hello!

watercolor, pencil and lots of water

i continue to attempt to do life drawings.  drawing the 

whole figure in a short period of time is too much for 

my skill level so i decided to do what i can and 

have fun with it until i get instructions on how to 

approach the whole figure.  well, i did have a class

which i enjoyed but found that there is much to learn.

i am on the search for another class.  until then, i will

continue trying.  

acrylic, pencil, oil pastel

this is a throw back painting from my first

painting class.  i painted a series of over 20 painting in this

style.   i was painting faces then and 

have not stopped!

did you see the blood red moon eclipse? 

thank you for your visit this week.  whether or not you comment,

i appreciate that  you have taken the time to see what i am doing...

but i do like your comments!

this post is linked with paint party friday, an online

community of artists hosted by eva and kristen. 

a week in the life...

a daily starbuck sketche.  done quickly, in

stealth so no one feels uncomfortable.  my goal is to

capture the character with as few lines as possible.

a sketch while watching the godfather.  thus, the quote

'get rid of the bodies'

life drawing drop in. one day i hope to draw 

so the body does not look so stiff!

homework from life drawing class at 

otis college---one page of seven 

and lastly, are a few images from this quirky exhibit at 

the el segundo museum of art

los ángeles is experiencing rain!!  it is such a rare occurrence, 

that i want to sand outside, look up at the sky and thank

mother nature.

i am linking with paint party friday as i do (almost) weekly.

thank you for visiting today.

wishing you a lovely weekend.

tgif!!!

i started painting on used tea bags this week.  i have

saved stacks of bags because i thought they would

be perfect  a possible project.... but i did not have

a project until i saw jeanne-marie's tea bag girls.

she painted 365 last year and said it changed her life.

even though i am only on tea bag girl # 7,

i have had a lot of questions on how these are 

done.   i told my friends that there are good tutorials online

but they encouraged me to do my own.  so here we go.

i  started simple with these

basic supplies 

used tea bags, dried and the tea emptied by cutting a tiny

slit in the back.  i am experimenting with various brands and  sizes

gesso ~ white, black,  clear.  

i started with white using a wet brush, applying it to the

emptied, dried tea bag, letting it dry on wax paper to prevent

sticking to the surface.  if the brush is too wet, which mine were,

you will need two coats.  i read that clear gesso helps prevent

wrinkles.  i also find that after applying the gesso, whatever color,

smoothing the bag with the brush helps.  also check out the bags 

during the drying process and resmooth if necessary.  

various size brushes

water container

watercolor, acrylics, water soluble pencils

i started with watercolors then  to 4 colors 

of  derwent intense blocks.  the watercolors needed 

several coats after it dried.  because of the texture

you could not tell what color it would turn out until it dried.  

it resulted in  a soft dreamy feeling.

the intense blocks gave more intense, immediate colors.

today i tried acrylics.  i use acrylics so much that

it was a familiar medium, without many surprises

diluted white gesso, watercolor

diluted white gesso, watercolor and intense blocks

black gesso, white acrylic and pencil

white gesso, clear gesso, charcoal, acrylic

i am always available if you have questions and

would love to see what you do with these mini tea bag canvases.

also if there is anything that is unclear, let me know and i will

try to clarify.


thank you so much for visiting today!


posting with paint party friday

i  went to a weekend workshop called nomad art

handout by misty mawn

under the guidance of misty mawn, hosted 

by jenny doh at studio creshendoh in santa ana.  

we selected a number of images that appealed to us

and then led  through several steps.  

first writing our story in ink on newsprint,  

then sketching a studies to possibly use in our story,

finally, we  painted using any medium.   in the final painting

a camel seemed more fitting that a baby deer.  also, you might

recognize the muted paintings of my relatives from the

photo i used for the atc i showed last week.

since i rarely paint with watercolor, i tried it.  i learned that watercolors

can be layered, that mixing  colors is easy and fun and that it is 

much more forgiving than i initially thought.  i am inspired by this 

story telling approach. my mind is reeling with stories i hope to paint in the future.



i visited the hammer museum to see the collage work of

it was spectacular!

also this week...

i am thrilled to announce that two of my paintings were accepted into the

art in the library show  sponsored by the palos verdes library district. 

i remember carrying armloads of books home each saturday

from the central library in los angeles.  it was a big deal to get my 

mother, who worked all week, to take me.  i am ever grateful

for the experience.  i will post pictures of the paintings in the future.

speaking of postings ... thank you for visiting 

and for being patient with my erratic postings. 

have a lovely weekend.

today is friday and i am posting along with friends 

at paint party friday, hosted by kristen and eva.

day 4, 29 faces

self portrait in watercolor, pastel,

wire on watercolor paper