Exciting news! Artist of the Day on Streamline Productions Facebook!

On this Thursday, May 21st at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, I am the featured Artist of the Day on Streamline Productions Facebook page.  Be sure to mark your calendar and tune in!  I will be there to answer any of your questions as the video progresses.  This video explains the charcoal pour process and then how to collage and paint a bird in watercolor.  Lots of design tips as well.  Hope you will be enticed to buy the video!
Here's the link to watch it:
https://www.facebook.com/StreamlineArtVideo/

Day 24: 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Early Bird gets the Worm"      $99 SOLD
Image size:  11" z 15"     Watercolor, Charcoal, and Collage

I'm torn about painting landscapes or painting birds.  I love the process of painting birds, so I've been switching back and forth.  I've also been really wanting to do a total abstract painting lately, but I'm committed to finishing this 30 day challenge.  I'm finding it really hard to do this challenge this year, since I'm in Florida.  We've had lots of company, I taught a workshop one week, AND I got sick for a week.  Now, all that is behind me, but the nice weather keeps calling my name.  I'm loving my times at the beach or the pool.  It was easy to paint in MN when it was cold and snowing outside.  This is teaching me to be very organized and try to paint ahead.  I should do this more often.

Day 16: 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Favorite Meditation Spot"     $99   (SOLD)
11" x 12"         Watercolor and charcoal pour

I am playing catch up, after hosting our daughter and 2 granddaughters at our condo in FL for the past 3 days.  (Great time!)  When we were swimming in the pool, I floated on my back and it felt so good to just BE.  I think I'd like to make that a part of my every day routine.  Finding somewhere that is special to me to meditate.  When in MN, that place is the North Shore of Lake Superior, where the sound of the waves, lots of birch, pine trees, and great rocks make the perfect spot for me to get back to my soul.
This painting started with a charcoal pour, where I sprinkle ground charcoal on a paper and throw a huge bucket of water on the paper, which disperses the charcoal towards the outer edges with great force.  Below I have my start to this painting.  I could envision a landscape from this beginning. Using a credit card loaded with paint, I scraped in the markings on the birch trees.  It's a great technique.  This was a very limited palette, so that the charcoal markings could match the paint.  I used burnt sienna mixed with ultramarine blue.  At the end, I added a little raw sienna to warm up the painting.

Charcoal Pour Start

Upcoming Workshops in Florida!

I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching in Cape Coral, FL on January 12- 14th, 2017.  This is the second time that I've taught in this location.  I love escaping the MN winters, so timing is everything!  Charcoal pour birds is one of the subjects.  This procedure is so fun.  We actually pour a big bucket of water on a watercolor surface that is sprinkled with charcoal powder.  The effect is so fun!  Also, I will be teaching how to paint like Gustav Klimt.  That technique involves scraping dots of acrylic, using a credit card.  The colors are so beautiful!  These two techniques are my most popular workshops.  Both paintings below started using the acrylic scraping technique!  Students send me paintings for months after each workshop.  Pretty fun! For information on the workshop, please contact  Marjorie Ewell   Phone:  239-945-3158   Email:  strgazr39@comcast.net

"Every Trick in the Book" by Karen Knutson

"Every Trick in the Book"  $395
Original watercolor and collage,  Image:  15" x 21"

This painting was inspired from the little abbey (my nickname for small abstracts) below.  I talked about it in my last blog.  To enlarge the little abbies, you must think about big shapes and also be willing to do multiple glazes to make the values darker.  Otherwise, the process is very much the same as the little abbies.  We start by mimicking the little abbey, but then, we let the painting talk to us, and put the little abbey away.  There are collage papers in this painting that I made by creating a charcoal pour.  I know that the students are going to LOVE this process.  We actually throw a big bucket of water on the paper that has charcoal powder on it.  I named it "Every Trick in the Book", because it has lessons on the drip process, collage, masking, making a charcoal pour, glazing, unifying color, and ending with Tulip black outliner paint.  I'm teaching an abstract watercolor/ collage workshop on November 1-3 at the Lakeville Center for the Arts.  It's one of the few local workshops that I teach anymore.  To sign up, contact Suzi McArdle Suzimcardlehood@gmail.com

612-281-6781.  There are only 2 spots remaining, so act quickly! 

Little abbey (5" x 7")

Blogging with a Friend, (Charcoal Pour Lesson)

"Cardinal Creation"

I have a friend who is going through chemotherapy right now and she asked me to be a guest artist on her blog.  I loved to do it, knowing how miserable she has been from the treatments.  Kathie George is my friend who is such a joy to be around and such a fantastic artist! She's a master of batik paintings!  I got to meet her through Karlyn Holman, another great friend, who I respect so much!  I have met so many lifetime friends through my art.  What a blessing!  Anyway, I'm purposely NOT showing you the steps to this painting, so that you will visit Kathie's blog to see it!  You won't be sorry!  Look back through all of Kathie's posts, for great lessons and what a great writer she is!  Here's the link:  www.kathiegeorge.com/blog  Be sure to hit "read more", so you can see the whole lesson.  And sign up to receive notices of her blog!  Have fun doing the charcoal pour!!!