ART for the SOUL of it

February 27, 2025

Coming Up in March: Chairs!

In December I sent out to all my students a feedback survey. It was chockful of things they wanted to pursue further in their art. For years and years now I have come up with pretty non-repeating themes each month. Sometimes, like color theory, we will revisit this infinite subject, but always with a new twist. But one request, from those artists who have been with me years now, was to paint Chairs again. So that is our March theme.

February 06, 2025

Magic Slippers?

By JoanieART

If I am not painting these days I am sewing. [After a 50 year hiatus of not sewing!] Here's a fun little project I just finished..... I love a project where I can just grab a bag of my colored scraps and finish something by day's end. Quilts are not like that! My feet are always cold! I have an uninspiring collection of designated "wear around the house" disreputable and holey socks. But then I spied this diy slipper idea on youtube and of course had to try it. All the better that it will use up my color coded scraps. Red won as color of the day. So I pieced together all these bitty scraps and then cut out the pattern. That's always my favorite part - patchworking fabric bits together into something new and unique. Unrepeatable. That's how I paint in my sewing room. Joy! This afternoon, I have a blue/green pair in mind. Fun, eh? What creative stuff are you up to? Blessings, Joanie

January 31, 2025

Coming Up: Abstracted Still Lifes

By JoanieART

Ooh, this is going to be fun. We will start by taking our everyday objects, learn some basic comp osition techniques, arrange and rearrange our personal items, take pictures for a multitude of possibilities, then begin to learn a few tips to not go so much toward Detail as Suggestion ! Join us.......this month long, 4 week session, starts this coming week. There's no one way to create abstraction, but rather multiple approaches. We will cover these so each artist can experiment with the approach that fits their painting goals. As for January, per usual, we focussed on Color Theory . This time we chose quite unusual and limited palettes with a "wild child" for mixing unique and sometimes uncomfortable, or at least unfamiliar color harmonies. The results were fascinating and we each grew out of our comfort zone a bit, and some. This year, another new thing I am throwing into the mix, is a Skill Building prompt for those artists who wish to expand their skills beyond ...

January 07, 2025

About Those Sketchbooks...

By JoanieART

Hi All I got a few inquiries about my sketchbooks I posted about last week. See post here.

January 03, 2025

Happy New Year of Expressing Your Creativity

By JoanieART

We did it, believe it or not, we breezed through yet another year. As I age, Time seems ever more mysterious. It does not seem arithematical and precise at all, but more fluid, elastic, alive and willful? And we its mere servants.

October 31, 2024

Nov+Dec Theme: Wintery Holidays

By JoanieART

Hi folks Firstly, here's our next theme beginning first week of November and including the first 2 weeks of December....when we take a break until the New Year. This opens up oodles of possibilities, so think Holidays Wrapped gifts Thankfulness Beautiful table settings Feasts Family Quietness Snowy scenes Limited only by your imagination! Another month flew by ... And some dolls were painted! Here are a few of mine... Wishing each of you a wonderful wintery season. Even here in Northern California, the land of two seasons, the summer is clearly behind us. Brrrr! Bring on the rain, hot chocolate and k-dramas. Lol. Embrace your Creativity! Come join us online for some painting inspiration.... End your year with a creative burst along with the most awesome, kind and dear art community. Get in touch! Blessings always, Joanie

October 02, 2024

Oct Theme: DOLLS

By JoanieART

Hi folks,

September 04, 2024

Sept Theme: What's Your Morning Ritual?

By JoanieART

Let your mind wander.....from your favorite brunches to your daily eyes close make your coffee routine. Think up different ways to create a painting out of this theme...... Classes begin next week (we are taking Labor Day week off for a bit of R & R.)

July 28, 2024

AUG Theme: Nature Studies

By JoanieART

Greetings my artsy friends, I announced last week that our next theme is Garden and Nature....well here's a bit more of a specific spin on it to get your creative juices flowing. Vines, trunks and branches! And do I have an album of inspiration for us all. Up in the Seattle area, my daughter and I visited a Bonsai exhibit and a Rhododendron Jungle. Oh my, the richness and beauty. The very Breath of Nature. Loads of pictorial inspiration. A quick little ink drawing this morning on mixed media paper with some graphite finger smudges to add some value. I am proposing Ink for our medium then adding softness with either watercolor or chalk pastel for some evocative backgrounds. But per usual for all my classes, I offer the prompt, and you and your Muse decide on which direction you want to take this. Come join us.....openings in Wednesday AM Zoom classes. 10am to noon California time. Or receive the videos and send me your weekly project for feedback all on your own time. More on...

July 23, 2024

Tartan Plaids and my First Improvisational Quilt

By JoanieART

I scored this collection of Tartan plaids. All wool, close to 8 x 12 inch pieces. They each had two little holes where they had been on a sampler pack. I was entranced by these plaids.....and just knew that if I continued to percolate with ideas, one would come to the fore. It did. I began to slice and dice...to give it a more modern look. As is, the plaid reminded me of parochial school uniforms. LOL. I LOVE the wonky curvy stripes, don't you? Then i started laying them out....not sure what the heck I was going to do with these. And these were just little bits of scraps to insert whereever needed. You can tell I am struggling here....but I finally went to bed, very discouraged, only to wake up in the morning with a brainstorm. It needed a cohesive idea, some Unity - and for me that was a centerpiece. This central concept is called a Log Cabin....so here's my rather wild improv on that. You can see where I inserted those little scrappy color bits. Adds a bit of charm I think...

July 10, 2024

A quilt I call JOINING

By JoanieART

Well, this was just plain fun. Kind of a pattern, kind of not. Called a split bulls eye. I collected a bunch of scraps, cut circles of 3 sizes layered them up on pieces of denim and sewed them together only to do what quilters do cut them up AGAIN and reassemble then sew them up. I did add quite a bit of meandering machine quilting to start, but then went to town with my hand stitching which i LOVE LOVE LOVE to do. It's a meditation. So here she is - a beautiful and Warm couch quilt. Winter time divine. For me, I call it JOINING.