Expressive monochromatic sketches yield quick results. Sketches that are expressive and monochromatic…those were key words that attracted my attention in a recent email sent to me from Ivy Newport. Newport, an Oregon artist, posted a free tutorial on her website to advertise … Read More
This was one of my first posts as a blogger/artist. In this post, I have a mix of travel photos as well as sketches. Published in June 2015, it is an account of a week long trip to northern parts … Read More
Apprehensive Amalia at 33 years old. This week’s vintage sketch is based on a small, blurry passport photo (see below) taken in January 1934, a few weeks before she sailed from Genoa to North America. During the seven years … Read More
This Singer sewing machine is another treasured possession of mine. I remember all the beautiful clothes my Italian grandmother made for me with it. First published in June 2015, this post was written at the very beginning of my journey … Read More
Cuba’s cars are still classy. Final post in a three-part series. This post was previously published in 2016. I had fun researching popular songs from the fifties that tell of a North American obsession with cars. Other posts about Havana … Read More
“You start as a phony and become real.” – Glenn O’Brien, American writer and critic also known as the “Style Guy”. (glennobrien.com) This post was first published in 2016, a few months after I had been blogging. Since then, … Read More
“Cuba is like going to a whole other planet.” —Henry Louis Gates, American historian, film maker, Harvard University professor. Part 2 in a three part series. With people heading south to escape our Canadian winter, I am reminded of a … Read More
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. ~H. … Read More
Writing and painting in a journal…and setting goals. Lately, I have not had time for complicated art projects so after staring at the blank pages in art journals, I am completing a few more pages here and there. In this … Read More
(This post was published last year. Many of the techniques used in journals are found in this portrait. I thought she looked ready for a New Year’s Eve party. Wishing you all a healthy, happy, and creative new year!) She’s … Read More
Fashion illustration: working with a time limit Using collage as background and as part of the illustration is another one of those time saving methods I have recently tried in a journal. This simple page was inspired by a workshop … Read More
“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.” ~ Peggy Bracken