Happy Labor Day! I hope you have time to labor over something you love~
Here is a video tutorial on sketching faces with my line of Face Map Stencils from Stencil Girl Products! If you want to check out my stencils you can find them HERE. Happy sketching!!
Registration Ends This Thursday for A Cut Above!!! Don’t delay in signing up for the class(es) of your choice because once registration closes (June 20th) the opportunity ends. I’m offering an optional DVD of both of these workshops that can only be purchased inside of the classroom at a nominal fee. This allows for those who may not have the time to do the class while it’s live, to do it at their own pace or for those who want to have unending access to the videos to revisit the workshop whenever they like.
The neat thing about the Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat is that you can take as many classes at a time as you like-just like a live retreat! There are many wonderful instructors to choose from and a wide variety of techniques to learn.
I hope you’ll consider joining me for one or both of the only online classes I’m offering this year!!
Click on the image above to Register
SESSION TWO
If you follow me on facebook you probably have seen my ‘Sketch du jour’ images. I try to post them daily, just as I try to sketch daily.
Sketching is a discipline that I challenged myself to take up in 2008. As time has gone by, I’ve seen improvement in my work and it’s become a thing I look forward to at the end of the day.
I’ve also gotten faster which makes it very easy to squeeze in 20 minutes or so at the end of the day.
I get inspiration from books and magazines. Mostly I do portraits because I love the intricate shading process, but I also sketch objects laying around. It really doesn’t matter what you sketch as long as you do it.
It’s like exercising ( I know-groan, but it gets easier the more you do it) you get stronger when you exercise those muscles!
Last year during the holiday season, I was working on a portrait a day for 30 days, Page du jour you can find these entries through the search feature. It’s always good to push yourself with a little challenge. Right now I ‘m pushing myself to finish my current Moleskine journal so I can begin work in a brand new 8 1/2 x 11 Moleskine Sketchbook on January 1, 2012. It never hurts to have a little ‘prize’ waiting for you!
So as I get ready to travel and see my family before Christmas, this is all I’ll be taking with me, along with my journal. I’m going to use my travel time to hopefully meet my goal and finish this journal. Looking forward to the New Year and the promise it brings. Time to start thinking about your goals and resolutions to make ‘it’ happen in 2012!
Awhile back I was a guest on the Sketchbook Challenge blog. Most of you that follow me know I love to sketch and do so almost daily. It was something I challenged myself to do in 2008 and I’ve seen my art grow as a direct result from that. I can’t stress enough how important sketching is. It’s like exercising, you know you should but sometimes you find excuses not to. But, when you do, you start to feel better, look better and miss it when you don’t.
When Sue Bleiweiss contacted me a few days ago to review the new E-Zine that came from this challenge I eagerly accepted. I was not disappointed! I knew it would be good, how could it not with names like Sue Bleiweiss, Violette Clark, Jane Davies, Jamie Fingal, Judi Hurwitt, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lyric Kinard, Jane LaFazio, Kelli Nina Perkins, Carol Sloan, Carla Sonheim, Susan Sorrell, and Diana Trout involved? But what really surprised me was the amount of tutorial information included. Not just on sketching either-there are tutorials on sewing, painting, sketchbook covers, screen printing and even quilting. This E-Zine is easy to read, and packed with info. I highly recommend your checking it out. It can even be printed out for future reference.
Day 11 of the Tour brings us to Jodi Ohl’s blog.
Jodi’s a single mom who works full time and still manages to find time for art. Why? Because it’s important to her. That’s why we all strive to find time in our busy days to be creative. The difference between wishing you had time to create and making time to create is in the ‘doing’. It’s no big secret, but when you look around you see that finding time is a common problem. It doesn’t have to be.
Build your art life just like you build your artwork,
layer by layer,
one step at a time, reusing and repurposing as you go along until you find what works for you.
I’m happy to announce that I’m having some bookplates made for those who have bought books from other places and would like them signed. If you would like a signed bookplate, send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to me at 1930 W Buena Vista ST, Springfield, MO 65810 and I will pop one in the mail to you free of charge. Here’s what they look like
I’m hoping to get to see each of the contributors for the book IRL and have them sign my copy! I already have 3, and I’ll be seeing 4 more at ART IS come October! Be sure to check the contributors teaching schedules too as you hop from blog to blog, many of us will be teaching in the same venues and we’re all looking forward to meeting up!
Blog Tour Schedule
1-Mar
Jenny Doh http://jennydoh.typepad.com/
2-Mar
Suzi Blu http://www.suziblu.typepad.com/
3-Mar
Seth Apter http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/
4-Mar
Suzan Buckner http://www.thriftycollageartist.blogspot.com/
5-Mar
Sue Pelletier http://www.suepelletierlaughpaint.com/
6-Mar
All Norah’s Art http://allnorahsart.blogspot.com/
7-Mar
Lisa Kettell http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com/
8-Mar
Nancy Lefko http://nancylefko.blogspot.com/
9-Mar
Chrysti Hydeck http://alwayschrysti.com/always-chrysti
10-Mar
Lisa Bebi http://lisabebi.blogspot.com/
11-Mar
Jodi Ohl http://www.sweetrepeats.blogspot.com/
12-Mar
Laurie Blau-Marshall http://loudlife-laurieblaumarshall.blogspot.com
13-Mar
Dawn Edmonson http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com
14-Mar
Paulette Insall http://www.pauletteinsall.com/
15-Mar
Julie Bergman http://juliebergmann.typepad.com/pinkparismatch/
16-Mar
Gail Schmidt http://www.shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/
