Time... & haWy Tangle Step Out

Time has flown since I last posted... it’s time to catch up a bit! 

Last year I began the year drawing every day. I made little sketches in my bullet journal, using prompts provided by Sketchbook Skool as a starting point. I LOVED doing it. Here's a little video of one of the months. I did this project through May... when we decided it was time to make a change. Then all my art stopped (until now). 

The big change that occurred is that we moved to Las Vegas! Moving is a LOT of work... but with big rewards. We absolutely love our new home/neighborhood/city! Here are a few photos: 

Day One! Clark knew just what to do! 

Our sunrises and sunsets are spectacular!

I love to sit and listen to the fountain in our courtyard. 

The sunset view through the courtyard gate.

Love our street!

I can't get enough of the sunrises/sunsets! 

Clark loves Christmas! 

Wonderful to have the girls home for the holidays!

The move and getting set in the new area was immediately followed by the holidays... so lots of busyness and still no art. Finally my studio is all set up and I just love it! I have a beautiful view and perfect light. 

The studio

Love the view from my art desk.

All this means that it's time to begin my art practice routine once again... yet it’s been such a long time that I felt a bit of anxiety to start. It’s silly what your mind does to you. I needed a spark to get me going... 

One day a little over a week ago I happened upon a post by Yvonne Westover. She shared some photos of a few patterns she had come across while traveling. (Yvonne is a fantastic Certified Zentangle Teacher, and a virtual friend that I follow on Instagram. You can find her there @ywestart.) The grey pattern intrigued me, and I made a mental note to look at it again later. 

Photo collage by Yvonne Westover

Later that day I found myself trying to deconstruct the pattern while waiting somewhere. It felt great to have a pen in my hand, and especially to have the wonderful feeling that happens every time you are mindful and let the pen guide you. I suddenly realized I had nearly deconstructed the pattern! I was so excited, I had to locate Yvonne’s post to double check my memory. A minor adjustment and I had it!! 

The pattern was so much fun to deconstruct, and I was THRILLED when I realized that I could easily keep proportions in the design if I started with an underlying offset dot grid. It was an ah-ha moment! My first tries were a bit more complicated and I knew it would be difficult to attain/keep the shape... the offset dot grid changed EVERYTHING!

I contacted Yvonne to thank her for the inspiration and to let her know I had deconstructed one of the textiles she had posted. Her warmth and encouragement made my day. Thank you ever so much, Yvonne, for getting the pen in my hand again! 

Sketchbook practice

More practice and testing

I would like to name this tangle haWy... the “Wy” (pronounced why) portion as a tribute to Yvonne Westover, and to the “Y” shape that is a key step in the creation of the tangle. I have included several variations. I love how versatile the pattern is and how it can look so different, depending on how you shade or embellish it. It can also be used as a reticula to fill with fragments. It’s fun to use those angles to create a dimensional look. (If this is a tangle that has already been deconstructed and published by someone else, please let me know so that I can give credit to the proper person.)

I hope you'll give the tangle a try! Please use the hashtag #haWy if you post on Instagram/Facebook so that I can find your wonderful creations. 

Thanks so much for visiting... and for leaving me a message! 

A Blustery Day...

As I drove home from yoga, I admired all the leaves blowing around in front of me. Yellow, oranges, and reds moving around in unison... It was beautiful. I wished it was possible to sketch while I drove, alas, probably not a very good idea. :)

After pulling into the driveway and getting out of the car,  I found this gorgeous leaf on the driveway. I immediately knew that this would be my object to sketch for the colored pencil assignment in Koosje Koene "klass" this week. My reminder of a lovely "Blustery Day."

"Blustery Day" {Colored Pencil} SBS Week 2

I so appreciate your comments! Have a wonderful day!

Sketchbook Beginnings to Draw & Feel

I started a new venture this week... Sketchbook Skool! It's my goal to complete all three courses (kourses) this year. I started out with "Beginnings." The artist teacher for this week is Danny Gregory. Oh. My. It is so inspiring to watch him draw, peek inside his art journals, and just plain listen to him talk about art. I am so happy I decided to add this to the things I want to accomplish this year. (I definitely have an art filled year planned between Zentangle®, Sketchbook Skool, and continuing work on my calligraphy!) 

One of the assignments this week was called "Draw & Feel." You were to find something that had meaning for you and sketch it. You were encouraged to try the technique that Danny shared. This was to begin with a watercolor wash, then "eyeball" the shape of your item and use gouache to create the shape of it (basically painting it before drawing it), and THEN you would use pen to outline draw over the shape you painted and add in the details. The rule for this exercise was no pencil sketching allowed! Just start drawing with the pen. There was a time when this would have paralyzed me... What?! NO PENCIL??? But that was before I started creating Zentangle art. It's made me comfortable to just pick up a pen and draw. I knew any "mistake" would just be an opportunity to be creative.

It took me a couple of days (okay... I did have other things going on!) to figure out what I would draw... I was stuck, I wanted to choose something that had meaning to me. Then one day I was speaking to Cami in her room, I looked at her walls, and I knew! Worn out pointe shoes line the top of her walls... It was perfect! I borrowed a pair. I was set... and then... I had to get over that freezing of putting the first mark in my new Sketchbook Skool sketchbook. Why is this so hard?! I took a deep breath and went for it! 

One of Cami's MANY pairs of worn out pointe shoes!

I decided to try the technique that Danny demonstrated. I began with the watercolor wash, realized I didn't have any gouache so I subbed acrylic paint. A couple of coats gave me the opaqueness I was looking for. I really like this technique! It was fascinating! After giving my page plenty of time to dry I picked up my trusty micron and began drawing the outline of the pointe shoe. I was very surprised by how closely my "eyeballed" shape ended up matching the drawn shape. I filled in the details of the shoes and then used watercolor to shade. 

Beginnings... Watercolor wash and a quick acrylic paint shape study.

Working on watercolor shading...

I decided I wanted to have my journaling "dance" across the page. I used a piece of scratch paper to test out what I wanted to write and how I could make it flow to fit all the prose and the sketch. 

Complete! Cami's Pointe Shoes : Determination

I am so excited about keeping an ongoing sketchbook for the very first time (one that actually documents my life, the important and not-so-important things, an art journal sketchbook)! Danny... thank you for taking me on this journey. The whole process, as well as the finished art stirred up lots of emotions. I am so grateful.

Although it took me a long time to finish this assignment... I enjoyed every. single. moment. 

I so appreciate all who stop by and visit... I LOVE when you leave me a comment! Thanks so much!