Tag Archives: daily

Sep11

Green With Envy!

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Green With Envy!

There are many things in this world that are green, but I wanted to sketch and paint something not normally green.  It wasn’t cool for me to sketch the things I suggested, especially since I wanted to be a little more outside the box! My feeling is I missed the mark on this one, because the more I tried to think of something, the fewer ideas I came up with.  It was starting to feel more  like a chore, and less like the fun it’s supposed to be!

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Today my sketch was of our cat Kramer.  A rough sketch I must admit.  After I sketched him on paper , I used acrylic ink on him for his “Green with Envy” color!  Here’s what I have learned over the weeks since I’ve been sketching regularly.   I mix media, literally!   I’m always working with different kinds of materials.  Sometimes fabric, sometimes acrylic, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, and yes even metal!  The sky is the limit for me.  I always purchase mixed media journals, and finally I realized that’s not cutting it!  I really need to purchase watercolor journals, and here is why….

If I use anything wet, such as acrylic, or watercolor, even glue, the paper buckles and looses its integrity, sometimes even tearing.  I guess I’m rougher on my materials than I realized!  Watercolor paper is much hardier, and will take the beating I give it!  I just started a new “Mixed Media” journal  and it dawned on me,  there are a hundred pages, and I am not liking the paper.  Now, that in itself isn’t the problem.  I could give it away to one of the grandkids.

Prior to ever using a journal, I decorate the cover and make it look “artisie fartsie!” (This is a technical term I use often.)  So now I’ve spent time embellishing the cover just the way I wanted it, and I really don’t like the paper inside the journal….What to do?   I could coat each piece with medium before I sketch.   Does anyone have any suggestions, because I really don’t think I have an answer?

Do any of you decorate your visual journals, if so send me a picture, I’d love to see what the rest of you do.

Tomorrow I’m going to do a charcoal sketch, maybe even use watercolor crayons for shading instead of charcoal.  Join in on the fun, I’d love to see what inspires you.  remember to post on FaceBook, or email the pictures to me at Karensamenow@me.com

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Sep10

To Cool For School!

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To Cool For School!

This is such a beautiful morning, I’m so inspired by the artwork I’ve been seeing, by the slightly cooler weather, the rainy Sunday afternoon, and by the creative energy my friends so generously share!  I spent Saturday with two of my grandkids!  My granddaughter  Sage, was telling me she found a big bag of broken, used crayons at school ready to be trashed.  Sage went to the teacher , and asked if she could  have them.  Happy to rid themselves of another bag of trash, they gave her permission.  She was the happiest of campers!  I asked Sage what she was intending for the crayons, and she responded,”art work!” Used crayons to work into art, ” Now thats my girl!”

While we were on a family vacation the end of July, one of the projects I planned for the kids was to melt crayons on a canvas.  If you ever try this fun project, make sure to buy good crayons, I didn’t!  Since I had two kids to work with, and I thought I needed many crayons, I bought eight packs from the dollar store, they don’t melt very well,  and it took me two and a half days!  Finally I gave in, and   pulled out the heat gun.  Yes, even on vacation, I take my heat gun, ’cause, ” you never know!”    The crayons finally melted, Sage chose flowers to add to her work of art, and she was happily showing everyone what she had created!

Since our Monday challenge is to sketch something repurposed, I do this regularly,  I’ve been trying to think of something just a little different to show you.  We probably repurpose things without even realizing it.  Things such as using a wine bottle for a flower vase, or an empty jelly  jar as a juice glass.  I frequently cut pockets off an old pair of jeans to reuse on a journal cover, or  cut up a piece of fabric to use in a journal, or even in a painting.  What can you come up with?   Every time I think I’m really clever, one of my artist friends, shows me something I never would have thought of.    It takes a little thinking outside the box, but we can all do it!

How cool is it to make musical instruments out of fallen trees, or old spoons?  I have instruments such as these all over the house.  Drums are fun and pretty easy to make, although the one I sketched was a little more complex.  My son Chris brought me a hand made Rain Stick over the weekend, and these are the items I chose to sketch.  They really do work, and are fun to have around the house for parties, or even for the grandkids to play with when visiting!

What can you come up with?  It doesn’t have to be this complex, or it can be more so.  There are times when we have all the time in the world to create, and at times very little if any, so do what you can.  The idea is each day if we can do a little something, pretty soon the gates open up, and creativity just flows abundantly.

How about if tomorrow  the challenge is to draw and/or, paint something “green!”  Anything green, a kid green with envy,  a green dog, an avocado, the sky is the limit!  Check back to see what I created, and post yours on FB!

Sep6

Look What You CAN Do With Leaves!

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Look What You CAN Do With Leaves!

When I look at the wonder of nature, I am in awe!   Each, and every thing I come across is a treasure to me.  Birds, butterflies, trees (I love trees), flowers, I love them all.  My yard has transitioned from very, very green, and lush to drought tolerant.  Some of it forced, most of it by choice!  I love to look at what others have designed, and implemented into  their landscapes, and  every once in a while, I’ll find someone who has been way too creative for a novice.  It shows that they have put a great deal of thought into how they put together a front yard, or  a design element in the garden.  I see things all the time that remind me to be more open minded and think outside the box!  Funny thing is, I always think I am outside the box, and just about the time Im feeling particularly clever, I’ll see something someone else has thought of, and wonder why I didn’t think of that!

This time I painted leaves!  This is outside the box, right?   It’s  something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and hadn’t tried.  Now, I admit a project like this  needs to be thought through. Most of these kind of projects take a little more time than we realize.  I pressed the leaves over night, painted medium on them to preserve their flexibility, and stenciled, painted, and sprayed with a fixative!  They are a little rough, and as the leaf  project resurfaces again and again, I’m sure that they will look  better each time.  The ideas are endless, with  so many different shaped leaves to work with!  It could be fun to gather unusual leaves, or leaves great for painting, press them, and allow them to wait for just the right moment.  This is coming to you from a person who saves just about everything, just in case!  That’s what I call a “Mixed Media artist,” some would call it hoarder!”    Surely those people aren’t artists?  When I do throw something out, it’s picked up by our local trash company, and hauled away!    Well, that’s when I need it the most.  Always, I needed that, and  wonder why on earth I threw it out?

Todays challenge is to paint, sketch, collage, or anything else you can think of, living from the yard.  Leaves while they aren’t technically living, they were still flexible, and I did  coat them with medium to preserve them!   I chose leaves, but  you may want to use something else!

I continue to encourage all of you to join in as much as you can, post comments, and enjoy my blog.

Sep5

What Do You Have in Your Garden?

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What Do You Have in Your Garden?

Many years ago my pride and joy was our thirsty gardens with dichondra for the lawn.  The lawn was perfect with my husband spending hours and hours on it edging, and mowing constantly so it would be low and tight!  The foliage was gorgeous.  I had flower beds to die for, and a particularly beautiful Flowering Plum tree in the front yard. Now days we haven’t the time or energy to care for anything close to a yard like that, and I have grown to appreciate the many attributes of succulents!  I’ve learned of the beauty in the happy surprises when they suddenly bloom leaving us with a sometimes unusual bloom that lasts for sometimes six week or more.  My yard is now full of these wonderful plants, and I’m forever on a quest to find yet another variety to display in my garden.

I mentioned on Monday that the theme for the week would be our yards and gardens, and now seems to be the appropriate time to sketch another bunch of succulents.  They are rapidly becoming my favorites!  This little sketch is of a few pots some with freshly planted succulents, others with established plants that have begun to bloom.  I mentioned the other day of the one I love the most right now.  Not sure what the name of it is, but it seems to go on blooming forever giving my garden a much needed splash of color.

I can’t wait to see your  sketches, and paintings of the living things from your gardens, and how much thinking outside the box some of you have been able to do.  Remember anything goes, you are only limited by your imagination!   Life is good, let’s capture some of the sweetness on paper!

P.S.  My husband tells me the dictionary defines Dichondra as part of the Morning Glory family.  Is this a good thing or bad thing, you tell me!

Sep4

Just Another Lazy Day

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Just Another Lazy Day

I’m not whining, really I’m not, but the heat, she’s not going away!  This is  just another lazy  September day giving us an opportunity to create .  I know, you’re going to say, “How can you whine,  you live in Oceanside?”  And, you’re right!   I’m not whining, maybe just observing!  Mornings seem to work fore me, they are quiet, cool, and I’m inspired by the little birds chirping, and dragonflies circling the garden.  I guess we are all tired of the intense heat, and ready for relief.  I keep saying it will be any day now, but any day now brings fall, and winter.  I have trouble getting inspired when I’m freezing!  We have a way to go before the freezing sets in, so I for one am going to enjoy every bit of summer left.

Yesterday, I set the challenge for a week instead of a day.  All week long we will sketch, paint, draw, or collage something living from the yard.  Those are  pretty broad choices!  It can be a plant, a flower, several plants, trees, anything just do a little piece of creativity!  Sometimes there isn’t time to go into full fledged art mode, but some simple little piece of the making  of art  keeps the gates open, and I always feel I’ve accomplished something important to me, even on a busy day.

As you look around the yard, or your neighbors yard (snicker, snicker) take some pictures, or sit down in the shade with pencil or pen, and do a little something to keep the creativity flowing!

Sep3

Lazy Labor Day

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After finishing all the things I had planned for today, and taken a nap, I’m now dragging myself  back to the computer to find the blog post that disappeared.  I am still unable to locate it, and if it finds it’s way back to  it’s rightful place,  that’s a bonus.  I think the fault is with me!   We have a Mac computer, and it saves everything automatically.  I didn’t think (for the second time) about saving my post, and I lost it!  How long  will it take me to learn this lesson is anyones guess, but I’ll try!

This morning I was going on and on about the end of summer, and how as a kid I hated Labor Day, because school started the next day.  As I grew up, and had kids of my own, I loved Labor Day, the kids go back to school!  Now school starts at different times, in different places?  My grand kids have already returned, and we celebrate that event.  They love school, and welcome the start, and we love for them to start also!

The challenge for this week is each day, sketch, paint, collage, or otherwise create something from the yard.  Something that grows, or lives in your yard.  If you have time, at the end of the week, you will have five works that will help get you motivated to think about the following week.  Start slow, and small if you like, what matters is that you did it.  Don’t compare your work with anyone else’s, yours is from your journey!  Make it as easy on yourself as you can!  No point in aiming for something so complex that you are discouraged from creating regularly.  It’s easy to bottle up, and difficult to get creativity flowing again.

When you are finished, post on Facebook, or send your picture to me, (Karensamenow@me.com) and I’ll post it with your name on it, on this blog.

Have a great afternoon, relax, and enjoy the rest of Labor Day!