Draw Daily

Puna Road

2012-01-23T00:22:00.001-06:00

I think I'm going to have to try this one again, and try to simplify. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to draw every little thing, and then I get lost, and things go a bit haywire. Anyway, it's a start, and at least the overall effect is jungley. I haven't drawn much of anything since I moved in September. I've just been settling in and trying to get my little house squared away.

Studio/Office

2012-01-22T02:01:00.000-06:00

This is my little studio/office/dressing room. I just finished the curtains for this room tonight. I'm loving this little room now that I'm getting it into usable shape. It's very cozy.

Right through that door is the downstairs bathroom....great for cleaning out paint brushes! Behind where I stood to take this picture is a couple of big bookshelves full of art supplies and office supplies...and books! Maybe I'll get a pic of that tomorrow.

Finally...

2012-01-21T02:53:00.000-06:00

getting my little workspace to the point where I can actually find things and work. Now, if I could lay my hands on my camera, I wouldn't have to use my phone....

It's a good mail day...

2012-01-11T16:39:00.000-06:00

Any day I get a new zine in the mail from Andrea Joseph is a good mail day. She does amazing work with a ballpoint pen. Inspiring! Maybe I'll be back with another post tonight with a sketch of my own.

Prosperity...

2012-01-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

This is what I did with those bank enevelopes from yesterday.

Playing..

2012-01-07T14:46:00.002-06:00

I'm at the shop today, and using the backs of some bank envelopes for a couple of pages about money, thus all the green. I was inspired by Bows, Baubles and Beliefs when I saw her bacon box...just go ahead and use what you have Joyce!

It ~~looks like~~ is a mess, but when I reach a point like that, I like to keep going for a bit. It's amazing, but adding more to that mess can actually get me where I want to go. And if not, there's always gesso ;o)

Splurge...

2011-12-24T01:31:00.000-06:00

I have not been doing much drawing lately. I've been working on the house, Christmas presents, and displays at the shop, but as soon as Christmas is over I will be playing with these. And I mean the day after...I'm itching to give these a test drive! I use pan watercolors and/or watercolor pencils in most of my sketches, and I've been eyeing this set for a while. Merry Christmas to me!

Danny and Jack Gregory's New Sketch Film

2011-10-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

Danny and Jack just keep coming out with great films about sketching! This one is about Butch Belair, who sketches in his car. I hide in my car because I'm shy about working in front of people. Amazing to read that someone as good as Butch is also a bit shy about it!
Enjoy!

To El and Back: a film about Butch Belair from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

A Good Mail Day...

2011-10-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

I got some twine and washi tape in the mail today from Pretty Tape on Etsy. I've not been buying too many supplies, because journaling can be kept to minimal supplies, but a bit like this can be fun and inspiring! I've not been drawing much lately. I moved and am trying to get everything put away and settled. I may have to try out this tape though......

Kohala

2011-09-18T15:32:00.000-05:00

Jennifer and I explored the north end of the island one day. This area has quite a few galleries and we tried to visit as many as possible. We visited the gallery at the Bamboo Restaurant, and I wish we had been there at dinner time, because it gets very good reviews and it was a very cute place. On the way home we parked on the coastline and watched the whales play and the sun set.

Across the street from the Bamboo Restaurant were several places to stop for a treat, including the Kava Kafe, which I sketched from my photo later that evening.

Loco Moco

2011-09-14T16:00:00.003-05:00

I tried this dish in Hawaii since it's a local favorite.

It's rice topped with 2 big hamburger patties and 2 fried eggs, smothered in gravy. To me, it sounds icky, and looks questionable, but it's really quite delicious! But it's huge...I think it would feed two people!

New Drawing Video...Tommy Kane at Work

2011-09-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

Danny Gregory and his son Jack Tea Gregory have made another interesting drawing video. This time they have featured one of my favorite sketch artists, Tommy Kane. I've been a long time admirer of Tommy's detailed sketches. As I watched this I noticed that he creates his drawings rather like I do...he seems to start with some area that interests him and build out from there. He also seems to jump right in with the ink pen too. He has much more patience than I do though, and often will spend hours detailing his drawings. His drawings are full of life and carry such a feel for the places he sketches. I hope Danny and Jack will be making many more videos...it's facinating to watch!
Red Hook - a film about Tommy Kane from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Friday Favorite....

2011-09-09T11:47:00.011-05:00

Today I am honored to be featured as Mary Nasser's Friday Favorite on her blog.....check it out!

Mary uses maps in her artwork, and you all know how I love maps. You can see some of her work here. She also recently was an artist in residence at Red Cinder Creativity Center on the big island of Hawaii, loves her dogs and bicycling. You can see we have many interests in common!
Here is one of her recent works, inspired by her time living by the volcano on the big island:
This piece is entitled "Lake"

Yellow Tang

2011-09-02T17:13:00.003-05:00

I've been busy moving, and not had time to put a pen to paper. I decided today to do a page while I was at work. I worked with the the few tools I had there: 2 ink pens and my little set of watercolors, and a stamp pad. Snorkeling in Hawaii was fantastic....I'm one of those landlubbers who says things like, "Wow! It's just like an aquarium!" That's what happens when you don't live near the ocean!

On Focus and Organization

2011-08-06T12:59:00.004-05:00

Here is a little more of the journal that AnicaAnscott and I are making together. The journal is about what keeps us from being as creative as we'd like, and learning what will help us achieve our creative goals.

I have always fought disorganization and distraction. But lately, while I'm trying to pare down on clutter and get organized, I'm learning to embrace my distractibility....to a certain extent. I have several projects going at once and move from one to the other as the mood strikes me.Working this way seems to keep things interesting and fresh, and improves my concentration. I also learned that I'm not the girl to be painting with oil paints or other media that take a long time to dry. I'm just a bit too impatient for that, and lose interest.

This page started with an illustration of a closet from a children's book that AnicaAnscott put in place when she created the journal. I took it from there. I should start taking pics of how it looked when I started, and then when I finish. When the journal is full, I'll post an album with all our pages together.

Time lapse of Doodle Drawing...

2011-08-06T00:58:00.001-05:00

If you ever wondered how those doodle drawings (or zentangles, as some call them) develop, here is a wonderful time lapse video showing Sandra's beautiful drawing as it develops. Enjoy!

Plate Lunch...yum.

2011-08-03T16:47:00.001-05:00

I'm not much into drawing my food, but Hawaii has some interesting local favorites. The plate lunch comes with lots of rice and usually macaroni salad, though it the second side could be any number of things. Various meats are used also. My favorites are huli huli chicken, pork, or chicken katsu. I never would have thought of having mac salad and rice together, but it's a pretty darn delicious lunch!

Glossary of Hawaiian Words...

2011-08-02T15:34:00.003-05:00

...and some beautiful tile depicting Hawiian life long ago. These tiles are on the side of the visitor center at the "Place of Refuge."

Here are the actual tiles. I wish I knew the name of the artist, but haven't been able to find it.

Circus

2011-08-01T15:50:00.003-05:00

This is part of a beautiful little journal, handmade by AnicaAnscott (the link leads to her flickr photostream). We are working together to fill it with pages about our art, and some of the things that sometimes keep us from spending the time on it that we think we should. When she sent the journal to me it had the background of blue and red and the circus viewmaster reel, and I embellished from there.

I believe through some years of my life I've been so busy with other things (like childrearing, for instance) that I focused on that and not my artwork. And that is OK by me. Spending time with the kids was important to me and I throughly enjoyed it. During those times I was creative, but in a different way...decorating, painting sets for church plays, projects with the kids, sewing their clothes, etc. At a conference once, I heard a speaker say you can have it all, but sometimes it's better to not try to have it all at once...to enjoy the different seasons. Maybe if you have lots more energy than I, you can have it all at once, but I think I'll take mine in stages. Even the circus has 3 rings!

Pu'uhonua'o o Honaunau

2011-07-30T16:17:00.000-05:00

This one was sketched from a photo I took. I stamped the page while I was at the park, and bought the little stamp there too.This is such a beautiful place. Black rocks, white sands, blue, blue sea.....

Do you know your next door neighbor?

2011-07-29T18:20:00.001-05:00

I've been been reading Karla's new blog. Karla is focused on giving back. She's always been like that (I know her parents are so pround of her!). Lately I've been thinking about what kinds of ways I can make a difference right where I am...small things on a daily basis. Mother Teresa said, "Lonliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible kind of poverty."

I remember when I first moved to this town I worked in the pharmacy. Sometimes people (many elderly, living alone) would call in their prescriptions and then want to just talk. I was a 21 year old who was with people all the time...it stunned me to realize that people would call the pharmacy in part to connect with other people.

I have had some wonderful neighbors over the years. They baked pies for us, we loaned each other tools, and did an unofficial "neighborhood watch". One neighbor even left the doors open at night when Joe was working out of town, so that if I was afraid, I could come in with baby Michael and crash on their couch or spare bed. Many of our neighbors had kids our children's ages and they all played together, going from house to house, and we parents looked out for each other's kids. We sometimes babysat for each other too.

Soon I'll be moving to a new neighborhood, and I need to make sure I get to know my new neighbors. I know it will be good for me because I tend to hole up in my nest sometimes, but it might even be good for someone else. How about you? Do you know your neighbors?

Honu

2011-07-26T17:47:00.003-05:00

I drew this from a photo I took at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. I picked a page stamped with the park's stamps while I was there. If you are traveling and you don't seem to be getting time to draw, carry your sketchbook anyway. As you go you can collect postmarks, national park stamps, stickers, maps, and postage stamps from places you visit. Don't forget to collect bits of ephemera like napkins, menus, ticket stubs and the like. It's good to glue an envelope in the back of your journal (if it doesn't have one already) in which to save all these goodies.

Drawing Breakfast...

2011-07-26T02:10:00.001-05:00

As you know, I love a good drawing video, and this one is very nice. It's of Danny Gregory and was made by his son, Jack. It's always interesting to see how someone's drawing comes about. Danny's book Everyday Matters got me drawing again back in 2005...I'm thankful for that inspiration!

The Art of Breakfast from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Jennifer's 20 Wishes...

2011-07-24T16:59:00.001-05:00

So I told you about the 20 Wishes in the last post. My sister Jennifer also thought of 20 wishes and put them on tags. She has them hanging in her office/studio from an antique Hoosier cabinet. I took several photos, rearranging the tags each time so you can see more of them.

I love the "Be a Philantropist" tag. She has made that one come true. One of her favoite organizations to support is Heifer International. They do great work.

"Dance A Lot"

That's a great wish and I know she's done a lot of that too! I've seen her at weddings and parties dancing like crazy...and she is even learning dances from the past by dancing with others interested in history. Here she is dressed in Regency period clothes, ready to go to a holiday ball:

Jennifer is a talented writer. Check out her blog, One More Voice.

20 Wishes

2011-07-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

Here is an old project I've been meaning to post about. Back in 2008 Jennifer and I were at the lake and we read a novel called 20 Wishes. It was about a group of women who decided to make a list of things they wished for themselves, and what happens in their lives afterwards.

Jennifer working on her list of 20 Wishes and a bit of mine started on the bottom.

Well, pretty soon everyone at the cottage was working on their list. It turned out to be harder for most of us than you would think...because there were a couple of rules:

The wishes have to be for yourself. Most of us had trouble with this. We'd say things like "I wish for my children to be happy" or "I wish my husband could open the bike shop he dreams about."
The wishes could be as wild and outlandish as you like, but they had to be something you could have some power to accomplish...in other words no "I wish I would win the lottery." but you could wish "I'd like to make a fortune in real estate." You could not wish for good health (lots of that is out of your control), but you could wish "to be an appropriate weight" or "to be strong and fit."

Anyway, it was fun, and revealing in lots of ways. We wrote down things we'd never written down before, and dreamed for ourselves, which was much harder than we thought...even for those of us who think of ourselves as dreamers!

I made tags with my wishes on them. If you counted, you'd see that there are only 18...they were hanging in my studio at the shop and a couple went missing. The two missing were "Travel the USA" which had a Route 66 drawing on it, and "Build muscles!" which featured a beautiful female body. Apparently someone wanted those two wishes for their own...I have a gate across the entrance to my studio now.

Some of these wishes have come true...Joe and I rode our bikes to Holly's house, and I have traveled more in the last few years. Some of the wishes I found were still outside my control to come true in the way I thought....but maybe they can happen in a way I didn't dream of at the time.

How about you? Could you come up with 20 wishes for yourself? It's harder than you might think!

Tomorrow, I'll share a picture of Jennifer's wishes.

The car is outside!

2011-07-18T22:54:00.001-05:00

Come on down and see it. It's right by the Route 66 Museum and Old City Hall Shoppes, in front of Waldmire's bus. Warning: lots of pics ahead!

You can click on the pictures to see them larger.

I painted the little Moleskine Journal on the seat because it's the kind of journal I use for my sketches. The idea is that the whole car is treated like a travel journal...and it's pretty much the same kind of thing you see if you flip through my sketchbooks.

It's exciting to see it outside...I saw some folks posing for pictures on it this evening. Fun!

Using Photos....

2011-07-18T00:20:00.000-05:00

I've been printing out some photos and using them in my travel journal. I've just been printing them on plain paper, and have to be careful not to get them wet, because that printer ink runs something terrible. But I like using some photos...how else can I capture that look when my mom and dad were reminiscing about old times at their first home:

As always, you can click on the picture to see it larger...much easier to read that way. Here's one from when Joe and I went out to see the lava flowing into the sea. It's an amazing sight.

And here is one from when Ted and Jenny and I went driving up the Hamakua Coast:

At first the the type Aish part of me freaked out about having the trips all mixed up in the journal instead of in chronological order. But I'm journaling bit by bit, about whatever strikes my fancy. And I'm also journaling around pages that I created while I was there, and on pages I had stamped with park stamps or postmarks while there. So my journal will be a collection of memories in no particular order. And lots of the pages are being done after I'm home and have more time to work on them...some purists only do theirs on site. But that's not me. And who is going to care anyway? The journal police?? I'll tell you what...creating a journal this way certainly extends all the fun of the trip way past the time I came home on the plane :D

The gods guarding ...

2011-07-17T16:16:00.000-05:00

These are carvings of Hawaiian gods. They are guarding the temple at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. It's a facinating place that gives you a feel of what old Hawai'i must have been like. These carvings tower over you and feel very menacing.

Pu'uhonua'o o Honaunau

2011-07-13T18:03:00.002-05:00

Just celebrating being done with the paperwork at work by doing a little sketching. Scary looking, aren't they?!

Lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

2011-07-10T15:36:00.003-05:00

Today I dug out the maps and bits and pieces I brought home from Hawaii. I want to make pages for some of the park stamps I collected in my sketchbook while we were there. I thought I might be hauling too many brochures and maps home, but now I wish I had packed even more! This page is about the types of lava on the island..the smooth and curvy pahoehoe, and the ouchie a'a. Facinating stuff, how the earth is formed!

Here is a pic of the a'a lava...it's truly next to impossible to walk over! Looks like another world, doesn't it?

While I was at it I added a Hibiscus to the corner of the page I did awhile back. It looked a little blank there..so it got the state flower.

At the Lake

2011-07-08T18:27:00.000-05:00

I didn't draw too much up at the lake. I spent most of my time floating on an inner tube. Which is, of course, ideal.

I find that I have trouble drawing this little place. Of course, when I look at the cottage, I see it with all the memories I have of growing up here, and that's hard to capture. I'll just have to keep trying!

Hawaii Book

2011-06-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

I had some sketches in one book, and some in another, so I'm moving a few into the book I took with me last year. Now they will all be in one place. I cut this sketch out of the back cover of the old book, and combined it with memories from both trips and a bit of maps and such I picked up.

June Calendar

2011-06-30T09:43:00.001-05:00

June does not have 31 days...who'd a thunk it?? Oh well, regardless, June is history after today and I'm on to better months! I was right not to make the calendar anything more taxing than coloring while watching the news this month...too many other crazy things going on. I'm off to dangle my toes in the water and never go inside. I'm taking my sketchbook, so we'll see if I lift a finger during the next week!

Odell Filling Station

2011-06-29T11:23:00.001-05:00

I'm having trouble getting a good photo of this one because of the reds and oranges.... fun colors, but apparently not so easy to photograph! I used my drawing of the Odell Station and this time did an image transfer using acrylic medium. This one also has some tissue paper and the Route 66 sign stamp I carved.

I'm trying to pack to spend a few days at the lake, and I'm ending up with more art supplies than clothes. That's OK....lots of room in the trunk...if only my car would get back from the shop!

More Route 66...

2011-06-25T12:23:00.001-05:00

This time we have the Gemini Giant from Wilmington, IL and Del Rhea's Chicken Basket from Willowbrook, IL. Since I started drawing Route 66 sights I have really become fond of the signs and advertising gimmicks used along the old road. Creative and fun ways to draw attention!

These are done just like I draw them in my travel journals...wonky, fun little drawings of sights along the way. I used a bit of border from a vintage map around the sides of these two. They are painted on 5x5 inch artist panels that are 3/4 inch deep. You can see the beginnings of these pieces in the previous post.

Here's the Gemini Giant who stands in front of the Launching Pad Restaurant in Wilmington. I carved my first stamp (the Route 66 shield) and used it on this one. I'm sure I'll be carving more stamps. It was fun, and I need to practice a bit more to get control of that knife.

I hear Del Rhea's Chicken Basket has some of the best chicken in Illinois. Next time I'm up that way, I'm going to stop in and check it out. They sure have a great old neon sign!

Working away...

2011-06-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

My little studio is uptown at the shop, so I am treated to the traffic noise of Route 66, radios blaring out of peoples cars on a nice night, street lights, and the occasional loud partiers from the bars strolling by.

All of which is part of being downtown and I like it.

I've just been getting a little work done..playing around with the paints and paper, doing a little drawing.

Travel Journal

2011-06-02T13:58:00.001-05:00

...without the journal. This one is to hang on the wall.

That little strip of color is a piece torn from the paper I lay my journals on to paint the backgrounds. I like the way the paint builds up on them, so I save them.

Stamp, stamp, stamp....

Found a clock face that says "Illinois."

When I'm sure I'm through fooling around with this, I'll give it many coats of acrylic poly in a satin finish. I like the depth it gives and how it brings out the colors. I share my work online, and I've gotten more comfortable with that, but I was a little intimidated about doing something that will not get shut in a book...but hey, you have to step out of your comfort zone to stretch, right?

June Calendar Ready to Go

2011-05-31T10:37:00.002-05:00

I was so busy on the car that my May calendar went by the wayside. So June is ready to go. Sometimes you just need something soothing and mindless to do, and making flowers like these is just the ticket. I've got lots planned this month, and I figure coloring these in while watching a movie will be an equally soothing activity. The green bits are pieces of color card samples for paint. I like them, but I think I'll use a super fine Sharpie to write on each day. I don't think the India ink I used will ever really dry. It is not blotting off, but if you run your finger across it, it will smear just a bit.

Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

2011-05-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

I just needed to take a quick break from Route 66 for a bit...so I went to Hawaii for the afternoon. Yes, I lead a Walter Mitty lifestyle!

The ferns really are that big and bigger! It's amazing!

New Mexico and Arizona, Route 66

2011-05-26T17:30:00.001-05:00

Today I went from New Mexico to Arizona, stopping at the Jackrabbit Trading Post. They have a giant rabbit so of course I had to put that on my car.

The Jackrabbit Trading Post used to have huge signs teasing travelers for hundreds of miles before reaching this store. Now there are just a few left, but they are eyecatching. And I added another Burma Shave slogan (just because I love them):
To kiss
a mug
that's like a cactus
takes more nerve
than it does practice.
Burma Shave

I put a California attraction up today too...the Wigwam Motel. They say there are two Wigwam Motels left along Route 66, one in California and one in Arizona. In all, there were seven wigwam villages across the USA, and now there are three. You certainly don't see sights like this very often these days!

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

2011-05-20T19:00:00.002-05:00

Finished Texas and moving into New Mexico! Here is the famous Cadillac Ranch. It's a bit tricky painting over the bumps on the fins of this car...from some angles the caddies look pretty wopper-jawed. I figure those cars look pretty wopper-jawed anyway after all these years of people painting and beating them up! As you can see, my kids, Mike and Jill and Colleen, have been there with their spray paint ;)

The Car is Moving Along...

2011-05-19T18:03:00.001-05:00

I've pretty much got the back end done...

So far the blue whale may be my favorite. I may add another Burma Shave slogan going up the road above his tail.

Sights to see in Arcadia, Oklahoma: Pop's and the round barn.

The crazy leaning water tower of Groom Texas and the Silver Spur Motel sign. Route 66 sure has great signs!

Here's the giant Ku-Ku bird at the Burger joint in Miami, Oklahoma..love all the giants along the old road.

Riding along in my automobile...

2011-05-13T17:08:00.001-05:00

Working on the car (yes, still) and humming this Chuck Berry tune:

Riding along in my automobile
My baby beside me at the wheel
I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
my curiosity running wild
crusin' and playin' the radio
with no particular place to go...

Every Day in May (scene 2)

2011-05-11T18:18:00.000-05:00

May 5: Draw scissors
May 6: Draw something tart or sour

May 7: Draw how you get you news (soo sorry, Anderson)
May 8: Draw a light bulb

May 9: Draw a clock at your home (this is at work)
May 10: Draw something with a flame

Every Day in May

2011-05-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

I'm following the prompts to make a little sketch every day in May. If you want to join in, the prompt list is here and there is also a flickr group sharing their May sketches. I'm doing mine in a little pocket Moleskine that has just enough pages left to do 31 days. I'm trying to keep them all fast too...a quick and easy way to practice really seeing what's in front of me.

May 1: Draw a bar of soap
May 2: Draw a power cord

May 3: Draw some exercise equipment
May 4: Draw salt and pepper shakers

It's a start...

2011-05-04T01:39:00.000-05:00

I started another travel journal style "page" on artist's panel. I'm doing these as if they were done in my journal, but to hang on the wall. This one has a little watercolor of a barn that advertises Meramec Caverns. This barn is just north of Pontiac on Route 66. So far, I like the start, and can't wait to see how it ends up...how's that for spontaneous?

Odell, IL along Route 66

2011-04-28T06:01:00.004-05:00

I used one of the boards I prepped in this post to try out the packing tape transfers using my drawing of the filling station in Odell, IL on Route 66. I like how it turned out a crisp, crisp image, but I'm going to have to get used to the idea that the edges of the tape do show when the light hits it just right. Right now I'm trying out a different transfer method that would not have the tape layer. I am very pleased with the background here...it's several layers of acrylic paint and spray ink.

I stamped and collaged a bit around the edges using vintage items from the nearby area, and also dictionary pages with travel themed words.

Kind of fun to work on something that can hang on the wall instead of live inside a book!

Derek Gores

2011-04-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

This is Derek Gores, and I love his work. Check out his site.

Derek Gores from Jason D. Boone on Vimeo.

April Showers Bring Mermaids

2011-04-26T14:42:00.003-05:00

I think April is about done....just a few more days to comment on and then it's history. I just thought I'd show you all the finished calendar.

I kind of like this purple/yellow/white fish saying hello down in the corner.

Easter Eggs!

2011-04-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

Alisa Burke has a couple of nice tutorials for Easter eggs: doodle or watercolor. I'm at the shop today so I did some doodle eggs on some plastic display eggs. If I was at home I might have used real eggs and dyed them pretty colors before using the Sharpie, but since I'm in my office, I used highlighters. Many people tell me they cannot draw because they cannot draw a straight line, but as you can see, neither can I! I say draw anyway...straight lines are highly overrated, and if you really need one that's what rulers are for. Have a happy Easter!

Fish, Jellyfish, and

2011-04-22T00:17:00.006-05:00

other sea creatures....

We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We've got no troubles, life is the bubbles
Under the sea...
~from the movie "The Little Mermaid"

April Calendar...

2011-04-21T13:46:00.003-05:00

For Christmas, Joe gave me this giant sized Moleskine sketchbook. I'd never seen one so big, and knew right away what I wanted to do with it. I decided to start doing calendars again with the new year. Well, this it the first one, but better late than never! I don't do these as "to do" calendars to remind me of dates. Instead I doodle on them as the month goes by and try to remember to write something that happened each day...more like a little diary, I suppose. If I skip days, it gives me more squares to doodle on.

This month I hit it with a little watercolor first...

Then I laid out the squares using little post-it notes, and hit it with some spray ink. Then I took the notes off and hit it with a little more spray ink...just 'cause it's fun.

Next I started doodling the circles on the lines, because doodling is a great way to start. I did circles while watching TV.....have to keep my hands busy while Dancing With the Stars! Eventually, as the month went along and it rained and rained, I started drawing fish and realized we are under water this month. I still have some days left, and some more creatures to add, so I'll post another photo later.

I had a fresh, juicy stamp pad and some of the ink bled through so I think I may do a spread of snapshots between calendars. It'll be a calendar/scrapbook! I started making calendars occasionally when I saw Tracy's on Flickr....they are wonderful. There are lots more arty calendars in this Flickr group. Check them out.

Rainbow Falls, Hilo, Hawaii

2011-04-15T02:56:00.001-05:00

I haven't drawn in several weeks as I've been spending some time with my sister and her family. I'm feeling very, very rusty. I dug out the Hawaii photos to try and get back into the swing of it. And it was hard! (whine, whine) But at least I have broken the ice and gotten started again.

Our family is reeling from the loss of my brother-in-law, Doug. He was a wonderful person and left us much too soon. I have talked to so many people lately whose only sign of a heart attack was shortness of breath (this was Doug's symptom too). Please familiarize yourself with the signs of heart disease.

Journal Backgrounds with alcohol

2011-03-21T00:45:00.003-05:00

No, that does not mean I'm drinking while painting (though you can achieve some novel effects that way!). I read about how watercolor painters sometimes spray alcohol on wet paint to get an interesting effect. I decided to try it with watered down acrylic. Pretty cool.

This one had a base coat of dry pink paint. I went over it with watered down blue acrylic and quickly sprayed rubbing alcohol on heavily. After it sat a few moments, I tipped it up to get some drips. Very moody, eh?

This one had an orangey red undercoat. I coated it with watered down yellow, and sprayed a fine mist.

Here's another cool way to use alcohol for your journal backgrounds.

These are interesting, but if you try them, use your common sense about not breathing any mist, etc. Have fun and be safe :)

Vintage Ephemera Packs

2011-03-19T18:06:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, I get to go to a lot of auctions in my role as an antique dealer. I love the old paper stuff and use it in my art journal, but I'm getting buried in great old paper! I made one pack up for a friend, and then I just kept going, so I could put some up at the antique shop. Now, I've decided to resurrect my etsy shop. I'll probably be adding some each day for a while.

These packs contain vintage paper of all kinds. No copies. There are game pieces, clips and advertisements from 1920s and 1930s magazines, vintage book pages, trading stamps, sales tags, playing cards, children's book pages, old bank checks, ledger pages, foreign phone book pages, maps, dictionary pages...you get the idea....lots and lots of great stuff!

Each pack has over 50 items, and I try to make each pack something that I would like to receive...I want you to be excited when you open yours!

So if you want to add to your collection or if you always wanted to try art journaling, but didn't want to get buried in paper (like me), here's your chance :D

If you are local, just stop by Old City Hall Shoppes in Pontiac, IL.

How to Make a Packing Tape Image Transfer

2011-03-12T12:08:00.007-06:00

I've been having fun making these image transfers....so easy and so fast! I love art techniques that are fast...I'm not the most patient artist. The transfer above is layered over some of my handwriting, so you can see how the image is now transparent and your background will peek through. This technique works using photocopies, magazine images and text, newspapers...just about anything printed on paper. Just remember, those images are owned by whoever created them so keep that in mind when you are creating...use them in ways that don't violate anyone's copyrights. The best thing is that you can use your own artwork and photos and make photocopies, like I did in a journal page in a previous post. You know you own your own stuff, and can use it however you please!

My sister tried making some last night, so I took pictures to share with you:

You'll need some clear packing tape, a baking dish of water, a bone folder or spoon or something to burnish the image, scissors, and some magazines or photocopies to use for your transfers. Ink jet prints smear if you get them wet, so I think you need toner based copies.

Put the packing tape over your image...carefully...try to avoid wrinkles.

Cut out the tape covered image, cutting away any unwanted background.

Burnish the tape nice and tight to the image.

Then put your image in the pan of water to soak. Go work on taping up some more images, or eat some cookies...let it soak a bit so that the paper on the back gets nice and soft.

When the paper is soft, start rubbing the paper off the back. You will see that the inks are now on the tape, and you can just rub all the paper away.

Here she is part way done...keep rubbing until there's no paper left.

Your image will still be on the tape, and it will be transparent. You can glue it down with acrylic medium, attach it with brads, or whatever you dream up, and your background will show through.

Here are a few that we did last night. You can see on the bottom one that I had to use two pieces of tape to cover the image. That's ok, just overlap them a little so it all holds together.

Odell Gas Station on Route 66

2011-03-11T13:05:00.003-06:00

This is the Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell. It's just about 10 minutes north of Old City Hall Shoppes on Route 66. It's beautifully restored, and if you get a chance you should pull up and have a picture taken of you and your car!

I'm trying to learn to make decent image transfers so I can get that transparent look while still using my drawings. This one is a packing tape transfer. It turned out pretty good. At certain angles, you can still see the edges of the packing tape, and I'm not crazy about that, so I have a couple other methods I'm trying also.

Here's a picture of that gas station back in the day:

Playing with the Printer

2011-03-10T12:56:00.001-06:00

I'm playing around with some drawings I've done in the past. I want to use them to create some Route 66 post cards and also some art for the wall on little canvases. The original is above...you can see that it's a pretty good sized drawing for me...it's on 10x12 paper.

I'm glueing some vintage book pages to print the gas station image on. I know if I was a whiz with computers I could do all this digitally, but I'm not, so here I am, worrying about running this through my new printer. Yikes! Afer I glued it down, I knocked the text back a little with some creamy/umbery, watered down acrylic.

It worked! The old paper soaks up the ink differently than new paper so I lost some detail (you can see the difference below). That might actually be OK though, for what I have in mind for the canvas. I may have to learn to do the layers thing for the postcards though. Sigh.

Do-over!

2011-03-04T13:41:00.002-06:00

Remember when you were a kid and you could call, "Do-over!" whenever you needed to try again? That's one of the great things about art journaling...you get a do-over anytime you feel like it. I liked the drawing and the border on this page, but not much else, so I'm working on adding some layers of collage and maybe some new journaling and we'll see where it goes!

I'm back! I used some of the goodies I get in boxes of paper at the auction. I like this better now, but I'm not sure I'm quite done yet. It's getting there though. The papers in the pocket have the stages of grief and also some more joyful words...like contentment, peace, joy, and generosity. Life is a complicated mix, isn't it?

Bloom

2011-03-02T16:38:00.003-06:00

Using one of those pages from yesterday, and a quote from Emerson. The moth is out of a vintage children's dictionary, and some child had traced around it so many times I didn't even have to cut it out. I just pulled on it and it came free from the page! I picked up the clock face at an antique shop.

And I have a fantastic video to share with you. It was made by Irina Dakeva...animated with 2000 handpainted watercolors. Amazing!

Play Date

2011-03-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

My sister, Jennifer, and I spent the day playing around with the paints. I did a couple of canvases...backgrounds for some journal style illustrations.

Then I played around with some paper and paints doing backgrounds for art journal pages. We were just generally having a fine time creating a big mess! Fun!

Jennifer worked in her "Wreck this Journal" and created a zentangle that happens to match the yellow background I was working on (to the right).

I also tried out some spray ink that I think I'm going to like. I sprayed it over some old tractor feed paper and got some cool borders with it. Can't wait to get started on that bottom canvas...that one is stirring up some ideas!

Journaling gets some love at the Oscars

2011-02-19T12:00:00.005-06:00

Another recent attempt at people. I like this one better. I am working from photos for these. Sometimes they are from my own photo and sometimes it's from one I found on the web. The main thing I'm looking for is a pose that I'd like to try.

I saw this video on Danny Gregory's blog....it's the sketchbook of a traveler to Madagascar...come to life. It's amazing and is nominated for an Oscar in the category of "Best Animated Short Film." Directed by Bastien Dubois. It's worth the time to view it!

Alone Time

2011-02-18T16:56:00.004-06:00

I've friends who say they never like to be alone. I love being with my friends, but I'm one of those who needs that alone time. Good thing too, because not many people would want to hang around while I draw. It's mostly a pleasant pastime, but it takes a while and it occasionally involves cursing.

I'm still trying to draw people. Some days it seems to click and some it doesn't. I just keep plugging along and figure one of these days, I will have drawn enough people that it will come easier. Practice really does pay off! Some of the things I'm realizing:

that I tend to leave the back of peoples heads not deep enough to house a brain
and that feet and hands are almost always bigger than you think.

I may still work on this page some more, but that will have to wait for another day. I'm off to go outside and enjoy this weather!

A little belated drawing action for Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T12:29:00.000-06:00

I've been trying draw more people and here's one from a page of my art journal. I avoid drawing people, but this year, I'm trying to do some of the things that scare me. I'm starting to have a little more success making the humans look....well, human. :D Maybe one of these days, I'll actually attempt to draw people in poses where their faces show too!

I love it when I come across videos and such with some drawing action. This one has some wonderful artwork/animation. And it has a sweet song too!

A great little video....lots of doodling...

2011-02-11T11:22:00.000-06:00

Happiness is....

2011-02-10T23:57:00.001-06:00

I love this quote, so it was the jumping off point for a little doodling.

Doodling up a Storm

2011-01-21T15:47:00.002-06:00

Remember when you were in junior high and high school, and you filled the front of your notebook with crazy doodles while you listened to the teacher? Well, I have been playing around with those lately. I've used them in some journal pages and as borders for projects. This doodle making process has actually been marketed by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts and they call their products "Zentangle."

If you want to try it, it's easy. Find a nice black permanent pen (Faber-Castell Pitt Pens or Sakura Micron are my favorites) and some smooth white paper. Draw a circle (I use a plate or something to trace around) or a free hand square. This one is almost 5 inches arcross. Then just put a few swooping lines to start yourself off. Make them overlap, because you are creating spaces to fill in with patterns.

Then just start filling in the spaces with pattern...circles, checkerboards, flowers, stripes, whatever comes to mind. Turn your paper as needed...there's no right side up until you say so. As you go along you will probably find that you want to keep subdividing the bigger spaces and that's cool. Don't get in a hurry, make your marks deliberately, and smoothly....you will find that it's relaxing, and even meditative. You can easily do this while watching a movie, listening to music, or listening to a speaker (if you don't have to take notes). In fact, I did this often when in school and found that I was more attentive and remembered more if my hands were busy with something like this (probably a little ADD).

Keep going until you have filled it all...or your movie is over. If you want inspiration for more patterns to use look here...there are tons of great ideas.

Here I've used some on the beginning of a journal page. They are pretty addicting, but they won't hurt you or drive your friends away, so it's all good!

Seahorse

2011-01-18T16:09:00.001-06:00

Very interesting and fragile little animals. And what an interesting reproductive system! I'd love to see some in nature someday.

Here's one while I was working on it...I always like to see these when I'm looking at others' blogs, so I thought I'd include it here.

Some Poodles are Boys

2011-01-18T14:46:00.000-06:00

We've always had poodles, they have all been boys, and people always assume they are girls. I guess it's the hair and the pretty face. But come on now, some poodles have to be boys!

Treasure Hunters

2011-01-14T18:44:00.000-06:00

This is inspired by my son Mike who was a pirate for about half of the Halloweens while growing up. When he was in about 1st grade he and his friend Billy used to take turns being the keeper of a treasure map they had created. When I found it in his backpack, he took it from me, handling it carefully, and solemnly told me that when he and Billy turned 13 they were going to go find this treasure. Mike and Billy are still friends (Bill recently stood up for Mike at his wedding) and they have, I know, done plenty of adventuring together.....and I think I'm kind of glad that, as his mother, I don't know all the details :D

If you'd like to see some really great paper mache sailing ships visit Ann Wood's site and click on ships over in the catagories section....they are beautiful!

Cardinal Couple

2011-01-14T13:46:00.000-06:00

I saw this handsome couple on Judy's blog this morning and decided to sketch them on the back cover of the "Boys and Girls" sketchbook.

He and She at the Mall

2011-01-12T14:52:00.001-06:00

Now don't get all crazy on me if you are a woman and this does not apply to you...I'm not much of a mall shopper either. I have to be in just the right mood and probably have a girlfriend with me. But I know plenty of couples like this one. The woman shops for sport and entertainment, and sometimes it just takes a lot of time to track down the bargains when you are on a budget. Most men I know are more like this guy...get in, get your item and get out.

The purple around the edge is cut from a shopping bag :D

This is the inside back cover of the "Boys and Girls" sketchbook.

Oh Baby...

2011-01-11T13:03:00.004-06:00

Dressing the little boys and girls is fun...such sweet little clothes! I was glad I had both boys and a girl so I could have the fun of each one. I loved dressing Colleen in little dresses like this one...smocked and embroidered....and many of them were gorgeous little Polly Flinders dresses I found at the resale shop. It's amazing what you can find in those places! Mike lived in overalls and sneaks. Here's a little pic of them...David, Michael and Colleen:

Adam and Eve

2011-01-08T16:26:00.001-06:00

How could I do the theme "Boys and Girls" with out getting the first boy and girl in there? As anyone who comes here often knows, I avoid drawing the human figure...I have trouble with proportions and all, but I decided to give it a go. So here you have Adam and Eve, as best as I could make them for today. If I had it to do over, I'd give him a little muscle...maybe they have not started working the land yet?

Play Time...Toys!

2011-01-07T16:35:00.002-06:00

Nature or nurture? I don't know, but I know my son had dolls, but didn't play with them. He was into trucks and toy guns. My daughter was crazy about dolls and dress-up. Of course, they were watching Joe and I, and I was taking care of babies and he was going off to work at construction sites everyday, so nurture might have had something to do with it!

This is another one for the Sketchbook Project.

Vive La Difference!

2011-01-06T17:14:00.001-06:00

another from the Sketchbook Project book...Boys and Girls is my theme. I see things I would like to change in this little sketch, but that happens a lot in my sketchbooks and this one is no exception. It was a fun one to do!

Vintage Stamp Set

2011-01-05T17:56:00.002-06:00

I found this vintage stamp set at an auction, and I'm soooo hoping that it will clean up well and I can use it!

You can see how dirty they are. I have a lot of stamps to scrub up!

I cleaned up those two, and as long as I stamp them on paper with some more paper beneath (to kind of cushion it) I get a decent image. Re-inking my ink pad might help too. I definitely think I can make use of these in my journals and such! Oh, and I got this for a dollar...no one else wanted it, but I'm pretty thrilled!

Boys and Girls

2011-01-04T14:13:00.006-06:00

When I signed up, I chose the theme "Boys and Girls." It sounded great at the time, but when it came right down to it, I was having trouble thinking of something to draw. Especially since I have trouble drawing people. I ended up with pages that sometimes have to do with little boys and girls, and sometimes grown boys and girls. I first painted the cover but didn't like how it turned out, so I collaged some dictionary pages on and tried again. I didn't purposely choose the words in the background, but the junior higher in me finds it amusing that a bolt and nut, and the word "booby" still ended up showing.

In some of the pages I've attempted sketching people, and some I have used other boys and girls...like the snowman and woman above. This is the inside cover and first page. The inside of the cover will have a pocket glued in for the artist's bio and such.

I like how this one turned out. I had white stars in the sky, but I must not have waited long enough for the paint pen to cure, because when I applied the wax to seal the page, they came right off. This is why I work with watercolors and acrylics...I would not have the patience for oils to dry. Apparently, I don't even have the patience for acrylics! So, I found these little star shaped brads and put the stars back in my sky.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-01-02T13:13:00.003-06:00

I signed up for The Sketchbook Project a while back. When I received the little sketchbook, things were kind of crazy around here, so I tucked it away for later. Last month I pulled it back out and got started.

The paper in this little Moleskine book they sent is very thin and will not stand up to all the paint and glue I'll be putting on them. The rules say you can rebind your book with any paper you like. I've never done any book making, so I'm totally flying by the seat of my pants here! I picked out the stitches, and used the pages as a template to cut new pages from bristol board.

I stitched them in using some waxed linen thread.

On the trip back down the spine I added some beads.

I like the look, and it still fits in the dimensions specified in the project rules.

The paper is so thick, that this is going to be more like a little board book when it's done, but it's the thicker paper I had on hand. If I'd been thinking, I would have probably snatched some pages from one of my Moleskine sketchbooks. It would have been the perfect size and shape and it also would have been the weight I prefer.

In my little studio...

2010-12-10T19:38:00.001-06:00

I set up a little studio at work and I'm enjoying staying late or working in the slow moments of the day. If I had running water in that room, it would be the berries. Apparently I need lots and lots of paper towels!

Fear vs Curiosity

2010-12-09T18:58:00.000-06:00

Have you all checked out Pinterest? You know as you surf the web, you come across all kinds of images you'd like to save? Pinterest lets you save them to pinboards that you create around a certain subject. I have one for "journal prompts" and one for "inspiring interiors" and one for "things that make me smile" and several more. It's easy and the images you collect link right back to where you find them....very handy! This page was made from one of the journal prompts I saved. You can check out my pinboards by clicking on the Pinterest link in the sidebar.

New Moleskine Ad...

2010-12-03T13:08:00.000-06:00

A new stop-motion ad by Rogier Weiland...pretty brilliant.

MINI PLANNERS from Moleskine ® on Vimeo.

Wise Old Dr. Seuss...and what to do about sticky journal pages

2010-11-24T19:27:00.005-06:00

It probably seems to you all as if I have been doing no artwork, but actually I have been doing some almost every day. I've been working in my art journal, but most of it is pretty personal, so I just keep it to myself. However....I've been experimenting and learning a ton!

I normally draw with india ink and paint with watercolors in my journal. Lately, in addition to those favorites, I've been using acrylic paints, paint pens, and acrylic medium to collage elements onto the page. It's been fun, but I found that later when I closed my book, all that acrylic sticks together....and peels off when you try to open the page...UGH!

Some journalers put a nonstick paper between the pages, but I like to do double page spreads, and it kind of ruins the experience of flipping through the book if I have to move a paper every time.

I went searching for answers and found that you can seal the page with wax when you are done. I did not have the wax recommended, but they described it as "kind of like clear shoe polish" on the website I was reading. Sooooo....I used clear shoe polish and it worked great! It created a wonderful finish and the pages no longer stick together....but they smell terrible! So I broke down and ordered some Dorland's Wax Medium, which is what many journalers use to seal their pages and prevent sticking.

Dorland's Wax works great. You just apply with a soft cloth, wait for it to harden up a little, and then give it a good buffing. I actually prefer the way the finish from the clear shoe polish looks, but Dorland's is good and does not smell...and is supposed to be archival, so I'm sure it's probably the better choice. Unless of course you really love the scent of shoe polish.

Just doing a little journaling....

2010-11-03T14:33:00.000-05:00

and enjoying the autumn morning light.

It's Yours, Take It at Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI

2010-10-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

Fun to see who picked up my artwork!

Folks picking out something to keep.

Upside down peace tag :)

Rainbow Falls

2010-09-23T16:17:00.002-05:00

A friend is going to the Big Island on her honeymoon. It was motivation to get out my Hawaii photos and do a drawing! I marked up a guide for them with stuff I thought was wonderful and made them a little book to stick their ticket stubs, menus, snapshots and such into.

I cut out some pages to leave room for the things they will stick inside.

I'd say I hope they have a good time...but, hey. They are young, in love, and going to Hawaii for their honeymoon...of course they are going to have a great time!

"It's yours, take it!" at ArtPrize

2010-09-15T11:52:00.001-05:00

These little tags will be given away at a unique art show/booth at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI. At an "It's yours, take it!" (IYTI) show, art work is donated by artists around the world....and the public is invited to take a piece home free. The IYTI booth will be set up as part of the huge ArtPrize event in Grand Rapids.

I hope to get up there to check out ArtPrize this year. It runs Sept. 22- October 10. More info here.

John's Modern Cabins...

2010-08-27T02:01:00.005-05:00

Added John's Modern Cabins to the side of the car tonight. I'd love to see these cabins one day. They are in ruins...but imagine what they must have been like back in the day!

That empty field is the site of the Rainbow Bridge in Kansas....to be painted tomorrow hopefully!

If you're having trouble reading that little rhyme, just click on the image.

Because I like Burma Shave slogans, you will see quite a few of them on the car.

Route 66 Travel Journals

2010-08-25T13:54:00.002-05:00

(as always, you can click on the image to see it larger)

As you can see, I'm kind of taken with all the neat signs along Route 66. Each journal has an orginal sketch on a 5x8 Moleskine cahier.

Show me....Missouri!

2010-08-22T23:47:00.001-05:00

Did a little more on the car today...took care of Missouri and on Wednesday I'll finish up the "show me" state and move on into Kansas.

Here's the future site of a Burma Shave advertisement.

I'm liking the quotes and lyrics stamped on and will probably be adding those all along the road.

Cozy Dog Drive In

2010-07-28T01:18:00.002-05:00

I added a few more places in Illinois to the car tonight.

Here are the romantic little hot dogs from the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, Illinois.

And the Maple Sirup Sign from Funk's Grove.

And here is the Sky View Drive in sign from Litchfield.

I think we are now driving into Missouri!

Gemini Giant-Wilmington, Illinois

2010-06-22T01:05:00.001-05:00

Tonight I added the Gemini Giant from the Launching Pad in Wilmington, Illinois. For some reason I had a lot of trouble with this dude, but I think he is finally OK.

This poor car has been last on the list of things to do with my son's wedding, the shop and various other craziness in my life. There will be some serious action on it in the next month. I'd like to be all done with it by the end of July.

Dell Rhea Chicken Basket

2010-06-03T00:55:00.004-05:00

Added the famous Dell Rhea Chicken Basket sign to the car. Tonight, instead of tracing an old drawing from my journal, I free handed this right on the car...so much more fun! And it results in a wonkier drawing that I actually like better. I'm also diluting the acrylics down to look more like the watercolors I use in my journaling. Next up, the Gemini Giant!

Adding a little color...

2010-05-15T00:06:00.004-05:00

to my car tonight. And some journaling. I've got a lot of hours to go on this baby. Lately I've been kind of swamped and haven't had a chance to work on it. Maybe in the next couple of days, I'll get a chance to hit it pretty hard and make a big dent in the work yet to do. I found some photos of great old signs that I want to make sketches of and work into the car. The signage along Route 66 was/is amazing.

At the Opening of the Walldogs Museum of Murals and Signpainting

2010-05-01T22:54:00.009-05:00

Visiting with tourists to Pontiac

Today, Pontiac opened a new museum showcasing the history and art of mural and sign painting. Many of the Walldogs who painted our town's murals last year came back for the opening.

Between the new museum, the Red Carpet Corridor Festival, the carnival, unveiling the "Crusin' the Square" cars, and regular Route 66 traffic, Pontiac was a hopping place today!

Catching up with friends, Sarah and Steve

Lots of folks stopped and watched my "car in progress." Many of the other cars were unveiled today, and I have them posted on my other blog if you'd like to take a peek. So fun to see what everyone came up with!

I did make a little progress on the car today, but I'm going to have to generate many more sketches of various places along Route 66! I wanted the car to have a bold look from a distance, but plenty to look at up close....I hope it's going to work out using both the detailed and the simple things together. We'll see.

I so wanted to make the headlights into eyes, because I think kids would get a kick out of it....but if I can't make him look happy instead of ticked off, those babys are going back to straight headlights! I've tried the eyes several different ways, and so far, no luck. I think part of the problem may also be that I've got the road going down between his eyes and it looks like a furrowed brow. Maybe I'll try changing that too. Any ideas?

Here's a little start on Chicago stuff at the beginning of the route.

The Livingston County courthouse in Pontiac. As you can see, I've had it easy with the first few sketches, because I lifted them right out of my sketchbooks.

Moleskine Car?

2010-04-29T10:46:00.005-05:00

My car is going be covered with paintings and line drawings, as if I used it as a giant travel journal on my imaginary trip west on Route 66. So when I was trying to decide on a color, I gravitated to the warm cream color of the pages in my Moleskine sketchbooks. It's a little more interesting than white, but still easy to paint other colors over. If you like to peek in the sketchbooks of different artists (I do!) there are lots to look through at their flickr group Moleskinerie.

Here's a look at the inside of the windshield.

Grouting

2010-04-27T12:26:00.004-05:00

Whenever I grout something, I wonder if I've ruined it with this huge mess...but never more than this time with black grout. Yikes! Looks like my car needs some mentos for his dirty mouth!

But when I clean the grout off it's kind of like magic....it looks so different! I especially like the rims on the tires. Time to get the paints back out and get busy.

Rolling along....

2010-04-24T23:26:00.003-05:00

Slowly coming along....just doing big surfaces and still have a looong way to go, before I'm doing something interesting to watch for Red Carpet weekend.
I'm liking the windshield, though I might be a little high from the adhesive. Yikes!

Art Car....

2010-04-22T23:12:00.006-05:00

Pontiac will be have a public art event called "Crusin' the Square" this summer. There will be cars and pick-up trucks created by local artists all around the square. They are just the right size for a photo op for the kids. You can come down May 1st and 2nd for the Red Carpet Corridor Festival and see everybody's cars. And you can watch me work on mine at the new Walldogs Museum on the square. I'm nervous about working in front of people, so be really, really nice to me :)

I'm just getting started, but hopefully by May I will have something a little more interesting for you to watch. Here I'm multi-tasking...painting and talking to my future daughter-in-law about the upcoming wedding.

My back is already appreciating this little cart Joe made to get the car off the ground a little!

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

2010-04-15T15:39:00.005-05:00

And in the spirit of getting off my duff and doing more artwork, here's a page from my sketchbook. I'm working from some of my vacation photos from Hawaii. The mark in the middle is a postmark that I got while I was on the trip. In the future, I'll be sure to tell them I want it over on the edge of the page.