Before it times out

Lots of last minute (before sailing) details.. one of which was to submit this piece for 2011 Road to Calif. Show held in January. This piece has never been in competition but will be 2 years old by Jan 2011... so it's now or never as they say. I love these dogs.... 3 generations of English Bulldogs... The title: Family Resemblance.

Gotta love that Daddy Dog

How my brain feels!!

NO this is not my car/ my stuff.... just how my brain is feeling as I prepare for teaching 4 classes (with instructor provided kits) aboard a cruise that begins next week to Hawaii. I've had my classes planned/ samples created for some time, plus student materials created/ordered/shipped to me. Now its time to fit the pile of stuff in the smallest space possible. It will get done I know, but right now my 'lil brain feels like this car/load. Have a great weekend all.

Well get ready.. Here comes Santa!!

Is this block destined for my friend Phyllis' quilt not cute as can be?

Phyllis is an expert at needle turn applique and certainly could have appliqued in the eyes on Santa. She did ask if I'd instead ink them it! Works for me!! This closeup is probably 3 times larger than life so his eyes are in your face here.

I Love 30's quilts

I spend about 75% of my time on art quilts but admit I enjoy traditional quilting for friends and family, and for my own bed. This one is finally done... quilted, bound..... planned for a gift next spring, that is IF I can part with it. This quilt is BIG.. thus the over the couch drape. Love and laughs to all who quilt!

We love Jambo!!!

This piece ( at least the painted part) is just about done. A total of 7 hrs is all this took to paint across a few days.... Our goal now is to let the painted background dry ( it's damp still) and see if any little touch up is needed here or there. We have figured out that while we had his nose looking just like the 'head shot' photo we started with, it wasn't just like reality so we tweaked him a bit after looking a bunch of photo pics on the web. This underscores the critical nature of photo quality. His original head shot was in some shadow. I always say, I can only paint what I can see. I think we are on the right track now! We've already darkened the front of his nose since we took this photo. NICE DOG!!!!!
Dale looks pretty pleased! :-) Great job!!!!!

Who Took The Dog Out??!!

Sorry if the title makes no sense.... I just keep hearing the song of the same name and it relates to what we are doing here. The ORIGINAL photo had the dog on a hardwood floor. When Dale and I talked about how much this dog gets outdoors and so loves it, we decided to put him on grass. So this is a start. First, I often use a transparent paint to brush in big loose backgrounds and a whole lawn qualifies so we've mixed up a color of green for a background 'wash' ( sorry .. wash is a watercolor technique). It goes fast but one must be very careful watching for possible bleeding of color into existing painted images.. I keep an iron on ( for big stops if bleeding gets out of control).... but 99% of the time will use an air dryer, or hair dryer to slow the movement of wet pigment.

Following the 'wash', Dale used a darker green ink and a rubbing plate to quickly get in some grasslike background. This is looking pretty good. Next effort, using a different rubbing plate , we will add some additional texture in the 'grass'. The added inking will add interest and unify the background .

A private class/project begins

Well this should be great fun! A delightful lady named Dale Vital called last July to book September time for a private class for her first ever painted quilt. The subject, a beloved German Shepherd. We had one original photo possible for use. It was a little dark to see details in the head area... but we took the leap and went for it.
Step One: Tracing the Drawing.
That was done placing an 8 1/2 x 11 acetate transparency atop an 8 x 10 photo and tracing the animal on the acetate using an ultra fine sharpie.

Step Two: From Tracing To Black and White Drawing
Simple enough: Place a piece of white paper behind the traced acetate drawing. Then make one copy on your printer. This copy can be taken to a local print shop for enlargement. Then we decided how big the art piece was to be and decided 285% enlargement would do the trick.... ( 8.5 - one side- times 285 = a bit over twenty four inches...and 11 -the other side times 285 = just over 31 inches ) So off to the print shop for a little over $3... we had an enlarged drawing that 'exactly matched our tracing. There are indeed other ways to do this enlarging thing, but this is quick, accurate, and if you find a friendly local print shop, reasonably priced.

Step 3 Let the Fun Begin.... Since Dale is learning the media, we began with the lightest value while she gets comfortable with how things work. I routinely tell students, after you figure out the media, begin where it makes most sense to you and that would possibly mean start with the dark .. especially on complicated drawings.
Three hours of painting were enough for the first day. Look how far Dale got!.. and make note this is her first ever painting. Impressive!!! Time for a break .. Eyes and brains need a rest so a new day will move this painting forward.