Just My Little Bit

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 04:53:00 +0000

I have been negligent in my blog posting because I just haven’t been painting anything. Nope nothing at all…..wait..I take that back. I have been painting, just not in my journals, paper or canvas. Nothing like I’d been doing in the last few years.

I’ve always wanted to work with wood and do a little upcycling. The idea of turning a flea market find into something cool has intrigued me for a long time. I have to thank Pinterest for keeping my interest piqued. At the same time a fear of power tools that could cut off fingers, hands, or poke an eye out held me back…until this year.

I decided I was going to make a medicine cabinet from the case I brought home with me after we cleaned out my parents home when they passed away. I didn’t have high expectations that it would turn out good much less great, I just wanted to learn something about woodworking. My idea was that this would be my practice piece for the medicine cabinet I would build for my bathroom remodel.

I used every resource I could find from Pinterest to YouTube and everything in between to teach myself the skills I needed to make this cabinet. I watched videos from tool reviews to how to use a router and a chop saw. My favorites were about how to make use of a pocket hole jig and how to cut crown molding. Now you can see why I didn't have time for "art."

Well enough babbling…here is my “practice” medicine cabinet. It’s hanging in the bathroom we have recently remodeled. I love it so much I don’t know if I’ll build another one. It also has mirrors on the inside door; I tip I got from looking at my husbands purchased medicine cabinet.

2016 Weekly Planner

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 23:56:00 +0000

The 2016 Documented Life Project is about to begin. I made it through 2015 with a simple weekly planner, not too fussy. This year I wanted a little more. This is what I came up with: If you like this planner, you are certainly free to use it; there are links to download all 12 months is below…for personal use only.

Print a test page to make sure you like it before printing the entire year. Then you’ll need a minimum of 4 per month…you can print the months individually.

Link to download weekly planner. Please leave me a comment if you can't access the file.

Has it really been 30 years?

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 01:42:00 +0000

While I was creating my interpretation for the week 40 of the Documented Life prompt, I was reminded of how my husband and I met.

We had a chance meeting at a dance club here in NM 30 years ago and it was love at first sight. The club was named after the car on the page but alas the club no longer exists.

We lived away from NM for 25+ years and since we moved back 5 years ago, we haven’t been able to figure out where the club was located. Did it ever exist or was it just magic? Hum….

The Last Face…or is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 02:31:00 +0000

Here are the last faces drawn for the 29 faces challenge. I just love this challenge and I try very hard to complete it each time I participate. Well, this time I didn’t make it to 29. I only made it as far as 27. I have one more night to finish but no more time, if you know what I mean. Other duties call.

Where did I leave off? Oh yes…#25

#26 #27

That’s it. I can’t wait for the next challenge…in February 2016, I believe. Thanks for stopping by.

Another Set of Faces for the 29 Faces Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 20:06:00 +0000

#17

# 18, 19, & 20

#21

#22 Drawing with my left hand.

#23 & 24 This is my favorite of all I’ve drawn.

29 Faces – 5 more faces

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:48:00 +0000

Face #12

Face #13

Face #14

Face #15

Face #16

29 Faces– 8 more added

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 20:44:00 +0000

Oh geeze, I’ve been posting the faces to the Facebook 29 faces page and I totally forgot to update the blog. Here are the next 8 faces I’ve done. 5- 8 are small and were done when I came down with a cold so they are not great.

Face #4

Faces #5-8

Face #9

Face #10

Face #11

I’ll post the rest tomorrow morning.

It’s time for Sept 2015 29 Faces Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 05:39:00 +0000

Is it really time for 29 Faces again? Where does the time go?

My thanks to Ayala Art for hosting this wonderfully fun challenge.

The first three days are done. For your perusal:

Face #1

Face #2

Face #3 – This face will be a part of a larger painting that will include at other faces.

Thanks for visiting.

DLP Week 32

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 23:19:00 +0000

I haven’t been keeping up with posting to the blog, I guess I don’t have a lot to say recently. But I did just finish my week 32 DLP page yesterday.

I have actually kept up with my DLP, or Documented Life Project, journal and honestly that’s quite an accomplishment for me. I have a tendency of starting but not finishing projects because I get distracted by another glittery project. But this time I swore to follow through and I have….so far. Only 20 weeks to go. :)

The challenge for the week was characters. I drew this interpretation of the opening scenes in Thumbelina.

close ups:

So, what art projects have you gotten involved in?

A book review of "Daily Painting" by Carol Marine

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sun, 10 May 2015 17:16:00 +0000

I recently received "Daily Painting" by Carol Marine to review. I really enjoyed this book, so I’m anxious to tell you about it. This book strives to help artists become more confident and successful by painting one small painting every day. It gives you the benefits of painting small and often, with the objective of selling your art online. The middle chapters include everything that goes along with painting from art supplies to selecting the subject matter and it utilizes artist interviews to get it’s point across in some chapters.

The book indicates that the author paints in oils but with the exception of Chapter 8, the tips included apply to other mediums as well. Chapter 8 does delve more extensively into the use of oils and I have to admit, I initially skimmed chapter 8 looking for information pertaining to the medium I use. But there are portions in chapter 8 that are worth reading even if you do not use oils. However, since reading the book, I have become more interested in trying oils.

I personally got the most out of chapter 3, which was about selecting a subject matter for your daily painting exercise. Although there are many subjects to choose from, the author chose the following categories to discus: still life and flowers, landscapes, animals, people, cars and buildings, and abstracts. This selection of topics was based on the most common subjects used by other artists on her website, Dailypaintworks.com. While there is no in depth discussion of each subject each one has a brief introduction, an exercise for you to try and includes other artists discussing their reasoning in choosing the subject matter they did. The thing to keep in mind here is that the subject you choose for small paintings might be completely different from what you might paint in your larger studies.

Chapters 4-7 give you invaluable insight on the use of Value, Color mixing, Drawing and proportion, and Composition. For example: in the section on color mixing the author gives you the theory behind mixing colors and then discusses the main reason why some color mixes don’t turn out like you’d hoped, color leaning. About color leaning she says “Unfortunately, the reality of paint is a little bit more complicated than the theory, because there is no pure color in paint! Every color leans toward other colors - in other words, every color has little bits of other color(s) in it.” She gives several examples such as: “cadmium yellow lemon -yellow with the little blue in it, cadmium red medium- red with a little yellow in it.” And goes on to say, “If you want to mix a saturated secondary [color] you have to be careful which colors you use since, if you inadvertently add a third primary [color] to the mix, it will become more gray and less saturated.”

Chapter 7 discusses composition but the gist of the chapter is that it takes time to get the right composition so don’t give up too quickly and listen to your instincts.

Chapter 10 gives you the basics on photographing and editing using photo editing software. Chapter 11 gives tips for better online sales. There are a few benefits I hadn’t thought of such as the use of auctions to help you value your work. However, I wouldn’t buy the book for chapters 10 and 11 as they were too basic and didn’t include very much information not found in many other places online.

Overall, I think this is a good book for amateur painters who wish to delve into the world of the professional artist.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Repeating Elements and Multiple Layers

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:14:00 +0000

My new pages in my 2015 Documented Life Project: Week 8 - Technique: Repeating Elements, Journaling Prompt: It’s worth repeating.

Week 9 - Technique: use at least 5 layers. No title yet but I want to call it, know when to stop. Haha. Why? In the original makeup of this page, I loved how it looked but I added other elements to the page that I didn’t like and I kicked myself for not knowing when to stop…..hence the tag. :) Everything can be fixed with tags, can’t they? ;)

What do you use to cover up mistakes in art?

It’s been a while

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 23:55:00 +0000

Looks as though I’ve forgotten to post my recent work. Oops

Week 4 - Words with Friends

Week 5 - Using Under papers

Week 6 -Layers

Color My World

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 05:17:00 +0000

This is for DLP 2015- Wk 3 The theme is the Color Wheel. I really had fun with this week’s prompt.

This is the close up of my bird (my personal monthly theme.) and a Claude Monet quote.

I had a tough time with the bird this time around. I had to do it twice because the first time I had the perspective all wrong. This is better, I hope. What do you think?

Bird, Bird, Bird. Bird is the word.

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:11:00 +0000

Sorry, that song just popped into my head as I started to type the title of this post. As I mentioned in my last post, Birds are my theme for January. Wonder what February will bring?

This is my DLP 2015–Wk 2 Journal page.

And some Close-ups

The base layer of the journal page was gessoed, then colored with Prismacolor NuPastel that was mixed with Matte Medium. Then added a layer of acrylic paint in similar colors. A few stamps for some background texture.

The image of the bird and the eggs in the nest were drawn with colored pencils and the nest was made of newspaper strips. Colored the tree branch with Tombow watercolor markers. It’s a true Mixed Media journal page.

DLP–2015 January and Wk 1

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 23:31:00 +0000

Creating a Monthly page is not part of DLP but since my journal has 12 more pages than what is needed for the weekly challenges, I thought I ‘d create a monthly page.

This month has a theme outside of what we’re doing in DLP: Birds just because I love birds. …I’ve also added a tab for the month. I cut a tab template out of a file folder and covered it with patterned paper, then stamped the month on it. Then glued it behind the page, because there it will be covered with the add in I use for the planner portion.

The weekly page is this:

The DLP monthly theme is “blank pages”, meaning what to do when faced with a blank page. This weeks the theme is illustrated by covering the page with book papers. This is not new to me as I’ve been doing it for a while but it’s a favorite technique so I used them on my page.

Now don't ask me why she's pointing, your guess is as good as mine.

Happy New Year Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 00:39:00 +0000

I hope you had a wonderful New Years eve celebration. My husband and I went out to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican food places where I had a vegetarian combo along with a tasty margarita. Yum.

We came home and watched some TV together until Midnight. Then toasted in the New Year with some Sparkling Apple Cider. Yes we are that exciting. ;-) haha

This is my last entry in my 2014 DLP Journal – Prompt - Begins with the first letter of your first name. Since my name is Linda, I chose the word “Life”.

The quote is :

The most important things in life aren’t things. – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Watercolor Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 00:30:00 +0000

I got a new set of watercolors and I’ve been practicing with them.

Not great but I like it.

Linked to Paint Party Friday

Documented Life Project Wks 47 - 50

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:06:00 +0000

Surprise, I joined another group. Documented Life Project - 2014. I’ve always wanted to combine a planner and art and this was the best way for me at the moment.

I made the journal I’m using for the project using letter sized file folders and my sewing machine. I wasn’t sure the sewing machine wouldn’t tear the paper but it didn’t. It’s holding up really well. The gesso I add to it will strengthen the seam line.

Wk – 47 - Ojo Landscape – This is a spa we frequent in Northern New Mexico named Ojo Caliente. We love the place and I painted this after our last trip…This is a picture of the cliffs that are next to the hot springs pool. The spa has them lit up at night and they are beautiful. They even look cool when you’re in the pool as the snow is falling as it did this last trip in November.

Wk – 48 Gratitude – What else would you journal about over the Thanksgiving weekend?Quotes this time as there are too many, to name, things to be grateful for.

Wk 50 – Dream Vacation – As long as I’m dreaming I might as well go in a hot air balloon.

What new groups have you joined recently?

Happy Veteran’s Day to all Vets.

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:12:00 +0000

Thank you for your service.

The tag says:

Thank you for the sacrifices you and your families are making.
Our Vietnam Veterans have taught us that no matter what our positions
may be on policy, as Americans and patriots, we must support all of our soldiers with our thoughts and our prayers. ~~ Zack Wamp

Today is also the 8th anniversary of my dad's death. He was a vet having served during WWII, stationed in France. Miss you dad!

Still drawing faces

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:38:00 +0000

I started out to draw a few sets of eyes; just eyes so I could get in some more practice but she wouldn’t sit still for just eyes. She said all or nothing. So the full face it was. Sometimes you just have to do what the muse wants to do. .

It’s Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:30:00 +0000

Spent the early part of the day harvesting veggies from the garden and boy did we get tons of eggplant, zucchini, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. I see a roasted vegetable and quinoa salad in our future.

Then there is the new face. What can I say, I like drawing faces. This is is a little too dark around the hairline but I like it. This one was started with ink because I was foolish enough to think I could join INKtober 31 (361 ink drawings in 31 days). Well, I did join only to figure out it was over my head. I’m not an ink person. I like to erase too much. In other words, there isn’t a first line that I like let alone love.

It ended up being a colored pencil drawing.

What are/were you up to on Sunday?

Sadly 29 faces -September 2014 has ended

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:11:00 +0000

Here is my entire collection for the month.

I hope you enjoyed the challenge as much as I did.

Thank you for visiting. I really enjoyed your comments.

29 Faces #29

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 02:02:00 +0000

Yay! I did it! Drew 29 faces in 30 days. That was fun and I needed the practice. Believe it or not, I wish it wasn’t over yet….I need the push to create everyday and I love drawing faces.

Thanks to Martha of Ayala Art for once again hosting the September edition of the 29 Faces challenge. It takes a lot work to pull the challenge off and she does it so well.

The drawing is 3’ wide.

Thanks for stopping by. Please visit the other 29 Faces participants listed on: http://29faces.blogspot.com/p/sept2014.html

29 Faces #27 and 28

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:40:00 +0000

Posting two today.

#27

and

#28

Thanks for stopping by. Please visit the other 29 Faces participants listed on: http://29faces.blogspot.com/p/sept2014.html

29 Faces # 26

noreply@blogger.com (Linda) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 06:00:00 +0000

Thanks for stopping by. Please visit the other 29 Faces participants listed on: http://29faces.blogspot.com/p/sept2014.html