Quick sketchbook entry

Three in a spinning world...

Some days all you can get out is a quick sketch before dinner, but most of the time that is satisfying enough. Surprisingly, the simplicity of shapes and color fills the need to express a thought or feeling.

Starbucks

I needed a high octane Venti Iced Coffee blast from Starbucks, so my daughter happily drove me for my fix. :) Ahhhhhh. Relief. Sketched this while we chatted and discussed her Stetson University essay.

loose abstract sketches

Abstract ideas, scribbles, sketches... whatever. Just playing with paint, colored pencils, and ink. I'm having the best time this semester with no grad school classes. It's much more fun to play in the studio burning Asian Spice incense from Pier 1 Imports and drinking green tea. :)

paint, stamps, collage...

Time spent in the art studio today--playing with original carved rubber stamps, gluing collaged papers into the daily journal... add some watercolors and colored pencils. Finding the meaning. Life is good. :)

Journal time

Sketching and doodling... writing words... adding color.

Illustration Friday Challenge - GERMS

Illustration Friday challenge for this week was GERMS; I decided to use the oil pastels in another "organic" looking abstract to illustrate the theme in an abstract way. 6.5 x 4.5 oil pastels on Strathmore Pastel paper.

playing with oil pastels

Oil pastels have vibrant and juicy possibilities, especially when playing with abstracts... makes me feel like a Kindergartner exploring shapes and lines.

nature mood

Instead of getting back to the abstract this morning, I decided to sketch a quick watercolor as a warm-up activity during today's studio time. I was more in the mood for a nature scene with some florals. 6.5 x 4.5 inch watercolors and ink on watercolor paper.

I found a daily painting thread at Wetcanvas, so I submitted this as my work for today. I haven't been active on wetcanvas in a long time--it was good to peruse the different forums and be "inspired" by the various artistic styles and ongoing projects. It is an awesome international website for beginners as well as advanced artists to use for sharing their ideas, creations, and friendship.

birth of an abstract

It always amazes me when I go through the birthing of an abstract. It's a combination of thought, experiment, and adaptation. Rarely is the original vision achieved as pictured in the creative mind; it takes great patience and trust to get to the final form.

From pencil sketch to collage elements... the addition of color and line... this painting will change over the next few sessions into something only faintly conceived, but I have learned to trust the process.