Making Sketchbook Videos

 I have been making short video of drawings in my sketchbook.  I started uploading these little clips to my YouTube channel.  I use my iPhone to make these and an app called Splice.  It is really fun and I enjoy creating these little clips.  

I read that Blogger is doing away with the Feedburner widget.  I have no clue how anyone can subscribe to my blog by email without this.  If anyone knows of an alternative, please let me know.  

Happy Weekend everyone!

A Lot of Snow and What I am Working On

I am sitting here on a cold day recovering from some oral surgery I put off way too long.  I am full of pain medications, so I hope whatever I write here makes good sense.

We have had so much snow here in Colorado and the locals tell me it is just getting started.  Most of it occurs in February and March.  I love snow, but the late ones take some getting used to for me because in Kansas it starts to feel like spring in those months.  The birds are starting to show up, the days are longer and warmer and the air smells like spring.  Not that Kansas never gets snow in those months, but the usual is what I just said.  I am pretty sure I will adjust just fine.  It is lovely here.

I am working on a painting containing geese and another surprise in the composition.  The surprise is the fun part and I don't want to give it away.  It's taken a long time because I have been layering the oil paints and glazing quite a bit, so it all needs to dry between the layers otherwise it becomes a muddy mess.

In the meantime, I've been sketching a lot with acrylic paint in my hardback sketchbooks.  The above was done after a neighborhood walk.  The one below was done while cooking dinner.  I love olives and munch on a few while I cook...along with a glass of wine-yum!  The olives on the left were painted with care and the ones on the right were blobbed on with my fingertip.  I think I like the one on the right best.  Friends on my Instagram said the same thing.

I have enjoyed sketching these so much, I decided to try to do this more regularly.  It feels more free to paint in a sketchbook where you know it will not hang in a show or sell online.  

The above photo was taken last year and I just came across it.  The painting is one I did called They Have Come to Bring Us Spring and it's going to be shown at the Art on the Mesa show at Gold Hills Mesa Community Center in Colorado Springs.  The opening reception is February 7,  5-7 pm and the show will be up through May 1st.  This will be my first Colorado show so I am very excited to be participating with two wonderful artists:  Lelia Davis and Phyllis Davis.  I met Phyllis at Julie Ford Oliver's workshop years ago and it was Julie who helped reconnect me to Phyllis so that I could be a part of this.  I am so grateful!  I will share photos of the show after it happens.

This is a view from our backyard deck.  Snow snow snow!

But isn't it beauitful when the sun is shining?  This is a scene on a neighborhood path I take during my daily walks.  Sometimes I just can't believe what I am seeing.  The mountains have such a presence.  So quiet, yet so rugged and wild at the same time.  I am enjoying leaving footprints everywhere I go here. :)

I hope you are having a good month of January.  I am going to close for now and take a nap!  

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Mother's Teapot: The Sketch and the Story That Goes With It.

When I was young, I was playing dodge ball with another young family member inside the house. We were playing near my mother's hutch where she kept her collection of pretty things...breakable pretty things like China plates, her large collection of salt and pepper shakers, and a couple of tea pots. And during one of the throws (our "ball" was a waded piece of paper) my playmate backed violently into the hutch causing the whole thing to tip over. The crash was so tremendous, I'm sure my mother thought that someone had died when she heard the noise, which seemed to last forever.

My playmate and I stood there wide-eyed and aghast over what we had done, waiting for my mother to come flying downstairs screaming "what happened!!!!?" which she did. Needless to say, she was very upset. Nearly everything was broken.

As punishment for about a week after school she made me sit at the dining table and glue her broken collection back together. I successfully reconstructed only a few, many were broken beyond repair, and I would forever have to face my guilt every time I looked at salt and pepper shakers without a match.

This teapot was a survivor on that dreadful day, and I keep it in my kitchen, high on a shelf out of harms way. I was thinking about this memory very recently and thought it was time to paint my mother's pretty pot. It was a favorite of mine and I remember handling it often as a young child admiring it, carefully lifting the lid and placing it back again. There was something about the shape and the flowers that drew me and still does.🌿🌼🌱🌿

Sketchbook Work and Inspiration

sketchbook work in acrylic
inspired by front porches in Riverside

I have been working in my sketchbooks and lately I am loving houses and noticing especially front porches.  I have seen some lovely spaces that are so inviting.  You just want to take your cup of coffee and book and sit for a spell.

I also am working with vintage photos again and the photo below is a composition using three different photographs as inspiration.

I also have the 5th Finding Faith work planned out. Katie and I just need to work out a convenient time we can do the filming and photo shoot.  Her dress is so pretty.  I can't wait to paint it.  Stay tuned.

sketchbook work - acrylic and watercolor
inspired by vintage photos

See you soon.

♥ Lisa

Spring is Here...Some Photos and Thoughts About What it Brings

 It's Time for Spring

mixed media on paper 4 x 6 inch

Spring is here at last.  It has been a long winter and it is a relief to see color again.

 Sketchbook Sweeties

graphite in pocket Moleskin

It is time to dust off the bicycle and ride, to sit on the patio and read.

acrylic sketch on paper 9 x 12 inch

Winter had it's moments of quiet inspiration.  There are things about winter to love.

Neighborhood walk in Riverside

However, when the color returns and the birds sing, the heart just seems to lift.

Blooming Bradford Pears downtown near Tessera Gallery

Spring brings new offerings...new hopes.

8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook  acrylic 

Spring is the time to wake up from the sleepy slumber.

 detail work in progress...oil on 9 x 12 inch panel

I find myself wanting to paint more.  To explore new techniques...new colors...new, new, new.

current state of my wall at Tessera Fine Art Gallery

I have been thinking a lot about my art...what has worked well and what hasn't and where I want to go from here.

Girl in a Birdcage Dress

mixed media on 6 x 6 inch paper

No real profound thoughts about it though...I just feel really thankful deep down in my soul for so many blessings.  The blessings of family, friends, nature and art to name a few. Too many to count really.

So while the flowers are blooming, I hope you have many blessings too.

I will see you in a week...we are off to Montana to see our oldest son, daughter in-law and grandson.

♥ Lisa

Sketchbooks and Nigel's Flannel Pajamas

sketchbook
oil

As I continue my painting of Nigel and his parents, I have been working in my sketchbooks as well.  Thoughts of spring are obvious in the above oil sketch.  Our new backyard is tiny compared to our old one, which has me thinking of some intimate touches that could be added to emphasize our new cozy space.  I can't wait to see what grows there already so that I can add more.  I am no green thumb, but I do love to plant and take care of a garden.

sketchbook sweetie
graphite

 I am trying to get back into the habit of sketching in my sweetie book (tiny moleskin) at night.  Good habits always seem to get interrupted, however if they are truly good, I try to bring them back.  This habit is good...it often offers inspiration for my paintings.  

detail of oil WIP

The Nigel painting is still in the works.  In my art class we had some discussion on how I could title this painting.  As I mentioned earlier, it is inspired by the song Making Plans for Nigel.  However, there is a gray area on whether I can use the same title or not.  There is all the business of copyrights and intellectual property to consider.  After our discussion about it, my instincts tell me I can use the name Nigel in my title, but I need to reword it somehow...like Plans for Nigel or Nigel's Future or What is Best for Nigel (which would be a spin-off of the song lyrics).  What do you think?

This week I focused on small details:  faces...hands...mom's dress...dad's clothing...

detail of oil WIP

...and some flannel pajamas for Nigel (still in the works).

I hope you have a beautiful weekend and get to stay in your pajamas a lot if you like that sort of thing.  Thank you always for all your wonderful comments and visits.

♥ Lisa

mixed media 

 8 1/2 x 11 inch sketchbook

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  Thank you for your kindness as always!

♥ Lisa

A Sketch in Oil and Other Artful Things

oil in 8 1/2 x 11 " sketchbook

There are still pencil marks visible in this sketch which for some reason seem like they belong. And there's another bunny. Perhaps that's a sign we should get a pet bunny.

Hurley

But this beautiful creature might hunt it. He is a retriever and retrievers like to retrieve things, especially ones that are running (or hopping) away.

wildflowers on the Arkansas River

I hope your first day of Summer was a special one.  We spent it taking a lovely morning walk on the river...

backyard beauty

and lots of yard work was done...

graphite, tinted charcoal, pastel pencils
3 1/2 x 5 inch sketchbook

and the day was finished with some sketching.

What did you do for the first day of Summer?

Sketchbooks, Bunnies and What I'm Reading

8 1/2 x 11" sketchbook
acrylic, colored pencil and pitt pen

 It feels like vacation right now.  I am not painting anything intended for the gallery or my Etsy shop...I'm just working when I feel like it in my sketchbooks.  I never did finish the sketch in my last post.  The children looked sweet as they were so I left them alone.  Leaving things alone is good practice for me because I often keep painting to the point where I wish I would have left it alone. :)

sketchbook sweeties
tiny sketches in a tiny Moleskin
 graphite pencil 

Lately my practice is to stop in the middle of the day and do a quick tiny sketch like these sketches in my sweetie book (the tiny Moleskin).  It goes like this...start some laundry, do a sketch,  wash the dishes, do a sketch...and so on.  My favorite time to sketch these little ones is at night because that's when I'm too tired to do anything else.  It's like saying your prayers at night...only with pencil instead of words.

sketchbook sweeties
tinted charcoal left
graphite pencil right

In 2010 my husband and I went to the Kansas State Fair and I took a multitude of photographs of prize bunnies.  I had every intention to paint them, but never did.  Well, recently I've been thinking a lot about these bunnies and decided to sketch one.  That's him on the right and he turned out pretty cute.  Maybe I will paint bunnies some day.  But for now, I feel like sketching and experimenting in my sketchbooks...

What I'm reading

...and reading this book.  It was sent to me by a generous blog friend and it is a good read.  It has a lot of great insights for us blogging/tweeting/facebooking artists who share our stuff every day.  This is an easy read and I recommend it if you are interested in being more in-the-know about sharing your work in a way that is effective and interesting for others.  I wish this book had been around in 2011 when I started my blog.  I would have included fewer photos of my feet.

I hope you have a great weekend!  Thank you hugely and muchly for your visits and comments!

♥ Lisa

Couches and Color Palette Studies

acrylic in 5 x 7 inch sketchbook

I get the Pottery Barn catalog in the mail.  I can't afford to buy too many things from there, but their beautiful rooms full of pretty furnishings sure do provide a source of inspiration.

I think couches have their charm just as much as chairs do.  As it turns out, they are just as fun to paint.

The other night I spent an hour and half just mixing colors and then writing them down.  That is how I came up with the colors in this couch sketch.  I have never taken the time to really study color that way and right away I could see the benefits of doing it.  You can see the colors I mixed in the photo below...seven colors in all...kind of an odd combination.  When I painted the couch, I just referred to my chart and it saved a lot of time because I knew ahead of time what colors were going to go where and how to mix them.  

I knew I could do this, but I have been too lazy to spend the time.  However, after the ease of the sketch, I will be making more color charts from now on to help with future paintings.

color study in a sketchbook

A few weeks ago I watched Paul Taggart's video on basic color mixing.  I painted the below painting using the primary colors he uses in the video.  The colors did seem to provide more cohesiveness in the painting.  

Bird painting using Paul Taggart's color mixing lesson
acrylic and oil on 9 x 12 inch paper

Interesting stuff this color mixing business is.

What are you working on?

Paintings, Sketching and Pretty Scenery

Penny Planted Poppies
5 x 7 inch papers, gel, acrylic, ink, oil pastel, colored pencil
on 5 x 7 inch paper mounted to hardboard
SOLD

 I have been raking leaves.  Actually what I mean to say is boy howdy, have I been raking leaves!  

And I'm still not done.  But that's boring.  Who cares?

Here's my art.  :)  

Country Blue
6 x 8 inch papers, gel, acrylic, ink, colored pencil, oil pastel on cardboard
available on Etsy

 I painted on another piece of cardboard (the painting above).  Call me frugal.  

charcoal and graphite in a 4 x 6 inch sketchbook

 I did this sketch using one of the old photos gifted to me.  It doesn't look anything like her, but that's not what I was trying to do.  I just wanted to capture the essence of her, that's all. I really enjoy drawing portraits with charcoal, but it is so much easier in the 8 1/2 x 11 inch sketchbook I have.  The thing is, I like the way drawings look in a small book.  Well, I like the way art looks in a small book...period.  That's why I always do those  tiny sketchbook sweeties in the pocket sized moleskin.  Which, by the way,  I have not done for a while.  It's because of all those darn leaves.

The Arkansas River at Oak Park

This is Riverside...a lovely area that I love taking walks in.  The river is actually the Arkansas.  It's pronounced "AR-KAN-SAS" in these parts.  I used this wonderful photo editor called Snapseed on my iPhone.  I love this program.  It made those trees look painted I think.  

Well I'm off to rake more leaves...I filled 22 bags so far.  Yikes.

Thank you for visiting.  I really love it when you do!

Sketchbook Peek and Around Here Lately

acrylic, colored pencil, papers, gel, ink, oil pastel
in 8 1/2 x 11" inch sketchbook

 There hasn't been a whole lot of painting going on except for some sketchbook work...

acrylic, colored pencil and oil pastel in
8 1/2 x 11" sketchbook

and painting on cardboard...

Blue Makes it Different
acrylic, graphite, colored pencil and ink
on 5 x 7" cardboard
available on Etsy

and straightening up my studio which was getting impossible to work in...

it's time to paint that red wall, don't you think?

and taking walks with Hurley...

Hurley on the Arkansas river

and raking leaves.

bags of leaves

Would you believe I'm not even half finished?  Fourteen bags so far!

How was your weekend?

What are you doing this week?

Bree and the Dreamweaver Coat with Some Photos of my Wall at the Gallery

Bree and the Dreamweaver Coat
8 x 10 inch mixed acrylic, oil pastel and colored pencil on canvas panel
SOLD

If I had a coat like this one, it would cause some definite dreamweaving because I love anything that looks as bohemian as this.  Plus, with all this winter we all could probably use such a coat.  Right now I am in love with my own Kansas landscape and this painting was inspired by it.

More Kansas in the photo below too.

Image from my Instagram
"this way is #home"

 I'm thinking about nature a lot and how much I love being outside.  I walk every day...even in the cold.  I've been known to walk in 18 degree weather.  Call me crazy, but a good coat, a decent hat and some gloves is all I need and I stay plenty warm.

graphite and colored pencil
sketchbook sweetie

 I had my first Final Friday at Tessera Fine Art Gallery and the photos you see below are the first time I saw my own wall display.  They did a lovely job hanging the art.  It was very slow Friday, so no sales were made.  The nice thing is the art can stay up.  I plan to switch things around every two months.

Through the front windows of Tessera Fine Art Gallery
you can see my paintings on the left

My wall at Tessera Fine Art Gallery

  I have two oil paintings in progress.  They are for my show at City Arts this Spring.

I hope you had a great weekend!

♥ Lisa