MICAH six eight: 3x5 Challenge

You know that 3x5 Challenge going 'round? Where you post 3 pieces of art 5  days in a row? Here were two of mine yesterday. I love this Bible verse, and I think I've done about 5 art pieces of it so far (maybe more). these are art marker (Faber-Castell Artist Pens) and gouache and watercolor on Moleskine watercolor paper. Anyway, enjoy! I'm working on new ink pieces, and Magic Bullet 10 comes out soon! Be sure to follow DC Conspiracy on Twitter @MagicBulletDC; it's awesome comics by DC area cartoonists! Check it out! Meanwhile, I'm trying to live by Micah six eight. But I think it's hard to claim the humble part if you have a blog, and Twitter account, and . . .  and a  PLEASE Like ME PAGE . . . oh what a tangled web . . . I'm trying, anyhow. :) peace, trl

PAISLEY

I obsessively design, draw, and doodle paisleys, when I'm not cartooning, and I have for years. I have a fantasy about going to the PAISLEY MUSEUM in Scotland and just spending ridiculous amounts of time staring at paisleys (or IS IT ridiculous? I should make a plan!) This is a piece I'm working on currently - with a new Holbein gouache set I got at New York ComicCon (from Vermont Art Supply/HOLBEIN booth, on the main floor! It's always a great one.) The colors are SO deep and rich! AND the HOLBEIN gouache is smoooooooth. In a word: JUICY. I carry travel paints with me most of the time - a very minimal set, usually black and white plus one other color, usually red (this time blue). This travel set is an AVEDA eyeshadow compact I'm upcycling - it has a magnetic strip in the bottom, and these are beer bottle caps with gouache in them. I've added a tiny travel brush which fits in the case when it's closed. The silver pill bottle can carry a tiny amount of water, which is all I need when working with a limited palette (and it's easily changeable with a water bottle on hand, which I usually have anyway!)You could easily do this with any old compact, which has a metal bottom, by adding magnets to your beer, wine, or soda bottle caps.

This system also easily works with old ALTOIDS and MYNTZ and FISHERMAN'S FRIEND tins, as well :) If you follow me on TWITTER or INSTAGRAM, you've seen my concert drawings - this is a great system for that, too, easily takeable in a small bag. This past Wednesday I went to hear Daniel Lanois at The Hamilton DC and got some fun drawings from that - I always give them to the artists after. It's great figure drawing practice to draw musicians on stage (fun, too!)

In other news, please check out my MUSE CRUISE 2015 FACEBOOK page - we have a great group going so far, but plenty of room for more! I'm teaching Art Journaling, and the amazing writer Vicki Kuyper is teaching the writing (she's authored well over 50 books - for many publishers!) Art journaling, writing, and photography on the Caribbean. Some of my favorite things in the world, combined! You are welcome to sign up, details on our FACEBOOK page, and feel free to PM me with any questions!

In FURTHER other news, I've become obsessed (yes, I've overused that word today) with podcasts, particularly those from Nerdist Chris Hardwick (you might know him as the host of Talking Dead, the WALKING DEAD aftershow?) - they are frickin' hilarious, and great to listen to while I work. Yesterday, though, I had to lift my brush from my work because I was cackling too hard to keep it steady. So, it can be risky . . .

Have a great weekend, y'all. peace, trl

ANGELS FOR SALE: my Etsy shop be open

I have opened my ETSY shop and filled it with drawings and collages of iconic women and angels. More cartoons to come, of course! I'm always doing my cartoon humor . . . but I obsessively draw angels and women, too. (You'll probably see some similarities!)

Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaughingRedhead

Meanwhile, HAPPY MONDAY!!!! (I know, that's not really anything to joke about.)

peace, trl

STUDIO TIPS: travel paints

  I take art supplies with me everywhere I go, because I'm an obsessive art-maker. (A friend told me I have an "artist personality," and we laughed, because it's not necessarily a compliment.) Though I mostly work in pen-and-ink and art markers these days, I do love painting. I love working in acrylic on large (as in "bigass") canvases, and I love working small and detailed. I carry this art journal everywhere I go, and I tape in different types of papers for different things (though this Moleskine book with the thicker pages takes watermedia fine.) I've been practicing painting and drawing food and drink, wine and cocktails. It's a challenge to show the food and drink realistically, but make it appetizing. Which is usually a goal for me, I'm not one of those Dutch painters who wants to draw rotting fish. Well,  now that I say that, it's sounding kinda interesting . . . I've always thought food and drink are art forms - it fascinates me the way people come up with tastes, recipes, and visual presentation of their work.

So, I take art supplies with me everywhere, and I'm always looking for ways to make them travel-friendly. I save tins and tops of all kinds to mix paints in, and I saw a watercolor palette in a tin on Pinterest, where a guy glued half-pans into Altoids tins.

I wanted something where I could change out the colors, and this is the perfect thing for me. This is my traveling pomegranate palette - using screwtop wine tops, just placed (not glued) into a MYNTZ tin (from Trader Joe's.) The height is perfect (so that the tops don't slide around or up-and-down when the lid is closed), and the colors can be changed out at will. It's working great - I just squeezed gouache into the wine tops. That one hard lump of paint you see is a tube which was dried up - I just cut it in half and peeled back the tube. (DON'T THROW AWAY OLD GOUACHE - you can just open the tube up and make your own half-pans for travel or studio.)

Do you have any studio tips? They are always welcome!! Happy Painting, Y'all. :-)