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.

I recently sent a new batch of updated Endearing Young Charms to Art-o-mat . Fall and winter berries and leaves feature prominently in this small ornament series of Endearing Young Charms.

I sent off another 50 small wood rounds to Art-o-mat at the end of September 2019. You can see my packaging in the background of this shot.  I tried to limit my color palette and focus on tropical flora inspired by Matisse.  I really enjoyed painting this red coral. My goal has been to finish 100 pieces of work per month, but lately I've experienced some family tragedies that have taken over my time and emotions.   So to highlight the positive, here are some cute pictures of the family having fun in September.

Brightly painted wood rounds full of fruit I've gone a little crazy with painting fruit for Art-o-mat this summer. This cherry from my Mini Masterpiece collection owes its origins to the painters like Matisse who were Fauvists. Fauvism (1899-1908) was a twentieth century art movement made of up artists who called themselves les Fauves , or the “wild beasts.” Painters like Matisse, Cézanne, Gaugin, and Seurat contributed to this style and composed still life paintings with fruit in vivid brushwork and bold colors. In this Art-o-mat package, I have depicted a subject (like blueberries, which are a superfood!) in a Fauvist style.   I hope these miniature originals brightened your day with hopeful, uplifting color. My almost 2 year old, Nate, thinks these wood rounds are puzzle pieces. He and Alex like to "help me" work on them. While I worked on this batch last Father's Day weekend, we were missing our...

I was recently inspired to create some watercolor + Sharpie pen bookmarks. I focused on organic shapes and swirls over a pastel, painted background. I was so happy to find English watercolor artist named Helen Wells , who lives in the town of Hastings.  (For all you who love Foyle's War -- that's where Inspector Foyle lived and worked!)  Please check out her lovely and color-filled work on her website . This was a great trial run for a project I'll share with some school children in the near future.

In January, my online Klimt and Matisse class adult art students completed a workshop, making a modern wood, gourd or other type of craft.  Their work amazed me in its originality and diversity. I want to spotlight their outstanding contributions and share with you the winners of my workshop prizes below. Rebecca V. focused on Klimt's swirly lines and dimensionality. I always love her colors and imaginative designs.    After some sketching, she created a wooden whale reminiscent of days of play and splashing in the sea. Christine B. channeled the sparking metallic glamour of Klimt's work into some lovely little birdhouses. The metallic accents, earth tones and organic designs dance in a welcoming rhythm for little feathered friends. For Christine's contribution to the class, she won a handmade bottlecap necklace.  (Christine chose the flower.) Sonya O. created a fun pen holder for her metallic Sharpie pens, by translating the plant-like pa...