Creative in December

The end of the year.  This is when people review.  I successfully made some kind of art every day in November, and have participated all year in Creative Every Day.  It feels good.  This month, my daughter and I have been working on a lot of creative projects together.  We've spent a lot of time in the kitchen, heating the house with the oven, and enjoying every minute.  Here are the highlights from December.  This was something I wanted to do for myself, but I'm glad it was something I could share with my kids, my neighbors, and other artists.

AEDMday29 Nativity

It took me all month to complete (and most of today), but here is the finished painting. Acrylic on board.  I did add a few more touches after I took this picture, and will probably find something to tweak tomorrow, but this is it!  It has been something I've wanted to do for years, but until I found Creative Every Day and Art Every Day Month, I just never pursued it.  And since this is six feet tall and I worked on it in the living room, it was a HUGE daily reminder to "keep my eyes on Jesus".

AEDM day 28

Didn't sit down and pick up a pen or pencil last night until around 9pm.  This is what became of the doodles I made while I watched TV.

AEDM day 27

When I lived in the forest I painted a lot of trees.  When I was a little girl I drew a lot of horses.  Tonight, I combined those two things much to the delight of my daughter.  I was simply happy to be at the table drawing with both of my children.  They are such good artists!

AEDM day 26 - Just for fun

Playing around with color and design - something my son would like.

AEDM day 25 - Work in Progress

AEDM Day 22, 23 & 24 - Work in Progress

Having finished my smaller project, I moved back to the big one: life size Nativity painting.  After a few days I finally had the right paints to work on Mary's face, and what a relief!  It's been hard to look at the ghostly figures and wonder if I have what it takes to work on this scene.  I'm trying to use my God given talent in the right place.  I'm feeling a little better about it now.  

 I studied dozens of other people's photos and paintings for inspiration, but the one I refer to most is the one a friend took of my husband and me when we played Joseph and Mary in a live Nativity a few years back.  It was a very special experience for us, one we'll be reviving next month.

Our small group tonight was talking about different ways we could spend in prayer this week.  I didn't think of it then, but I know this painting will be a meditation for me.  Time spent with God.  Of course that will be a lot easier if there aren't four kids playing Wii Ski! behind me.  

AEDM day 19, 20, & 21

Sanding and sealing, a couple coats of blue and green, and then on to the fun stuff!  Painting the train and smiley sun!  Finishing touches and a couple coats of varnish.  The gift is ready to make someone happy.  Feeling good about it and wondering what the next project will be.

AEDM day 18

Sometimes art is a process and doesn't have visible results.  In this case, it was sanding and sealing, in preparation for painting.  Beautiful, yes?  Ah, but the house smells great.

Also, just for fun, a pancake that my kids said looked like George Washington.  Wow, art you can eat!

AEDM Day 16 and 17

I decided to paint a step stool for a friend of mine and started trying out some of the colors tonight.  I like the idea of the colorful train.  My daughter likes the blue sky and clouds.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Yesterday I started making a life size sketch of Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus.  It's a little intimidating working so large, but I've painted wall and fence murals, and theatre sets.  I'll adjust.  I just want to do a good job.  It's the Nativity!

AEDM Day 15

A day full of talking about cat breeds and colorations which only led to a few doodles while Anabelle worked on a horse picture.  We did a little painting in the dollhouse (the kitchen is now yellow) and shopping for accessories.  Yay!  The dolls have a gumball machine and kittens with spilled milk.  Once they are ready for Christmas I will post a picture.

AEDM Day 14

Every once in awhile I remember that I really miss autumn in New England.  My current yard does not fill up with these (see image).  One year, when my kids were feeling nostalgic for a big pile of leaves, we crumpled up a LOT of newspaper and let them roll around in that.  For them, it was great fun, but for me, it lacked the proper "earthy" aroma that comes from nature.  Not to mention the brilliant colors!

AEDM Day 13

Acrylic on card stock, applied with cardboard.  Brushed sky.

I kinda like the way it came out, even though it felt awkward and rushed.  Palette knife painting in college was one of the hardest assignments for me, and this reminded me of that uncomfortable feeling. Lots more paint!  I was a careful glaze person.  But I have to admit, it was satisfying to drag the thick pigment around with strips of cardboard. Childlike abandon.  And there's my mountain in the background because I colored around it.

AEDM Day 12

Just playing around with my daughter before bed.  Nothing serious here.  I was going for agave, but it looks more like wings.

AEDM Day 11

I love watching the quail run around in their "fancy dress".  I switched to acrylic today to play around a little more and try something different.  It's very inspiring to see so many styles on CreativeEveryDay and the perfect time for me to stretch out of my comfort zone.  I pulled an old art book off the shelf and learned something new!

AEDM Day 10

Quick color sketch at the end of the day - flowers my daughter bought for me.

AEDM -Day 9

Borrowed my kids' oil pastels to combine two things we see regularly: the mountain and balloons.  The hot air balloons always float further to the right, but I thought it would be nice to picture them here.

ArtEveryDayMonth -day8

We find ourselves temporarily caring for a bunny.  I call him George.  He's such a sweetie.

I'm not sure I've ever drawn a rabbit before.

ArtEveryDayMonth day7

One of the other nearby peaks, just before sunset.  -watercolor in sketchbook.

ArtEveryDayMonth day 6

Busy day but I managed to squeeze in a 10 minute watercolor sketch of the mountain.  Racing the setting sun and the dinner timer.  Stay loose, work fast!
November 6 and Day 6.

Secret - Illustration Friday, AEDM day 5

                                                       Watercolor, colored pencil & ink.

Sunrise. October 23

Morning beauty

ArtEveryDayMonth day 4

This is the mountain that stares at me daily.  I love it.  And it frustrates me because it is always there, yet constantly changing, and that makes it difficult to capture.  At night with the full moon rising; at sunset when it turns garnet and purple; in dust storms when it disappears; or rainstorms when the clouds surround it.  Amazing.  I've hiked to the top of each of those peaks and gotten to know her, so it's not just a long distance love affair, but one of the things that brings me closer to my Creator.

 I didn't get to work on this watercolor study as much as I wanted, because I had to be somewhere on the other side of that mountain.  When I returned, I had to take the "long way home" (in a story that involves fire trucks and helicopters).  There was a hungry family to feed, a table to clear, and my daily art was shoved aside.

ArtEveryDayMonth day3

Here's little something I began in August but set aside until today.  Enjoy!

ArtEveryDayMonth day 2

This is an idea I've had in my head for a couple years but never made it happen.  I sketched a different version last Christmas, thinking I would just paint a scene onto a board and set it out against the tree. Today, I sat outside in the awesome November desert weather and worked on a new idea.  With art every day month, and starting early enough, I might have a nativity display this year.

ArtEveryDayMonth -day 1

...in the sketchbook while cooking dinner and handing out leftover candy to neighbor children.    

Spilled milk,Hansel & Gretel, Dry ice

Sometimes what we pour down the drain looks just as interesting as what we make.  Being a watercolorist, I really liked the way this milk experiment cleaned up.

A last minute Trunk or Treat idea had me painting a background in the garage with a neighbor child.  I wish she could have seen how good my car looked when I set it up.  Hansel was caught in a cage near the fire, while Gretel roamed around gathering candy.

We also had some fun with dry ice this Halloween.  My daughter is a huge Steve Spangler fan and encouraged us to to try some different things.  The whole family joined in for smoking water, foaming tubes, boo bubbles, and probably the most impressive - the dry ice crystal ball.  Suspense built as we watched it grow full of mist until it popped and washed over the table.

Oatmeal pancakes

Creativity often happens in the kitchen.  This weekend my kids wanted pancakes but we were out of milk.  Now, I know some people will use orange juice instead but my children won't eat those.  And besides, we were out of orange juice.  (By Saturday I really need to go shopping.)  I suggested oatmeal.  How about oatmeal pancakes?  Half the family was intrigued so I started searching for a recipe.

I did not find exactly what I needed, but I felt pretty confident I could make something they would eat.  Success!


Enjoy my creation.
Yes, it has an oatmeal texture, but if you like 'em fluffy, mix in the blender.

Oatmeal pancakes

Mix together:

1/2 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup water 

Add:

1/2 cup flour

tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

One big shake of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 egg

Mix well

Ladle 1/4 cup at a time onto prepared griddle.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

Together for IF

TOGETHER

I thought it was time to try my hand at a dragon again, and had a lot of fun with this one!
Pen and ink with watercolor pencils in my sketchbook.

Totem for IF

TOTEM

                                                 

HIDDEN for illustration friday

This is my first painting of my new baby birds.  I now have two lineolated parakeets, also known as "linnies".  A green named Zeke and a turquoise named Paolo.  In their natural habitat they climb in the treetops and I can't help but wonder what they would look like up there.  I've seen them hang upside down at home and I thought with their shape and coloring it would be easy for them to blend in with the leaves.

Lush for Illustration Friday

LUSH for illustration friday

Sure, there are parts of the desert that are wide open and full of saguaros, but if you try to cross a wash you might run into some lush vegetation.

Rescue

- Rescue for Illustration Friday.  Trying out a couple of ideas along with the IF theme.

Power for IF

Just a quick little sketch to keep my hands busy while watching TV with my daughter.  I've not posted anything all month and feel a little guilty about it.  Sure, I made a couple of doodles here and there, but nothing I want to share.  Getting a homeschool back into gear, and finding new baby birds has kept me away from my artwork, but Creative Every Day still happens.  Just in different ways.

Travel for Illustration Friday

Another one of those topics where I came up with the rough sketch quickly, but then, distracted by preparations for a camping trip, didn't paint it until a week later.  I am now realizing that "travel" was the thing that pulled my focus from finishing "Travel".  Maybe I should add a picture of a tent in the rain.

Found this photo from the camping trip, after I already made the drawing. Look familiar?  I guess my mind was working on it and didn't even know it.