What's on your Wish List? Part 3

Here is a fun find for the traveling watercolor artist!  This is a lovely, tiny watercolor palette.  It is the size of a business card holder and can hold up to 14 colors- perfect for someone who likes to travel light.  It is metal and the pans are magnetic so that you can easily remove them if you want to change the colors.  Thank you Nancy for telling me about this great little palette!  I just had to order one to see how cool it was.   They are designed and sold by Maria Coryell Martin.  What a great stocking-stuffer this would be!

What's on your Wish List, Art Ideas Part 2

An Artist Wish List
My wonderful friend and fabulous artist, Pam Carriker, has come out with her own line of acrylic paints and inks!  She has also written several books, Art at the Speed of Light and Creating Art at the Speed of Light and has a brand new book coming out soon.
Her new line is called Matisse and is available for purchase with Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies.  I was fortunate enough to be able to play around with some of her luscious acrylic colors and inks.
They are highly pigmented, light-fast and are perfect for working on watercolor paper and in your journals.  There are 12 colors with yummy names such as Poppy, Nightfall and Mustard.  The inks are washable while wet making them perfect for washes and calligraphy.  Pam is a very talented artist and continues to bring us new art play things to try.  Check them out!

What's on your Wish List? Art Ideas

An Artist Wish List

I thought it would be fun to share some ideas that you may want to add to your wish list.  I am going to review a few art supplies over the next couple of weeks.  I would love to hear what is on your art wish list!
Today I want to tell you about a little printer that my CREATE student, Michelle, showed me.  I couldn't wait for Christmas so I treated myself to an early Christmas present.  It is fun!
It is the - 

Fujifilm Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-1

It is a smart phone printer.  It prints using images sent wirelessly.  I have used it with my phone as well as my tablet.  It  uses batteries so no cords or chargers to worry about.  The photos are cute miniature versions of the old Polaroid prints.  The photos are 3.5" x 2.3".  I have been adding them to my journals.

Italian Memories - A Peak Inside Our Journals

Snow is falling softly outside.  I am at home in Oregon and I am finally getting around to share with you some of our beautiful, fun watercolor journals from our week with Adventures in Italy, September 2014.  We painted, played, lifted, cut and pasted, stamped, and just generally created wonderful artistic memories! 
Here are some photos from our fabulous watercolor / mixed-media journals:

Italian Memories

Sifting through my many photos, I am feeling nostalgic for the lovely Orvieto, Italy.  I miss the warm glow of the sunsets, the bouncing light of shadows on the walls, the rolling hillside, the arches and the brightly painted ceramic pottery.  

I miss the angel statues and the cobbled stone streets.

 I miss finding hearts in unexpected places....

 The fun times we had together:

Orvieto - Thank you!

Who Are These Kind, Generous People?

Artists of course!  I am just back from CREATE, Seattle and just love all the beautiful friendships that come with teaching.  We share and give each other so much.  We share ideas, new art supplies, creative thoughts and encouragement.  And gifts!

Marlene gave me stencils - she says she bought too many, lol.  Diana made me a beautiful envelope to keep all the cool Polaroid mini photos that Michelle shared with me. Michelle also bought me a pencil sharpener because I needed one.  Susan gave me a magic wand (that can also be used as a pen).

Today in the mail, I receive two beautiful ceramic brush holders from the National Gallery of Art sent to me by Pat.   Here is what she says about them:

"ceramic brush holders - like a mug w no handle - I had one in class.  I think of you every time I look at it and would love for you to have one.  I use it for my clear water and pipette when I paint - lets me know it is NOT the one with my coffee in it and the water is always clean to add to a half-pan without getting too much water over into the next pan that I don’t want wet.  You of course, may actually drink out of it or use it for brushes.  I find it interesting that they list it as a brush holder. 

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Wonderful Students!

I adore my students! They keep me motivated and inquisitive.  I know that as I am getting ready to teach at the new Seattle CREATE Art Retreat, I will be meeting new students as well as many that have taken classes from me before.  I want to offer new and exciting ways to draw, paint, add to journals, create and explore.  As I am organizing and packing my boxes of art supplies I can't help to try new things.  It makes the preparation for my class take longer but it is so fun to offer new and creative ways to do the art that I like to do!