New Studio Space - Part 2

We have Progress!

We started moving in over two weeks ago and I can finally go into the new studio and not find a box to unpack! Yes, I do have more organizing to do. I will continue to rearrange things as I get back to work. I have come to realize that I have too many things. Too many supplies and not enough time to use them all. I may have to have a supply sale in the near future. I need to get back to work and start using them up, which I plan to do this week.

Now that all of the boxes are out, I can see the floor space and I am pretty excited about it! I have 2 work spaces. One, at the desk where I can draw, compute, dream, and maybe a little paperwork. The other is for clay work and painting.

My Inspiration Wall

Above my desk, I have hung things that make me feel good or have special memories to me. All of which inspire me. Here is a close up of those things. I have numbered them so I can identify the item, the reason it is special, and the creators/artists of the things that I did not make.

1. "Stars, Stripes, and Stitches"  by Me.
This is one of my favorite colored pencil drawings. It is one of those drawings that I put a high price on it, just so it will NOT sell!

2. The little clay 'Follow Your Heart' piece was created by Karen Fincannon. She was very nice and helpful to me when I started doing art shows in Georgia. The message is very inspiring to me.

3. The first Go Hogs Ornament that I made. Go Hogs! (I'm working on more using a slightly different design this year.)

4. A Dream Catcher that a long time, good friend of mine, Cindy, gave me. Catching some dreams!

5. The gum wrapper chain is a part of a very, very long chain that my good friend and I made back in junior high school.  A few years ago, after reconnecting again, she gave me part of the chain. This chain brings back many good memories! Cindy and I spent many hours hanging out and talking and laughing back then!

6. 'Mrs. Macre' sign from my classroom door at Blytheville High School. So many memories!

7. ACEO size drawing of Me, by my Artist friend, Tim Hunter.  He titled it "Blonde in a Turtleneck". It was/is not unusual to see me in a turtleneck and with my reading glasses on my head. He did a good job of representing me!

8. Owl wall hanging by Karen Fincannon from Georgia. We traded a few things at the Georgia shows that I went to. I love this owl!

9. Another little owl. But this one is done by another artist friend, Joy Elizabeth. I also met her in Georgia, at an art festival.  But now she lives nearby and I can visit with her in person!

10.  The little ACEO size quilted painting on fabric was given to me by my sweet artist friend, Fannie, from Hawaii.  She is a very sweet, talented, and special woman. An inspiration.

11,  The little shot glass, with colored pencils in it, is from Paris. I bought it on the trip to France in 2008.  It definitely brings back special memories of the trip I took with Becky, the French teacher, and 12 wonderful students!

Part I of the New Studio can be found here: The New Studio - Part 1 if you want to see the space before.
I will post pictures of the other work space and storage in the room. And eventually I will post a cleaned up and decluttered space.   Update: Studio Tour - Part 3

Update Studio Tour 2017  - Part 4

Until next time!

Beth♥

New Art Studio Space - Part I

Moving In


We recently moved to a new (new to us) house. In our previous temporary place, we only had 2 bedrooms, so my art space was very cramped! But we found a house that was just what we were looking for! I was so excited to get moved and have that extra bedroom space for my art studio again.

I don't have a huge space, but it is a room dedicated just to my studio.  We only started moving in two weeks ago, so I am still emptying boxes and looking for things that I need and deciding how I am going to organize my work space.

Now if I can just find the clamp for my lighted magnifier!

It still has a ways to go, but here is my new space. I just need to get all of my supplies out and organized so I can get back to work! I will post updates as I do a little decorating...paint, fabric, maybe a rug.

In my next post I will have pictures of the new space, hopefully more organized and ready to use. Check back for updates on my progress.
Studio Tour Update: Part 2
Studio Tour Update: Part 3
Studio Tour Update 2017: Part 4

Beth♥

So many choices!

For several years I have considered myself to be a colored pencil artist.  But being the art teacher by day, I have to be familiar with many different materials to introduce to my students. Which also means that I get to experiment with many different materials! Which can be really fun!  I still work alot with my colored pencils, but over the last few years I have begun to work alot with clay and mixed media and collage.  I bought some painting mediums for my students a couple of years ago, to mix with acrylic paints to add texture.  Many of my students really loved the paint mediums, as I do.  At first we just experimented.  But I have come to love how they can add texture to the acrylic paints. The sample to the right is my first experiment/demo with the paint that I mixed with Goldens Molding Paste. I got a sample pack of the different textures that are available in the Goldens, so I don't remember if this was the Light Gel, or the Extra Heavy Gel.  It also has some tissue paper painted/layered in there to get another texture.  While it was drying, I also applied some objects that had textures on them, to get more of a variety of textures.  This one is not finished at this point though. I plan to get it out one of these afternoons and add more texture.

The sample to the left is one that I did this year where I demonstrated getting the texture down...not really knowing at first what I was going to do with it. This was an abandoned canvas that had pink painted allover. So I partially covered it with blue. 

Then, I decided to add the shape of a house, to add to my house theme collection!  I didn't have an acrylic painting of one of my little houses. After adding layers of paint, I decided it needed more embelishments, so I created some 3D pots of flowers out of clay. After glazing and firing, I glued them to the canvas. I think it needs some more work with some detail or added dimension somewhere. So it is a work in progress. You may see it again someday.

This summer, I plan to play around a lot more with the mixed media materials.  Mixed media really seems to be a popular technique with artists today.  I have been seeing more and more magazines, blogs, workshops and websites that showcase some really cool mixed media art. 

So many choices...and not enough time!  I have old books! I could alter them, I could cut out of them and use parts of pages!  I can create some printed text with my computer printer!  But I also need to making lots of little houses and some new things that I'm thinking about.  So there's never enough time! But that is a great feeling to have alot of ideas jumping around in there.

I hope to show some of my progress with a variety media and techniques this summer.  So many things to do, not enough time in a day for me to play!

I'm off to play in the studio. Have a nice day!
~Beth

A Pair for the Other Pear

Last month I painted a pear with Neocolor IIs. The Neocolors are pretty new and I've been trying out new ways to shorten the process of getting strong color down quickly. Many colored pencil artists are using these new materials and coming up with beautiful results. I like the results I got with the first pear and decided I wanted a companion piece to go with the first pear. So I started this one a couple of days ago. I am using Ampersand pastel board as a support. This one has a grayish color on the pastel board. Keep in mind, this is only the second painting that I've done with the neocolors, so this is definitely an experiment.

The first picture is the underpainting with the neocolors.

A light layer of neocolors are put on then water is brushed on the make it fluid. The color becomes very bright when water is added!

The second has a couple of layers of Prismacolor added.

The third has more layers of colored pencils.

It's not finished yet. I still need to add more layers, highlights, darken shadows, and a few other little tweaks. I will post the final in a day or two.

Time to Relax!...a little.

Now that the rush of getting ready for Christmas, traveling to visit relatives, and having relatives over for Christmas day is over, I finally have a little time to relax...a little bit. There is plenty to do around here. I have to put away the decorations that were so carefully put out only a few weeks ago. I also need to get organized for the new year. But I am taking a few days to just relax and take it in. That is what Radar, the Papillion in the photo, is good at...just taking it all in. Here he is perched on the back of my mom's couch, in the sunshine, just watching everyone...so he doesn't miss a thing!

I did spend some time yesterday organizing my art studio clutter. I actually filled a trashbag with old items that I never use. I should probably get rid of a lot more, but...you never know when I might need a few hundred envelopes, or three jars of paintbrushes, or half a dozen plastic tubs to put water in for painting! Or some of the old Artists Magazines from the last 5 years. Why do I keep them? Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes I do take a years worth of old magazines to work and let my students look through them, but I don't think they get as much out of them. Maybe I could donate them to a local doctor's office and inspire someone to paint or draw. Well, I better get back to my...relaxing.