Join Me for 60 Days of Birds Starting May 30th!

60 Days of Birds Mixed Media Challenge

Begins in 5 Days!!!

Learn more here!

It's Back, The 60 Day Bird Challenge!

The 60 Days of Birds Mixed Media Challenge is BACK!!!

I’m excited to offer this new option for 2017!

I’ve had requests for an in-depth version of the challenge for those who want to push their mixed media skills further! I will be sending daily email lessons for the duration of the challenge, you’ll also receive an invite to an exclusive version of our popular Facebook group, The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge. Get more details and sign up here.

60 Days of Birds

The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Join me starting April 1st! 

The challenge takes place in my FaceBook Group, I will post a PDF filled with 60 days of Challenge Prompts.  

If you participated in past challenges I sent a daily newsletter.  There will be no newsletter for this years challenge.  I will be posting daily to the FaceBook Group instead. 

Today's Studio Help

Pepper keeping my sketchbooks organized.

Oliver keeping my feet company.

And birds at the bird feeders this afternoon.

Cooler temps, fall has arrived.

Day 2 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Day 2 Story

Resting in arborvitae beside my house

Your song brings to the trees to life.

Is your song ushering in the coming storm?

Or are you singing a song of joy?

A tasty morsel to share,

No creature dares to leave the protection of the tree.

Branches shivering, the Sun twinkling, and the sky a brilliant blue,

Deceptive beauty as nature braces for a fatal blow.

The wind smells of snow.

Going back to Day 2, I had a head start by a couple of days because well I'm writing the prompts, etc., so noticed that I had made a couple of attempts at either a poem or story in my journal.  

I think the sketch pretty much sums it up, it's frigid out right now, the birds are all huddled in the neighbors arborvitaes, I know they are roosting in the tree because you can hear them chirping away if one listens closely enough.  I suspect that they are egging one another one (pun intended) to leave the tree for food and water and no one wants to give up their warm spot on the branch.

60 Bird Challenge Journal No. 1

The cover is a reclaimed manila envelope I monoprinted.

I filled with a variety of toned artist drawing papers, composition papers, mixed media paper, and the like.

Some more toned artists papers, Canson and Stratford, I also added a healthy dose of old maps, scrapbooking papers, to add additional variety.

Ames Studio Tour

I'm stitching up some birds, drop in and say hello today I'll be here until 5pm!  Ames Studio Tour

Birds at the Refuge

Birds in flight at Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge

I miss not getting to see the bison or the elk, well the bison we did see were a mile plus off in the tall grass.  Am hoping to go back and visit again soon.

More Prairie Inspiration

I'm not sure how well the fence stands out in this image, it really pops in the larger version. This is the fence that's employed at the Refuge to keep the bison and elk contained.

More grass, more birds.

WIP - Crow Panels

More layers of paint and ink to come, and birds, lots of birds!

60 Day Crow Challenge

It was suggested that I should start a 60 day challenge since I couldn't find one that was theme specific (thank you Jody Lund) I will be drawing Crows and Ravens (Corvus sp.). 

How many of you would like to participate with me in a 60 day bird/crow challenge, this means one bird/crow a day for 60 days.

The birds/crows can be drawn, painted, stitched, sculpted (if you are so inclined), digitally manipulated OR you can write about birds/crows everyday for 60 days.  Interested?

If I get 10 or more peeps interested I will start a facebook group for the challenge.  I will be starting tomorrow as I am getting ready for an Open Studio Tour, October 4th, and want to have some fresh birds to offer up for the tour.

WIP More Black Birds

More crow panels in progress (Black Birds in Tree Stencil), when the paint dries I will be adding more layers and see where this leads.

I'm currently taking an online course on making my own fonts by hand, this is not like any calligraphy course I've ever taken, and hope that some of these designs make it into my artwork and soon.

Black Birds in Trees

Working on some Crow Cards this afternoon using my Black Birds in Tree Stencil.

The orange mat is a non-slip artist map, unfortunately there is no label on the mat so I have no idea where it came from.

I started out with a piece of painted timtex that was painted by Seta Color Fabric Paints.  I will be adding some oil bar, ink, and other yummies next, and then it's time for some stitching.

New Project in Progress

Black Birds in Tree Stencil and craft paints on baltic birch panel board... more later after I add more layers.

Birds in Tree with Madder Lac

Madder lac natural dye extract screen printed, using deconstructed screen printing techniques with my Birds in Tree Inverse Stencil, onto cochineal dyed cotton fabric.

Birds in Tree Inverse Stencil taped to the front of a traditional silk screen for deconstructed screen printing!  Stay tuned for more on this technique!!!

Learn more about these techniques in my eBook and Video series 

Mark Making with Nature!!! 

Getting There

It's the journey, not the destination!

In Progress and now with more paint.  I need to make up the glaze for the left hand side of each panel, and then I can start adding the queen anne's lace and crows to the right hand panels.  I may change the color of panel No. 6 add more pinks and yellows.

Bonus I found these six narrow panels while looking for another small sample panel, stay tuned!

WIP Queen Anne's Crows No0 1

I have to admit while I really like the half and half harlequin coloring of this particular niche it's really rocking in metallic gold paint!  I need to add a second coat of paint and then when it's dry enough buff on some metallic black gold wax.

I will add purple to the back of niche (inside) and I think it's pretty much done.

Queen Anne's Crows

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

Painted timtex, natural dyed silk organza, machine stitching, digitally printed fabrics, found eggs, copper nails and wire, barbed wire, reclaimed clock bodies.

Experimental Birds and Studio Clean Up

I have a bunch of altered papers so I decided to use my Three Crows Stencil to make some cut outs for some upcoming projects, so far it's a LOT of fun!

Shiva paintstik in iridescent copper and raspberry pink folk art paint on blue scrapbook paper.

Cleared off my drawing table, let the fun begin, well for me it's cleared off!

Am gearing down for my solo show next month, and another project that will be revealed about mid-month so decided it was time to do a little cleaning and organizing so I can focus!

I found this raised panel frame earlier, while organizing my paper storage rack, it's been hiding there since about 2009.

Some Bird Art

Little medallions with featuring Black Birds in Tree, alcohol inks to the left, shiva paintstiks to the right (prussian blue)

Experimenting with copic markers and gelli pens on scrap booking paper.  Barely noticeable at the bottom are three of the washi tapes I purchased last weekend.  This will probably end up as the cover for my "new to me" journal.  Crow is from my Three Crows Stencil.

More birds to come, I'm working on a major project (all new work for an upcoming solo show) the big reveal will happen and soon, until then here's my latest samples to see how the various mediums work with the stencils.