Art in my Heart, Jacqueline Newbold

Mt. Hood, Inspired by Lavender Fields

2012-01-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Mt. Hood Lavender

Inspired by the fields of lavender in the Hood River Valley during my painting trip, Mt. Hood Lavender is a miniature watercolor painting. It will be in the February small works show at the Red Chair Gallery. The requirements for the miniature paintings for this particular show were that the size was to be no larger than 10" x 12" framed. Painting small paintings like this one is one of my favorite things to do. Do you like to paint large or small or both?

Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine Issues a Special Edition - PAGES

2012-01-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

I am excited to have my article: Flip, Flaps and Fold-outs, Adding Dimension to your Art Journals, included in the special edition of Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES. This is created especially for art journalers and book artists looking for new techniques and inspiring ideas. This 148-page first issue features projects and galleries in general bookmaking, book covers, book binding, inside page decoration, and art journaling.

PAGES is avalable at our local Barnes & Noble book store. It can also be ordered online as a digital file or hard copy at the Interweave online store.

Here is an excerpt from my article in PAGES:

Artists are very tactile. Inserting dimensional objects such as flaps, dividers, pockets, ribbons, or tags in our art can add an element of mystery and engage the viewer. Index-card dividers open up to reveal photos or journaling, adding intrigue and a desire to explore beyond the flat dimension of the page. I often include favorite lines of poetry, photos of my family, and little treasures of love inside library pockets. Shipping and marking tags become the holders of meaningful words and little on-the-go sketches.

Welcome the New Year with Art!

2012-01-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I just felt like I had to take a little time off from my blog and other things to help get through the festive holidays. Our activities always linger on into the New Year as this year was my husband's 60th birthday on New Year's Eve day and then of course my reoccurring birthday on New Year's Day.

For some odd reason, David wanted drumming and low and behold a lot of our male friends had drums! I got David a drum as a b’day present. He set up a big tent in the backyard for the drum people and that was a big hit. We also had fireworks and lots of dancing!

Yesterday I finally got back out to my studio and feel rejuvenated!

Will you find time to do more art in 2012? I hope so!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2011-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Tim's Barn, Watercolor

I hope everyone is finding joy, peace and time for art this holiday season!

Had a Great Time Filming my DVD

2011-11-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderfully fun time filming with Interweave Press in Loveland, CO, my new DVD, Watercolor Journeys for the Traveling Artist, or something like that as the title has yet to be determined. Just wanted to share a few photos from our shoot:

Me on the set, doing a demo on how to use water-soluble pens

My interview with Cloth, Paper, Scissors editor, Jenn Mason

Happy to have it over! Left to right: Me, Jenn Mason, and Sue Pettelier

The camera crew was fabulous!

Watercolor Journeys for the Traveling Artist, a new DVD

2011-11-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to post much lately because my computer was sent away to get a new mother board. After many weeks it was finally declared a Lemon! I now have a new computer and find it does work a lot better than my last computer.

Despite my recent computer problems, I have been getting ready for my trip to Loveland, CO to film my new DVD with Interweave Press. The title will be something like, Watercolor Journeys for the Traveling Artist and I will be demonstrating some great ideas for watercolor painting while traveling. Here is a painting I did in my watercolor journal this past May while with the group that I took to Provence, France. We painted on a book page from a French book.

I will let you know when my DVD is available for purchase!

Poppies in Provence, France - May 2013

2011-11-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

Poppies in Provence, Watercolor

I am planning another trip to paint in Provence, May 2013. My computer is in the shop right now and I can't update my website so just email me if you want to get your name on the list for more information. It will be similar to my 2011 May trip. Also, you can see more about our May 2011 trip by checking out my older blog posts.

Cloth Paper Scissor's New Book: Techniques and Inspiration for Creating Mixed-Media Art

2011-11-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Since I had to send my computer away to the computer hospital, I have had a bit more time for catching up on my reading. I have spent some relaxing, fun time devouring the exciting new art book by Barbara Delaney: The Cloth-Paper Scissors Book, Techniques and Inspiration for Creating Mixed-Media Art.

This colorful, gorgeous book has something for all artists, beginners to advanced. Barbara has assembled (in her own words) "the very best articles and projects from the first six years of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine." I am thrilled to be included with my article, Travel Journals, Maps as a Starting Point.
Barbara's writes about finding inspiration and getting over artist's block, speaking to the artist in us all. She has some encouraging ideas on how to get the most out of your creative day.
I have already gone to the craft store to pick up some Transparent Liquid Sculpey to make some translucent transfers as explained by D. J. Pettitt. Digging through my studio cupboards I found an old stash of thin metals so that I could try out Beryl Taylor's Metal Magic. This book covers an array of mixed-media ideas in a well organized and informative way. Printing and transfer methods, sketching, journaling, collage and assemblage, and mixed-media hand stitching all come to life packed in this energetic new book. If you can’t wait for your own hard copy of the book, Interweave press is now selling it as an easy to download ebook. I recommend this wonderful, new art book!

Cascade View, Original Watercolor

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to live in the Central Oregon Cascade Mountain Range. The mountains change with the seasons - the colors change, the snow recedes and then returns. This painting is just as the sun is starting to set on the green foothills with South Sister Mountain in the background.

Cascade View, watercolor

TITLE: CASCADE VIEW
DESCRIPTION: Original Watercolor painting
DETAILS: Matted and comes in a sealed crystal clear bag with a signed Certificate of Authentication.
OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS: The size of the mat is 11 x 14 and will fit in a standard frame
PAINTING SIZE: 5" x 9"
SIGNED: This paintings is signed by me, Jacqueline Newbold.
Buy Now

Today is the Last Day to Register for Menucha Painting Retreat

2011-10-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Sometime you just need to treat yourself to something special! I treated myself this past March to a 4 day watercolor painting retreat at Menucha, Oregon and came home refreshed and rejuvenated. I signed up not really know what to expect as I had never been there before. Menucha was more than I had ever wished for. The area was beautifully located on the Columbia River Gorge and steeped in history. My roommates and I became great friends. The food was delicious!

I now have the incredible opportunity to teach my Watercolor Journeys Class along with paper artist, Mary Burgess. Today is the LAST DAY to register! My students tell me that they don't have the time or the space to paint. Well here is your opportunity to paint, try new ideas, and bond with fellow painters. This will be so much fun! Don't miss out - register today.

Paintings-on-the-Go! Watercolor Journaling Presentation to the Watercolor Society of Oregon

2011-10-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity of being one of the presenters at the Watercolor Society of Oregon's Fall Convention at Sunriver, Oregon this past weekend. The focus of my talk was about painting while traveling. After showing a packed room some my travel watercolor journals and a few demos, we did one of my favorite painting-on-the-go exercises. Here is a recap of the lesson I taught -
Materials needed: Pencil, eraser, Flair pen, watercolor journal or good quality drawing paper (Strathmore 400), small watercolor brush and watercolor palette.

First, draw your subject with a pencil. For this lesson we drew a door in Provence. But this works well with any subject but mostly ones with large shapes. Then trace over your drawing with the water-soluble Flair pen. Add more ink in the darker areas of your drawing to create shadows underneath the doorway, stones and areas where the light does not hit.

Then, lightly and carefully add water to the pen lines leaving some areas white. At this time you can add watercolor to the wash or just leave it as a monochromatic painting. Soften outer edges with clear water.

I will be teaching this technique and many, many more at the Menucha retreat coming up in November - 4 days of classes, all room & board included, located in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge!

Using the window to trace our drawings

Rene painted a beautiful pineapple with this technique

Looking good!

Having fun!

Hard at work

Deanna shares here watercolor journal

Remembering Provence, Corner Cafe

2011-09-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished this watercolor painting, Corner Cafe. The cafe is located just outside the ancient walls of the old part of the town of St. Remy de Provence, France. The first rays of sun shines here in the morning and was a beautiful place to greet the day with our steaming cups of cafe au lait.


Corner Cafe			Buy Now

New Fall Watercolor Classes with Jacqueline Newbold

2011-09-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Mt. Hood with Lavender

***Watercolor Painting Classes*** at my Art in my Heart Studio (Tumalo, just 5 miles north of Bend, OR)

Refining your painting skills with watercolor warm-ups, composition and design.
Tuesday afternoons: October 11, 18, 25, & November 1, 2011 from 12:30 – 3:30

***Rainbow Studies***
Unlock the secrets to creating vibrant and harmonious paintings.
Learn about color theory, successful color mixing, how not to make muddy paintings and how to understand the characteristics of pigments. You will make a color journal that will become a valuable reference.

***Watercolor Workshop in the Columbia River Gorge***
November 13 - 17, 2011, Check-in is Sunday night at 5:00 PM. This is a “double header” with Jacqueline Newbold and Mary Burgess. You will have two full 9 AM – 4 PM days with each instructor as they share with you their passion for art.
Mary Burgess: Hands-on Paper Design
Jacqueline Newbold: Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from travels

Students will explore ways to make their watercolor travel journal interesting and reflective of their experiences through painting landscapes, vignettes and memoirs, and by incorporating collected treasured items. Learn how to make quick-on the go-sketches using colorful watercolor washes and pen and ink drawings. Students will also experiment with stamping, stenciling, napkin collage, maps, and artistic lettering to enhance their journals in order to build a launching board of creativity for their next artistic journey

***Watercolor Journaling Painting Workshop in Greece, June 25 -29, 2012***
Watercolor Journaling in Greece with Jacqueline Newbold 2012
Travel Dates: June 25 to 29, 2012.
Contact Admissions at 800-487-8839 for more information regarding travel dates.
Learn to create your own watercolor journals and incorporate the benefits of art healing in your life or your holistic health practice.

Celebration, New Paintings for the Red Chair Gallery

2011-09-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a series of watercolor paintings inspired by my trip to Provence in May. The title of this one is Celebration. We found this lovely village in the Drone area of France and what caught my eye was all the flags that were hanging from the ancient buildings. This painting will be hung in the Red Chair Gallery for Bend's First Friday Art Walk, October, 7, 2011.

Celebration, Watercolor

Watercolor Warm-ups

2011-09-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

I often like to do little watercolor painting warm-ups before I settle down to a larger piece. These mini-paintings are fun and spontaneous. This is a great way to work out color and composition. I recommend that you try this watercolor warm-up!

Free shipping from Daniel Smith if you need art supplies.

2011-09-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Free shipping from Daniel Smith Art Supplies till Sept. 19th!

A Peek Inside My Watercolor Journal - CREATE

2011-09-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun of going to one of the art retreats is being able to take classes from teachers you admire. I have always loved Beryl Taylor's work and was fortunate enough to take a class from her! I love her sense of color and design. She mixes paints, fabric, and journaling. Yes - I did actually sit at a sewing machine and do some sewing on the pieces in my journal above. I have to tell you that fabric art has come a long way from when I used to sew!
The final project for this class was to bind the little pages into a petite book. Instead, I ended up putting them in my watercolor art journal as I thought I would see them more often there and they will serve as a reminder to what I learned in this fabulous class: painting on metal, painting on muslin, layering and creative edges.
Thank you Beryl!

CREATE Mixed Media Retreat!

2011-08-31T07:53:00.000-07:00


The poster outside my classroom

I have been in Lisle on the outskirts of Chicago for several days "doing art" at CREATE, 2011! My favorite part was making new friends and sharing creative ideas! I am already looking forward to the CREATE retreat in Irvine, California.
I thought I would come home and clean up and organize my studio, but instead, I was so jazzed about the new things I learned and the encouragement I got about my journals, that before my suitcase was even empty my studio became messier than ever! I think that I now have about 4-5 projects going - all in the different stages of completeness. Watercolor, watercolor journaling, book pages, and even painting on fabric! Yes, you CREATE fabric folks made an impression on me!
Is this how you like to create? Or are you more of an organized, neat, finish one project before starting the next type of artist?

More photos from my Flip, Flaps & Fold-out Class at CREATE:

I love traveling through the San Francisco Airport. They always have an interesting artistic display. This month it was a look at old TV shows and board games. Do you remember the Twilight Zone Game? Lost in Space?

Chickens - Update..... 5 just born!

2011-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:00


Just out of the shell and one still to come out! August 17, 2011

My brooding hen of 21 days reminds me of a painting I did a couple of years ago. Chickens are a great subject to paint, practicing soft edges, reflected light and big shapes. Sometimes when I am at a loss as to what to paint, I always dabble with chicken paintings.

Ethyl is Out, Watercolor

Just Pecking, Watercolor

The excitement around our house yesterday was that we heard little chirps coming from the six eggs we gave Laverne, our sitting hen. While Laverne was up, stretching her legs and getting her self-induced regime of eating only once a day, I actually saw one of the eggs move! Today is the 21st day and the chicks will be breaking out of their calcified confinement.

Laverne sitting on eggs

Curious onlookers

Playing with Color for the CREATE Retreat

2011-08-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Studies


Flip, Flaps and Fold-Outs

CREATE Mixed Media Retreat is two weeks away and I have been excitedly getting ready for my classes that I am teaching. Even though the Flip, Flaps and Fold-Outs class is full, there are still a couple of spots left in the Rainbow Studies Class. This class will focus on using the color wheel to create harmonious little watercolor painting studies. If you struggle with color, this class will be of great value. I look forward to meeting all the artists that will be at CREATE!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, A Peek Inside My Watercolor Journal

2011-07-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

There are at least two female Ruby-throated hummingbirds coming to the feeder at our camp, Tern II. Each one has a different personality. One likes to sit and perch at the feeder, taking long drinks of sugar nectar. The other never perches and seems more cautious, always suspended in flight and looking quickly around after each quick sip. While I paint, I hear the lobster boats in the distance and a Thrush or Warbler singing in the background. The tide is moving in.

Painting at the Marina

2011-07-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

On most Mondays, the Plein Air Painters of Mount Desert Island, Maine, meet at different locations around the island. On Sunday evening, local artist and author Gail, sends out a email with the painting location for the next morning. Last year was my first year of joining the group and I had the pleasure of doing so again this year. We met at the Northeast Harbor Marina. That meant boats, boats, more boats and water; both of which I am not very familiar at painting coming from the high desert of Central Oregon. First I did a warm-up in my watercolor journal. I pick a smart looking red boat to paint. This was fun, small and spontaneous. Then I attempted a 1/4 sheet watercolor painting. By the time I started, I had less than an hour to finish before the group stopped painting for critique and picnic lunch. So I did not get very far with my larger painting as I felt it was important to get the shape of the boat somewhat correct. I will share with you my journal entry:

My Watercolor Journal Painting of the Red Boat at Northeast Harbor Marina


Photo of the Red Boat

More Scenes of Maine - Every sunset is different

Arriving at Isle au Haut - View from the Mail Boat

Rocky Coast

Lobster Dinner at Sunset

Seals on the Rocks

Art on the Go

2011-07-07T05:32:00.000-07:00

Second Chances Art at the San Francisco Airport

It is fun to find art in unexpected places! Today while traveling through the San Francisco airport, I had a few moments to enjoy an art display of recycled items, "Second Chances - Folk Art Made from Recycled Remnants". Most of these were made out of metals but then there were very clever dresses made out of candy wrappers. These were incredibly intricate and colorful. Also very colorful, were baskets woven out of discarded telephone wires.

Candy wrapper dresses

Miniature chairs and toys

Colorful baskets made from discarded telephone wires

Miniature metal trucks

Bugs made of metal

Artist Reception

2011-07-01T13:54:00.000-07:00


Blue Vase and Polka Dots

I am the featured artist at Alleda Real Estate for Bend's First Friday Art Walk tonight. There is an artist reception and I will be there from 5:30 pm until 9:00. Please stop by, see my new paintings and say "Hi'!

25 NW Minnesota (next door to Thump Coffee), Bend, Oregon

A Peek Inside My Provence Watercolor Journal, Flower Pots

2011-06-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Flower pots of Provence

Here is a page from my watercolor journal that I just finished. I had to add more darks and shadows and then finished up with some words in the spaces between my little paintings. I consider this a study of different terra cotta pots that are found through out Provence. While traveling and painting in your journals, consider doing a study of one item and painting it in different locations, colors and sizes.

What kind of paintings have you done that you would consider a study?

Kitchen Kaleidoscope Event This Saturday, June 18, 2011

2011-06-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

“Spring in Central Oregon is a painting of the view from my backyard during that magical time in spring when the flowers start to bloom and the mountains are still covered with snow.”

The Assistance League of Bend, Oregon's semi-annual Kitchen Kaleidoscope is this Saturday. If you have seen the posters around town or have your tickets, you will recognize my painting, Spring in Central Oregon, as the featured painting for the event. This is a fund raising event that will benefit the low-income families of Bend. Tickets are $25 and you will be able to tour seven beautiful private homes in North Rim and Northwest Crossing. My painting will be on display at the Riley house in the North Rim section. I will also have some small originals, prints and cards for sale. My two great friends, Karen and Karen, will be helping me with my table. Stop by and say "Hi!".

A Peek Inside My Provence 2011 Watercolor Journal

2011-06-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

I love painting on location but often there is not enough time to finish a painting. Usually I have time to do a drawing and a watercolor wash or two. Then it is easy to finish the painting later when I have more time. Often I will finish these paintings when I am on the airplane ride home or when I am back in my studio.

Here is an example of a watercolor painting in my journal that I finished at a later time.


This painting was actually finished while flying over the Atlantic Ocean

Antiques Roadshow

2011-06-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

While I was in France, I got and email informing me that I had won two tickets to the PBS Antiques Roadshow! These tickets can not be bought or sold. I applied online months ago and my name was entered into a random drawing. Three thousand people were awarded tickets to the 2012 season's first stop - Eugene, Oregon. My daughter and I will be standing in those long lines tomorrow, hoping for a favorable appraisal and if we are really lucky, to get on the national broadcast. Each ticket holder can bring two items to be appraised by some of the nation's top antique appraisers. Well the first two items was easy for me to decided - my mother's Louis XV I roll-top desk and her Jacob Petit porcelain vases. I have a few hours left to decide upon the last two things I should take. We inherited a several book sets dating from the 1860's, a little porcelain shoe, some weird perhaps Tibetan roof tiles (or Pottery Barn knock-offs), a set of dancing angles, an old hand colored photo of the Black Hills, South Dakota, or a gold pendant with a beautiful red stone.
Is there anyone else out there going tomorrow to Eugene to the Antiques Roadshow? What would you bring to be appraised?

What I Will Not Be Missing about Provence, France

2011-05-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

There are certain things that I will not be missing from my painting trip to France. Reliable internet, showers that can get your body wet all at one once and, well, I can't actually think of anything else right now. What I will be missing are those huge artichokes from Spain that were in season, outdoor fresh food markets with stalls of roasted chicken and an unbelievable variety of cheeses, quiet afternoons spent painting at the charming Hotel du Soleil, lingering sunsets that glowed against centuries old buildings, fields and fields of red poppies, meeting up with French friends, making new friends, red doors, blue shutters, lavender ice cream, olive groves… I think the list is endless!


The fabulous Francoise and Guy, Proprietors of the Hotel du Soleil. Thank you so much for another lovely time in St. Remy de Provence!!!


Merci Doris for all your insightful painting critiques!

Watercolor Painting In the Small Villages of Provence

2011-05-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Even though I have left the sunny, warm days of southern France and making my way home, I am still holding on to the essence of Provence. I already miss the rich morning coffees, the happy faces of the students in the workshop, the lyrical "Bonjours", the scent of lavender in the air and the friendly smiles of all we meet. Our last couple of days of the workshop were spent in some very off-the-beaten tourist paths and quiet painting sites.

This morning, instead of my brisk walk to St. Remy de Provence for a fresh baguette, I drove down a six lane highway in search of a good cup of coffee. I am currently in Poughkeepsie, New York for a very special event. My oldest daughter is graduating from Vassar College tomorrow and I have joined my family here to celebrate this joyous occasion. It is always bittersweet to leave France!


Having fun exporing mixed media journaling

Painting in the quite hilltop village of Egalieres

Looking towards Les Alpilles


A friendly guy takes our photo and cleverly gets in it too


The cute Roman chapel, St. Sixte, built in the 12th Century

Very cozy French restaurant, La Pitchoune

Cheese!

Painting in a vineyard with an beautiful backdrop

Les Baux de Provence

2011-05-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

The Mistral has arrived for a few days. Our painting site is Les Baux de Provence and we try to find a painting spot out of the biting wind. During the Middle Ages Les Baux de Provence became the seat of a powerful feudal lordship that controlled 79 towns and villages in the vicinity. The ruler claimed ancestry from the Magus king Balthazar and placed the 16 pointed Star of Bethlehem on their coat of arms.

I found a sunny spot to paint but it was still windy!

Our picnic lunch site at the upper end of the village. Sunny and sheltered

The view of the old castle from the vineyards below.


Helen & Marie exploring Les Baux de Provence


Cute street

A Peek Inside Our Provence Watercolor Journals

2011-05-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

We have been busy painting on location at some wonderful towns in Provence. Our afternoons are pleasantly spent catching up in our watercolor journals. We have our favorite spot under the honeysuckle vines at our lovey Hotel du Soleil where we play with some mixed media and work on our watercolor paintings. For the last two days we are experiencing La Mistral!

Painting Water Reflections in Isle sur la Sorgue & the Cafe Waiter Race

2011-05-16T13:49:00.000-07:00


My cousine, Marie, has joined us from Paris. What a sport! She loves all the crazy mixed media ideas I have. Got to love that!

The River Sorgue surrounds the charming town, Isle sur la Sorgue, as if to hug it. Walking along the canals you will notice how they run between the narrow ancient streets. There are little bridges to cross and great wheels to look at with mossy blades turning in the river. It is also a wonderful place to paint reflections. We find a fabulous restaurant, Les Terrasse du Bassin, which turns out to be a perfect spot for enjoying the cafe as well as the perfect painting spot for painting on location. The river seems to be calmer here so the reflections on the water are perfect for painting.


The view across from Les Terrasses du Bassin with wonderful reflections in the water

Helen's wonderful painting of the reflections at our favorite spot.


Sunday can be a fun day in St. Remy de Provence and this particular Sunday is the local waiter race.

Waiters dressed up as chickens race too!


Glasses on the trays are are filled with liquid at the beginning of the race. They are then measured at the ed of the race and lose of liquid is counted against the waiter.


Just a question for you - How does one walk on these cobble stone streets in these shoes????

Following in the Footsteps of Van Gogh

2011-05-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorite places to paint on location (in the world!) is the Saint Paul de Mausole Monastery. The grounds are full of gardens including a lovely lavender field and a few sundials. This was the home of Vincent Van Gogh during his very troubled time of May 1889 to May 1890. Vincent's small room had a window looking out over the gardens behind the buildings.

We use our library voices once we enter the grounds because we automatically experience a feeling of reverence and awe. We are literally walking on the same grounds where Vincent Van Gogh walked, stood and painted. He lived here for a year and produced almost 150 paintings!

Painting out back

The lavender rows gave us great practice on perspective!

Our lesson for the day was how to draw and paint arches.


Suddenly a flock of French school children descend upon as and give us painting advice.

Exploring the Luberon

2011-05-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

First thing - Coffee!

This day is absolutely gorgeous! Today we visited two of France's Plus Beaux Village (most beautiful villages) of which there are 141. Before we left the hotel, I demo one of my favorite ways to do quick on-the-go painting sketches.

Our first stop was Gordes where we found a wonderful place to stop to take photos.
Gordes is a very beautiful old village, perched on the southern edge of the high Plateau de Vaucluse. The stone buildings built in tight against the base of the cliffs and those perched on the rocks above, including the 12th-century castle, are made of an beige stone that glows orange in the morning sun. The view from the village is a southern panorama out across fields and forests and small perched villages to the Montagne du Luberon.

Our first stop is the lavender factory. We learn about the different kinds of lavender.


We stop here to take photos of Gordes, one of France's most beautiful village

We arrive at Roussillon, famous for it's red ochre with its red rocks, red stone buildings and red tile roofs. We spent several hours here painting.

Mary Ann, Kendra, Sharon, Helen and myself with Roussillon in the background

We buy little jars of the mined local pigments. We also get gum Arabic so we can mix the powders to make our own watercolors. How cool is that!


I can not resist a "boule" of lavender ice cream!

It is fun to see all the colorful baskets. Everything here has a glow of red that bounces off the stone walls. I feel like I could spend 100 days here painting!

Painting in our Journals

2011-05-10T12:08:00.000-07:00


Sharon's Poppies!


Kendra's Paintings-on-the-go!


The View from our painting spot under the wisteria at the Hotel du Soleil


Helen's water reflections

Sharon painted this in less than an hour! What a colorful spontaneous feel to this field of poppies.

First day of our workshop! The sun is shining and we walk to the Place Favier in St. Remy de Provence to paint on-site. It is a lovely town square with dappled light and the fountain is trickling and sure enough the town drunk is here too. He has stationed himself at his favorite park bench and his bottle of rose wine is more than half gone and it is 10:00 a.m. He was here 1 1/2 years ago when I brought my other group to paint and so I warn my students that it is best to stay away from him because the little bit of English that he can utter is not very pleasant. We, though, pass a very pleasant morning working on our paintings-on-the-go. I had the students put a watercolor wash on their sketchbook page prior to venturing out, so that we were ready to sketch on top of that on location.

Exploring St. Remy

2011-05-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Students are starting to arrive in St. Remy de Provence. The weather is beautiful, sunny and warm with a slight breeze - perfect for painting plein aire. Helen has never been to St. Remy de Provence so we walk around the town. The ancient village is surrounded by an old Roman wall. We find a fountain dedicated to Nostradamus, born here and credited with predicting numerous events in world history, from the Great Fire of London, the rise of Napoleon of France and Adolf Hitler, to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Walking around the old town we end up at La Place du Favier - this will be one of our painting site.


Janviere, Mary Ann and Sharon exploring La Place Favier, St. Remy de Provence

Janviere finishes her beautiful poppy painting!

We enjoy a pleasant afternoon painting at our peaceful Hotel du Soleil. We have the whole place to ourselves!

Kendra and I show our paintings


Sunlit wall in St. Remy

Here is my journal painting of the sunlit wall in St. Remy

After everyone has arrived we have a scrumptious sunset dinner on the terrace: pate, carrot salad, tabouli, an array of French cheeses, saucisson and of course French bread and Cote du Rhone wine. We have the most spectacular apple tart for dessert! The perfect sweet for a fabulous day!

Oh and I almost forgot, but here is a close up photo of my petite palette used for painting-on-the-go that Laure asked to see!

The Trip from Bend, Oregon to Provence, France

2011-05-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

In order to help us pass the time on the 11 hour flight from Salt Lake City to Paris, we pull out our watercolor journals and palettes and do some painting.

Here is Helen's cute little palette that she made out of an Altoids Box


Tired but upright we await the train from Paris to Avignon

I try to capture some little hill top villages from the train window. I end up with lots of blurred photos!

Helen's cute drawing of me taking photos out the train window

Our train is going over a hundred miles per hours. We reach Avignon in just three hours! The French really know how to travel


I am so happy to be out on the ground again. We spend time walking around Isle sur la Sorgue

We are enjoying the colorful buildings and the lay of the land in Isle sur la Sorgue. The river Sorgue surrounds the city as if to hug it. The canals run between the narrow ancient streets. There are little bridges to cross and great wheels to look at with mossy blades turning in the river.


Isle sur la Sorgue

Friday morning we take our trusty little Renault, Kangoo for a tour of the countryside.

Colorful window dress display


We meet some wonderfully nice French people. This lady is showing her Obama hat that someone sent her. Everyone is exited to talk to us about Obama and "Bean Ledanne" (Bin Ladin).

We come to a screeching halt in our little Kangoo to take this photo of one of France's 100 most beautiful villages, Gordes

Finally we start to see what we came for, Poppies in Provence!

More Poppies!

Color, Color, Color Everywhere! Color Confessions of a Traveling Artist, Part II

2011-04-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

OK, this is the part I agonize over even more than the choice which palette to take on my travels (see part I). There are only an limited amount of watercolor wells on any given palette. So which lucky colors will get to go with me to France?

First I start with a warm and a cool of each of the primary colors. Here are my thoughts, starting with the yellows. Hansa yellow medium, of course, because it is a cool yellow and plays well with cobalt and cerulean blue for great greens. It replaced Aureolin on my palette years ago because it is not fugitive. My warm yellow of choice is always New Gamboge. My cool red is Permanent Rose and the cool blue is Cerulean. My warm red is Winsor Red and the cool blue is Winsor or Phthalo blue. Here I run into my first delimma - should I include French Ultramarine or not. It is suppose to be the warmest of all the blues which intrigues me but I think it looks a lot like cobalt blue. It does make great darks but then so does Phthalo blue. It has bounced back a forth from being on my palette and then getting ousted. Sad day for French Ultramarine Blue - it stays behind!

Which colors are always on your palette? If you were stranded on an island, which colors would you absolutely have to have? These are the six that I could not live without!

"Color is my day-long obsession" Color Choice Confessions of a Traveling Artist, PART I

2011-04-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. To such an extent indeed that one day, finding myself at the deathbed of a woman who had been and still was very dear to me, I caught myself in the act of focusing on her temples and automatically analyzing the succession of appropriately graded colors which death was imposing on her motionless face.” Claude Monet

My Daniel Smith Metal Palette

I can relate to this quote and it often runs through my head. It was running through my head as I prepared my palette for my upcoming trip to paint poppies in Provence. The torment is which colors to bring along and which ones will be left home! But first I had to decide which palette to take. My very favorite metal Daniel Smith watercolor box can hold up to 24 colors in 1/2 pans! Or I can switch some out, and bring full pans of the colors that I use the most. It just doesn't seem to hold enough paint for a 2 week trip with painting everyday. Sadly, I chose to not use this one.

My next favorite palette and the one I recommend to all my students. It is the Heritage palette. I love it because it has a lid and a gasket which lends itself very well for travel. Also it is very affordable. It also has a removable plastic tray that I slip a painted reference card with the colors that are on my palette.

Heritage Brand, also know as the Mijello Fusion Air Tight Palette

My tiniest of all!

Then there is the little palette that I pull out on the airplane. Ok, ok now you know that I am obsessive! I can't go that long without painting! I love painting on those long plane rides. I mean, what else are you going to do? I bought mine in France but there are lots of adorable mini palettes out there to choose from.

There are also some great travel brushes that will fit inside the mini palettes. My palette came with the tiniest of brushes and I have since added a Daniel Smith travel brush.

Do you have a favorite traveling palette? What is important to you when you travel and paint? Which is more important to you - the amount of paint you can bring or the variety of color?

Next I will be blogging about how I chose the colors on my palette.

Oh the agony of it all!

The Creative Process, A Peak inside my Empty Watercolor Journal

2011-04-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Do you enjoy the anticipation of an upcoming vacation or trip? Do you practice packing your suitcase with your favorite clothes? To me the journey begins way before walking out the door, suitcase in hand. I love preparing my art supplies for my travels. Planning for my upcoming trip, Painting Poppies in Provence, France, I decided to take two watercolor journals. (Two spots just opened up on this trip to Provence, so let me know if you want to join us!) One is a 14 x 10 Arches Watercolor Book with 140 pound Arches paper. The other smaller one is a Strathmore 400 Field Watercolor Sketchbook. For years I have had a love/hate relationship with the Strathmore field book. Every other piece of (crappy) watercolor page alternates with a piece of drawing paper. This drawing paper is where my mixed-media imagination soars and I have probably filled at least 10 of these journals with art from my travels.

Pages in my journal prepared for the trip

First page in my new journal with inspiring quote.

Well, this year I decided to quit complaining about the (crappy) watercolor paper and tore my Strathmore Sketchbook apart. I kept the metal coil and the black hard covers. I filled it with Arches 140 paper alternating with Strathmore 400 series drawing paper. I prepared the drawing papers with colorful backgrounds and finished the first page with an inspiring quote for my upcoming trip: "To Paint.... to travel.... the combine the two is to celebrate life" (Jack Brouwer).


The cover of my new "Strathmore" journal now filled with Arches watercolor paper!

Stay tuned for my upcoming article in Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine's special edition, PAGES, on how to prepare these your jouranl pages with mixed-media and watercolor.
How do you prepare for your upcoming journeys? I would love to hear what special techniques and ideas you have!

"Spring in Central Oregon" - Featured Painting

2011-04-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Spring in Central Oregon, watercolor by Jacqueline Newbold

The Assistance League of Bend, Oregon picked my watercolor painting, Spring in Central Oregon as their 2011 Kitchen Kaleidoscope Fund Raiser Event featured painting. This fun event will be June 18, 2011 and will include a tour of seven beautiful homes located in North Rim and Northwest Crossing. The Assistance League of Bend is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization consisting of a dedicated group of women with a passion for supporting the local community. Save the date for this fun event with a such a worthy cause!

A Day in Uzes, A Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

2011-04-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

If you are ever in the south of France, be sure to spend an afternoon in the quiet little town of Uzes. Park your car and walk to the old town center. There you will find a peaceful cobbled stone square with a fountain, cafes and filtered sunlight sparkling through the Plane trees. I was lucky enough to be able to sit for awhile and capture this scene in my watercolor journal.
I am excited to tell you that I will be teaching at the CREATE Chicago Mixed Media Retreat in August. Registration opened today! I will be teaching a watercolor class on how to successfully mix colors, called Rainbow Studies, as well as a mixed media class on creating interactive components in your watercolor journals - Flips, Flaps and Fold-outs. I would love to meet some of you in person!

Featured Artist at the Red Chair Gallery

2011-04-05T07:17:00.000-07:00


This is me (Jacqueline) in front of my new paintings.

Art Hop night in Bend, Oregon was a fun event. It was our first warm day in months and downtown Bend was the place to be! I was honored to be the Featured Artist for the Red Chair Gallery, located on the corner of Bond and Oregon Street in the historic O'Kane building. My paintings will be up for the month of April.

Little Color Studies

2011-04-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have been finalizing my palette colors for my trip to Provence, France. I thought I would use my color wheel and do some quick, small color studies to see if I am loving the watercolors on my travel palette. Here are two that I worked on today.

I have to record the colors that I use because I will forget what they were. This is a good way to make a record of your favorite color combination. Why not start a little notebook to keep your studies in.

What a great week (or was it 2) - Join me for Bend's Art Hop, April 1, 2011 (NO FOOLING)

2011-03-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well I have had a busy week! First, I was at an art retreat in the Columbia River Gorge - Menucha. Complete with bunk rooms, home cooking and art instruction from 9 a.m. until bedtime. Everything was fabulous! The (way too much) food, the art teachers and especially my roomies, Sydney and Bernice from Portland, Oregon were all more than I had ever expected. I loved getting to know my roomies! The fist night I was a bit worried when I came into my room and they were already snuggled up in their beds, lights off. The next night they did stay up a little later and we chatted into the night comparing art journaling ideas.

Then I came home to a flurry of activity getting ready to the the Red Chair Gallery's Featured Artist for the month of April. I was a tad stressed that everything (paintings and jewelry) had to be in by Sunday, March 27th. But then, you know, when I dropped everything off and helped organized and went home on Sunday, I felt a huge relief and have had a great week not worrying about my show.

Lavender Fields

Painting the Plants of Greece: Monkshood

2011-03-16T08:42:00.000-07:00


Monkshood

Part of what I love about watercolor journaling is that it engages all my senses. In order to paint a flower, like the Monkshood, I use my sight to tell me colors, shapes and value, but I am also experiencing the sounds and feeling the warm breeze along the hillside. I also love that it takes me to new, as well as familiar, places. I look for different ways to represent my life journey. It a wonderful way to slow down and savor the moment. I look forward to sharing this experience with you in Greece! There are lots of techniques that I can show you that even a beginner to watercolor painting will return home an artist. If you would like more information on how to join me on a Watercolor Journaling in Greece, please contact the American College of Healthcare Sciences. The class is May 27 - June 2, 2011.

The Stylish Blogger Award...... and the winners are......

2011-03-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Laure Ferlita, on her Painted Thoughts Blog, honored me and surprised me with the "Stylish Blogger Award!" Laure lives in Florida and is a very talented watercolor artiest and enjoys sharing her knowledge on her blog as well as with her imaginary watercolor trips (painting classes online). Please stop by and check her out. Thank you, Laure!

As you may or may not know, (I didn't know) these awards always come with a "to-do" list and this one includes linking back to the giver, listing 7 things you don't know about me and passing the award on to others.

Here are 7 things you don't know about me (do you really care? I am going to pretend you do).

I love salt! I am a salt snob. My dining table has little bowls of red, black, green salts from around the world. Some are Hawaiian volcanic salts, some are colored with bamboo leaf extracts. But my favorite salt is the French, Fleur de sel, which is the hand harvested "flower" of the salt crystal.
I planned a watercolor painting trip in 2009 to Provence, France and it was a wonderful trip. Everyone loved the hotel, the painting, the wine, the camaraderie.... The worse thing that happened, happened to me. My purse was stolen with lots of money, my passport, my credit cards and basically any way of paying for all the things I was responsible for as well as all my identity. This happened the day the students arrived!
I was almost kidnapped when living in Greece in the early 1960s. While playing outside, a man drove up on a motorcycle and offered me a ride. I really wanted to go! I told him that I had to go ask my mom and when she came out he was gone.
I never took an art class until I was in my 30s.
My first art class was a watercolor class. I just wanted to paint. If I had known you had to draw something first, I never would have taken that class.
I was born in Japan.
My husband doesn't know I blog.

Well enough about me! Here is the exciting part. I am passing this award to the following wonderful blogs:

Forgotton Old Photos

A wonderful and noble blog about return vintage photos to their families

Nature Journaling and Art

Stunning and inspiring watercolor journals

The Provence Post

Everything Provence! Beautiful and full of interesting information about Provence

A Spattering

Beautiful art, beautiful blog

Catching Happiness

A great writer, fun to read, and she has a Jack Russell

Elva's Field Notes

Amazing drawings, great journals

Traci Bunkers Blog

Art journaling to the max! Full of energy and excitement. She makes fabulous letter stamps too.

A Brush with Color

Very painterly watercolors, fun read

Freebirds Drawing

Great examples of watercolor journals and fun drawings

To recipients of the Stylish Blogger Award:

1. add the award picture to your blog

2. thank and link back to the person who awarded it to you

3. share seven (7) things about yourself

4. pass this award up to 15 other creative bloggers

Olivier, 26 Euro: a New Watercolor and Mixed Media Painting

2011-03-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

I just had fun painting this little square watercolor with a touch of mixed media painting of these little olive trees. I saw them in the outside market in Provence. They were in growing in beautiful terracotta pots. I used gold acrylic paint for the lettering and lifted out the pattern with a stencil.

Sucessful Paintings!

2011-02-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

Here's to successful paintings!

We have just finished up the Painting from Start to Finish Workshop held at my studio. We looked over some of our paintings during our "happy hour critique" at the last class.
Our warm-up exercise for this last class was to paint a lily using lost and found or soft edges. I think they turned out wonderfully!

Here are some of the paintings that we worked on:

Jan's Landscape

Kendra's Moroccan Alley

Barbara's Adobe

Rocks and Indian Paintbrush by Mary Anne

Sue's colorful Mountain Sunrise

Happy Painters

Talking about the process

Give your Loved Ones a Heart Watercolor Painting - An Easy & Fun Project!

2011-02-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

Why not give your loved ones a hand-made gift of a watercolor card this Valentine's Day? This card is easy to make and you can make several in one afternoon. This project uses watercolor glazing techniques and negative painting. See below:

Negative painting around hearts

Start with a piece of watercolor paper (I use 140 lb Arches paper) torn to the size you want.
Tape your paper to a workable surface around each edge using a removable painter's tape.
Paint a colorful watercolor wash and let this dry. I used new Gamboge, permanent rose, permanent magenta and cerulean blue.
With a pencil, draw some heart shapes, some large, some small. Overlap some hearts. Negative paint around each heart. This means you paint the background around the hearts, creating heart shapes in your painting. Let this dry.
Draw a few more hearts and negative paint again around all the hearts. You can negative paint these hearts several times to make a rich, glowing background. Painting over your last layer is called watercolor glazing.
Glazing and negative painting

Now decorate the hearts in fun ways: polka dots, checks, stripes. I was inspired by my friend, Laure's blog, Painted Thoughts. You can either use watercolor or colored pens and markers or a mix of both! Have fun, doodle, think of your loved one. Here is your opportunity to put a smile on their face! And after reading Jenn's facebook post from Cloth, Paper, Scissors - PUT A BIRD ON IT!
With an ink pen, draw around your hearts and outline the tape before pulling it off the edges.

My final valentine for my husband. Hope he likes it!

Capturing the Colors of Greece

2011-01-31T07:44:00.000-08:00

Red Roofed Church, Ano Syros, Greece

Part of the joy of painting on location on the island of Syros, Greece is to recreate the reflecting colors of the cobalt blue sky, turquoise ocean and the warmth of the sunshine on the white buildings. Our watercolor journaling class will learn how to paint colorful whites using the local colors.

An easy way to paint a beautiful white is called Wet into Wet painting. Wet the area you want to appear white with clear water. Add enough water for the paper to be wet and shiny but not enough to make a puddle. Then drop in little amounts of paint and let the water carry the paint around. In this painting I picked the blue of the sky, the reds from the church roof and a little yellow to create the feeling of the warm sun shining on the white walls of the town.
If you are interested in signing up for this Watercolor Journaling in Greece Class, please visit the American College of Healthcare Science.

Part II: Adding Blue Sky to the Sponged Trees

2011-01-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

Now that your sponge watercolor trees are dry, it is time to add the sky color. The trick to keeping the tree leaves looking fresh and colorful is to start with clear water around the edges of the tree leaves. Then paint in your sky color, starting from the outer part of your painting and paint towards the leaves. When you get to the clear water, tickle the color with your brush into the clear water to get it to make an soft edge. Don't forget to paint in some sky holes between the tree branches and leaves.
This is a fun exercise to do as a painting warm-up!

Part I: Paint a Tree using Watercolor and a Sea Sponge:

2011-01-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Everyone in my watercolor class really enjoyed this easy way to paint a tree so I thought it would be fun to share this idea with you!
I use very little water and a good sea sponge with lots of character.

First, take a spray bottle and spritz your watercolor paints on you palette.
Get the sponge wet but squeeze out all the water and then dip it directly into the moisten paint. I dip it first into cobalt blue then into Hansa yellow so that both colors are on the sponge.
Starting at the top of the tree, dab the sponge on your watercolor paper, working your way down and making a tree shape such as a poplar or aspen tree. Create a light side and a darker side to the tree.
Before this dries, add a trunk and branches to connect some of the dabbed area.
Practice making more trees in the distance behind this first tree. Let dry.
Tomorrow I will blog about adding the sky and background. Please check back!

I would love to hear how this works for you! Also, I am thinking we should look for some sea sponges during our watercolor journaling class in Greece!

Watercolor Journaling Class on the Island of Syros, Greece

2011-01-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

I will be teaching Watercolor Journaling in Greece on the island of Syros. This class is offered through the American College of Healthcare Sciences, May 27 – June 2, 2011.

A lot of people enjoy writing in journals, taking field notes, collecting memorabilia and souvenirs of their travels, and drawing little sketches of their journeys. I call this art journaling but I take it a step further and incorporate watercolor with my art journals.

Watercolor journaling is a wonderful way to slow down and savor the moment, recording your journey in a unique and memorable way. With your journal under your arm and a few painting supplies, you will be ready to capture memories of your Greek Island experiences. This dynamic class will motivate artists of all skill levels to record their journeys in a creative and unique way using watercolor and mixed media. Students will explore ways to make their watercolor travel journal interesting and reflective of their experiences through painting the Greek landscape and the essence of the Greek lifestyle. Some of the techniques I will be teaching include watercolor painting, drawing, color theory, incorporating mixed media and how to make quick-on the go-watercolor sketches.

This class is still open for registration, so click here to sign up! As always, I enjoy your comments. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Fun With Brush Strokes - Impressions of a Landscape Painting

2011-01-14T11:41:00.000-08:00


Quick 5 minute study of a landscape

As I get ready to teach my For Beginners Only Class, I am having fun remember the joy of discovering what your brush can do on the watercolor paper. It is so exciting to watch the colors mingle and combine to create new and unplanned colors. Why not have fun before you sit down to some serious painting.
Pick 3 colors (I used Cerulean Blue, Quinacridone Sienna and Nickel Azo Yellow). Start with the blue at the top for a impressionistic landscape. Switch to sienna and then yellow as you near the bottom. Before the painting starts to dry, mix the yellow and blue for some greenery. As you paint, play with your brush to see how many different types of strokes you can make: soft edges, hard edges, dry brush strokes, flicks, splatters, twirls..... Just play and don't worry about what the painting will look like.
I would love to hear back from you....Let me know if this was a fun thing to do!

More from our Travel Watercolor Journals, Provence, France. How to use paper napkins in your journal.

2011-01-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

Journal Page from on of my student's watercolor journal

Are you an artist? Do you love to paint on location? The group of ladies that I took to Provence, France found that the more we painted the better we got. No surprise, right? Well it is so much easier when you have devoted a time to paint everyday and with a people that want to paint together.
One of the fun things we did was to search the little French shops for dinner napkins. I found some that were a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's poppy painting.

Here is how to use them as a starting point on a journaling page:

1. Most napkins are made up of 3 very thin layers. Peel them apart and glue the top one with the design on it on a page in your journal. I used mat medium. I painted it under and on the top of the napkin.
2. Using the design as a guide, paint a similar design out past the napkin. Take clues from the colors and shapes found on the napkin.
3. Below is a page from one of my travel journals and shows how I used napkins to create a travel collage. Can you guess which parts are the napkin?

Jacqueline's Journal Page

We have room for a couple more artists to join us on our May 9-19, 2011 trip to Provence, France. Would you like to join us? Email me if you are interested.

Painting on location - Provence, France

2011-01-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to share some of the art from the participants that went to Provence with me, September 2009. Everyday we would go out on location to paint. We would often finish up our paintings at our hotel, le Hotel du Soleil.

This is Mary Anne's beautiful painting of Daudet's Windmill near Fontvieille

The lesson for this day was about how to create volume and how to make something look round. I think that Mary Anne did a wonderful job!

Below is Irene's interpretation of the women who do the traditional dance of Provence. I love her choice of colors. She really captured the beautiful dresses the women used to wear.

Page from Irene's journal - Traditional Dance Attire of the Women of Provence

Listen

2010-12-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

Every New Year it is the same ole resolutions: lose weight, exercise more, clean out the closet...... this year, fellow artist and blogger, Laure Ferlita, has challenged her readers with the word-of-the-year idea. The idea is to choose a word to guide you through the upcoming year. (Check out Christine Kane's post for more info.)

I started to think about what would be a good word for me to guide me through 2011 and immediately "LISTEN" popped into my head. You see, I have a little voice, or intuition, that I am learning and letting myself listen to. Am I talking to myself? Well, yes. But maybe it is OK, because I need to learn to listen to myself, follow my heart and my intuition. I find that the more I listen to my intuition, the more it is willing to put itself in the front of my being. This will be the year of listening.

How about you? What will be your word-of-the-year 2011?

And the Winner is.......

2010-12-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

The lucky winner of the Cloth, Paper, Scissors Gifts magazine is Jenny. There were thirty-five entries and lots of great suggestions and ideas. I used random.org to generate a random number and Jenny's number won. Jenny, I hope you enjoy the magazine. It is a fabulous issue full of great gift ideas. You will be getting your copy in the mail soon.
Congratulations!
Jacqueline

Cloth, Paper, Scissors First Annual Holiday Issue Giveaway

2010-12-15T08:18:00.000-08:00


First Annual Holiday Issue of Gifts, 148 pages

Thank you everyone for commenting yesterday and giving me such great ideas on how to host a giveaway on my blog. In order to win the prize - Cloth-Paper-Scissors’ First Annual Holiday Issue, please do the following:
*One entry per person. Enter by leaving a comment on this post or yesterday’s post and answering this question – Have you ever made something that you saw in a Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine? If so, what was it?

*I will use random.org to randomly pick the lucky winner

*Everyone that already posted will be included in the drawing (expect the few that said they don’t want the magazine)

*The deadline to comment is Sunday, December 19^th, 2011

GOOD LUCK!!!

What an inspiring magazine! There are gift projects for the book artists, fabric artists, jewelry artists, beginning and well seasoned artists. As always the artwork is beautifully displayed and the instructions are easy to follow.

I was pleased to see my “Wishes” ATC featured in an article by Linda Blinn. I was contacted in June by Barbara Delaney, assistant editor of Cloth, Paper Scissors, to create ATC for their holiday issue. I have to admit that I was a bit stressed about this tiny piece of art (2 1/2” x 3 ½”)! I pulled out all my sparkles, fake snow and xmas stencils in June and tried to get into the Christmas spirit. I think that I made about 5 ATCs and spent many hours before I gave up and sent what I thought was my best one (we were flying out to Maine the next day and I had yet to pack!) While I was in Maine, I got an email from Linda telling me that she picked my ATC to feature on the cover of one of her holiday cards! Ok, here is the funny part of this whole story - Linda found our Maine rental house on the internet and rented it for her family vacation early in the summer. Through our emails we made the art connection and I found out that I have been reading her articles on creating art for years!

Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine Giveaway!

2010-12-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

Win this magazine - read below

I am honored and thrilled that the editors of my favorite magazine, Cloth, Paper, Scissors, picked my blog for their New Magazine Blog Tour. I will be reviewing their magazines and offering free magazines to a few lucky Art in my Heart Blog readers starting with GIFTS, their first annual holiday issue. This magazine is super-sized at 148 pages and can be found at Barnes & Noble for $14.99. Or you can participate in my blog giveaway and perhaps win a free copy!

Here is what I need from you….
I have never done a blog giveaway before so I am looking for great ideas on how to do this. Have you ever done a giveaway or participated in one? What works and what is fun? Anyone that comments will be entered into my CPS magazine giveaway.
I have my cup of coffee and a fire lit in the fireplace. It just started snowing outside. I am off to read through GIFTS and will get back to you soon!

Lots to learn about Color!

2010-12-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

Ingrid making a beautiful color study

Kim showing her book with her painted cover

Comparing books

More color studies

It has been a couple busy weeks teaching classes and trying to keep up on the holiday hoopla around the house. Needless to say, my house doesn't look at all xmas-y yet as my priorities are always with my classes. Friday I finished teaching The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color Class and everyone left with a beautiful spiral bound book full of color studies.

The Chickens are Back!

2010-12-01T12:36:00.000-08:00


Ethyl's Home

My chickens see me coming from across the yard, with my food pail in my hand. They come running in hopes that I have something very special in there or perhaps they want to be the first to the goodies. If Ethyl or any of them ever get out of their little pen, this is a good way to get them back again.
I have been having fun painting miniature paintings of my chickens giving them lots of color and life. These paintings will be available for purchase starting on Friday for the First Friday Art Walk at the Birkenstock store and the Red Chair Gallery, December 4, 2010. Hope you will come in and let me know what you think.

Getting Ready to Teach "The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color" Class

2010-11-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy getting ready for this upcoming class starting on Friday at Bend, Oregon's Art's Central. Students will be doing lots of color studies as well as learning how to use the color wheel to help them create beautifully colored paintings. One of my favorite parts is teaching how the temperature of colors (either warm or cool) can greatly affect the color mixes. By the end of the class we will put our color studies in a little spiral bound book, a perfect reference for taking to future classes. There is still room in this class if you would like to sign up. Just sign up on line with the Art Station. Here are some photos from previous classes:

Daily Paintings

2010-11-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Romance

Cold, snowy days are great for painting small paintings for the upcoming Art Hop on December 3, 2010 in Bend, Oregon!

Miniture Paintings

2010-11-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

Summer Repeat

I love painting these small paintings that are really meant for a spot on a shelf or coffee table. My goal is to paint one or two a day for the next few weeks so that I have a good supply for the upcoming December Art Hop in Bend, OR. Perhaps they will make a perfect Christmas gift for someone special. If you are strolling around town on Friday, Dec. 3, please stop by at the Birkenstock Shoe Store to say "Hi".