I issued myself a personal challenge this weekend, use only one color and in loose strokes create a small portrait.. sometimes it's a good thing to break out of my existing groove. This was fun, I will do it again.
Have you seen FLOW magazine? Great illustrative fodder for inspiration. They have an app! Each day has a different tip or motivational quote with an illustration. I'm making small copies to insert in my visual journal.
The snow continues to fall...the poor adirondack chairs are disappearing. 26 days until SPRING, it can't come soon enough. Another round of storms this weekend following a sub-zero blast tomorrow...
Our resident buck has been sleeping under the pine trees in the garden. I think we've reached an understanding.
There are opportunities to be seized with all this bad weather, more studio time! This week's No Excuses Art Journaling sprout~ teapot. Some days you are just at a loss for what to draw and paint. I love Gina's weekly challenges, just the inspiration needed!
Card peeks for February, normally done one a week but as I'm snowbound I've finished them all. This month's color focus is pink. So cheery on a cold winter day.
This sweetie is a commission for a charity auction coming up locally next month. I can assure you our beach looks nothing like this today! Even the sand is buried in snow!
Grey is the color of the month for No Excuses Journaling in January. This is the perfect choice if you happen to live along the Atlantic coast in winter....shades of grey are everywhere. These greys are along the south coast of Rhode Island taken while hiking with friends hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive snowy owl....No luck to day but we will of course try again, a wonderful walk in the woods on a snowy day. Way in the distance you can see Block Island, 13 miles off the coast. Lovely.
A gaggle of geese ducks and swans in the salt pond. The serenity broken occasionally by the sound of gunshots off in the distance. A strange comination...hunting season here...next to a wildlife refuge...we foolishly kept yelling "turn left!" to no avail....maybe we saved a few lives.
But it's not all grey here. Snow boots lined up near the door.
And off into the woods we wander, three friends on an adventure.
Figures crosssed as Typepad has been having issues...the joys of technology....
Spring has arrived, finally in New England...of course it could snow again...but we are optimistic as always! I love the delicate blooms of the Andromeda, precious, and the deer don't like to eat it.
And this just sums it all up. There is a peace in the garden and I soak it in...
The lovely Lamb that graced our Easter dinner...yummy! Yes I know, we are so over Easter but life has been way too busy. I am an early riser, 5:30 AM most days..and off to the garden I go...coffee and a Labrador in hand.
And sometimes we spy the local inhabitants at work eating the lovelies that spring up. It's ok...it's their job...This afternoon we thwarted them by a liberal spray of nasty deer gunk...I cannot tell you how horrid it smells...
And so a happy belated Earth Day to you. I hope you can take the time to step outside, turn off all digital devices and just breath. I promise that you will be blessed by Mother Earth.
painted in Waterlogue
This morning as I sit admiring these beauties the promise of Spring seems real...until I check the local weather and read that once again a winter storm is on the way. Good news is that the worst will be off the coast but I fear we will be shoveling again..I guess Spring will have to wait, again.
Working on Sprouts in my NE journal. These are altered magazine images. Such fun! Overpainted with watercolors and sketched over in pen. Give it a try, you'll like it!
Sometimes it's nice to mix it up and skip the grid format for the week in my No Excuses journal. There is lots of room to spread out and add larger water colored images to the pages. And a nice way to start the week and set an intention or motivate. Part of the "process" of No Excuses journaling is to experiment and explore. No need to make each week look the same as the week before!
Thanks for stopping by...now go paint!
It seems that winter really arrives here in southern coastal New England in February.
It comes and goes before then...teasing us.
The birds are huddled in the trees trying to stay warm and waiting
for their feeders to be filled.
Working fast is key because the deer will soon drift out of the woods to join them..
And I am in the studio with this for inspiration ( yummy)
while I read this fabulous article from Landlore Magazine
Such an interesting and talented lady. LOVE her!
Then on to my No Excuses journal!
Keep warm out there! Hope you all have power!
My morning view into the Sunroom.
Yes it is sunny!
But as the ice on the windows reveals-it is really cold this morning!!
Finding YOUR style can be so difficult for those just beginning to art journal. Of course we all hope that our drawings will be perfect each time, expressing on paper the vision in our minds....It's easy to self criticize and doubt your results. We've all been there!
A few suggestions for the brave beginners:
Practice ...Practice..Practice..
The more you draw the better your drawings will be and slowly, gradually, that which is the genuine YOU will emerge.
Copy a few Masters.
It's ok to copy works of art that move you..look closely and color, form and style. Of course remember to credit your source...
Be brave~ experiment! This is your art journal...sharing is up to you.
Think of it as a practice book, somewhere to play.
It's January...by the end of the year your book will be fat and juicy.
And you will see your style emerge month by month..just keep drawing.
Ask questions!
Other artists are usually happy to share and encourage.
Look for Inspiration.
Check out Vintage Printables! Love this website for inspiration vintage style.
http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/botanical/
Sometimes it's nice to find inspiration for sketching and painting inside the pages of a magazine. I routinely gather images from the UK edition of Country Living. The photography is just wonderful, loads of images to recreate in my journals..
At Barnes and Noble...yes a brick and mortar book store (and aren't we glad they still exist) I came across this FABULOUS magazine LandLove! I just wanted to crawl inside! Gardens, wildlife, homes, and travel with a British twist. Pages and pages of inspiration...I don't know if it is a new magazine or one just now available in the States. If you see it check it out, you too will be inspired.
And a resulting ladybug portrait in my No Excuses journal.
Have a grand weekend! I'll be raking and blowing leaves all weekend, the downside of a house in the woods..but worth it for the inspirational views...
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