Art Camp for Women Retreat 2012!

Happy Monday everyone!

 

I am sooo excited to show you what I made at my art retreat with Melanie last week.

 

We signed up for the most wonderful workshop in Winter Park, CO given by Art Camp for Women!

 

I cannot say enough fabulous things about the program generously offered by Lori & Lorri who run the camp.

 

Everything was provided down to the last pencil, paint brush, marker and anything else you could could ever imagine!

 

We did not have to bring anything ~ not even an apron to protect our clothes!

 

Melanie and I live very close to where the camp was held so we did not have to fly there but most other students did, and I know that having every detail provided with perfect organization and ease was appreciated by everyone including our amazing instructor, Carla Sonheim.

 

If you ever want to take an amazing art vacation, please check out what Lori and Lorri are offering every Spring and Fall!

 

...and if you want to take fabulous online courses, please visit Carla's website. 

 

She is amazing!

 

Melanie & I also just took her Cereal Box Doll & Book Class this Summer right before her "Mini-Deluxe Camp" in CO and they were both wonderful!

 

I also highly recommend her books & tutorials!

 

She just released two new books, The Art of Silliness & Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals.

 

I adore them both!

 

They are filled with creative projects, techniques, ideas and inspiration.

 

Her joy splashes on to every page and fills your head, heart and hands with amazing things you never thought you could do!

 

I will show you what Melanie and I made in several posts as I do not want to overwhelm you!

 

This post will feature my work from the quick morning drawing exercises we did down to the two art books we made.

 

The next post in the coming days will show the second cereal box book that I made at home to house all of these drawings and the 3rd post will show you all of Melanie's drawings and books to honor them in their very own post for you to enjoy!

 

Here are my drawings that we did every morning.

 

These are drawing we created from blobs that we drew randomly, painted, traced from the ground or saw in the sky!

 

It is a very freeing exercise!

 

All you do is create a shape and fill in some lines and dots with what it speaks to do and something magical will quickly appear before your eyes!

 

It all happens in a matter of seconds!

 

These 2 alligators were drawn quickly with the side of a piece of charcoal pencil looking at a little statue. :)

 

...and this watercolor blob book is my favorite project we did!

 

All of these exercises and art books are projects in Carla's new book, Painting & Drawing Imaginary Animals!

 

You will be amazed at what you create with ease!

 

Each creature just appears and you do is just darken the lines, color them in and add a little shading!

 

I love how the book pages are different shapes and sizes allowing the creatures to bleed over onto other overlapping pages to tie them all together.

 

See how my Hippo and Gorilla share the same bodies but are really two characters. :)

This is the second art book I made...

 

My Postcard Book

It is made up of 3 postcards painted with a coat of gesso to cover up most of the postcard text while allowing some of the color and texture to show through.  After the gesso is dry, a light wash of watercolor paint is applied to create the "blobs" to draw into animals with markers, colored pencils and ink.

Like the "watercolor blob book" above, it also has pages that are different sizes & shapes that open up to reveal 4 different animals all sharing some of the same body parts. :)

 

The bear...

 

 

opens up into a funny moose...

 

That turns into a bird and hippo on the last page!

 

I just love how it turned out!

 

I am still working on my "watercolor blob book" and will show you more of the characters as they appear in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much for looking at all the stuff I did.

 

It is so FUN to share with all of you!

 

You make my world a very special place to be!

 

xoxox

Melissa & Archie