Today, is a big day for me...
It's official...
The rumors are true...

I have always dreamt of having a solo exhibit of my art. Starting November 1st at 2 o'clock, that dream will become a reality for me when we kick off the #POPkoArtCrawl in #Utica , #Michigan. Please join us at the ribbon cutting first for my latest #publicart installation. Artcrawl will follow! Several businesses, in downtown Utica, have graciously offered to showcase a few of my favorite art pieces, including my controversial #ArtPrize8 entry, #CommonCore . Here's a sneak peek of the post card before going to the printer:

And... Did I mention Utica City Hall will be displaying the sketches and renderings used to brainstorm this mural design? 

#Inktober !!

 Thought I would take the #Intober challenge this year. If you're not familiar with Inktober, it's a challenge that runs during the month of October. Each day is a new prompt to work off from and the illustrations must be inked in (or should be). This is a great way to create better work habits as an artist, drawing every day.

 I am posting Day 2 and 1 (sorry, I reversed them): Mindless and Ring. Again, these are fun exercises for artists of all skill levels.

Are you participating? If so, don't forget to post and tag #Inktober .

Have fun!

 It's that time of year again :-) The local #library hosted its annual bookmark competition. I LOVE design competitions! I try to use them as a way to test out new ideas, push my creativity, and perhaps work in a different medium that I am not used to. They're fun and challenging at the same time. It's a great way to get more practice in, and you never know. You just might win :-) It's also great exposure too. But you have to be careful not to indulge in too many of these. They can sidetrack you, and there is very little payout for most of them. I enter them strictly for fun and practice.

Here's a great example of me playing with a different medium that I am not used to. First, I colored the entire space in oil pastel. Then, I used a mixture of 2 parts paint and 1 part dish soap to cover the entire area. Using a sharp tool (I used the tip of my compass), I scratched away the design. Because these bookmarks had to be illustrated to the true actual size (a challenge for me), I made a mistake with the lettering. I had to go back in and repaint the section where the text is and scratch the phrase back in. 

I wish I could take credit for magically drawing those bears without a light sketch to guide me, but because the surface of the dark blue paint was so fragile and sensitive to the touch I had to find a new approach. I took my original sketch and outlined the bears in sharpie marker and then used my light table. The image was hazy, but I was able to make out some of the lines. Then I just went for it :-)

Ah, the sloth. Again, due to the small size of the dimensions, I struggled with adding the detail with my acrylic paint. Perhaps if I had some gouache I would be a happy gal, but I did not have any on hand (who am I kidding, I didn't like the colors I had in my box of tricks). And so, to add the fine lines of fur, I used my #PrismaColorPencils . 

Did I mention that I originally misspelled Llama and my kid had to point that out, as we were getting ready to drop them off? Yep. Throw in another "l".

Bugs. I had fun playing around with the Art Deco inspired pattern.

First of all... Yay!! I can finally post again!! I've been struggling with my site. I have no idea what I did or didn't do, but here I am :-) Wahoo!!

Ok, now onto business:

I thought I would post this little guy. His name was Luke and I painted him on a 12 inch by 12 inch canvas using acrylic paint. I love the solid pop of yellow. I feel like the focus is more on the pup. His ears are huge! I'm glad my client had a picture of his ears pointing in different directions. It's like you can sense his little curiosity peeking through.

So what happens when you're trying to avoid frigid temperatures and eating pizza? You do warm up sketches on the box it came in! I'm trying out a new thing this year: warm up sketches before working on paintings/murals/illustrations.
I'll be honest, I have not been consistent with this new practice, but I do notice that I feel little more "warmed up" for the next project. Think of it as stretching before exercising 😂

And by the way, this bear didn't take too much out of my day: 20 minutes. So if you just finished eating a pizza, or have a napkin,  or a piece of  scrap paper, and you're getting ready to embark on your artistic journey of creating whatever, grab a sharpie! Do a warm up sketch!