Weeks 2 & 3-Paper Sculpture Leaves-Elementary/Teen Art Classes

We did a 2 week project in both my elementary and teen classes.  I was really pleased in how it turned out and I think the students enjoyed doing this project as well.  We used a product that I just learned about called Paperclay.

It's available at Michael's, folks!(Bring your 40% off coupon!)

Probably the hardest part of the project is going out and finding suitable leaves.  This is definitely a early fall project here in Virginia because you don't want to use dried leaves.  I went out each morning we were doing this to get fresh leaves for the kids to use.

Disclaimer:  I have to fess up and let you know that this is NOT my original idea for an art project.  I didn't even know Paperclay existed until I found this lesson plan from my good friends at Dick Blick.

The kids rolled out the Paperclay and pressed the clay onto the BACKS of the leaves.  I had to explain to them that it wasn't going to look as nice if we used the fronts because we needed the veins to be protruding on the leaves.  It brought up a great discussion with the little kids on what leaves were the best to use out of the bag I brought.  Hydrangea?  Good leave to use.  Maple?  Not so good but a challenge never-less.

Another challenge was getting the little kids to understand that they needed to make holes in their clay leaves BEFORE the leaves had dried.  I had a couple of kids disappointed when they tried to make holes at the end of the project when they decided they wanted string to hang them.

I used take-out boxes from Dollar Tree for them to place their leaf sculptures in.  This made it easy for me to transport home and bring back to class the next week.

The following week had us use tube watercolor paints to paint our leaves.  I find that most children do not have experience with tube watercolor paints.  They think watercolors are basically the pan watercolors in the 6 dishes that get yucky after you use them for awhile.  I explained to the kids that it is my mission in life to BAN those watercolor boxes from kids' to use!  I think it turns them off from wanting to use watercolors. 

I had the kids try to experiment by using different colors between dried layers of color.  I used my samples to show them how wonderful purple looks shaded on top of green. 

The final step is what I think makes this project look really good.  I let the kids chose a Pearl EX pigment powder which I mixed in acrylic medium to wash over their leaves. 

It gave the leaves a beautiful iridescent finish that really made them look wonderful.

I would love to know what you think of our project.  I think the kids really enjoyed this one!

Thanks for reading!

"Emily's Donuts, #1", Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas, 4"x4", FOR SALE

"Emily's Donuts, #1", acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, 4"x4"

Until very recently I have been grain free/gluten free.  For about 2 years.  For some reason(maybe it's because I have been looking at a lot of Wayne Theibaud paintings), I have fell off the gluten-free wagon.  Usually it's my kids that talk me into going to the closest donut shop.  Recently it is ME who is suggesting donuts.

This is a tiny painting I did.  It's 4 inches by 4 inches on gallery wrap canvas.  I did something different tonight.  Usually I meticulously draw out my subject on the canvas first before I start painting.  My philosophy is that if I can figure out all the problems out in the drawing process then I will have less trouble when I start to paint.

I was just too anxious to get in the studio tonight.  I just wanted to paint but all my "work in progress" paintings were not inspiring me this evening.  So, I unwrapped this small canvas and just started going at in.  It felt great to finish a painting in one evening.  My mixed media paintings take so many steps that it is rare that I get a finished piece in one night.

I am selling this through my Daily Paintworks site.  FREE shipping to the lower 48 states.

Thanks for reading. :)

Social Artworking

Soon I will start offering paint nights using paint and designs from Social Artworking.  I picked the designs from this particular company because I thought the designs were fun to do and look at.  I am available to do paint parties at your location.  Cost per participant will be $35.00 which includes all supplies.  If this is something that you are interested in doing with your friends, please contact me at lisabwiertel@gmail.com and we can talk further.  I have included some of the fall designs that I would like to offer.  I would love to know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Merrily, Merrily", Mixed Media on Panel, 6"x6"

This is mixed media piece that is composed of a lot of different materials and has been well over a year in creation.  I know a year sounds like a long time but read below to give you details into my process.

The wren was drawn with Prismacolor art pencils on mixed media paper about a year and a half ago. I tend to keep a portfolio in my car with various art supplies.  I have 3 kids-17, 15 and 10 and I am driving around a lot.  I tend to be waiting for them in cars whether they are a sports practice, doctor's appointments or a music lesson.  I hated not using that time in a fulfilling way.  I was finding myself surfing social media on my iPhone or calling someone on the phone to take about nothing special.  Having my art supplies handy means that I am always creating and a few steps away from a completed painting.

This is how this piece started-in my car being drawn while waiting for my kids.  Just a single solitary wren looking for a home!

The brown background is on a wood panel.  I did something new that I am going to explore more in the future.  I used modeling paste that I colored with Liquitex gold acrylic paint and put it through a stencil.  I still had no idea what the end result was going to be.  I added the vintage sheet music and pieces of lace that I cut out.    Then I realized that this was a good surface place to put the wren that had been nesting in my studio.

This piece is available to purchase through Daily Paintworks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Art Inspiration

My son has been mountain-biking for over a year now.  That means that I spend a lot of time at various parks hiking while he mountain bikes with his team.  That is great for me because I love being outdoors in any kind of weather.  I find that being outside inspires me continually.  I see things and it is almost like it goes in a file cabinet in my brain to recall when I need inspiration.  I find this especially true on cold, dark winter days.  Sometimes I think that those memories are what get me through winter.

I thought it would be nice to share images that I took on Sunday as I hiked close to 6 miles in Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia.  I had never been there before and I won't make it my last visit.

Light reflecting off of leaves is something that I find myself over and over again taking pictures of or just staring at.  Sometimes it's trying to figure out all the different colors of green that I am seeing.  Or it might be how the light shines on certain leaves almost making them turn white.  How the limbs of trees intersect each other and the designs they create entertain me.

Being outside in nature relaxes me in a way that nothing else does. I don't feel anxious at all being by myself even if I am miles away from the nearest parking lot or road.  My senses are more in-tuned with what is around me.  I feel comfort being there at that moment.

Sometimes I fantasize about hiking the whole AT.  I would love to have my body synchronize to the light.  I would love to wake up in the early morning and go to sleep when it's dark.   Most of all I would love to experience everything that the Appalachian Trail has to offer me as an artist.  More things to file in my file cabinet in my brain.

Thanks for reading my random thoughts,

Week 1-Elementary Art-Wayne Thiebaud-inspired sculptures

Yay!  It's fall!  That means that school has started and I am back teaching art lessons to students.

I am teaching at Williamsburg Classical Academy which is a  homeschool co-op.  I have 2 classes-an elementary art class and a teen art class.

I wanted to get the elementary students excited about this year so I wanted to do a project where we could complete it in one class.  

Wayne Thiebaud is a contemporary artist who has made himself famous by painting everyday objects production style.

The kids were interested in knowing that Wayne Thiebaud is still alive.  I had them figure out how old he was since he was born in 1920(it's always good to throw some math in there!).

 The kids and I discussed things that we like to draw and create which lead itself into showing them that you can use just about any subject for your art piece.

The cupcake painting was a good transition to introducing our project.

I found this lesson plan on the Dick Blick educator site.The problem was that one of key supplies for the project is discontinued.  It was a spreadable thick acrylic-based paint.  I had to find a substitute so I searched Pinterest and found this recipe for a homemade modeling paste.  This was great because modeling paste is usually pretty expensive and I didn't want to be stingy when I was handing it out.

I picked some bright colors for the cupcake "frosting" and pre-made a bunch of it before class.  I did have to mix some blue later on when we ran out but it wasn't that big of a deal.   I was getting used to eye-balling the measurements.

The kids really enjoyed "frosting" their cupcakes.

Then then decorated them with bead "sprinkles" in various colors.  I had some little red pom-poms in case they wanted to put a cherry on top of them.  They all seemed to enjoy the project.  Here are their results:

I hope you enjoyed these.  Next week will be our Paperclay leaves which the teen class started last week.  Fun, beautiful project.

Thank you for reading!

Williamsburg Plein Air Art Show 2017

Today I got to spend a relaxing day in Colonial Williamsburg.

The Williamsburg Celebrates Contemporary Art Show was this weekend along with the Plein Air Event sponsored by Williamsburg Housing Partnerships.  I had done the show once before about 2 years ago and it poured rain that day.  It was so rainy and humid that the acrylic paint on my canvas was taking a long time to dry.  That had never happened to me before.

After skipping last year, I thought I would do the show again but decided to use watercolors.  I have been playing around with watercolors a lot the past year especially when I am out "urban sketching". I bought some Derwent Inktense pencils and blended them with water and liked the effect.  It is fun to change up doing things every now and again and I am finding I am more satisfied artistically speaking if I allow myself to do multiple mediums.

I walked around Colonial Williamsburg the day before the event trying desperately to find inspiration for something to paint the next day.  Nothing really stood out for me although I did have some good ideas of places that I could go.

I got a horrible night's sleep the night before and as soon as I knew it my iPhone was sounding an early 6:15am alarm to wake me up.  Got ready, made coffee and I was off!

I am so used to seeing so many people around Colonial Williamsburg that it was odd seeing so few people there on a early Saturday morning.  I checked in at the tent and proceeded by pulling my red wagon full of stuff to the Governor's Palace.

I really thought that I would paint the Governor's Palace today.  I got there and I just wasn't feeling it. I took one look at all the windows of the palace and let out a sigh.  I have been working on a painting of the Nelson House in Yorktown and I was feeling a little burnt out from painting/drawing windows.

I spent the next hour walking around CW(Colonial Williamsburg) trying to find somewhere that I would be happy painting.  I finally decided to go behind the houses and paint in one of the backyards of the houses.  The Raleigh Tavern was to my right and I could hear the staff working.

As soon as I started I realized that I didn't bring an eraser.

I soon found myself tearing through all my supplies and found a small pencil with a usable eraser in the bottom of my purse.

Finished most of the "hard stuff" at this point.

Problem 2 arose when I let the sun shine on my Inktense pencils.  My yellow was pretty much too soft to sharpen anymore.

The sun soon moved and I had to keep positioning myself out of the sun less I get sunstroke.  The artist life is hard!

I painted from 8am-1pm.  Checked social media for about 15 minutes.  I was posting work in progress reports and enjoyed reading the comments.

I handed in my art work and learned that I was the first one in.  Immediately walked in the William & Mary bookstore to cool off.

I didn't win a prize but better yet I sold the painting!

An employee from the Housing Partnership bought it for her office.  What a compliment!  It totally made my day.

Thanks for reading about my day!

"Longing", Mixed Media on Wood, 4"x4", AVAILABLE

I finally finished this piece and it is now available for sale on Daily Paintworks.

It's a mixed media piece that started out as an ACEO trading card.  I liked it so much that I wanted to incorporate it into a painting.  The ACEO is drawn in Prismacolor pencils and put on an acrylic painted oil that I also used ink on.  I then put vintage lace on it before using Liquitex Pouring Medium on it.

I have it framed in a nice black frame.

FREE shipping to the lower 48 states.

Thanks for stopping by!