Friday Night Art

The art teacher for the boys school is such a fun talented artist. When I heard that she was doing Art classes for adults on Friday nights, I was all in.  Her classes for children are amazing too!

The first class I went to we worked on Madalas.  I had never done one before and it was a total blast!  It is kind of like fancy doodling.  {I’ve probably spent more time in my life doodling than studying, so I was giddy about this project}

Mine was kind of crooked, but it was just so fun I didn’t mind.I think I could spend lots of time doing these!  I’m kind of itching to do one with colors too!

We also did some drawing that I didn’t love as much as the mandalas, but were still lots of fun.  The continuous contour drawing you never take your pencil up off of the paper…for the entire drawing.  That was tough, but a fun exercise too.

I took a few weeks off as I waited for Allen to get home from California since getting a babysitter every Friday night is pricey.  When I went back they were doing linocut prints.

We us special tools to cut into linoleum essentially creating a stamp.  Then you ink the stamp with special paints and rollers and press it to make the print.

Can you guess which one is mine?

Mine turned out well and I just got it back from the framer.

Last time we worked on making a paper mache mask.  I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I think it will be really fun when it’s done.

In the meantime I’ve been doing a little painting.  While I love painting, I’m just not that in love with the products I make.  Here is one I recently did.

I ended up painting over it because the perspective and it being off center bugged me….This was the third crab I have painted on this same canvas.  We will just have to see if the fourth crab is the one!

Young Artists

This year for the school art show both boys each created a painting.  I love to see young artists work and these are two of the cutest around.

Miller’s was called “The Danger Zone of the Ocean”.  It has an electric eel and a sail shark. {I also see people and a tree…}

Jackson called his “Pointillism Under the Sea Surface”.  His has a polka dot whale, a fish, a crab and a diver.

Pointillism is one of my favorite forms of painting because it is essentially many small dots of color that the eye blends to create one object.  It was really big during the Impressionist movement.  I think he did a fabulous job.

Unfortunately I was at the reunion during the art show, but I heard it was really nice.  I can’t wait to get these hung at our house.

Anchor

Last week Allen and I shared an anniversary.  I had no idea what to get him.  He can be hard to buy for, so I made him something.

The idea was inspired by this print on Pintrest.

It came out better than I thought, but there are still things that I wish had turned out better.

I love you Allen.

Feeling Painty

Recently I’ve been getting my paint on.  In order to improve my rusty skills, I’ve got a lot of practicing to do.
The boys are always eager to help me paint, but since my paints aren’t washable, we use good old Crayola paints for them!

Jackson wanted to paint an American flag.  AWE!

Miller went freestyle {imagine that}
Then Jackson decided that he wanted to do an action painting.  Cheetahs!

I love, love, love the bright colors

After his brief painting Miller moved on to a cutting exercise.  I don’t mind him doing that.  It’s is great hand exercise.  But oh the itty bitty pieces!
Then he turned some itty bitty pieces into Super Man Logos.  He has such a great imagination!
I’ve been working on some of these.
As you can see I still have a lot of practicing to do.  I get to a certain point and then stop and just don’t know what to do next?  It’s something to do with shadows and depth, I think?
Things that make you go HMMMM!

An Old Hobby

It took me about two and a half weeks to get to it.  I got a little bored during the day.  My house wasn’t clean, but who wants to do that when there are millions of other ways to waste time?  There is only so much time you can spend looking at cool projects on Pintrest before the overwhelming urge to do something gets me out of the chair!
One of my goals this year has been to pick up painting again.  I painted in college.  I’m so grateful to have had the college experience I had.  We were allowed to take as many classes as we wanted to each semester.  After I got my feet under me in school I added at least one art class each semester to my schedule.  I recall skipping a fair amount of classes in college, but I bet I never missed my art classes.
From time to time I would pick up my brushes, but I never had the time or space to devote to it.  I do now.
For some reason, I have been on an oyster kick.  First I made hinted around to Allen that I wanted one of these beauties  from Alison Evans for Mother’s Day.

He delivered 3, but instead of satisfying my oyster urge, it increased it.  Now I want one or six of each.  Sorry sweetie!
And look at this

I’ve also been really drawn to other oyster art.
Look at this lovely from the Savannah artist Bellamy Murphy.

It inspired me to pick up my brushes and do my own poor attempts at some oyster art.
Working with acrylics is all new to me and while I want to get better, I sort of just want to go back to oils, so I can be comfortable.  Part of  it is that I am a bit of a perfectionist.  These are far from perfect.  However, they are a start.

I’ve got a ways to go, but life is long.

Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever can cause you to do things you'd never consider in, say July. Last Sunday, I knew we needed to do something different or else we were going to be peeling screaming boys off of each other for the rest of the afternoon. So I asked Jackson if he wanted to paint.
Paint? What? That's crazy talk! Why would I let a preschooler paint, when he goes to a perfectly good preschool twice a week? Because I am desperate people, desper-ate!

So he did a little of this.




But I couldn't focus on what I was really supposed to be taking pictures of. I kept trying to capture the real masterpiece(s). These eyelashes.





He doesn't appreciate them, of course, but I do.
Then today he comes into Miller's room and asks me why we have eyelashes. That was so random. So I told him they keep the dust and dirt out of our eyes. So he then says, "And they keep the crumbs out of our eyes too."
Umm yes, and the Parmesan!