So It Has a Name

Last weekend when I put up my Sunday Sketch I put up a  doodle I did when my cable was out. I just did it with a couple of pens. No big deal. Just doodling.
After I posted my link to my Sunday Sketch I had a couple of people tell me that it was a zentangle.....who knew. I had no idea what a zentangle was. Turns out it some sort of mediative  drawing or doodling. According to zentangle.com  "Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity. Zentangle provides artistic satisfaction and an increased sense of personal well being"
 
 They also call it a "elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life" and also "mediative". You can buy kits and books...they've taken doodling to a whole new commercial thing.

I did a search on Etsy. There are a lot of them on there. But for me, it's just a doodle. I do that when I'm bored. I always have. When I go to meetings my notes are filled with doodles.  So inspired by the beautiful doodles or zentangles in color, I decided to do another and enhance it with watercolor and here it is.

It is available in my Etsy Shop at this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/69525379/mixed-media-aceo-original-sea-of-life
.....thanks for reading. Joann Y Wheeler

Art Giveaway From The Dawg Group

Time for a new art collection giveaway from our talented artists from the DAWG GROUP,

1. Post and Follow our Blog.

2. Show us that you have twittered it!

3. Show us that you have posted it on facebook, Show us the links.

4. Show us that you have posted it on a forum on etsy,

that is 4 times you can be entered to win these amazing aceo's, all original artwork!

Our DAWG TEAM Site Link

Our DAWG TEAM On ETSY Group Link

Follow us on FACEBOOK

Winner will be announced HERE on Feb. 14th

So Get busy and enter and spread the word!

Check us out on Etsy

Search DAWG TEAM

New Dawg Team ART ACEO Giveaway

WE HAVE A WINNER!!
LEE PIERCE
Thanks so much!
Will Start a New One in a few Days!!


We have so many wonderful artists in our DAWG TEAM, They love giving away their art to a lucky winner each month! So Here is how you can

win,

 

1. Post and Follow our Blog.

2. Show us that you have twittered it!

3. Show us that you have posted it on facebook, Show us the links.

4. Show us that you have posted it on a forum on etsy,

that is 4 times you can be entered to win these amazing aceo's, all original artwork!

Our DAWG TEAM Site Link

Our DAWG TEAM On ETSY Group Link

 

Winner will be announced HERE on Jan. 15th So Get busy and enter and spread the word!

Check us out on Etsy

Search DAWG TEAM

New Group On Etsy

Etsy has come up with new Group format for teams, so we have made a new team place for our Dawg Group, CLICK HERE it will take you to that page, If you are a dawg member and haven't joined, please do so!

We have some new members that have joined up and we are happy to have them.

I am looking for someone that is interesting in being the co captain of the team of etsy, to help spread our Dawg Team Art, to help with treasuries and whatever else needs to be done.  If you are interested please contact me at lparker1116@yahoo.com 

I need you!! So If you are willing to work with me, contact me immediately!

The Dawg Group is more than just a group to me, they are my extended family, our Main Site

CLICK HERE

This is where we share in talking, art, photos, swaps and more, So  please join us if you fit our group!

Here is a few new Items from our Group, Please come by and enjoy them!

Santa Box by Sue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Snowman ACEO By Brenda

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At The Cross Bookmark By Lisa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12 Days of Christmas ACEO Prints

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vintage Snow Scene

We have so many Great Items for sale

with our Dawg Team

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL

and today is the feast of Saint Nicholas...

Who's got a beard that's long and white? 

Saint Nick will forever be linked to Santa Claus

and by the way

was there any coal in your shoes this morning?

or were you good , like me

and found oranges and chocolates? 

Painter's Block?

Do you ever get painter's block? I sure do. Sometimes I can go for hours without an idea. Or worse yet I'll work on several pieces of art and since I'm not inspired they turn out terrible and end up in the trash can.

So in one of my art block moments I was looking for ideas online and found some interesting ideas that I'll share with you. I found them at Suite101: 14 Creative Ideas for Creating Art: Two Weeks of Painting Exercises

The  site suggests going on nature walks, picking up pebbles and painting them. I was thinking with all these trees dropping their leaves it might even be fun to do one of just leaves. And another suggestion, looking out your window and paint whatever is there. I have done that on occasion but you can only have so many paintings of your backyard LOL!

Another tip was to  look through your frig for some pieces of fruit or vegetatbles or to paint just blades of grass.  I was thinking well even anything just close up could make a good piece of art. One time I just painted a zoomed it, closeup of two Christmas ornaments. It is pictured to the left.
Now if you like the steam punk kind of thing this idea might speak to you (but not to me). The idea was to take a natural element and paint it as if it were made from a man-made material. Like painting a flower as if it was made of metal. That just sounds strange to me but I'm sure there are people it would appeal to.

The webpage also talked about ideas for painting humans. Like painting a human form no bigger than 2” tall. Well we ACEO artists know all about 2.5 inch sized subjects! LOL

One idea that I thought might be fun to try one of these days was to paint  a human form by painting only negative space or painting just half a face, filling the whole canvas with the subject. It kind of reminds me of some of those profile photos on Facebook.

Well hopefully these ideas will help stimulate your creativity. It did mine!

Read more at Suite101: 14 Creative Ideas for Creating Art: Two Weeks of Painting Exercises http://www.suite101.com/content/14-creative-ideas-for-creating-art-a138290#ixzz151Qqisw4

New Art Giveaway From The Dawg Team

Time for a New Art Colletion Giveaway

 from the Dawg Team

Here is the Dawg Team Link Group Page

Here is our Facebook Fan Page

When you are shopping on etsy, please type in

DAWG TEAM and you will find all our goodies that we

sell!! We have some wonderful artists and crafts that are for sale! Time to start that Christmas Shopping!

DAWG TEAM ON ETSY

Ok So let's start this great giveaway, just comment!! here and please pass it on to others so they can get in on it too!

These are the wonderful ACEO Artcards that you will receive if you are the winner

Donaters are

Gina Sutton

Mary Fox

Barbara Haviland

Sue Taylor

Lisa Parker

So Comment to Win!!



Winner of the DAWG TEAM Art Aceo's

Well our entries were LOW this time, but the winner is Marlene Hawkins!  LazyHawk

Congratulations!

I will be mailing them off to you this week!

Thanks to our Dawg Members that donated for our Giveaway!

A Great Giveaway from the Dawg Team

Come Join our Team We would love to have you! CLICK HERE

We have some Great Donated ART ACEO Cards from Our Dawg Team! 

On Etsy Type in DAWG TEAM to find all our great items that our team makes and sales!

Ways to Win

1. Comment Here

2. Twitter this and show us the link back here

3. Facebook it and show us the link here

4. Follow our Blog

So you  have 4 chances to win on this great giveaway! 

To be given away on October 31st.

Our winner will be selected with the RandomPicker Site.

Donaters of Art ACEO's This Time

Check out their stores!

Joann Wheeler  Etsy Store CLICK

Barbara Haviland Etsy Store CLICK

Kathyrn Kelton Etsy Store CLICK

Lisa Parker Etsy Store CLICK

Lee Pierce Etsy Store CLICK

Gina Sutton

New Art Giveaway For October

We have some Great Donated ART ACEO Cards from Our Dawg Team! 
On Etsy Type in DAWG TEAM to find all our great items that our team makes and sales!

Ways to Win

1. Comment Here

2. Twitter this and show us the link back here

3. Facebook it and show us the link here

4. Follow our Blog

So you  have 4 chances to win on this great giveaway! 

To be given away on October 25th.

Our winner will be selected with the RandomPicker Site.

Donaters of Art ACEO's This Time

Check out their stores!

Joann Wheeler  Etsy Store CLICK

Barbara Haviland Etsy Store CLICK

Kathyrn Kelton Etsy Store CLICK

Lisa Parker Etsy Store CLICK

Lee Pierce Etsy Store CLICK

Gina Sutton

Fun with paint...

Glowing Bamboo

I had so much fun working with Daniel Smith duochrome paint that I had to do more.

The background is cactus flower and the bamboo in the background is desert bronze and saquaro green.

At one angle it appears bronze or gold, at another angle shades of green are visible.

The top layer of bamboo is sap green.

I haven't been able to capture the different colors in a photo, yet!

Christmas Shopping At Your Fingertips!

Don't forget about our Great Art Giveaway, You could be our next Winner Click HERE

Some Great things from the Dawg Team

Christmas is 87 days away, Now is the time to start your Christmas shopping! Here is some wonderful things to shop for! :)

New Art ACEO Giveaway!

NEW Giveaway Time From The Dawg Team Artists

1. YOU must be a follower!

2. You must become a fan of ours on Facebook

3. Please Repost your Blog on your Blog!

We are Still wanting more comments and followers, you have till the 3lst to win these wonderful donated cards!!

 So Come on! Tell your friends too! Check out our art on Etsy, Type in DAWG TEAM to find our art on there!

These are 4 ACEO Cards you will receive this giveaway

Donaters from the DAWG GROUP are

Myrna Migala  SHOP

Brenda Thour  SHOP

Mary Fox  SHOP

Lisa Parker  SHOP

Please take a few moments and look thru these shops! So many great deals going on! Plus just type in

Dawg Team to find all the items listed from our members!

Endless Possibilites

There is an endless possibility with Art! The mediums you can use, the sizes you can choose from, the subjects, it is all endless!

We as artists, big or small, famous or not so famous!, can add joy and color to the world thru art!

                                                                      

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.
Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes -

I know for myself, I can't choose just one medium or one subject, there are too many opportunties out there to choose from.   l love to explore them all, it keeps my mind working in ways that it would otherwise shut down.   

Do you find yourself lost in your work sometimes or

 most of the time!

I am thankful we can express ourselves thru our art.  I am blessed that I am able to dabble in the arts to show off my ideas thru colors and textures.

We are so blessed by God when we can create!

Round Robin

We decided to do a Round Robin and create aceo's. What is a round robin? Well it's where a person starts an aceo, then mails it to the next person to work on, who mails it to the third person to work on, who then mails it to the 4th and last person to finish it. So it is a collaboration of artists to create a unique, one of a kind aceo. We have 8 people who signed up, so we created 2 groups of 4 people. This is just one of the beauties that is now finished.This is the finished artwork, now back to the beginning.

Lisa Parker Started this aceo.

I added the palm tree.

Myrna Migala added the beautiful rainbow.

Then Mary Fox put the added the final touches of the waves and sunshine.

Now isn't she beautiful?

This is a mixed media and we are planning on auctioning them off on ebay, with the proceeds being donated to Haitie. There will be 8 aceo's in all, and they will be put together in a

very cool and unique book.

Crafters in the Closet

So many of us have way more supplies than room to store them. Creative storage solutions are a multimillion dollar business. There are specialty stores, aisles at your local stores and magazines devoted to helping us get all that excess into neat and tidy bins.

My latest wish list includes this bin for $33. A real bargain when you see what it holds! There is even a place for your sketch books! If you are like most artists you can't stop at one medium, one style, or one sketch pad...so this is a great way to keep you organized.

Pencils, watercolors, acrylics, even oils all have a place and dividers to keep you straight. If you are tighter budgeted than medicare you may have to pass on this gem, but don't let that stop you.

I live in a small apartment with a dog, cat, toddler son, baby girl, and a husband. Needless to say there is little Mom space to be found. I found a simple enough place. The closet. It is packed full with a folding easel complete with carry case, plastic totes for each medium, and charming little handmade tags.

It is not as fancy as this box, but it serves it's purpose. Browse your local stores and find what works for you. If you are still drooling over the super satchel model pictured, then click here and add it to your craft closet.

I hope you have more space than I have, and inspiration to spare. Enjoy!

Summer Flowers

This weekend I created 3 new aceo's using acrylic. When I first started painting, I used acrylic, then changed to water soluble oil back in 2004. Seldom do I pull out the acrylics, and I had forgotten how much fun they can be.

This one is Summer Flower aceo

Summer Flower II aceos

Blue Crystal aceo

This one was created using only a palette knife, something I very rarely do, infact I only remember using a palette knife once before in a painting. It was fun!

Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest work. You are the first ones to see these. I haven't even posted them on my own blog yet. Have a fabulous day!

Out Smarting the Kitties

All of you "Cat People" can probably relate to my story.  I have 2 cats..LeeLu and Lily. I spend more money at the pet store buying things I just KNOW the girls will like.  My husband  says, "You waste your money. They won't like that."  I always want to prove him wrong.

My problem is I watch all those infomercials that make it look like your cat will love whatever the item is.This time I was sure that it would be different. So I go to the pet store and buy a self grooming cat brush (you know the one in an arch) and an emery scratching board (the one where the TV cat stretches and scratches and looks so happy).

I buy them, set them up-- No Interest.  I soak them in catnip--No interest.  OH, I thought I can outsmart those girls.  I pull out the laser pointer. They love to chase it around. I point it under the arch of the self grooming brush thinking they'd go under it brush themselves and see how good it feels..nope. They just ran around it.  I gave up.  Then I decide well maybe they need a demonstration of how to use the scratching board so I kneel down and demonstrate scratching the board.  They watched and looked very interested. Then Lily decided it was more fun to put her paw under the board, playing with a toy she swatted under there.

I give up...instead of outsmarting the kitties I think they have outsmarted me.

~~~The above ACEO Original Watercolor is available in my Etsy shop-Painted Panache by Joann Y Wheeler. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40817607

Little Things Along the Way

Lily White

I've been having such a difficult time finishing projects I decided to do a few small works while the large projects are in progress.









Little Villa 1

At least I get a sense of accomplishment from finishing little paintings.












Royal Purple

It helps to stave off the urge to hurry the large work and create a mess by not waiting for the paint to dry.












Little Villa 2


Plus I don't fall into the trap of working on the same thing for so long I get bored with it before it's finished.

Fun in the Dawg "Pound" Art Group

Fun, that is what I want everyone to think of when they join and participate in the Dawg Art Group!

We always have fun things going on in the group, Do you like to do ACEO's and Love the Lord and of course you are a woman, Then why don't you think about joining our Online Group.  We have wonderful ladies from all over the world!!  Friends forever because the love of our art and aceo's brought us together!

We have a monthly Art Quest "challenge" to truly keep everyone on their painting toes!! :)  This month is
Roosters, Cows or Chinese Brushstroke!!


We are now voting on the March Art Quest and we need Votes badly, anyone can vote if you are on facebook here is the link
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=114354985245453&index=1


So Come and Join in the Fun http://www.designingartists.ning/   We have many fun mini groups too!