Artist Gloria J Zucaro

2021-08-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

It has been more than a year since I have posted. I have been enjoying on-line classes with Ardith Goodwin. I can't say enough good things about her teaching skills, pdf's, videos to download and keep, her kindness, charitable works and being an extraordinary artist herself.

I have also taken a couple of classes with Juliette Belmonte. She is also so much fun and so talented.

And my regular studio that I have gone to since 2004 has operated with masks and distancing and disinfectant for most of our lockdown stages. It is owned and run by Frankie Johnson who is an accomplished oil painter and has won many accolades in national exhibits. She also teaches 3 classes a day/evening, Tuesday through Thursday at the studio. She has other teachers Monday and Saturday for adults, teens and children.

Below are some of the paintings I have done in the last 18 months.

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Corona Art march April 2020

2020-04-24T17:38:00.001-05:00

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Corona Art march April 2020: Here is my first Corona themed piece done on March 17. I have tried to keep all my Corona artwork somewhat comical! Sharing with Pain...

Corona Art march April 2020

2020-04-24T16:59:00.001-05:00

Here is my first Corona themed piece done on March 17. I have tried to keep all my Corona artwork somewhat comical!

Sharing with Paint Party Friday.

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives!

This one is about juggling the virus! I hope he washes his hands after juggling these Corona Balls!

This next one is called "Popcorn and Coffee". Those are two of my favorite comfort foods. This was done intuitively, so I had to ask myself questions afterwards. Why did I spill both of my comfort foods? Why am I in "striped pajamas"? Why don't I have hair?

This next one was done in my altered book and was originally a teapot with a disagreeable cherub coming out the top. I kept the shape, relating it to my own expansion while in captivity, and to the 6 feet of distancing!

The next one was published on Easter weekend. She was one of the portraits with earrings, but also the Face Mask!

This is my last one, so far! This is what my hands feel and look like! Wash Your Hands!!!

Earring and Portrait Series 1-8

2020-04-17T12:42:00.001-05:00

Hello again after 6 weeks!

I hope you are all well and staying safe.

Or if you are a doctor, a nurse, health care worker, fireman, police, delivery person, grocery store worker, mailman THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I have stayed in isolation since March 15, so really appreciate all of you who are out there helping me.

I have been doing a series of contour drawings using the same reference photo but doing it from an upside down position and without looking while I am sketching. And a different pair of my earrings on each one. I realized that I tend to wear the same earrings all the time, so thought I would have fun painting them on this young lady who comes out so different looking each time, usually very wonky!

I am posting to Paint Party Friday

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Sketching and Painting

2020-02-22T11:07:00.001-06:00

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Sketching and Painting: Hello, Where does the time go?! This week I was preparing for book club at my house, as well as sketching and painting. I am posting to ...

Sketching and Painting

2020-02-22T11:05:00.001-06:00

Hello,
Where does the time go?! This week I was preparing for book club at my house, as well as sketching and painting.

I am posting to a great weekly website called Paint Party Friday.

A few looks into this last week.

This is the start of an upside-down-blind-contour sketch of a martini glass.

Here I added a couple of lines to complete the sketch after looking at it.

Both were along the right edge of the base and stem of the glass. The sketch is done with white school chalk.

I started painting the tabletop and the glass. I wanted to do streamers, like a celebration, but I changed it in the next step.

Here is stage 4. I still have some work to do on it. I want to change the values on the table top so that it doesn't look flat, and I want to add more paint in the same value as the background. It looks too skimpy right now.

Here is the black and white version of the original reference from my workshop with Ardith Goodwin called "Expressive Sketching for Painters"

Have a good week,

Gloria

February was so busy, but so much fun!

2020-02-14T12:33:00.001-06:00

This month I not only returned from a wonderful week on the East coast, was doing a sketching workshop with Ardith Goodwin, put one of my paintings in an exhibit joined with poets who made poetry to go with our specific paintings, am hosting my book club group reading "The Whistling Season" by Ivan Doig, went to the Chicago Botanic Garden for the orchid show, and saw a couple of good movies! I will include a few pictures from my adventures.

WynWood Walls Downtown Miami

Same as above

Same area of Miami

Our 2 Hour Cruise on the Intercoastal waterway going south from Delray, FL

Butterfly Garden and Aviary

Same as above in Deerfield Beach Florida

Sketch from magazine. It will be the reference for an upcoming painting.

Sketch from 3D bird done upside down and blind contour, then doodled.

A detailed sketch of eye and then painted with watercolor.

Exhibit entry-"Just Passing Through"

Have a great week!

The First Month of 2020 so far!

2020-01-19T12:21:00.001-06:00

January 01 with Nathalie Kalbach

Part One

Part Two

January 02 Raw and Quirky with Marieke Blokland

January 03 Drawing Jewelry with Jane LaFazio

January 05 Tiny Book with Tina Walker

Outside Front

An Inside View

January 06 Into the Shadow with Iris Fritschi Cussens

January 07 Mixed media Gelli Print with Birgit Koopsen

January 08 Making Mistakes Tapes with Carolyn Dube

January 10 Card Series with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

January 11 Keep It Simple with Marlene Meijer-Van Niekerk

January 13 Be Myself with Mystele Kirkeeng

That's all folks!

Sketch for Creative Jumpstart 2020 Floral

2020-01-15T09:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I finally decided how to do the January 11 project led by Marlene Meijer-Van Niekerk, She did a demo of a beautiful floral, which I couldn't totally do with the supplies I have. So I am making my own version. I have some small cling-free stamps of flowers and butterflies. I stamped those onto one of the last pages of my "Sketchbook Project" sketchbook, and hope to soon send it in. Then I drew in pen my version as a "shadow" of the stenciled version. So right now it is in black and white tones. I plan to color the pen drawings and leave the stencils uncolored. Well, that is the current plan! We will see how it all turns out.

Here it is, finished!

have a nice day,

Gloria

Thank You Card for Grandson Enzo

2020-01-15T08:42:00.001-06:00

Today I have the finished card to give to my grandson. I have been giving him personal "thank you" cards for several years. He is almost 12, so I am not sure how he relates to them at this age. But I will continue, as I believe that the little things that stay the same as you go through your teen years may be important.

He gave me two gifts at Christmas. He always gets to pick what to give, even though his parents pay for them. I got a beautiful Finchberry soap that has fine glitter in gold along the top edge, and an adorable ceramic snowman to add to my collection.

It is done on 5' x 7' cardstock. I drew it in pigma ink pen, colored it with Derwent Inktense Pencils, wet the pencil colors and added glitter clue and painted the sky with Liquid Watercolors.

Have a nice day,

gloria

Creative Jumpstart Projects for January 8 and 10, 2020

2020-01-13T14:34:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon.
A great day for staying in, not being a cold weather lover, but we just accept it!
ART makes it better!

The project leader for January 8th was Carolyn Dube. I love Carolyn, so much fun to watch all her YouTube videos!
She taught how to make your own tapes-like custom washi, with Mica powders. Great fun. I did a few, until I was finally getting the knack of it. I taped them into my new journal given to me by my longtime friend Polly D. Then I did some doodled circles to fill in between the tape.

Creative Jumpstart leader Julie Fei-Fan Balzer did the video for January 10th.

Julies' SUPER POWER is "Curiosity" and she demonstrated making a series of cards all at the same time with the small materials, and asking "what if, what if". I deviated a little by changing colors.

See you soon, when I get a couple more of the days/projects finished.

January 7 Project with CJS 2020

2020-01-11T20:56:00.000-06:00

January 7th's project is with Birgit Koopsen. Her SUPER POWER is Mixed Media Gelli Prints. I was trying to do my first one and made a lot of mistakes!

I made the mistake of going back and forth watching the video and then going to do my gelli painting. So the paint was dry by the time I got the paper to print on.

But not to get defeated I tried spraying cardstock with water and letting it be damp, with the Gelli resting on it. That didn’t work.

Next I remembered that if you cover the surface with clear shipping tape, the kind that is about 2 inches wide, it totally cleans off your gelli plate. So I got some dry computer paper and I covered the surface of the gelli completely with tape. Then I carefully lifted the tape off and applied it in one piece to the clean dry paper. It worked! I have a tape print! My painting composition is too equally divided, but next time I will know how to do this and be more asymmetrical and interesting. What a neat technique!

7" x 5"

January 5th and 6th #CJS 2020 Projects

2020-01-11T13:26:00.001-06:00

Hello Paint Party Artists...

January 5th on Creative Jumpstart 2020(CJS 2020) was taught by Tina Walker whose Super Power is "Making Mini Books". I had to watch it several times to figure it out! She was a very good instructor but I needed to rewatch to get all the steps in!
It was really fun to do. This is my original version. The book is 2.75" tall by 2.50" wide.
Click on images to enlarge.

The Front

Side View From Above

A View of Two Inside Pages

January 6th with Nathalie Kalbachs' Creative Jump Start 2020(CJS2020) was led by Iris Fritschi-Cussens. Her SUPER POWER is called "Into the Shadow". It is about journaling and really expressing how you are feeling, using your journal as you would a diary for your eyes only! I loved all the layering in the background.

The first two pages done in my new gifted sketchbook from my friend Polly D.!

Thank you, Polly!

Reworked Day 2 and some Thank You Card Fronts.

2020-01-07T13:34:00.000-06:00

Hello, I decided that Day 2 was too busy, so I reworked it by unifying the background to get rid of all the dots. I hope it is more legible now.

I am also trying to get my Christmas Thank You notes out. I like to make the front of the card a decoration showing one of the gifts given. So here are some of those,too.

THE REWORKED VERSION.

THANK YOU FOR MACADAMIA NUTS

among other gifts from them!

TEA TOWEL

among other gifts from them.

MOVIE GIFT CARD

among other gifts from them

HEDGEHOG CANDLES(2) AND A CD MOVIE

My Day 3 Project with CJS 2020

2020-01-05T19:10:00.001-06:00

Our January third video instructor was Jane Lafazio.
Jane feels that one of her SUPER POWERS is "Drawing Jewelry".
She drew an exoctic necklace and painted it in watercolor .

My project for January third is done from a magazine layout of a collection of turquoise bracelets.

Done in my Sketchbook Project sketchbook.

I am looking forward to my next Creative Jump Start 2020 project.

My Project for January 2, CJS2020 with Marieka Blokland

2020-01-04T16:38:00.003-06:00

Here is my project with Mareika . It is done in my Sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project, based in Brooklyn NY Only a few more pages before it needs to be sent in, digitized and then can be seen on-line all over the world.

Then I will start using the fantastic sketchbook my friend Polly sent to me for Christmas. She always finds the most wonderful art gifts for me!

Marieka's SUPER POWER theme is "Raw and Quirky"!
Here is my original version inspired by her example.

"She Cut Off My Dress!"

To see more detail, just click on the image.

See you soon with Day 3!

First Creative Jumpstart Project 2020 with Natalie Kalbach

2020-01-03T22:15:00.000-06:00

Hello Again,
A New Year is here and I am starting off with the resolution to get back to my art!
I have two new knees and I am feeling great!

The first project this year is my version of "Transformation" with instructor Natalie Kalbach who is the founder of Creative Jump Start. I have joined CJS for the last 4 years. I feel it gets me off to a good start and is inspiring.

For the 31 days of January each year, Natalie has a group of 31 artists who follow a theme and do a short video of instruction on their interpretation of the theme. This year the theme is about what each artist thinks is their SUPER POWER,when it comes to their art. Natalie's is the way she transforms one thing into another form or use.

After we do our own version of Natalie's SUPER POWER we post on our own websites as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It is really fun to see how everyone interprets the video of the day.

Below are my versions of "Transformation" for January 1, 2020.

I used cut cardboard, rubber stamps, stencils, gesso, acrylic paint, and ink. This is about 8"H x 6"W. To see more detail, click on the image to enlarge.

This piece of cardboard had some large black numbers and several smaller ones, which added interest to the design.

The first painting had the sku of the box in black which you can see along the bottom when you enlarge. The same supplies were used.

"Hello" to all my friends on Paint Party Friday. Please check all the wonderful Art on their website.

"She Reigns in Silver and Gold"

2019-12-23T20:01:00.002-06:00

"She Reigns in Silver and Gold". My latest mixed media painting with oil, cold wax, collage, gold oil paint and silver Model Masters chrome colored paint.
20H x 16W on canvas board.
The earring is from my mother's collection of jewelry. She passed away in August at age 98. She loved to travel and bought earrings as souvenirs of the countries she visited or lived in with my father, an Air Force Colonel.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year 2020.

Family room Christmas tree

Tootsie helps decorate the tree, by jumping into the tissue wrappings!

Limited Palette

2019-11-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I am all fixed up with two new knees(and in 2014, two new shoulders!). I should be good to go for quite awhile now.

I haven't posted for many months. But wanted to show you one photo of my backyard after our Halloween snow yesterday.
I also have a mixed media painting that I finished recently called "Just Passing Through."

Happy Paint Party Friday!

"Limited Palette"

"Just Passing Through"

Have a great day!

Gloria

Page One of The Sketchbook Project "Kitten Dance"

2019-03-02T12:55:00.000-06:00

Hello! Thank you for all the comments that I did not reply to last week, I will try better this week.. This week I am starting in my 2019 "The Sketchbook Project" book. My Theme is "Things I Love". That can encompass a lot! My first page is about loving dancing and kittens! It is a mixed media. I am posting to Paint Party Friday. I hope you check the site to see the artwork from artists all over the world.

Click on image to enlarge.

Have a good week,

Gloria

Water Ways in Oil

2019-02-22T15:23:00.000-06:00

Connecting to Paint Party Friday, FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram. Enjoy all the artist displaying their art this week on Paint Party Friday.

A sunny and warmer than we have had lately in Chicagoland.

This is an oil painting on a piece of canvas. I did this while learning different water effects from Susan Ploughe. I think I need a little more "umph" in the distant sky, but otherwise I like it.

Click on image to enlarge for detail.

Water Ways

Oil on canvas

8 x 10

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Re-Entry

2019-02-19T14:15:00.001-06:00

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Re-Entry: Hello, artist friends at Paint Party Friday , I haven't posted in almost a year. I was preoccupied with going for a knee replacement,...

Re-Entry

2019-02-15T17:01:00.001-06:00

Hello, artist friends at Paint Party Friday, I haven't posted in almost a year. I was preoccupied with going for a knee replacement, which was scheduled then canceled and rescheduled. I finally had it about 5 weeks ago and PT is going well. I did hardly anything but sketches and tangles on cardstock this last year. But here are Zentangles I did recently.

Have a good week.

Gloria

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Gloria J Zucaro "Triangles" Mixed Media Collage

2018-03-09T08:10:00.001-06:00

Artist Gloria J Zucaro: Gloria J Zucaro "Triangles" Mixed Media Collage: Hello fellow PPF Friends , Facebook and Twitter Friends. I have two mixed media collage pieces this week. I did these for Karen Sako&#3...

Gloria J Zucaro "Triangles" Mixed Media Collage

2018-03-09T07:53:00.000-06:00

Hello fellow PPF Friends, Facebook and Twitter Friends.
I have two mixed media collage pieces this week. I did these for Karen Sako's Mixed Media Collage class taught at Mainstreet Art Center in Lake Zurich Illinois.

The papers I used were given to me by a good artist friend. Our group sends envelopes of papers to each other and we are to use them in a collage. These orange, blue and text papers were from Laura Anderson. On the envelope she had written a note to look at the dictionary because the definition of "gloria" was there! I included her note as a white area in the design, as well as my name from the front of the envelope. The only thing I wish I had done was leave the definition exposed when I covered the dictionary with gesso.

The other paper I added was a cutout of a head from a fashion magazine, when I saw an area that looked like a woman's top with one arm extended. I had previously painted that page with black gesso as a background. When I tore and placed my papers, I noticed that some areas formed a triangle, so I tried to make as many as I could follow that shape. I used a glue stick to stick things down. Then I painted over the dark blue pieces of crepe paper with Stewart Gill's Byzantia Jewel Tone Metallic in Aegean and I had already put a thin layer of gesso very the text and white envelope pieces. I painted several areas that were white or text in Liquitex Acrylic Artist color in Fluorescent Orange to balance the large orange paper on the upper left corner and some orange smudges on the musical piece. Then I added the black, white and orange dots with Posca Pens. There are two flaps that I can add a secret message under!

The second piece was a 10 minutes "grab a random magazine page and create a collage to show a feeling of INTIMIDATION".

Have a good week!