I had the time of my life...and I owe it all to you

Well its the end of the challenge, and I probably wont draw flowers for at least a couple of days (lol).  I had fun.  But now its on to the ICAD challenge, I have been creating them I think I have done 10 now.  So today its off to the airport driving the neighbour, creating some ICAD's, cleaning the house and enjoying my day  I decided this flower looked boring so in Photoshop Elements which I know little about, I created some texture.

Moleskine love

Another little sketch in my moles kine.  I was timing myself, I gave myself 10 minutes to sketch and get some colour down.  I was also practising my lettering which needs help.

A new Challenge in June

Well I have decided to join the ICAD challenge again this year, we will see how long I can create an ICAD everyday, did it the full two months last year but it was hard, the idea well was empty by the end of the Challenge, why don't you play along with me, here is the link, its starts June 1.

http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/icad/icad-faq.html

only two days left for this challenge

Hello my name is Calli Lily

Well meet Calli Lily she got that blank stare from smelling to many flowers.

I see that now I need to change up the facial expressions of these girls, they all look the same.

So from now on more expressions on these faces.

Flower Dazed

It's something had in my sketchbook, but its flowers.

Only 4 more days left, then what?

Chicks gone wild

I dont know if i have shown this one before, its a little old sketch I did awhile ago.  I was just playing around trying to develop my own style of art.  I see that when I scanned it, the bookmark thingie got in the way. Well its Saturday, its sunny and its about the yard and sitting on the deck today, so I am going to get to it.  Do you have a Saturday routine?

Tape Background

wanted to try something a bit different , tape background

on board today

aqua size

Michaels to use coupon

walking the dog

lunch with a friend

planting my window box with herbs

dinner with hubby

what's your day look like?

Balancing Act

Lately I am finding life to be a balancing act.  I know I have said this before, but I need to organize myself so I have time for everything I want to do and accomplish.  I need time to keep the house at least tidy, I need time to exercise, and  walk the dog, cook the meals, make ART , and to communicate with the hubby.  I have made exercise a priority in life, and swim daily, at the same time, allow myself 1 hour of swim time, do the  errands that need doing on the way home from the pool, when I get home I walk the dog, and then its 12:00 so this is when my life gets screwed up, I want to create art, but the house needs attention, and when hubby retires at the end of the month, what then.  I think he needs to get his own schedule, I do expect him to pitch in with the housework, so that should lighten my load.  So I guess I need to set a time to go to the studio and play.  At night I sit with the hubby and watch TV and usually sketch or read art magazines.  He goes to bed pretty early, and I am a night owl, so I could go to the studio then. I guess it will all work out in the wash but its going to be a new experience after 39 years of marriage to be home with the person 24 x7.

Maybe I need to get a part time job (lol)

Overworked, overthink

Another page out of my Teesha Booklet.  I think its finished i am just going to journal on it.  I have left it sitting for about a month now, and nothing more has come to me.  Sometimes i have a habit of overworking a page.  Do you think sometimes you overwork or overthink things?

As you can see still keeping with the flower theme, day 23.

Old is new

You might have seen this one a few months ago, I am bringing it back.  I have more flowers that I have recently done, but I have to scan them yet.  No time today as soon as I am done posting, I am gone swimming, and returning some stuff.  So some old new art for now.

Stuck in the seventies

When I started "Judy" that's what I am calling her.  She did not have such wild hair, but she took on a life of her own, the way it seems all my art does.  So she is a girl stuck in the seventies, with the big hair, and all the flower power.  So today is holiday Monday here, so I am keeping it short and sweet.

I wear my sunglasses at night

Get out your sunglasses, its the long weekend in Canada, the sun is shining, the grass is finally green, the barbeque is gassed up it;s time to plant those flowers, and time to Party.....So here;s a pop of red ,for your Sunday.

Spring Cleanup

I decided it was time for some Spring Clean-up on the Blog.  I decided it needed a new header.  I also cleaned up some old links that had not posted in  awhile. Still got a few more things I want to do.  Still with the May Challenge, this one now that I look at it looks like a Christmas tree, I assure you it is not.

I also have been busy making a couple of art journals, and some ATC's.  The one above is an ATC.

I always thing of Spring Time as a renewal, and like to spring clean my house and now the blog, do you spring clean?

Air Mail

I made this air mail envelope into a postcard.  All I did was cut it to postcard size, put a blank card inside, sew up one side, and put the post card info on the back side, and here it is.  I can't say the airmail

envelope was my original idea I saw it here      http://blogdelanine.blogspot.ca/2012/05/via-air.html as an envelope  , and thought that would make a really cool

postcard, and then I also put flowers on it for the May Challenge.  What's on your schedule today, its raining, so no deck sitting for me, so I guess I will go grocery shopping instead, a girl's gotta eat.

Okay have a great Friday and see back here on Saturday for more flowers, its almost done.

lee

Pan Pastels

This picture started out as a magazine page of a bowl of flowers.  The first thing I did was use pan pastels, they didn't take to well, to the glossy page.  The next thing I did was use a fan brush, and paint white for the flowers, keeping a flower shape, and out line the base of the vase, and the background.  Then i reused the pan pastels.  The only thing I forgot to do, was show you the before picture, but to late now.  

16 shades of flower

well its day 16 I believe and I am still creating flower pictures.  Though I did join an online class and am really enjoying it, only 30.00  it is at http://artjournaling.ning.com/ and its called

Eclectic Art Journal ling w Gulfspirte.  She has a great teaching style, she shows you a different way to alter your journal pages, and different books that you maybe would never use,

Well today I am wearing a different hat, its the cleaning hat, got some laundry to do, dusting, things to return to the library, a dog to take for shots to the vet.  A mother in law to take to the doctor.  

For mother;s day I got a new book that I wanted from the Shopper called 50 shades of Grey, lets just say it's not for you if you don't like reading about sex. ,  Sot, far I like it, i am not the least bit intimidated by a book that has a ton of sex in  it.  If it's good enough for the bestseller list it's good enough for me.

I feel pretty.....or so pretty....

Well hello, what's up with you today? Today is a go day.  I am just going to post this blog,  then I am outta here, like a shot of lightning.  I am on my way to meet a friend for lunch, then to the art store and then i might take my camera and go wandering.  I am free and clear today, hubby is out of town, so no supper to make, only grazing will be allowed.  You know where you stand in front of the fridge and wonder what you have in there that's healthy and good for you, and doesn't require you to work up a sweat in the kitchen.  I might even have time to dance around the art table and try and make something.  So i better go and get this day started.

P.S. I am wearing a new shirt i bought as a celebration of my weight loss.  I have on my blue jean capris, and red leather flip flops, so i am feeling gooooood.  

A day of ATC's

I have been making ATC, here are a few samples of what I have been up to.  The bear is not quite finished yet.  I signed up for an ATC swap and decided to practice making a few.  I have not made any for a long time.  I am going to try and make some today, where I don't draw on them, more collage like. Other than that, I had a great mother's day, out for lunch with the mother in-law, the shopper and the hubby.  The shopper bought me the Book "Fifty Shades of Grey| a trilogy, some flowers, so all in all I had a great day.  I hope you all had a great day, now its back to business.  The top two ATC's i had some clear acrylic with a small circle design on it, and cut it to fit the egg, and the other ATC.  I thought it added another dimension.

P.S still keeping with the flower challenge, I added flowers to the bird picture.

Lee

Matisse Inspired

Underneath this postcard, there is all kinds of paper, and stuff, then I spray painted it all different colours, and added white paint.  I wanted it to look like a Matisse garden.  OK, here is my question, should I put stems and stuff on the flower heads, or just leave them.  When the girl who gets this postcard, know i meant it to look like that, or will she think she got a piece of crap?

Its a beautiful morning....

Another day another flower, only this time on a head of a woman.  I started out with only charcoal, and the flower was going to be the only colour, but it didn't work for me.  So added to much colour.  hence the to pink cheeks. Well its a beautiful Saturday morning, and hubby and i are going to work out in the yard together and bond, ah doesn't that give you a warm feeling in the pit of your stomach.  So now I am going to go and get my work clothes on and get out of these high heels, and i will talk to you tomorrow

Friday Share

Did you know I took a lettering course from  http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.ca/       and this was one of my practice pages and of course could not just write on it, had to draw leaves and a flower.

Today since it is Friday I am going to link you to a few favourites of mine..

http://www.origamichicken.com/

http://papierenavonturen.blogspot.ca/

http://traceyfletcherking.blogspot.ca/

Well hope you enjoy your Friday .....its out to dinner tonight with hubby.

lee

Painting style

As you can tell I love bright colours , and i love  drawing these flowers (cant remember what they are called) and those things are suppose to be vases, (lol).

Well yesterday I had a surprise in the mail I received a new painting book I had ordered.   .  I loved the look of the book, the pictures, but it was short on technique and long on getting into the mood to paint.  Truthfully it must be very hard to write a book and explain how you do something, especially painting, because its all kinda spur of the moment.  She paint beautifully, and lots of wild colour, and her technique is her own you couldn't duplicate that even if you wanted to.    So the painter is Flora Blowley and the book is Brave Intuitive Painting overall I really enjoyed it.

Pod Love

you know I love to sketch, and draw, and i mostly use my favourite black pen

from staples, just some cheapo pen, and when you add water it runs, I like that about it.

So this is just a picture from my sketch book, in tune with the challenge, flowers.

Today was one of those crazy days, i am sure you all have had them, where it seems you run around and get nothing accomplished, I seem to  have alot of  those days.  Right now I am simmering some chicken stock for soup tom tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about it Thursday's dinner, and its suppose to rain, so sounds like a soup day to me. Question of the day, what is your favourite rainy day meal.

Okay talk to you all Thursday.

to do

1.  take devil dog for short walk
2. take car for oil change
3. swim
4. pants to tailor
5. walk devil dog
6. lunch with neighbour
7. set up spray paint station in garage
8. inventory spray paint
9. stop at store for Salmon
10. load of laundry
11. wash kitchen floor
12. sit outside and enjoy the sunshine 
13. blog

What;s on your to do list this Tuesday?

Just going with it

I decided it was time to change it up and today made a small collage first it was just black and white, then I tore the square to rough it up some, because it looked boring.  Then I decided to use some colour, which I had a small leftover square of some painted papers, and then decided it was off centre, its all better go with odd numbers so used a stamp . I always worry while making a collage about the balance.  So here's the question of the day, if you make a collage, do you just go with it, or do you plan it out?

mother earth

Meet mother earth, she takes care of the plants and flowers, so she should be yellow right?  I dont know what I was thinking but here she is in all her yellow glory.  Well that's it for today, longer posts during the week, i like to keep them short and sweet and leaving you wanting more (lol)

Short and sweet

decided to change it up today, used only painted paper, and tape, and bluey markers.

So truthfully it looks way better in person.  Since its the weekend and nobody likes  long posts that is it for today.

Blog Talk

. 

This is a 2fer, its a postcard I made for a swap, and since its flowers, its for the Flower Challenge.  I use a painted background that I did in acrylics, and the flowers and the outline of the bowl was done in markers, they worked the best on this pre painted paper I found.

 Today i have been blog surfing and reading some new and old blogs, and learning some new art techniques. I  was reading a blog about blogging, ( i would give you the link but I cant find it now) , and gave some tips on blogging and not getting burnt out.  Because don't you sometimes say to yourself , geez why do I blog,  So her advice  was step back, and remember why you first started to blog.  Why doesn't it bring you joy now, what have you been doing different since you started your blog to make you think you want to quit .  It might be your expectations have not been met. 

 When I first started my blog five years ago, i started it for me, to document my life and my journey into an artful life.  A life i wanted now that I was not working.  I had no expectations on how many people would read my blog.  Now five years later, I feel that I am doing what I set out to do.  And still feel joy when people comment on my blog, but don't get me wrong there are some days that I wake up and think i should quit that blog.  But i know that if I did i would miss it and all of you.  So today s question is when you started your blog what expectations did you have?

Are you a visual artist

Are you sick of my flowers yet? I went to the library and got a flower book, so i could amp up my flowers.  Since I am not much of a flower person I thought I better start drawing some different flowers.  You can take pictures of flowers, but alas the flowers around here dont start coming up until at least June.  The weather been so cold (i have the heat on today) that it might be July.  I saw picture of some flower pots at this blog

http://dustyd-flyawayhome.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2012-04-21T10:08:00-07:00

Mine didn;t turn out quite as nice as the real ones, i changed it up a bit, used watercolour crayons, which dont really give you that pop of colour, but Sandy was so nice and let me print out the picture, so thanks Sandy once again.  I am not the kind of artist that can draw from my mind, some things yes but most things I visually have to see.  Question of the day, are you a visual artist, or an institutive artist ?.

Couch Potato

  Hello, how are you all doing?  Today's flowers need a little love and attention they are looking a little droopy.  Maybe its the pot I am not to happy with oh well, here's to tomorrow.  What have you all been doing?  I have not been doing much, I participated in a postcard swap over at  http://flutterbye.ning.com/, and am looking at maybe taking another online course.  Went to Chapters books today, and picked up the new Somerset Studio magazine.  Other than that here's to laying on the couch and reading art magazines today , what's your day look like? 

May Flowers

April showers  snow bring May Flowers

I love drawing flowers, I love flowers, but I am no gardener, I buy my flowers.  So I loved entering this challenge of having some sort of flower in my posts for May.  We will see if I can keep it up for the month , but I will give it a try.  If you want to challenge yourself here is the link to the site.

http://lorimoonstudio.blogspot.ca/