Junk Mail Art School

This chicken had some flowers on it that I liked the colors and shape of so I thought I'd build a design with those.

What looks like an egg here was actually a bunny shape that I trimmed down so that I could focus on the pink flower that odd blue leaf and some of the other leaves and branches,

These images too were chosen for the leaves and flowers on them.

No matter how environmentally responsible we try to be sooner or later some unwanted catalogs find their way to our doors. There are lots of ways to recycle them. But Before I do that I look through them for images that inspire the sorts of things I want to be drawing now.
For me lately that is stylized flowers and leaves.

I've seen some tutorals on you tube but for me this is a more hands on method.

After I mounted the image, I began drawing some of the flowers and trying to arrange them in a pleasing pattern.

As I arranged them I needed something to pull them together so I added these leafy branches or vines and really enjoyed the sense of movement it gave the drawing. Having gone that far I couldn't resist adding some color too as I'm hoping to design fabric in the future.

I find pictures with some of the images that I want to work with and then cut them out and mount them to watercolor note cards. If you're just drawing any paper will do but as I often add markers of paints I stick with a more absorbent paper.

As I drew some of the elements from that blue egg I thought I'd save some time and move on to paints to speed things up.

I'm pleased with the way things are moving along so far and can't wait to see what happens next.

Just a quick doodle for the corner of the envelope.

Inside the card reads

 "There's a Lot of it Going Around.

 Beware! Don't get Bitten by the Doodle Bug"

My Biggest Project, Summing it all up

You may have seen some of my videos on you tube. I haven't done anything like that in almost 10 years and recent news from one of my Doctors made it clear to me that I'd better get the rest of things organized and put together sooner rather than later.

The first project I chose was to gather all of the material on my lilies from the garden to the drawings, paintings and designs for merchandise.

I'm not able to take the project through the computer and production phases so I've packed it away until I can find someone to help me take it from there.

In the meantime I'll be rounding up all the other materials on several subjects.

I love the idea that someday when I'm no longer able to do the gardening, drawing or painting that I'll be able to enjoy all of the great stories and photos myself or show them to others who might be interested. It means that no matter what happens to me art and flowers will always be part of my life.

Here's a list of the next projects I'll be working on:
Sunflowers
Iris
Dala Horses
Painted Furniture 

As you can see There's a lot of work to do so there may be longer gaps between my posts.

Keep Reading and Commenting. Your Feedback helps keep me going.

Thank You

My Sketchbook, Ideas and Work in Progress

I grow daffodils in my garden so this started with photos of those and I used drawings to tie them together but this is nothing more than an idea at this point. Perhaps in doing a drawing or painting based on this general composition. I'm not quite sure where it's headed yet but I enjoyed working on it.

As always I start with photos of the flowers that I have grown and then add bits of other things to it before it gets to the drawing stage.

These may never go anywhere but I do refer to them from from time to time to get the images accurate. I just used the daisy page this week while working on a small painting of daisies.

Here there are photos of things I've painted, magazine clippings and some drawings finding their way into an idea. A long way from that happening but it's a start.

The yellow horses are photos of wooden horses that I had designed, carved and painted. On this page they're used for inspiration for designs that I plan to use to make rubber stamps from.

This page is Christmas Horses in progress. They're being painted in Gouache and outlined with black markers in various sizes. 

Here you see the design before and after the marker outlines have been added.

Here's how that Page looked when I finished with it.

Here are close ups of a couple of the other horses.

This page is all stages at once in a couple of different projects. As you can see my sketchbook is nothing to save for the ages and most of the "good stuff" has already been pulled out to use or share.

On Feb.3,2020 I pulled this page out. Saved the patchwork horses and threw the rest of it away. Including that photo of the red horse in the center. It was just not one of my best designs and with hundreds of good designs, we'll never miss it.

For me, this is just the way things should be and less for people to deal with when I'm gone.

Your sketchbook needs to suit you purposes, this is just what I'm doing with mine.

On February 17, 2020 I removed all of the dala horse pages and put them in the dala horse box to help keep me more organized.

As you follow this blog you'll hear more if anything comes of these ideas. It also reminds me to keep working on them so thanks for joining me on my journey.

Evolution of a Pocket Painting

Here's another project in my series on ART FOR SMALL SPACES.

Miniature Still Life Painting

This started with a celebration of color applied with a small palette knife.

I was inspired by one of my old paintings to try painting a vase and flowers over it. My Favorite cousin gave me this vase decades ago and though the actual vase broke years ago I take it's memory everywhere I go.

The real trick would be whether or not I could paint it about an inch and a half tall and less than half an inch wide. Very tiny brushes were required.

Because I was working so tiny I decides to use daisies this time using the smallest brush I could find. By the time I got to the centers of the flowers I had to paint them in with a toothpick.

Here's the pair of finished paintings together.

I liked it quite a bit at that point but decided to see how far I could push the idea by adding a teapot, cups and saucers. Even more delicate work than painting the vase.

Realizing that all the white of the daisies would throw the balance off. I decided to research what sort of blue flowers that I could add.

I settled on turning some of the daisies into Grecian Wildflowers to balance with all of the blue in the dishes.

Starting Out Small, The Big Surprise

In the 52 years I've been painting I've gone back to this sort of work (knife painting) again and again in sizes up to five feet across.

Today I turned the process upside down on a canvas panel that was only four by six inches (10.16 x 15.24 cm) and my smallest palate knives.

 
The real surprise in the process was that doing the small one was every bit as fun as working really large. it's just all about the colors and textures.

Knife painting can be soothing, in spite of the name of it.

I looked at this painting a while and then got kind of a fun idea. I used to paint vases and flowers using these as backgrounds so I thought it would be fun to give it a try in this size too.

Here you see it with one of the inspiration paintings. It was a real challenge to paint the vase so tiny this time.

Because of the colors used in the background this time I decided to use daisies and was able to refer to my garden photos on the inspiration page of my scrapbook to help me get the various shapes right. I painted these with a size # 1 liner brush. By the time I added the paint to the centers of the flowers I had to use a toothpick!

I was very happy with the results. Imagine having a "real" painting tiny enough to pop in your pocket or purse. Perfect for people that are on the move a lot. Everyone needs art in their lives, no matter where or how they live. This just did my heart good and I think it will do the same for others as well.

I had done something similar to this with daisies 15 or 20 years ago. It's nice to know that I could have this one with me always, even if I end up in a nursing home.

A Great Way to Organize Tubes of Artists Paints

This container was perfect to round up art supplies all in one place. It holds palate knives, brushes, small canvas panels and paints. The problem was is that you couldn't tell one tube from another.

Adding a paper label over the end of the tube from one side of the paper label to the other makes a perfect place for a stroke of paint so that you can see what color it is right away.

It didn't take long to do and means that I never have to break the flow of a painting to find the color that I want.

Most of us are living and working in smaller spaces these days so even a simple change like this can make everything easier and more pleasant. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

It's surprising what you can fit on those tiny canvas panels. See what you can do with them too.