak. First he sold some land to the Well's who built the house we stay in today. But he was so unhappy at how mean Mrs. Wells was that he refused to sell anymore land to anyone. Loraine and George Doerfler went Up North for almost ten years getting to know Julius before he agreed to sell them some land. When he did, they built their own cabin. Loraine went up North well into her 90's and became one of my mother's best friends. She lived to 105. Her son and daughter in law live there today during the warmer months of the year.

Today's painting is from the other side of the point on South Twin. It's a charming boat house that's full of personality.

The Other Side of the Point

Alcohol Ink and Pen

8" x 10"

$105 + S&H

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September 27, 30 in 30

Day # 27, 30 paintings in 30 day
hosted by Leslie Saeta.

I had to leave the house a bid earlier than usual yesterday so I didn't get to post this one. Thanks to my daughter, Sam for the photograph that I used.

In the Rays of the Sun

Alcohol Ink and Pen 

8" x 10"

$105 + S&H

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September 26,30 in 30

Day #26. 30 paintings in 30 days
hosted by Leslie Saeta.

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful afternoon at Womanspace of Rockford with a alcohol ink sampler class. The grounds of Womanspace are just stunning. It's the perfect setting for the New Dimensions Studio. You just feel more peaceful by just being there.

I had three very talented women in my class, two who were totally new to alcohol inks. They did such a great job and I think pumpkins are a great subject. They really allow you to play with the inks and see what they can do.

Three Pumpkins

Alcohol Ink and Pen on Yupo

8" x 10"

$105 + S&H

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