Zoom Learn with Me, Wednesday?

Are your brushes and paints begging you to take them out for a spin? Dust off your art supplies and join me for a 2 Hour Zoom Class.
The subject matter of Wednesday’s class will be Learning to Paint Dog With Pen and Ink + Watercolor. I will explain all the drawing and painting top secrets to you, give you drawings ahead of class, demo all techniques and answer all your questions.
You will finish class with several postcard sized paintings of the most favorite dog breeds and the knowledge and skill to paint more dogs. Class Cost $30 email me asap to sign up at anywhereart4u @gmail.com

Class will take place on Zoom, Wednesday, November 18 at 9:30-11:30.

Reduce Your Stress by Watercolor Painting

If you are feeling a bit stressed, you may want to grab a set of watercolors and paper and paint something you see around you. Going to a park or outdoor location is nice but not necessary. That’s why I say I make Anywhere Art, because you can paint with watercolors anywhere you find yourself; your kitchen, your bedroom, on a bus or anywhere else.

Since the quarantine began I’ve filled 3 books and have just finished the first page of book/journal 4. Are my pages all filled with perfect paintings? Heck no! They are filled with my imperfect observations and notations. I started painting outside to spend time with my painting friends and practice my painting. I was happy to discover that after many months , my paintings and those of my friends improved.

Label Making At Home Success Story

I want to report that after teaching my label making class, I was able to put my own homemade label on some salad dressing I am bringing to a socially distant party tonight! I never would have thought to make a label before putting together the lesson for my Zoom class. My salad dressing label is not professionally done, but it might give someone a laugh if they notice it. And isn’t that what we need these days? A little laugh to lift our spirits is needed now, Don’t you think?

Label Class Demos

Today I taught my first Zoom class to a group of lovely calligraphers and others. The class was fun to teach and all of the students were enthusiastic and interested. The technology to teach via Zoom was not as complex as I thought it would be. It was great to be teaching again!

Let me know if you are interested in attending a Zoom class taught by me. Now that I have tipped my toes into Zoom teaching, I’d like to teach some more classes.

Here are the examples I demonstrated in todays class.

Is A Cluttered Art Desk A Sign of Genius?

Is your desk full of several projects you are working on simultaneously? Are you able to work on all your projects every day? I don’t work on all of the 12 or more projects on my desk every day, just the ones I feel are the most important. However, I like seeing all my projects, its sort of a visual checklist for me. Do you think my method is a sign of genius or a slovenly way of working?

Painting With Prang Watercolor Paints

My friend, Julie lent me her set of Prang Watercolors to try out. You can see the results I got in bear portrait #5 below. I think Prang paints are a very good inexpensive paint option. You can find an 8 color set on Amazon for less then $4. The paints come in a tray with a lid that closes and can be used for mixing colors. The set also comes with a good #6 brush. The good quality of the brush surprised me as the 2 previous sets I reviewed included poor quality brushes. Using a good brush is crucial to succeeding with watercolors.

Given the results of my unsponsored, unscientific tests on cheap watercolor paints, I would recommend you purchase the Prang set because it has decent quality paints, a white plastic lid where you can mix and a good brush. If you purchase the cheaper sets you’re going to have to buy another brush and a palette so the cheap set will end up costing you more.

Which Watercolor Paint Brand Do Bears Prefer?

In my previous post I wrote about 2 paint sets and a sketchbook I bought at Walmart. Today I decided to paint some more bears and test more expensive paints.

The bear on the left below was painted on the Canson mixed-media paper in the sketchbook I bought at Walmart. I painted him using artists quality paints (which are more costly) from Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton. The bear on the right was painted with the same paint brand but the paper was Arches 140 lb. cold press.

Let me know what you think about the different results from the different brands. I honestly think the example in the previous post painted with Crayola paints is just fine for anyone wishing to dip their toes into watercolor and have some relaxing fun.

Tomorrow I will paint the bear using a set of Prang paints that you can buy on Amazon for about $4.00. Please don’t lose any sleep worrying about what the results will be.

Cheap Art Supply Test Results are In

The bear posed for my test paintings. Which picture do you prefer?

Making it Easy to Paint for Everyone

I’m sure you know about many of the tense situations that abound today. I woke up this morning thinking about a tiny effort I could make that might help people de-stress/relax for a few moments in their day.

I visited Wal-Mart this morning and bought some watercolor art supplies in the children’s school section because that is generally where you can find the cheapest art supplies. My thought about purchasing supplies at Wal-Mart was that you can Easily find a Wal-Mart or purchase from them online plus their prices are pretty cheap.
Later today I will unpack the bag, try out the supplies and let you know what I think.

What are you up to these days? Drop me a line I’d love to hear from you.

What Do Watercolor Painters Need to Do

I have been pondering a subject for a blog post.

I could write an exciting paragraph about my new repurposed deluxe water container I made from a container of a “gourmet fruit bowl” my husband brought home from Costco but that might not interest you.

I could post about the progress of my next book proposal but the progress is very slow due to my mental tap dance with book proposal rejection anxiety. I believe my book idea is a good one, which would teach you how to paint a lot of endearing subjects but publishers are picky. So I drag my feet instead of tapping along and getting the book proposals in the mail.

Something I can write about is how perfect watercolor painting is for outdoor social distance painting. I started painting with one friend in her driveway and now we’ve been joined by several others and are discovering lots of secret shady nooks and crannies around northern San Diego.

I stuff all the supplies into the basket and also bring a mask, a fold up chair and a sun umbrella. Snacks are optional but you do need water.

I highly suggest you grab some of your art supplies and paint outside. You don’t need fancy easels or other stuff but I do think a nice painting friend is definitely good to take along. Drive to your location in separate cars, meet up, chat about everything from a distance and pick a tiny portion of the landscape to paint.

How to Successfully Navigate During Weird Times

How are you doing? Have you established a routine and are following it without wavering? Have you ticked off numbers 1-27 on your list of 50 goals yet? Have you created any masterpieces?

If you answered no to all of the questions above, we are in the same boat….(socially distanced, of course). Other then my mini battle with Joann Fabric, not much else major is going on at the house of Anywhere Art.

I’ve finished sewing dress out of my old curtains and I am wandering out to paint with artist friends in our local parks. All is quiet on the teaching front. I am not going anywhere soon. So, I am being thankful for all I have and my health while sort of feeling like I need to head down some new roads, mentally that is.

How about you? Have you come up with some new projects? New vlsions? New identities? I’d love to hear about them. Or if you are in the malaise of weird times, I’d like to hear about that too. Then maybe we can come up with some ideas on how to successfully navigate together during these weird times.

Joann Customer Service Reply

I recently posted about the hassle of trying to buy patterns online from an advertised sale at Joann Fabric. Today, when I went to my blog to post an update on my hassle with Joann Fabric, I found the post missing!

I’ve copied the post and reposted it, but could the emperor of Joann Fabric have the magic to remove a post from my blog? I wonder…..

Anyway, I thought I would post the reply I received from the head of customer service that the CEO of Joann’s referred me to.

Hello Barbara, 

Thank you for the information that you've shared and we're sorry for any trouble this has caused you. Normally, all sales posted in our physical ads are in-store promotions only and this is noted in small print on each ad that our in-store and online prices and selections may vary. 

However, if you would like to order the patterns online we'd be happy to refund you the difference in sales price to honor the $1.99 sales price. We do ask that you limit your order to a maximum of 10 patterns as that is the limit in-store. Additionally, we'd be happy to refund you your shipping cost for the trouble.

If you do place an order and would like the refund offered please reply to this email with the order number after the order has shipped for the credit to be issued.

Thank you, 

Kaitlyn

I don’t want to bore you with too many more details about my problem with Joann’s but could you take a look at the sentence above that says, all sales posted in our physical ads are in-store promotions only and this is noted in small print on each ad that our in-store and online prices and selections may vary. 

So I need to ask you, is an online ad that I found on Joann Fabric.com a physical ad? Just wondering, because I went back to that ad and looked for fine print to reread and couldn’t fine anything that said this pattern sale is only for in store purchases.

Whatever, I am over this, the world has so many more pressing problems for me to worry about. However, I did follow up and forward my bill for the patterns to Joann Fabric and I received an email today from another lovely customer service rep saying that my account would be credited.

Thank you for the wonderful, supportive comments that many of you emailed me about my issue with Joann Fabric. I am posting the photo below in the hopes it might give you a chuckle as a reward for patiently listening to my minor war with Joann Fabric.

A nice cow I ran into in Barcelona.

The Pain in the Neck of Trying to Use A Coupon at Joann Fabric

The Pain in the Neck of Trying to Use A Coupon at Joann Fabric Online

Posted: 14 Jun 2020 12:20 PM PDT

Have you ever found yourself in a big box craft/art supply store cluching a coupon in a death grip in order to find the best item to get a discount on? Come on, admit it, everyone loves a bargain. Unless, it is not a bargain.

I find it difficult to believe that Joann Fabric would try to pull one over on their customers. Why would Joann Fabric which sells to crafters and artists accross the nation want to mislead their customers? Especially during this time of illness, fear of illness and major social problems in our country. In my imagination, I see the gentle people who work at Joann Fabric gathered together on a porch somewhere trying to figure out how to distribute tall iced glasses of lemonade to all of the stessed out public who shop with them.

On Thursday, my friend mentioned to me that all Simplicity and Butterick sewing patterns were on sale at Joann Fabric for $1.99 each. This was good news, because I’ve been sewing dresses while in quarantine and discovered that pattern prices had skyrocketed since I last made clothing 15 years ago.

I raced to my laptop and hurried to the Joann Fabric website. Would you believe there is a Joann Fabric app? Of course, I downloaded their app and signed up for everything in order to obtain my bargain patterns. I studied the ad which Joann was so kind to include on their website. I learned I was limited to 10 patterns at the $1.99 price. I was okay with buying 10 because I don’t want Joann to loose any extra $ while offering her customers the lovely treat of bargain priced patterns.

I spent a lot of time studying the pattern choices provided by Joann on a direct link that I was taken to from their ad which said clearly shop online. Since the ad said I could only purchase Simplicity and Butterick patterns at the $1.99 price, I carefully selected only those brands of patterns. I settled on 6 or 8 patterns to purchase. Imagine my surprise when I went to the check out page and the price of the patterns did not reduce to $1.99! No problem I thought and googled how to get the correct price. Would you believe there was no info out on the net or on the promo code websites on how to obtain the advertised bargain?

Not really wanting to bother the folks at Joann but needing to find a solution, I called the customer service phone number listed on their website. I listened to a recording telling me that they were overwhelmed with business, not excepting phone calls and that I should email them at customer service instead. A normal person at this point would have 1. bought fewer patterns at the regular price, or 2. given up. However, I have mentioned in this blog before that I am trying to build my character during these trying times and one of the things I am trying to do is follow thru on what I think is fair. * There are a lot of big issues out in the world now that I need to follow thru on as well, but little issues are necessary too, especially when I feel a corporation may be taking advantage of artists and crafters.

After several emails exchanged with a nice man at Joann Fabric customer service, I did not get the discount code. In fact, the lovely customer service rep told me first that I was wrong, second that the discount was not available to me and after the third email, that I had to go into the store to obtain the bargain pattern price. Nowhere in the ad does it state that you must shop in the store. At that point I consulted Rick who affirmed I was right to follow thru on this issue and he suggested I contact the CEO of Joann Fabric.

I searched online for the CEO’s email which did not seem to be posted anywhere. I did learn a lot about Joann Fabric after searching many corporate websites as well as reading thru the disgruntled customer complaints on the Better Business Burea website. Finally, I found a website that gave me addresses to try to email the CEO and the V.P. of Marketing and Sales. So I sent an email to them yesterday afternoon and an hour later I received a response from the Joann Fabric CEO.

The CEO whose name is Wade, was very sorry that I had difficulty obtaining my bargain patterns. He is turning my request over to his customer service head to help me get satisfaction. I haven’t heard from the Customer Service head yet, but it has just been a little over 24 hours and he is probably busy elsewhere. I will let you know as soon as I hear from him

Painting Outside

Somehow I never found the time to paint in my neighborhood. This week, my painting buddy and I have been finding lots of scenes to paint out and about near my house. We sit 9 feet away from each other and discuss life as well as painting.
When I set out from my house with my basket of watercolor supplies and folding chair I must admit I pretend I am a French impressionist going out to sketch the Normandy countryside.

Who Am I?

As you can see from yesterday’s post, I am wondering about who I am or should or could be these daze. This morning I got up and roasted some fresh herbs I picked from the pots in our garden. That was the first sign some things were changing. I’ve thought about drying herbs before but never gotten around to even googling how to.
Then I baked a blueberry cobbler for lunchtime dessert. After that, I whipped up fresh whipped cream! Yesterday, I finished painting a portrait of 2 of my favorite neighborhood dogs just for the joy of painting them and gifting it to their owners.

These strange actions I’ve been taking, in particularly following through on my ideas, makes me question myself. Who is this person I am becoming? This person who pursues cooking from scratch, painting from the heart and has some grey hair showing? Spoiler; the pink hair is Sarah’s wig.

Are you experiencing similar strange transformations? Do you want keep these behavior changes after the virus crisis is solved? How will we do it? Will we return to our time crunched mode of operation? I don’t want to. I want to continue on focusing on real things that matter to my friends and loved ones, like a home cooked dessert, the gifting to others of things that might delight them and spending time talking and listening. Pre Covid-19,
I can remember myself looking in the mirror studying my grey hairs and wrinkles. Wondering what I could do. I hope that version of me is gone now, flushed away by this quarantine that has helped me see some things that matter.
I am aware that this virus has caused major suffering and sadness. I don’t want to sugar coat anything, I am just mentioning changes that might be taking place inside of you and me and wondering what we plan to do about holding on to the newer versions of ourselves.

Possible Watercolor Hair

My daughter fixed me up with a new look today. Is it me? Should I rebrand myself as an ethereal boomer?

Need Your Help Deciding What to Paint!!!

This blank canvas sitting on my easel is the elephant in the room. Or in this case, the elephant in my studio. This large, white, blank canvas has been on the easel for quite some time. Occassionally someone asks , what are you going to paint on that canvas? Worse, sometimes they ask, when are you going to paint that canvas?

My answer to what? Is I have a few ideas, a portrait of my grandma and I from a 1950’s photo, a bouquet of flowers in a vintage French coffee pot, maybe a restaurant scene from some photos I took recently of a beautiful waiter in front of a snowy landscape. I am not sure what I really want, should or need to paint on this large canvas.

To answer the when will I paint on this canvas, I have to answer the what first. Got any ideas? Supportive comments? Advice? Encouragement? I am all ears.

Diy Apron to Hold Your Art Supplies

Do you wear something to protect your clothes and hold your tools when you do an art project? Normally, I forget to wear anything so all of my clothing have paint marks somewhere on them. I finally decided that I didn’t like wearing a spotty wardrobe and put on an apron my daughter had gotten somewhere.
I discovered after wearing the apron for a while, that I really liked having deep pockets that I could keep my art supplies and cell phone in. With my necessities close by I wasn’t spending time looking for them.
After unearthing my sewing machine to create some masks, I remembered how much I enjoyed sewing. The process is relaxing as well as creative. I had stopped sewing when I started teaching due to lack of time.
I found the sewing book , Sew Happy, with a pattern for a Japanese style apron that caught my eye. I know enough sewing techniques to make it and to add additional pockets!!! Plus the pattern was illustrated in the book so I didn’t have to go out shopping to get it! I found some old drapes In a storage box in our garage to use as fabric for the apron. My husband refuses to let me cut up any more of his Aloha shirts for fabric!
You can see the results below. I think I’ll customize the pocket sizes so my stuff doesn’t float around too loosely but other then that, I am back to work with my supplies close at hand.

Theraputic Watercolor Pajama Design Project for YOU!

You have probably finished waxing your dog, watering your stove and reorganizing your DVD collection by now. So you need a new project, one that is relevant to our current situation. I may have something for you to do if you are spending a lot of time in your pj’s these days or just like to contemplate ideas for designing new pajama patterns.

I am posting below, line drawings of pajamas that you can creatively fill in, color, ink or whatever you like. You can print it out on watercolor paper if you plan to use paint or you can print them out on printer paper and use them to color, draw, line your birdcage or use as wrapping paper for your next gift.

Your choice of what you do with the pajama line drawings is up to you. Studies have shown if you are given choices then you have more control and if you perceive you have more control you will feel less depressed or better, etc. I cannot quote where I read this, one of the numerous self help articles or books I have read, but just try it and let me know how you feel.

Painting A Series of Watercolor Pictures Based on a Theme

Early on a teacher advised me that I would create better paintings if I painted in a series rather making single paintings. Ocassionally, I do paint 3 paintings with a common theme. Usually, this method takes the pressure off thinking you need to do one perfect painting and that you won’t have a 2nd chance to get your painting right.

Here’s a series of 3, I just completed (or maybe there will be more paintings coming on this theme if inspiration strikes).