My cup runneth over !

Oh my ........ I am so blessed
Here it is.
I received the day before Thanksgiving the Amazing Book of LAPIN (which I won), that illustrator I had told you about in a previous post..... this is his link ->
http://les-calepins-de-lapin.blogspot.com
First,
 it was wrapped in such a cool way.
Second,
 it has fabulous illustrations in it ( i include one of my favorite pages)
and Third
the little paper they took out of the hat with my name on it was included on the last page for me with a drawing of that event.
How cool is that !!

BUT I'm not finished
I saved the best for last.

Here is SHEILA TAJIMA !
She came to visit her brother who lives in my city, San Diego.....  !
We had a french pastry together.
How awesome is that !
Here are the pics.
Of course I had to introduce her to Grace !

What a fabulous day it was !

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Go PLAY my Puzzle !

A friend shared with me this site where you can make any picture into a puzzle. I don't know about you but I love puzzles but I DO NOT LIKE having those puzzles all put together and now what do you do with them ?!?!   ( seeing them glued up...  yuk ! )
So this is a screen shot of the artwork but you will have, so go to the link to play !  Have fun.

Click on this (>

http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=2818045116fb

A NEW DAY !

8  x  10   Acrylic

This is for Camille' moleskin- her theme is Peace or anything we wanted.

So I wanted something that brings me the "hope of peace" and a sunrise is what did it for me.

For with each new day is a fresh start.

I worked on those clouds a while, you would think they're easy but I had a dickens of a time with them.

As surely as the sun rises, he will appear. Hosea 6:3

" Devlin & Callie "

7  x  9  Watercolor pencils

This is Devlin and Callie for Liz Holm moleskins on The Flying Moleskins project. Her theme is portraits and the one done by Dana of her mom is so beautiful..... so mine went to the dogs !!!

 I am a dog lover and these two are so cute it was such a pleasure to draw them.

I haven't used my watercolor pencils in a while and thought it would be the perfect medium for these 2 pups.

The wonder of motherhood !

I took my daughter out to lunch at this great sandwich place. I always have my camera with me and while I was inside picking up our order this is what she did.
Wrote a note and took a picture of herself but she did not tell me about it and it is only upon downloading my pictures a few days later that I saw this.
I am blessed !    = )

Love is Patient...

                                                       12 x 16   Acrylic

This piece was done in the colors of the wedding and their future household for a good friend of my daughter from college who got married on Saturday
" Terrence and Kimberly Hale " at one point he sang to her ( he has an amazing voice ) and there was not one dry eye in the crowd. Then we rejoiced with good food and dancing.
What else can top that.
I pray each one reading these verses would get the full impact of their powers.
( if you want something like this just e-mail me )

" the road ahead "

                                                           7 x 9 Acrylics

This is for Angela's moleskins of "the flying moleskins"project . it seems that I reverted to what I like to paint, roads, trees and such with shadows. ( I guess it's my theme in your book Angela) Sorry !

May the road ahead for you be always filled with laughter, mercy, grace, but especially love dear Angela. Hope you like it. 

It's coming your way Michelle

" GRACE "

                                                    8  x  10    Oil

This is Grace my chocolate labrador. I have many pictures of her but until now I had never done an oil painting of her or any other animal btw.

I have to say the original painting looks so much better. I had a hard time adjusting the browns it was getting so green and red. 

Oh well, here she is looking as I'm getting ready to go and wondering will I take her with me ?
BTW I purposefully choose a picture that was somewhat blurry because I wanted a more painterly feel, as I had to just make up some of the areas. It forces me to just paint with out being too precise. I have a tendency to be exact so I try to find ways to get me in the opposite direction.

" ASHLEY "

                                        

8 x 10      Pen & Ink

          

                            8 x 10     Pen & Ink, Watercolor, Colored Pencil

My daughter has a good friend who just got married these are from pictures I took of her.
The background is the color of her bridesmaids dresses.
A beautiful young lady in & out .

If you know someone interested in having an art piece done like this of your wedding dress e-mail me at artbydominique at yahoo dot com

My Stuff

                                                      8  x  10      Oil

Well this one is for Adebanji's Moleskins and his theme is Homelessness / Poverty.
I've been thinking about this book for months and I like painting faces so I've been taking pictures of different people I see around my city (San Diego) wanting to get one that represent what I hoped to portray.
But it seems that something else was in the works for me.
A few days ago this picture jumped at me walking downtown with Tiffany. I thought it was striking as it was making this homeless stuff so in your face with the lights and shadows.
So I've been thinking about it and it seem as we all consider Our stuff to be very important, yet we will not be able to take it with us when we die and most of our children do not like our stuff so they will sell it as soon as we're gone to get their stuff. So, I guess this reminder is for me, to take my stuff with a light heart and be ready to give it away to those that might need it more than me, after all it's only STUFF.
God doesn't bless us to increase our standard of living.
God blesses us to increase our standard of giving.
He gives us money to check our hearts. If you love money you will use people. If you love people you will use money.

" His Glory "

                                                            8  x  10  Oil

Well first off I have to admit I am not very good with my own deadlines, sorry for this late entry.
This is for Dean moleskin for the "flying moleskins " project. I knew what I wanted to paint but to do it with out fear is another question, and in someone else's book yikes !!
But here it is Hope you like it Dean
Isaiah 6:3  The whole earth is full of his glory.

My last oil portrait for now

                                                               11 x  14  OIL

Well here is the last portrait done in the class. Every time I see something I want to paint it but I seem to have a very limited amount of time to paint right now but I am working on changing that real soon.
My pile of pictures to paint is getting very big.....
Hope your summer is staying cool here it was 107 yesterday !?!? yikes

Life drawing session

                                                            

                                                              

                                                                  
Well I was able to go to this life drawing session which had this lovely model. I haven't done something like this in years. When she came back from her break she had panties and boots on !?!
BTW ...... that's me in the back with my pink shirt !
I have asked if they could set up a long pose one day for me and a few others to paint in Oil... HooWoo !

Another exercise !

                                                         8  x 10   OIL

Here an other portrait exercise. I really enjoyed painting him for the look he has is a bit different from most models.
I am loving OIL'S

( Tiffany is back safe and sound... YEA !!!  She is tired and a bit sick but all is good. Will post pictures and such soon )

Venice night's

                               11 x 9  Oil ( On Gessoed watercolor paper )

                                                                     DETAIL
This is for Vern. I have to thank him for getting me started in Oil so I had to jump in and try doing it in his moleskins for the flying moleskins project.
Since he has been creating scenes from his trip to Germany I thought I would do the same and give him a scene from my trip to Italy.
This is the only night scene I have of Venice and I've been wanting to paint it.
So here you are Vern, a first for me, a scene at night in oil.
(Just got an update on Haiti.. The group is making an impact - they are on the radio and news of Port O Prince for how much they are blessing the city of Jeremie)

Oh Well !

Well here is another piece I did but this one got really messed up but I thought I would post it anyway. Not all we do as artist are beautiful !?!?
Here the black got mixed in my skin colors so her face became ashen and grey. I'm grateful she was the model and not someone I know, yikes !
But this is where you learn from your mistakes.

(BTW -Tiffany is now in Haiti the only thing I know is all is going well from a tweet sent to www.impact195haiti.com )

"tea pot, gourde and dead rose"

                                                8 x 10      Oil

Well here is another of my exercises for my oil class. Not the best but I am really liking this oil paint. The only thing I have to get use to is wiping my brush so much in between colors and such. But I love how the paint mixes and blends.
I had to get a regular job to make ends meet so I am not posting as much sorry.

HAITI

Tiffany leaves for HAITI on June 4 thanks to all that donated.
It has been a exciting 2 weeks for I got to experience the power of a dollar added to another and so on. Incredible things happens when someone is willing to give of their time and resources to bless others in need.
I pray for all that gave to received a hundred fold of what they gave.
THANK YOU

FUTURE OF FORESTRY

Tiffany has passed the halfway mark ... YEA !

                                                                          8 x 23   Acrylic

This is for Edward's book for The Flying Moleskins. His theme is MUSIC. So my piece is about a band with a name I love since trees are involved........ lol
Future of Forestry is a musical group my daughter introduced me to. She brought me to a concert of theirs at Christmas time in San Diego. I was blown away by the sound they had. So different yet powerful, even with the traditional Christmas pieces.
This song is called SLOW YOUR BREATH DOWN from their new CD     " Travel III " it is beautiful and will be out in June.
This is a Christian band and they are getting a lot of traction on MTV and other arenas.
I hope you listen to them and enjoy them as much as I do.

I've always loved the Cello but when I saw this one I was blown away.

This instrument I still don't know what it is but the sound it makes is beautiful.
Burst into jubilant song with music.  ps 98:4

They are on U-TUBE HERE

Please help !

This is from my daughter Tiffany who hopefully will embark on an incredible life giving trip to HAITI if you can help please do.
She is trying to raise the money to go.
You can send your donation using the  BUTTON on the side bar

Hi my name is TIffany Neal,
I've been blessed with the op portunity to go to Haiti for 3 weeks to help restore the community and bring hope to its people....
Our purpose for Haiti is to transform Jeremie, the city & it's 35,000 people, into a vessel of hope for the nation. The recent earthquake didn't just devastate Haiti, but also revealed to the world the devastation that was already present. Haiti is currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere & 40% of it's population is under the age of 15.
Our Plan Of Action - is to conduct a Hospital Outreach, Orphanage Outreach, Town Square & Playground Renovation & Water Infrastructure Revitalization.
We have a great opportunity to bless the people and impact their lives for good.
If you can help in any way financially please donate to..... no donation is too small :-) The trip cost is $1500 and is due by Monday evening.
Thank you so much!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_5mb1CGViw

HEAL HAITI - Reconnaissance Feedback

www.youtube.com

This video was created to give viewers an accurate picture of Haiti's condition both in Port-au-Prince, and Jeremie in anticipation for the June Haiti trip IMPACT 195 students will have the opportunity to embark on.

DANA

                                                 11 x 14   Oil

Here is the next oil painting I did. This one was from a picture. Her name is Dana I've never met her. She was very pleasant to paint. Her brother is my teacher and he's very good.

2nd Oil Portrait

      
                                                   11 x 14    OIL

Well this is the 2nd life portrait this time a male so I can have one of both so far. I felt it was more difficult this time to achieve what I wanted. There is so much to learn.
Now..... when I look at my friends in the blog world that paint in oil I am in awe of their talent.
It is making me appreciate their work so much more.
Until you try it yourself you never quite understand.

I'm Blooming

                                                 8  x  8   Acrylic

This is for Sheila Tajima's flying moleskin and her theme is
" What you love "
Well for me one of my loves is flowers and trees and since the trees around here are exploding with beauty I could not help myself but paint one of them.
Go check out all the entry on The Flying Moleskins blog.

My first Oil painting portrait !

                                                11 x 14  OIL

Wow.............. I have to thank Vern Schwarz  for this. He told me I should try Oil painting and offered to help me. Well I did not know how to start so I took this class with a talented young man called Kris Finch . I like him because he goes straight into the project "a la prima" I like shortcuts or very direct routes so this worked real well for me.
I have to say that I might have to add oil painting to my bag of pleasures.
This was done in 2 hours. I used only 4 colors (black, white, red, yellow)
Should I pursue oil painting ?

ON DISPLAY !

       This is for Irit's moleskin, her theme is places, where you live. Well I can't say I went very far .....lol  
     This is a wall outside my door that has flower pots and such.
I enjoyed doing this it became very relaxing.

DETAILS

Sunshine Award ( X's 2)

Wow ..... I've been missing for a little while and what happens, I get an award and 2 of them . I feel I can connect now with the participants of the Olympics with my 2 flowers and also with the Oscars and give my thank you'.
I humbly accept this from Cathie Tonkins and Silvia Williams I am very grateful for this , now the rules are you past it on to others but I can't seem to choose because in my eyes all my bloggy art friends are deserving.
So I will say anyone wanting this award that believes they deserve it, come and get it and link to me.
              Now I bow down...... thank you

Every Photo Tells A Story

One of my pictures is featured for a writing prompt on
" Every Photo Tells A Story "
 I love this site because it engages the viewer to write something about the picture posted.
So if you are itching to check it out it is just a click away.....
I would love to see what you create with that one !

Karin Jurick

                                                      
                                               9  x  12  Graphite and Watercolor

Well now we can unveil these portraits of Karin Jurick.
 118 of us did as a thank you for the formidable work she has done on Different Strokes From Different Folks. The participant of the portrait exchange were contacted by Jill Polsby and the whole set is in a book format set to arrive at her place today.
Go check the different renditions HERE they are all fabulous.
One unfortunate detail is in the book that was created some portraits got a bit cropped mine in the final version the bottom part is missing but it's all good.
BTW this thank you was featured on "Making a Mark"  a very good informative blog check it out.

I'm receiving....

        16  x  5.5   Graphite and Watercolor

This is for the book of Dana Cooper her theme is "Dreams" for
  The Flying Moleskins. I wrote on the previous page

..but there is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries.
.., and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. Daniel 2:28-29

I have revelatory dreams sometimes and can occasionally interpret someone else's. They can be magical moments.

SARAH

                                    12  x  9  Graphite & Watercolor

This is an amazingly sweet young lady called Sarah. Her heart is so very pure I had to draw her. She is also the roommate of my daughter.
......and angels shall keep watch over you.

The Red Seed

11.5 x 9   Acrylic on primed canvas paper

Magnolias always mesmerize me. It seem that this one just had to get out and get painted all by herself. The different stages they go through in beautiful too. This is the one where these beautiful big RED seeds are coming out from the center of the flower.

90 SECOND POSES

8 x 10 graphite

I found this site called posemaniacs that have quick poses to sketch from. It was great to practice that way. At first I did the drawing and then ounce the pose was done I went back on my drawings and accentuated a few lines.

GOING OUT

                                                   8 x 11.5  Acrylic
                                        
This is for " THE FLYING MOLESKINS " as my first page with a theme of landscapes, trees, roads, strong shadows and light. It is now going to Michelle Burnett to do something in it with this theme.
Go check out all the entries so far and add yourself as a follower to see our progress as they travel across country.