Patina Moon

It's Friday and I'm in the mood for a party,  a  Paint Party Friday  that is! I'm still having fun learning to draw and paint.  Since I take so many photographs I thought I would pick one and try to paint it. This is a photo I took quite a while ago when I was able to grow these  Heavenly Blue Morning Glories from seeds in this desert soil!   I have tried since to grow these, and haven't had any luck.   So, if you can't grow them, paint them!  I started out sketching the basic shapes of the morning glories, then I started painting, trying to shade and add dimension as I went. So, as you can see I'm not really finished with this yet.  I still want to add more detail. It's still pretty hot where I live, so I am also enjoying this cool color palette. These Neocolor II water color crayons are a lot of fun, have you tried watercolor crayons yet? I also enjoy the watercolor pencils too for detail.  I do hope you'll join us at the party. Come on

I'm sure most of us have experienced "butterflies" at one time or another. I had a case of the "butterflies" this past weekend. I discovered the best way for me to soothe those butterflies, was to sketch them. I sat in the cafe at a Barnes & Noble bookstore and started sketching. I bought the small book of butterflies you see in the above photo, so I could have something to go by. I still struggle with drawing something out of my head.  I like to look at something and then put my own twist if I can.  Maybe sketching from your head just comes with time. This is just graphite pencils  When I got home, and I had my paints, I couldn't decide if I should add color or not.  I wasn't sure how the graphite would work with watercolor. I tried a test page in the back of my book, and decided it was fine.  So, in the first photo I used watercolor pencils and a small amount of water.  I think color is good, however I'm kind of enjoying the raw ske

Birds.   I love watching the little birds flying around our yard, singing their songs. One afternoon last week, (during our cloudy, cooler weather) I decided to take my supplies outside.   I was thrilled I even managed to sketch this little guy, and apply some light watercolor and shading. I was pretty happy with the results.  Was it the wine?  Maybe the candle and atmosphere that inspired me to paint? Well, I don't know exactly, because  the next time I got out my watercolor journal it wasn't the same.  There's no consistency with my drawing/painting yet.   My tennis game is the same way.  I guess it just means more practice! This was a little leaf tree I sketched last summer, while listening to the rain and watching this little tree get hit with raindrops before the sun came out.    I just now decided to add color.   Still, pretty elementary,  but I enjoyed the experience. Then, one late after noon when the autumn sunlight was perfect.  I noticed my little

Remember all of those tea bags I was saving?  If you don't remember that post, you can see it  HERE  I bought the latest issue of  Green Craft Magazine  and there was an article by  Kim Henkel  on how to make these beautiful luminaries out of tea bags!  I already had all the supplies I needed to get started.  Some of the leaves you see here I purchased at a craft store, but the leaves I used in my luminaries are from the cape honeysuckle in my garden.  The  lavender is also from my garden just picked last spring and waiting in wax paper for the perfect project!  After applying the fluid gel medium, I used inks and placed my botanical design. Covered by another layer of tea bags and gel medium. Add stitching after everything is dry. Melt some beeswax and apply a small amount on the outside for a finish. (Oo I LOVE that beeswax....hum, what next!) Add a battery tea light, grab a glass of wine, turn on some jazz and enjoy!  Hope your weekend is a lovely one.  Livin

Faces. I've seen some really great faces out there, and let me tell you it's really stirred up my desire to learn this art. I have looked at so many sites and there are a lot of great videos and classes to take, but I can't decide which one I want to take next. Do you have a favorite?  It took me forever to do this sketch, (I need to buy another eraser) but I really like how it turned out.  However, learning about paints and shading is another thing, and I was afraid to add paint here thinking I would "mess it up."  I don't always like to add lashes, but after seeing some videos on YouTube I thought I'd give it a try. This second face I tried to just keep simple so I could practice with blending skin tones with acrylics. I think I learned a few things during this painting process, so I'm eager to try again.  I still think I will add some collage to the background or hair, what do you think?   The great thing about a sketch book/art journa

We've been having some stormy weather the past couple of days with lots of lightning and thunder.  Most of the inclimate weather happened in the middle of the night, so I don't have photos.  But I thought this would be an excellent time to show you my "drive by shots" just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico this past summer.  When you're on the road and bored, try getting some shots out your side window of the lightning while traveling 80mph!  LOL I feel pretty lucky I even got this first shot.  I think it looks pretty interesting.  The storms in the desert look so beautiful to me when the dark clouds build up like this.  These last two shots I just took about 6am this morning from our upstairs window.  The moon looked so beautiful going down in the west.  It's mostly clear right now, but we're supposed to get some more rain this afternoon.   I'm hoping anyway, because we could sure use it here in the desert.  I'm linking to Lisa Gord

09.11.01 A decade of healing... Becca

Greetings friends! Today I share with you a "potpourri" of things. First, let me thank Pamela from French Buttons She drew my name for her giveaway and I received a lovely parcel of goodies! One of the gifts was this beautiful lavender potpourri. Pamela's giveaway was for this sweet bracelet with an owl charm, I absolutely adore!   She also included a beautiful card and some lovely ribbon for crafting.  Thank you Pamela!  I've also been doodling a bit so I thought I'd give you a peek into my art journal.  After doodling and painting I  hear my needle and thread calling so I work on some embroidery pieces for a while.  I think the colors of autumn are calling me. I'm still having fun making little crocheted flowers and Shatzie always likes to participate. Thank you for your encouraging comments on my last post.  I didn't expect such an interest in the video, so if you didn't get it from me already by email, here is the YouTube link t