tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40479033910531976192024-03-12T19:49:29.144-07:00Sketchy 5150'sA crazy group of people who love to sketch and have decided to share this journey of art together. Send me your drawing frustrations or challenges and I will choose one each week to address and solve! Tips, tutorials, videos to help you improve your skills while creating connections.
Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-32146327747598118892015-05-04T23:56:00.000-07:002015-05-05T00:00:06.792-07:00My Online Drawing Class is now available! Grab your seat!<br />
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My online class called "<a href="https://ruzuku.com/courses/5890/about">Seeing with an Artist's Eye-Mastering the Basics</a>" is open for enrollment! This isn't your normal drawing class, its so much more. Don't miss you opportunity to be involved in something bigger than just drawing. master seeing, master appreciation, master the art of honoring yourself and your creative spirit. Find yourself as you find your heart for art. I am offering this first class at a special rate and with a 100% money back guarantee that you will be completely in love with the results. Why don't you check it out and see if this is the class you have been waiting for! Grab your seat today, class starts June 3!<br />
<br />Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-44407005763462273722015-01-11T15:05:00.002-08:002015-01-11T15:05:18.301-08:00Friday Challenge- Lets Paint some ShadowsI love shadows, don't you? Have you really taken the time to look at shadows, notice shadows and see how they play with our heads to create illusions and tell us stories about the object creating the shadow? Shadows don't have to be gray, what colors do you see when you really look at shadows? Purple, blue, pink?<br />
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I want to challenge you to find a shadow that interests you, look at it, notice what kind of edges it has. Are they blurred and soft or hard and sharp, what does that tell you about your light source? What does it tell us about our day or light source, is it sunny, overcast?<br />
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Are there no shadows outside so you have to find something inside. Do you see multiple shadows being cast from one object, what does that mean?? (Multiple Light sources)<br />
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Shadows can create interesting effects too. Here I was playing around with my pencil and shadows, seeing if I could create a 3D effect on paper. Can you create an effect around a shadow?<br />
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Take some time, be Peter Pan and find your shadow, get to know it and then either sketch it or paint it!<br />
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I hope you will share your paintings with me!
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-44117497477906488532015-01-04T16:48:00.004-08:002015-01-04T16:52:32.375-08:00Your word for the year! I don't really do resolutions, for me it is yet a another list I have yet to complete set up with lofty hopes of losing weight or exercising more, all good thoughts but within a few weeks I am over it. I find I am doing those things anyway and resolutions made me a bit crazy. A checklist I looked at every day that just reminded me how I was failing!<br />
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I have been choosing a word for the year,a word that will encompass what I want that year to hold and a word that will apply to all areas of my like. I begin thinking about my word early in the prior year, taking notes when something sounds right or feel right. I chose several and then weed them down until one stands out.<br />
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Once my word is chosen I write it, paint it or somehow make it special and artistically interesting and then hang it in my studio. It will hang all year, reminding me of the power in just a word, the power of applying you word and the beauty of the word as it applies to all the areas in my life.<br />
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It's a way to grow and push yourself to something higher. I hope you give it a try!<br />
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So my word for 2015 is BREAKTHROUGH! I want to breakthrough old mind sets, limitations put on me by others and myself, breakthrough the fears of the unknown, fears of failing,breakthrough also means breaking through to something new and exciting. Break through a rut into an area where the skies the limit. Breakthrough can be on a personal level, business level, spiritual level. Break through and challenge myself to break through my comfort areas into something unknown! I'm excited!<br />
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I want you to be excited too! My business coach and mentor, Christine Kane, has put together a free worksheet and helps you find your word for the year. Grab some friends and do the work together! It could change you life. Here is the <a href="https://christinekane.isrefer.com/go/wordeg/Desiree">affiliate link</a>, enjoy! Please let me know what your word for the year is and what it means to you! I would love to see how you take your word and either paint it, sketch it or somehow make it a piece of art for you to put up in your studio for the year. I will be posting mine here too!<br />
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-33886976059966143062014-12-23T15:55:00.000-08:002014-12-25T09:41:01.910-08:00Painting your favorite ornament- a tutorial!I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and give you all a little gift of art this Christmas. We have been painting ornaments for the last few weeks and I thought I would give you a tutorial on painting glittery ornaments since it can be a bit overwhelming to capture all the lights, twinkle and glitter. Diane sent me a photo of an ornament she was trying to paint for our Friday Challenge so that is my subject matter.<br />
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This time of year gives us a great way to practice some challenging textures and surfaces. I hope you enjoy this video and have a wonderful holiday!
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/115147711">Diane's ornament</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/desireesdesigns">Desiree Habicht</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>. To make the video larger hit the arrows on the bottom right side of the video screen, esc will make it small again!<br />
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This will be our challenge for the next week also! Because….<br />
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I will be off my computer, enjoying the holidays with family and house guests!<!-- start LinkyTools script -->
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-73505782290210283462014-12-12T18:48:00.001-08:002014-12-12T18:54:45.766-08:00Friday Challenge - Capture a Christmas MemoryI love to make handmade ornaments and gifts at Christmas. There is just nothing as nice as getting something that is handmade to me. It says to me that I am important enough to spend my time making this for you! Each year as I pull out my ornaments to decorate my tree I think about each of the people in my life who have given me that ornament, I pray for them and enjoy this special time.<br />
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I love sharing some of my special treasures and I hope you will share some of yours with me. Grab one or two of your favorite ornaments and paint them and then journal about what makes them so special to you!! Then share your little treasure with us but posting your painting or sketch using the linky tool below!<br />
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-36642946890047792892014-12-06T20:40:00.001-08:002014-12-06T20:40:08.169-08:00Shiny verses satin finishesThis was such a great study in my sketching class that I thought I would share it with you. It is painting shiny, reflective surfaces verses satin finishes. With Christmas just around the corner and while you are decorating you tree, take a minute and try this challenge. Get both a shiny and satin ornament and lets get painting.<br />
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We will start with shiny:<br />
1. When painting a reflective surface remember that the reflection will take on the shape of the reflecting object and skew it. So with the example of our ornament, the image wraps around the round shape of our ornament. It is often hard to paint these weird, skewed images since our brain doesn't get it at first, but be persistent, it will all come together.<br />
2. You also need to make sure you have good values. Lots of lights and darks make it look reflective!
3. Reflections have lots of hard edges, sharp, mirror edges, keep them crisp and strong.
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Satin finishes:<br />
1. Satin finishes are almost the opposite of reflective images since they do not reflect an image but just the light.<br />
2. When painting your satin ornament make sure you keep all your edges blended and soft, no hard edges.<br />
3. No strong lights and darks, everything is soft but there is still value changes, just gradual.<br />
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Okay, its your turn, let me see what you have! Give it a go, this is a great seasonal lesson just begging to be sketched and painted. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mQVhePK2kZ4/VHiv-KxRV8I/AAAAAAAAK_g/jPiNBnJnzNU/s1600/37996-juliet-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mQVhePK2kZ4/VHiv-KxRV8I/AAAAAAAAK_g/jPiNBnJnzNU/s1600/37996-juliet-web.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It could be black cats</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg0qWMv2TIw/VHiw130WgtI/AAAAAAAAK_o/IywFU92DEPU/s1600/lavendar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg0qWMv2TIw/VHiw130WgtI/AAAAAAAAK_o/IywFU92DEPU/s1600/lavendar.jpg" height="400" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bubblebees</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bWnxi4b_pS4/VHixdS5aLyI/AAAAAAAAK_0/4xwCM7jhzQU/s1600/mailboxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bWnxi4b_pS4/VHixdS5aLyI/AAAAAAAAK_0/4xwCM7jhzQU/s1600/mailboxes.jpg" height="195" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Mailboxes full of Black Friday ads</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qS-M4ntchEc/VHixwbOxMVI/AAAAAAAAK_8/XNKNU1jHCXU/s1600/xmaslab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qS-M4ntchEc/VHixwbOxMVI/AAAAAAAAK_8/XNKNU1jHCXU/s1600/xmaslab.jpg" height="400" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or it could be your favorite black pet. Remember in water color we don't use black or white. Try mixing yellow, blues and reds in different amounts to make your own blacks. There are other black recipes too like purple and green. Experiment with your blacks and see what happens! Whats your favorite Black recipe?</td></tr>
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Impress me with your creativity!!! Come on, impress me. </div>
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<!-- end LinkyTools script Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-25514259536286676502014-11-24T12:40:00.000-08:002014-11-24T23:11:00.607-08:00A time of Thanksgiving….random acts of kindnessIts that time of the year to count our blessings and be in that spirit of gratitude and Thanksgiving. A time to surround ourselves with family and loved ones but some people are struggling to do that. Some are dealing with broken families and illness. Some are far away from their loved ones and some are all alone. Some don't have a table to set or a turkey to cook. So this year, I pray, we each do something small to make a difference. To have the spirit that we will be kinder to those around us. That we will think before we speak the next time we meet someone in a bad mood or who is not filled with that wonderful spirit of Thanksgiving. That we will remember, that for some, the holidays are just reminder that this year it will not be happening for them. I pray that we will be able to share with someone who may be hurting, to befriend someone alone, to create a place at the table for someone who has no where to go. Some simple, random act of kindness goes so far! <br />
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I want to share with you some thing that happened to us, in a very dark year. I am reminded of this gift each time I begin to take out my Christmas decorations. I usually always do this the weekend after Thanksgiving,but this year I wanted to decorate early. As I was taking out my decorations I came across the small little tree that is all decorated and stands about 2' tall. On it hangs an angel, a dove, a praying mantis, and little bear ornament that says "Jennifer". It is strung with lights and other small ornaments and the base has a big red bow that ties up the burlap that is filled with plastic cherries. Every year it comes out to find its rightful place in Jennifer's room.<br />
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You see, back in 2000, Jennifer, our 24 year old daughter lay in a hospital bed, fighting for her life after being hit by a drunk driver in July of that year. As Thanksgiving approached I had never dreamed that we wouldn't all have been home, well and healthy, celebrating together. I never planned to spend a holiday in a hospital. I remember thinking that it just wasn't fair that everyone was celebrating when we were so devastated. We received a gift around that time, a crocheted blanket that had a hospital bracelet through it with Jennifer's name on it. It sat at the foot of her bed, a gift, from a stranger. Someone who crocheted blankets for those in hospitals or rehab facilities who we would never meet but who touched us so deeply. The thought that someone noticed we weren't going to be at our Thanksgiving table that year and sent a gift was beyond kind. As Christmas approached the feelings are even worse, there are no decorations, no parties. It was my mom who decorated that little tree and sent it to Jennifer in the hospital. A little tree that signified who Jennifer was, a lover of bugs, an angel to us, a lover of Christ and Christmas and all that that means, spiritually and personally. We plugged that tree into an approved extension cord so we could have a little bit of Christmas light during our families darkest time. That was along time ago, it sometimes feels like a lifetime ago. Today things are better, Jennifer lives with us and we celebrate everyday together!! We are happy and joyous in what God has done for her, sparing her life that year.<br />
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It was a few people who thought about us, who reached out and touched us that helped us through it. It was the kindness of not only friends and family but of strangers who never met us and still reached out. It was those special people, strangers, friends and family that helped us feel grateful again. My prayer for us this year is that we don't forget, that we don't just get caught up in the busyness. That we remember those around us who are hurting and we reach out, do something unexpected, make a difference even when we can't make it all better. Won't you join us this year. I would love to hear how you make a difference, leave a single sentence about what you do in the comment area and lets all be thankful together.<br />
Happy Thanksgiving!Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-71493764904160965642014-11-21T17:29:00.001-08:002014-11-28T17:18:36.111-08:00Friday Challenge - Lets Paint our Turkey!Well it only seems appropriate that with Thanksgiving next Thursday that we celebrate the bird that gives their all for our meal! They are such an odd looking bird, ugly but pretty, not sure how to define them but I think it would be fun to push ourselves outside our box.<br />
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So this week I am providing you with some photos to paint or draw from. I hope you will play with it and work on yours. I will put together a quick little tutorial for you, but until then lets go for it. This guy was pretty ugly so if you have a photo you prefer feel free to use that.<br />
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OH Yeah, Happy Turkey Day!!<!-- start LinkyTools script -->
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-72967813322208539482014-11-14T16:13:00.002-08:002014-11-21T17:31:00.665-08:00Friday Challenge- Lets paint breakfast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Good Morning!!! Rise and shine, let paint our breakfast! I love to have my coffee and breakfast right next to my sketchbook in the morning. I know I have posted my breakfast sketches before but you can never have enough practice, right!? There is no better way to start the day than with a good sketch! Every sketch makes you better and better. </div>
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First I sketch in my breakfast quickly. It important to make sure my ovals are correct depending on my angles. Those ovals have a way of tripping you up in a sketch or painting. If they aren't right your eye will catch it every time you look at the painting. Your brain will say that isn't right! So pay special attention to those ovals. Depending on your angle, the more over the bowl I am, the more round the opening, being a complete circle if I was looking directly down on it. The more off to the side you are the more of an oval it becomes, here is my quick sketch to help you understand what I am saying. Looking directly down over the bowl you see the bottom and a circle, then as you come down the side you see more of an oval top until you are directly along side and see a straight line, then once you travel below the horizon you see the under side of the bowl so the oval is about the same only your view isn't of the inside but of the backside. I hope this helps you when you are drawing anything with a circle like glasses, bowls, cups, etc. </div>
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So I started with my cereal bowl, defining the shapes.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VLQoqIkxUuE/VGaQdoAEsjI/AAAAAAAAK6A/TrGIlCQK_JQ/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VLQoqIkxUuE/VGaQdoAEsjI/AAAAAAAAK6A/TrGIlCQK_JQ/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next I painted the shadow areas, or negative areas around the items. Notice that the shadows are all the same intensity. Make sure you are reading you shadow values too! Let each layer dry or your paint will blend and you will have a mess! It shouldn't take too long.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nsl63YEzY3o/VGaQd9NchMI/AAAAAAAAK6E/jGYPBDlkL3I/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nsl63YEzY3o/VGaQd9NchMI/AAAAAAAAK6E/jGYPBDlkL3I/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana2.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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I now am adding the color on my Cheerios and adding some more dark browns in the shadow areas. The pre applied blue shadow helps to give depth to your first layers of color.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HzWQKSYyFps/VGaQdzpgRQI/AAAAAAAAK6I/ZRJ_S3yfs08/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HzWQKSYyFps/VGaQdzpgRQI/AAAAAAAAK6I/ZRJ_S3yfs08/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana3.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></a></div>
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I continue to add color to the bowl and spoon</div>
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I add some more shadows, leaving some light areas and add a background. My page is either ready to journal on or I could add a few Cheerios to the page beside this one and use it as the text page if I have a lot to say this morning!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aCDv0tviMMM/VGaQgwqPDaI/AAAAAAAAK6g/-AhozlVE9TM/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aCDv0tviMMM/VGaQgwqPDaI/AAAAAAAAK6g/-AhozlVE9TM/s1600/sketchcheeriosbanana5.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></div>
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So here is what we went over today:</div>
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1. Ovals, get them right</div>
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2. laying in shadows first, taking note of softer and stronger shadows.</div>
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3. Using color to define shapes and tell more of the story.</div>
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I want to challenge you this week to put these three things into practice as you sketch your breakfast this week! I can't wait to see what your eating in the mornings!!! Happy Painting</div>
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<br />Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-67249634741160003942014-11-09T14:26:00.002-08:002014-11-09T14:26:34.862-08:00Off to paint!!I am so excited to be able to take a few days to actually just go and paint for fun! I haven't done that in awhile. Here I am painting plein air with my watercolors. Oils are a whole new adventure, plus we are in a studio, phew!<br />
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I am thrilled to be taking an oil painting class from Dreama Tolle Perry at The Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa! It will be three days of oils, which for me, is a huge change. I will be painting and posting so you all can enjoy the experience with me! I can't guarantee that I will paint anything worth writing home about though. Its just about being out with other artist, playing, laughing and being creative, I can't wait. So check back often to see what we are up too in the studio!Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-60960545504166346612014-11-03T20:05:00.003-08:002014-11-03T20:06:11.872-08:00Friday Challenge, Lets paint leaves!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its Fall, a perfect time for painting and sketching the wonderful colors that happen at this time of the year. Look around in your area and see what wonderful shapes and colors you can find.<br />
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For my Mug Rug Club I did a video on painting leaves on fabric with colored pencils. Here is my little painted Mug Rug.<br />
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I love this time of year and always go out of my way to catch the ever changing color and leaves!<br />
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Washes of watercolor leaves!</div>
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A page in my sketchbook! I can't wait to see what wonderful leaves you have in your area! Post your sketches or paintings on my blog with the Linky tool!</div>
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<br />Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-6722064249359809752014-10-10T16:26:00.001-07:002014-10-14T10:24:54.017-07:00Friday Challenge - Painting our Pets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Most of us have a special pet, someone who is always attentive and loving. Pets are a challenge to paint since they move often but with cell phone cameras we can freeze them so we can paint them easier. As an additional challenge this week I would like you to paint some quick sketches with only your paint brush and no pre sketching with pencils. </div>
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Try to capture the shape, movement of the dog or pet. Do several quick paintbrush sketches and if your pet stays still long enough you can add more details. I managed to catch Chloe on a quiet day when she was relaxing out back with us. You will notice she isn't perfect but I captured the moment and in a sketchbook that is the key! Feel free to use my photos if you like and enjoy. </div>
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This is one of her favorite poses! OUCH</div>
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Sometimes by changing your photos to black and white it will help you see value changes that color sometimes hides.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WiWFCVKbbc/VDhm1JJTQ8I/AAAAAAAAKy0/pRZ1jYuHB1s/s1600/chloe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WiWFCVKbbc/VDhm1JJTQ8I/AAAAAAAAKy0/pRZ1jYuHB1s/s1600/chloe2.jpg" height="395" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a page in my sketchbook of Chloe laying out back! </div>
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Okay, you know the routine, add your photos when you are ready, I can't wait to see them!</div>
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-16855227962957786702014-10-05T22:29:00.003-07:002014-10-05T22:56:11.419-07:00Friday Challenge- Birds of a feather <h3>
Birds are great to draw or paint. Whether you like whimsical or realistic they are fun to do. It seems that they lend themselves to just about anyones style and you can make them almost any shape and it still seems to work!</h3>
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I love that they can fly, that they are sometimes just wildly colored and other times they are just plain Janes. </h3>
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Sometimes I have paint and sometimes I have just pencil</h3>
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Sometimes its not pretty at all, its documenting life and sometimes death with birds. </h4>
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Their silhouettes often give them away as you can often tell what kind of bird it is just from its silhouette! </h4>
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So this week paint a bird, or a part of a bird, a feather, a bird feeder. Anything that sings to you! Lets see what we can come up with!</h4>
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-12391354438052863112014-09-27T10:17:00.001-07:002014-09-27T10:30:44.819-07:00Friday Challenge- Flowers!Sorry I am just posting this now, yesterday was crazy. I love to draw and paint flowers! I love to paint them realistically or whimsically or just any ole way! There is no right or wrong way. So before winter hits and all the flowers are gone lets do some <a href="http://vimeo.com/98670183">flower drawings</a>!<br />
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<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/98670183" width="500" height="375" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/98670183">Sunflower Sunshine makes me Happy2 (Enhanced)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/desireesdesigns">Desiree Habicht</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>I actually just had some note cards printed with one of my favorite paintings with Shutterfly. If you guys haven't tried them you should! If you sign up they are always sending out free coupons, so my notecards were free except for shipping!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pyYgmWTPDdc/VCbvxI9kV9I/AAAAAAAAKhQ/LbkV0F3iXv8/s1600/matilla%2Bpoppylowres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pyYgmWTPDdc/VCbvxI9kV9I/AAAAAAAAKhQ/LbkV0F3iXv8/s1600/matilla%2Bpoppylowres.jpg" height="281" width="320" /></a></div>
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These poppies are one of my favorites but then I also like……</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1x4QPX-gVw/VCbwEdhsW1I/AAAAAAAAKhY/6Xq--XlL7LY/s1600/Roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1x4QPX-gVw/VCbwEdhsW1I/AAAAAAAAKhY/6Xq--XlL7LY/s1600/Roses.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
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These roses! They are so fun and fast to paint, I will do a video demo for you and post here.</div>
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And then there is my sketchbook entry from when I visited my mom! What flowers will you sketch or paint this week? Make sure you share them below! </div>
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-36860082491831047282014-09-19T11:02:00.001-07:002014-09-19T11:02:11.698-07:00Friday Challenge- Sketching people in public places like church!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most of us want to sketch and paint people but its so scary. They often end up looking like a monster and the sketch never resembles the person we are sketching. Well it takes time and practice to sketch and paint people. Getting practice sketching people in public is challenging too as they always seem to know you are sketching them. I often sketch people in doctors offices, church, airports, restaurants etc. Its best to practice on people who aren't moving until you get the hang of it. So our challenge is to sketch people and if you go to church you can sketch the backs of their heads. Sound easy? Well remember, even though they are round or oval you need to pay attention to value and details to make each head look unique as they are. </div>
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In church I never have more than my ball point pen and the program so I take notes and sketch. Do you see the kid sitting next to his mom, his chin was actually resting on his fist, he was leaning forward and low in his seat but it made a great grouping. Sometimes I will paint groups of people together and other times just one or two. I all depends on my position and their position.<br />
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In this sketch the girl had a clip in her hair and a nice bulky collar so I tried to capture that, I also got some of her cheek as she was a bit off to the side of my view. Black pen<br />
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Its so funny about this sketch, I know who this is just by seeing the back of his head, I remember he had just gotten his daughter to start going to church with them and he was excited. His daughters hair was actually tied in a knot and posed a nice challenge for my blue ball point pen. <br />
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I actually have sketched many of the people that went to our old church, often not recognizing them until they turned away from me! LOL I will share a story of a special couple we all loved and I actually sketched them from the side so it was a nice side view and they were easily recognizable. He got cancer and passed away, one day as I sat with his wife I gave her that sketch, it wasn't great, but it was so representative of their last days together before he was sick. So remember, these simple sketches are really gifts and memories you are recording.<br />
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So as you can see, these aren't masterpiece sketches, they are more like a study of people, their positions, hair, features, ear and glasses placement etc. You can learn a lot just by doing these sketches from behind. Getting the head size right, shoulder width correct, where are the ears on the side of the head, its all important.<br />
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1. Heads are usually oval like eggs<br />
2. Ears usually start about 1/2 down on the head<br />
3. Collars usually go up into the hair line when they are wearing collared shirts.<br />
Let me know if you want to learn more about painting people, I will do more lessons on that, what about animals, comment with your feed back.<br />
Have fun and make sure you post your sketches below with our linky tool! I can't wait to see what you do! I will leave the link open for two weeks <!-- start LinkyTools script --><script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=242591" type="text/javascript"></script><!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-47050194603509890272014-09-13T20:30:00.005-07:002014-09-13T20:30:51.730-07:00Week #3 Friday Challenge, sorry its a bit late- SucculentsThis week as I push through the heat I thought it would be nice to paint succulents or cactus. Those amazing plants that are able to thrive most weathers. There are so many different varieties, textures, colors to choose from so have fun!!! Make sure when you are painting these beauties that you notice the blue greens and the tips of color hidden on the leaves and sometimes the stems.<br />
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Nice contrast will help you get depth in your paintings. See how dark it is where the stems meet in the middle? That gives you depth! I also started to paint some of the dead leaves. I have added some photos for those who are not near a succulent, and yes they do bloom!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HiaGK1-BmXw/VBUF7N5UCiI/AAAAAAAAKd0/d7DgpJqDh20/s1600/wcactus%20flower3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HiaGK1-BmXw/VBUF7N5UCiI/AAAAAAAAKd0/d7DgpJqDh20/s1600/wcactus%20flower3.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-46778282501827707112014-09-05T07:50:00.001-07:002014-09-13T21:17:21.711-07:00Friday challenge is all wet!It's Friday and time for our weekly challenge. I am in beautiful San Diego at a quilt show this week! It is beautiful here as I am over looking the ocean so I think we should paint water, any water. A glass of water, a dew drop all qualify! Remember be creative and have fun. I will post our kinky link when I get home<br />
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-19487451738588956932014-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:002014-08-29T04:00:03.904-07:00Week 2- Friday Challenge something with keys!Hi everyone, okay I am going to keep this going for us and I hope to see more people participating. Every Friday I will post a challenge and a linky link that you can post your pictures too. I will also have the link under Challenges on the home page so we can easily find all of them and go to the posts. I hope you will join me as we play challenge ourselves each week to stretch outside our box and paint or sketch something we might not normally sketch.<br />
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This weeks Challenge is "Something with keys" it can be anything that might fall into that description so be creative and have fun. It doesn't have to be my literal interpretation of keys like mine. I did this sketch as a value study of my moms keys laying on the counter. Feel free to Paint, sketch, color, anything goes and then share it here! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A collage I did with old keys on canvas, this is a 5"x5" piece.</td></tr>
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-41582670563417255932014-08-25T13:47:00.003-07:002014-08-25T13:47:44.069-07:00Making time for ART!I know, here we go again, right, me reminding you to practice your art! Well its time, time to encourage you to make the time. Set a date with yourself, schedule it or it won't happen. You know why?<br />
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Cause life happens and once your day has started things just snowball into other things and pretty soon you have lost another day. Tomorrow when your eating breakfast why don't you take a few minutes and sketch your coffee cup or your banana or toast.<br />
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I took a few minutes and painted the agapanthus around our pool while they were in bloom. They don't bloom that long and I knew if I didn't paint them now the opportunity would be lost this year. Take time to make time and schedule a painting date with yourself! Remember its doesn't have to be perfect. Share with me what you paint tomorrow morning, please!<br />
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<br />Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-36837099014330920612014-08-13T06:33:00.001-07:002014-08-13T06:40:44.045-07:00How to turn a negative into a positive!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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What gets you excited? What grabs you as you walk by and screams to be painted? As you begin to start seeing the world with an artists eye you will start to notice things you never saw before, shapes, colors etc. I happened to be in the garden when I noticed the beautiful, lacy leaves of the dusty miller I was growing. The silvery color and velvety texture. The silvery grey/green top and the white underside contrasting with the yellow blooms was calling my name! </div>
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I first sketched the leaves, taking time to notice the way they tie into the stem and the way they split apart at the tips. The way the immature leaves looked in comparison to the mature leaves. I started with pencil and finished with pen.</div>
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I decided to paint it as a negative image, defining the shapes by painting in the background that surrounded it. The dusty miller itself required little paint and I just dragged in color from the background here and there. Do you notice how my background is darker near the center of the flower and gets softer as it makes it's way to the outside of the leaves? This will give you the feeling of depth, the darker area appearing deeper and the other areas coming out and being exposed to more light. This is how you take the negative space and create a positive painting. </div>
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I decided to paint the flowers in my box and I have decided that the background is to close in value to the flowers so I need to darken it some so the flowers will pop. Tell me what your painting in your sketchbook right now!</div>
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-16763531413490402692014-07-02T05:00:00.000-07:002014-07-02T05:00:09.128-07:00Summer time means vacation time, a great opportunity to sketch!<div style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">This is the time of year that we all take vacations, it is </span><span _mce_style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">also the perfect opportunity to capture that wonderful trip in your sketchbooks. By taking the time to journal and sketch you will preserve your trip forever. You can relive that special time for free! I find I would much rather look through my journal than through a photo album. </span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><u><b>Here are some tips for keeping a successful travel journal.</b></u></span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 14pt;" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>1. </strong></span><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;">Travel light, take a journal, a mechanical pencil, eraser, small paint box and a water brush.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L6BeLLorBuc/U7Cwd3zPSoI/AAAAAAAAJxU/zJMEzEReLok/s1600/bikers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L6BeLLorBuc/U7Cwd3zPSoI/AAAAAAAAJxU/zJMEzEReLok/s1600/bikers.jpg" height="326" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 14pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2. </strong></span><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;">Remember that this is your sketchbook and it should represent the scene, not be a perfect studio painting. Here I quickly painted in the bushes and trees capturing how green everything was. The Elk was a bonus! </span><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong> </strong> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzEMbJRV34o/U7CwkQL6jTI/AAAAAAAAJxg/yBS5j8WshB8/s1600/meadowelk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzEMbJRV34o/U7CwkQL6jTI/AAAAAAAAJxg/yBS5j8WshB8/s1600/meadowelk.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>3.</strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you want to take the time to capture more details like this pencil sketch in Yosemite, start it and then take a photo with your camera to work on later.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgQ6jSlSgdA/U7Cw4MddfAI/AAAAAAAAJxw/_nhBz8PV9ug/s1600/tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgQ6jSlSgdA/U7Cw4MddfAI/AAAAAAAAJxw/_nhBz8PV9ug/s1600/tree.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>4.</strong></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes it's hard to take the time away from family or friends if traveling with others. Try to grab a few moments and paint or sketch and do all of your journaling later at night before you go to bed. I traveled in Italy and I would paint during the day and journal in bed at night. I am so glad I did that too since many of the wonderful adventures might have been forgotten since we crammed so much into a few weeks. Here I have left room on the left to journal later. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb6m5S7VmNA/U7C1f-MMFtI/AAAAAAAAJy4/9CUEM6PhXKk/s1600/109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb6m5S7VmNA/U7C1f-MMFtI/AAAAAAAAJy4/9CUEM6PhXKk/s1600/109.jpg" height="128" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;">5. Remember its your journal so capture the things that are special to you! Journal about your adventures, both good and bad. Sometimes the view out of your hotel window is a perfect thing to sketch.</span><span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1PDG76ZJDc/U7CxfAfDL2I/AAAAAAAAJyA/rJqmhUAVkEI/s1600/Hartford+reserve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1PDG76ZJDc/U7CxfAfDL2I/AAAAAAAAJyA/rJqmhUAVkEI/s1600/Hartford+reserve.jpg" height="291" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;">6. Add pockets or glue in ticket stubs and special napkins from restaurants and collage them onto your sketchbook page before you sketch and paint over them. That can make for some great sketchbooks pages. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QiV3ooYvi9E/U7C5aRbKalI/AAAAAAAAJzA/oeXSikMMqT8/s1600/552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QiV3ooYvi9E/U7C5aRbKalI/AAAAAAAAJzA/oeXSikMMqT8/s1600/552.jpg" height="121" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;">7.Maybe sketch your suitcase or the clothes you are packing. Make it a whole sketchbook of your vacation and have fun! </span><span _mce_style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="color: #1b644f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-size: 12pt;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span _mce_style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="color: #1b644f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><em style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"><strong>Happy Summer Vacation!!</strong></em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-17668305762055728442014-06-27T07:46:00.000-07:002014-06-29T16:55:23.346-07:00Quick sketches in crowded spaces<div>
I love to carry a small sketch book and pencil/pen with me in my purse. It is perfect for a quick sketch when you seem to have lots of time on your hands. For me it seems to be waiting in doctors offices or for a prescription. I take advantage of this time by sketching people. It's hard to do and not make them nervous with all the stares. Quick glasses and fast sketches work best. It's fun and remember it doesn't have to be perfect, it's practice.</div>
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-26016528173654924342014-06-22T09:48:00.002-07:002014-06-22T09:50:32.637-07:00Capturing another moment in my sketchbook!<div>
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My grandsons came to swim. Blake, who is four, spent every minute in the pool but the baby, Bryce cried everytime we put his toe into the pool water. So I spent most of my day enjoying his giggles as I kissed on him and played with him. Mom and Blake were then free to swim together. It's taking time to record these moments that will transform your sketchbook from a book of scary white pages to something you treasure.<br />
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I decided to do a two page spread showing different angles, some more challenging than others. I did some live and some from photos I took. I quickly layed out where I would put each little head and the size. I got carried away as I was sketching and just decided to go with it and have one of his portraits be in pencil! </div>
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Big brother and mommy got to enjoy their time together in the pool. </div>
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047903391053197619.post-59944444071835688472014-06-18T17:28:00.002-07:002014-06-19T12:43:08.857-07:00Color me Happy with yellow Sunflowers and more!Being an artist you begin to notice all the little things. We notice the things that other people miss in the busyness of their daily lives. It's so easy to forget that we have been given a special gift of awareness. A gift of seeing an abundance of colors when others see only gray. Have you noticed how as summer approaches the colors begin to shift from the pastels of spring to the bright yellows of summer.<br />
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The sun is directly over us and it lights up the garden in a different way. It's now becoming time for sunflowers and rudbeckia, for marigolds and peaches. They light up the yard like little beacons of sunlight and I love this time. </div>
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When we take the time to sketch and paint we really become intimate with the thing we are painting, learning each curve, the colors, the turns and twists of the line that will reproduce it onto our paper or fabric with our own personal dynamic.<br />
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Take a moment to look around and to see something new today, something that is brightening up your day. Take a moment to really take it in with that special artists appreciation and vision.<br />
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This month my Mug Rug Club received a sunflower template for their pattern. I not only showed them how to do some reverse appliqué but I made a book bag with my little mug rug and sent them my first video insert! Sunflowers are everywhere!</div>
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Here's to filling your days with warm sunshine, sweet aromas and bright yellows! I hope you have a happy, sunshine sunflower day!<br />
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Desiree's Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01047772987859831429noreply@blogger.com0