“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.” ~Leo Buscaglia
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You may recall, last Friday, our little senior art group at Towne Creek worked on painting wine bottles. I painted and recorded one of my demos. It’s always better to have an example for inspiration. I like to make the time-lapse videos because in just a few seconds, you can see what takes quite a while to create. (My friends don’t always have a long attention span. About 25-30 seconds sounds about right.)
In the Socratic dialogue ‘Republic’, Plato famously wrote: “our need will be the real creator” (Wikipedia.org, 2020) which was moulded over time into the English proverb ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’.Oct 26, 2020
I changed the quote around a little because it seems like if you are a woman, a mother, a wife, a care giver, or whatever your role in life, mothers and women usually come up with some invention to fix a problem or save the day.
Last night, I went upstairs to my “crap room” otherwise known as my art studio, to get a hand painted card for Miss Brenda. We were celebrating more January birthdays. Oh no! I was out of cards.
Well, I did what every artistic desperate woman would do. I took out paints, brushes and cards and started painting. I thought I’d kill two birds with one paint brush and make a time-lapse video of the process.
While I was at it, seeing as it was only 1 am, I decided to paint a few extras for the next birthday.Once you get an assembly line going, and juggle brushes from hand to hand and from your clenched teeth, it goes pretty fast.
“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.”
– Vesta M. Kelly.
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When I was visiting with the grandkids a couple of weeks ago, I made a few paper snowflakes. The girls are too small to work with sharp scissors, so I did the folding and cutting, and they did the “unveiling,” and opening up the intricate folded and cut paper to reveal a beautiful snowflake. We hung them in the front window.
Some other cool shapes for making snowflakes above. I haven’t tried any, but you might want to.I cut these today. A lot of little hearts are pretty fun and easy.Just like real snowflakes, no two are ever alike. It’s always interesting to see the results after you open it up. It’s always a surprise. I never use a pattern, just snip and cut and snip. That’s kind of how I bake and cook. No recipe, just wing it. Always different, always amazing.
I hope you’re having a terrific Tuesday… or whatever day you’re reading this. ❄️
“It’s that time of year when the world is filled with festive lights, love, and glitter. Lots of glitter.”
-Me
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It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a time-lapse video. I’ve been struggling with an idea for my yearly Christmas ornament. I’ve been painting them for so many years that I’m running out of ideas. So, I’ve been playing around with some new patterns.
I’m not sure if I’ll use this one, but it was good practice.
A simple watercolor project with watercolor paper and I expensive paints, a big brush and a fine brush, (papa bear and baby bear brushes) water, and a stencil.
Wet on wet technique. Brush clear water over entire surface, then drop in colors going from lights to darks. I like the lighter colors in the middle so the stencil will show up. Remember, watercolor always dries a bit lighter, so don’t be afraid of bright colors. I used a hummingbird stencil, but there are thousands to choose from. I was planning my art project for my seniors at Towne Creek.
Because I am a hoarder… I mean, a collector of anything that can be used for an art project, I had some sticks and twigs from my yard or from flowers that I’ve received as gifts. Never waste a fine stem.
I attached the paper to the twig by making a fold over the twig, then taped the back to secure, and added some twine to make a hanger. If you watch the video below, you will see that young and old can create a beautiful wall hanging for any occasion.
We had fun decorating some Dollar Tree white coffee cups. Did you know you could use permanent markers? I saw a Pinterest tag that said you can bake them in the oven after decorating to help preserve the color. I wouldn’t go scrubbing the cup, but it would be fun to let the kiddos play around with some cups or bowls.
Toni….. (fill in the blank….)(Just sayin’)Did you learn something new? Give it a try.
Why did the horse go for a walk around the block? … He wanted to check out the “neigh”…. borhood. (I just made that up. Pretty cheesy, right?”
-Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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I was just horsing around upstairs in my art studio, formerly known as the crap room. So, I thought what better way to horse around than with a horse. Granted, these videos aren’t by any means fine art. They are just a way to demonstrate a few quick ideas and art techniques, hopefully to inspire or just amuse you.
“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all it’s flavour.” ― William Cowper
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One of my favorite and signature things to paint are Bluebonnets. I live in Texas, after all. Gotta love Bluebonnets. When I paint on a vase, it’s usually a clear glass vase, but occasionally I like to mix it up and pre-paint a variegated background so the colors can pop out a little better.
I use FolkArt Enamel Paint, and with a makeup foam wedge, I start with royal blue on the bottom, although, I work upside down, so actually it’s the top. Then I dab softly about 1/3 the way down, then I add white to the middle and blend that softly to get light blue, then end with pure white and soften. You have to work fast so it doesn’t dry, but it makes a great variegated look. Then on to the Bluebonnets. (A quick 30 second video)
“Art is just an expression of love from your heart to your hands.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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I wanted to do a quick and easy abstract drawing and rendering of my beautiful Mother’s Day flowers that I received from my son and family. Also, I’m always trying to come up with easy projects to do with my senior artist friends over at Towne Creek. Flowers are always fun.
A quick and easy abstract rendering using a black Sharpie, then Crayola washable markers with clear water to blend. Great for all ages. Have fun and play with your art.
Toni Andrukaitis 