Mandala Collage and Zentangle

This 12 x 12" canvas was painted with another project in mind. But, the idea of a mandala seemed stronger, so that is the direction of this piece. The paint is actually blue, but with a red undercoat and at least two layers of blue, it appears black. With a compass that held a colored pencil I drew the outline. Fabric and laundry color sheets were the choices for the the inner pieces. Then I went to paint the purple and the blue base "ate it up"! The color was so absorbed that I gave up that idea. So, the purple is hand dyed fabric that I glued. The acrylic yellow was the wrong shade and boring, so I found in my stash, a shiny yellow that reflected the purple. Well, the original outside shape was half circles. It just didn't work. So, after several tries, I send up with the pointed shape that was cut from fabric. Back to the center where I had some yellow. That was then covered with tiny gold almost sand like beads. A few dots of yellow puff paint and a crystal in the center. I THINK that I'm done. My goodness, I'm sure wordy about this piece.

Zentangles is another type of art that I enjoy creating. Margaret Bremmer, at Enthuiastic Artist, has a terrific site that includes mandalas and zentanges. She is so talented and inspires me to do better as I play with my art. There is a peace that surrounds you as you enter that state of being absorbed in your art. May you all experience that contentment.

Life a bit more settled

I've been able to "lurk" at the terrific work by the folks in the EveryDay Matters group. Such inspirational pieces. I was waylaid by a case of vertigo and now the world has stopped spinning. I missed my regular figure drawing session, but went to an very relaxed gathering where Andrew posed while playing a game on his i-pad.

I felt good enough to go golfing yesterday and along the edge of the golf course was this peacock who was keeping an eye on his lady. The glory of the peacock blue color was breathtaking.

Another project has been a thank you to the clubhouse where we hold our art quilt meetings. We invited children from the community to come and help create a quilt. They did an outstanding job! I brought it home to quilt and it will be auctioned to support the community projects.

Since my head is no longer spinning, I can get back to thinking and creating. There is a list of projects that I want to tackle!

Zentangles and flowers

Sometimes you just let your thoughts wander and create meaningless pieces. There is no real reason for the flowers and zentangles. But, it's not a complete loss--I did learn more about using Inktense pencils and I settled a bit more after traveling.

Sketches from my trip

I just returned from seeing the grandkids in Ohio and drew a few of their toys. It was fun to see the reaction of the four year old as he recognized the items.

Of course, one needs to draw on the airplane. It's not wise to sleep near me.

Be Still Oh Inner Critic

There are times when we must overlook the inner critic. I continue to go to figure drawing sessions and am learning to still the critic. This piece was done with a charcoal pencil on paper that had "tooth". I can pick at details, BUT I guess that I like it because there is hope.

I've made another quilt for Quilts of Honor. You may recognize the pattern from a previous posting. This piece is 58"x58" and will be given to a deserving veteran.

And--just to remind you that Spring is really here. This picture of apple blossoms was taken at a friends house.

Quilt in the style of Mackintosh

Sometimes you get excited about a project. It happened to me with this quilt challenge from my Pins and Needles Art Group. We are to make a 12x12" quilt that reflects our favorite artist. Oops! just reread the instructions and it was supposed to be our favorite quilt artist. Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy what I've done. I chose Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Can't say that I have just one favorite artist, but I do like his work. He was an architect, designer and artist. He produced over 120 different designs in textiles. He also created in wood, metal, glass and plaster. He did quite a number of floral watercolors. There is even a Society that honors his work from the Arts and Craft movement. Mackintosh was influenced by Japanese art.

In my stash of fabrics I found some pink and light blue that I had dyed. I used a colored pencil to punch up the light blue a bit. The black is a fusible bias tape that I securely sewed after ironing it on. There is just something about this piece that delights me.

Collaborative project and music

Last week I was lucky enough to attend two terrific music events. First was a concert by the Sacramento Symphonic Winds. Simply Sousa was the featured music and the auditorium was packed! Love to hear this rousing music. I did manage to do a few sketches of unsuspecting attendees. I'm finding that using two sizes of pens helps to make my pieces more interesting.

Oh, the other super music event was hearing Jackie Evancho. Oh my, she sings like an angel at age 11. You might check her on youtube.

A collaborative project is now happening. Judi, an artistic friend, and I are going to do a book that has pages which are 8"x8". She does watercolor, oil pastels and oil paints. At the moment, it looks as though I will be doing the lettering, but who knows how I will decorate each page. This is our first set of pages.