Here it is the 1st of JUNE, where did May go?
And the weather has been something else with all these storms across our country.
I hope that the Hurricanes won't be the same. It looks like were in global warming.

Well are you ready for summer?
I don't think I am, except for my fresh veggies from the garden which I'm waiting on.
I think as we get older vacation in the summer time isn't has important as when we were younger. I know we couldn't wait till summer time, so we could go to the beach or visit one of our relatives or even go on a special trip. But now I can vacation when ever, so summer isn't that important as relaxation as it was.

As for our activities lately, I've been hooked up with Pinterest , Post crossing and Swap-Bot.
They are all very addictive, I'll have to warn you, but a lot of fun.

Today I want to share with you another Artsy thing.
When wanting to transfer an image you can do so by stamping.
You first coat the surface of the object ( example a leaf) with a heavy watercolor wash.
Press the painted object to the paper. cover with paper towels and rub with your finger to transfer the moist paint from the object to the paper. Remove object and paper and let it dry.
After it dries , enhance with brush work and ink for more detail.
This is a good time to make prints of different things that grow in your yard, such as leaves from trees, plants and flowers. These are for future paintings, so get busy and start your collection.

So until next time, I hope you'll enjoy these little tips and work on you water color painting.

Good Evening,
I must apologize for not writing on the blog for a while, but the computer decided to die.
So I had to get another computer . It is a Lenovo, all in one, and so far its working great. All thought it has a new lay out which I have to learn, darn.
Well enough of that. I'm glad I'm back.

The trees are all with leaves, the flowers are changing daily. I noticed today the Iris were in bloom. The blackberries are in full bloom, we should have a bumper crop. Haven't planted my veggies yet, its been rainy and very windy but hope to get them planted this coming week.

Speaking of water color, I have students ask me about drawing. My feeling is, it would be nice to draw before painting, but if you can't that shouldn't stop you from painting. A quick way to Transfer a picture (lets say you to took) is to make your own transfer paper, which is easy to do.
1. Cover one side of your paper with graphite using a 2B pencil. Zigzag across the paper covering it completely. Then repeat this process going in the opposite direction, crisscrossing the other pencil lines.

2.You then dampen a piece of cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wipe across the graphite lightly. The rubbing of alcohol evens out the graphite and binds it to the paper. Let the paper dry.

3. With the graphite paper side facing down, place the transfer paper down on the watercolor paper then place your picture up on top of the transfer paper. Tape the sheets down. Using a regular pencil trace your picture on to the watercolor paper. Now your ready to paint. If you feel the pencil lines are to dark, remove some with a kneaded eraser, by pressing the eraser down on to the pencil lines.

This is a great way to transfer pictures, so I hope you'll give it a try.

So until next time, have a great week-end.

April 29, 2013

What a damp and dreary Day, I know we need rain, but this is a bit much. A week of rain..

The Maples are full of little green leaves, as are the Ash. The crabapple is in full bloom with the neigborhood Bumble bees having a Banquet. And the grass is growing like a weed.
SPRING IS HERE AT LAST...............

I FOUND THIS INFORMATION ON "COREYMARIE.COM" AND WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.

                              WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES


USE WATERCOLORS IN PLACE OF AN INK PAD WITH YOUR FAVORITE RUBBER STAMPS.

SCRATCH A STILL VERY WET SURFACE WITH AN UNBENT PAPERCLIP, THE COLOR WILL APPEAR DARKER WHERE YOU SCRATCHED.

SCRAPE AWAY BARELY DAMP WATER COLOR WITH THE EDGE OF A CREDIT CARD.

LET YOUR WASH DRY COMPLETELY, THEN USE SANDPAPER TO REMOVE COLOR AND ADD TEXTURE. (GO EASY)!

WHILE THE WASH IS STILL DAMP (SHINY) USE A PAPER TOWEL TO BLOT AND LIFT SOME OF THE COLOR.

MAKE A WAX RESIST: USE A WHITE CRAYON TO COLOR THE AREAS YOU WANT LEFT WHITE, THEN PAINT OVER THE CRAYON MARKS.

CREATE TEXTURE BY SPRINKLING SALT ON TO A STILL WET WATERCOLOR WASH.

USING A BRUSH OR q-TIP, PAINT WITH RUBBING ALCOHOL ONTO A DAMP OR NEARLY DRY WASH.



I KNOW IF YOUR ONE OF MY STUDENTS, THIS ALL SOUNDS FAMILIAR.

JUST A FEW THINGS WE HAVE ALREADY COVERED IN CLASS, BUT ITS ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE HOW OTHER ARTIST USE THESE TECHNIQUES.
I WOULD HOPE YOUR TRYING THESE IN YOUR PAINTINGS.

IN CLOSING ,  REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE FUN WHEN PAINTING.
PAM

APRIL 26,2013

WE AWOKE TO A BEAUTIFUL DAY FILLED WITH SUNSHINE AND COOL TEMPS, BUT THAT'S OK, IT'S TO REACH 65 THIS AFTERNOON.
ALL I SEE OUT IN THE YARD ARE THE WRENS, BLUEBIRDS AND ROBINS BUSY SINGING AND MAKING NEST FOR THEIR NEW FAMILIES. THE TULIPS, DOGWOOD AND MAPLES ARE IN FULL BLOOM AND THE POLLEN IS GETTING HEAVIER. BUT THAT'S WHAT SPRING IS ALL ABOUT.

I SAW THIS ON PINTEREST FROM PIKALAND.COM AND WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.

                            5 THINGS TO REMEMBER
                              (WHEN YOU ARE DRAWING)

1. STEP BACK......FROM YOUR WORK.
     WHEN YOU STEP BACK FROM YOUR WORK YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING.
     TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON WHAT'S WORKING AND WHAT'S NOT.

2. DRAW WHAT YOU SEE........ NOT WHAT YOU KNOW.
       REMEMBER TO KEEP LOOKING AT WHAT YOU'RE DRAWING ALL THE
       WAY TO THE END.

3. CONSIDER COMPOSITION........... WHERE DO YOU WANT THE FOCUS
        TO BE?  HOW WILL IT ALL BE LAID OUT?

4. BE PATIENT.......... WITH YOURSELF.
         NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN DRAWING. YOU'RE STILL       
         ALWAYS LEARNING.

5. ENJOY THE PROCESS.


PERSONALLY I HAVE FOUND THESE TO BE VERY GOOD RULES TO FOLLOW.

SO GRAB A PENCIL AND START DRAWING.

MY THOUGHT FOR TODAY.......

IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE A SMALL JOURNAL AND PENCIL IN YOUR POCKET FOR QUICK LITTLE SKETCHES.

TILL NEXT TIME......................

April 24th,
I walked across the green  lawn to my sister house to let the dog out, such a Beautiful dog, he is a Norweign Elk Hound. He's always glad to see me and always wanting to play.

The Blueberries are quite green with beautiful white flowers, the tulips are dressed in their yellow, red and pink attire,the Dogwood has Beautiful flowers swaying in the breeze of Spring.
And we can't forget the red Maples with their flyers.
 I see a Robin with twigs in its mouth, ready to start setting up house keeping, the wrens are flying in and out of the birdhouse making ready for babies. I guess you can say Spring has sprung.


"When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady's smocks all silver-white
and cuckoo buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight."
                                 SHAKESPEARE - SONG


Have you heard of ENCAUSTIC  Painting?

If you would like to give it a try, here is a little thing you could try.

Supplies:  Paper(watercolor)   Crayons     knife   wax paper

How to's:   place watercolor paper on wax paper.
                       shave some crayon on to watercolor paper.
                       colors to use, Orange - red - yellow - Light green - medium green -
                          dark green- and purple.

                       Cover with waxed paper and iron. It will melt the crayon.
                     As it melts move the iron to create a design of your choice.
                     Let it cool down, remove the waxed paper and you'll have
                      your 1st Encaustic Painting.

Try it , it is a lot of fun and you never know what your going to create.
Have a Wonderful day and think of Creating a piece of Art.

 

WATERCOLOR AND WHAT IT MEANS TO ME.

I FIND THAT WATER COLOR IS VERY RELAXING TO ME AND I LOVE THE SOFT

COLORS YOU CAN MAKE, AS WELL AS MORE VIVID COLORS.

SOME INDIVIDUALS  FEEL THAT WATER COLOR IS DIFFICULT, WELL ALL MEDIUMS

ARE DIFFICULT UNTIL YOU LEARN THE TECNIQUES.

THE SECRET TO WATER COLOR IS CONTROLLING THE WATER IN YOUR BRUSH.

IN THE CLASS I TEACH, I CAN'T SAY THAT ENOUGH.

THE SECOND THING YOU MUST LEARN IS THE ART OF MIXING COLORS.

YOU BEGIN MY TAKING YOUR PAINTS AND MAKING A COLOR CHART, WHICH IS

VERY HELPFUL IN FINDING COLORS FOR A PAINTING YOU MAY BE WORKING ON.

TAKING CLASSES FROM DIFFERENT INSTRUCTORS CAN BE VERY REWARDING.

 AS EACH INSTRUCTOR APPROACHES THE MEDIUM DIFFERENTLY. YOU WILL LEARN

OVER  TIME WHICH APPROACH YOU LIKE THE BEST. I FEEL THERE IS NO RIGHT OR

WRONG, JUST CORRECT TECHNIQUES, WHICH YOU APPLY IN YOUR OWN WAY.