A Gaffe and a Laugh

I hope you'll enjoy this little clip, we sure did!
Beware - there's some screaming and laughing!
I hope you won't be offended!



We shot 2 episodes today, and we have 3 more episodes to shoot tomorrow!

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.....

A Little Update featuring Joyce Faulknor

We are now 90% FUNded for our Art2Art Project at Kickstarter! Big Thanks to all of our Backers, wouldn't you like to be a backer too? Click here to find out how? Having problems trying to back us, please email us so we can walk you through it. Thanks

We've been working hard getting ready for our next episodes. We are shooting 5, our largest to date and we are both so excited. It sure doesn't feel like Christmas, I guess I'm in denial until after the shooting this weekend! Then I'll get the Christmas spirit in line....Egads did I have to say "line"!

Thanks for stopping by....

Behind the scenes and FUNded 60% and counting...

We are now 60% funded at KickStarter! BIG THANKS to all our backer's, click here for more information

This is a photo Joyce took at the SWA demonstration last Saturday. This is the same studio that Joyce worked out of two and a half years agp, and the same room that I conducted my very first workshop back in January of 2005! The Society of Western Artists is the first group - association - or society that asked me to conduct a workshop which also happened in 2005. So for me it was pretty special. There is so much to be Thankful for... All that has happened for me in my career as a watercolor artist. As Joyce and I say "and the best is yet to come!"

Below is a photo of Joyce and myself preparing for the 3 episodes to be filmed that day. Look at how relaxed and focused we are placing our tools and fixing our table top for our art director. We really have a small tight group making this shoot very intimate, and we are really merging into an efficient and fun machine. Each time we get together to film, we all bring more to the floor!

Here is the set-up including the shot from the overhead mirror. You can see my boards, the finished painting and the photo references, my palettes with color and Joyce's clean palettes and lots and lots of clean water! I look scared - don't ask me why? And Joyce is looking at me wondering what kind of personality she's gonna have to deal with today, and Matt Chapman our director is trying to get the microphone placed on me.

This was the best day of filming, we got to work with 4 cameras, a new overhead light for the artwork, a pan cam (just for the palettes) and a hand-held for those quick reactions and witty reparte'. The crew was Big Daddy aka Darren Schmidt cameraman, sound-man, art director, Matt Chapman our Director, and instigator of fun and merriment and the one who can get Joyce and me to focus, and Gary Graham, our best and only go-to-guy, set photographer and best boy.

Thanks for stopping by...what are you thankful for?

43% Funded and 80 days to go....

click here to get to the KickStarter Web Page and view our Art2Art Project

Big Thanks to all of you that have already pledged your hard earned money for our project. For those of you that haven't "Come on - jump on board!" KickStarter is a great tool in getting the word out for your project and a way to get funding. This site makes it easy to give and there are great rewards too!
Tomorrow I am demonstrating with watercolor for the Society of Western Artists and I am so excited for this honor. This Society was the first to ask me to instruct a watercolor workshop so of course this is very close to my heart.
Immediately afterward I return to the Gallery which is set up for the next film shoot of Art2Art! Joyce and I are going to paint my Koi!
We are implementing new strategies for better sound and also something extra to invite and engage our viewers. We are all so excited.
We shoot 3 episodes this Sunday, which takes us to 9 episodes just 4 short of our minimum of 13 to get programmed for air KCSM a PBS station!

Thanks for stopping by

Art2Art and the Christmas Card Workshop

This is so COOL, I happened to turn on the guide to see what TV program I'd be watching and wouldn't you know it ART2ART pops up on the menu!!!
I'm home alone and no one to see me doing the funny dance or listen to the hooting and hollering. Oh well. Gotta go soon as this is now playing!

Here's Patti who I haven't seen since her eye surgery. What a trouper Patti is, she had cornea transplant surgery in one eye a couple of months ago, and here she is painting away. She really can't see all that well from her "refreshed" eye as yet, but she couldn't pass up making another Christmas card - it's kinda our tradition. For not being able to see all that well look what a wonderful job she's doing painting her own Eppi or Orchid Cactus.
I'll take more pictures tomorrow of students work from this workshop.

Thanks for stopping by!

On being Thankful...

Angela Shogren honored me with this award! Besides being a watercolorist, she also is a mom, wife, gardener and has lots of fun animals that I would love to have, like potbellied pigs, goats, turkeys and guinea hens! Imagine all the colorful images and watercolor paintings! Whew. Please go and visit her blog, she shares so much....thanks again Angela

I must list 7 things you may not know about me and pass this award onto 7 other blogs.

I thought I'd pass on the 7 deserving blogs first, and then if you want scroll down to the read the 7 things you may find surprising about me.

In no particular order

1. Joyce Faulknor is my "partner" in watercolor, we are complete opposites that work so well together, I hope everyone has a "Joyce" in their lives. I am most grateful for getting to spend my days working alongside her. Go to her blog or website and you'll know why.
2. My cousin Karen Dianne Lee continues building a great community of quilters with her quirky and courageous character.
3. My cousin Andi who does so much I don't know how she fits "life" into a 24 hour day! She is an amazing woman, mother, wife, artist, rancher, business woman, cook, the list goes on and on and all with a great spirit and zest for life.
4. Deb Melmon is an illustrator, designer and working artist that puts such great joy into her illustrations, they are guaranteed to make you smile. Go see for yourself!
5. Jacqueline Gnott a great watercolorist, shares her amazing work almost daily for all of us to view on her blog "Contemporary Realism"
6. Mollie Jones is a watercolorist with a great take on life. She's worked the "circuit" and now concentrates on making art vs making a living at making art. It sure sounds to me like the best place to be. I get to meet Mollie July of next year in Texas and I can hardly wait.
7. Jane Freeman is a watercolor artist that really builds community. She lives out in Minnesota, so she is far from anything she says, so building community is very important for her sanity, go visit her and look at all her beautiful images. I finally met her in Pasadena at the Learning & Product Expo, and she was one of the highlights of that trip for me.
   

7 things you may not know about me....really random ok?

1. I did not go to Art School or get a formal education in Art. I really am self taught, it kept me out of lots of trouble. I did win a scholarship to the Art Academy but wasn't able to fit it into my schedule. I tried Art in college but was too impatient for my instructors.
2. I did go to fashion school to become a fashion designer though! That was a great education, with talented and inspiring instructors and if you've ever watched project runway you kind a get the gist of what school was like but the pressure was 10 times greater. I did work for some talented and not so talented designers, sold my own sweater line, worked for sweater designers and generally had a great time in that profession.
3. From there I started Illustrating and worked for fashion designers and small boutiques and then finally started illustrating for publishers illustrating for high school and college text books, the guts and some covers too! I also worked for a few magazines as a graphic artist and worked up to become Associate Art Director.
   
4. I wanted so desperately as a small child to run away and perform in the circus. I wanted to be with the flying men on the trapeze! I still want sequined white shorts and to fly through the air!
5. I love growing plants and flowers and can spend hours just enjoying the seasons with them, watching the process of life. I am always enthralled and and can easily spend time completely absorbed by their beauty. I think I was a bee or an ant in a previous life.
6. I should be dead as I've survived some pretty amazing accidents, slid down a cliff at an amazing rate of speed, but just rolled when I got to the bottom along with my best friend at the time, and we are both so happy to be here...
7. I am so thankful for all the people in my life, and all the people that have added to my character that are no longer here physically, but are still here with me. And I am so thankful that most of us just really want to be inspired...go get some and be some for someone else....

Thanks for stopping by

Art2Art Behind the scenes

We just finished shooting a 4 part episode this past weekend. We both painted Joyce's Icelandic Poppy image. Here's a picture of us at the start of the weekend while we were still the dynamic duo. I have to give kudos to Joyce, she has painted a lot of my images for this show, it's not that I wasn't up for the challenge, but I do understand better the idea of painting someone else's image. It's so much different than getting excited for what I want to paint.

Below is picture of Matt Chapman our Director and Joyce dancing with anticipation for a great shoot!

I love the shot below, reminds me of Dr Doolittle and the "push me - pull you". Here we are heading in our own directions. We really prepared for this shoot and doubled our productivity, we shot 2 episodes last time. So while in Albuquerque with Joyce, I was able to work on the poppies, while in Pasadena I still worked on the poppies, and when we got home, I got to finally finish.

I love this picture of Joyce, doesn't she look beautiful and with all the talent to boot! Look she has her hand in her bag of tricks.

Giverny Gardens

This commission painting is finished and my wonderful buyer is very happy with it. This is not my usual style, so I had to loosen up quite a bit, and try a lot of softening techniques, but I did have a lot of fun painting it AND it is going to a great home. Besides having a lot of softness there is also a whole lot of brights! This image measures 40 inches wide by 26 inches high.

PASADENA Learning & Product Expo

Here we are at dinner last night. It was a great first day, arriving, unpacking, setting up the workroom, getting familiar with everything. Janie met us and helped us unpack and get settled in the workroom! What a greeting!
We later met with Laurie Humble and all went out to dinner.
Today Joyce and I had our first Art2Art demonstration, and then we really arranged the room for the next workshops and demos.

Back from Albuquerque

Here's a little painting that I was able to work on while Joyce was conducting her workshop for the members of the New Mexico Watercolor Society in Albuquerque. She also judged their Fall Show, and performed a demonstration for the entire membership. I was in another room listening to all the students fall in love with her and her stories and her teaching style and images. The group was a mix of wonderful students, dedicated to their craft and soaked up all that Joyce offered. I worked on this small painting which is a 1/8 of a full sheet, just to get used to the space, lighting, styrofoam bowls to mix paints, and regular room lighting. So this was painted quickly to own the room.

This is a quick study or element of my painting "Passage" and was painted on 1/4 sheet of Arches 300lb cold pressed paper. This is a part of my workshop "The big and small of it" for the Pasadena Learning & Product Expo later this week!

We now have a digital projector, and sound system so we can show Art2Art anywhere, and let all see and hear the show to the best advantage. I just purchased Photoshop Elements for the Mac and am learning that too, so we can really give great presentations for all our demos and workshops.

Thanks for stopping by