The Art Dept

      I was eagerly, breathlessly waiting outside the door of the 3rd floor painting studio, anticipating my turn at the hallowed easel. There, the renowned and venerable professor would lovingly and patiently teach me how to paint with oils.  Now here I was, in the very studio of my dreams. And all I would hear from the renowned and wise professor was (after a long and awkward pause, her looking over my shoulder)  “Well, finish this one and go on to the next one.”       Embarrassment. Heartbreak. Doubt. Anger. All these stirred up inside me while sitting in front of that easal. How was I to finish this one and go on to the next one when I didn’t know HOW? Could you just SHOW ME HOW?      Looking back now, I fully realize that was the best advice I could’ve gotten at the time. After all, the only way to learn how to paint is to paint, paint, paint and paint some more.   Now that I am a mixed media...

    Yes it’s true. Fifty shades barely scratches the surface of gray.  Mix black and white paint and you get gray. Big deal, ho hum, boring. Here’s another thought: mix any two complementary colors to white and get gray, which makes the actual number of grays infinite. That, to me, is exciting. No, more than that. It’s inspiring!    My husband and I  thought we were being totally original when we decided to go with a gray and white palette for our guest room. Once we started on that project, however,  it seemed like everyone I met was going with gray and white in their home decor projects. News flash: it’s a trend!        The great thing we discovered about gray and white in a bedroom is that the overall effect is calming. I can go in that room any time of the day and feel peaceful, because the mood is softly undemanding. When on those rare occasions I luxuriate into an afternoon nap, the gray and white room is ...

      When I was in college studying Art Education I had a daily struggle. It happened when I walked into my oil painting class and didn’t end until I walked out.            Now mind you, I had eagerly, breathlessly been waiting outside the door of the 3rd floor painting studio for 2 years, anticipating my turn at the hallowed easal with the renowned and wise professor, who would lovingly and patiently teach me how to paint with oils.  Now here I was, in the very studio of my dreams. And all I would hear from the renowned and wise professor was (after a long and awkward pause, her looking over my shoulder) “Well, finish this one and go on to the next one.”       Embarrassment. Heartbreak. Doubt. Anger. All these stirred up inside me while sitting in front of that easal. How was I to finish this one and go on to the next one when I didn’t know HOW? Could you just SHOW ME HOW?      Looking back now, I f...

      It’s just that simple when painting with watercolor.  This is how I start my day in the studio. Open to a new page, fill a brush with sparkling clean water, and fill the page or pages. Then, add watercolor paint and let it do its thing.              The daily studio routine is this:  clock in at 9 and paint that page in my journal.       I realize that the painting on this page could become a beautiful fabric design, a batiked collage, or an amazing painted wall hanging. But my POINT is that I start my studio day with water on a page and go from there.           As far as the illustrated journal, yes it’s true. Any thing done on these hallowed pages could become some great masterpiece someday. But that’s clearly not the intent. The journal is the place to play, to experiment, to express,  to answer the question “what if ?” It’s about the...

     I started with this page in my journal one day recently.  The ferns are from stencils that I designed and cut from card stock. This led to a whole series of acrylic paintings of light coming through ferns. Because, like I said, I have always been fascinated by the effect of light coming through leaves.  From this one page, a limited selection of acrylic paint and some artistic imagination, here’s where I went:       By the way, these are sections of the larger paintings in which I have been immersed.  Still in the (Floridian) woods for awhile. 

    My current series of mixed media collages is “Of the Woods”. As you can see here, I am literally in the woods, and won’t be out for quite a while! Here is another page from my journal.  It is actually the view out my studio window. This little collage later inspired me to do a large version of it, which I will show you soon.       Here is the same view out the window, back in September. This one also led to a series of larger mixed media collages, which I plan to exhibit next year. 

      About a year ago I started keeping an illustrated journal. It’s just a simple watercolor pad sketch book, about $5 at the local art supply store. I love it because it’s watercolor paper and I can paint on it, draw with pencils,  markers, pen and ink, I can write, I can do mixed media collage, and then repeat. And the thing about keeping an illustrated journal is, it’s not for finished art to sell.  It’s really pretty private, just a place to start ideas. It’s not about showing it to people. It’s about having a place to record thoughts, plans projects, ideas, etc, and then illustrating them.     My winter morning routine involves going out to the studio, starting the fire in the wood stove, feeding the cats, and then opening my journal to a new page and giving it a fresh wash of watercolor.  It just gets the juices flowing, so to speak, to get some color on a plain page.       I don’t even like the a...