Summer remembered

Today is a cold, windy, cloudy day here in Maryland. This picture reminds me of the warmer days of summer.











This afternoon was good for napping and then working on a painting that has been causing me grief for the past week. I can't seem to get her facial features right. I am happy with the background, but I have re-painted her face three times. Most of the trouble is with her eyes. Think I need to practice eyes before I start on my next one.












I used a technique from Kelly Rae Roberts book 'Taking Flight' to lay down the color for her face , using oil paintsticks. I really loved the result and will use that technique again on my next piece.

Fall has arrived!

I have been really busy since my last post. I had been feeling a bit isolated, here at home all day working on art, quilting, or reading. Having worked for so many years, and being around people all day, although I was loving the creative time, after a year and a half, I was in need of some human contact. Impulsively, I decided to take a part time job. at a chain fabric store, thinking it would be fun and perhaps spark some creative ideas.

My first week was harder than I ever imagined, and I worked way more hours than I planned. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but I must admit I met some interesting people. I haven't quit yet, (much to the amusement of my husband and friends) so we'll see what happens.

I took the past weekend off to take four classes taught by Zana Clark. The classes were fabulous. Since I am hooked on painting, I wanted to learn other techniques. Zana loves color as I do, and we learned how to use her color washes on paper and silk. Here are my projects from three of her classes. I didn't care for the result of the fourth project, so I am going to try it again with some of my fabric stash and see how it turns out.

I love the color and techniques. I plan to make more boards, some to fram and some to use as basis for fabric art.