Obon Festival with the Urban Sketch group

 Yesterday I attended the Obon Festival in Vista, CA with my friends. The Urban Sketchers  were there in force drawing the sights. I have a fab short film to show you but the google gods wouldn't let me add it....or it's just that I don't know what I'm doing.....I'll try and add it to FB...

 These are quick gesture drawings with a brown Tombow pen. 

 I added water to make the pen lines flow and a bit of watercolor. 

 Here you can see the effect just from the Tombow pen with water added. 

 and...some watercolors...

Circle grid patterns

Thinking of Circles today ....

my friend Jill Hall has a new exhibit based on Circles opening tonight at

Inspirations Gallery NTC  in San Diego from 5 to 7....the show runs  till September 2. I have 5 works in the show......

Create Chicago Mixed Media Retreat is coming up soon! Sign up here for spectacular workshops. I'm teaching 4.....

Deconstructed Paste Paper Plethora

Negative is Absolutely Positive

Collage Monotypes

Crinkly Iridescent Vestiges 

great student works from Create New Jersey! 

grids and circles from New Zealand ......

a new painting featured in the Circles show at Inspirations Gallery 

More wonderful examples from Create New Jersey....thanks to my students!! 

Create New Jersey starts next week!

Here are a few delish examples of the workshops I'm teaching next week in New Jersey at Create! Create Chicago is next month August 21,22,23....you can sign up here

There are still some spaces left so sign up soon! 

Saturday, July 20-  Negitive is Absolutely Positive....a guided step by step adventure into painting very cool backgrounds and creating positve shapes......

Saturday, July 20- Deconstructed Paste Papers  a very fun, filled to the brim day of painting, stenciling, pattern making, deconstructing to create patina....creating incredible papers for collage and designs. 

Friday, July 19- Collage Watercolor Monotypes 

a very easy user friendly way of printing...its all about the beautiful textures 

Back from the land of the Kiwis

Kia ora
greetings from New Zealand
I've just returned from a windy and wild trip to New Zealand where I taught two book arts workshops with my nephew's poster paint set because my luggage was left in Wellington due to a Gale, survived a Polar Blast in Wellington,  shopped till I dropped with my friend Karin, hiked through the rainy bush to find incredible  NZ birds, visited museums and a botanical garden, stayed with my brother's family and ate incredible home cooked organic fresh meals (thank you Angela and Alex!)  and did I mention....shopping in used book stores and antique stores? Oh heaven......

Journal posts ...this was a post that was started on the flight to Wellington

and this was fun...I started out with a photo collage of a Kea and drew outward. Karin showed me how to draw this fun Zentangle pattern on  the right. It started out with a shape that we traced in the Children's activity center at Te Papa. 

24 hours of waiting out the Gale in Wellington...this was the waiting lounge at the airport...our flight and all flights were canceled due to 100 mile+ winds and rain. The announcer at the airport politely told everyone to "go Home" .....hummmmmm

The red piano at Te Papa.....Karin and I waited all day at Te Papa due to the delay on our second attempt to fly and take a train to Auckland. We spent the day drinking flat whites, journaling....eating treats and lunch....journaling......

a beautiful paper design from my Sunday Book Arts Workshop for the Association of Book Crafts New Zealand

Tiri Tiri Mantangi Island...a rare bird Sanctuary in the North Island...go on the guided tour with "Donald" ....the best guide ever! 

Zealandia .....in Wellington...a fantastic rare bird Sanctuary

and lastly.....one of my many, many flat whites....expresso shots with steamed cream .....yummy!! 

Off to New Zealand!

just a few painting demos and a slice of a fundraiser event to share with you before I fly out over the ocean tonight to New Zealand!

 This is my attempt at a portrait of Don Strom. (here's a little info about Don written by my good friend Jane LaFazio)...I'm not a portrait artist but I gave it a shot! Its just the beginning of the painting....charcoal drawing with acrylic warm washes. 

 The semi completed section for Brandon Gallery's Inch by Inch fundraiser. Here are the details.....

this pastel has an watercolor underpainting...one of my former    students ....Sue....

and a 2 part demo for you......Masa paper watercolor with a wet into wet approach. The paper was glued down to a regular peice of watercolor paper for support. 

and here is the next step.....negative painting for the most part. I used white gouche too to build up some lighter values around the pattern....I'm taking it with me on the trip....so...you'll get to see the results..
Till then!

Demos in Gardens with a side of acrylic and collage

Recent Demos from my local classes and workshops  Create Irvine is coming up next week! There is still time to sign up....or you can sign up for Create Chicago or New Jersey! I'll be flying and teaching all summer long....New Zealand...New Jersey....Chicago....

 This journal demo was created at Buena Creek Gardens. I used a Tomboy black pen to draw with, then I used water on a brush to spread the black ink. Colored pencils were added on top.

 Journal post from San Diego Botanic Garden. I gave a one day workshop a week ago. I'll teach again in the Fall.  We used collage pages from an old atlas I found in a San Diego Thrift store with my sister.

 and this painting was created at my Fallbrook School of the Arts class. Collage papers from that same Atlas were glued down first with a layer of Gesso over it. Watercolor was painted on after the gesso dried. 

 Here's a bit from a demo I did yesterday in my Escondido Adult Ed Mixed Media class. We made shiny collage papers from art tissue. Fall Classes will go up online mid August

and.....this is an acrylic and charcoal painting from my Palomar college class. I teach a semester course in Acrylic and Watercolor. Fall semester starts August 24! 

Bits of Sante Fe

I'm back home from Santa Fe, New Mexico with tons of images to share. We had a fantastic mixed media retreat with some amazing women!
Santa Fe has always held a visual overload of colors and textures to me. I've traveled there many, many times for gallery receptions over the years. This time I had more extra hours to tour through the galleries and museums.......