Folded Pages

The journal is a place where pages can interact with one another and create connection. Folding pages is a quick and easy way to link pages and create that interaction. Folds also create instant hidden spaces and areas of surprise.

Memory

Just one photo today. Using the idea of memory, I spent quite a bit more time with the spread.

Calendars

Virginia Spring Workshops.

I invite you to join me at one of my workshops this spring in western and southwestern Virginia. I'm excited to go back to Galax in March for a weekend of workshops and to add a Saturday workshop in Harrisonburg during April.

I'll be returning to the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts for the weekend of March 18th to present two full-day workshops. On Saturday, March 18th, I'll be presenting Mapping the Journey. This mixed-media workshop is adapted from a couple of workshops Dave and I have taught in years past, and we'll be mining our experiences to find inspiration for our work. Participants can choose to work in journals or on stand alone works or both!

On Saturday, March 19th, I'll be presenting Luminous Liquid Layers. In this acrylic painting workshop we will focus on using Golden High Flow Acrylics to create richly layered works on canvas and paper. This is a pared down version of the two-day workshop that I'll be teaching in Asheville, NC in May.

On Saturday, April 22nd, I'll be repeating my Luminous Liquid Workshop in Harrisonburg, VA at Larkin Arts. This is a new venue for me, and I am looking forward to taking this exciting workshop to a different audience.

I hope that you can make it out this spring. I'd love to share my experiences, ideas, and techniques with you!

Check out the Events page for a listing of all our workshops and events.

Rectangles

Stenciled Words

I've been focusing on a different idea, concept, or technique each day, and it's been great to go back to things that I haven't done in a while. Using lettering stencils is one of those things.

I'm not sure why or how I got out of using the stencils so much, but it always seems so easy to get out of a habit. I'll have to make certain to use them more in the future.

Graphite

It was a bit of a busy day, but I found some time to work with some graphite drawing pencils to add a bit of shading to some areas and texture to others.

Beginnings

Bleed the Edge

"Bleeding the edge" was a term that I came upon many years ago, and ever since it has allowed me to consider very carefully how my artwork extends to the edge of the composition. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, the term "bleed" is a printer's term that refers to the part of a printed image that extends slightly beyond where the image is trimmed. Having a bleed ensures that the image extends to the edge of a poster, page, flyer, or card without leaving any odd white edges.

Imagining a journal page or a canvas with a bleed allows me to envision the lines, shapes, and images  extending to the edge of the work. It helps me divide the space of the work into smaller, yet more visually interesting spaces.

I've even made it into a bit of a drawing game. There is just a single rule, and it works for a canvas, a panel, or a page in the journal. The rule is each line that I draw has to begin at the edge and end at an edge. It can be the same edge, or it can be a different edge. The lines can crisscross, or they can stay separate. In either case, I can experiment with the way the image, the lines, and shapes fill and divide the space. For me bleeding the edge is a simple, yet effective compositional device.

Watercolor Wash

A watercolor wash is one of the most basic techniques, but it is ideal for filling in solid shapes and spaces.

Of course, watercolor washes are perfect for layering over top of other media and collaged elements.