Sketchbook blog

In January 2020, I sent off another series of hand painted ornaments to Artomat . Each wooden round is cut from either maple or oak wood. Every ornament has an original watercolor flower,  a vintage stamp (usually international),  and an inspiring word or phrase because these are from my Little Inspirations series:  floral fun + an inspiring word. I hope you enjoy these little delights.

Clark Whittington, the founder of Art-o-mat , sent out a call to all Artists in Cellophane for inspirational work.  An Episcopal church in Winston-Salem will host several Art-o-mat machines this Easter.  Those attending the service will be offered the opportunity to gift vend from a machine. The Rector will describe the Resurrection.  He will also reference how Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was originally an industrial tobacco town and now is the City of Arts of Innovation. Below you will find my submissions from my Little Inspirations series for this special event. Springtime Edition of Little Inspirations Early drawing stages for my Little Inspirations starting some sunflowers another layer or so of watercolor "sketchy" succulents more layers of color Prepping the blocks: I will adhere each small painting to a block. For the first time, I tried some watercolor spray effects in the background ...

I came to appreciate the work of Paul Klee by degrees, and through another person -- his close friend, fellow artist, and fellow teacher, Wassily Kandinsky .  In fact, I became drawn to the work of Paul Klee only after having learned of his selfless intervention on behalf of Kandinsky.   If you have an interest in the modern artists whose shadows extend through the twentieth century and long into this one, then I recommend that you read The Bauhaus Group:   Six Masters of Modernism by Nicholas Weber.   To pique your interest in the work of Paul Klee, I selected one of his quotations and juxtaposed it with an original watercolor painting.  If you would like to print this image, you can do so by clicking on the above picture.   If you would like to explore the work of Klee further, then I encourage you to join my Skillshare class and create along with me and other artists interested in the contributions of the modern masters.

I hope you enjoy this printable calendar page.  To download and print as a pdf, please click here .