Painting Collaboration (or how to paint with your teens!)

 

---  update: this post is originally from Feb 2014 - a snow day- like today so I thought it was a good day to repost it!  ---

 When my boys were little - we made art all the time.  Quickly of course, but still, it was always a part of our week and they were always eager.  Teenagers are a little harder to get involved in one of Mom's projects but it's not impossible!

 Finding myself with yet ANOTHER snow day, a wall that desperately needed something new and antsy teenagers hanging around - I decided to give a group art project a whirl.

 

So, out came the acrylics and the big inexpensive canvas from the craft store.  I set things up and said "Hey,  I need you guys to help me do an under-painting, I need it to be random colors, grafitti -ish, with drippy paint.  Go to town."  They took the bait...

 Naturally, agreeing to not show their faces was a requirement...  

And there may have been a little bribery involved.  Teen boys think of food as currency.  

Breakfast sandwich it is.

    Shooting from behind was allowed too. At least I think it was - I may have snuck this.

 The colors they used were suggested by me but how they used the paint was all up to them. The messier the better and printing, stamping,  painting over, splattering, and dripping was all encouraged!

 

   

A friend who showed up got in on the action too (Loving it! - my plan is working!!) 

 

 

When everyone had added what they wanted and they were happy with it, we set it aside to dry.

 Then it was Mama's turn.

 Inspired by drawings in my sketchbook, I used my new white Sharpie to draw on top. 

 

 Love how it turned out.

 Loved collaborating with my boys. 

 Proudly hung in the heart of our home. 

Around Here

 I'm trying really hard to paint outside today...

These are my new favorite watercolors.  They stack together and fit easily into my bag. 

Roasted Asparagus

a peek inside my sketchbook - Spring!

A Peek Into My Sketchbook - using simple tools

nfdp - Fancy art supplies are great - who doesn't love a  new set of Copic Markers?
 But the beauty of a sketchbook is - it doesn't care what you use.  Often I use regular old ball point pens, and office supplies like highlighters. It makes no difference.  What really matters is drawing all the time.

You can see more pages using simple office tools HERE

Sketchbook inspired Teach Art Tuesday

Sketchbooks are so great for exploring ideas,working out new schemes or just plain escaping.  Lately, medallions have been turning up all over mine.  Recently my boys and I made a big painting inspired by these sketchbook pages.  See it HERE

One of my teaching philosophies is sharing what inspires me.  With the Kinders my sketchbook page medallions were the jumping off point for a painting project.  
Simple Water Color / Crayon resist project with a twist

For the Love of Paper -Make Some Art Today

This pretty much sums things up.  Make some art today - for the Love of Paper.  ( I crack myself up)

 I'm still busy painting away on more of my big series but when taking a break, I'm all about the sketchbook.  Seriously - OBSESSED.  I am loving drawing again - drawing for drawings sake.  Doodling, art journaling- whatever you want to call it, I am doing it.  You can peek into my sketchbook HERE and HERE.

This month I decided to put a twist on my sketchbook fun and make a little book of quotes.
Nothing fancy - in fact I want it to be the opposite of fancy.
 So I turned to my favorite free paper of ALL TIME - the trusty brown paper bag. I cut some pages, wet and dried them (no idea why - just seemed like something I should do) and made signatures, covers and searched for "coptic stitch" online for some help with book binding.  It is not perfect but I LOVE how it turned out.  Bitten by the handmade bookmaking bug now.

Next is filling in each of the pages - each day a different inspirational quote - art business or creativity related.  It is just for me to keep on my desk to take a gander at when I need a little boost.
Take a peek at some already done...

I love this quote. - You don't need fancy supplies - make some art with the stuff around you.
Why do you love paper?  Tell me in the comments


The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here
more paper lovers here:

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed /