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

Put Your Soul Into It

"There is nothing in this world 
you cannot accomplish if you are willing to forfeit your deposit." 
~ Robert Brault

~~~~~

30 Paintings in 30 Days ~ September 2015

As you can see, and probably already know if you're reading this, my theme this time around was once again abstracts painted in alcohol inks. I had started "painting ahead" for this challenge in mid August, which really took a lot of the pressure and stress away. I even finished two days ahead of schedule this time around and have a couple of promotional ideas for these pieces in the works. I often heard Tony's advice when it all just seemed too overwhelming; 

"When the going gets tough,
just put the pedal to the metal and drive on."

~ Tony Couch

The challenge was easier for me this time around, but it was still no cake-walk. Uploading high resolution, meticulously processed images of each painting in various orientations to my Fine Art Print Site and showing each painting in a room setting meant lots more photos, file organizing, Photoshoping and tons more computer time. I think the effort was well worth it though. Being able to offer just the right room accents, in the right style, size, colors and price range to more designers and collectors is a definite plus.

30 Paintings in Rooms in 30 Days ~ Sept. 2015

Today I am pleased to present this retrospective of my
Sixth 30 Paintings In 30 Days Collection.

Each number and title links to a larger view with painting details, color swatches, room settings and print options associated with each piece.

1) Sharing the Joy        2) Loving It Into Being         3) In The Groove

4) I'm A Dreamer         5) Cradle Of Art         6) Courageous Triumph

7) The Rhythm of Nature         8) Robert Genn Wisdom         9) The Successful Artist

10) The Color Blue         11) Let Us Never Forget          12) Alive In The Moment

13) Renewal and Expansion          14) Artistic Connections          15) Casual Conversations

16) Art Adventures        17) Live With Passion          18) A Little R & R 

19) The Intuitive Mind         20) Learning Patience          21) Work Justifies Life

22) Go With The Flow          23) Set Energy in Motion         24) Dancing With Chaos 

25) Faith Set Afire         26) Like A Gardener         27) Mysterious Entity 

28) The Here and Now                29) Repeating Threads         30.) The Ultimate Quest

You can see my current abstract print offerings here.

"Today's accomplishments were

yesterday's impossibilities."

~ Robert H. Schuller

Here's an overview of my past challenges:

# 1 - January, 2013 - Here's How that First Challenge Started:

The January 2013 Collection:

# 2 - Here's How the September 2013 - Second Challenge Started:

September 2013 - Second Challenge Series:

# 3 - Here's How the Third Challenge 1/1/2014 Started:

January 2014 - Third Challenge Collection:

# 4 - Here's How the September 2014 - Fourth Challenge Started:

September 2014 - Fourth 30 in 30 Collection:

# 5 - Here's How the January 2015 - Fifth Challenge Started:

January 2015 - Fifth 30 in 30 Collection: 

Wishing each and every one of you all the best in life. Congratulations to all of you who also took on the challenge. Thanks so much for following along and cheering me on again in my journey.
Happy creating and/or collecting!

Follow me on Facebook  /  Join my Yupo Artists Group

September 2015 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days - Wrap-Up

"The intelligent man is one
who has successfully fulfilled
many accomplishments,
and is yet willing to learn more."
~ Ed Parker

X ♥  O