It's All About The WHIMSY!

Large and Small...

Some of my paintings are large, intended for framing....

 

 

And some are quite small, just for the pleasure of creating...

Playing with monotones and other stuff

 

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.  

More Snow???

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!  

Welcoming in February

Another week of winter and another winter storm...definitely one for the record books.

I do enjoy watching these sweeties from the studio window while painting.  The snow is so deep I'm filling the bird feeders once a day and tossing handfuls of seed on top of the fresh snow.  

 

Although the colors for February are not much different than January, they seem more cheery with a splash of red and pink for Valentine's Day. 

Pink is the color for this month in No Excuses Art Journaling. It is such fun to focus on a different color each month.  More importantly it is forcing me to move out of my comfort range in color choice and explore different shades.  

If you are counting, and I think many of us are....it is 44 days until SPRING!  

 

Winter Grey and a splash of COLOR!

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.

Remember there are No Excuses!

 

Making time for creative expression every day does wonders for your mood and outlook!

 

These are a few recent pages in my No Excuses journal.  Are you spending a little time in yours each day?

In the garden!

 

If you are looking for me, you can find me here!

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely gift from Judi that expresses this perfectly. We are making great progress planting the pond.  It's a delight to watch greenery emerge from the water.  Soon I'll post pictures of wonderful blooms.  

Sketchbook Skool semester 1 has ended.  What a great experience!  Sketching with Tommy Kane was quite a process, encouraging hours focused on a single scene and adding all the details...much to learn but getting there.

Catching up!

Miss Maggie "study" sketch...

And here is her new "happy place".  She loves to lay in the stream under the waterfall to the pond and soak... She needs a helping hand to get out but we are happy to accommodate.

 

And a few new additions to the pond, a large fantail goldfish and a shubunkin!  They are quite the pair flitting here and there among the plants.  

Thank you Mother Nature!

Sketchbook journaling

Now that the weather has improved,THANK GOODNESS, I am spending most of my day out of doors.

So wonderful after the very long winter. And there is much to be done in the gardens. So happy to see these beauties springing up from the ground.

 

Not all discoveries are the good kind..came across this poor dear in the lawn yesterday...No visable damage...maybe just old age?

 

And with the improved weather I take my sketchbook with me.  This weekend documented.  

 

I do hope you are enjoying Spring, if you are so located on this lovely planet!

Morning view

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!