Update - a 'touch' of color

The more I looked at the peach painting - which I am now calling "The Value of a Peach" - the more I knew that something was not right. I experimented a bit with it . . .thinking the 'touch' of color was more a slapped on glob of color which overwhelmed the gray values. I toned down the brightly colored peach.  The color is now sort of emerging as if it had been 'touched' by the color god and encouraged to ripen into peach fleshness.

before

 after

The original watercolor is currently hanging in our living room. I have now hung the B&W version next to it. (awaiting the hanging of the exhibit on Thursday) It's fun to see them side by side.

The Pumpkin and the Peach

It has been a busy month - ARTfest (see my last post) is launched with all it's many pieces planned and ready to go: classes, workshops, FREE talks, art gallery, posters, brochures . . .and the list goes on.  The 2014 banners are now hanging on the poles along Talbot Street in St Michaels  - sigh - I finally have a little time to paint!

Next week the art league is exhibiting in the St Michaels Library gallery. The theme of this exhibit is "Black & White with a Touch of Color." My challenge to myself several years ago was to enter a painting in every exhibit that the art league sponsors. So, I have been thinking about what I wanted to paint - had lots of ideas, but just hadn't had a chance to do anything . . .time is running out. Oh my, I do need a deadline to get anything done these days.

I looked through lots of old photos and came up with a few things to try. My thinking was that this really is a value (black, shades of gray and white) study with a spot of color. I printed out several color photos as B&W studies. Interestingly, when they are printed in black & white only, you can really see the gray scale.

I chose this one first. I love painting the grandchildren, so knew that one of paintings had to be that subject. This is Leighton (now almost 13) at age 2 or 3. She had curly blond hair and her mother always put wonderful big bows on the girls when they were little. What I discovered in painting this is that it is VERY HARD for me to do this in just black, grays and white! I was dying to put in that blond hair and wonderful skin color and the color of that big bow!

Sorry about this photo - I do not know why this has such a yellowish cast to it  - it really is a black, white & gray pastel painting.

We can enter two paintings . . .so I then repainted a watercolor that I had done some time ago. I had always loved the way it turned out then. If you are interested, you can find the original painting posted July 29 2011. And, again I had a tough time NOT using color. This exhibit is quite a challenge for me!

Voila - a pumpkin and a peach!  The exhibit will be hanging for the month of May. Drop by and take a look if you are in the area!

ARTfest

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted! Of course, that also means it's been that long since I painted . . .actually it's been even longer than that.  Since we have been home from our winter vacation I have been caught up in planning ARTfest - 100 days of ART.

The St Michaels Art League has recently been the beneficiary of a very generous grant from AT&T. We are using the money to promote the arts in our community by offering: Adult Classes, Children's Workshops, FREE evening Art talks, an ART hunt and opening a Member Art Gallery - all going on this summer.

I can not even count the hours of planning that have already gone into this - it's been fun to imagine and let our creative juices run wild. . .

I have been working on the poster and the brochure. The poster began with some committee ideas and has developed into a rather wonderful piece of art.

We are really excited about the variety of offerings this summer. There are three master classes - one in acrylics, one in using your phone to create artsy photography and the third one in watercolor.

The other adult classes are Travel Journaling, Collage, Batik, Acrylics and Watercolor. The children's offering are "Creativity Boosters - Finding the Art in you Heart", "Painting an Eastern Shore Landscape in Watercolor" and "Sweet Scenes" (Creating with jelly beans!) There will also be 2 children's Art Days - painting plein air.  All the supplies for these workshops/classes are provided!

So, those of you who are local - or you may who want to visit St Michaels this summer - take a look at the website and find out more.  Registration forms will be posted soon. The FREE talks are listed there, too.
stmichaelsartleague.org

The official check presentation takes place this coming Tuesday, April 1. You know, I had this awful thought . . . what if they come and say "Happy April Fools Day" and there is no check after all!

Home again

It's snowing. It's beautiful. I am at home for the day. Ahhhhh.

Having spent the past several weeks on our winter vacation - which was WONDERFUL and WARM -  I am now back home. Actually, I have been home for a week and today is the first day that I have nothing on my schedule! It's a real catch-up-at-home day. (thus the 'ahhhhh)

My past few blogs have been all about zentangling  - it seemed a great way to put aside all my other art interests and really take a vacation. As I 'tangled' I could feel stress melt away. I escaped into another gentler world. I did not have to produce a great work of art. It was just fun.

On the four-plus hour plane ride home I did a few more tangles. I didn't have my paints with me - these are just done with ink and pencil.

Zentangling at 40,000 feet!

I can't promise that I will never post another zentangle, but I know I need to at least get into my studio soon!

Hope YOU are trying this out, too!

Zentangle - Part Three

Yeah, yeah, I know . . .I am going a little overboard with this Zentangle thing, but it really is fun!

Here is another simple tangle: It is a basic grid - every time a line crosses another line you round the corner and fill it in. I think it looks pretty ho-hum in this form.

But, if I use straight lines going different directions and add color, it becomes something entirely different!

This time I used curved lines instead of straight ones and changed the color . . .

Are you hooked, yet?

When you combine many different patterns, the variations are tooooo many to number.

Have fun! Let go! See how many different patterns you can combine! Think gift tags, note cards, small framed pictures . . .

Zentangle - Part Two

I don't normally post twice in one week, but this tangle 'stuff' is such fun - here is something to try.

You need to know that I love reading manuals and instructions. Yes, I am one of those who really do read the manual in a new car, read the directions to put things together and save all the manuals for reference later on.  Knowing that, you can imagine me pouring over the zentangle book and intensely viewing the instructional videos.

I have a sketch pad next to me and follow the step by step directions. Sometimes my finished drawing even looks like the picture! One of the things that I discovered is that some of the coolest looking patterns are sooo easy.

Try this: make a grid  - any size - with filled in small circles. Remember, they do NOT have to be PERFECT!

Then draw a curved line from the top circle to the one below it. Think of it as being on the "outside."

Add the next curved line on the 'inside."

Finish up the row - outside then inside . . .

Begin the second row as shown.

And then connect all the remaining rows.
Now turn your paper 90 degrees and begin again. Starting at the upper left corner . . .outside . . . and then inside.

Keep going and VOILA - you have completed the pattern! Cool, huh?

For extra challenge and satisfaction - try shading and a watercolor wash!

Of course, there will be more coming. This is too much fun to stop now! 

What's a Zentangle?

Several months ago I ran into this strange word - "Zentangle." Well, it seems that it is a word that some folks coined that really has to do with 'art doodling.' Remember all those doodles that you did on the side of a page when you are on the phone or supposedly listening to a lecture? You sort of zoned out when you should have been paying attention?

That drawing was a bit of a 'tangle' - the zoning out, I think, adds the 'zen.'

Having seen a few examples of zentangles, I decided to explore it further and discovered a whole new world of YouTube videos and other resources. Apparently, there are 100's of tangle patterns and lots of ways to draw and use them. They also say - get this - there are no mistakes in zentangle! If you mess up on a pattern, just go on and make it into something else. Anybody can do it! Now, that's encouraging, isn't it?

Most of the directions begin with white paper (or a tile) and black ink. I practiced a few patterns with an ink pen and a pencil for shading. And, yes, I found myself 'zoning out' as I was drawing!

  

However, I really missed color, so I tried using watercolor washes on the patterns.

  

Once you begin playing with single patterns, then you have to start using various patterns together!
Here's my first attempt. Obviously, I used different patterns from these two examples.

Lots of squiggles and repetitions - and some watercolor!

Since this little bit of tangle, I have been practicing lots of patterns - more on my next post. Don't want to spoil all the upcoming surprises. Give it a try - remember, you can't do it wrong!