Paint Party Friday - December Art Journal so far...

How can it be Christmas in less than a week? This year has flown by so quickly! I sure haven't painted as much as I would have liked... :(

Oh well - on to a better effort in 2013! I decided late last month to create a journal for December, combining some art with some reflection on the year that is almost complete - painting on one page and journaling on the back sides about the questions asked in Reverb 2012.

I also prepped 6 canvases with great intentions but so far no follow-through... Here are some of the journal paintings that I have done so far... I started off well but have fallen behind after being busy with speaking at a conference and Christmas parties and shopping activities. 

 

Ornaments (I need a better watercolour red...)

5 "Calling" Birds - they called to me to be painted...

A nutcracker, of course!

A broken off poinsetta

Santa

Snowman

Treetop angel

Tree (using ink paint brush)

Branch

I want to wish all of you a very Happy and Healthy Holiday Season! Merry Christmas! (And of course a happy PPF!)

EVA

Paint Party Friday - The Mistress of Our Charms

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN to all my friends at PPF!

My friend Ann often holds an all-girls party near Hallowe'en... with the dress code: Basic Black, Witches Attire optional. She signs the invitation "Mistress of Your Charms". These witches parties are always a fun time, with a yummy pot luck and wonderful conversation. A great get-together. And tonight is the night! 

I started looking at photos from the last party and felt inspired to paint a portrait of Ann for her party. My first painted portrait - yikes! We shall see tonight if she likes it...

 

"Mistress of Our Charms"

And here is the work in progress:

initial sketch and start

Messy table and misshaped hand...

Writing on side... unsure whether it adds or detracts?

The photo I used for a model:

Loraine, me and Ann

I hope you have a wonderful and fun Hallowe'en next week! I look forward to seeing everyone's paintings and will visit as time permits over the weekend. But tonight I must fly! (Where is that dang broomstick when you need it?)

Paint Party Friday Week 31 - Back... With 2nd Last Travelling Sketchbook

I have been MIA for longer than I would ever have guessed would happen, hiding behind the scenes to help get PPF ready for everyone to party, and then disappearing back into everyday activities. I miss creating. Starting up again after this interlude has been harder than I expected. But I have!

Late in August, I received Lisa's sketch pages and box for the Sisterhood of the Travelling Sketchbook, then promptly left to take my daughter back to university out west. Just before leaving, a window replacement turned into the discovery of a dissolving foundation and significant repairs. (Arrgh!) Thus, I have held on to Lisa's "book" longer than any yet. Plus it was very late arriving and for November which is a very challenging month for me to think of anything to talk about. Dull and dreary is November to me...

Spread #1 - no words

Spread #2 with words...

"So dull and dark are the November days.

The lazy mist high up the evening curled,

And now the morn* quite hides in smoke and haze;

The place we occupy seems all the world."

-   John Clare, "November"

* I changed "morn" to "moon" and hid the moon behind the greyness... I love the Moon!)

Spread #2 before words

Some time ago, Lisa admired my "Girls with Funny Hats" plus she loves Frida and her birthday is in November so I created this Frida-like girl with a birthday cake hat to accompany my thoughts on November. This is my second last sketchbook. All I need to receive is my April to finish and then hopefully my own sketchbook will eventually return to me. It has been a fun project even if it didn't get finished within the allotted schedule.

I also painted this journal page to keep track of this month's activities...

I have missed everyone. The parties look like they have been awesome! I look forward to catching up with all of you over the weekend. Have a great week!

Paint Party Friday - Week 16, Year 2 - Travelling Sketchbook for March

Another travelling sketchbook arrived Monday! (Yay!) It is so very exciting to see these sketchbooks mature as they travel the world. This one is March and all I have left to do is November (which should arrive soon) and April (which I have no idea where it currently is). Since these are so far behind in their travels I wanted to get it back in the air as quickly as possible.

This book belongs to Kathy and it is gorgeous. March is an odd month for me - not quite winter and not yet Spring. Often we have been south for March Break and when we haven't, I dreamed of going... My March images are inspired by that dreaming...

March spread #1 with words...

The words/poem read:

"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them."

-- Woodrow Wilson

March spread #1 without words... 

I dream of the sea. And of the fishies I would see while snorkeling... (well and many, many other things...)

 March spread #2 without words

Now written over with my thoughts of March...

I am still battling the weeds overtaking my garden so I will be in and out to visit as weather and weariness permit. Now I have some help - a gift of weeding from my family for Mother's Day. (How wonderful!) Plus to make things extra busy, Sunday is Canada Day and that means beach party, bonfire and fireworks!

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and an early Happy Independence Day to all my American friends.

xo

Paint Party Friday - Week 14 year 2 - Rainbow Sherbet WIPs

The ice cream flavoured Summer of Colour has started and inspired me to take out my paints and see what rainbow sherbet creations I could come up with. I had hoped these would be complete in time for Paint Party Friday... Alas no. Time slipped away from me again! (Where the heck does it go?)

So here is what I have so far - hopefully by next week I might have finished these and started on Chocolate Mint!

WIP #1

Mostly finished... I think it need some black accents.

WIP #2

I see a bird...

WIP #3

I tot I taw a puddy tat...

Maybe.. 

What do you see here?

Kristin's colour inspiration for Week One. 

Does this look yummy or what! Perhaps part of the Summer of Colour should be going to Baskin and Robbins and having a scoop of each flavour we work on? Sounds yummy to me!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the Dads in your life. I look forward to dropping by when I can and seeing what you have created.

Paint Party Friday - Week 13 Year 2 - Wheat Fields

Earlier this year I started a painting that I called "Wheat Fields". I sort of liked it but it needed something more. My wonderful Paint Party Friday friends gave me lots of suggestions as to how to finish it off. Thank you everyone for all the feedback and suggestions!

It sat and sat, and I finally came back to it and this is how I finished it (or at least I think it is finished...)

"Wheat Fields"

left side

right side

(This is where I left it last time...)

What do you think - is it finished or does it need something else?

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll be by to visit as weather permits - if rainy (again!) sooner and if sunny then later as the weeds hide my flowers and my flowers call to be rescued...

Paint Party Friday - Week 12, Year 2 - Travelling Sketchbook for September

I'm a bit late for the party (Paint Party Friday, of course!) but I finally had the paints out and have something to show! May was a very busy month. I have been away and haven't had much of an opportunity to paint or visit PPF partyers.    :(

On Monday, one of the sketchbooks that had been out of circulation for some months, arrived in the mail . Yay! I wanted to turn it around and get it on to its next stop as quickly as possible. That inspiration lead to action!

Today I finished it and ran to the post office to send it on its way to Nicola in Australia.

This book belongs to Kim - Queen of Arts and has only a few entries - mine is for the month of September! It was very hard for me to paint and write about September at the end of May, beginning of June but I think I found the perfect poem...

First spread before poem added...

With poem... words read...

"September leaf 

Blushing... 

Remembering... 

The torrid kisses

...Of July 

September leaf 

Sensing winter

....And oblivion 

Shivers... 

And whispers 

"July, my only love" "Say you remember." 

- LaRetha Adams, Before Winter

Since I too love July and am yearning for it as the weather here has again turned cold and rainy, this poem seemed perfect!

This is the second spread where I talk about September means to me. (Hint: it involves grapes and pears, and apples (up until last year when my apple tree died) which I grow in my yard.) 

Hope everyone has a great time at the party! I will be dropping by to visit this weekend. (My expected distraction this weekend - the incredibly growing weeds - are safe for now with this miserable weather...)

Paint Party Friday - Week 9, Year 2 - Travelling Sketchbook for February

I'm baaaaackkk! April was an incredibly busy month and I got absolutely no painting done.   :(   So I didn't make it to my very favourite party (Paint Party Friday, of course!) except to work with Kristin to make sure our PPF doors were open and drinks and food supplied so everyone else could party even if we couldn't stay around to play. Oh well - some weeks are like that! And this weekend will be another one though I am going to do my best to drop by and see everyone's efforts even if it takes all week! :)

This week, the next sketchbook in the travelling sketchbook series arrived and since I want to turn it around and get it on to its next stop as fast as possible, I painted again finally! (Yay - paint!) I find February to be a very uninspiring month for me so this wasn't my most creative work... 

It started off with a dreary background as February feels heavy and dreary to me. But then it lightened up with falling snowflakes and a snowcouple.

Spread 1

The poem reads...

Snowflakes 

by Linda A. Copp 

Snowflakes spill from heaven's hand

Lovely and chaste like smooth white sand.

A veil of wonder laced in light

Falling Gently on a winters night. 

Graceful beauty raining down

Giving magic to the lifeless ground.

Each snowflake like a falling star

Smiling beauty that's spun afar. 

Till earth is dressed in a robe of white

Unspoken poem the hush of night.

Spread 2

...before words about February added.

It is now in the mail to Carmen in the UK. Then 2 more stops and this book will arrive home to its owner, Lori. It is awesome to see all the amazing entries and words in these books.

It was a lovely weekend last weekend and I finally got to take my winter and nutcracker paintings outside and spray them with a fixative. Now I feel they are finally done!

Hope you have a painting filled and happy week ahead!

Paint Party Friday - Week 4, Year 2 - Travelling Sketchbook for January

I received another of the travelling sketchbooks last Friday. Yay!!! It belongs to Jaime/ARtsyfARtsyme and my month to do is January. These books, as they become fuller, become more and more fascinating and AWESOME as each of the artists creates their two page spreads.

Here are my January spreads. (Unfortunately they are becoming hard to scan as the sketchbooks get thicker.)

The full first spread...

 Left page - "The Thinker" as Snowman

(It scanned so poorly - very disappointing.)

Right page - The quote/poem reads:

"Winter is the time of promise 

because there is so little to do - 

or because you can now and then 

permit yourself the luxury of thinking so." 

~Stanley Crawford

(Maybe it shows better photographed?)

And the second page has all my writing about what January means to me. Here it is prior to my musings on hibernation, heat seeking, reading, wine and thinking, etc, etc, etc.

This book is now in the mail and on its way to Nicola in Australia!

I hope everyone has a lovely Good Friday, Easter weekend or Passover if you celebrate these; and especially a fun Paint Party Friday. I will be by to visit when I am not trying to do a little Spring garden and house cleaning.

Paint Party Friday - Week 3, Year 2 - New Flower Journal

Back to cold weather here, after that glorious taste of Spring (almost Summer) we had a week ago. That lovely hint made me long for flowers...

Until they start to arrive, I decided to create a new watercolour flower journal and dug out old photos from my garden to use as "models"

Aging Parrot Tulip

Daffodils

Has your garden "sprung" yet? Do you paint it?

Have a great Paint Party Friday!

Oh and I saw my first robin almost two weeks ago (Yay!) so time to change my header and have my little robin back to visit with us...

Good-bye for now...

 Hello Robin!

Have a great week!

Sunday Sketches - Sketching with Sharpies

I started (another) new journal this week - a little Strathmore Visual Journal to create "Sharpie" art. I first saw Sandy Coleman use Sharpies to create art and I thought I'd give it a try for Sunday Sketches with Sophia at Blue Chair Diary.

Skipping the pencil and just playing with the pens. here are a few that I have done so far...

"Psychedic Joy"

(that lighter yellow is the green below - odd the colours didn't scan better)

"Ribbit"

I'm finding these fun so far! Hope you have a great day and I will visit when I can which may be a bit late if it is as gorgeous a day as forecast!.

Paint Party Friday - Year 2, Week 1 - Trying an Abstract

Year 2 of Painting regularly! Still hard to believe at times.... It is so much fun to share the painting experience with all of you at Paint Party Friday! It definitely helps to keep me painting.

One of the things I often admire are abstracts. They look so easy and yet for me to create, seem so challenging! So this week I bought a few canvas boards to just try and play around with creating an abstract painting. Of the three I started, this one feels finished to me:

Abstract #1 by EVA

I even like it sitting in my living room. A black frame might go nicely...

I also did some more work on a WIP I started earlier this year. This is where I left it:

WIP - Feb2012

This is where I am now:

Wheat Fields - WIP?

Is it finished? I am not sure and could use your advice. (What amazing advice I have had from everyone on previous occasions. Thanks again!) 

I printed out several photocopies and started playing with ideas. What do you think of its future? As is? Or with one of the following variations?

 With birds?  (I think I am leaning towards these.)

Or hills?

Or both?

With pine trees?

With deciduous trees?

With a cabin?

Or something else? I'd love your advice and feedback! Thanks!

Hope you have a great time at PPF and had fun painting this week!