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A New Drawing Course with Sara Post- Drawing in 21st Century

 I am taking a 6 week course with Sara Post. First time with Zoom! Don't like Zoom much, camera shy, long story, but it's great being part of a community. Let's me focus on the what's good in the world!

Getting free of the end results, learning to scribble again and getting into more sketchbook drawing and sketching. Dry media and water media.   

Artgraf + water

sketchbook 110g 8x11 3/4

Watercolor + Water soluble Pen

sketchbook 110g 8x11 3/4

Water Soluble Pen water smudges with finger

sketchbook 110g 8x11 3/4

Click to enlarge images!

Shalom to all my followers

I am thinking of returning to BlogSpot. My problem was that the site that was publishing stopped it's service. They have returned and I am giving a new try. If all works out I will transfer my new domain name to Blogger. 

Ballycastle County Mayo

This image was taken this past August when I took a workshop at Ballinglen Arts Foundation

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Feedio Is BAck

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Ballinglen Fast Sketches

Each morning, we would start with a timed warming up exercises on small substrates.  I taped arches oil paper with masking tape. I did these in about 40 minutes per group. Some were later tweaked the next day. I did the square set on paper that I brought from home. All done with oils and cold wax.

My intentions in this series was to explore larger shapes and line work with various techniques and materials: scratching, crayons, pencils, etc.

Day 1

6x9" each

Day 2

5.5x8"

Day 3

9.5x9.5"

Day 4

4x9" 8x9"

Day 5

6x9"

Ballinglen Continued

 Continuing the determination/uncertainty concept, I started 3 new pieces at the workshop with Jerry McLaughlin at the Ballinglen Foundation in Ballycastle, Ireland,  Finished, resolved, not sure.

For now, I will leave them sit. All are on Multimedia Art Board. A new substrate for me. A little harder than the paper I have been using. They are very good for scraping back, but fragile. Some corners chipped in transport.

17x16" Multimedia Art Board
Oils Cold Wax

17x16" Multimedia Art Board
Oils Cold Wax

16x12" Multimedia Art Board
Oils Cold Wax

Ireland Ballinglen Foundation Workshop April 2023

 Workshop with Jerry McLaughlin 

I signed up for this workshop around the beginning of October 2022. Little did I know how things would change by April when we finally embarked. My world was turned completely around. I am basically not a political person, one of those that take for granted that I live in a democratic country with developed civil rights.

 Jerry requested we start a few works and think about them as a series with specific intentions in mind. I had started a few pieces where I want'd to explore the colors of the area of the Dead Sea, specifically salt sea and sand. At one point I couldn't continue, blocked completely. Switched gears and started a new series, my feelings about what was happening around me. Two weeks before leaving, I started some new starts . See Back in the Studio. So off I went with the 3 starts and lots of hopes. 

Not only did I choose a very political content, I chose a specific color palette that also is way out of my custom neutral and muted palette. My more formal intentions were to use neutrals with high saturated primary colors of RED, BLUE, and YELLOW. Think I really took on more than I could handle. Finally, narrowed content to two words: UNCERTAINTY and DETERMINATION. Still a very abstract ! 

I am not sure if I expressed these ideas, or how all these worked out,or if I finished them. I did learn a lot about myself, sticking to an idea, adjusting goals, the importance of intentions.

First three are the continuation of the starts I brought. Don't know which came from which start, doesn't really matter.

14x14" 

Oils and Cold Wax on paper

14x14" 

Oils and Cold Wax on paper

14x14" 

Oils and Cold Wax on paper

The Old Fashioned Way

 Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best way. After many hours, too many, trying various platforms for my blog and hosting options I  decided to host through my Gmail creating a group list. The only drawback so far is that it doesn't have an "unsubscibe". So in the emails I will add a personal note that I will take them off my mailing list.

I am still testing cloudHQ to make a template. So far it is not very user friendly and probably will end up with a request to upgrade to use this or that option. 

So I will post the link on a mail post fingers crossed all will work

Back in the Studio

Haven't been on the blog for quite some time. I really have to think how I divide my energy. So blogging is not the highest priority.

In about 2 weeks, I am off to Ireland, Ballycastle County Mayo to be more specific. First ever one-on-one workshop with Jerry McLaughin,  master of oils and cold wax!

These past months have been very difficult, haven't really been able to focus much. I decided my series will be about my feelings of the demonstrations, loss of control, tension, uncertainty. It will mainly build my palette of saturated colors, neutrals, organic shapes and maybe some symbolism. I had started another series bases on dead sea relationships of salt ,sand and sea but got really blocked. Starting this new series has helped me get some of the stress I feel. 

These pieces have at least 6 layers on paper 14x14" Click to enlarge images

Just a few images of the protest Tel Aviv 2023

Real Estate & Sleep

 A new gadget 

Always looking

How many steps

How much sleep

Heart beat

Obsession! 

"In healthy adults, about 13 to 23 percent of your sleep is deep sleep. So if you sleep for 8 hours a night, that’s roughly 62 to 110 minutesTrusted Source of your sleep is deep sleep. So if you sleep for 8 hours a night, that’s roughly 62 to 110 minutes." Healthline.

What has that got to do with real estate? Nothing! Just been on my mind lately!

Also been thinking about real estate. Not the kind you buy, but the space you create on. Your substrate size. I would call myself a medium size painter. 5"x7" would probably be the smallest I would go. If I want smaller, say for cards, I have my trusty cutter. 

Last fall did an exercise on a full sheet of paper, roughly 27"x39" of a repetitive pattern with various pencils, graphite, charcoal, crayons, etc on newsprint. I chose the circle as my motif, loosely! Had it on my wall, mainly for inspiration, loved various sections. Masking tape isn't a good adhesive, and it kept falling off. Didn't want to chop it off, but I needed smaller real estate.

Then I viewed Helen Wells' video on one page sketchbook! 

Voila! 8 pages of smaller real estate, around 6.5"x10", that I can experiment with, fold in squares up, etc. In the photos you can see extra creases.

Full Sheet

Front

2-3

4-5

6-7

Back

Paper has tape stains, tears, etc, but I love it. Hope to start a new series of circle motifs . Click to enlarge files!

Trusted Source

 

Collage with Oils & Cold Wax

 Jen Jovan's last post really brought me back to my senses. Brought me back to my small world and into my studio. Worked with some starts that have been waiting for some time for my attention. Did an exercise recently for the Cold Wax Academy and one thing that I learned was one of the ways that I paint is very intuitive and sometimes aggressive and even destructive. In this painting I started with some collage pieces, which would give me a compositional start. Not quite complete, I may add some wax crayon marking. 

WIP

20 x14.3"

Collage Oils and Cold Wax on paper

Layer 2

Layer 1

Collage over staining with some

mark-making

Zantangle to Neurographica

 Each spring Karen Abend gives a free an online event called Sketchbook Revival. Two weeks of  artists giving various lessons to help us create each day in our sketchbooks. I usually pick which artist I want to view. This year, a lesson on Zentangle caught my eye. They have a special FB page, so a chance post on zentangles led me to Neurographica. Both are great for small projects and limited and easy supplies, mainly pens, markers, colored pencils, crayons. 

Joy

Pen and graphite

6.5x6.5"

Sketchbook

The artist instructor was Melinda Barlow. Learned several patterns in the one lesson. 

A chance post on the Sketchbook Revival FB page brought me to Neurographica.  Both can be quite obsessive. I limit myself to my quiet time after lunch or evening watching TV, sometimes with the sound off. 

6.5x6,5"

Mircron Pen

Sketchbook

6.5x6,5"

Mircron Pen

Sketchbook

8.3x5.5"

Micron Pen

Sketchbook

8.3x5.5

Marker + colored pencils (Woodies)

11.7x8.2" (A4)
Marker + Soft Pastels
Smudging
Shadows are bad photography!

Memories of Morocco

 We are all subject to a chain of events of which we don't have any control. Class trip to Eilat. Two boys infected. The entire class had to be tested, fast test and longer, more precise test. Friday supper cancelled, caught us as we were about to leave. The new normal, nothing is normal. Just ranting, nothing to do with Morocco!

The Cold Wax Academy gave us a homework project,paint 3 to 5 small paintings as a series. I chose Memories of Morocco as my subject/content. 2015 I took a trip to Morocco with my daughter. She was a yoga instructor for the trip. This trip had lasting memories and a pair of stencils that reminded me of the patterns pushed me to this choice.. So my focused intentions were the memories of place,Morocco, limited color palette, use of stencils and masks.

Palette:  Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Indian Yellow White,Paynes Gray(my black) and Buff Titanium.

14x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

16x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

16x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Pape

16x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

16x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

Critique if any get chosen on January 12th!

Some posts I made of the trip:

https://caroled-artstuff.blogspot.com/2015/10/morocco-2015-trip-day-1.html

https://caroled-artstuff.blogspot.com/2015/10/morocco-2015-trip-day-2-lost.html

https://caroled-artstuff.blogspot.com/2015/11/morocco-2015-trip-day-3.html

https://caroled-artstuff.blogspot.com/2015/11/morocco-2015-trip-day-4.html

Checking In

 Wishing you all Happy Holiday Season and a Happy and Healthy New Year! Stay well!

Have really been absent on this blog but have been putting time in my studio creating and doing other creative activities, online lessons, Cold Wax Academy which is a year extensive program and will continue year two. This program, although the emphasis is on ColdWax techniques, has a lot for every artist. I often listen and watch videos from past session concerning every aspect of art. Both Jerry and Rebecca are very thorough in their presentations. Once a month, they share their lessons with the wider community. So if you belong Cold Wax Community on FB you can join in. 

I am presently doing a series(5) for critique, if it is chosen, based broadly on memories of my trip to Morocco. Still struggling!

WIP Morocco Memories

14"x16"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

Clown

10.5"x14"

Charcoal on Paper

Bye Bye Workshop

 I really don't know how long I have been going to this workshop, I think for at least 10-12 years. A long time! Now it seems that it just fell apart. My first instructor was Heleni. She had to leave for personal reasons and then came Reuven T. First year went fine, although there were a few drop outs. Second season not so well, third with the pandemic was a disaster. Last part of the year when we did resume, Ariel saved us because Reuven T didn't find it feasible for so few students. Ariel couldn't continue this year, so our "director" found us a new instructor, Eitan Fried  Long story short, did not work out for me, told me outright that he wouldn't be able to help me with critique or direction. Others also felt the same. Group sort of dispersed till we can re-organize hopefully.

Had a few hard days digesting it all but I am sure we will find someone, or I may look for a private mentor.

I commissioned myself to do 2 paintings for my kitchen. I want to some combine still life and abstract. I listened to a zoom presentation by Edmond Praybe on Still Life: More than Nature Morte, at Winslow Art Center, which was the inspiration.

Kitchen WIP

28" x 14"

Oils and CWM

on organic paper

Kitchen WIP

28" x 14"

Oils and CWM

on organic paper

WIP

14" x 14"

Oils and CWM

on organic paper

News From My Studio Happy New Year

 Happy New Year! Wishing you all a healthy and creative new year! I actually love that the fall is the beginning, harvests are over, time for inner reflections for our new personal harvests.

With the holidays over, slight temperature changes, weekly workshops have been renewed. All these have seemed to put new wind in my creative life.

The holidays were really dragging on for the entire month of September. Wonderful family gatherings, good food (too much) but juggling shopping, preparations, and Shabbats in between took so much time from the studio. 

Although Covid is still with us and will be for sometime, somehow we have learned how to live with it and take precautions, masking and social distancing. Most I meet have the green pass, third shot behind them. Do shopping early when there are fewer people. Even went to a play with daughter and family.

Our weekly workshops have begun, a new instructor, Eitan Fried, who in grounded in academia. I hope I will find my place. It was so good to get our of the house and meet my artist friends.

Been working during the summer, took a course with Melinda Cootsona. An excellent teacher and great material. Taking another this November Answers in Abstraction.

Clown

Oils and Cold-Wax on paper

14" x 20"

Mounted on cardboard

Seated Figure

Oils and Cold-Wax

14" x 20"

Mounted on cardboard

Receiving Giving

 "Creating for the sake of creating, and then sharing it for the sake of sharing" Jessica Swift

Jessica was talking about the quote by David Viscott " The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away". I don't really remember how I connected to Jessica, but have been receiving her uplifting quotes for a 100 days, today #101! Every day a gift!

Today I received a bit of creativity from Jen Jovan, a beautiful small painting and card that I won on one of her blogs. A complete surprise and made my day! 

I realized that it has been quite a while since I have shared anything that I have been creating these past few months. Last post was at the end of April. Where have those months gone by? I can list all the things to make excuses but everyone has their own bundles so really no excuse.

I just finished a wonderful ecourse given by Melinda Cootsona combining figurative work with oils and cold wax. Melinda was a guest at Cold Wax Academy this past February. Despite renovations, the entire month, I got some work done. Some I have shared on my Instagram account.

Texture Pattern

Shapes

Line

Value

Color

These were fast studies using the same reference, each for one of the basic elements of design. They are all on paper 8.5"x12.25" and the square is 12"x12"

WIP

14"x14"

Oils and Cold Wax on paper

Hop-Skotch 

14"x14"

Oils and Cold Wax on Paper

WIP

18.5"x26.5"

Canvas mounted on cardboard 

Oils and Cold Wax