Apple ala Nina

Browsing the internet blogs this morning I stopped at Nina

Johansson's and looked through her Brown Journal she is sharing there. You really ought to go look. I find inspiration there, eye candy and learn a thing or two each time also.

Anyhow, this time I saw an apple I thought looked easy enough for me to try in my own journal. I got one out and gave it a shot. Then I ate it and halfway through I thought I should have taken a comparison photo of it to my painting. So in the second picture here you can see the real apple compared to my painting. I then painted the core but didn't take another photo. This time you just have to trust me, lol!

This also fits EDM challenge number 24. How lucky is that?

Something Easy to Try

I saw a post on Laure Ferlita's blog about making a photocopy
of some pictures after turning them to a grayscale version. I think this is a fun way to change and personalize a photo to fit wherever you might want something a bit different. It is recommended that you use watercolor paper but my printer wouldn't take anything heavier than a drawing paper so I tried that. I think I made mine too light a version of gray so be careful not to make it too light. The pink daisy is my result. As you can see it's quite a bit different than the original shown in the other color picture.

This is fun. Give it a try. Thanks for the idea Laure.

A Trip to the Beach

Recently I took a class with Laure Ferlita called A Trip to the Beach. It was a virtual trip and it was wonderful. I highly recommend anyone who wants to have a fun time learning to paint with watercolors to take one of her trips. Here is the link to her class descriptions. There will be a trip leaving for the beach in just a few days. You will be very happy if you decide to join her. I am getting ready to go for her trip to England next!

These are the pictures of my completed paintings for the class. If you don't like the beach join me in England. I was really new to watercolor and this is what I did so you can too!

Laure I can't thank you enough for expanding my world. This was a great trip.

New Journal

Everyone needs a new journal periodically. I am in a bead embroidery group where I agreed to make a piece of bead embroidery every month. Well, I finally have January done. Yes I am a bit behind but I am happy because I didn't just do the beadwork but I made a journal incorporating it. My beadwork piece is 2 1/4 inches square. I made it to complement fabric I chose for the journal.

When I was done I made a book 5 1/2 x 8 inches. I glued the square of beadwork between a cover board with the square cut out of it and a thin piece of card to back it. This way it is flush with the cover and won't snag putting it in a bookcase or stacking other books on it. I filled the book with drawing paper and watercolor paper. I made 4 signatures wrapping each one in a decorative paper to go with the cover. I'm very happy with how it turned out and hope I don't need to do too much changing or adapting for the next book. If I have my math right and wrote the corrections down I'll be okay!

I've Been Awarded!

Yep I sure have. I've been awarded the Kreativ Blogger award. I think it's going around a fun group I am in on Yahoo called Blissfully Art Journaling . If you like to journal and add some art to it this is a good group to be in. Anyhow to get back to the point, several of the ladies have been kind enough to give me the award. In fact three of them on this blog and three on my other blog! This award here is from Stacy, Fadwa and Vicki.

Now as part of the award I have to do seven things:

(1)Post the image of the award.
There it is over on the right!

(2)Thank the person who gave it to me.
Thankyou all three of you ladies. Your cyber friendship means a lot to me.

(3)Link to the person who gave it to me.
Will do as soon as this is posted!

(4)Tell you seven things about myself that you wouldn't know.
See below.

(5)Choose seven great bloggers to give this award to.
Oh dear, well I think most of the people I know have received it or don't want awards so I am going to be the party pooper and not pass it on.

(6)Give a link to their blogs.
See number 5.

(7)Leave them a message on their blog.
See number 5.

Seven Things You Would Not Know About Me:

1.I am taking a watercolor class by Laure Ferlita or should I say, I have taken one and am ready to start another. These are cyber trips and I highly recommend them. In fact I will post the pictures on my next trip so you'll see how much you want to go on a painting trip too.

2.I'm busy as a bee as I am also taking a class starting this Wednesday that is a beginning oils class (although I will be using acrylics) by Nel Jansen . Go here to see her paintings. You'll love the variety.

3.But I bet numbers one and two aren't what you were expecting were they? Okay how about I'm one of those strange Americans who actually loves fruitcake? Really. I make some every Christmas even if I am the only one who eats it. I have a great light fruitcake recipe too with canned (not candied) pineapple and coconut in it.

4.Every Easter I make chocolate covered coconut fondant eggs for my daughter and her family. They taste just like See's Candies! I got the recipe in a candy cookbook over 30 years ago.

5.I bought a guitar over a year ago and want to learn to play it but the books are too hard to learn from especially since I couldn't even tune the thing from the directions I got. I'll take lessons someday after I quit paying for art classes!

6.I love quiet! Real quiet as in no sounds at all unless it's the wind outside or a bird calling. I don't need the noise of the TV blaring or even music although after doing without music for 20 years I got an Ipod and enjoy it now occasionally - very occasionally.

7.I'm shy. Yes, yes I am. When I am around strangers I am painfully shy. You all are not "strangers"!

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed my answers. Thank you again for the award.

Grocery Day

Today was my day for running into town and getting the groceries and everything else we need for the week. After I got most of the stuff put away I drew and painted a few of the items I bought today.

I learned how to do this page from a DVD I got called Beginning Watercolor Journaling by Christina Lopp and Gay Kraeger. I love the DVD even though it's fairly simple what they show. The thing is, they show a few important things to get you going so I am glad I bought it.

Fruit in Bowl

Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted something. I really have been busy. I am taking several classes but have resisted signing up for more as it got to be too much.

I am in Fallbrook, California visiting my sister. She was called in to work today so I had some time to myself. I sat down and painted this pear in a bowl that was sitting on her table. I'm very happy with it. I went for wild and painted the shadowy white interior with purple. I felt like gray would have been boring and blah. This looks colorful and makes me happy. I hope you enjoy it too.

Done in my journal on watercolor paper with gouache paints.