Keys

Yesterday's sketch of a key on a chain. I did it in "Shades of Grey" Pitt pens with no pencil sketch first (daring, for me). I actually got a couple of nice comments about it on the Milliande.com site that hosts the daily sketch challenge. Nice :)

Summer Day

This is a "scraped-paint" design I did a while ago with acrylic paints on Aquabee journal paper. The colors are bright and shimmery-- like a perfect summer day.

Okay, I'm Obsessed...

...with this daily sketching thing. Some days I'm the only one who posts a sketch to the site. But the more I draw, the more I like to draw; and I think the practice really helps.

Today's Sketch

The Milliande.com daily sketch today is a tomato/salami/cheese tableau.

Red Shoes

Yesterday in art journaling class we sketched various shoes and created borders for our pages. I scanned mine and added color using the Paint program. Yes, I seem to be obsessed with artful pursuits these days. :)

Mailbox Sketch

Today's sketch for Milliande.com daily challenge. I used pen and ink (no pencil sketch first this time), then Cray-Pas colors.

More Sketching

Again for the Milliande.com sketch challenge. This one is "rosehip," in pen and ink, watercolor pencils, and soft pastels. Original is a bit darker than this photo.

Chickens

Here's another sketch I just did for the Milliande daily sketch challenge. The scan isn't the best- doesn't show all the shading and color. I really enjoyed working on this one--wish I had a pair of these cute salt and pepper shakers myself!

Blessing

This is one of my favorite blessings. I say it often in Hebrew for the health and safety of my loved ones. It's a rubber-stamped image that I altered and colored.

Father's Day

This Father's Day was bittersweet. Sweet: Ryan came in from Austin and the 3 of us had a wonderful few days together. We celebrated Father's Day early for Nelson last night with a delicious dinner, gifts, and a movie. Bitter: Today was also my Dad's unveiling; yesterday would have been his birthday. But spending time with friends and family today, in remembrance, was sweet as well.

This photo is from the journal I kept during our visit with Ryan in Shanghai in May 2008.

Smiles

Our son Ryan is flying in tomorrow night from Austin, Texas, for a short visit. I smile just thinking about seeing him. Here's a set of journal pages I did a while ago based on a Dove candy wrapper that had a saying about smiles. On the first page, I used photos of my young nephews and myself as a girl. On the second page is Ryan at about 2 years old (he's 27 now). Below his photo I attached a mirror so that anyone looking at the page can see their own smile too.

Apple

This is another daily sketch for the Milliande creativity site, where we each sketch from a reference photo in any medium we choose. This is (my usual) pen and ink, and Prismacolor soft pastels.

Comfort Wishes, by Jennifer Louden

" I wish you the courage to pull up your anchor
to assent to let the waves toss you, even to let them dent
and crack your beautiful lifeboat.
Risk the scratches and cracks, even risk the moment
you're convinced you will be swept away forever.
Grasp your prayer beads made of tears,
Hold the hands of those who have suffered, too,
Wail loudly, and all the while
Accept the invitation."

Dreaming of the Ocean

In about a month we'll be off to our timeshare in the Outer Banks of NC. Here's a photo of an altered playing card I created in the (cold) winter of 2007 while dreaming of that year's beach trip-- many months in the future.

Thinking about Family- Altered Card Collages

In 2007, my Artful Journaling class created altered playing cards to represent each week of the year (or as many as we felt like doing). Here are three of mine, with a family theme. Spring 2009 is the one-year anniversary of my Dad's death (Mom passed away in 1990), so it feels appropriate to include the cards here today, with love and wonderful memories.

Shoes

I stumbled onto a daily drawing "challenge" on a site called http://milliande.ning.com/. There's a list of reference photos to draw from daily, and you can also find a similar object in your own environment and draw it. The idea is to do a fairly quick sketch, using any medium you choose, then post your results on the forum. This is "Shoes" from yesterday. I did a pen and ink sketch, then scanned it and added color thru the Paint program. Fun!

Clive

Here's a sketch of a Clive Owen photo I did in Portrait Drawing class, given at the Columbia Art Center by Carol Zika. Enough said. :)

Another ATC Doll

Here's another ATC doll I made, of myself. Once you start making these, it's hard to stop!

Another journal, front and back, that I altered for the Joggles class.

Altered Journal Cover

I'm taking an online class through Joggles.com with Sarah Whitmire on how to alter the cover of a journal. It's the first time I've worked with Golden fluid acrylics. She also taught us how to create our own stencils, and use them to add dimensional embellishments to the journal cover. Here's a cover I've almost finished.

Lunch Date

This squirrel was outside my kitchen window one day while I was eating my lunch. We munched our meals in companionable silence. I'm thinking of doing a pen and ink sketch based on this photo someday.

Oy, Vey

I've been keeping an almost daily art journal on my own lately. It's really boosted my creativity. I try miniature versions of new techniques; write about what's happening in my life; practice my calligraphy; jot down quotes I've read that resonate with me; and include elements of my daily activities such as ticket stubs and photos. A couple of weeks ago, while leafing through magazines, I realized how steadily we women are bombarded with messages about the "horrors" of getting older. Of course, I agree that we should be made aware of medical issues that may affect us at this time of life, and it's great that there are products out there to help us with the annoying cosmetic issues that come with aging. But do we need to be reminded of it on almost every page of every women's magazine we read? I don't think so. Thus, this journal page.

Creative Possibilities

Another double page I did for journaling class, when we were working on layering. As you can see, I did plenty of that.

Corolla Light House- Outer Banks, NC

Here's another pen and ink sketch I did. I sketched it from a photo we took on one of our annual vacations to the Outer Banks. One of our goals on these trips (in addition to absolute relaxation) is to visit all the lighthouses in the area. This one's in Corolla, in the northern Outer Banks.

Hearts

Hearts are one of my favorite themes. This is a paper heart quilt I designed for an art journal page, using watercolor paper that I had hand-painted and stamped. I can't wrap myself up in it to keep warm, but looking at it fills me with love and satisfaction.

Pen and Ink

Earlier this year I took a Pen and Ink Drawing class with Carol Zika at the Columbia Art Center. I liked this medium so much that I continued to play with it after the class ended. Here's a sketch I did of my sister's cat, Thea, based on a photo taken by David Nudel, my sister's partner. I then added some areas of color using the Paint program. Her eyes are so startlingly blue that I just couldn't leave them black!