The Glad Young Year

A very happy 2015 to all!

The Traditional Feast

Caroling between dinner and dessert with our dear ones...

Merry Christmas to all!

Carols on the Cul-de-Sac

SF Conservatory French horn students and their professors serenade the neighborhood. Magical!

Frosty Chalk

...he's after your fingers and toes!

More chalk fun on my office wall!

My New Best Friend

So I've been playing around with colored pencils lately, and in one online tutorial it was suggested that one use a "colour shaper" tool (apparently used primarily for making designs in clay) to apply masking fluid, which is gooey gluey sticky stuff to keep the page white wherever it is applied, creating a spot of light on, say, an apple. And since I'm doing a lot of engrossing these days, my first thought was...Instacoll!

Instacoll (used for applying gold leaf), is great stuff but devilish to get out of a brush--also gooey gluey and sticky. Some teachers say to use a good brush and clean it well; others say not to. I have a dedicated brush labeled "Instacoll", but it's not exactly in pristine shape. Not helpful for the old brush control... 

But lo! Enter the Royal Sovereign Colour Shaper! It's a silicone tip (no bristles) and the Instacoll rubs right off it, good as new. It comes in different sizes; the one in the above photo is a #2 but I just bought a #0 (both pictured below) and haven't tried it yet. The tip on either one is fine enough to work  the small details.

Royal Sovereign Ltd. Colour Shapers #2 and #0

Anyone else playing around with these? How are they working for you?

The Year's Last, Loveliest Smile

I've been waiting since August to get my hands chalky on this blackboard-painted wall!

Couldn't resist having some fun with "frames"!

B is for...

I always leave the annual IAMPETH conference full of enthusiasm and fresh inspiration, ready to experiment and stretch my comfort zone, and this year is no exception. What a week! There is much to tell, but I'll start here: colored pencils! Bob Hurford taught a short evening session class on the topic and I've been playing around with illumination using Prismacolor Premier pencils. Definitely slower than gouache or watercolor, but for me, easier to control! The "B" is an outline by E. E. Marlatt; the gold is Finetec Inca.

Oysters!

Chalkboard fun for friends who set up an oyster bar at wineries and concert venues! This is done with Zig Posterman marker.

Call & Response

16" X 20"

Playing around with chalk on black paper, vintage style with Sickels lettering. The dry run:

And got to use my section liner!

The (Second Half of the) Year in Pictures

Some of my designs for Ultimat Vodka Holiday Campaign

One of five San Francisco venues for Ultimat events in November/December

Very special commission

Commission: walnut ink, watercolor and Finetec gold

Zig Posterman pen on chalkboard fabric

Chalk on display board

Tooled gold leaf

JJ Monogram, pen and ink

JLM monogram, pen and ink

CMS monogram, pencil sketch

Gouache, gold leaf, ink on hotpress watercolor

Piece done in Risa Gettler's Visigothic Versals class; ink,
watercolor pencil,  Finetec gold