Why It May Be Impossible For Me Not To Be Messy

Remember when I cleaned up my art room? I promised myself I would keep in neat and clean. I even went so far as to put everything away after I was finished using it.  

Well ........... 

Here is my art desk today. I am working on 4 or 5 different projects now.  Samples for a class on chalk painting: turning old furniture into treasured decorator items, canvas' primed for non soluable oil paintings, a watercolor painting, and 2 different kinds of boxes for carrying painting supplies. 

I don't think I can possibly put any of these things away now and make my desk look neater. If I put everything away, I'd just waste time getting it out again.  

So this is why I don't think I can substain neatness.  What about you? 

Umbrellas, Rain and Watercolor

What do the three words in the title above have in common?  All 3 abound in San Diego this weekend. These seem to be creeping into my paintings this week. 

What topics do you paint when it rains? 

Umbrella Posing in the Doorway of Podere Il Casale in Tuscany

Three Umbrellas in Provence  

News Years Resolutions and Getting More Drawing Done

This morning I arrived at my doctors appointment 20 minutes early.  My early arrival was due to my New Years resolution to be on time.   

I paniced for a moment when I realized I had 20 free minutes.  Then it came to me that I like to think of myself as a "caped crusader" for making anywhere art.  I checked in my purse and found a pencil and my trusty 3"x5" sketchbook.  Then I looked around for my cape, unfortunately I don't have one yet.  Then I remembered my mother's mink coat in the bag in the trunk of the car.  Being a DIY anywhere artist I repurposed the mink as my cape and did some serious drawing.

Make a Last Minute Holiday Gift for an Artsy Friend or Relative

It happens sometimes, that you either miscalculated on how many gifts to buy, cookies to make to gift your friends or you receive a last minute invitation and need a gift to give.

I advise you not to go into your sock drawer and pull out your slightly worn pair of Mona Lisa socks and think you can get away with wrapping them up and re-gifting them.  Instead, go into your stash of odd sizes of watercolor paper and cut, fold or rip them into sketchbook pages (your choice of size) and quickly find a piece of colored paper card stock for the cover and make two holes, thread some twine or string thru them and tie a bow. If you happen to have a coil binding machine use that to bind your sketchbooks.  Viola, you have ready made sketchbooks gifts.  Tie them with a ribbon and perhaps put a stick a candy cane on them if you've got some and you are done. Now you are not going to the party empty handed.  If you had a mom like mine, she may have advised you to never go to anyone's house empty handed....

Finding the Right Size Palette for Anywhere Art

In order to find more time and make more sketchbook style art, you need to have materials you can take anywhere and you need to find time anywhere you can.  This means that you need to have a variety of art materials to suit your painting situation.  You can have a large palette for studio painting, a medium portable palette for travel sketching and you'll need a couple of sizes of paint palettes for differing social paint situations.  You simply cannot take a large messy palette filled with paint into the lobby of a 4 star hotel and hope to paint peacefully while seated on the damask sofa in the lounge area. 

You'll need to have a  pocket, purse or briefcase size set of painting materials for painting in small, nice situations where you don't want to stand out and call attention to the fact you are painting. You'll also want to not splash paint on the white linen tablecloth, or on your dates tuxedo or your evening dress or afternoon outfit.  

My solution is to come up with an Anywhere Art Painting Kit that has a very small, light weight palette and a small light weight sketchbook of watercolor paper. With these materials and a brush, preferably a water brush so you don't have to deep your paint brush in your water goblet when you need to dampen it, you can draw and paint "journal style" (this means in a small journal or sketchbook) anywhere from your mother-in-laws kitchen to the Whitehouse.

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The materials in the photos above can be taken to places where you want to look nice, and not paint obtrusively  I think my purse looks much nicer then my Kermit the Frog messenger bag that I carry my supplies for painting in informal situations.  I am bringing the palette on the right next time, because the one on the left has paint wells that are too small to tell what color you are using. I enlarged the color wells in the one on the right so the color shows better.  Its frustrating to dip into what you think is brilliant blue for your sky and paint your sky with viridian green.

Everyday Journal

The concept of drawing ordinary things daily on the pages of a journal is definitely not new, but it's new to me. I decided I get too excited when I sit down to paint and tend to forget about leaving space for writing and about composition. I also want to draw better and the only way I can improve is by drawing often.  Pictured below are the first 3 sketches  I've made since I made my draw more often decision. 

Holiday Scotland Sale!

Inside Dunvegen Castle

We will stop by Dunvegen Castle on our April 1-10 Anywhere Art Tour of Scotland.  I am sure they will be expecting us and will have cocktails and a cake waiting for us in the pink drawing room above.  

If you are interested in traveling with me to Scotland next Spring you might want to know that I am offering a $100 discount if you sign up for the trip on or before midnight on Dec. 31, 2016.

Please email me with your questions at anywhereart4u@gmail.com 

Clean Painter's Studio

Take a peek inside my studio. I cleaned and organized it because 15 members of the San Dieguito Art League were invited to my house yesterday for tea. 

The artists like to see other members studios. The room was so messy that I had only one choice: clean up my studio or die of embarrassment.  

Have you ever seen such a clean desk? I never knew it was white. 

My friend, Gayle, who organized the tea, advised me to show some work in progress.  

There are only 3 of the projects I am currently working on now on my drafting table. The other 47  current projects are stuffed away in decorative boxes. 

Creating Holiday Gifts From Recycled And Repurposed Things in Your House

Do you need some gift ideas? Look around your house for supplies first.  

To make these mini painting sets:

I used some Altoid's tins, sprayed them with white flat spray paint, cut a panel of squares from a flourescent light panel and added a slice of sponge. Then I laminated my logo on card stock, glued it to the tin top and squirted in quality paint. *If you use very cheap watercolor paint, when it dries it cracks and falls out.

For the mini sketchbooks I cut up the odd sizes of Arches watercolor paper I had in the house and bound them with a comb binder.  

I'm bringing these gifts to a sale this Sunday at a wonderful new art school, ART LOUNGE ON THE 101 in Encinitas. I am going to continue teaching classes there in January.

If you're in Encinitas this Sunday, stop by from 12-4 and say hi.  

While I am working on my diy gifts and 27 other projects my workspace has gotten quite messy. Do you have a messy work space? If so, let me know, I need to tell my husband that I am not the only messy artist.

Nancy Holtz' Whimsical 2017 Calendar!

Are you familiar with Nancy Holtz's calendars?  She creates a calendar filled with 12 pages of her watercolor and ink drawings every year.  Holtz always designs her calendars so each page can be repurposed.

The 2017 calendar is bookmark size so each month can mark a page in your book when you're finished with the calendar.  She has included an inspiring quote on each month as well.  

The calendar is the perfect size and price for a holiday gift. $3.00 if you pick them up in person and $4.00 if they are mailed to you. I am giving them as gifts by tying them on wine bottles, stuffing them in coffee mugs and including them in gift baskets. 

Call Nancy if you'd like to order calendars  

(530) 885-1235 

Furniture Painting Fascination

Painting Furniture to Match Your Painting

When I asked my cousin the where abouts of a painting owned by her mother she gifted it to me the next time she visited. 

My favorite aunt, an artist herself, had hung this painting over her bathtub. This painting is ingrained in my childhood memories. I don't know if I even realized the subject of the painting is ummm ready for a bath... 

I painted the chest beneath the painting this weekend.  

Paw Print Painting

Last Saturday I taught a painting class to a great group of people at San Clemente Art Supply Shop.  

Most of the class had not painted before however their finished paintings were very good and their enthusiasm was wonderful.  

The students were given non toxic children's paint to create the prints from their pets paws. They stamped the paw prints on canvas and brought them to the class. They were very creative in the different compositions they arranged on the canvas and the methods they used to get their pets to cooperate.*

In class we used acrylic paint to create flower bouquets and designs around the paw prints. A good time was had by all. 

Wonderful students and art! 

* If you try this at home with your cat, the best tip I got was to wrap your cat in a blanket during the paw printing. 

Chateaux For YOU!

The location for the September Anywhere Art Tour Week One has been chosen by our panel of experts. We will be touring the Loire Valley in France. We will visit some of the amazing chateaux including Chenonceau pictured below. Can you see your sketchbook filled with watercolor sketches of chateaux, gardens, quaint streets, windows and more?

Week Two will be a tour of Giverny and the Normandy regions.  

What do you think? Let me know your thoughts. 

TOP 5 Reasons to Visit SCOTLAND Again

We are arranging another workshop in Scotland next April 1-10.  You might be asking yourself, "Why does Barbara want to do another watercolor workshop in Scotland so soon after this year's workshop?" 

BECAUSE: 

1. We need to see more of this fascinating country which includes brilliant landscapes, hauntingly beautiful castles, lakes and vistas as well as sophisticated cities with fantastic museums. 

2. We have the opportunity to travel again in April with Scottish native, tour guide, Brian Collie, whose tours make history come alive.   Brian's knowledge of all the spots to see in Scotland is endless. 

3. The Isle of Skye! We will spend 4 nights closeby so we can paint, explore, discover, sip, and adore this mysterious Hebride Island. 

4. To learn more about Scottish pubs, Scottish people, Scottish museums, scotch  and Scottish scones.

5. To see more of the Scottish Highlands and visit the seaport harbor town of Oban. 

Fiddling With Watercolors

Trying to capture the feeling and mood I had when we visited Podere il Casale agritourism in Tuscany.  

After learning about organic farming and cheese making with organic animal milk I immediately wanted to bring a goat home and incorporate more organic living into my life style.  

I am learning more about organic living and incorporating new ideas for healthier living into our lives but no goats. Painting and dogs will have to suffice. 

Transported to Ireland While Painting

This morning I began my post trip painting and found my self back in Kilkenny looking out a picture window at this view.  

Finished up this painting I did in my sketchbook on the trip. 

Cute-ta-fy-ing Your Travel Journal After Your Trip

Cute ta fy ing is a word I think I invented. It's definition is: (verb) to make something look cute or attractive.  

Cutefying is what you may need to do to give your pages in your travel journal eye catching panach after you return home. Or at least I need to do this because I paint  whenever I find a spare moment during my trip. I might be looking out of the window of a bus, having tea in a tea room or sipping something in a pub (I discoverec hot whiskey in Ireland).

Now that I am at home and I can sit at my table, have access to unlimited water, and time I can devote some time to fleshing out and cutefying my pages. I will need to erase extraneous pencil lines, brighten some colors and add borders and text.

How to Know When It's Time to Go Home

1. You have eaten all the Gelato you possibly can. 

2. You have said good bye to the major landmarks from a good picture taking vista.  Plus you have taken enough pictures (approx.  601). 

3. You have completed all the pages in your sketchbook. 

Say good bye, stuff your suitcase as full as you can, be sure the gifts of wine are carefully sandwiched between the dirty clothes and your new scarves, then board the plane, and fly back home. 

Tradition in Tuscany

Every time I travel to Tuscany, I come by and visit my old friend in Montepulciano