A VERY COLD, SNOWY WINTER

  aaah, yes indeed! We were all snowed in Tues. thru Wed. this past week and the bitter cold has made it practically impossible to get rid of. It doesn't look like the frigid air will let up anytime soon and it seems like some snow is predicted for every other day beginning on Saturday. Well, that gives me all  the more time to continue purging drawers and things and getting all the drawing lessons caught up. And I'm still working on the Downton Abbey series-halfway thru Season 3!

 First up is a page I'm linking to the Simon Monday Challenge blog for the theme this week of "A is For...". My response is "art journal"!

  The background had been done awhile ago. Sometimes I like to dedicate my art time by just painting pages in one of my journals. I recently found this beautiful quote. The butterfly was in an envelope in the back of my book. I drew a whimsical frame using markers and pens. The center was given a wash of gesso so I could write the quote out. I went around the butterfly with oil pastel and smeared the edges. Glitter glue was added for some sparkle. I'm also linking this to Mandarin Orange Monday.

 I played a bit in Photoshop too this week. I started with these two photos I took :

                 First I used Accented edges under the Effects tab, then changed the color to orange.

 

 For this photo I used "Find Edges under the Effects tab. I thought this would be a good one to watercolor so I printed the image onto Strathmore Texture paper then sealed it with a fixative spray and allowed it to thoroughly dry before adding some color:

 

 I completed one more lesson and page in my Awesome Year journal. In Lesson 5 we were given specific prompts for creating a frame and banner. We were then to draw in things that are meaningful to us, things that bring us joy. Have I said before that this class is a real challenge for me?

 Some of the things that bring me joy: B for Bill, a T for Todd, my English Cocker Annie, the heart flowers represent friends and family, of course a brush loaded with vibrant colors, the beach and the ocean, birds, flowers, music, summer sunshine, books, and travel (esp. to see my relatives in France). I am currently working on 5 other title pages of drawings but need to add the coloring yet. And that's not even catching up with all the lessons so far!

 Gotta get back to drawing and painting... see you soon. As always, thanks for all your comments and encouragement-it means a lot to me :)

 Also linking this post to Art Journal Every Day, Creative Every Day, and Paint Party Friday.

                 "Let the sparks from that which brings you joy fire up your creative soul." 

                                                                                                               Whitney Ferre