Forget-Me-Nots Of Angels

“Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Meadows of Heaven

This 6" x 3" alcohol ink painting is on black ceramic tile using only white. 

I have been having lots of fun painting on the black backgrounds.

They are just so different! Here is another one I just did.

Merrily Merrily Merrily

Our Dec. 5th and 6th Holiday Workshop was a blast.

The 2016 Workshop Schedule can be seen here.

The first Workshop is already half filled.

 

Out of 100 calendars, I only have a few 2016 Wall Calendars and Desk Calendars left!

I will gift wrap, attach a personalized note and send them to your recipient when you 

leave me their address in the note section of the PayPal window.

And remember, it's still not too late to book a Holday Drink & Ink Party! 

I hope you are well and enjoying life!

Once Again, Thank You for Your Friendship!

with Love,

X ♥  O

Inspiration is a Butterfly

"The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly."
~ Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

I did this 4 x 4" alcohol ink painting on black ceramic tile using white ink and canned air this week. I picked them up at Lowe's last weekend and was dying to give it a go. On Tuesday, my artist friend, Irvane, came to visit, so after lunch, we each gave one a try. We both were amazed with the results and agreed the experience was simply magical! The butterfly was not my idea, but a gift from Spirit and I love the effect.

 

I can't believe how the time is speeding by!

December will be here before you know it!

There are still two spots available for the

Holiday Alcohol Ink Workshop
Dec. 5th and 6th! 
Come join the fun - No experience necessary!!

Happy Creating My Friends! 

X ♥  O

Emulation or Immitation?

"Man's heart away from nature becomes hard."

  ~ Standing Bear

Sisters

This 8 x 6" alcohol ink painting on ceramic tile was influenced by

the fact that I have three sisters. Each one of us is represented here.

This reference photo (used with permission) is by my sister, Denise Bush.

Among the Aspens ~ © Denise Bush

I sought Denise's permission before posting "Sisters" online. Although my painting is quite different from her photo, I did duplicate some tree details and got considerable inspiration from her vision. Normally, I extract information from various sources, but with this one, admittedly, it mainly came from this shot. She was fine with me posting this painting, but she also replied; "I was also thinking about how I would feel if it got to be a regular thing though, and don't think I would like that. It still starts out as my vision, my new surroundings, my communing with nature and process... a personal experience."  I understand and respect Denise's feelings and her unique creativity. She works very hard at perfecting her craft and it shows. Her photography is truly a very fine art.

I talked a little bit about copyright at my workshop on Saturday and I used this situation as an example. Bottom line: It is not alright to copy other artist's or photographer's work without their permission.  Even if you have permission, it isn't ethical to do so with the intention of copying an exact likeness in form or spirit. Copying to learn however, as my students do, when in my classes or even when practicing on their own, is a different situation. They are paying me to learn my process and techniques and I encourage and expect them to emulate my work. Learning to draw and paint has been done this way for centuries. I practice interpreting the old masters' works from time to time, myself. Everyone has to start somewhere. Just make sure you have permission, give credit where it is due and as you progress, try to develop your own perspective and work from several references at the same time. The more you create, the more you'll discover and grow. Don't get bogged down in imitation. Realize that there is only one of you and your art should eventually and ideally be as individual as you are.

Holiday Alcohol Ink Workshop
Dec. 5th & 6th, 2015
Early-bird discount extended until Nov. 12th,
but don't delay, there are only a couple of seats still available! 

Happy Creating My Friends! 

X ♥  O

A HALLOWEEN WEEK GIVEAWAY!

"Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,


Voices whisper in the trees, 'Tonight is Halloween'!"


~Dexter Kozen

It's Halloween week! (And guess what I'm going to be this year?!) In celebration of my favorite holiday of the year, I decided to launch A HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY. THIS  SATURDAY I'll pick someone by 3:00pm EST through RandomNumber to receive this free original alcohol ink painting by yours truly.  All you have to do to win it, is comment below this blog post or under the original post on my facebook art page and include the words, "I love Halloween." or "I'm in!" (If you comment on both, you'll get two entries.) Open to everyone worldwide! Good luck! Please pay it forward and share. 

I will announce the winner on this blog and on my facebook art site. The winner will have 24 hrs. to respond by email to: Sandy@SandySandy.com with their mailing address. If I do not hear from them, the next name will be announced and they will also have 24 hrs. to respond and so on.

Thanks for stopping by and GOOD LUCK my pretties!

X ♥ O

The Colors And Textures of Imagination

"Abstraction allows man to see with his mind 

what he cannot physically see with his eyes... 

Abstract art enables the artist 

to perceive beyond the tangible, 

to extract the infinite out of the finite. 

It is the emancipation of the mind."

~ Arshile Gorky

"Before" and "After" photos from my newest video.

Set Energy in Motion

 "As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life." 

~ John Lubbock

Learning Patience

"Artistry is an innate distrust of the theory of

reality concocted by the five senses." 

~ Robert Brault

The Successful Artist

See more "Before" and "After" photos

in my newest video.

 "Art is your emotions flowing

in a river of imagination."

~ Devin

Keep on rollin', rollin' on a river,

X ♥  O

Everything Connected With Autumn

"Over everything connected with autumn 

there lingers some golden spell - 

some unseen influence 

that penetrates the soul  with

its mysterious power."

See Sandy's Abstracts in Room Settings here.

Some Golden Spell

 "Poets and artists who speak
of the mystery are rare."
~ Joseph Cambell

Embrace the mysteries of life,

X ♥  O

My Favorite Time of Year

"When witches go riding,

and black cats are seen


the moon laughs and whispers,


‘tis near Halloween."

When Black Cats Are Seen

I have been decorating for Halloween since the fourth of July! Every year I start a little earlier. I love the autumn and Halloween has to be my very favorite holiday. It gets my imagination invigorated. After a couple of months of paintings only abstracts, I've been having some fun painting more representational images.

I'm thinking ahead to my upcoming workshops and sorting out various projects and lesson plans. Our "Painting Trees in Alcohol Inks Workshop" on November 7th is filled! I am taking requests by email to be put on a waiting list for this workshop if you are interested.

My two day, "Winter Holiday Alcohol Ink Workshop" is filling up fast. Students will use pouring and blending techniques to incorporate festive, beautiful backgrounds on ornaments, tiles and Yupo paper. Making gifts with holiday and winter themes will be the focus of this fun filled workshop. The process is quick and easy and each participant will produce several mini masterpieces each day while honing skills and making unique art pieces they’ll be proud of, ready to display or give as gifts. Be sure to get your registration in to reserve your spot ASAP.

As always, private, semi-private and group classes are available at my studio, tailored to meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

"Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,


Voices whisper in the trees, 

'Tonight is Halloween!'"


~Dexter Kozen

Thanks For Stopping By.

Happy Creating My Friends! 

X ♥  O

Painting Trees at Sandarosa Studio

"Today's accomplishments 

were yesterday's impossibilities."  

~ Robert H. Schuller

See Seeking Enchantment here

 Attention inkers, there's only one spot left for the
 Nov. 7th Alcohol Ink Tree Workshop.

Although there were only three participants,
my October 3rd Watercolor Workshop was held
at The Sandarosa and was a great success.

Wet-in-Wet Watercolor Trees on Arches and Yupo Workshop - 10-3-15

Between medical issues and obligations, our

group filtered down to three exuberant enthusiasts.

It was a cold, dark, rainy day, but the studio

was bursting with light and laughter.

I threw my demos down on a board and snapped this pic.

The workshop focused on painting fir trees on Arches and Yupo paper.

I haven't painted more than a half a dozen pieces on cotton rag since I started using Yupo paper almost exclusively back in January of 2013. It felt really good to re-explore old, familiar territory and find out that I still have the upper hand.

After watching my first demo, each artist did two trees (7.5 x 5.5")

(after wetting both sides of the paper) on the Arches 140 lb. cotton rag.

While they painted, I was able to help each artist with physical issues like color mixing, consistency of pigment, holding the brush, wetness vs. dryness, and techniques like flicking and squiggling. This is one of the big advantages of physical training over only using video or virtual instruction. It is hard to know if you are doing something wrong or ineffectively when there is nobody with trained eyes to observe you. After so many years of painting and art teaching experience, I can usually spot bad habits or faulty techniques that may be holding someone back. Then I can help nip them in the bud, before they become problematic or ingrained.

Student work on cotton rag from the 10-3-15 Watercolor Workshop

"I value a "don't know" attitude highly,

because it's ambiguous,
and fosters a "beginner's mind"

in which there are more possibilities
than in an "expert's mind."

~ Theresa Bayer

Student work on Yupo from the 10-3-15 Watercolor Workshop

Each participant also successfully finished one or more trees on Yupo paper.

In the end, it was unanimous that the
Yupo paper was the favorite surface of the day!
Hooray! Yippee for Yupo!

"Man is always more than he can know of himself; consequently, his accomplishments, time and again,

will come as a surprise to him."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Only Two More Alcohol Ink Workshops
Scheduled for 2015!

As of this post, there is only one slot available for November 7th.

A NEW Two Day, Holiday Workshop has just been added!
See more information here. 

Happy Creating My Friends! 

X ♥  O