First Project From the Masters Class-Matisse Background Pattern Study

I can't believe how much information was included in week one of Jeanne Oliver's course, "Studying With The Masters-Becoming An Apprentice!" It's a nine week course with a different master and a different teacher each week, and it will be up for two years, so there's plenty of time to study and get the most out of it by practicing what I learn. Matisse is up for week 1 and Jeanne Oliver is teaching! I can tell you that the first week alone is worth the price of the whole course.

Matisse has never been one of my favorite artists, but Jeanne has changed that. I learned a lot about his history, his life, his art, his techniques, etc. through her videos, then watched her study and paint a copy of his "Le Coiffure" painting, which was very interesting, and she also documented her process in pictures, as he did. But I get ahead of myself!

There are about four projects to practice on and learn from and we could start with whichever we wanted to. I started by making my own Pinterest board of Matisse paintings (Jeanne also has one for the class) to study. Matisse painted in oils, but we are free to use whatever is comfortable for us, which is a good thing. I used to paint in oils, but I've been studying mixed media for so long that I'm liable to reach for anything!

Above are pattern cards (watercolor paper) I made by studying Matisse's patterns, then copying them onto the cards, using watercolors for the backgrounds and markers, pastels, etc to make the patterns. One card's background is a black wax crayon with a paint marker pattern (paint markers are new to me). Some cards have only one pattern and the rest have the whole patterned background and similar colors that Matisse used in that particular painting. I learned a lot about his color combinations and patterns by doing this project, and it was addictive, so I had to make myself stop to work on another project!

Project 2, which I'm working, on is studying and copying (loosely) a Matisse painting of our choice, and I almost have mine finished!

I'm having so much fun and I'm so grateful to Jeanne for teaching me about Matisse and helping me to see his work through new eyes.

Week 2 is up now, and it is studying with Junelle Jacobson about Antonio Gaudi, the architect. I've glanced over the material, and it looks very interesting, but it's going to have to wait a couple of days, I'm afraid. I'm not through with Matisse yet!

Happy Creating! :D

Window Icescapes

A few days ago the temperature was two degrees on Rabbit Hop on our back porch. Kind of chilly! But not as bad as other parts of the country had it. Brrrrr!

Anyway, I sat down at my desk with my coffee to check my messages, and Facebook, of course, but before I did so, I  pulled back the curtain to look outside. Despite the warmth of the house, there was a sheet of ice frozen on the inside of the windows. The sun was just beginning to hit them. It was gorgeous!

The camera was handy, so I snapped a few pictures, on two consecutive mornings, to try to capture some of the textures. When the photos are enlarged, there are some awesome patterns and textures to be seen. The blues are the shadows, and I didn't tamper with anything. This is just the way the camera saw it!

 I did darken the picture above just to see the effects it would have...

 Total shadow above...

I'm thinking that these could be altered with color, darkened, etc., and printed out to make some awesome backgrounds for journaling or mixed media. 

Wonderful patterns are everywhere if we just take the time to "see" them! Have a wonderful weekend!

How's your New Year Going So Far?

Hello out there! I hope your NEW year is off to a good start!

Mine is off to a slow start for some reason. Tons of  unfinished projects that I want to finish and tons of new ones that I want to start. I'm also wanting to write a lot and post blogs and clean house and de-clutter and...

But something is holding me back, and I'm sure it's the bad habits I've acquired since hubby retired, such as sleeping late in the mornings, Facebook, watching too much TV with him, eating when he wants to eat, doing what he wants, no physical exercise, etc.

We also each have an elderly parent that lives alone and depends on us. I'm not making excuses. As I said, I've just formed some really bad habits, and as a result, I'm not getting to create as much as I need to, which causes me to get down on myself and feel depressed, which leads me into not being able to create even when I have time and want to. I was creating fearlessly for a while, and it was wonderful and freeing, but I got off track during the holidays and lost that a little. Time to get back on track with the fearlessness!

I need quiet and solitude to be creative, and I rarely have that anymore, more than a few minutes at a time when I'm forcing myself to do some kind of chore about the house, which has also been let go until I can barely live in it. I just simply don't have the energy or drive anymore. Dealing with too many chronic illnesses. I know it could be a lot worse, and I'm thankful that it's not.

I have been debating on whether to continue a blog, or not, since the new year began. I enjoy doing one, but, since I've been getting almost no comments, and only 3 followers in the past year, I've decided to just post for myself, whatever happens to be on my mind when I have to quiet time to write or share.

I have had my previous two blogs and last year's posts on this one published in book form to keep for my own personal record of thoughts and projects, and hopefully at the end of this year I can afford to put this year's attempts into volume 4.

I used Blog2Print if you're interested in having your own published.

Anyway, I'm about to try to make some changes in my personal life to accommodate my creative life, and your positive thoughts would be appreciated. It is NOT going to be easy! :)

I am registered for Studying Under the Masters with Jeanne Oliver, which starts Tuesday, the 14th, with Jeanne and the study of Matisse. It's a 9-week course with 9 different teachers, each studying and painting 9 different masters of painting, and it sounds wonderful. Looking forward to it, and hoping it will help jump start my creative juices for this year, bad weather or not. You can read all about it by clicking on the link!

The year so far has not been a total blank, well, it has been for weaving and writing, but I have been working on a 9 x 12" mixed media dress painting, inspired by the class I took from Sue Pelletier last year, a little at a time. It's to the finishing touches stage, and I'm waiting on an order from Dick Blick to arrive with a bottle of India Ink.

There has been more work on it since this photo was made, and I don't have the best lighting in the world, but you get the idea. It was originally started as a gift for my best friend's newborn granddaughter, with her name in the blocks down the left side, but it hasn't turned out quite like I planned, so I'm thinking about writing an inspiring word in the blocks instead. We'll see!

I also finished a book on my Kindle that I started before Christmas, "Trapped" by George A. Bernstein. It was a free Kindle book on Amazon, and it kept my interest from the first page until the last. It's about a lady who has a car wreck, winds up totally paralyzed except for her eyes, and discovers that it wasn't an accident. The book is told from her perspective as she figures it all out and ultimately has payback. A good read in my opinion.

This post is not intended to be a pity party, and if it sounds like whining, I apologize. It's merely a written confirmation of the decision to change some things in my life in order to get different results. :)

I'll post more about what changes in another post, and hope not to bore you too much!

Thank you so much, to my 3 followers, and I wish all of you who read my posts the best of everything for the New Year! Thanks for visiting!

Happy Creating! :)

New Years 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May you all be richly blessed in the coming year!

Thank you for supporting my blog by visiting and/or following my posts for the past years. I sincerely appreciate it, and I look forward to your visits and to sharing more with you in 2014. :)