Day 9- Slip slidin' away

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Chris was the man of the hour today. 

 We left the farm via Marc's truck hauling our gear and us 20 miles past the toughest hills going into Frederick, MD. Half way there I remembered my bike helmet was still at the house. Back we went. Marc was very gracious about my forgetfulness. He returned home, 20 miles, we got the helmet and he dropped us in Frederick. As we unloaded the bikes I realized I also forgot 2 of my panniers back at the barn. By now I'm wondering if I have totally lost my mind! For a few minutes I contemplated finishing the trip without clothes, sleeping bag and mat. As we crossed the street I spotted a taxi and Chis. I left everything with Dave, hopped into the cab and returned to pick up the forgotten panniers. I had the most awesome 40 mile conversation with Chris. We discussed our faith and how God orchestrates our steps even when we forget camping gear. A delightful man. He has been working in USA for 15 years and wants to return to Nigeria to be a full time minister. Of course he is already doing that.

Finally, all things remembered, Dave and I pedaled to historic Frederick. We took a walking tour.  Great town!

  River runs through town and it has been designed as a main attraction.

this was painted on a flat cement wall.

Not sure what this store was selling but I was buying into their business plan.  

A Tarkay print. One of my favorite artists. It was too big for the back of my bike but would have added a splash of color in my tent.

Frederick, MD, a great little town.

To avoid the extreme hills today, we opted for a flat tow path, previously used by mules pulling boats up the river.

The trade off was mud. Of course, these pics  do not even come close to showing the thick, bike swallowing mud.

I got a messy lesson in how to navigate thick mud trails. After a couple spills I started to get the hang of it.  We are returning to this trail tomorrow so we will see if I learned my lesson.

I can now check rain forest off my bucket list. (Actually it was NEVER on my bucket list.)

Tonight we are in a campground next to the Potomac River with mud everywhere. "Crime Caution tape" is marking off a thick,  deep mud area next to our camp tent space. A long line to get a shower. Ahhh camping. But now I'm snug in my tent. That's the payoff!

Day 8- A little of this and a little of that---- (if reading via email, click on tiny type at top or bottom of blog--BLOG-DEBORAH BUROW ART-- to get easy read version)

 View out my barn bedroom window early this morning.

Today was spent on the farm doing/watching farm things being done. 

Herding sheep and goats. 

Shearing goats

Marc shearing goats

Next?.... 

2 black goat kids--have you any wool?

Peace

A little paint time.  

Dave and I made alpaca and lamb meatloaf for dinner.  This is a farm, after all. I was surprised it tasted just like lean beef. Good.

At 9:00am we will be headed out on the bikes again.

Day 7- "And on the seventh day, God rested." (If reading via email, click on tiny type at top or bottom--"BLOG-DEBORAH BUROW ART" for easy read link)

 A most blessed scene for biker campers. The rain is pouring down and we and our gear are high and dry INSIDE looking out.

 No biking today. We are enjoying farm life with Dave's wife's family, Marc and Kathy Withers. We have 2 nice dry rooms and indoor plumbing in a great old barn they are renovating as Kathy's  wool studio.

 Our first order of business is to meet the sheep, goats, peacocks, parrot, cats, dogs, rabbits, chickens and I may have forgotten one or two others.

Kathy raises the sheep, goats, rabbits for their fleece, spins it, and makes beautiful yarns, felted artwork, handbags, rugs, hats, clothing and so much more. The feathers from the birds are also woven into the yarns and artwork. All magnificent.

The sheep roamed the spacious hills as it rained during the morning. They have the option of coming inside but are content to stand in the rain.

Kathy showed us the entire process from sheep and goats to finished products. Lots of steps. She is a highly skilled artist.

My favorite wall art piece.

Skies cleared later in afternoon

 By late afternoon it was raining again. We are staying through tomorrow. I get a paint day!! Dave is helping around the farm.

Thank you Katherine and Marc.

We've had a lovely rest day.

Day 6- Up, Up, Up and Away (if reading via email,click on tiny type at top or bottom of blog--BLOG-DEBORAH BUROW ART-- easy read version)

Beautiful morning after the rain. Dave hung his tent out to dry and I dried mine under the hand dryers in the bathrooms. Sleeping bags, too. 

Dave loves his hot breakfast

York, PA has "rail trails"; ahhh FLAT bike trails next to old tracks. 12 miles of restful riding.

Rail trail  

Sculpture along the rail trail

Our flat rail trail ended in Glen Rock, PA, a little mountain town that still advertises on the sides of buildings.

Glen Rock, PA

Our travel goal today was to reach Dave's sister-in-law's sheep farm by day's end. 50 miles seemed reasonable.

So far the weather was good, though thunder storms were predicted for evening and all the following day. We would get to the farm just in time.

But hills... one after the other, and another, and another. My goal became to ride as far up each one as I could so that was less mileage to walk. I became one with the hills. I no longer dreaded them. I saw them as a way to get up close and personal with the road. I decided the incline was 45 degrees. I was hallucinating about middle school geometry protractors.

Taking photos is not an option as  a movement of my hands from the bike bar to my camera would allow the bike to roll back down the hill.

But this is a great muscle builder of my right arm as it does most of the weight pressing of 75+ lbs bike. Yes! I can do this.

The only problem is the sun does eventually set whether you are still pressing weights or not. As I again stopped to catch my breath- a helpful woman shouted across the highway that there was a nice campground 6 miles ahead.

Now Dave was phoning me and promising the ride was a lot easier after I got to the top!!! Where the heck was the top? At the cross road. Really? I was crossing roads all the time.

Only 35 miles to go and we would be at the farm.

We decided to stay at the campground, checked in and set up camp.

Looking at the projected route's elevation for the following day, it offered 35 miles of 3 times the elevation we had just covered today. And the weather prediction was still thunderstorms. I protested...with a smile.

Dave asked his son to check online to see if there was another possible route out of the "mountains".

Honestly, after the last few days, I knew something would work out.

After checking the weather, Marc, Dave's sister-in-law's husband, arrived at the campground, loaded our bikes and gear and drove us to their beautiful farm 50 minutes away. GRATEFUL.

The Withers' farm

Here comes the rain

Good night from a room in a dry barn. Luxury!

Days 4 & 5 - Mixed Emotions

(Technical note: if any of you are reading this from your email, if you click on the teeny type at top of blog or at the bottom of blog where it says --BLOG-DEBORAH BUROW ART the page will link to the actual blog and show up in a very easy to read larger font format) 

One of the things you get to see when you hike the hills. Check out their different horn styles.  One of them stepped right up the fence and put his nose in my face as I tried to snap the picture. Amish people take such good care of their animals that they are not afraid of people.

  The day started rainy--oh goody, I get to wear all my new rain gear...at least it wasn't raining hard--yet. We left our dear hosts, Lisa and Dave W. after a delicious homemade breakfast complete with fresh fruit. I was so apprehensive about the day's hills I really hated to leave. I wasn't even fake smiling.

Dave insisted I smile.

It rained harder and the hills were still steep. It wasn't long and I was hiking again. It rained. My glasses fogged. And the rain drops clung to them making it hard to see. The traffic was zipping by. The steep down hills were scaring me to death. Near the top of a giant hill I had just walked up, sat a three-sided  bus shelter and we stood inside to get out of the pelting rain. Dave gave me a few pointers on how to more efficiently shift on hills and stay alive, and I was excited to give it a try and dived back out into the traffic and rain...(that's not exactly how the conversation went😊). But one of the things about touring is you have to keep going. What are your options?

downtown Lancaster, PA

Mid-day we arrived in Lancaster, PA. The rain stopped and we explored the town a bit. Headed first for coffee, hot water, and pie. 

 Somehow my PB pie slice was twice the size of Dave's. 

  After window shopping we headed to the library to charge electronics and Google camping spots and possible alternate tour routes as Quebec was seeming less of a realistic destination. I offered to wait out the trip in a campground as Dave made his route to Canada and he could pick me up on the return trip. Better possibilities seemed west or south.

Vintage  

check out the tiny 3-d tiles 

  the library

Our campground for the evening was a county park. After setting up camp and cooking dinner we were informed there was no camping in that park so packed quickly with no where to go and sunset in half hour. Just then, Mary and Marv walked by and offered their home for the evening. Just the most wonderful people. 

Dave, Mary, and Marv

They piled my bike gear into their car and drove slowly so Dave could follow on his bike. After a few miles we noticed Dave had stopped following. Driving back in the dark we learned his bike chain had broken! No, mangled! So Mary and Marv took me to their house several miles away and then returned to pick up Dave and his bike.

We had a wonderful evening talking and meeting their son and grandson.We learned another son, Glen Ladd, had been an avid touring cyclist crossing the USA a couple times and was also an  RN with a medical group in Afghanistan in 2010 and had been killed with a group of 9 other medical personnel. Their story of Glen's death and all the redemptive consequences--one of which was that they always rescue cyclists--even benefited us greatly. You can check out his story by Googling: Glen Ladd. A very remarkable young man.

Mary making breakfast  

  In the morning, Marv drove Dave 20 miles each way to a bike shop that opened at 8:00am (more local shops opened 2 hours later) so he could get the parts he needed for his bike. And Mary prepared the most delicious breakfast for us. Just the most lovely people. I felt so at home.

Dave worked on his bike and went over more route ideas with their son, Jerry. After Mary made us more food for lunch and packed enough for dinner we headed out.

The biking was good today with doable hills. I walked a couple times and saw fun stuff I would have missed otherwise. Dave and I got separated in the midst of York, PA but finally made it to a campground for the evening. I'm listening to the rain fall on the tent, love that. It will be over by morning and we'll be on our way to day 6.

Fun stuff

Day 3- The longer version

Shawn, today's hero. Details below...

What a beautiful day. The hillsides of Pennsylvania are golden, and every shade of green and planting season is well underway. 

 This is Amish country. The fields are planted with mules pulling plows.(But not on Sunday) And horse and buggies are everywhere. The animals on the farms are so well taken care of. Lush green pastures with animals grazing contentedly. Farm yards with huge cows and horses and mules that look at you contentedly from barns that are clean and the animals stand in beautiful lots of green grass, not mud everywhere that I have seen in other parts of the country. The Amish genuinely care about the well being of their sheep, horses, cows, mules , horses, and chickens. No pics as they don't want photos taken.

the old mill stream

  We climbed a few (read: dozens) tough hills. Dave rode and I followed.... a ways back. Stopped for Local Ice Cream at an artisan's shop in New London.

  As we shared a well earned delicious pint of Cherry Vanilla , with giant whole cherries buried in the vanilla ice cream, Dave casually shared that he had run over a motor cyclist sprawled in the road!! You'll need to read his FB blog-David Madsen- to get the details.

After our culinary break we tackled more hills. Dave chugging up and Deb not so much.

Dave cruising along  

up, up, up... 

and up and up... 

  The photos never tell the real steep and long of the story. After a couple more hours of pedaling my exhausted legs and walking and pushing 75+lbs of bike and gear up these small mountains, I stood resting at the top of the hill looking at the climbing ribbon of road still ahead, knowing there was at least 10 miles to go, it's 4:00pm and I knew I was DONE, cooked, finished. I would never get to our Warm Showers hosts before midnight, long after dark. I was too tired to even care. Was scanning the sides of the road for possible tent sites, talking over my dilemma with my Father. And then what to my wondering eyes should appear but a tiny spec on the horizon that turned out to be Shawn, pedaling his way toward me, on his afternoon ride. He stopped, we chatted, he offered a 4 wheel vehicle lift to my destination, I demurred briefly (pride is a power deterrent), then accepted gratefully. He rode to his home, and returned with the most beautiful dust covered car I had ever seen. THANK YOU SHAWN!! He drove me and my bike to our hosts' home, and as I saw the hills I still had in front of me I knew I would never had made it on my own. God really does take care of His own. And His timing is perfect. As we turned onto the block of our hosts' home, there was brother Dave finishing up the last block also, under the power of his own 2 legs. So we arrived at precisely the same time. How does God do that?!!

Dave and Shawn sharing biking stories. Dave assuring Shawn he WAS a knight in shining armor! 

  The day ended at Lisa and Dave's home - the most amazing loving, welcoming, delightful people with a hot shower that was too wonderful, and delicious crab bisque at the Bullfrog. We had fun sharing stories and so much more. Maybe I could face getting back on that bike and facing more hills tomorrow...

Day 3- The Short Version

 Dave road the hills like a mountain man. Deb did not. Shawn rescued Deb in his SUV. Dave and Deb arrived at the same time and were welcomed by the greatest hosts on Earth, Dave and Lisa of Buck, PA. Deb stood in the devine hot shower and cried tears of appreciation. God never said it would be easy. Only that He would help. He did. More later on this day's adventure. 

Public Service Announcement

Looking for hosts along the way. 

Many of you joined my brother and me - via our blogs - last year as we pedaled from Madison, WI to Spencer, IA. This year we are pedaling from Cape May, NJ to Quebec City, QC.

If you have friends or relatives or even acquaintances 😊 who may be willing to host us for a night, please ask them. The following is a very general route and itinerary; we will probably pass within 50 miles of these cities and our schedule will probably slip a bit since our travels are about the people we meet and the sights we see and not the destination. "Hosting" can mean anything from offering a place to pitch a couple of tents to a hot shower, cold drink, and Dave's' endless fun travel stories (some are even true!)

If nothing else, send them my blog at http://www.deborahburowart.com/blog/2017/5/12/getting-ready-to-ride-again  and ask them join us on our ride from New Jersey to Quebec.

5/23 - Lancaster, PA

5/28 - Bloomsbury, PA

5/31 - Poughkeepsie, NY

6/2 - Albany, NY

6/4 - Bennington, VT

6/9 - Magog, Quebec

Please contact me at debbyburow@gmail.com if you have questions or are willing to host us.

See you on the road,

Deb & Dave

Trying out Dave's new tripod and phone camera lens 

Day 2- Bike/camping from Cape May to Quebec

After a night of sweltering heat, we woke to sunshine, glistening sparkles on the lake and a welcome crisp, cool breeze bending the tree tops. We packed up the bikes and headed north out of Tidbury County Park. 

I learned on the last touring trip to only a eat when hungry, and not too much at one time. You just feel better. So we skipped dinner the evening before-- it was just too hot to eat. And grabbed breakfast sandwiches to give us fuel to ride. 

  Traffic was everywhere, sometimes with a road shoulder and sometimes not.  Dave is more adept at navigating traffic as he lives near lots of it. Cape May on the other hand does not give much practice with traffic, nor with hills.

The hills definitely began to show up today. Definitely a challenge for me.

We crossed a bridge that was steep and the bike section was so narrow I just gritted my teeth, prayed, and kept going. Would have loved to stop to take a picture but was not at all sure I could then get stared riding again staying in my narrow, scary lane. So no pics.

Kate, the reading dog. A sweetheart.

Middleton, Delaware had a library we enjoyed for an hour as we charged phones, read in comfy chairs, and met Kate, the reading dog, that sat attentively while children read to her. 

An anteater?  

Across the street was a small sculpture garden with assorted animals including life size giraffe, elephant, egrets, and a charming little ant eater. 

Such gorgeous tile work! 

Lunch was Mexican today. The lunch was delicious and the bathroom sink, as well as all the decor, was bright, colorful tiles and paintings. 

Dave is starting to set up camp. 

 About 3 hours after lunch we found a small park near U of DE with a pavilion so have a roof over our head and cement under our tents. No other amenities. In dire need of showers we headed to the college and used their hot showers in the locker rooms. Felt really good to experience "clean" again.

A shower and fresh painted nails! all in one night. A treat! 

 Tonight treated myself to a manicure of sorts. We aren't total barbarians.

 I am blogging in my tent. The Amtrak train is about 100 ft from our tents and seem to thunder by every half hour. A rowdy bunch of college age kids(sounds like) are hanging out noisily in the park. Ah, yes, it is Saturday night.Will be using the earplugs Dave suggests on his packing list. Could be a long night.Tomorrow is planned as a short day, maybe we'll find time for a nap.

Good night all.

Day 1- the adventure begins

The day started at 7:00am on the ferry to Lewes, DE. Bright sunny day, perfect for taking pics and chatting with others on board. Excited to finally get on the bikes and be on our way.  

Classic Cape May morning, cool, breezy and beautiful ocean. So glad to live here.  

My new touring bike is a joy to ride and very new so still figuring out gearing and navigating with 4 big bags full of life's necessities.  

As we started pedaling out of Lewes the temp was rising and the road was quiet and flat and we had it pretty much to ourselves. Except for the headwind which seems to be  a biker's constant companion.

By mid afternoon it was so hot we took a nap break under a shade tree.

Looks idyllic cuz you can't hear the traffic zooming very close. 4 lane highway #1. But most of the time the shoulder was good except in the construction zones.

After naps we headed to McDonalds to wait out a thunderstorm and enjoy their AC and wifi.

We located a small park to spend the night complete with pavilion to pitch our tents and enjoy the cool night air. No showers or water, but you can't have everything. 

Lovely to listen to the rain falling all around as we fall asleep. Good night all! 

READY TO ROLL...almost

Dave and Deb ready and waiting...

The Plan: Dave and Deb (siblings) will be bike/camping from Cape May, Nj to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and back to Cape May.

The time table: Leave yesterday boarding the Cape May/Lewes Ferry and heading north through Deleware with a nice southerly tailwind at our backs. Ahhh...we have 30 days to play with.

Change of plans: A bike part has yet to arrive, so we are waiting. FedEx will be here today.

Dave, being the expert biker and camper has given me much appreciated packing advice. We have done a trip like this before (10 days). On that trip I had a different bike with less room for panniers (gear bags). So now I have twice as much room, but that can translate to twice as much weight., which can translate to twice as much poundage to move with the same 2 legs. 

Purging: Trying to lighten the load BEFORE we leave, Dave nixed-- 2 apples, 4 tangerines, granola for 6 days, half the snacks, and alas! prepped salad dressing (delicious on everything!), and oil and vinegar to make more dressing, one pan and my favorite pink shoes. I refused to give up the nail polish kit--some things HAVE to go along. 

going...going...gone

THE PACKING LIST:

Dave has perfected THE LIST over the thousands of miles he has ridden. With list in hand, it has taken me 4 days to pack and repack and repack again, STUFFING my version of this list into 4 panniers. Comes down to taking absolutely only what is necessary-- hot weather, cold weather, rain and snow (it can snow in Canada in late May). However, IT WILL NOT BE RAINING OR SNOWING on this trip.

This is THE bike

I'm not a car person. Get from point a to point b. That's all that matters. But getting a new touring bike...that's exciting.

Ask me in a month if I'm still in love. I'm planning on it. 

Day 0

Time to get it together

Yup we are really going.

(Trying some technical tricks that may make it easier for me to post the blog from the road. So this sheep is a PRACTICE blog.)

Getting ready to ride, again.

Brother, Dave, and I are getting ready for another bicycling adventure. 30 days bike/ camping from Cape May, NJ to Quebec. A new bike will add a new dimension to the trip. There are a few "hills " ahead ahead and gorgeous scenery. Can't wait to take pics along the way and share the ride with you. EDT Wednesday.

Aside request-- If any of you have clicked on the link that brings my blog into your email inbox, I'd love to know if it's showing up properly so it can be read. I've had issues with  this and am wondering if it's working. Thanks. 

Life Painting...Painting Life.

I have wanted to have a go at painting people for awhile now.

An eclectic file of people resides on my desktop, waiting to come to alive at the end of my paint brush. I snap photos that no one notices. Those are the best shots. I'm mostly interested in painting what each person is thinking/feeling. I'm not so much interested in the "historical" painting where a person would SIT for a painting and the artist comes in and spreads out their paints and the subject is not allowed to move until the art is done. OH, NO. I want to FEEL how they FEEL when I look at the finished art.

I had the opportunity to take a work shop from Bev Jozwiak. Learned so much. Check out her work. http://bevjozwiak.com Learning from the best. Excellent teacher.

And Walla! Painting life and loving it.

If you have an event coming up that you would like to preserve the memories in PAINT, like a wedding, shower, reunion, new puppy, old puppy, graduation, vacation, anything at all, contact me on this website. The lighting in the photos is critical so I may stop by...really, I can go almost any place in the world. I'd love to meet you and paint a memory. 

TWO LADIES HEADING OUT ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED -- "Travelers"

HOW MUCH IS THAT ICE CREAM IN THE WINDOW?  "Ice Cream in the Window"

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment or a question. Bloggers love to know someone actually reads these things.

EVEN A PRINCESS NEEDS HER HAIR TOUCHED UP AT TIMES   "Wedding Do"

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WHEN WE ARE YOUNG WE ALWAYS WANT TO BE OLDER   "Do You Wanna Dance?"

I DO IT MYSELF    " I Can Read"

WHEN I SAW HER SHE TOOK MY BREATH AWAY.  "Stunning in Yellow"

RESCUED TO HER FOREVER HOME SWEET HOME.   "Ginger"

She creates so much more than she knows...

Artist friends are the best

As artists, we meet other artists through shows, classes, sharing online, even buying supplies. There is something about those relationships and that grow simply out of our love for sharing art. We love to share our art, but we often find we have many other things we share. We meet and come to know people that criss-cross our lives in many other areas in addition to our love of art. And they often create amazing art. Such is my friend, Harlee.

Harlee was part of our 6 week class, "Dare to Paint Your Joy". 

Giant Wonder of the Deep...about to snag lunch

Harlee creates beautiful art. It is her very own unique style, so unique that she gets frustrated at times cuz she doesn't "paint like others".  That characteristic is such a plus. The art that shows up on her canvas shows such imagination. Some art needs to be viewed up close and some needs to be giant paintings on the wall. Harlee's art is the GIANT painting variety. The colors and shapes and designs she uses break the rules, and that is probably why I see such possibility in each painting she creates. She is willing to keep working on the art till it starts to breathe on it's own.

Not only does she paint, she writes, directs dramatic productions, is an avid Animal Shelter volunteer, and she is collaborating on a wonderful children's book, due out this year.

Art friends are often friends we may never have met if it were not for our creative connections. So grateful for art.

Keep painting, Harlee, and never trade your style to look like anyone else.

BREAKING ALL THE RULES

Breaking all the rules is harder than you think.

6 weeks of an art class that was designed to help each artist break out of their paint box proved to be harder than we thought. All those rules about staying in the lines, matching colors to life forms, painting what your experience tells you is successful--all those known entities makes us feel comfortable, even if it is boring. But we managed to get past it and create FREELY!

Flowers never looked so fun. Wild colors, free-form shapes... unlimited imagining...

Art by Jane

Art by Beth

Art by Sue

Art by Leanne

Each artist used their style to start with, tried new concepts, created backgrounds, and then started painting over them. That was the hardest part. We all wanted to save our masterpiece backgrounds,  but they were created to enhance the final stages of the pieces. All unchartered territory. All were brave, moving from small canvases to larger sizes and bigger images.

Art by D. Started with backgounds, taped off some of the design and continued to paint over the top. So hard to cover up those delicious colors an shapes. And such fun removing the tape as we progressed with layers of painting.

Beth started with a sponged background, and whala! a puppy appeared. Seemed like a natural cover for a children's book. Why not??

Sue created this delightful background and it will make a perfect cover for the story she has written. Can't wait to see what she will do for the rest of the pages in her book.

Tara created this awesome art as she was working on her background. It was a small section of the art but we agreed it would make a stunning large painting. Hope she creates it.

You can see any of YOUR art on the wall in a variety of rooms, visit http://www.ohmyprints.com/de/WallApp/455.

All instructors of art classes know the value to us personally of teaching classes. Classwork prep causes us to work hard, too. As we work on the same assignments as our students, we experience first hand the struggles and joys they are experiencing. Below are the pieces I created right along with all the other artists in class. I always learn so much from each person. 

Thanks so much everyone. You were each an inspiration to me. 

Inspiration Walk

Cat Loafer

Cat On A Swing

Celebrate Hope

Garden Olio

Choose Love And Dreams

Sunshine In The Garden

Spots On The Bed

All asked about future classes. I will email when new sessions start so if you are interested visit my website www.deborahburowart.com, and sign up for the email on the home page. If you would like to leave a comment on this blog, comment link is at the beginning of the blog. Thank you.

CREATING FLOWERS OUT OF NOTHING

Lessons 3,4,5 Acrylic Class

"Get Out of Your Box"

The last 3 weeks we have been stretching our legs and brains and brushes to move with more flexibility with acrylic paints. We have reviewed some basic design elements such as color, shapes, lights and darks, repeating shapes, texture, etc. Now we are putting it all together.

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"GARDEN OLI0"  Final art after layers and layers of color and shapes. CLICK HERE  for more.

The following is a step-by-step picture description of how we proceeded after we had created our background of layers using cool and warm colors, stenciling, and marking tools. This has been a steep learning curve and I am so proud of all the painters for hanging in there and learning new skills that will enable flexibility and courage to try new ways of painting. Kudos to you all.

Applying  favorite colors of paint in BIG areas, making the shape of roughly shaped flowers. Blocking out some of the background with solid areas of color, so flowers start to take shape and background calms.

Continuing to brush and finger point in layers of paint forming flower shapes where we see them emerging as we imagine where they might fit among the colors and shapes.

As flowers are added, dry thoroughly before adding more. After initial flower shapes are added, take chalk and revise shapes and begin to revise colors on the flowers. Paint over the existing colors until you get a pleasing design. This can take several layers to get what you like.

I was playing around with lots of shapes and colors trying to get what I liked. I worked a long time getting the white flower "right".  Later on you will see I totally painted it out and added completely different shaped flowers and leaves. 

It can be helpful to get a new palette sheet out and squeeze out just a few new colors and start painting over shapes you don't like as I did in the middle pic where I added the blue shapes. By the 3rd pic in this row I was getting TIRED. I was not excited about it. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I posted a PIP (painting in progress) on Instagram and went to bed!

After taking a break from looking at this, I was ready to add my style to the entire piece. This is the FUN part. The shapes are in place and now you start the DECORATING. Add swirls, dots, outlines, stripes, fan shapes, use your waterproof markers and pens, thin paints that move easily like Golden Fluid Acrylics, add gold flecks, glitter, silver outlines...whatever enters your mind. Remember to step back occasionally to see what it looks like from a distance. When completely done, seal with gloss or matte gel medium. Remember to dilute it 2 waters:1 gel.

You are finished! Congratulations. Job well done. Jump right in and create a new background, use a bigger canvas, and try using a different group of colors for cools and warms and see how that affects your overall painting. After you have done 3 or 4 of these you won't remember what was so difficult the first time around. Enjoy!

If you have any comments on the process or the class I would love to hear from you. Please click on comment link at the top of this page. Thanks for being part of our class.

WE HAVE OUR LAST CLASS NEXT WEEK. You can finish your painting or start a new project. BRING A BIG, NEW FRESH CANVAS, WE WILL HAVE A FUN LAST NIGHT TOGETHER.

BEGINNING TO THE END

THE PROCESS -STEP BY STEP

Acrylic Class # 3 Word Art Assignment. 

When completely done, paint a thin layer of glossy gel medium or matte medium mixed with water over entire canvas surface and sides; gives the painting a finished look and protects the surface of the painting. Mix the medium 2 parts water to 1 part medium. Let dry completely, sign your name and hang. Smile.

How to get out of your paint box?

We have 6 weeks, to take big, giant steps forward in our painting.

For many of us this means putting down our watercolor brushes and moving on to painting with acrylic paints.

The first time I tried to make this transition I felt like I was trying to paint with mittens on. SUPER FRUSTRATING. I gritted my teeth and created a tight, tiny painting.

The PROBLEM: I was trying to create a WATERCOLOR PAINTING WITH ACRYLICS.

The SOLUTION: get out of my paint box. Paint big shapes, big colors!

I was fortunate to be introduced, via an acrylics class, to FREEDOM to make marks that did not have to be totally drawn out or colors planned; it no longer took several weeks to make one painting. Class assignments included just smearing lots of my favorite colors at random on a canvas.  Later I started adding lines and words.

FREEDOM! WORD ART. The text was added on the computer, but we can also add cut out words and/or paint words and collage it all together. Week 3.

CLICK ON THIS ART TO SEE MORE.

Scary, no perimeters. Just play with paint. but  GUESS WHAT?  It was so much FUN. I began a love affair with thick, gooey paint, that I was free to paint over top of if I changed my mind. Instead of 8" x 10" paintings, I was doing 16" x 20" or larger. The bigger the better.

That brings us to our 6 week art class: Dare to Paint Your Joy.

Week 1 was a challenge. Shapes, lines, colors. Sounds simple enough. But when we are moving into any new direction, anywhere, it's usually not simple.

Week 2 we moved onto shapes, lines, colors as the music played. Easier. Each artist had 30 seconds to paint a shape, any shape, or line or color to a page, music stopped, pass it on. All 15 students added their marks to each page. Let the fun begin.

Whew! We can do this. Look what we got? Fun  pieces of random art that didn't cause any suffering. No preconceived ideas of WHAT we were drawing. Just freedom to play. For me, that is the heart of art. JOY.

After the group paintings we moved on to each one decorating their own letter. See what we got.  (this is a slide show of work, so give it a few seconds between arts)

So proud of all the students. Your designs were free and fun. We've only just begun.

Jane took her letter "Z" home and worked on it a little longer. Beautiful composition!  Jane, think about doing this on a 16" by 20" canvas or heavy watercolor paper. That will add a whole other dimension. to it. 

Great class, everyone!