For the Love of Stamps-I am in UPPERCASE Magazine!

I love this magazine

and I love stamps

so...

 I just had to submit an article for the stamp/lace issue.

And it was accepted!

I talk about my mom and her love of stamps.

"I adore the ethereal quality of stamps.  The fact that they have traveled around the block or around the world gives me pause and sometimes goosebumps.  They are small exquisite gifts of color and composition that are utilitarian unless stumbled upon and studied for their beauty. My mother collected them, filed them away in notebooks, and looked up their worth and history in stamp books.  Her name was Phyl and she was a philatelist which seems appropriate.   I never caught on to her collecting and could not really grasp the necessity of this endeavor.  But as an artist I love the serendipitous use of them in my paintings.  And I love using a few of her stamps as a way to honor and remember her legacy.  I know this new-found use for them would make her smile."

 Some of my stash...

 The stamps find their ways into my work.

"My stamps are glued in the first layers of my paintings and they undergo a transformation with paint glazed on and around them.  Sometimes I apply so much paint that only I know the stamps are there, except for the added weight and texture they give.  Often their muted or vibrant colors set the overall tone of the painting.  I love it when Queen Elizabeth peeks out from around a vase or a sheet of blue stamps become bedding in a nest."

 They often get covered over with paint layers so they only peak through.

They make great nesting material.

 and shine out from tables,

 walls,

and just about everywhere.

To learn more about UPPERCASE Magazine

just click here.

"After all of their global adventures, I hope the retired stamps are settled in to their new home and look down from their painting at the abode where they now reside.  Maybe they can even see the new mail that arrives daily, and just maybe they check out those stamps and casually ask them how their trip was.  Yep it could happen."

Kid's paint the best-iPad and Fairy Tale Recap

Kids really do make the best art.

Their child-like simplicity is so awesome

and so hard for adults to emulate.

We drew The Ugly Duckling,

bears,

pigs,

monkeys,

patterned dresses,

Puss and Boots,

and swimming creatures.

It was a great year and I look forward to new lessons and 

students next year.

I think I may learn more from them

than they get from me!

Graphic Arts and Illustration on the iPad this Summer!

Summer classes are taught

and Wow were they fun!

Junior High photos follow below...

First we made letters.

Then some cloches.

Next some pattern design...

which we used to decorate vases and flowers

and learn about layers

and how easy it is to slip those designs in behind our outlines.

And then we moved on to tunnel books...

and a cool app called Foldify.

Of course individual projects were realized too.

I am already missing these little artists.  

summer snippets

This summer has been full to the brim of sun!

Such a novelty for us at first.

Even for the cat.

We worked in it...

And played in it.

 And I created new friends,

 and pondered what to paint for an upcoming solo show.

And the beautiful sunsets

have been amazing.

 And I taught kids to draw on the iPad and 

still make a mess too.

 And I endured a bad migraine.

grrr...

And watched my cat dreaming of birds.

And the summer isn't even close to being over.

What are you up to?

I would love to hear.

Some Lettering Fun!

If you have kids,

or know of kids,

or you are kid-like in spirit,

then this lettering project is for you.

You can either draw a letter in your name

or make a random design.

So first draw a thick black letter in Brushes XP or similar app.

Then use a thinner brush line and make a design 

all over and off the edges of your picture.

Then open another layer and move it under the first layer

and start coloring in your designs.

your coloring will automatically fall behind the black lines.

Use warm colors for your letter and cool for the background.

These pieces show the finished piece and the second layer

with the black lines hidden.

Kind of fun to see the design that way.

I highly recommend that you add patterns and dots 

to your art to give it a finished look.

You may find this is rather addictive.

The kids were very quiet and really got into this process.

I hope you will too.

Enjoy!