Listen

Every New Year it is the same ole resolutions: lose weight, exercise more, clean out the closet......  this year, fellow artist and blogger, Laure Ferlita, has challenged her readers with the word-of-the-year idea.  The idea is to choose a word to guide you through the upcoming year. (Check out Christine Kane's post for more info.)

I started to think about what would be a good word for me to guide me through 2011 and immediately "LISTEN" popped into my head.  You see, I have a little voice, or intuition, that I am learning and letting myself listen to.  Am I talking to myself?  Well, yes.  But maybe it is OK, because I need to learn to listen to myself, follow my heart and my intuition.  I find that the more I listen to my intuition, the more it is willing to put itself in the front of my being.  This will be the year of listening.

How about you?  What will be your word-of-the-year 2011?

And the Winner is.......

The lucky winner of the Cloth, Paper, Scissors Gifts magazine is Jenny.  There were thirty-five entries and lots of great suggestions and ideas.  I used random.org to generate a random number and Jenny's number won.  Jenny, I hope you enjoy the magazine.  It is a fabulous issue full of great gift ideas.  You will be getting your copy in the mail soon.
Congratulations!
Jacqueline

Cloth, Paper, Scissors First Annual Holiday Issue Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Annual Holiday Issue of Gifts, 148 pages

Thank you everyone for commenting yesterday and giving me such great ideas on how to host a giveaway on my blog.  In order to win the prize - Cloth-Paper-Scissors’ First Annual Holiday Issue, please do the following:
*One entry per person.  Enter by leaving a comment on this post or yesterday’s post and answering this question – Have you ever made something that you saw in a Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine?  If so, what was it?

*I will use random.org to randomly pick the lucky winner

*Everyone that already posted will be included in the drawing (expect the few that said they don’t want the magazine)

*The deadline to comment is Sunday, December 19^th, 2011

GOOD LUCK!!!

What an inspiring magazine!  There are gift projects for the book artists, fabric artists, jewelry artists, beginning and well seasoned artists.  As always the artwork is beautifully displayed and the instructions are easy to follow. 

I was pleased to see my “Wishes” ATC featured in an article by Linda Blinn.  I was contacted in June by Barbara Delaney, assistant editor of Cloth, Paper Scissors, to create ATC for their holiday issue.  I have to admit that I was a bit stressed about this tiny piece of art (2 1/2” x 3 ½”)!  I pulled out all my sparkles, fake snow and xmas stencils in June and tried to get into the Christmas spirit.  I think that I made about 5 ATCs and spent many hours before I gave up and sent what I thought was my best one (we were flying out to Maine the next day and I had yet to pack!)  While I was in Maine, I got an email from Linda telling me that she picked my   ATC to feature on the cover of one of her holiday cards!  Ok, here is the funny part of this whole story - Linda found our Maine rental house on the internet and rented it for her family vacation early in the summer.  Through our emails we made the art connection and I found out that I have been reading her articles on creating art for years!

Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine Giveaway!

Win this magazine - read below

I am honored and thrilled that the editors of my favorite magazine, Cloth, Paper, Scissors, picked my blog for their New Magazine Blog Tour.   I will be reviewing their magazines and offering free magazines to a few lucky Art in my Heart Blog readers starting with GIFTS, their first annual holiday issue.  This magazine is super-sized at 148 pages and can be found at Barnes & Noble for $14.99.  Or you can participate in my blog giveaway and perhaps win a free copy!

Here is what I need from you….
I have never done a blog giveaway before so I am looking for great ideas on how to do this.  Have you ever done a giveaway or participated in one?  What works and what is fun?  Anyone that comments will be entered into my CPS magazine giveaway. 
I have my cup of coffee and a fire lit in the fireplace.  It just started snowing outside.  I am off to read through GIFTS and will get back to you soon!

Lots to learn about Color!

Ingrid making a beautiful color study

Kim showing her book with her painted cover

Comparing books

More color studies

It has been a couple busy weeks teaching classes and trying to keep up on the holiday hoopla around the house.  Needless to say, my house doesn't look at all xmas-y yet as my priorities are always with my classes.  Friday I finished teaching The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color Class and everyone left with a beautiful spiral bound book full of color studies.

The Chickens are Back!

Ethyl's Home

My chickens see me coming from across the yard, with my food pail in my hand.  They come running in hopes that I have something very special in there or perhaps they want to be the first to the goodies.  If Ethyl or any of them ever get out of their little pen, this is a good way to get them back again. 
I have been having fun painting miniature paintings of my chickens giving them lots of color and life.  These paintings will be available for purchase starting on Friday for the First Friday Art Walk at the Birkenstock store and the Red Chair Gallery, December 4, 2010.  Hope you will come in and let me know what you think.

Getting Ready to Teach "The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color" Class

I always enjoy getting ready for this upcoming class starting on Friday at Bend, Oregon's Art's Central.  Students will be doing lots of color studies as well as learning how to use the color wheel to help them create beautifully colored paintings.  One of my favorite parts is teaching how the temperature of colors (either warm or cool) can greatly affect the color mixes.  By the end of the class we will put our color studies in a little spiral bound book, a perfect reference for taking to future classes.  There is still room in this class if you would like to sign up.  Just sign up on line with the Art Station.  Here are some photos from previous classes:

Daily Paintings

Romance

Cold, snowy days are great for painting small paintings for the upcoming Art Hop on December 3, 2010 in Bend, Oregon!

Miniture Paintings

Summer Repeat

I love painting these small paintings that are really meant for a spot on a shelf or coffee table.  My goal is to paint one or two a day for the next few weeks so that I have a good supply for the upcoming December Art Hop in Bend, OR.  Perhaps they will make a perfect Christmas gift for someone special.  If you are strolling around town on Friday, Dec. 3, please stop by at the Birkenstock Shoe Store to say "Hi".

Wishing you Sunshine, A peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Driving around the steep hills of the Island of St. Thomas, our car peaks a high point and we burst out of the lush vegetation to spectacular views of the emerald Caribbean Ocean below.  Then just as quickly, this gem is hidden again by the jungle overgrowth along the narrow roadside.  In this painting, I wanted to capture the colorful patterns and shadows created by the bright sunshine on the windy streets.  My hope is to depict warmth and light!

Painting in the Tropics, a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Spending a week in the tropics is refreshing for those of us who reside in a color stricken area such as Central Oregon in the drab months between fall and winter.  What a feast of color!  Even the Iguanas slipping into the bushes are colorful.  This ancient creature was sunbathing on a rock.  He actually had more color than I gave him!

Surprises along the way

Enjoying the view with a cup of Cortadito

We are traveling from Oregon to St. Thomas for a wedding and after 16 hours and 3 plane rides later, we were hoping for a good cup of coffee as we waited for our last flight out of the Miami airport.  Our layover was 3 hours.  I approached a perky looking petite woman holding an very official clipboard, dressed in a red skirted American Airlines suit and seemed open for questions.  "Is there a Starbucks nearby?"  "Just 10 minutes by the sky train," she said.  She had a beautiful Italian accent and we struck up a friendly conversation when she offered that her favorite coffee is Cuban coffee and available just around the corner!  I was up to try something new and so was David.  "You have to go past the sit-down area and go to the coffee stand-up bar and ask for Cortadito".  Which we did and absolutely loved our tiny cup of cortadito that we ended up having 2!  We also enjoyed Cuban pastries, savory and sweet.

Ladies at the coffee bar making Cortaditos

Making Plans for Painting in Provence, May 2011

I met with Helen yesterday about our upcoming May 9-19 trip to Provence, France.  I am getting so excited about it that I can't sleep past 4:30 in the morning.   We will be visiting  Roussillon know for it's red-ochre colors and designated one of the most beautiful villages in France.  Here is a photo that I took when I was there with my family in 2003.  This photo is inspiring me to get to my studio today to paint!  Daniel Smith Art Supplies has a color I haven't tried yet - Burgundy Red Ochre.  Described as a granulating, reddish-brown earth color, it sounds perfect for trying to capture the ruby glow of Roussillon.  They also have free shipping, so now is a good time to stock up on supplies if you need anything.

Kitty on the Velella - A Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

These pages started with a pencil drawing of the little kitty that is traveling with Prescott (my nephew) and Meghan, on her sailboat, Velella, as they sail their way from Seattle through the Panama Canal and over to the Atlantic Ocean.  We spent a weekend sailing with them in June as they have docked in L.A. for awhile to regroup.  This kitty did, as kitties do, the cute curled-up-into-a-soft-warm-ball-time-for-a-nap, as we sailed to Catalina Island, giving me time to sketch her.

I am finally getting around to working on and finishing these pages by adding watercolor washes, gold gesso, and water-soluble stabilo pencil.  I have been anxious to incorporate pages from the used Japanese paperback book that I bought at Portland's fabulous bookstore, Powell's.

I love how the kanji characters (the Japanese alphabet) flow gracefully downward.  They remind me of branches of a weeping willow tree hanging over a pond.  I used pages from the book to make the houses then painted a light watercolor wash, stabilo pencil and doodles over them.

More Watercolor Journeys Classes

I just finished teaching my Watercolor Journeys Class in Bend, Oregon.  We had a lot of fun and pushed the limits with mixed media: gesso, mat medium, mica powers.  (left to right) Karol showing the cover of her journal, Janviere has her colorful daisy painting, Michal is showing us the inside cover and vignettes on the go of her trip to the orient, Liz is showing us her image transfer cover and Chris worked on her journal about traveling to the Southwest.  Missing are Phylis and Ingrid, who had to leave a bit early.  Great Work!

Watercolor Vignettes from Ponet; a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Inspired by my blogger friend, Laure and her thoughts on using different formats, I thought I would share this page from my Provence, 2009 Watercolor Journal. 
Directions:  using artist tape, tape off some shapes on a watercolor page in your journal.  Paint a watercolor wash.  Here I used an analogous mix of yellows, greens and blues.  Draw in some little vignette drawings.  Then add some more color to increase the value in certain areas.  Pull off the tape and journal in the white areas. 
Be sure to check out Laure's wonderful painting of a Canadian Goose using a long format!

A Lovely Time was had by All!

Nine out of twelve of our Provence, 2009 group gathered for a reunion at Barb's beautiful cabin along the banks of the Deschutes River.  We were thrilled that Irene flew out from Wisconsin for the occasion.  The weather was gorgeous!  Liz, as seen below, was into the pure spirit of painting plein air.  Others painted inside the house.

And others went on a fall walk instead:

And the Lucky Winner is....

Congratulations to Carol!  She was the lucky winner of one of my watercolor prints at the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010.

Watercolor Journeys at Art & Soul, Portland 2010

Colorful Daisies, Students Work

Colorful Daisies, Students Work

Many thanks to all my wonderful new and returning students that attended my Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from Travel's class at the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010.  Your paintings turned out wonderfully beautiful and colorful.   No muddy colors here!  It was nice to meet everyone, especially those of you who travel so far:  Lynn from Cleveland, Denise and Lori from CA, Carol and Rosemary from WA and all the others from the Portland area: Lisia, Danielle, Tracey, Joyce, Mary & Carolyn.  Many of you were brand new to watercolor and I hope you enjoyed your introduction to painting.

Getting Ready for the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010

One of my favorite things that I do when I get ready to teach my Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from Travel Class, is to put together watercolor goody bags for each student.  They are filled with art prompts and useful items for creating art in your journals.  There are still a few spots available in this class if you would like to sign up!  If you live in the Bend area, I am teaching a similar class at Arts Central, called Watercolor and Mixed Media for the Traveling Artist.

Demonstration at Bend's Fall Art Hop: October 1, 2010

What a beautiful evening it is going to be in Bend.  The weather is warm but autumn is in the air and the trees are showing their fall colors.  I am packing my car with new paintings, prints, cards and new jewelry and a few supplies to set up a watercolor demonstration at the Birkenstock Store.  I will have some examples of what I will be teaching in my upcoming class at Central Oregon's Art Central.  Come by and see what is new!

It was a Beautiful Day, A Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

My brother, sister-in-law, friend and I were exploring the little hilltop villages of Provence, France last September.  We stopped in the town of Segûret.  The sun was shining, the ochre-colored walls were glowing and the shadows were filled with colorful light.  Every little corner was a painting waiting to happen.  Here is my journal painting of Segûret.  The design on the wall is a note about the ripe, delicious figs that I would find lying on the ground.  We don’t get figs like this in Oregon.  Have you ever had the chance to pick figs ripe off of the tree?

Strolling on a Sunny Day

Mt Hood with Lavender Fields, a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Mt. Hood with Lavender Fields

Here is a page from one of my larger journals.  I use the Arches Field Watercolor book.  It comes in 2 sizes (10x7 inches or 14x10 inches)  I uses both sizes.   Here is a link for the journals at Dick Blick Art Supplies:  Journals.  Other stores carry them too.  I love these journals because they are filled with Arches fabulous 140 lb watercolor paper and hard bound with a spiral wire binding so that they lay flat when painting.

The Art Station has announced the dates and times for my 2 classes. I would love to see you there!

Watercolor & Mixed Media for the Traveling Artist
Fridays, Oct 15 & 22, 2010

The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color,
Fridays, Dec 3 & 10, 2010

Painting Plein Air, Photos from our Hood River, Oregon Watercolor Trip, 2010

The weather was beautiful and the sunflowers were in full bloom.  We spent the day painting en plein air, which is the French term meaning, in the open air.  The impressionist artists of the late 1800s made this popular because of the invention of tube paint.  They no longer had to grid and mix their own paints with powders and linseed oil.  If you are ever in Paris, France, be sure to visit the Sennelier store where many Impressionist shopped.  It is much the same as it was in the 1800s!

Can you tell me what kind of butterfly this is?

A scruffy visitor to my garden.  I am off to the book store to get a book about butterflies because I want to attract more!  Does anyone know what kind it is?  I may have to paint him.

"Colorful Whites", a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Here are some pages from my current Watercolor Journal.  I am playing around with creating colorful whites by adding local color(color from the surrounding areas) in the shadows.

"Why Shouldn't Art be Pretty" a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

 "Why shouldn't art be pretty?  There are enough unpleasant things in the world."  This is one of my favorite quotes by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  My goal is to make my art pretty and to bring happiness to those that see it.

"Life is a Journey" - a peek inside my Watercolor Journal

"Life is a Journey, Not a Guided Tour", author unknown.  This quote really speaks to me as you never know what will come your way.  I think it also makes me want to be more adventurous.  What does it say to you?

Meeting about the High Desert Art League

Brand new blog - High Desert Art League
The High Desert Art League just started a new blog.

"Oh the places you will go!" A peek inside my Watercolor Journal

That is me in that party dress.  Actually it was an Easter dress.  Notice how the Dr. Seuss poem is all blurred because I took my journal on a little boating trip the other day.  The kids were boarding and when my husband did a sharp turn in the boat, a huge wave of many gallons of water came over the bow and landed on my head and in my lap, much to his delight!  Of course, he did not get wet - just me and my journal.

Oh the Places you will go!

******Note to myself and others*******  Protect your journal in a zip-locked baggie when involved with water sports and you feel compelled to take your journal along, even though you know you won't really have time to work in it.

"Jordan Pond" - a peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Here is another page from my Maine watercolor journal.   I painted this while waiting for steaming hot pop overs sitting outside at Mt. Desert's Jordan Pond.  The chairs facing out to the pond seemed so inviting.

Painting in the Lavender Fields

I am in Hood River, Oregon with nine fabulous women.  We are having fun painting all day, laughing all night and sharing the stories of our lives.  Here is a photo of the lavender field where we painted.  The sight, smells and harmonious buzzing of the bees was heavenly!

Kayaking in Squid Cove, A Peek inside my Watercolor Jouranl

Kayaking in Maine, Mount Desert Island:  I love kayaking in the early morning right off the dock in an area called Squid Cove.  I took my camera and took a photo my view.  The sparkle of the light was what I was trying to capture in my journal entry.