Easy peasy sketches

Using more watercolor pencils, and Sakura Micron pens, these were quick outlets of creativity found in a pocket of time in my busy life.

Celestial Bliss

One of the more fun projects I have done in awhile, this set turned out really good in my humble opinion. High quality Gouache gives the brilliance to these two.

Watercolor pencils

It's sort of cheating, but it's too easy. Below represents my idea of a relaxing day at a warm beach. Used Fantasia watercolor pencils, and Johanna Basford Triplus Fineliner.

Reykjavik in watercolor

Reykjavik houses are known to be painted in bright colors. I think one of my favorite qualities about this northernly capital is the bold colors they paint their homes. This is a simulation from a photo that I painted in M. Graham watercolors. I used a lot of colors with cadmium in it, and I love the bright opaque qualities of it.

Watercolors are my newest experiment, and this painting turned out well for experimenting, but I didn't care for the paper. Next time I will use a 100% cotton paper for the durability.

Smoky Mountains in Autumn

I have only seen the Smoky Mountains in summer, and the area between Tennessee and North Carolina is truly stunning (and this is coming from someone who lives in the PNW!). Now that it is fall, I can only imagine the fall colors exploding throughout the Smokies, even with gray skies. Many of my paintings have bright blue skies, but the lighting that a cloudly gray day gives can be just as beautiful (again, PNW native here). Here is my perspective of the Smoky Mountains in October.

September in Washington County Oregon

On a 5 X 5 canvas board using my favorite M. Graham Gouache paints. Another painting of nature and human isolation, this was inspired by driving through the backroads of Washington County Oregon, not far from where I live.

2016 Quilt

Each year I try to sew one quilt while I plug away half-time in school and full time work. It's usually when I get the long summer break that I can fit in the time, but it's my first love of fiber arts, and finishing them brings a real comforting joy.

This year I decided to burn through some excess fabric scraps instead of buying more fabric to sew with. Also, my goal was to use what I had on hand instead of buying anything for this quilt-such as batting, thread or the backing. It's amazing what creativity can do for you if you use what you got!

The backing is an old fleece blanket from IKEA that was in excellent shape, and no batting was used. A simple stitch-in-the-ditch was the quilting on this one to make it simple. I am very pleased with this one, especially considering it didn't cost me anything other that what was already on hand.

Sicily in Gouache

I had started this painting several weeks ago, but lost my inspiration. Today I got that inspiration back, and decided to go heavy with the bold gouache. I then used Staedtler's Triplus Fineliner by Johanna Basford to outline everything. It turned out 'cartoonish' my family told me, but they liked it. Still trying to find my style, and this feels right so far. Sicily is a place I would like to visit someday because of my maternal heritage.

Knitting Icelandic Sweaters

Knitting is my most practical hobby, but also most expensive. It's been about 10 years since I taught myself, and I am quite proud of how far I have come. Here are two Icelandic sweaters for my upcoming vacation to Iceland.

Made with Alafoss Icelandic Wool-Kaela approves

Knitted with Lion Brand Woolspun so it wasn't 'scratchy' for my daughter.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay, a small coastal county in South America. Years ago, I studied a lot about this country, it's culture, it's landscape, it's people. This country is quite a gem it seems, and I would love to travel here and spend a day on the sunny beaches. It's a peaceful place, with stability and a rich culture all it's own.

This painting is in my Art Journal-page 2-of a street with colonial homes. I painted these homes brighter than the photo was, but I imagine being there with the peaceful sunshine everything appears brighter. Initially sketched with watercolor pencil, coated with Daniel Smith Watercolors, and accented with Sakura Micron pens. 

Tiny Lavender fields forever

I really liked the painting I made my dad named Lavender Field so much that I decided to paint a small replica for me. This one is a 5 x 5 using Graham Gouache. I did this one in an afternoon, and didn't include the old house this time. I am sort of obsessed with France's lavender fields, and hope to one day visit one just for the immersion in the scents and sights of this wonderful flower.

2016 Summer Dress for a Tween

Currently, I am enrolled half time to finish my degree, so free time isn't abundant. Once spring break arrived however, I had a plan to do a bit of sewing-my original creative love. I promised my daughter a new summer dress, and so I found a pattern on Etsy to sew her. The pattern is called Ahmelie Bloom Shine Maxi Missy by Pink Fig Designs. It was quite an easy pattern to sew, but I did end up with a lot of scrap fabric to make another project. This is usually a bonus, however, I still try to be conservative when buying fabric for patterns. 

The fabric was purchased from Joann's in my city. I am normally a bit of a fabric snob, but for the amount the pattern needed, and the fact that my daughter is still growing, I decided to be smart about my purchase. This amount of fabric cost me $50 even on sale, but again, I do have a lot of scraps left. 

Wine and Canvas, Round 2

Recently, I did another Wine and Canvas class at the St Josef winery in Canby, Oregon. The first class I took nearly a year ago got my inspiration started with painting, but these are so much fun that I had to take another. This is acrylic on a 16 x 20 canvas sitting above my kitchen cabinets. Although acrylic isn't my favorite, the social aspect of a Wine and Canvas class is a lot of fun.

Taos

Because canvas is expensive, and I can only hang so many in my home, I began an Art Journal. The Art Journal will feature paintings of places I wish to visit (if I had the opportunity). My goal is to see how I develop over time in practicing a technique in painting. I bought a Bee Creative Watercolor spiral bound pad for this experiment.

This is page one, and it is a replica of a photograph of homes in Taos, New Mexico. I loved the blue sky and the contrasting red clay homes with green doors, and defined the elements with a Sakura Micron pen.The initial sketch was colored in with watercolor pencil, and then I went back over that with Graham Gouache paint. 

Why Taos? New Mexico has always enchanted me, and Taos seems to define that enchantment theme.