my bird love

If you've followed my blog for a while

you probably know that I love birds.

My art journals pretty much

always have some bird pages in them. 

They usually aren't detailed pieces of artwork, 

but quick sketches and doodles

that capture my love of birds.

Is there something that captures you? 
Something you tend to find yourself drawn to over and over again?
I'd love to hear what that is!

Here are a few of my bird pages...

Silvia

water colour love

One thing you might not know about me is that I love using water colours! 

They are my go-to supply when I want to add colour to a sketch or doodle, 

and a carry a travel pack with me in my purse at all times 

(as well as a small journal, a water brush,

 and several pencils, black pens and a white gel pen). 

I like to vary my styles, 

and I don't feel that I have to confine myself 

to using them in one specific way.

Their versatility is definitely something I love about them!

I've mentioned before that one of my favourite artists is Danielle Donaldson.

Her work and style continually inspire and influence me. 

Check her gorgeous work out here.

(She will soon be teaching another on-line class. and that makes me very happy!)

Here are a few water colours I've done in the past few months: 

Silvia

Introducing: Super-Power Creative Girl

Girls.

I have three of my own,

and one brave boy.

They are all awesome and I love them like crazy.

There is absolutely nothing that compares to having a family

{And I mean nothing}.

Girls.

I also really like creating them in my art journal,

and on canvases,

and in my sketchbook...

{you get the point}.

I have been creating them for the past few years

and they are scattered throughout my studio.

This is one of my creations,

based on a recent {wonderful!} class I took

by the super-talented Danielle Donaldson.

Her work makes me swoon.

It just grabs at something 

deep inside of me.

It's magic,

It's playful.

It's like looking at a rainbow

all the time.

I love, love, love it.

Assignment #4: Here is my creative, super-power girl

from the Creative Girl class:

 Yup, I really like her.  

with her rainbow hair, 

super-hero designer cape

 and crooked little mouth.

Here are her humble beginnings, with a few possible friends:

You can see a few other girls I have created here, and here, and some quick, abstract ones here.

Silvia

you cannot keep spring from coming

Around here we haven't seen too many signs of spring.  This is pretty much how things look in eastern Ontario:

Piles of dirty, brown-grey snow. We even had 6" of snowfall this past  Sunday. 

{Nooooo!}

This is not the scene we all expect 

{and desire} 

to see when April finally enters the scene!

I'm going to share a funny little bit about myself:

I have a daily reminder on my iPhone to "Notice Nature."

Yup. I remind myself each day to look up, look out, to see. 

I remind myself each day to 

notice 

the glory of creation.

It is a soul-soothing discipline/habit/love.

However, I have to admit that lately it has felt like there isn't too much to notice.

Today, with the weather above freezing, I took my two youngest kids out, 

and we out to look for

spring.

Amidst all that grey-brown, dirty snow, this is what we found:

  

 

 

 

Budding trees, dirty puddles of melting dirty snow, gooey, squishy mud, bits of grass trying to awaken, flowers pushing their way up through the snow 

... beautiful, hopeful signs of spring.

{Welcome Spring. We have all been waiting for you}

 Pablo Neruda once said, "You can cut the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming."

After last Sunday's six inches of snow, 

I used my sketchbook to remind myself that spring was indeed 

still coming...

Happy Spring to you!

Silvia
follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

inspired by passion

Hi Friends,

I'll start with the aside...

I'm working on a new look for my blog, 
but it is still in process, 
so stay tuned for {hopefully} a few more changes!
After a year of blogging
{my 1 year anniversary  is Jan 21st}
I am still very much a learner
in the blogging world!

Onto the good stuff now ...

Lately I have been doing a lot of my reading 
from a new translation of the Bible called, 
"The Passion Translation".  
The whole translation isn't complete yet; 
it is a work in progress. 
I have "The Psalms: Poetry on Fire" 
and nearly everytime I read it, 

I am undone.

The "Passion Translation" is 
a very good title for it.

I thought I'd share with you 
a few pages out of my sketch book, 

inspired by Poetry on Fire:

 

What is inspiring you these days? I'd love to hear!

Silvia

Seizing the Moment

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

This past week I have had precious little time to get lost in any sort of art project as we have had several other (wonderful!) things going on in our life.  

I have learned something about myself though: that regardless of how many amazing other things are happening in my life, I need to stay connected to the world of art. I have discovered that I am a happier person ... a more cheerful mama, wife & friend when I have been creating. Because I am aware of this, I am proactive about my passion!  

I've written before about my "Art Bag" ... the bag I carry with me nearly everywhere I go (see here and here).  This past week was a week of dragging that bag around with me, and yet rarely getting a chance to open it up and dig in. However, just having it with me, helped me stay connected. And because I had it with me, I was able to snatch a few moments and begin a little water color doodle. 

I knew from the onset of the week that I would not have a lot of time, but if I had decided to leave the bag behind, I would have missed my few chances. And, because I was prepared, I was able to seize the moment and dig in!

Here is a glance into my sketchbook to see my "seizing the moment" sketch...

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” 

- Abraham Lincoln

Have a wonderful & prepared day!

Silvia

abstract portraits & just letting go...

So much to do!  

One of the things I love about art is that the further you go, the deeper you can go. This doesn't at all surprise me because God is infinitely creative and the further I go in my relationship with Him, the deeper I can continue to go. It only makes sense that art would be that way too...

The more I spend time in my studio, the more ideas I have, the more things I want to try and the more images that constantly invade my thinking space ... I love that! Often at night, I fall asleep with pictures that I have never seen before moving across my mind's eye. How I wish I could video record them!

As you know by now, I'm busy with several on-line classes, as well as some of my own projects that I want to do. I've recently finished one of Alisa Burke's courses and here are some journal entries based on that class. 

 Before I added any colour, I drew a fast portrait with my sharpie marker, and for the most part, I did not look at my subject while I drew.

I then added some details and swirls across the page.   

Once I was satisfied with my black and white sketch, I added colour with my watercolours.  

The final step was some doodle patterns throughout the page.

Art is so much about learning to "let go" and release yourself into the process.  Alisa Burke is great at teaching methods to do just that. This was a lot of fun ... I think I might yet make some canvas paintings similar to these. 

If you are artistically stuck, this is a great way to get the ideas flowing ... give it a try!

Silvia

A Little bit of Whimsy

I am taking a whimsical art on-line course. The course is by an artist I follow named Alisa Burke (see her blog here). It has been a lot of fun and I am so enjoying looking at life with different lenses! The course has different classes in it and I thought I'd share one of my assignments from the "Whimsical Places" class. Here is a page out of my art journal I've called Red Door Town.  It's done in watercolour & black ink.

Have a happy and creative weekend!

Silvia

Sketch, sketch, sketch

One of the things I do A LOT of these days is sketch. Mostly, I am working quickly to try to capture the essence of what I am looking at.  Working quickly forces me to get the overall feeling of the picture, without getting caught on the detail.  Fast sketches also get the right side of my brain kicked into gear, which as you know is the creative side.  I am amazed at the difference in my work when I work right-brained, not left-brained.  (I know, I know ... it's only one brain...).

I am working hard at growing and improving my skills as they had laid dormant for many years (until I began creating again.) As part of my development, I am studying under a local artist.  One of the exercises he has me do is one minute sketches. A few of those are included in the set below.

Here are some samples of what I've been sketching ...

I loved the bird house tree so much, that I took a little bit of time sketched it in some more detail. 

I carry a couple of sketch book with me at all times (pretty much no exceptions) so that at any moment, I can start to draw.  I keep a Strathmore 5.5" x 8.5 inch in my "art bag" which I bring with me pretty much everywhere I go. My art bag also holds  a small pencil case, and my travel watercolour paints, as well as a few brushes and tiny water pot.  I put other supplies in my bag as well, depending on my mood & needs, but those are my "must haves."

And, just in case, I don't have my art bag with me, I keep a small sketchbook and black Faber-Castell Pitt permanent marker in my purse at all times.

Here a a few tips if you want to improve your drawing abilities:

• Always carry something to draw with!  There are many moments in the day that you can snag to do a quick sketch ... waiting in line, on a bus ride, if you are early for an appointment ...
• Sketch quickly!  Don't worry about details, just capture the overall feel of what you are sketching.  Fast sketching shuts down the detail-needing left side of your brain and allow your right side to kick in.
• Use all your senses when you sketch - touch the object if you can, breath deeply, listen to the sounds around you. You heightened senses will all positively affect your ability to draw.

I'd love to hear from you if this inspires you to begin sketching!

Silvia