Sunday sketches and the sketchbook challenge

Here's some new quick sketches from my own sketchbook just for fun...

This is a one line...

This one is for the sketchbook challenge theme of "branching out", literally!

And this one is just for dthaase's site of whimsy, he asked for poems of popcorn, and I gave him a one-line as a bonus!

WOYWW

Here's what I'm working on now, or rather have just finished...

The first is the cover of the Sisterhood of the traveling sketchbook I mentioned awhile back. 13 of us "sisters" have decided to each get a sketchbook, do a spread in each and mail them around the world so when we get them back they'll be full of original, unique art on the theme of the months of the year. You can see my first spread that I did a few posts back. Now I finally got the cover and the sign in page done, and I'm ready to mail it out this week.. For the sign in page I included tags that each person can decorate as much or as little as they want. To see the other sisters sites, you can go to their blogs listed on my sidebar. It's getting exciting!
The last photo is of my desk at work, I sometimes forget which is my tea and which is my jar of water for painting.  I haven't drank the paint water but I have painted with tea  before!

Don't forget to stop by other desks by clicking on the WOYWW link and also go to whimsical wednesday for some whimsy there on the new link at the top of my sidebar...

IF, bicycle

So this little one line sketch is a unicycle, not a bicycle but hey it's close. I threw in the other little sketch I did yesterday too. A bit of a change from my watercolors, just for IF!

Angel faces charity art auction...

I am pleased to be donating to Illustraion Avenue's very first Art Auction. The auction will run from March 7th -14th and they will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the Award winning charity, Angel Faces. When I read about Angel faces and their stories I decided I had to be part of their auction.

These girls have facial disfigurements due to burns and are taught how to overcome the social challenges that they face every day because they look different. They are counseled one on one and in group settings. These girls get to participate in therapeutic art through mosaics, jewelry making, drawing, journaling and verbal expression.. These girls get to be themselves for one whole week, without being judged. These young ladies experience amazing psychological transformations during this week. Some of their comments, stories and photos are on the Angel Faces website.

{About the Auction}

The Art Auction consists of donated art by Inspiration Avenue team members. They will have the auction up for a whole week in order to reach as large an audience as possible. In order to promote this, they are asking each of you to add the button or flier to your blog and do a post about it. Our team goal is to send the charity at least $500. USD.

Go here to learn more and get their blog button if you want!

http://inspiration-avenue-team.blogspot.com/2010/02/art-auction-for-angel-faces.html

I'll be posting the piece of art that I'm donating on April 30th!

Please come back then...

This week...

Wow, this week went fast, I missed what's on your workdesk wednesday and lots more challenges but there's no time to do them all... I have been named Wizard of whimsey for last weeks mushroom and frog! another Yippee!

I have finally finished Hedgy the hedgehog...

and some tags to go with him...He's in love with a prickly pear...

 I have also gotten a little further with the palette I've been talking about for the last few weeks...

I've had a really hard time mentally switching from watercolor to acrylic. The order you do things is so reversed... I normally think from light washes to dark washes then adding shadow,  and I normally plan ahead to leave white highlights before even starting. Since acrylics are opaque I should be taking advantage of that by painting on top of other colors but I can't seem to think that way. and blending as I go is not coming natural to me either... all whining aside I'm moving along anyway.

Thanks for stopping by and please check out paint party friday, crafty friday, creative friday, fiber art friday and whimsical wednesday!

Yippee!

Just wanted to share that the treasury above for the 1000thingsalpaca team treasury challenge has been selected as this week's winning treasury! Which means that all the people who play  along will be using an item from my etsy shop this week in their treasuries, and I get to pick my favorite to be the winner next saturday! anyone can play along, you don't need to be a member of their team, but if you want to read the rules to the challenge you can go here...

http://1000thingsalpaca.blogspot.com/

The more the merrier so why don't you join in and make a treasury, next week it could be your shop that everyone is checking out!

IF... Journey

This little baby is on his first journey ever, who knows where he might end up...

I did the watercolor three years ago, but since my painting has changed ALOT in the last 3 years I wasn't going to post it so I did a quick sketch today for this challenge. Not a great photo of it though. But, I decided to show you both... and maybe even add it to "sunday sketches" tomorow too...

This week...

Hello, for all you fiberarts friday followers...I didn't finish the hedgehog but I made a mushroom and frog instead...

I also didn't finish the palette, this will take some time as I cannot work on it at home so I only had about an hour this week to work at it... here's it is so far...

I was going to get rid of the last lady but decided to keep her... Good thing I have a lot of time for this one!
Now off to work, and later to check out paint party friday at the link on right, whimsical wednesday(which I missed so far) at the link on the right and crafty fridays at the home sweet farm link on the right and creative fridays at natiral suburbia and fiberart fridays @
http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com/2011/04/fiber-arts-friday-tangled-web-i-weave.html! Have a good weekend everybody!

What's on your workdesk wednesday...

I'm afraid there's a sad story behind what I'm working on this week. I'm finishing up this project for the family of this cute little girl, She passed away while having a seizure at 10 yrs old. The family now does fundraisers to raise money to send a child with special needs to a summer camp, and they asked me to make some magnets and pendants with the image I painted of her from a photo...

I was worried I wouldn't get her image right but they were happy with the way the first batch turned out, and the first fundraiser went well, I hear.  So.... sorry for the sad post... maybe it will make someone out there go hug their daughter or son while they can...

Illustration Friday... bottled

I missed the last 2 week's IF and I almost missed this one but here it is...

I'd started it almost a year ago, almost, never finished and probably wouldn't have but for this challenge... It's bottled fireflies, bottled summer, bottled moonlight!

sunday sketches

Here's some quick sketches of birds I did to practice for the palette I'm working on that I posted friday.

My ladies needed some birds around them as they fall.... Visit here for more sketches...
http://bluechairdiary.blogspot.com/

what I've started this week...

I 've got 2 unfinished projects to show you today... I've been flitting from project to project instead of concentrating on one but now, this one, the BIG palette, I will need to concentrate on. I've commited to doing a palette for the Hammondsport Event where local artist's all paint a palette (provided to us by Somer's art gallery), and they are displayed all summer near local business sponsers. There's a map printed of where to find them all and who painted them so it's exposure for the artists and good for business. At the end of their tourist season, they have an auction. It's my first time being invited to participate and I'm nervous  for many reasons, One of which is switching to acrylics from watercolors, they're so different. I've only started to sketch it in and I don't know if you can see the sketches very well with the shadows... I spent alot of time on one girl, (it's going to be falling ladies of course), and now I don't like her position or placement so I may erase her...

Also here's a needlefelted hedgehog I started ... doesn't look like a hedgehog yet but It will...(I hope).

 I've started a few other projects I can't show you as they're at work, where I'm headed off too soon, but I do have a finished treasury above, I like making them as a way to procrastinate and play with color and themes...
This is my theme: "dreaming of the life I was meant to lead"...
living in Italy on biscotti and sweets, surrounded by beautiful items and dressed as pretty as you please, lounging in the tub with time to journal, read and dream... ohhhh, bliss!

and for all the paint party friday people... here's a finished painting from last week....

It's a little blurry, sorry . Thanks for stopping by...
And don't forget to stop by creative fridays here;http://naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/
and paint party friday on the link at the right
and crafty fridays at their link on the right
and fiber art fridays here: http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com/

Sisterhood of the traveling sketchbooks

This is what's on my workdesk today... The sisterhood is a group of 13 women  and we've all purchased sketchbooks and are going to mail them around the globe each month, after we've each painted a spread  in one of the sketchbboks. We've just been working out the details and finally got started. As there's 13 of us... the first spread painted is in our own sketchbook as a way of introducing ourselves , then after that our painting will each be based on the month we're in.... our feeling about May for example...and at the end of 13 months we'll get our own book back, full of great stuff! My first spread is of 2 women, both "me", exept I really don't look like this ... one on a bad day , the other on a much better day. That's just the way it goes.

I still have to decorate the cover but I've got a few weeks before we have to mail it out so I'm all set. I plan to get the other sisters blogs posted up on my sidebar soon so you can all check out everyone else's sketchbooks as they progress too. So exciting!

And I have another big project I started last night ,,, I should have photos of that by friday!
Oh and I almost forgot... go here:
http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/2011/04/whats-on-your-workdesk-wednesday-96.html
 to see more workdesks! It's fun to "snoop" if you have time...

creative everyday

The theme for this month at creative everyday is small, I've ben absent from my blog for a week or so so I thought I'd check out their theme to get me going again. (I was feeling a bit overwhelmed  for a few days!) here's some "small" art I made just awhile back... they're ACEO or artist trading cards, 2.5 x3.5".
I haven't put them on my etsy yet as Ive been trying to fix a few things there, but will soon. I have a few other BIG projects going that I'll post about soon.