Orchid Project 64 Colors

For the last year and half I have been driving to Lincoln once a month or so for a harp lesson with the fabulous Heidi Beran. It is such a joyful time and I love it with all my heart.

All of Heidi’s harp students (myself included) gathered last weekend for a recital. It was a beautiful afternoon. At the end of the recital, she gave each of us a beautiful rose. Lovely! Here is a photo of mine. I thought the inside petal might be close to the Orchid color for this week’s Project 64 Colors photo challenge.

Sky Blue Project 64

My sky blue photo for this week’s Project 64 photo challenge was taken last summer in Colorado. Gary and I were at the tail end of a wonderful 10 day escape to the heavenly Rockies. We love (especially) Redstone, Salida and Crested Butte, along with the hot springs pool at Glenwood. Good times for sure.

I adjusted the levels slightly and used Kim Klassen’s Not Too Shabby texture at 60% with the multiply blending mode.

Snowy Day Photo Outing

We had a wonderful snow day a few weeks ago. Gary said it’s a perfect day for a little photo outing so we bundled up, grabbed our cameras, and off we went. Here are some shots we found that day.

Snowy Old Barn

This barn has seen better days, but I like the character of it and how it’s still standing even though it has lost a good portion of its frame. Way to go, barn.

Snow Fence

I liked this snow fence, too. The red and brown colors caught my eye, and I liked how there was another snow fence in the distance. I like the curve of it.

Wintery Flowers

These flowers aren’t blooming, they are probably weeds to be honest, but I like flowers of all kinds. Even wintery looking ones.

Red Berries

This shot was actually not part of our snowy day outing, it is a close up of some red berries growing beside our building. It reminds me of a snowy day because of the white background. The sun was just setting when I took this shot.

It takes a lot to get me outside of my warm house on a cold day so that is another thing I like about photography, it gets me moving! I am very grateful.

Have you ever taken photos on a snowy day? I hope you will give it a try.

Art Sketches and Mixed Media Practice

I just got home from a fantabulous visit with Laura, Aaron and baby Elias. I got snowed in an extra day so that was a gift! While I was there we visited LeClaire, Iowa, home of Frank and Mike and Danielle from American Pickers. What fun that was!

I had quite an adventure on my trip to see the kids, the passenger window in our new KIA Sorento exploded! For reals! I will tell you about it but that is another day.

Here are some sketches and mixed media pieces I have been working on.

Sketching a Vintage Gumball Machine

We have a vintage gumball machine sitting on our fireplace mantle. I think it is kinda cool so I thought I would practice sketching a little with it. Here is my first try. It is fun to practice!

I had so much fun with this, I thought I would try sketching a photo of my grandson, Elias. I had to redo it several times and I still am not satisfied! He looks too old in my sketch. I think it is the eyes and the angle of the sketch, not quite right. But oh well.

Mixed Media Practice

I have been working on some mixed media pieces for practice as well. Here is a storyboard of some of them. I am learning about using pastel crayons and water color pencils. It is fun to try different materials. I need to find a better way to do lettering. I have some stamps but they don’t work very well.

I have lots to catch up on since I have been gone. Hope to post again soon.

Enjoy the day!

More Learning About Art

I Love Learning and Practicing Art

Jeanne Oliver’s Creatively Made e-course has been such a gift, thank you God for her! I have been practicing sketching, working with papers and layers, and using different tools and products to create texture. It is so joyous!

Here are some of the pieces I have been working on. It is hard to say I am finished because, honestly, these all feel like a work in progress. You know what I mean?

Listening Girl

This is one of first pieces I did after the journal project. I used an old board. This one has lots of wrinkles in the texture layers. I don’t care for that. I also think she looks a little matronly in this outfit, oh dear, but my little brush just didn’t know what else to pull from the wardrobe.

Traveler Girl

Here is another piece I have been working on. I redid her outfit and face more than once (I shall not say how many times, hehe) but for the moment, here she is. I painted her on a canvas.

Here is the full canvas.

Sing Over Me Girl

This girl was painted on an old board that already had some cool texture going on.

My husband drilled a couple of holes for me, and I added some rusty wire for a hanger. She is hanging on my wall. This one reminds me of my daughter, like praying for her, or singing God’s will over her. Reminds me of when she was younger and still living at home and makes me smile at the memories.

I am so happy and grateful for ART! Aren’t you? Have a wonderful weekend.

Yellow Project 64

Where we live it is snowing up a storm and we are battening the hatches for a cozy weekend. The woodpile is stocked high and I have a roast in the crock pot. I love a good snowstorm every once in awhile.

Project 64 Photo Challenge Yellow

I have been pondering awhile trying to think of where I could spy a little yellow for this week’s photo challenge at Project 64. There are some cool yellow photos over there so far, hop on over and take a peek. This morning I closed the cover to my sketch book and there was my yellow, literally right under my nose. tee hee. Here are a couple of shots of it. Yellow is such a fun color, one of my faves.

Practice Sketching

I am practicing my sketching and I made a little sketch for a blog signature…..see below. It was fun and you know the best part about drawing yourself is you can make yourself look a little younger if you want, haha, which I did. When I started the sketch I didn’t know I was going to run out of room for my hair – I have a ton of hair folks – so it is cut off, but oh well.

I hope wherever you are, you have a wonderful weekend!

What I’m Learning about Art

I am so grateful for art and creativity. And for this season of my life when I can explore both. I am thankful to have a husband who supports these explorations and a little room (my laundry room) I can use to spread everything out. Sheesh. I am messy.

I want to write about what I am learning in the hopes I can encourage you if you are creative or want to be. It is never too late to pick up a paintbrush! Or a camera.

I have been experimenting with painting and mixed media for awhile, and recently I decided to take a mixed media e-course from Jeanne Oliver. Ohmygosh. It has been so good. I am thanking God for how he made Jeanne as an artist and a teacher. She is generous with her gifts and shows us how to use the gifts of art, creativity and beauty to bless others. I love that.

The first week we experimented with journals – made from old books, or catalogs or repurposed journals. This is my first journal. My girl doesn’t have a face. I was so scared to try to add the eyes or nose or mouth fearing she would be….hmmm…shall we say, unattractive. Yes. I think so. Faces are so hard. I want to practice and get better with them. I had my youngest sister in mind when I made the journal. I used a piece of sheet music from her high school piano competition as part of the background, and her handwritten name and entry. I think I will give the journal to her.

My first journal

I am working on another piece of art with a face of a girl but she is not ready for public viewing yet. I think she is a little cross-eyed and her nose a tad on the crooked side. Good thing for painting over. See that is why I like art. You can always start over if you don’t like it.

Here is the next piece I made. I do care for birds, I think I have mentioned that before. This time I used old wood that I found out in our stash of old stuff that really should be thrown away but hasn’t been….yet. I used acrylics, modeling paste, and charcoal on this. It was really fun to do. I want to put some holes in the top and use rusty wire for the hanger.

Bird on a board

I have also been working on this bicycle for awhile. I will show her (yes, she is a girl) to you but you must not snicker as her tires are totally not round. But I am okay with that. My husband says I could have (should have) used a compass. But oh well. I think many things in life are imperfect. Just like this bicycle. So I hope it makes you smile and the color gives you just a little lift.

Bicycling

That is all for now. Are you ready to pick up your paintbrush yet? Or your camera? Best not dally.