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Author Archives: Artful me

How Did We Get Here So Fast?

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Wow, It’s the end of another year. The time seems to go so fast these days and here I am posting the last classes for 2017. We still have some fun paintings in the works before we take our holiday break so be sure to check the schedule.

Check out the poinsettia and the Santa in Cary and we have a bit of whimsey planned for Raleigh day class.

A JoSonja design

A JoSonja design

Our Raleigh evening class on Wed is starting the Mountain Church this week. Still time to join us.

Mountain-church

Our seminar with Kathie George was terrific as usual and we always learn so much.

23473139_10155171928672898_5941224235698674149_nThis year we painted a batik, back by popular demand, one we had admired for awhile. Love the donkeys and the vibrant colors.

23622440_10155171928777898_5150193408564126012_n 23473144_10155171928897898_4233289478762885704_nAnd then we learned about using a Gelli plate, what fun!

23517617_10155174055377898_4263141783327209828_n

23519268_10155174055317898_457947305802409468_nAnd the swamp was luscious. (Still have to finish mine).

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And now we’re looking forward to having Kathie back for next year. We even have some projects planned.23518846_10155176778407898_1820965236595304833_nWatch for our exciting plans for 2018!

What’s Happening In Sept At Artful Endeavors

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A Short Note to Catch Up

 

I’ve just returned from a wonderful weekend workshop with Lisa Ann Watkins, watercolor pencil artist which left me inspired and wanting to do more, right now! But I thought you would appreciate being updated on studio class happenings, so here’s what coming:
* Yes, we are painting the Santa Face this Wed. I have the paints, just register and come join us. My surface is a 8″ round but any smallish size will do. Wed, Sept 13, 10a-2p.
* And we are all set to paint my Kitty Angel Ornaments this coming Fri, Sept 15, 10-2p. I have the ornaments. You are welcome to paint any color cat you would like.
* Wed pm at the studio is painting my mixed media Blue Bird starting this week, Sept 13, 27, & Oct 4, 4p-6p.
* If you missed the Road to Know-Where, our Cary painters will begin it on Sept 26, Oct 3, 10 & 24. From my basic design each painter can personalize. Class is 6:15p-8p.
Kitty Angel Ornaments

Kitty Angel Ornaments

 

Road to Know-Where

Road to Know-Where

 

Mixed Media Blue Bird

Mixed Media Blue Bird

 

 

 

 

 

I’m working on getting the web site updated and will have all the classes posted soon. We’ve been planning classes for the rest of the year and hope you can join us. A little holiday sprinkled with some other favorite designs + lots of imagination.

Here’s the dog that I penciled with Lisa. Carol, Pat and I had a great time and I really enjoyed learning something new to me. It’s not finished but I am pleased with it.

Watercolor Pencil In Progress A Lisa Ann Watkins design

Watercolor Pencil
In Progress
A Lisa Ann Watkins design
Water Lily Gelli Kathie George design

Water Lily Gelli
Kathie George design

Details for our Nov seminar with Kathie George are posted! Hope you can join us. We have an exciting variety of projects planned.
Details and Register.

Donkeys Batik Kathie George design

Donkeys Batik
Kathie George design

Green Swamp Golden Acrylic Kathie George design

Green Swamp
Golden Acrylic
Kathie George design
Mark Polomchak seminar 2017

Mark Polomchak seminar 2017

We had a great time painting with Mark Polomchak again this year.

Watch for photos on the blog. I have them already on Face Book.
Mark and I are talking about next year. Stay tuned.

Watch the web siteand Face Book for more updates.
Liz

©2017 Artful Endeavors | 200 Sawmill Rd, Suite 201, Raleigh NC 27615

 

 

Summer Classes and Workshops at Artful Endeavors

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Join us for one of our 2017 summer workshops with Liz at Artful Endeavors. We’ll explore our creativity with acrylics and watercolors.
Be sure to register at least 2 wks prior to class.
We need at least 4 participants to hold the class.

close to finish

* Some of you have requested a class to paint the Road to Know-where. The class has been rescheduled to Saturday, Aug 12. Register by July 26.
* The classes are updated on the web site so let’s do some summer painting.
* Note that we are starting another paint your own from your photo of a beach sunset starting next week on Wed am. We’ll explode our painting with color.Our Wed evening class has requested to paint their own landscape. Bring that photo inspiration and let’s paint.Watch for an upcoming portrait class a little later! Start looking for the photo to use. Don’t have one of your family you want to paint? We’ll find you a family member. Maybe a self portrait…Fri Aug 18 is our next Paint Your Cat for Purr Partners. I’ll have more information on that soon.

Can’t travel to Artful Endeavors? Join me on Creative Workshops on one of my online classes.

Summer Romance

Summer Romance

* It’s time to sign up for our summer seminars if you haven’t done so already.

Seminars

Mark your calendar that I’ll be out of town June 19-23. It’s beach time!

I’m on Face Book at Artful Endeavors. You don’t even have to be on Face Book to follow me.

Inspired and Ready to Paint

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SDP Conference 2017 was an inspiring treat. Learning, seeing painting friends from all over the country, eating delicious foods, and being greeted by the ocean every morning and evening.

Hilton-at-night

No teaching for me this trip. I was a “regular person” as someone said.

I took 3 colored pencil classes since I don’t usually get to use colored pencils and have a lot to learn about them. 3 different teachers with 3 different focuses. Just what I wanted. Of course I had to do the cats with Mark Menendez and Lorinda Hull but then also the blue heron with my friend Janelle Johnson. Mark is coming to our chapter next year and it was exciting to experience what a great teacher he is. Looking forward to class with him again. Lorinda’s cat was beautiful and she had a different touch with her colored pencils that was good to try. I didn’t know I could create that solid a background with colored pencils. Janelle is always a wealth of information and I always learn so much in one of her classes, this time with colored pencil and pastels for the background. Loved the effect. Great classes.

Mark's Ginger Cat

Mark’s Ginger Cat

Janelle's-heron

Janelle’s Blue Heron design

Lorinda's Mr Kitty in progress

Lorinda’s Mr Kitty
in progress

And then Maggie and I took a class with Sharon Hamilton in color glazing. She had the underpainting completed for us so that we could just start focusing on the glazing. And they were looking wonderful using this technique used by the old masters. Sharon is amazing.

Sharon's glazing in progress

Sharon’s glazing
in progress

Sharon's-group

Maggie, Sharon, and Liz

Maggie, Sharon, and Liz

I have my samples at the studio if you would like to stop by and see them.

And then there was visiting with painting friends that I know, those I know from Face Book, and new friends I now know. Socializing was rampant. I had opportunities to catch up with current friends and it was fun to meet Face Book friends in person for a change.

Friends from the SC Foothills Chapter

Friends from the SC Foothills Chapter

Liz and Judy Westegarrd-Jenkins

Liz and Judy Westegarrd-Jenkins

All the painters and vendors at the trade show gave me new ideas after viewing their paintings and products. Did I mention that I’m inspired. And what fun to add a face to someone I’ve been doing business with for years. They really do exist in real life!  So now I have new wood products, stamps, and stencils to use for designing, restocked brushes, re-found products, and lots of ideas to explore.

And I know what is currently happening at the society. Come by and I’ll bring you up to date.

SDP General Meeting

SDP General Meeting

And then there was the eating, wonderful meals…  During the days we had small quick meals before or between classes but then at night we enjoyed ourselves. One of my friends from Fla recommended Aunt Catfish’s and it was so wonderfully deliciously good. If you get an opportunity to be close to Daytona Beach be sure to go to Aunt Catfish’s. Sea food including catfish, hot bar, and salad bar with everything delicious. And on the river.

Aunt-Catfish

Maggie at Bubba Gump's

Maggie at Bubba Gump’s

So now I’m back, inspired, and ready to create. Come join me soon.

Liz

On the Road to Daytona!

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Hello, Art Enthusiasts!

What’s New

I’m traveling to the Society of Decorative Painters conference this week! And I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing friends that I haven’t see in too long and learning from the classes I’ll take. I have my colored pencils packed and my acrylic supplies. My classes will be with Mark Menendez, Janelle Johnson, and Lorinda Hull for colored pencil, and Sharon Hamilton for acrylic. It will be fun to do something our of my usual area of expertise.

I’ll try to post photos from the conference so watch our Artful Endeavors Face Book page.

I just got congratulated for making the cover of the summer Decorative Painter Journal. I haven’t see it yet so it will be a surprise to me.

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On Creative Workshops!

My Summer Romance is at Creative Workshops now and available for some relaxing summer painting. It’s time to add a little romance to our paintings with this fun feminine design. We’ll exercise our shading techniques to create shiny pearls and a gracefully flowing hat brim. Then we’ll set all of our items down on a surface to give the effect of just waiting to be picked up. Join us in painting this quiet summer moment.

Theory and Techniques included: Light Source, Side Loading, Shading and
Highlighting, Dry brushing, Creating ripples, Border line work
9 videos, 10-15 minutes in length

web-Hat-and-violets

Pink Hydrangeas Packet Available

You’ve asked for a packet for my Pink Hydrangeas design in acrylic. It will be available when I return from conference. Watch the blog and Face Book for information on ordering. Packets will be sent in email form.

web-Pink-Hydrangeas

 

Seminars for 2017

Registration is open!

Ros Stallcup: July 19-22, 2017
Join us for our 20th year of painting with Ros at Artful Endeavors. Once again Ros has designed entirely new projects for us. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from Ros and just enjoy a painting-ful 4 days. Register now.
Flower Basketflowers WED edt Stan’s BeachStan's beach edt Winter Still Life with BunnyBunny still life edt

 

Pumpkin extravaganzaPumpkins edt

Register now for our 3 day seminar with Mark Polomchak.

Mark is back with more watercolor excitement. Plan to join us Aug 26, 27, & 28.
Single day registration opens in July if seats are available.

Koi Mark Polomchak

Koi
Mark Polomchak

Sunday: Koi

 

Saturday: Ibis

Ibis Mark Polomchak

Ibis
Mark Polomchak

 Monday: Red Truck

Red Truck Mark Polomchal

Red Truck
Mark Polomchal

Our seminar with Kathie George

is scheduled for Nov 13-15, 2017. I’ll post details soon. Kathie has just returned from her Africa painting journey. She’ll have lots of exciting details to share with us.

kathie-demo

 

Waves and missing the gulls in progresswaves and gulls in progress

Weekly Classes and Workshops

We’re adding to our schedules so be sure to check the web site for updates.
The waves and gulls in on the schedule and we’re adding more Paint You Owns since the students are enjoying them and asking for more.
Class Schedules
From our Cary Class painting their own landscapes.20170509_194551 20170509_194901

 

Have a nice week and I’ll see you back at the studio next week.
Liz

My Favorite Painting

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I am sometimes asked, “What is your favorite painting?” My answer is usually, “The next one.” Actually my favorite part of painting is the process. I do have paintings that I have completed that I especially favor but they are done. It’s pleasing to look at them and share them with others. I like and need praise like all of us and that’s rewarding, but those paintings are completed.

The process is the most exciting part to me, the most absorbing, where time just passes unnoticed.   I love getting started on a new painting, figuring out how to begin and in what direction I’ll wander.

web-turtles

turtles, the beginning of an idea

off-the-bridge

The turtles would be great in this setting.

The best part is that there is no rule about what I have to do with any one painting. Yes, of course I have studied, know about composition, perspective, color harmony, and all the rest of our artistic theory, absorbed it all and take it into consideration. One of my favorite ideas from Candice Olson, HGTV designer, is knowing the rules and knowing when to break them. We do need a good base of knowledge about our art, how is good art structured, know the rules. As these rules are internalized and become the foundation for our art, they are then liberating. We can explore from there.

I love figuring out how to create something new to me, a new idea, a new texture, technique, subject. This is usually done by experimenting. If I try this does it work? If not try something else. If it does, wow, exciting. And there is no end to learning. That’s my favorite painting.

Sunning Turtles designed by Liz Miller CDA video class can be found at http://creativeworkshops.me/classes-by-artist.html

Sunning Turtles
designed by Liz Miller CDA
video class can be found at http://creativeworkshops.me/classes-by-artist.html

Scarves for Me-ow

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Last Friday a group of volunteers from Purr Partners Feline Rescue gathered at Artful Endeavors to paint scarves to sell at Purr Partners events. The proceeds from the sales go toward funding Purr Partners rescues, upkeep, and medical attention for the cats rescued. It was nice to do something to help the cats but we had lots of fun expressing our creativeness.  Here are the scarves we batik-ed and painted.

What are Brushos?

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When Kathie George said the we could do a project with Brushos I had no idea what she was talking about. So I had to investigate.

Brusho Crystal Colours are highly pigmented ink-powders that can be used like watercolors, sprinkled on to a damp surface to burst into color, and many other ways. They are fun to work with and can result in some exciting effects.

Brusho

Brusho Crystal Colour

And yes, that is a push pen stuck in the top of each lid. It’s a great tip for sprinkling the powders so you don’t have to take the top off of the concentrated powders. Take the push pen out and sprinkle.

Here’s a sample that we painted with Kathie, who is always bringing us some new and exciting product and/or technique.

sheep with brushos

Kathie’s Sheep A Kathie George design

When I received my Brushos (wow! exciting!) I had to experiment. So, after I had explored YouTube a little ( I was too excited about my own explorations to spend too much time watching others) I tried dampening watercolor paper and sprinkling.

Wow!

Sample-2

Brusho on wet surface

And of course I had to check out each color.  Then I sprinkled first and spritzed with water.

Another Wow!  Then I made marks in it with my stylus, then tried some salt.

sample-1

Sprinkle then spritz

And then I tried a combo with specific colors, Red of course. I think this would make a beautiful background for something.

Sample-3

Reds with Brusho

OK, then I had to try something like Kathie’s sheep, but cats!

brusho-cats

Brusho cats

OK, interesting. I usually overdo at first. Maybe a little less sprinkling the next time.  Now I want to perfect my Brusho cat technique. That means more playing. Hummm…  What next.  I’ll let you know what I come up with.

I encourage you to try Brushos. There are lots about them on line and on YouTube so check them out and have fun.

Warning: Brushos can become habit forming.

 

Ros is Painting What? When?

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We’re excited that Ros is coming back to teach for us again in 2017. 

We’ll be celebrating 20 years of painting with Ros at Artful Endeavors!

Dates are July 19, 20, 21, & 22, 2017DSC_0214

During our seminar last July we collected project ideas for this year’s seminar from last year’s students. Now Ros has our ideas and it is always exciting to see her creations fill out these ideas and become works of art.

Read More…