39 Years and counting!

Last year artist Jessilyn Brinkerhoff was commissioned to paint some beautiful mural art in my hometown of Medford, Oregon.

Today was the first time I got to see it in person, and my, oh my, it is gorgeous! 

Today Jim and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary, so we went out to lunch and then visited this beautiful art.

It was painted on the pillars holding up a freeway overpass, in Hawthorne Park. There are 12 mural in all. Here are some pics I took, plus some from Jessilyn’s website, which is HERE.

Oh, and while we were there, we were attacked by Zombies!! Well, actually, it was a run called the Running Dead 5K, with proceeds going to Southern Oregon Goodwill. And all the runners were dressed up as various gory zombies. It was hilarious!

Happy painting,

Retta

Doggie Toys to the Rescue!

Our lesson this week for Sketchbook Skool was about using a Grid as an aid to good composition. I hadn't tried that before, and enjoyed it so much!

I didn't have the suggested veggies n fruits, SO... Joey lent me some of her DOGGIE TOYS as "pretenders"!

It was so much fun. Loved the grid idea, and hummed the song "The Great Pretender" for hours. Then found it on youtube and listened to The Platters sing it while I sketched. Can't beat that for a great time. (can click image to enlarge)

"The Great Pretenders"

9 x 12 sketchbook; ink, watercolor,

colored pencil, watercolor pencils

Our teacher this week was Jane LaFazio. Such a creative lady! She not only paints and sketches, but turns those sketches into art quilts, does mixed media art and offers free Tiny Tutorials. If you enjoy artistic variety, visit her blog HERE. 

Happy sketching,

Retta

Dogs an' Ducks!

Just a shortie today. Homework from Week 2 of Sketchbook Skool. 

Assignment from teacher Koosje Koene:
Draw a simple object in colored pencil.

What was that squeak squeak sound I heard, as I looked around the house for a likely subject??

Oh! Joey was playing with her favorite toy: Squeakie Duck.

Thanks for sharing your duck with me for a while, little Miss Joey!

"Your welcome, Momma!"

Happy Sketching,

Retta

Week 2 of Sketchbook Skool - What Was I Thinking?!

Yikes! This 2nd week of Sketchbook Skool took me far outside my comfort zone. The homework assignment was to sketch moving people in ink. Go to the park or somewhere similar and go for it, loosey goosey. No pencil, no eraser, just let the ink fly! The instructor, Melanie Reim, is a professional who travels around the world and also teaches art. She calls this style "Reportage".

That sure isn't my style, but I tried to have a go at it. I know I'd like to loosen up some, but had no way to get out of the house and go to the park this week. So... into the "park" of my backyard I went!

Joey (my girl Mini-Schnauzer) gets ecstatic when her Hero gets home from work. After the quite vocal demand for immediate pets, she tells him "Come on, let's go outside!!" He puts his stuff down, and then she leads the way to the backyard, impatiently looking over her shoulder to make sure he's coming. It's dark by now, illuminated by a yard light. 

So I drafted them as my subjects. Some of it I had to finish later, like the color and waterbrushed shadows. And the top right face of Joey was made the next day, too.

I appreciate that each of the 6 week lessons are taught by a different instructor, and we experiment with different styles, mediums and assignments. I've learned a lot already! I know I need work on drawing people, so this got me started.

Here is the link to Sketchbook Skool, should anyone be interested. It's a 6 week course, with sessions starting and re-starting at varying intervals. And there is a huge online supportive community of artists of all degrees of skill, full of enthusiasm, who will make you feel welcome.

(can click pic to enlarge)

"Daddy's Home"

9 x 12 sketchbook

Kuretake Sumi brush pen,

waterbrush, watercolor pencils

I mean really... what was I thinking, trying to sketch an excited Mini-schnauzer while she streaked around the backyard at night, ecstatic cuz Daddy was home??! But it was a lot of fun and challenging, too.

Happy sketching,

Retta

Joey Wants Beef Stew & Sketchbook Skool Homework #1

I am so excited!

Last week I joined an online 6 week course called Sketchbook Skool. This is the third semester, but the semesters don't need to be taken sequentially.

I joined this one because the subject of the session really spoke to me: Storytelling.

So I thought I'd post my homework assignments here as I go along. After we watched the teaching videos and saw the examples, our first assignment was to sketch "An Illustrated Recipe". Any way we choose, any theme we choose.

Here is my version of Crockpot Beef Stew. As you can see, Joey was VERY interested in what I was doing. She kept her eyes on me the whole time!

(can click pic to enlarge)

9 x 12 sketchbook

ink, watercolors

watercolor pencils 

colored pencils, acrylics

Anyone interested in Sketchbook Skool can check it out HERE.

Thanks for visiting. And try the beef stew, it's actually quite good!


Happy painting,

Retta

PS: yep, I know how to spell School. But they are a quirky bunch at Sketchbook Skool. Anything having a "k" sound gets spelled that way! Such as skool, klass, kourse, etc. They're a fun bunch!

Meet My Studio Assistant!

It's been awhile since I shared some of Jim's photos. I've filled in the gaps with pics from my little Canon Powershot to introduce to you, in photo journalism style, my official Studio Assistant. 

Her name is Joey. She is energetic, mischievous, innocent, always in a good mood, and far too intelligent for her own good.

Did you say... she must be a Mini-Schnauzer?? Why yes, you are correct!! Her nickname when she was a baby was Greased Lightening. :-D

Without further ado, here is this little Mini-Schnauzer's story in picture form.

 

(You can click on any to enlarge)

I hope you enjoyed meeting my Studio Assistant, Joey!

Retta

PS: Why does Joey make such a good Studio Assistant??

• She is ALWAYS in a good mood, and it's contagious.
• I MUST pick up after myself, or she will steal stuff to use as Toys.
• She can tell time; always tells me when it's time for Jim to get home, so I can wrap up what I'm doing.
• She will always get excited when the Kitties show up, so I know to cover any open paint.
• She is high energy and needs my attention often; keeps me from sitting too long in one position and letting rigor mortis set it :-D
• Did I mention she is always in a good mood?? That is partly how she got her name, because she is so full of JOY. :-)