June Art-Startz

The June Art-Startz session was a special time of artistic energy.  Whether it be a simple plate with a couple of strawberries or a garden gate, each of us brings a new perspective to the things that inspire us.  To watch a piece of white paper and some pigment become a new thing is magical.

Turning the corner on winter

Everything is coming up primroses and with them the promise of 6 months of warmer weather.  Time to put away the wooly socks and gloves.  I love this time of year.  It makes me forget how long and dark winter is.

I also can be reasonably sure that Art-Startz won't get canceled again on account of icy weather.  Twice was enough.  I've reserved Sunday April 3 and Sunday April 10 for our next sessions.  We will use a watercolor wet-on-dry technique, mixing color on the paper, and try out watercolor pencils and crayons.  They're perfect for capturing the tulip fields.  Very fun!  Ready to paint?  I sure am.

Winter Art-Startz

The January session of Art-Startz brought a welcome dash of color to an otherwise gray day.  Sadly, snow dictated that we cancel the November and February sessions, but spring is coming.  Everyone was asked to bring 3 simple-shaped objects that they would find interesting to paint.  I brought a few of my own favorite things as well.  Already I think they have seen the positive effect of filling the whole picture plane, varying the size of the shapes and thinking about foreground and backgrounds.  So fun.

I am on the edge of a flurry of creativity.  Several wholesale card orders, the spring Antique and Craft fair in Lynden where Christa Warren will include my prints in her lovely display from her shop, Surroundings.  The Bellingham Farmer's Market is only about 6 weeks away for me and I have also committed to 5 large original paintings!  I'm honored to be asked.   Biting off more than I can chew?  Time will tell.  But hey, life is short and anything worth doing is worth overdoing.  I think Mae West said that.

Simple Stems

Spring is just around the corner.  The garden is showing signs of perennial life.  It wasn't such a bad winter here in the Pacific NW, thus far at least.  Winter is a time to paint new things for the farmer's market season coming up.  Life is getting in the way...as usual.  A couple of new card images have been accomplished.  Art-Startz #4 is coming up here shortly on February 27.  I am totally enjoying the time of artful exploration.  Can't wait to see what they paint next.  I hope they're doing their homework.

This painting is one of a series I plan to do, exploring refraction of stems in water.  My market "neighbor" displays her wonderful dahlias and lilies in these wonderful blue jars and I haven't been able to resist taking tons of photos.  Glass and water....what a challenge.

Art-Startz 2 Stars

Here they are...the brave souls who trusted me with the right side of their brains for the second in what I hope will be a long series of art adventures. Each participant brought a unique skill set to our time together, but I feel each was successful. Watercolor is like learning to drive a car with a manual transmission, you can read about it all day long, but until you get behind the wheel, you'll never know how much "gas to give it". You have to put a loaded paint brush to paper....over and over again.

Art-Startz Revisited

Art-Startz 2 has tentatively been scheduled for October 30. I'm really looking forward to introducing our merry band of watercolor enthusiasts to the wonderful world of SHAPES. We'll be playing with simple fruit shapes and work to create compositions that will be the basis for our paintings. We'll even throw a little salt around just for fun.

A Classy Class

Here they are, the faithful friends who ventured out for the first Art-Startz session. The watercolor paintings they produced were so wonderful. They were complete novices and were able to follow my example to complete unique paintings filled with expression and their own creative instincts. When they took the masking tape off, they were amazed at what a difference the crisp white border made in their paintings. Session two coming soon.

On a Lighter Note

For better or worse, I just finished a little "art-startz" of my own. How quickly my mind becomes lazy and I seem to forget how to paint.... as if I ever really knew before. I find that if I just sit down and "niggle" (translated to mean: apply paint to a given surface in a semi-orderly fashion), something will appear on the paper, which I'll either love or hate. Like they say, "It's easier to turn a moving vehicle." I just have to keep reminding myself to be brave enough to see what happens and MOVE.

Art-Startz Becomes a Reality

Tomorrow night, 5 brave friends and I will gather to explore some creative possibilities that I'm calling Art-Startz. At the urging of a couple of close friends, I have been imagining a way to coax others along the path of creativity. Believing that art has to be lived and cannot be taught, I see myself as a tour guide rather than a teacher. My own creative journey has been through years of self-experimentation, books and workshops. I would have been helped greatly by having a tour guide along my creative path, a path I nearly abandoned out of frustration. I'm very excited to see what grows from this special night.