i discovered that i never posted 

this  sampling of faces 

created for daily challenges.

i used paint, collage, encaustic, pencil, pastel, ink

and any combination of the above

i am in sketchbook skool, trying to come with 

beginner's mind and to leave the critic behind.

i did these one minute pen sketches.  

it was suggested in the klass 

that i add a bit of ink to a water pen so i am 

not overwhelmed with color choices.

these are the results.  i like it.

just a note that 

there is one more spot to receive 

a piece of art by me 

by paying it forward  here.  

photo courtesy of the internet, photographer unknown

just thought i'd show you some of the sights i see.

this is a sky view of palos verdes where i live.

it is a community about 9 miles south of the los angeles airport.

these  photos were taken on a recent walk.

volunteer whale watchers counting the whales passing by

so fortunate to have san vicente lighthouse in the neighborhood.

i love lighthouses!

as always, i am posting along with friends at 
paint party friday.  please click on the site to 
see more art work done this week.

i am spending the weekend journaling in redondo beach with

katie kendrick and orly avineri.  we are integrating portraits.

when i showed them this sweet photo at the end of the day,

they both turned to me and kissed me on each of my cheeks :)

i started these yesterday with katie's lessons.  today

i will continue to work on them through orly's guidance.

i saw this on Tracey's blog who saw it  Marji's blogs 

and decided to jump in.  How about you?

* Pay It Forward Art-making Project for 2014 *

I promise to make a small work of art for the first five people who comment on this post and say "YES, I want in". A 'like' alone is not enough of a commitment, nor is a comment about thinking Pay It Forward is a great idea.

You must in turn post this as your status update and make something for the first five who comment on your status.

The rules are simple:
– It has to be your work, made by you, and the recipient must receive it before 2014 ends.
– It can be anything art-based: a drawing/illustration or a conceptual work of art, a photograph, a knitted item, cross-stitch, paper maché – or anything in between.

I'm paying this forward thanks to Jack Oudyn.  Yes, you can be on each other's pay it forward lists.

First five, GO!

PS. It doesn't matter if you aren't an artist, try something out, google/ YouTube how to make stuff, step out of those boundaries.

 Step 1Copy&Paste this (see below) as your latest entry on your favourite social website (in my case, its this blog) 

 
Step 2For the first five people who comment on your blog entry saying they want to participate, you will do an art trade with them that must be completed by December 31st 2014. I would count as the first person so technically you only need another four. If you find your friends are keen you can do as many as you want. 


Step 3All forms of art count including creative writing , photography, digital anything goes!

i have already received this beautiful folded piece from marji.

there is lovely sewing details, wax, painted flowers.  

thank you so much, marji for paying it forward.

i braved a first this week.   armed with a fellow artist, i attend a live model 

drawing session.  i even sat in front and did this using nupastels.  the 

instructor suggested that i start by blocking in shapes and 

use three colors, a dark, medium and light.  i discovered

that pastels are forgiving and allow lots of layering.

i visited the norton simon as I mentioned last week.

it was a perfect spring day.  

the entry with sculptures on either side of the grand walkway

we had lunch here next to 

the lily pond and another sculpture garden

the reason for my visit, the  mulberry tree by van gogh.

and other amazing art

i felt transported for an afternoon.  the collection is just the right size to

be able to enjoy and not feel overwhelmed and photographs are allowed.

there were no crowds.  i stood in front of these masterpieces and more

imagining the artist, brush in hand, paints at the ready.  to see their 

brushstrokes, the colors no further than inches away....   the experience is 

still with me.  as for the mulberry tree, it was a troubled time in van gogh's life.

after his argument with gauguin and another breakdown.  he admitted 

himself into a hospital for rest again.  he painted many paintings

of the landscape and this was one of them.  i have begun reading

his letters to emerse myself even more.

happy paint party friday.  if you haven done so before

please visit these dedicated artists by clicking on their sites.

this week zoomed by and felt like there was little time

for creating.  but when i looked back,  i did more than i thought.

acrylic, peace and security

i will be presenting a project for my experimental group

next month.  this was practice run on what will be done.

there is still some tweaking to do.  hopefully it will be a fun project.

i ran some prints on deli paper  for collage sheets

and i started sketchbook skool online.  this is 

the first drawing i did while sitting at my morning

coffee shop.  drawing with only a pen feels a little like being

naked in front of almost strangers.  i admire those who sketch 

and paint a record of  their days.  i started once before to draw and 

hope being in skool will be an inspiration to continue, though truthfully,

i am not sure it is 'me.'  i look forward to adding some color.  one step at a time.

so i was a bit all over the place creating in familiar and new ways.

today i am channeling my inner van gogh at the norton simon 

museum in pasadena.  i am excited to see his mulberry tree in person

as i plan to paint a copy of it in the near future.

how was your week?

it's friday and i am linking with friends at paint party friday.  

i will be posting a pay it forward art exchange in the next few days.

stop by if you are interested.  until then...

have a lovely weekend

since i joined the mono printing group last year i have been 

intimidated about taking the next step which to me means 

adding layers.   because the water based printing inks reactivated 

with water i have not know how to proceed.   so i have ended up with a nice stack of prints.

i decided to experiment by spraying an acrylic fixative and cutting 

a large print into several smaller pieces.  i discovered that the fixative 

prevented the dreaded reactivation and i was able to paint and stencil 

on top.  this is the first step.  since i lean toward a definite focal image,

i am thinking one will appear soon.

my experimental group was all about pentangles.  i have never done 

any before.  it is so relaxing and i love the minimal supplies needed~~

a pen, pencil, eraser and paper.  voila.  such a light load compared with

the baggage i carry around for mixed media.

i like using pens for line work.  my favorite black pens are 

micron .005, .05, .01 and the graphic 1 and the sharpie extra fine.  

signo uniball roller broad is my favorite white pen by far because it creates an 

even line and writes over acrylic.  here is a good article on white pens.

http://www.jetpens.com/blog/guide-to-choosing-white-gel-ink-pens-and-markers/pt/340?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20140325_blog_guide_whiteink

in my experimental group we were told to bring a half

sheet of watercolor paper and all sorts of papers , some 

to be share with the group.  we knew we were going to collage 

but that's all.  when we got to the meeting the project was 

to start just gluing anything that suited us on the paper

  without a plan or intention. since there are almost twenty of us, 

we had a large pile of papers in the center of the room from which 

we picked to add to the collage.   we worked for over two hours 

and for the first time that i can remember we didn't stop early for lunch.  

after we ate, we were given the second half of the directions.  

we were to turn the paper over and cut it up in pieces!

without looking at where were cutting. 

i cut the pieces even smaller when i got home

to create act's for my international group.

they are all mailed.  i like thinking of them

once being a part of a whole.

 this turned out to be so much fun. try it sometime.  in fact, 

i am going to my studio now  to start another one.  

have a lovely weekend

XO

today i meet with my printing group.  we bring a pot luck lunch, 

chat and then go to work.   there has been a nip in the southern 

california air so i made a pumpkin ginger soup. before i go 

i wanted to show you a journal spread in my altered little japanese book.

moving forward with attitude

i found this book in the used books selection at the library. 

 it brought back memories of being a college student at the 

university at santa barbara, feeling free, living by the beach

with my high school best friend as my roommate.  the vietnam 

war was going on, friends were being drafted or dodging the draft,

protests on campus rather than studies ran the roost, 'antiestablishment'

talk at the cafeteria.   i developed and ran an on campus tutoring program

designed for the minority students who met the enrollment quota but were

not prepared academically.  it was a heady time.  i read this book then.

drawings by gibran

it was a one dollar treasure.  i plan to alter the book

and created poems from the pages within.

wishing you a lovely day

XOXO