September 30 in 30, Day 29

Day 29

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

A commission for a good friend. 

When Jennifer, Bill's wife, asked me to do a commission for Bill's birthday, I was thrilled.
What fun it would be. Then she started describing what she wanted. She was looking to a representation of their blended family together including many of the things he loves; wine, photography, art, and cheese.  She had a pretty good idea of what she was looking for. I soon realized that Jen is just as creative as Bill is. She came up with some wonderful suggestions that really made the piece fun to do.

So happy birthday to you Bill and 

thanks for the honor Jennifer.

Our Blend

Alcohol Inks on Yupo Paper

11" x 14"

Personal Commission

Beautiful Day for Plein Air

After buying some calla lilies from the local garden store I thought  they'd make a wonderful painting. So I packed up my supplies and went outdoors for my first plein air painting. It was a lot of fun despite the troubles I had with the wind. After the first time the flowers blew over I wasn't quite able to get them back in the right position. Oh well. At some point it became very clear that this wasn't going very well. I didn't care as long as the music was good and the wine was cold. It made me realize that I really need to work more on my quick drawing skills. Long ago I put down the daily sketch book in order to spend more time painting. I think it's time to get back to it. (Note to self- buy a new "cool" sketch book, one that is separate from the sketches I do for paintings.)

My painting is a scraper. One I'm not ready to show. My husband says he likes it. (How would I ever get by without his constant support and encouragement?) I also realize that this plein air is going to take some practice and some instruction. It's time to watch all those plein air demos I have on my Pinterest boards. Anyway, I'm keeping the painting for awhile as something to look back on when I want to see what progress I've made. I'm planning on spending today doing what I love; gardening and painting. Does it get any better than this?

What To Take on A Short Weekend Trip? Here's Some Ideas. 2014-03-10 06:27

Going away for a week? The packing is easy. Get your art case out and pack it with as much art supplies as you possibly can along with some canvasses and watercolor boards. But what if you're just going for a day or two and your pretty sure you'll want to paint or draw?




Here is what I took;
- Pencil Case containing; Prisma Colors, Conte' Pastels and Watercolor Pencils
- Small Sketchbook (usually carried everywhere I go in purse)
- Small Pencil Case containing; drawing, ebony and charcoal, eraser, sharpener and sandpaper
- Traveling Watercolor Set

- Extra Brushes (I didn't use them)
- Watercolor Pad of Paper (already stretched )
- Small Watercolor Trading Cards

This was a Christmas gift from my husband a year ago that I hadn't used yet. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about cake paints and had always wanted to use them. LOVED IT! The paints were brilliant and very professional. The set had the same feeling as one of the paint kits I got each year as school supplies when I was in grade school. (Remember when you just painted because you had to and there were no worries about what it was or how it looked?) This is something that would fit nicely in my purse too, maybe with a few of those trading cards for mini paintings anywhere anytime!

I have a hard time painting in public sometimes. Sketch books are always great to pull out and loosen up a bit, letting my creative juices flow. If I still don't feel comfortable or "moved" I can keep on drawing.

I used almost everything. Next time I'll probably leave my brush case home, packing just my favorite. The sable brush from the paint kit was very nice and worked well for what I wanted.

What supplies do you pack?