Indy-Rella Challenge Monotangle

Indy-Rella Monotangle

Although this does not appear to be a difficult tangle, those of us in blog-land who are not CZTs do not have the step-outs for this tangle.  It does put us at a little disadvantage.  But I thought I'd give it try.

Yupo Painting nears completion

Watercolor on Yupo (half sheet)

So I am now to the point in this painting where I need to sit with it awhile.  I see several areas that need some work but I need to think a little more about how to approach them.  I do plan a face or at least the shadows and suggestion of features on the woman.  I am pretty happy with the cars. Certainly no more needs to be added.  Rather some things might actually be taken away.  

Carol Ann Sherman says the picture is sort of "ghostly" as a ghost of the past appearing. This may suggest a title to me.  

I am waiting for Barb and Deb to give me a critique on this now.  Remember, this is Yupo, guys.  Transitions are more abrupt and colors are more opaque on Yupo. I am currently think of rewetting the entire shadow under the car and then "lifting" off several values back.  I think that shape is fighting with the car shape for dominance.

Beautiful day here in central FL...full sun and 77 degrees.  We are getting some clouds this afternoon now.  85 and sunny for Easter but then rain the rest of the week.  Boo hoo.  I have company coming!    

Watercolor on Yupo

Watercolor on Yupo 14 x 20

This painting was photographed indoors under indoor lighting.  Not a good thing.  I will resend under natural light at a later date.  The skin tones all turned orange (which they are not).  But the other colors seem fairly close to what they are.  Also wc on Yupo dries very shiny so you cannot put a light directly over the painting or you get major glare!  

I am thinking of cropping it slightly more than it currently shows.  Pulling in a little on left and right I think.  Carol thought so too.  But I will toss that around for awhile. 

I posted this a few days ago partially finished.   

But the colors are totally "intense" and that sort of comes out in the photo okay. This is partly the fun in Yupo!  I did this in Carol Ann Sherman's Yupo workshop yesterday at the Center for the Arts.  A very fun workshop...Carol is great and the others in the class were great too.  It was a sponsored workshop from Leesburg FL Art League.

I decided to post this today (even though not the best photo) because today I am going into Orlando to get my iMac computer operating system updated from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.  This is TWO upgrades.  BIG DEAL.  I am really nervous about this and am afraid that "things ain't going to work they way they are supposed to work" after this is done.

Sigh. So I decided to send all my newsletters and post all my blog stuff and Facebook etc this morning.  Then I will back up the computer and tidy up my desktop, etc. At least I'll be up to date.  I expect I'll have to sign up for at least two one to one workshops on how to use the new system! And the Apple store is in Orlando about an hour away.  Not too convenient.

Wish me luck!     

Zentangle and a Stamped Image

Laces, Flutter Pie (v), Oakling (v), Star Map, Z-Trik, BTL Joos (v), Tink (v), Mura, Punch (v)

One of the fun things we did in Cynthia Vose's wonderful Zine multi media workshop was make our own stamps from self stick foam. (Yup the stuff you can buy at WalMart and craft stores for cheap).  You just cut it out with scissors and stick it to foam core. Voila. Roll it with ink or acrylic using a little foam roller.  Talk about making your own wrapping paper!!!  Wow.  

Anyway...I stamped one on a Zentangle tile (fluid acrylic) and let it dry and then tangled it.  It was a fun challenge and when I listed the tangles I was amazed at how many I used!  (Or versions I used.) This won't be anything I plan to do regularly...but it was fun!  

The Yupo Process: Day 2 of Workshop

half sheet/WC on Yupo

This is day two of the Yupo workshop with Carol Ann Sherman.  Lots of fun.  As you know I did the drawing at home and brought it to the workshop...so I was ahead of everyone who was still putting pencil to paper.  I truly feel it is so important for workshop leaders to either give us all the same drawing to work on or to have us bring a finished drawing ready to paint.  At least in a two day workshop.

Sorting through photo references, drawing and then transferring a drawing takes most of a day in a workshop.  Sigh.  So I did get one painting done and this one started.  I'll post the finished one tomorrow.

Lots more to do on this lady and car of course...lots of decisions about background, colors, and etc.  Carol Ann says that because it's an interesting drawing I do not HAVE to actually paint in a face.

Somehow I think this will be too distracting to have her be like a "doll" in the painting.  But faces are hard...especially in Yupo.  Still I may give it a shot.

ps Does anyone know if there is a word for a drawing/painting that slips outside the boundary of the main drawing...as in the lady's umbrella and her feet?  Is there a name for that?  None of us could think of it.  

Zentangle Birthday Card

Paizel, Cubine, Y-Ful Power, Jetties, Voga, Fleuri

This is a 4 x 6 card for my grandson, Patrick, who will turn 7 in a few weeks.  

With all the fun ways to paint or stamp or draw on cards these days...I should think Hallmark might go out of business!  But the card display in the grocery and WalMart looks just about as big as ever.  What are these people thinking paying $5 for a card?  

I am off to Day two of my Yupo WC painting class.  So fun.  Haven't been in many workshops this winter...just a one-day drawing class last fall.  

But in May and June I have two wonderful classes coming up!  Boy, they sure do re-charge your batteries!  

Diva Challenge: Mooka Monotangle

Mooka

Watercolor on Yupo: Carol Ann Sherman

Carving out my painting from an all-over coating of  WC on Yupo Paper  (18 x 24)

Photo reference for paining

Carol Ann Sherman introduces WC on Yupo

Everyone who has ever participated in a workshop knows that you get sort of "drained" of your brain each day.  

I loved that Carol started us out with  a "sampler" of different ways to use paint on Yupo...especially good for newbies and for us more experienced...a nice refresher. And something to keep for a reference.  

She usually begins (after the drawing is on the paper with graphite) by covering the entire paper with a background color or colors.  Then she "lifts" and "eats" her way back through the drawing starting with the lightest lights.  

Because she uses her paint very thick on subsequent layerings, she can paint on top of lighter colors.  BUT in order to get that fresh light you can take the color away and get back to white paper and then lay down color again.  

I loved the negative spaces in this painting.. what you see above is probably only about an hour's worth of painting at the end of the day.  I'll get back to it in the morning and I hope to lay on the color for a second drawing that I made (I blogged that drawing a week ago...about the old car and the Victorian lady).  

A great day...more to come tomorrow.

Design Upon Design

Quilt, Insydout (v), Pro-Zak, Lotus Pod Waves, Laces

Okay..this came out sort of visually confusing.  I don't think I will do this again.  What I did was make a watercolor stamping of an original stamp I made on a zentangle tile.  (Purple/violet).  After dry, I ignored the design and just tangled over it.  

My challenge to myself was to use only tangles that I had in my collection that I had never used before. (except for Laces).  

But I really think the two design elements are just too confusing.  But it was certainly interesting trying to stay on task with another design underneath!  Yikes.     

En Plein Air Sketching again!

Landscape Moleskin Journal 5 x 8"

Everyone is an art critic.

Perry Ann's farm house.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a lovely supper party out in the central Florida farm area yesterday.  The skies cleared and temps went up to 79!  It was a real "cracker" menu with fried alligator, venison stew, and several other entrées!  Lots of time for visiting on the the big wide veranda.  It was a thank you party for folks who had been volunteering all year in the Leesburg Elementary school.  Nice people!!!

As the party began to break up, I grabbed my sketching materials and spent about 40 minutes doing a little fast sketch of the farm house.  

I wanted to try out my new Brenda Swenson palette of colors.  It is not all that different from mine but there are some changes and that makes mixing colors different, of course. Especially grays and greens!  

I am pushing myself to do the ink sketches (with no graphite).  This is how Brenda works.  This is a challenge too!!!  And Perry Ann's friendly horses came to critique my work, of course.  

I was also surrounded by free roaming roosters, chickens, pea hens, and many goats.  Our back in the pen I could hear the donkey braying.  (I got some photos of him...such personality!)   

Easter Egg Series 3 plus pure play

Top left: Frippery (v), Pia (v), Phicops,Tucked In, Striping, Scallops, Diva Dance
Top Right: BTL Joos, Gyro, Poke Root, Sproing
Bottom: Papyrus, Romanancy, Flower Box, Tipple, Nekton

This is what happens when you haven't put one art project away before you get out another.  My stamping art from multi media was one one table with my home made stamps.  Somehow it hopped over to the Zentangle table.  The yellow one is fluid acrylic, the pink is watercolor.  The violet is just wc but laid over a bit of wax paper resist for interest. 

The violet is, of course, my Easter Egg series #3.  The others are just pure play. 

Time to clean up and bake a peach cake for the party tonight.

Round Zentangles

Ving, Quandary (v)

Round Zentangles have never been my favorite whether they are Zendalas or otherwise.  Margaret Bremner posted a "map" for a round one this week and it looked "interesting".  I always like to try what Margaret suggests.  I did this one on a 4 x 6 Strathmore note card.  

I can't say that I really enjoyed this challenge and I am not sure that I like my attempt much.  It's the repetition, I think, that I find less than interesting.

It definitely has the "illusion" quality that is nice in Zentangle.  I am glad that I tried it and I enjoy looking at Margaret's.  But you probably won't see many of these in my Zentangle collection.

Zine Workshop

Well I am posting from my iPad today as am having some issues with my computer AGAIN. Sigh. Anyway.. The workshop today was great fun. Not nearly enough time in 3 hours. But we all worked hard. Zines are mini journals or little maga-zines. The 3-sided box at the left is actually a cereal box to use as a cover..and the zines are slipped inside and held by a rubber band! How cool is that?

We worked on stamp making with self stick foam, image transfers, collage, and book folding. The little books are all made from one sheet of folded paper! I'll share more later.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Roy's Challenge: Geometric String

Lokomotive, Paradox, Snugz, Loops, Twile, Earth Rising, Footlites (v), Cubic (v)

This "string" is FAR more complex than what I usually like to put on a tile...and much more geometric than I normally do.  But I like to try new things...that is what challenges are about.  This is a 3.5" tile.  

Zentangle Easter Egg Series: Two

Heartstrings, Voga, Eclipse, Tripole

I'm off the Muffin Series now and into the Easter Egg series.  This is a 4 x 6 Happy Easter card.  Color added with Intense Color Pencils.  I love Voga here as it makes the one egg looked like it's wrapped in yarn!  

This afternoon I am getting seriously into my Multi-media mode.  I ordered some sheets of Sheer Heaven.  You can google that and find out it is a strange paper-like material that can be used in hundreds of ways (I may exaggerate a little).  But the one most fascinating to me was inkjet transfers.

There are several YouTube videos on how to do this which is very simple.

So I may be posting some of that soon.  

Easter Egg Zentangles AND Yupo

Quandary, Flowervine, Oakling, Twile

This is Zentangle One of the Easter Egg series.  I can't believe I haven't seen more eggs on Zentangle blogs yet!  Surely they will be coming!!!?  I laughed at these as they sort of look like "potatoes" rather than eggs.  So "funky" Easter eggs.  

Yupo Sketch

Sorry the Yupo paper sketch is a little faint.  I took the photo under artificial light at night.  It is just graphite on white paper (about 18 x 24).  I am prepping for Carol Sherman's workshop on March 26-27 at the Leesburg, FL Center for the Arts.  

I am bringing several prepared sketches with no backgrounds because I am going to plan those out with Carol.  You can get very "abstract" with wc on Yupo if you want to.  I may infer buildings or just trees and flowers there.  

The reference photos were from two different events.  The lady with the umbrella was at the Mt. Dora Art Fair two years ago garnering people to come to eat the Rose Garden Restaurant.  The car was from a car show at the Leesburg Street Fair the first weekend in March.  

Diva Challenge 110 and Muffin Series #7

Muffin tangles: Knightsbridge (v), Voga, Dex, Warts & Wobbles

Diva's Challenge #110 is simply to "think outside your own box".  Well, this is kinda funny since I think anyone who tangles ALREADY thinks outside the box.  Hahaha.

So for Muffin series #7 I have a Triple Decker Muffin top in 3 colors (I hardly EVER do anything in color).  These are done with Derwent Inktense pencils.  

The little funky cow pin is done in Knightsbridge, Featherfall, and Paushalov.  He is, incidentally, a garage sale find.  I just repainted him with two coats of white acrylic paint, sanded lightly and tangled with an ultra fine Sharpie and then coated with a coat of spray clear Acrylic.  Later I added a coat of gloss medium to shiny him up.  The pin backing was already there so I just pin him to my apron or my hat.  

Yupo Workshop ahead

First off, this paper is not purple/blue/violet although it kind of looks neat that way.  It is just a fluke of how I tweaked it in iPhoto in an effort to help the "contrast".  In actuality at this point it is just graphite on stark white Yupo paper. This fairly large (half sheet of wc paper size.)

Those of you who have used watercolor on Yupo know the CHALLENGES of it.  It is a slick plastic surface and takes you way way out of the normal watercolor techniques.  

I am totally a fan of George James techniques in this technique and have all his videos.  BUT Carol Ann Sherman is coming to Leesburg, Fl and so I bought HER video and have been watching it in preparation for the March 26-27 two day workshop.  

Her style is quite a bit different than James although she uses some of the same tools.  In any case since it is such a short workshop I wanted to have my drawings transferred to the Yupo paper IN ADVANCE so I can spend more time listening, watching, and thinking about the application of color and paint.  

One thing Carol does is put down a fairly hard line of graphite in her drawing with no attempt at erasing it. It becomes part of the painting.  AND because she puts down a ton of paint on this surface one needs a fairly dark line in order to "find your way" again.  Her first thing to do is cover the entire paper with a fairly opaque layer of paint.  Then she "eats out" the white areas.  

I am going to put together two different drawings on the Yupo and also bring several smaller blank sheets for experimentation.  I took the photo reference for this at the Lakeridge Winery Music Fest (Clermont, Fl) last winter.  I was able to sneak around behind the band and take this rather unconventional perspective!

I'll be posting the creative process as it goes along.  

Inspiration?

I wish I could give credit to the illustrator of this little cartoon.  But alas, any reference has long been missing. I've had it in my possession for over 10 years and I am sure it probably came from one of the Artist Magazines.  Many of them "used" to carry cute art cartoons, like this one, that humbled us and made us laugh at ourselves.  Alas, I rarely see any jokes/cartoons now.  What a shame!

If anyone know who the author/artist is, please let me know.  Otherwise..let it humbly take the place of my own art work today and help you to smile at yourself and all the rest of us who from time to time feel amazing inspiration.  Or not.  

I have been busy preparing for a Teacher Appreciation lunch presentation here at Hawthorne Park in central Florida.  We honor our teachers and workshop leaders who are all volunteers at a nice luncheon the end of March each spring.  

I am also prepping for a busy multi-media day at my friend, Cynthia's house tomorrow.  Where WAS all that, you know, ..stamps, rollers, mediums, papers,  etc etc.  Multi media folks are HUGE collectors of amazing "stuff". She is teaching a Zine Workshop on Friday of next week and I will post some photos of that too.   

Roy's Zentangle Challenge: LUNCH

Paradox Monotangle

This is the challenge for the week from Roy Stauffer's blog.  Challenge: draw a mono tangle using Paradox in some "outside the box" fashion.  

This somewhat fierce little guy just appeared.  And his title "Lunch" just also seemed to appear.  Funny how that happens. I think I must have been hungry when I was drawing him?  He is is on 4 x 6 Strathmore stationary.   

Zentangle Muffin Series: Muffin # 6

Whyz (v), Illusion, Diva Dance, W2, Laces

This muffin is called "Not for Sale".  Hahaha.  Well, sometimes you just HAVE to sample them!  (note crumb beside the muffin?)  

I am still calling Maria's "layout design" Illusion even though that is not an official name for it. (That's the design on the muffin paper.)  It's not a tangle and it's not really a string.  It is more a "technique" to create an illusion.  Everyone in the Diva's challenge has made wonderful versions of it.  

Cool but lovely sunny central FLorida day...Around 70 for today but up to 87 by Monday.  I talked to some one by phone today from Lac du Flambeau, WI where our summer cabin is located...they are going snow skiing today.  Next Tuesday their high is 18.  Low around 5.  You know, I don't see much "spring" in that forecast yet!!!!

Oh by the way...I tangled the cover for the Spring Choral Concert here at our park.  I'll post a photo of that later.  Happy Thursday!  

Muffin Series #5: The Birthday Muffin

Snorr, Star Map, Lamar

This muffin turned out to be a "birthday muffin".  It needed a candle to balance it from falling over!  :-)

I had a LOT of trouble with the new tangle "Snorr".  Whew.  It takes a lot of concentration.  I admit to putting it in with pencil first the first few times.  Just as always, practice is what makes it work out and with over 350 different tangles in my 3 ring binder now... OMGosh...the choices are mind-boggling!  I know that Margaret Bremner and I have both been whining a bit with how to keep so many tangles in order.  But it's all her fault.  She keeps inventing them!  

Muffin Series #4

Y-Ful Power, Rosé, Half Cruffles, Brax

Here I am just enjoying a fourth in the muffin series.

Taught Zentangle to a great group of 15 on Monday morning and will repeat it to another 15 on Friday morning.  

Getting ready for a multi media workshop (3 hours) with my friend, Cynthia Vose. It will be a Zine Workshop (Maga-Zine).  Stamping, transfers, collage, etc. More on that later.

  

Time now for me to start getting my watercolors and Yupo paper ready for a workshop with Carol Ann Sherman (in Leesburg, FL) starting two weeks from today.  It's a two day workshop.  Can't wait.

In between I am trying out acupuncture!  

Muffin Series # 3

Koryl, Tink, Jetties, Wartz, Hibred

Third in the Nutty Muffin Series.

Award of Distinction: Leesburg FL Spring Show

Saturday March 9th was a very special day!  The award reception for the Leesburg Art League spring show was held in the Center for the Arts.  The way the awards are given there is a Best of Show (gold ribbon).  Then the next two awards are called "Awards of Distinction" (blue ribbons) and then after that 3 awards of merit (red ribbon) and I believe several honorable mentions (white ribbons). 

I was really very pleased.  This is my first award at the LAA show.  And there is a sizable cash award that goes with this!!! ($125).  Wow. 

Each winner was asked to say a few words about their painting (which is what I am doing in the second photo).  A pleasant way to spend an afternoon!!!  

The Muffin Series and WC Palettes to Go

Vortex, Twile, Moving Day, Lokomotive, Keenees

 I am into a "series" of Zentangles in the "muffin" shape right.  Go figure.

Preparing for Brenda Swenson's En Plein Air painting workshop

Brenda has been posting about her palette on her blog recently.  Those of us taking her class up at Dillman's in WI in June are happy to get a head's up on setting up a "similar" palette.  Just so happens that I already owned the same palette (although I was using it for gouache paints).  So I cleaned it out and started over.  I decided to add a few of Brenda's colors and then some of my own.  At the top is a print out of a Brenda's palette and below is my actual palette.  

I decided to try a few new colors she likes (Holbein's Leaf Green looked so nice).  It is the first color on the right side...very leafy, right?  Thought I'd give that a shot.  I also added back in "Raw Sienna" which I really had given up using much in favor of Quin gold.  But she uses both.  So I dug out some I had...may be a little old and dry...we'll see.  I did not get her Marine Blue but opted for Antwerp instead as it a favorite blue of mine.  But am trying something called "Antique Bamboo" instead of Cobalt Teal.  She uses Veridian which I will try again...it's a lovely green for mixing but I find it dries up on the palette too quickly.  Otherwise the colors are similar to ones I use on my main studio palette.  She has a black on her palette...Daniel Smith's Lunar Black.  All I had in my bag was a Winsor Newton "Lamp Black" which may not work.  But I did put it on.  

Brenda's blog is under my favorites so you can go click on that if you want more details.   

A Mono-tangle

Cubine

This is my first attempt at a monotangle...which obviously means doing a whole tile in one tangle with some obvious variations.  

There is a new tangle challenge in town and I thought I'd give it a try.  Go here to see the challenge for this week.  It is not necessary to use cubine but it is suggested that you use a "Z" string.  And since several of the challenge participants are using cubine I thought I'd stick to that theme too.

Breakfast Muffins...oh yum!!!

Oakling, Yoga, Flwr Box, Paushalov

Ginny's Fitness Breakfast Muffins

Set oven at 375. Mix together:

1 cup all-purpose flower

2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp apple pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup low fat buttermilk (I use skim)

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 large apple shredded (with skin on)

(I use a small food chopper for this.)

Spoon into muffin cups well coated with Pam.

Topping:

Chopped walnuts (or pecans) and a few tsps of ground flax seed (optional) but this really is nutty and good and I wouldn't skip it.

Bake for 20 minutes. (these freeze well)

163 calories, 4 g. protein,25 g. carbo 6 g. fat 2 g. fiber

(I think it's lower in fat than it says here as I use no butter mixed in with nuts as suggested and use skim milk instead of buttermilk.)  

This comes from Fitness Magazine.  Add a fruit and a yogert and you have a very nice breakfast.  Enjoy.

Zentangle Bridal Card

Basilica, Twile, Whyz, Oakling, Eclipse, Tesali

Getting ready for a bridal shower...so I made this gift enclosure.  So it's a great time to practice a few tangles that are fairly new to me.  I re-did Whyz again in a new variation...you hardly recognize it now (on the bottom left).  Oakling is not new, I don't think, but it's one of Margaret Bremner's tangles that I just love...(middle top).  Tesali (top left) is new or at least new to me. 

This is on a 4 x 6 greeting card.  

I am not going to be able to be at the shower so I think I am going to get them a gift card to Target.  I know they are registered there but how much fun to just be able to pick out what they want later.  It will slip right into this pretty card.  Almost frame-able.

Diva's Challenge: Whyz

BB, Whyz, Twile

I am sure anxious to see how other people used "Whyz".  I found this a very hard tangle!  It doesn't look that complicated but I tossed several pieces of paper away before I got the hang of it!  Diva's "variation" led me astray at first.  

I don't know about others but I need to use a tangle in it's pure form for awhile before I use a variation! I don't know if this is going to become a favorite of mine!  I can see the possible variations are myriad...so I will give it chance.  

Spring Choral Concert Program Ideas

Her are my first two tries at coming up with cover design for the spring choral concert here at Hawthorne Park.  

My themes are of course "music" and "spring".  The concert will include lots of different themes and I have decided not to try to include those in the design. 

My only problem is that shading is so important to Zentangle design and the shading does not come out very well in the copy machine process.  So the designs may lose some of the punch in the copy process.  What do you think, Nancy?  

The Illusion

I think of this more as a kind of "string" to work off of.  I found the idea on Rick and Marie's blog.  I do not think they have a name for it.  It's just, as I said, a kind of "string" and you can put any tangle design into it that you want to.  

I really like the illusion it creates and am having a lot of fun playing around with it.  It is highly dependent on the shading.  

Zentangle card making

Keenees, Earth Rising, Cockles & Mussles, Auraknot

This is a 4 x 6" card with my new "garage-sale find" stamp in the middle.  Someone was closing out a stamping and scrap book store.  Can you believe it?  It made me nuts.  Good stamps with wood backs $1-$5 when you know they were $15 and $20 stamps!  Everything brand new!  

I resisted going hog wild but did get 4 stamps that I really like!  

I went to the outdoor Leesburg FL art Fair yesterday.  It was sunny (and COLD) with temps only about 60 degrees.  We had a strange cold front hit us.  We should be 80 by now.  And then gusts of 30 mph wind whipping down the street!  OMGosh.  The poor vendors were hanging on to their stuff!!!  

Found out I got a blue ribbon at the Leesburg Art Association spring show.  Photos to follow on that.