November 6th

Veggie Pizza Ingredients

I roasted the veggies and reduced the balsamic vinegar  -  with a little orange zest in it.  I used naan flatbread for the crust, put the veggies on it, sprinkled with a little mozzarella, and baked it until the cheese was melty.  When I took it out of the oven, I drizzled the balsamic on it.  Oh, and I put a little pineapple on it too  -  because we always put pineapple on our pizza.  With the sweet potato, pineapple, and balsamic, it was fairly sweet and very tasty.

The naan flatbread we use is Stonefire.  The price keeps going up, and they keep moving it all over the store, but I found a larger package of it at a much more reasonable price at a food services store.

I need to get some things ready for tomorrow's class.  I want to do some demonstrations with textures, light and shadow, and as always, composition.

I hope every registered voter in the USA will exercise their right to vote today!  I am really glad NOT to be getting political calls  -  wow  -  that got tiresome.

How about sketching some dinner ingredients tonight?

November 3rd

Ice Cream Sundaes

French Vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, bananas, mango, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.  This reminds me of the ice cream sundae "dinner" we had when the California kids were here.  These were more dessert sized  -  and no caramel  -  I missed the caramel, but they were delish anyway!

We watched Jumanji.  How had I never seen Jumanji?  We all started to fall asleep, so we finished watching it during breakfast.  Things are moving slowly here today.  Fun.

This morning I said, "I can't find my sketchbook!", and one of the kids said, "Oh, it's up behind my bed."  I probably would never have thought to look there.


I am only into day three of blogging every day in November, and already you have to read about what I'm eating and watching on Netflix.  Will it get any better?  Maybe not.

November 1st

 Scented Geranium Cuttings
Karen brought these scented geranium cuttings to share with our class.  I took a lemon scented one because I love the fragrance, and because it is curly.

I think I started doing the "Blog Every Day in November" challenge in 2007. Here we go again.  Fair warning -  as I claim every year, it's all about the quantity, not the quality.

If you are interested in what the Blog Every Day thing is all about, there is a link at the top of my sidebar.  The website explains what it is, and has a blogroll of the participants.

I have been a pretty slow blogger this year.  We'll see if this gets me back up to speed.

Salad Prep

Prismacolor Pencil on Mi Teintes Paper

with a little collage

I don't really care for the way the pencil looks on the mi teintes paper, but now I know, and that's what sketchbooks are for  -  experimenting.  The paper is rougher on one side, so as it is bound in my book, the left page in this illustration is rougher that the right page. 

On the right hand page, I had drawn the blue cheese box and hated the way the pencil looked on the paper, so I glued a piece of paper over it and collaged the end of the box onto the page.  Sometimes students will ask me if that's ethical  -  to rip out, cover up, paint over  -  I always say it's your sketchbook  -  do whatever you want.  I don't get into perfectionism in my sketchbooks, but I also don't see any reason to look for the rest of your life at a page you hate.

The page makes me happy  -  I was making a salad to take to dinner with friends, a fabulous French version of La Mer was playing on Pandora Radio, and a pair of cardinals was perched near the window.
There is nothing beautiful about the page, except the nice reminder of a very pleasant period of time.

Here we are almost into November. It seems as if we just wrapped up summer, and now I am busy locking in things for next summer  -  workshops and classes.  It makes me think about the past summer and look forward to next summer.  Nice.

If anyone is interested in the salad, it consisted of red Boston lettuce, Bartlett and bosc  pears, red onion, almonds, dried cranberries, and blue cheese.

Tiny Pumpkins at Dawn

A Page in my Sketchbook

These tiny pumpkins were sitting on the window sill in my studio and the early morning sky was very dark blue behind them.  A few days later, I painted the pears that were on the kitchen counter while I was getting dinner.  Yes, I did paint them while I was getting dinner  -  you know, when the mood strikes. Remember, some of the pigments are toxic, so try not to be too sloppy with them in the kitchen.  Remember what happened to Vincent Van Gogh.  No, not the ear thing, the ingesting of paint thing.  Too much lead white pigment in his kitchen.

We have had rain and more rain, but yesterday was beautiful  -  sunny and warm. This little painting is of some flowers still hanging on in a small metal urn in friend Karen's garden.  It is watercolor done on mi teintes paper.  I really didn't expect the watercolor to cover that well.  I like the effect.  I'm going to try Prismacolor pencils next on this paper.   I bound some of it into my sketchbook. Try out some different papers now and then  - it sparks creativity in simple ways.  Try some different paper, pencils, pens, brushes.
Remember,  we aren't after a finished product or a masterpiece each and every time we pick up our art supplies, but somewhere in all that playing and experimenting, we'll get one.

From the Workshop

Looking Back on Late Summer Classes and Workshops

 On our second day of the book binding workshop we painted in the journals, and the page on the right shows some examples of pens and pencils we were trying out.

I was going to do a demonstration page of a few pens and pencils, but then a friend brought me several pencils from the Derwent factory in Britain.  Now I want to try them all.  I don't know how anyone thought up that many pencils  -  colorsoft, charcoal, sketching, graphic, drawing .  .   .

Tomorrow my fall classes begin.  I haven't done any classes since the 11th of September, and I'll be glad to get back at it.  I have some beautiful, tiny sweet peppers for the classes to paint.  I made a trip out to the farm market today, and realized soon it will have just pumpkins and squash, and then just Christmas trees.

The leaves are really changing color here.  We have definitely switched to a new season.  

Gazebo at the Boyne City Park

A Watercolor Sketch Done During 

a Book  Binding Journaling Workshop

Our book binding/journal painting workshops have finished up, and now I guess I am back into my "off-season" mode  -  mid-September until early June.  I have scheduled my regular weekly watercolor classes to begin the first week in October.  This morning it's dark and getting cooler by the minute.

 I still have art supplies covering every surface in my studio/classroom.  In my "little studio" (a small room between our back entry and my classroom) is so full of stuff that I can't get to the drawers and shelves to put it away.  I think it is time to pull everything out and start over.

The sketch, above, was a continuous line demonstration, and about painting the negative shapes to give us the positive object. This only took a few minutes. It was a beautiful day to paint in the park.

Now I think I will see how quickly I can clean off these tables.  How hard can it be?

What About Sketchbooks?

A Watercolor Sketch Near the Walloon Boat Ramp

In the previous post I talked about watercolor paper  -  answering some questions that had come up in class.  In the same class, we also talked about different kinds of sketchbooks suitable for watercolor.  Just as the quality of watercolor paper depends on the sizing, or finish, the same is true for sketchbooks.

For many years I used Aquaee sketchbooks as my watercolor journals.  The paper is pretty light weight, but I like the way it takes the color.  Pigments stay bright and it doesn't buckle too much with the application of a little water.  All of the paintings in my Petoskey Watercolor Journal were done in Aquabee sketchbooks.  What I really like about them, especially for beginners in watercolor journaling, is the fact that you can't play around too much with watercolor technique  -  you have to get in and get out.  The paper isn't tough enough to keep trying for perfection  -  put it on and call it quits.

I became interested in different kinds of journals because I wanted something pretty and bright (sorry Aquabee, but you are not pretty and bright) and wanted to try out some different paper.  That, of course, led to making my own.  I started out having various papers spiral bound at the copy shop.  Then I started binding my own hand stitched round back spine books.

My favorite paper for books is Strathmore Aquarius II  -  it folds and stitches easily, and doesn't buckle with the application of watercolor.  I also like to throw in some drawing paper, some colorful mi tientes (pastel paper), nideggen (light brown), and anything else I might want to try.  That's the fun of binding your own books  -  anything goes.  And I love being able to paint right across the two facing pages as if they were one  -  no spiral.

Does anyone really read a blog post that is this long? Does this sound like a sketchbook lecture?  Don't we want to just look at the pictures  -  or is that just me? The main thing is  -  find paper that you like for your style of painting and sketching.

Have a great weekend  -  it's a long one for us here in the USA.   Take your sketchbook wherever you go.

What About Paper?

A Little Sketch from the New Park in the Village of Walloon

Such a beautiful day to be out painting with friends!  Perfect.
Wednesday wrapped up my summer classes. Bitter sweet.  My friend and co-instructor, Cathy, and I have book binding workshops coming up, starting Monday morning.  After those I will start my regular weekly watercolor class.

In the last journal class I did, there were several questions about paper, sketchbooks, and brushes.  I am not an expert on any of these, but I do know what I like  -  does that ever really count?  Also, I love to give my opinion.

When I first started to do watercolor, I was lead to believe that it was unprofessional to use anything but 300 lb paper.  I wasn't crazy about it.  I really liked the way 140 lb paper took the paint.  I have always preferred Arches watercolor paper to any other.

I think the main difference between brands of paper is the "sizing" or the finish.  Sizing is what gives it the properties that make it suitable for watercolor  -  some brands more suitable than others.  To me, the sizing or finish of the paper is more important than the weight.  There are some pretty bad 140# watercolor papers out there.

Practicing on cheaper paper isn't practicing at all.  You will never get the hang of what watercolor can do if you're using an inferior paper.  I think "getting it right' is worth the price of a good piece of paper. I suggest going together with a friend or two and ordering 25 sheets of Arches 140# from Daniel Smith or Cheap Joe's.  A 25 sheet pack of Arches 140 cold press will run a little over $100 plus shipping.  Get on their emailing lists and get notifications of sales and reduced shipping.

Fabriano Artistico is a pretty popular paper too.  I haven't tried it, so I really can't say, but I do know some very serious artists that use it.

Watercolor paper comes in different textures;
     Cold press  -  has a nice texture that gives a little sparkle of white paper when you drag your color over it.
     Hot press  -  is smooth, but not slick.  It's pretty unforgiving  -  the color just does not move around on it.
     Rough  -  is just that  -  a rough texture. That's not a bad thing.

If you're not bored to death yet, I'll say a little something about watercolor blocks.  They come in various sizes from very small to pretty large, and they are edged with a glue/tape binding on all four sides.  This edging holds the paper flat so it doesn't buckle (it still does a little bit) while you are painting on it.  Each sheet is left on the block until the painting is finished, then removed, exposing the next clean sheet of paper.  With their heavy backing, they are convenient to take on location or to class.

Don't confuse blocks with watercolor tablets or spiral pads.   I really have never seen a tablet of good watercolor paper.  That, of course, doesn't meant there aren't any just because I've never seen one.

Maybe I pushed Arches paper a little too hard.  I don't have an interest in the company, or in Daniel Smith or Cheap Joe's.  I recommend Arches because that is what I have always used and I like the way it handles. I told you I like to give my opinion.  For what it's worth, huh?

Okay  -  this house is a mess.  A summer's worth of dumping art supplies here and there.  Oh, my gosh, it was fun!

Have a great weekend.  Take your sketchbook sketching.


    

A Perfect Summer Afternoon

A Watercolor Sketch in my Journal

on an Absolutely Perfect Summer Afternoon

The sun was spotlighting these flowers in front of a very dark background of foliage.  Too good to pass up.  It's a sketch  -  keep it simple.  I reminded myself I didn't have to do the tree to the edge of the paper, I didn't have to show any detail of the cottage, and I didn't have to show any more dark background  -  it was all about the flowers in the sun.  Everything else just supports that.

We were talking about sketchbooks in class this morning.  What happens in your sketchbook, stays in your sketchbook.  It is your own private space for experimenting, learning, note taking, making little masterpieces or NOT.

What do you use your sketchbook for?

In Karen's new Garden

In My Sketchbook

My friend Karen has a new backyard/garden area. After years of gardening in her small yard, she had the chance to buy part of the yard behind her house.  In no time at all, she has it looking like it has been hers forever  -  vegetables, flowers, a beautiful garden shed, a picket fence, a wonderful pergola with wisteria growing up it already.  It makes my yard, and my attempts at gardening, look pretty sick, but instead of worrying about it, I am enjoying her garden now and then.  I suppose that time could be spent spiffing up my garden ,but  .  .  .  .

The California grandkids have gone home.  Sad.  One of them stayed for almost six weeks, and the other for almost her entire summer  -  they go back to school in about ten days.  They have come every year for awhile now, but this is the longest they have stayed.  I miss them when I go to the grocery store.  When we go to bed and there is no one with a light still on, reading.  I miss them when I water the garden, get ready to go to classes, or eat dinner on the porch.  It was absolutely wonderful having them here, and I am SO glad it happened. Being SO glad makes it less sad.

Okay.  Now I'm going to go out and deadhead in my garden, and see if I can make it as nice as Karen's. Yeah, right.  I'll cut a couple of nice bouquets of flowers, and see how my new method works to keep Rudy the cat from eating them.  I bought a couple of mesh wastebaskets at the dollar store, and I'll try inverting them over the vases of flowers, so I am not running the flowers in and out  -  wherever Rudy ISN'T. 

What are you sketching today?

Beverly's Gate

A Journal Class Demonstration in my Sketchbook

This was done in one of my favorite gardens.  Whatever the season, what ever is growing on it at any given time, I love this gate!

I don't have any classes today, and I am home, catching up on paper work.  My studio/classroom opens on three sides to the breeze and summer air, so it is very pleasant in here.  Filing and going through notes after several busy weeks of classes is kind of like cleaning up after a party - taking my time, savoring the memories, recapping some of the workshops .  .  .  It's not over, but this seems to be a good place in time to catch up a little.

It is so quiet in the neighborhood today.  Why can't it be like this all night?  It comes alive after dark  -   dogs, people, cars, wild animals, music, firetrucks.  While our daughter was visiting a couple of weeks ago, she heard people walking in the street in the middle of the night, and the guy says, "Babe?"  The girl says, "Yeah?" The guy says, "I have to go to jail on Friday."  The girl freaked out, and they walked on out of earshot.  What the heck  -  this is not the inner city.  This is a quiet little neighborhood (maybe not) in a quiet little resort town, on the banks of a beautiful bright blue bay.

We are still wondering what that wild animal screeching was in the middle of the night.  And that bird flying over this morning at dawn that sounded like a cross between a Canada goose and a loon.  And I'm wondering how Babe is getting along while her boyfriend is in jail.

Terrace Inn Afternoon Tea

Demonstration in my Sketchbook

Friday was my 3rd annual Afternoon Tea and Sketchbook Journaling at the Terrace Inn in Bay View.  The Terrace Inn is a quaint, old, Victorian Inn in the middle of an association of quaint, old, Victorian cottages on Little Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan.

 ,

We were served tomato and bacon bruschetta, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit with Devonshire cream,  and lemon scones, and of course, tea.

Everyone did a great job of painting in their journals! And everyone looked so cute in their "girlie" summer outfits.

I always look forward to the tea  -  it is such fun to get together with old and new friends, and it wraps up a very busy stretch of classes for me.  I still have classes going on this summer and book binding workshops coming up, but the schedule is a little less hectic.

Thanks to everyone who attended, and thanks to the great staff that served us.  I hope everyone will continue to take their sketchbooks to tea, lunch, or dinner.  I hope all of you reading this will too.

I am writing this with three grandkids talking to me and drumming zucchini on the table.  I have no idea what I just wrote.

Ice Cream Cones and Flowers

It Must be Summer

If we are eating ice cream cones at a little table on the street, and flowers are blooming in the yard  -  it must be summer, right?

This is quirky freaky weather and we are all lovin' it.  It was at least 80 degrees today, and normally we would be having a snow storm.  Even if we have cold weather and snow, it can't last long now.  Every freakishly warm day takes us that much closer to the real thing.

One of our adventures of the day was to run out of gas.  Now I know where "empty" really is on my gas gauge. We were more or less out in the middle of no-where, but with the help of some pretty big hills, we managed to limp/coast into a gas station on the southern-most edge of town.  No problem.  You know what I always  say  -  if you don't want a little adventure, you'd better just stay home.  We made it back, safe and sound, and cuddled up on the couch to eat crackers and cheese and watch Wallace and Gromet for the hundredth time.  Fun.

Rose

A Peach Colored Rose
and a squirrel story 
 

I finally got around to painting one of the roses.  It was fun, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  I may have done the whole bunch, but I was a little (a lot) distracted by the squirrel in the attic. I had recently watched an episode of the Hoarders in which a homeless person was living in the hoarders' stuff, and they didn't even know it.  I swear that squirrel was moving things around up there.  He found his way from the attic down to the enclosed back porch (several times) and sat in the rafters or right on the window sill and watched me in the kitchen.  I went out the front door and went around the house to open the porch doors.  His friends were frantic  -  they were hanging on the house here and there and weren't afraid of me at all.  I must admit, I was afraid of them!

I determined from the looks of HIM (?) that he wasn't pregnant or nursing, so we were not dealing with a nest.  This was an accidental break-in, so why wouldn't he just walk out one of the open doors???!!! He obviously didn't want to be here, and his friends didn't want him in here either, so just leave already.  I was hoping that he was going to go out, and his friends weren't going to come in  -  I don't know how squirrels reason.

When my husband came home, he lowered the attic steps (they come down into the back porch) to make it easier for the squirrel to come down and go out the back door!!!   I was in stitches  -  that was the funniest (most ridiculous?)  thing I had ever heard of.  I guess not so ridiculous after all  -  the squirrel left then. Not exactly down the stairs, but it obviously encouraged him to get the heck out of there.

It was pretty quiet when he left.  A nice kind of quiet.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Library Demonstration

Colored Pencils in a Mustard Pot

White Buttons

I have an exhibit of my paintings at our public library, and yesterday I did a reception/demonstration/book signing.   A really nice bunch of people showed up.  They asked a lot of great questions and were very enthusiastic.  To those of you reading this, that were there yesterday, thank you so much for coming!

As I sit here posting this, I'm watching it snow, and watching the temperature drop on the digital thermometer.  When I sat down to do this it was 16 degrees, and now a few minutes later, it is 14!  We live in a very old house with large windows, and I'm sitting here looking down the street, over the rooftops toward the Bay.  Yesterday the Bay was very blue  -  today it is completely obliterated by the snow.  There are cardinals in the forsythia and lilac bushes, and there are always people walking within sight  -  crisscrossing the street as it goes down the hill.

Okay  -  I could sit here all day watching the snow, birds, and people, but I do have a few other things I want to do  -  like eat something.

What are you sketching today?  I'm going to do those roses I keep talking about.

Sunny and Cold

Up to 23 Degrees!

I'm not crazy about this paper.  I like the color, but not for winter.  We need to color coordinate our sketchbooks for the seasons, you know.  Blue would have been better  -  predictable, but better. I'm not really crazy about the texture of it either,  so I should just move on to the watercolor paper that I do like, and use this for lists and notes. 

I have a cold and my brain is feeling a little muddled, so I'm just sitting around eating cherry pie and drinking coffee.  That's what you do for a cold, right?

Buttons

Buttons and Clouds

This week in my classes our "warm-up" was painting a few small white buttons.  I can't take credit for an original idea here.  I saw buttons done in watercolor posted on Pinterest and followed  it back to the blog of Jane Minter. 

In yesterday's class, we each took a few buttons, sketched them, and started adding shadows and detail and background.  That's the one on the top right.  Today's class did the little paintings by painting a very wet wash without mixing the colors up too much, and leaving some white of the paper in a few spots.  We lifted some color here and there to leave some lighter spots for more buttons.  This is the one on the bottom right.  When the wash was dry we lightly drew some buttons, and then added a little detail and some darker shadows around the buttons.

The buttons at the top left were done in prismacolor pencils on Mi Teints paper in my sketchbook.
Bottom left -  everyone in the class is working on a different theme, and this was a little demonstration for one of the students doing clouds.

The buttons have me thinking that it might be fun to do a series of very small things grouped together  -  thumb tacks, sticks of pastels, pen nibs, corks, combs and barrettes, pretty stones .  .  .  what else?

I hope this will inspire you a bit.  I think we all need a little help this time of year to keep our creativity going and our brushes moving.

Cafe Sante

Salt and Pepper Shakers at Cafe Sante

My dinner was not colorful, so the salt and pepper shakers will have to do. Yeah, I know, they aren't colorful either.  Of course I was hungry, and I am always the last one finished, so doing salt and pepper shakers before the meal comes works out well for me. My husband, brother, and sister-in-law are very patient people, but there is a limit.

I had chicken fricassee, and it was delicious! The place was very crowded, noisy, warm and cozy. Fun!

The paper I did this on is Canson Mi-Teintes in my hand bound sketchbook.  I think it is pastel paper, and this particular color is an olive-y green.  I did the drawing with a Gelly Roll pen, then used watercolor, and added white with a Prismacolor pencil.  Gelly Roll pens are permanent and archival, and an be found in scrap booking stores.  Prismacolor pencils can be purchased open stock in most art supply stores.

Now I'm going to go wrap a couple of Christmas presents.  I'm getting there.  How about you?

A Theme for December

Measuring Spoons

I took a little blogging break, and now  -  where were we?  Themes?

Back in the November 29th post, I mentioned using a different theme for each month.  For December, I had listed dinner ingredients, labels, bottles and jars.  With a theme in mind it is pretty easy to jump-start an idea for a sketch.  I was getting out things to see what I need for holiday baking, and I was thinking about the labels on the can of cocoa and the bottle of vanilla. They weren't too interesting, but the measuring spoons caught my eye as a possible sketch.  I threw in the sprinkles as an "ingredient" from the theme list.

For fifty some Christmases my mother made a certain kind of cookie with nonpareils, or sprinkles, on them.  In November she would start to worry about the stores running out of them.  They never did that I know of, but maybe.  It does seem like a funny thing to worry about, but I must admit that I checked my supply a couple of weeks ago.


Do you have your sprinkles?  Are you going to paint them in your sketchbook?