Christmas Cards Almost Complete

After a couple of busy days, I finally got back to sketching and painting. And now they're all complete! It was an amazing journey and I learned that the more you sketch the same thing the better it gets. It was amazing to watch the sketching and the painting change and honestly I really like the last ones better than the first.  Reminded me of the bible verse, where Jesus says, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."

I was so excited to get the last card part printed, cut and folded that I counted out the envelopes and decided to run them through the embosser - so envelopes have a snowflake! Hope it doesn't jam the post office machinery!

So now I prepare to do the real work addressing and one more fun art project of drawing a card for the children in my life. I'm sending them a separate card addressed just to them. Do you remember how much fun it was to get mail as a child?

And then, it's back to the spinning wheel to get some gifts done - just 14 days from tonight, so I'm hoping some spinning and knitting elves arrive to help!

It's Beginning to Feel a Bit Like Christmas...

I love this time of year! I grew up near St. Louis and I still remember cold and snow and sledding and snow people!  And to top it off, I am taking a most magical winter art class with Junelle Jacobson. All of the posted art has made be even more excited for the season.

Never mind that I'm writing this and it's almost 70 degrees outside. We have had some "cold" 40"s mornings lately. Remember cold is all in perspective! lol

For years I made our Christmas cards. I cut and pasted and stamped for weeks.  A year or so ago I decided to change the program and printed our cards from a painting I had done of a poinsettia. Last year we jumped on the photo card bandwagon and did a fun one featuring our alpacas, chickens, dog and us. We even had one of our dog herding our "fake" sheep.

This year I was led to a stone I painted several years ago of the Madonna and child. Just felt like I was supposed to paint it for this year's card. My plan was to paint one and then scan and print it just like I did the poinsettia, but God had something else in mind.

Initial sketch from stone in journal

As I was driving into Katy for lunch with a friend I was praying about the card and how to do it. I promise, I heard (in my heart) "paint each one."  What???????  I needed around 35.  When I mentioned it at lunch, I was reminded that it was the painting I found joyous not scanning/printing. So it was decided!

 So this was a picture of my the sketch I decided I would use for the cards, after positive reaction of Facebook! But, of course, I tried to do it the "easy" way. Only when you're not being obedient the easy way can often be the most difficult and frustrating way.  The more I tried to print it the crazier life in our house became! The printer wouldn't print. Ran out of ink. Lines and marks appeared in the prints. The colors were so off the sheep were almost purple and I might add this is not theworst picture!

An image of my original with the nearly purple sheep!

And so I cut watercolor paper and I began to sketch. I  sketched and inked 21 pieces Saturday morning. No two are alike. First I started with one sheep, but then as I drew I thought why not a mama and a baby sheep and so there became two.  Late last night I completed the first water coloring portion and at the last I was still changing some things up as I painted. I got the rest of the card printed and ready for the attachments. I will sketch and paint another 15-20 over the next few days.

Most of the 21 complete! I see one unfinished peeking out at the bottom.

And, of course while I was painting, I just had to sketch some shepherds watching over their flocks!

Sheep sleep all close together looking like giant cotton balls! My first try at this  they looked like a stone wall! lol

As I said to a friend tonight, obedience can be a lot of work, but, oh, so joyous!  I'm sure He would have ask me to do more, but knows that I have something to sketch and paint for my sweet husband and I have a church (award for best religious winner for our neighborhood lighting contest) to be completed this week, along with that fun, fun Junelle Jacobson art class! And some special spinning for a dear friend, but more of that in a fiber post.

My sketch in journal and the nearly 5' church to be painted -  doors and windows are sketched in.

Busy time of the year. 

2015 Catch up - Spinning!

It's been a busy arty kind of year so far and I can't believe how far into the year we are now!  The middle of November and that means Christmas is just around the corner! I've used Facebook most of this year to show off my work, but want to catch up my Blog with some notes and pictures of my creative year.

2015 has been a year of working in many different medias - beginning with spinning and all of the prep that goes into that such as shearing (see Jack and the Alpacas for more on that) carding, blending and, of course, buying pretty fiber.  Weaving wasn't left out as I worked on and completed a set of six placements for a friend. Planned on them for Christmas 2014, but turned out to be birthday June 2015!

And then back to my first and second love - photography and painting. I've taken a number of online art classes this year, with Jane LaFazio, Junelle Jacobson, Valerie Weller, Jeanne Oliver and Julie Johnson.

It's been too busy to do just one post, so this first will feature spinning, followed with weaving and watercolor/journaling.

I had to show one shearing picture (see more at Jack and the Alpacas) - it shows the process from the beginning. Shearing, sorting,washing, carding and the spinning: There are no pictures of the first sorting and washing.

Lefty being sheared - a nice size blanket!

First run through the carder!

Looking better - almost ready
to spin!

And now just a variety of the various yarns spun this year. They are wool not alpaca and the initial fiber was not prepped by me. I just did the spinning.

Next up weaving. 

20 15 Catch - Water Color, Wood Blocks & Journals -Installment One

Here's the first watercolor/journal installment: I planned on doing weaving next, but I found this already started and saved as a draft - so it's jumping ahead.

Spring found me taking a Junelle Jacobson class that also featured Valerie Weller (rooster and cats) This post will feature wood blocks and fun sketches from class with Junelle Jacobson and my practice sketches from a DVD class with Jane LaFazio.

Trying for whimsy thanks to Junelle's encouragement.

Junelle pushing me further out of my comfort zone!

Valerie Weller taught us the easy way to draw cats.

Trying a sketch of Lefty and one of my favorite quotes!
"Pretending to be normal day after day is exhausting!"

The next few pictures are practice sketches from a dvd class with Jane LaFazio. What I love about Jane is that she teaches you to use real items to paint from, not pictures and to really look at the item you're painting.  She teaches you to paint in a journal and to paint everyday items and to paint every day! Later I will be posting the pictures from my online classes and I've learned that daily practice does pay off.

I still love sketching ladies - as my mom called them,
I've always called them the girls!

From my sketchbook, to cut out in wood, to the yard!  Love my birds, but still need to add a wing. A friend gave me some old corrugated metal and they will have cute wings by next Spring.

Looking forward to another Junelle Jacobson class and Jane LaFazio watercolor class coming soon!