Tuesday, March 27, 2012

China Adoption Journey


My China Adoption Photo Journey
Photo Journey;
 http://lauriejess.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-china-adoption-journey.html


This is a special story I'm posting to my Art Blog because it is my story. It is everything that influences my art, my passion & my life. This blog will always be a collective of visual experiences, points of interest, and thoughts from my noggin.

I hope this will inspire someone out there who is looking to have a child, or who might feel their time is running out. I was 49 when I adopted my first child. She has brought pure joy to our family, Maybe this will help you take that leap of faith!

I hope you will enjoy the following photo essay link; 





1st Week Home from China Video



Saturday, March 24, 2012

Life Book Wk.12

Life Book Journal Class with Wyanne Wk. 12

Wyanne is a very creative artist & a fun teacher too! This week she had us make a "special envelope" for our journal book. This envelope will be a place to keep our special art complements.  Specifically, complements given to us from people about our art, including nice emails, note cards & such. These positive reminders are helpful when we need a boost to overcome our own inner critic.

I wasn't sure what to put in this envelope & then this happenned; http://staciejewelry.blogspot.com/2012/03/laurie-jess-artist-of-month.html

This project involved lots of fun experimentation with all kinds of new techniques & mediums.  She even introduced painting with coffee! I learned some cool techniques using coffee filters, paper towels, wax resist crayons. 
We were all reminded "no rules, go play" she said, "Experiment & have fun!"


Here is the link if you want to join our class, it is still open:
LIFE BOOK CLASS: http://willowing.ning.com/page/life-book-2012-open-for-registration
14 top teachers, currently 1125 students are enrolled & still joining.
It is a year long class, you go at your own speed, learning so many new art journaling techniques.
All levels are welcome. We get to meet people from all over this planet
& it is super fun too!
Painting on top of coffee filters & paper towels.
Let the wet watercolor painted paper filters & towels dry 

completely before lifting them off.
This makes some very cool effects. 

See that cup of coffee?
 Later, I painted my background with it!
See the cool textures you get from the paper towels?
Unfortunately, this went into the scrap pile because I hated these colors.
Time to play & experiment some more.
I experimented with dried leaves & watercolors.
I painted watercolor on top of a dried leaf

 & then pressed it down.
They were so pretty I decided to cut them out.
I added more watercolor & a white pen for details.
Ta da ... my final envelope's front view
Under the flap, finished inside view. 
I used a rubber stamp for that one upper leaf. 
I had organized my watercolor paints just before this assignment
Whoa, now I need to go clean up. 
My studio looks like a bomb went off

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Color Pencil Tutorial

Hello,
I found this nice tutorial,
I wanted to share it with you,
and I plan to try this myself.
I find all of Gary Green's demos (he has several) very useful ,
& hopefully you will too !
It was time for me to buy a new box of Prismacolor Colored Pencils,
of course, you bet, I bought the largest set of 150 colors.
It arrived in a new styled box,
now in a cardboard easel type, instead of the tin. 
And something else new, they all came sharpened,
and all put in color order too (that's a change). 
Oh, and with 18 new colors !!!
The 18 New Colors:
140 Eggshell
1011 Deco Yellow
118 Cadmium Orange Hue
122 Permanent Red
195 Pomegranate
1014 Deco Pink
1013 Deco Peach
132 Dioxazine Purple Hue
208 Indanthrone Blue
133 Cobalt Blue Hue
103 Cerulean Blue
105 Cobalt Turquoise
289 Grey Green Light
120 Sap Green Light
109 Prussian Green
1035 Neon Yellow
1036 Neon Orange
1038 Neon Pink
Also, here is a link
for a fun color pencil contest;
You could win a box set of 150 Prismacolor Colored Pencils
I love Prismacolor Pencils !!!
Ms. Bella kitty resting on my new pencils! 
In honor of my new box set,
Here is Gary Greene:

Colored Pencil Demo | An Orchid by Gary Greene

In this demonstration, layering, solvents and burnishing are used to explore the beauty of an orchid close up. The orchid’s center is underpainted with light yellow hues to prevent them from mixing with increasingly stronger colors overlaid on top. The grainy band of magenta pollen across the center of the white petal is layered and dabbed with solvent, and the upper magenta petals are burnished. There’s a little something here for everyone!

Materials
Sanford Prismacolor Colored Pencils;
Cool Grey 20%, 50%, Cream, Crimson Red, French Grey 10%, 30%, Indigo Blue, Magenta, Process Red, Raspberry, Spanish Orange, Sunburst Yellow, Tuscan Red, Warm Grey 90%, & White
Paper surface;
3-ply Bristol vellum, regular surface
Tools;
Bestine rubber cement thinner or equivalent solvent
Cotton swabs, Medium and small round watercolor brushes & Colorless blender pencil
1 The Layout

After my graphite drawing was complete, I used Prismacolor Verithins (hard colored pencils) of the appropriate color (outline a green object with a green pencil, etc.), to redraw the outlines, using the lighter color when two or more areas bordered one another. I placed the colored pencil outlines adjacent to the graphite lines so I could carefully remove the graphite with a kneaded eraser. At every stage of the layout or line drawing process, sharp pencils, light pressure and light lines are a must. If too much pressure is applied, lines will be impressed in the paper surface and will become visible when color is added.

2 Underpaint the Yellow Center 
Layer the darker yellow areas in the center of the orchid with Spanish orange, and the lighter area with sunburst yellow






3 Underpaint with Magenta
Lightly layer the center with magenta and Spanish orange, then blend them together with a dry cotton swab
4 Paint the Center

Apply Bestine with a small brush using light, long strokes to the magenta/Spanish orange areas in the center until thoroughly blended. Do not mix with lighter yellow areas. Dab Bestine on the magenta areas with a small brush, then layer magenta spots. Re-layer the magenta/Spanish orange areas with magenta, and re-apply Bestine with a small brush.  Burnish the magenta/Spanish orange areas with Spanish orange, the lighter yellow areas with canary yellow. Then burnish all but the magenta areas with a colorless blender pencil.

5 Layer the Lower Petals
Layer variegations on the lower petals with magenta.

6 Complete the Lower Petals
Dab Bestine with a medium round brush to the variegations, layering the darker areas with raspberry and magenta.
7 Complete the Details and Layer the Upper Petals
Draw the thin cast shadows on the orchid’s left side with cool gray 20% and on the right side with cool gray 50% and 20%. Layer the variegations on the upper white petals with raspberry and magenta. Then dab with Bestine, using a medium round brush. Layer the darkest values of the white pistil with French gray 30%. Then burnish with French gray 10%. Layer the white pistil area with French gray 10% and cream. Then burnish with white. Layer the darkest values and shadows of the upper petals with Tuscan red, the midvalues with raspberry and crimson red, and the lightest values with magenta and process red.

8 Burnish the Upper Petals
Burnish the upper petals with white, except for the darkest values.

9 Complete the Upper Petals 
Layer the right and left upper petals with Tuscan red (darkest areas only), raspberry, magenta and crimson red. Then layer the center upper petal with raspberry, magenta and crimson red. Burnish with a colorless blender pencil until the entire paper surface is covered.

Finish With the Background
Layer the dark background areas with indigo blue and Tuscan red. Then burnish with warm gray 90%.
******
Click here for the original source link:
http://www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/art-demos-techniques/colored-pencil-orchid-demo-gary-greene
Gary Greene has been working as a full-time artist since 1967. Colored pencil has been his artistic passion since 1983. He’s a pioneer in the use of water-soluble colored pencils as a mainline fine art medium and has developed or refined new techniques for colored pencil. Visit his website, www.ggart.biz.
The material in this article has been excerpted and adapted from his latest book, The Ultimate Guide to Colored Pencilwww.northlightshop.com to learn about his books and video workshops.