Happy New Year!

   

"The Flirt"  

    As I write this, it is 9:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve.  Yes, I'm at home and glad I am.  This has never been one of my favorite holidays.  We usually go to a movie, eat out, and come home by 9:00 p.m.  Then, it's a roll of the dice whether we make it till midnight to welcome the New Year in.  :)  Anyway, I thought I would tell you my New Year's resolution.  I have only One, but it's a big one!  They say that if you write out your plan, that it's more likely to happen. 
     I want more BALANCE in my life.  I tend to go full throttle on any one thing and then everything else falls by the way side.  So, in 2018, I pledge to try to have more balance.  That will mean that I have to think ahead and plan!  We'll see if this resolution lasts more than a month, like other years.  I wish all of you the Best New Year ahead! 
    By the way, this picture, "The Flirt" is an example of the subject for a 2 Day workshop in Sedona, AZ.  This Funky Lady workshop will be on January 17 and 18th of 2018.  I'm also teaching "Wire Drawing", one of my favorite things EVER during this workshop.  To sign up, contact Nancy Boulais at nancyboulais@msn.com

Little Abbeys- Great Warm ups!

"Hope"    Original watercolor and Collage
5" x 7" Image,   $45 plus shipping

Whenever I'm feeling scared to face that white sheet of paper, I turn to a variety of warm up exercises.  One of those is painting "little abbeys".  This is a nickname that I gave to little abstracts many years ago.  The process is that you start with only 3 colors and paint a cruciform design.  Then you add that collage papers for pops of color and textures that are hard to paint.  I use napkins, gelli print papers, newspapers, and magazines for the collage papers.  I use acrylic matte medium to adhere them to the underpainting.  I'm teaching this process in Watertown, SD on October 18 and 19, 2018.  Contact Jennifer Stone at  jstone@wat.midco.net to sign up!
These paintings teach you some very good painting habits and I use these for studies for larger paintings too.  They really get my imagination going!  This one is called "Hope".  I used Spring colors to signify regrowth, and bright yellow for a happy color!