Willowing Arts: A Year of Light (October)

October's lessons from Willowing Arts: A Year of Light.

Even what looks like the simplest of least important lesson usually teaches me some little trick or technique.

This one came together so quickly and nicely that it
inspired me to do it again as a self portrait in oils.

Like I said above, sometimes the silliest looking products had a lesson.
Such as??
Showing a little white above the iris in the eyes
shows a surprised and/or excited expression.

Eve This little booklet magically came together with the just right folds.
Like a quilter loves the opportunity to use up little scraps of fabric,
mixed media artists love getting to use little paper pieces.

I can't honestly say I learned anything with this one.
It was just kind of nice to do a simple little storybook picture.

I went completely rogue on this one.
The teacher's girl was willowy, serious, elegant. and in a somber spiritual yoga pose.
I did, however, use her technique with the salt on wet paint, splatters, and dots.

This lesson was about using masking fluid to leave spaces white
and using salt to make watercolor blotchy.

Believe it or not, this was probably the most difficult for me.  Not that it's technically hard, it looks like a child's.  The hard part for me was that I was to "relax" "let the colors speak to me" "let no thoughts flow through my hands" "let the brush lead" "allow shapes to appear" 
Yeah...
I'm more of a girl who has a plan.
So... yikes...

Self-Portrait in Black & White (Painting #750!!!)

When I did those first few paintings back in 2007

it never entered my thoughts that I'd do a hundred of them. 

Now here I am in 2025, still painting, still loving the process, still striving to improve.

I've done 750 original paintings.

I've sold nearly 500 of those.

I've gifted about 100.

I've got around 20 that I'll keep.

I've got another 100 that are waiting for their forever home.

How about that... It seems like I should say it's a dream come true. Only, I never even dreamed that I'd become a fairly prolific and proficient painter! I never imagined I'd call myself an artist.  But... I think I can.

I am an artist.

I am grateful that art is a part of who I am.

I am grateful for all the friends I've made because of it.

I am grateful that I'll begin working on 751... (just as soon as I clean up the most recent mess I've made in my art room.)

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Canvas Board

NFS... Ha ha... unless someone out there wants to own a black and white portrait of me! 

Tuxedo Cat Peek-a-Boo

 Fun fact about Greece: There are little cats everywhere... everywhere!

Our guide assured us that the cats are loved by Greece and taken care of when needed.  He also assured us that they kept them spayed and neutered... Hmmm... if that was completely true... wouldn't there be fewer of them? ... just wondering...

They were happy little things.  They seemed quite at home where ever they were.  They were never bothered by people visiting their spaces. They liked to be petted, but we learned that they weren't having any part of being picked up.

When I say that they were everywhere, I mean...

...under bushes.

...beside fences.

...on steps of convenient stores.
(Yes, marble steps to a convenience store.)

...on top of mountains.

...at bus turnouts.
(...with my friend Kim.)

...at monasteries.

...in courtyards.
(... with my brother Curt.)

...overlooking valleys.

...on ledges.
(...with Ron.)

...on ledges.
(with my sister-in-law Kittie)

...along evening shopping areas.

...in plazas.

...in gardens.

...on ancient building blocks.
(...with my friend Lisa.)

...on ancient ruins.

...beside trees.

...in the sunshine

...in the marketplace.

...above the marketplace.

...on the rooftops.

...along the pathway.
(I know this one looks to good to be real.  It's real)

...on statues.

...in the ancient ruins.

So... yeah... everywhere.

As I was telling my art partner Cheri about the trip, she declared that our next weekly-ish challenge would be "Cats."  So this little kitty showed up on the canvas.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Canvas Board

Click Tuxedo Cat if you'd like to have this sweet little painting.

Santa & Christmas Lights

Why does this Santa look so familiar?

I think I know him!

He's the guy who's fought with trimmed the tree's light every year. No one was happier than he was when I bought a pre-lighted tree.

Well... maybe Buff was equally excited about the lights on the tree.

How did it get to be mid November already?  I guess it's time to make things look like Christmas again soon!

Original Acrylic Painting on 8"x 10" Canvas Board

[NFS... I think I better keep this one!]

I Like... (10/25)

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

Click on HER BLOG to see what positive things others like.

I like the songs this guy and his friends make every evening.

I like home.

I like going to amazing places.
It's hard to pick from the bazillion photos that I've taken in the last couple of weeks!

LeeAnne's  conversation starter topics this month:

Do you enjoy podcasts?  I do, but I don't know the trick of how to find ones I'd enjoy. Can you direct us to some you like?  Dolly Parton's America was 9 episodes and so good. I love Dolly. I enjoy.  I like to listen to Family Secrets. She interviews a lot of people who've written memoirs.  I love reading memoirs.  

Do you decorate at all for Thanksgiving? No. We just let Mother Nature decorate with yellows and golds outside in the trees. 

Do you remember making construction paper turkeys in elementary school using your own hand? Coloring them in or pasting on cut out colored feathers? Taking them home and having a parent put them up in the house? Okay, going a little rogue to answer this one, but it's a fun story. I taught 4th grade for a few decades, so there have been many versions of turkey making in my time.  One year we were going to make those turkeys where you fold every page of a Reader's Digest then fan them out.  Well... I happened to have a couple of kids who were of a religion that didn't allow them to participate in anything holiday related.  That year I decided we'd do the project anyway with a non-holiday choice for everyone.  I told the class they could choose to make theirs to be a  Thanksgiving turkey or an autumn peacock. It turned out that most of the kids chose to use blue instead of brown giving us a bunch of peacocks to line the hallway.  The kids were all so proud.  As it turns out, that  very week our school hosted a group from the State Department.  As they toured the building and commented on all the lovely autumn decorations and Thanksgiving art, they came to my end of the hall and had some very interested and confused faces over our decorations.  Ha ha ha ha! 

Would you rather go to someone's house for Thanksgiving  or host them in yours?   I don't mind enjoying a Thanksgiving meal at someone else's house, but I'll always make a Thanksgiving meal at our own house even if it's not on the exact day.  I love making the dressing and deviled eggs and having the leftover turkey.

Willowing Arts: Mastering Mixed Media (#11-20)

I purchased the Mastering Mixed Media  course from Willowing Arts quite a while ago.  I'm grateful that I have the lessons forever; there's no hurry to get to them, and I don't have to do them all at once.

  

Three years ago, I'd have never believed that I could draw a face so easily.  I guess practice does pay off. Another surprise is how much I love working inside an art journal.  I would never have guessed that I'd enjoy that so much

.

Here's the next batch of ten that I've completed.

This one turned out to be a favorite.

Although this one got a post of its own,
it started out as one of the lessons.