The Howl

The Howl

Pyrograhped Gourd

A little something I do on the side. Wood burning gourds.

Gourds don't photograph well due to the shine. 

Sam Bass

Sketch

Carbon Ink

watercolor

Who would have imagined I'd meet two random guys wearing top hats this month! Guess it's that time of year.

While at the Barstool Open, a charity event in Benson, NE for the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation I met this fine gentleman who graciously went out and got the rest of his outfit when I asked to take a picture of him in his top hat. Unfortunately although I'm please with the rendition I did not capture Sam's likeness as I had wanted in the drawing. Practice, practice, practice. That's why I'm doing these. Also a shout out to my watercolorist/Illustrator friend Kathy Jurek who helped out with the colors for the teeth. Not sure I did thit right though.

Dad's Boots

Pen and Ink

Watercolor Wash

More sketches.  I'm wishing I hadn't put in the inked wash in the background. Learn and Live.

Allen Hall

While at Fine Arts on Fifth in Malvern IA I met Allen Hall. He graciously posed for a picture.

I've been trying to take small bits of time to practice my sketching skills. Really I wanted to work my way to some fast on the spot figure sketches of people but can't let go of my detail oriented issues. I recently ordered a Platinum carbon fountain super fine pen that is just a wonderful pen! It's water proof. Also a Kuretake sumi Brush pen that is water soluble. This is what the top hat is done in. This sketch went fast easy! Sometimes your subject matter can inspire you!

Poinsettia

Poinsettia

9x12

Colored Pencil on

Gessoed Cradle Board

First time working on the gessoed cradle board. What a pleasure! The tooth was great and the finish was very satiny. If you're interested in this piece take a trip to Malvern IA and go to https://www.facebook.com/FineArtonFifth/ 

Glass Pumpkin

Glass Pumpkin

8x8

Colored Pencil and Oil Pastel

on Canson Pastel Paper

I saw this blown glass pumpkin on a FB post and just had to try to paint it! It was a blast and since I was sick kept me busy with something fun to think about. Although it's a drawing of someone else's art and I can't sell it it was a great inspirational exercise. Now I just need to buy the actual glass pumpkin.

ZenPumpkin 2 Class

Another great Zenpumpkin Class!

Even had a Grandmother, Mother and Daughter group participate. Great family fun. Despite me having very little voice we managed to have a lot of fun and produced cool Zentangled pumpkins.

Zentangle MCC

Had a great Zenpumpkin Class thursday and looking forward to this thursdays class.  Here are a few of the ladies who attended and had great fun learning to tangle on a craft pumpkin. Darla, Lind and Joyce.

MCC intermediate Colored Pencil Fall

My Intermediate Colored Pencil class at MCC just finished up and here are the works of art! Didn't they do great?  We had a few hiccups with the class alternating between 5 and 2 people because of scheduling conflicts and illness but we got it done. 

Big Pumpkin

Big Pumpkin

5x7

Colored Pencil 

on black matte

Definitely like the color pencil pumpkin better than the oil one. The oil one was sure fun to do though. This version is the one that I'm teaching at Metro Community College/Smiling Turtle Art Spot. We had our first class of 5 last and night and I have a wonderful group of ladies. It's great fun.

Oil Pumpkin

Untitled Pumpkin

8x10 oil

Well my first oil painting is done. I love the texture but won't be quitting by love of Colored Pencil.

Untitled Pumpkin

Untitled Pumpkin

Oil

8x10

I thought for sure I'd be done today! Alas one more day. I've only been working on this at an artist friends house using his oils so it's only been 4 days of work. Since this is my first oil painting I've been told I should have had this done in one day, lol. They know me better than that! I found Cadmium Red thanks to Kathy and it changed everything! For the better. Always take advice from Kathy.

Zentangle Summer Camp

Zentangle 

Summer Camp

has ended. The kids did a wonderful job!

What a great group of kids. They were such a pleasure to work with.

Next week grid drawing.

Zenhand

Pen and ink

Getting reading for some Zentangle® Summer Camp!

Untitled Pumpkin

Untitled Pumpkin

8x10

oil

Well day 2 on my oil endeavor. I'm told it going okay but I have some doubts. Maybe it's just that I don't usually work this loose. It's fun thought.

Untitled Pumpkin

Untitled

8x10

Oil

Great day with some art friends! Some of my friends are oil painters and are helping me out in my first oil endeavor ever. My pumpkin is a little miss shaped at this point but I like how it's going. So far I've only used an palette knife. I love how the paint goes on like butter. I'm also working on this same pumpkin in colored pencil so maybe you'll see a comparison later.

Color Pencil Basics Workshop

I had a great bunch of ladies and one gentleman, who couldn't make the last class because of illness, attend my Color Pencil Basics Workshop. We worked hard once a week for 4 weeks to create some wonderful art!

Feathers

11x14

Colored Pencil 

on Watercolor paper

 So this was a two year adventure! I would work on it then put it away then work on it for two years. It was always lurking there in my studio mocking me.  Finally I decided it was either me or the painting! Why couldn't I finish it? I needed to answer this. I REALLY asked myself this and made myself think.  One it was too big for a color pencil painting. It's original size was 18 x 24. Then there was the matter of things shouldn't be dead center and although this looks to be dead center it was a hair off. This BUGGED me. I tackled the first problem which fixed the second. In the last pic you can see that I chopped it up. Yep, sliced and diced it into something more manageable and not so much of a bullseye. That seems like a scary thing to do but as I said, "I was either me or the painting."  The final piece is now a respectable 11 x 14 and color pencil artist can achieve.

Melted Flowers

10 x 28

NeoColor wax on watercolor paper

 Roughing in NeoColors

 The yellows turn out to be a bad idea and changed to greens.

Here you can see me blending the colors on my Icarus Board http://icarusart.net/ I use Colour Shapers http://www.dickblick.com/products/colour-shapers-tools/

with grey tips, medium softness. You can also see the Swifter sweeper. It's to brush off debris. I find it leaves "hair" particles and quickly switched to an old unused synthetic paint brush. A drafting brush would work just as well.

The start of the flowers.

This picuter is from another project but shows how the flowers start. I use a pencil sharpener to get filings of different colors in piles. I let them heat on the Icarus Board, placed a sheet of tracing paper over them, then take a wooden pottery tool http://kruegerpottery.com/tools/handbuilding-tools/kemper-ja8-6-wood-modeling-tool.html

and spread the melted wax like butter from the middle out to form petals. This blends and mixes the colors. What's missing  here you can't see is the text it leaves.  I bit Impressionistic for me but fun.