Two new series of lenses on squidoo

I have been neglecting this blog just when I said that I had gotten over my problems with IE8 and was raring to go, to get back to normal.

I was distracted................by Squidoo, what's a squidoo? - check it out .

I have been working on two new series of Squidoo Lenses ( lens = single page web-site), I sometimes come over all peculiar like this and find something to busy myself with. The first is to be a series of watercolour sketching, why should we sketch, what will it do for us as an artist, pointers on how to go about it. All serious painters will sketch copiously, it provides a pictorial grammar and vocabulary which develops skills and thought processes. Also it allows the artist to work out the potential problems and compositional issues before starting the main work. He/she will know what they are going to be doing. A major plus when painting in watercolour.

here are a couple of sketches on cartridge paper which I call my Turnerisms ( after the style of some of Turner's Colour Beginnings)

The second series will feature articles aimed at artists / crafters new to ATC's. I offer a view on how I create a collaged ATC. And I offer the quote by Leonardo Da Vinci, " Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" as a guiding principle, for the beginner. Here are two recent ATC's which loook more complicated than they actually are.


If Music be the food of love...

This consists of a printed fabric background, layered to a double layer of card for robustness. I always turn the edges around now to ensure a neat finish, see tutorial by Kim. The Mona Lisa image is bonded to the fabric and the text / quotation from Shakespeare is handwritten on a distressed paper and bonded diagonally. If anything this is too central but had to be there to get it all in one line.

I just can't keep from liking you...

Several music image fragments were collaged to form a background. The couple and text came from the same image. I tore them and repositioned to give a pleasing composition. Simples!

Mmmmm, now I have this blog, my gallery, Squidoo, PDA and Flickr not to mention other groups and community sites. Am I spreading myself too far? Is my wife right, am I getting addicted to this damn PC? And that does not cover time spent painting and crafting, I need to find another day in the week. The Beatles had it right, "8 days a week" - just what I need!