A New Online Class Coming in January and A Tutorial To Share

I  hope  everyone  is  enjoying  their  Holiday  season.   It's  a  great  time  of  year,  and for  me  the  best  part  of  it  is    getting  my  family  together  in  one  room--every  year  as  my  family  grows,  it  becomes  more  difficult  to  do  this--so  I  really  appreciate  this  time  of  year  even  more.    This  year  we  had  an  addition  (my  Grandson),  and  next  year  there  will  be  another  Grandson  here---they're  so  much  fun  to  have!

 

But  once  life  gets  back  to  normal,  January  can  become  pretty  dull,  to  say  the  least.  And  I  think it's  the  best  time  of  year  for  new  online  classes--learning  new  techniques  and  networking  with  other  artists.

 

With  all  that  being  said,  I want to introduce you to Carla Sonheim, an illustrator and online art instructor known for using innovative exercises and techniques to help students of all levels embrace a more playful approach to creating art. She is the author of "Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun"

 

 

One  of  my  favorite  books  that  I  have--I  love  referring  to  it  when  I  need  some  inspiration.

 

She's  also  the author of  "The Art of Silliness: A Creativity Book for Everyone."

 

For the last three years her focus has been on creating engaging online art classes, where she teaches and also presents well-known guest artists. She made this Paper Doll tutorial in anticipation of her next online class, "2014: Year of the Fairy Tale," which begins January 20, 2014

 

So  here  is  her  quick and fun way to make original paper dolls... a perfect thing to do with your kids or to nurture the kid inside you... because we're never too old to play with paper dolls! Have fun!

 

Supplies  Needed:

- a small watercolor set

- #12 round paintbrush (or similar)

- 8"x10" sheet of 140# hot press watercolor paper (or similar)

- a regular pencil

- an eraser (I like kneaded rubber erasers)

- scissors

 

1. Gather your supplies.

 

 

2. Lightly sketch in an outline of your doll. Keep your hand loose, and try not to worry about exact proportions (sometimes the most charming characters emerge when we let go of perfection!).

 

 

3. Using lots of water, mix up a color to use as the skin tones. Paint face, arms and feet. When face has had a chance to dry, get some red pigment on your brush and "dot" it into the watercolor quickly. The color should begin to spread out a bit for some nice rosy cheeks.

 

 

 

4. Let dry completely

 

 

 5. Paint in some hair; let dry completely

 

 

 

6. Cut out your paper doll, and...

 

7. Play!

 

 

 

Very  fun!!  And  I  also  want  to  share  her  Paper  Doll video--this  is  a  great  introduction  to  her  new  class,  and  also  her  as  a  teacher,  if  you've  never  taken  any  of  her  other  online  classes--a  great  very  easy-to-follow  video--which  speaks  for  her  way  of  teaching--and that's  what  makes  for  a  great  class!

 

 

. You can  learn  more about "2014: Year of the Fairy Tale," which begins January 20, 2014  HERE--remember  this  is  for  the  whole  year--so  go  Check-It-Out!!

 

And  you can find out more about Carla and her art and classes  HERE.

 

 

My Etsy store is Open

Just  a  quick  little  self-promoting  post  here.   I've  opened  up  my  Etsy  shop  for  you  last  minute  Christmas  shoppers--all  very  affordable  and  unique  for  Christmas  gifts.   Supporting  other  artists  this  time  of  year  is a  win/win  situation. By  supporting  them,  you're  letting  them  pursue  their  passion  and  you're  getting  a  one  of  a  kind  gift  that you  won't  find  anywhere  else.   Art  made  by  hand  is  just  like  a  fingerprint--can't  be  duplicated!    Okay.....so  here's  what  you  can  find  in  my  ETSY  shop--

 

 

 

 

 

 

You  can  get  more  detail  on  all  of  these  HERE.    

 

Happy  Holidays  everyone!!

 

Dreaming of the Circus

Well....not  really,  but  that title  really  fits  the  description  of  this  post.   First  I'll  start  with  the  dreaming--nothing  to  do  with  the  circus.   It  all  started  with  this  printer's  tray  that  I  added  some  paint  to--

 

 

 

This  is  always  so  fun  for  me--looking  around  EVERYWHERE  in  my  house  to  fill  up  this  box  randomly--just  like  dreams...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....whatever  caught  my  eye  went  into  this  tray....don't  you  wonder  where  your  dreams  come  from?--I  guess  whatever's  in  your  mind  at  the  time  is what  goes  into  your  dream....and  sometimes  I really  wonder  what's  going  on  inside  of  my  head!  : )

 

So  next  is  the  circus--I've  said  this  before--I  don't  really  enjoy  going  to  the  circus,  but  I  do  enjoy  making  circus  art.    And  I  found  a  bunch  of  these  little  drawers at  the  flea  market  this  summer--about  4 x 4--I  think  apothecary  drawers  or  something  like  that.   But  anyway,  this  is  what  I  did  with  2  of  them--

 

 

 

 

 

All  of  these  were  SO  fun  to  make!!

 

And  one  more  box--

 

 

I'm  thinking  there'll  be  more  circus  art  in  the  near  future.

 

And  changing  the  subject--I  hope  everyone  here  in  the  states  had  a  happy  Thanksgiving--we  did  and  another  addition  to  our  family  to  be  thankful  for  as  well--

 

 

My  grandson  Preston!!  He'll  be  2  months  old  next  week--where  is  this  time  going?!