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Sheila, I hope you don't mind but I got this idea from your post.  I have been wanting to learn about some design programs so that I can use it on this site and also try to put together a newsletter.  After taking a look at what is out there I decided to go with canva.com.  They offer a multitude of design options and guess what, it is free.  Since I am not the worlds most techie person I need something that is pretty intuitive and this fills that bill. It always interests me as I am trying to figure out what subject people like, what I should paint, what my style is, all those tough questions.  I can make spreadsheets where I track views and comments, etc, but at the end of the day it just doesn't put it together in a way that makes sense to me.  Duh!!  We are artists, you know visual people.  So hoping this is a step on my way to figuring out what people like about what I or don't do. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Day 30 Day 1 Finally it is Day 30 and it is over.  Apologize for the long post, but it is a bit of a recap. I must say that I am glad that I participated and as always I think I learned a lot and certainly had some fun doing this.   I said never again, but like childbirth, I am already thinking about doing it in September, but in a different way.   Maybe not so many pictures, not the full 30, or taking longer with each one to get higher quality pieces.  But it is really fun to see what others are producing and you can't help but get inspired.   Sorry, blogger is having some formatting issues here because I put these two pictures together. I didn't intend to do a lot of domestic cats this time, but ended up doing 7 and found them to be very interesting subjects.  I posted the first and the last days work of the challenge, maybe not fair to compare as they are two different media, but I think I...

Oh yeah, we are close, I can almost see the end in sight.  DAY 29  Just going to have to do one more day and then it is all over but the shouting and resuming normal things.  I think I might do the end collage this time as it may tell me something, especially if I overlay the views/reactions on top of it.  The house is jumping for joy as it will actually get cleaned - well, maybe, let's not get too excited.  I also have been working on a commission and am about half way completed.  The challenge actually has worked to an advantage as I haven't been stressing over it too much.  Fighting with it I have, but think I might be back under control somewhat now.  Since it is a gift I can't show it until April. Actually I have learned so much during this challenge and somehow they always free me up to play and explore.  I have also found a new site for pastels and, since I am studying seriously with them again, I might actually sign up to take the...

Just 2 more days of the challenge and I am looking forward to having more time to spend on these prints and using different papers.  From what I can tell at this early stage it really is important to have a smoother paper, at least for the overpainting.  Here is a go at a botanical print of flowers I have tried to grow, unsuccessfully, the Chinese Lanterns.  You can see with the acrylics, applied as a watercolor-type wash, that the texture shows through.  I wanted more of the background to show through the lantern that is pretty decomposed, but it didn't some out as I wanted - it really needed darker under color, but you live and learn. Just a note, I really didn't have a lot of spamming during this challenge until the other day.  Then I got hit with domain2008.com - according to google DON'T HIT THEM, as they truly are someone who is trying to get you to respond.  I am not really sure how all these things work - thankfully my blog isn't big enough to a...

                                                         Ah, You're Leaving Me                                                                     12"x12"                                                                       Pastel Just 3 more days - I'm not doing this again in September, I don't care how  much I think I should!!  I am going to sit back and enjoy all the art the other crazy people are making. This is one of the photos I found when I was looking for references for yesterday...

Well usually I write down when I see photos that I want to use in future paintings, didn't in this case and it took me as long to find the references as it did to paint the study.  Good news is that I did find some really good additional photos that I want to do.  And yes, I did make sure that I put them into my spreadsheet for easy finding. These subjects are from two wonderful photographers, at PMP, gemgirlwv and Laura Heineken.  I am not sure that it will stay a beach scene, but maybe.   This is on Artagain paper and is a combo of pan, regular and pencil pastels for the details and small places.  This is only 6"x8".   thanks much for stopping by to take a look

                                                                       Fishing                                                                         7"x5"                                                                    Acrylic/Print Here is another picture using the hand-pulled print as the background and base coat.  I changed up the color, using sap green, and the paper, using a watercolor paper.  You can see a big difference in the type of pri...

Todays picture is a continuation of one I posted a few days ago when I changed to the Artagain paper.  (I also have learned that the Artagain paper can hold a lot more layers than I ever imagined)  I have posted all three pictures here and what I wondered is how far is too far.  What do you think? For a while now I have felt that I have stopped too early and that I need to get more contrast between lights and darks into my pictures.  So I set  aside the second try for a day and then came back to it, primarily adding in more dark colors.  I still don't have the secret of the foliage, but it definitely gives a fuller feeling than the previous pictures did.  It also is a far far cry from the original one that really looks like a pale imitation, unless it was in the fog?? Thanks for stopping by and please leave your thoughts - should I go father?

                                                                     Coral Reef                                                                         10"x8"                                                            Acrylic/Dendritic Print Ellen from PMP got me started on making hand-pulled prints.  So yesterday I did a new technique.  Ok, yes, this is yesterday's print that was done in Hookers Green but reads as black on the white paper.  This print was done on canvas...

Yet another experiment.  This is another pulled print, this is in acrylic and you just never know what you are going to get.  It all depends on the thickness of the paint as to how the pattern developed.  Of course I think that as you change colors that is also going to affect the patterns.  While this looks black, it is actually Hookers Green. So I did a few and then am going to try to think of something to put on them, although I guess they could stand on their own.  But this makes me think of coral reefs and something underwater.  Since my challenge was fur/feathers/fin, I guess it is time to do something fin.  So for one of the next days, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks for stopping by.

Ok, decided to try this again on the Artagain paper.  It takes more layers than the card stock and it was a blueish gray that I started with.  I used both pan pastels to start and then layered in using regular pastels, really no pencils in this piece.  Since what I was going from previously was out-of-my-head, which is my usual state, it isn't exactly the same, but pretty similar.  I still got to figure out how to do the foliage but I like the waterfall effect in this one better. Thanks for stopping by.

                                                                           Peonies                                                                             5"x9"                                                                          Pan Pastel 2/3s of the way so got to celebrate!!  Such a dreary day outside today that I totally changed subjects.  Actually I got my Burpees catalog yesterday and got one for Paul to...

Ok, I like these days, as I did all the work on another day.  Doing this really helps me get my second wind and am hoping that I hit the wall and it will be downhill now.  Now it is just the frosting and most fun part to any picture, adding color.  As threatened, yep another experiment, I went ahead and tried to see what I would get if I used pan pastels over the grisaille of black/white/gray tones.  Because the pans are so transparent they did a good job of covering but not totally  obliterating the under painting and now it gives me nice soft grays in the white coat and wrinkles without hard edges.   Don't think it should be a problem being over the acrylic, but would either have to seal with workable fixative or recommend it be framed behind glass.  Although anything I do on paper I recommend framing even if it is acrylic - and for acrylics, whether on paper or canvas I also spray varnish it just like you would an oil painting.  Why?? yo...

                                                                       Breakout                                                                           3"x5"                                                                        Pan Pastel I did this little guy, a super reference photo from Max Hemingway of PMP, back in 2014, but with his buddy and a cat that was asleep, or was he?  That was done in graphite and again I did a little of the ...

Well unfortunately I think this is what people think they are going to get when they think pastel.  This painting is on a darker brown cardstock and pan pastels.  While they covered everything really shows up very light against that dark background.   The cardstock can't take that many layers so..... Anyway it is sort of a semi-abstract landscape and kind of out of my imagination.    Again I am not talking about this taking an inordinate amount of time. Since we have had big winds here I don't know how, but air flow I guess, has blessed me with everyone's leaves.  So out raking the yard and using my blower/vacuum to suck them up and put them in the garden for mulch and hoping that helps my poor grass breathe a little easier.  But for me I have to break it into several days work as the raking and sucking take their toll.  Yep, my old age is beginning to rear it's ugly head. Anyway thanks much for taking a look and hope you are having a great...

As I said I have frittered away the lead that I had so am now down to trying to do some quick things to get caught up and try to get ahead a bit.  So the next days are hurried only a small amount of time each, maybe less than hour each on this one and tomorrow landscape. I always learn something by doing black/white/gray studies.  Tonal or value paintings are pretty much what I use for one of my beginning steps.  Like the Old Masters I try to find the darkest darks, lightest lights and then the mid tones.  I might try to do him again but in color but just might try doing them in glazes over the top of the grisaille that I have done here.   Will be a bit difficult because the paper I am using will probably buckle but maybe if I keep it a drier wash it will work for me.  Yessss, then I might be able to get another free day!! One of the things about the bull dogs is that they have lots of wrinkles and in the acrylics I find that harder to do, to get the ...

Half way there!!   Yep Day 15 is upon us. Well darn I got a little too efficient and erased what I started with off the camera before I uploaded it. Anyway suffice it to say this was my try with the acrylic mono print.  Ellen tells me that you can work over them.  So I started out with a very ghostly blob, you could barely see any lines to paint with - it all kind of smeared together.  Then I just tried to overwork it with more acrylic that was similar colors to what I had and where I wanted to go and this is what I ended up with.  I guess I have to say I am not sure it was with all the effort to do the mono print as most of it is covered up again. I think if it would have transferred more paint on the print portion I could have added less paint.  So it is back to the drawing board.  But the good news is that I at least didn't totally waste the couple of days that I played with this. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.  Oh yeah!...

Well here is another quick sketch with the idea coming from Lee Hammond's book Darwing Realistic Pets.  That of course is all done in graphite and I went ahead and gave it some color.  This is another little one and I like how he is about to spring on something that has caught his attention.  This again is on stock paper and done with pan pastels. Thanks for stopping by.

                                                                           Walter                                                                            11"x8"                                                                            Pastel Well this hasn't happened in a while, Friday, the 13th, but no ladders or black cats for us today..... Instead  we get Walter, I think.  My friend Laurie has two Hima...

In the real world this little guy wouldn't make me happy, but in my world today he makes me smile.  I wanted to rest a little bit so decided to do this as an experiment - yep that's my byword I guess.  Je is another mini, only 3.5"x3.5".  It is on stock paper which is nice and smooth (I bought a package for another experiment that didn't work out).  So thought I'd try to utilize the colors behind some sketches and use some of it.  I put down the base coat with pan pastels as I wanted to see if I could put graphite over it, I already know that color pencil doesn't work.  I also wanted to see if you could layer a lighter color over a darker color and you can see it did work in the lighter areas.  You can see the applicator was still dirty from another picture, but doesn't matter because there is always a lot of color in shadows.  Then I went over the top of the pans with graphite and voila, in about 20 minutes I was done for today!!   My rewa...