Category Archives: Uncategorized

the art of the doodle

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Still doodling in the same book!  Loving this little square art journal that i have been drawing in all week, playing with lettering projects and exercises with line, color, composition and fonts.  
It’s a 5.5″x5.5″ handbook brand journal.  
The pages are very absorbent taking on vibrant watercolor beautifully. 

Can you see what’s hidden in this wavy whimsical doodle?
Use you name as the art element, designing with large loose lines.  Add pattern in the spaces and the shapes that are created. Paint in the negative space with a deliberate color story.
 More play with letters, showcasing and highlighting shapes from lines that spilled off the fonts.
Have fun with the “art of the doodle”, creating a whimsical journal masterpiece with line, pattern, shape and color.  Go try it!

art journaling every day

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Here’s a peek into one of my daily art books where i draw, doodle, sketch, letter, paint and color.  I make it a habit to art journal every day, even if it’s just starting a page, or adding to one, then finishing it later. It’s my daily diary of sorts, only filled with art and my creative whims.
Outlines and doodles are drawn in black fine tip pens, then colorized with marker and water.
The pages this week were all colored with Tombow markers.  I’ve used these vibrant markers for years.  Tombows are dye based markers, and colors can be manipulated with water.  Having a little handful of Tombows is like having a watercolor palette in pen form.  
There is a beautiful neutral color palette to create a inky effect.  

Creating this look is achieved by marker coloring areas with a darks and lights, then blending and dragging the colors in puddles of water.  A waterbrush is great tool for this technique.  (there are several brands of waterbrushes: Sakura, Niji, Pentel)

Layering washes when the previous one has dried completely.

Here’s something to try. Experiment with some of your doodles and lettering grids in black and white, then watercolor just the negative space.  Images pop!

Playing with words, making them little works of art.  Maybe they’ll get some color later.  Or maybe they are perfect just the way they are in this art journal.  We’ll see what whim hits and sticks.
After all your art journal is for exploring and experimenting.  It’s a vehicle for meditation, relaxation and play.  An art journal is for every day! 

"artful business card" tutorial

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Time to get back in the artsy saddle and share some creations!  
While i was at Create! a few weeks ago, i realized it didn’t bring any business cards for the Vendor Faire on my last day there.  I gathered some of my left over watercolor paper scraps from from my journaling class.  The best part about making something in your hotel room at a creative event like this is that i had every art supply that i could possibly need!  Except for a paper cutter, that would have been a little awkward at the airport.  
With my scissors, i cut some strips the to make the cards, 1 1/2″ x 3″.  With my black Pitt pen, I drew my signature heart with wings, and framed the edges with some loosely sketched lines. 
  

 For the color background, i used my Koi Watercolor travel set and water brush.  That little watercolor set has been all over the country with me this year.  When “jetsetting” (LOL!!) it easily fits into my bag along with a small art journal.

 After the watercolor was dry, i used my Ranger Heat Tool to dry the cards.  Yes, i even had my heat tool along with me for teaching!  I lettered my name on the front with my white Signo pen and added some dots for whimsey.  My blog address was hand written on the back of the card.  (sorry about the photo quality, still getting used to my iphone camera)  
But the icing on the art cake was using the Luminarte Radiant Rains to add glimmer, glam, sparkle and shine!!  Simple and spectacular, I sprayed the pile with Egyptian Gold and the cards looked like jewels!
So there’s a quick little solution for not being prepared in a pinch!  Luckily i traveled with my mobile art studio, but you can always find someway to invent a one of a kind treasure when on the road with your “go to” travel supplies.  Note to self, in August, have these ready for Create! Chicago.  Happy trails!

Create Costa Mesa: "Oh My Word!"

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Oh my word!….the lettering class.  Quite the intense workshop, 3 hours spent experimenting with new pens and materials, creating new fonts and illustrating quotes in a handmade journal.  I enjoyed all these lovely ladies from my two classes, who were always intently concentrating on the precision of calligraphy, arranging letters aesthetically, and designing word pages.  Every page a masterpiece!

“OH MY WORD! ARTFUL LETTERING”: Wednesday p.m.

Love the lefties!
Beautiful journal covers and lovely smiles!
Aaaahhhh………the secret “white pen”, delicious!
Pure bliss, peaceful zenlike lettering exercise……
“OH MY WORD! ARTFUL LETTERING”: Thursday afternoon:

 In these photos, there are a few HUNDRED pens, paints, gelatos from Faber Castell, Copic and Sakura.  The perfect materials for perfect lettered journal pages!

 (*note: half of the students in this class participated in the “Color Me Copic” class in the morning.  So we shared an entire day!!)  And i want to know WHO has photos of the Copic class since my camera screen read:”battery exhausted” when i went to take photos, wah wah!!!  Will do a whole post on the Copic class in Chicago this summer.  But it was amaaaaaazing!  We christened some major “COLORING QUEENS” in that class!!   
 So serious!!!!!!!!!  You could hear a pin drop.

  The girls were all so focused i had to remind them to lift their heads up and smile for the camera!!

 Photographing the class teaching posters, brilliant!!

I was so blessed to be surrounded with such joyful women all day!

Loved having the so sweet and talented Pam Carriker in my class.
joanne and pam

 She thought she was coming to TAKE the class, but brought all her Pan Pastels trays to share with the students!  Here’s Pam giving an impromptu demo on her color palette and how she uses Pan Pastels.  It was so serendipitous!  We joked that MY color palette was the exact opposite of hers!

 The students loved using Pam’s extra color trays and illustrating their lettering pages with the buttery goodness of Pan Pastels.  Love them!

 So intense, beautiful results!

 Such fun seeing the beautiful lettered illustrations that came from just a few hours of stretching creatively, experimenting with new materials and creating breathtaking artwork.

Thank you ladies, you made this class a masterpiece!  

Celebrating Costa Mesa Create!: "Color Blast Buffet"

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Create! in Costa Mesa, spectacular, now just a memory.  An incredible event hosted by the fabulous folks at Cloth Paper Scissors magazine.  What a great time!

I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and standing up in front of my sold out lettering class i said, “How much fun is this!  Doing art and creative things with your new bff art girlfriends all week!”  That about sums it up.

We were there to share, learn, create, expereriment, explore and make new friends who share the same creative passions as we do.  There were so many challenging and sophisticated class offerings, this is a premier event.  Pure art, pure creativity.  There are lots of pics in these posts, trying to capture just a little taste of my 4 workshops.

“COLOR BLAST BUFFET” Art Journals Class:

 Setting up the “buffet” with dozens and dozens of products to explore…

 Love this journal that Evelyn shared from the art inspiration in my Copic article….

 Creativity intensified!  Concentrating on color creations……

The thrill of a successful technique attempt!

This class is all about color and trying new things, experimenting with 20 NEW PRODUCTS and making a beautiful 16 page journal in one class.

Sonia, the marketing director from Luminarte/Creative Imaginations even colorized her phone with painted bubble wrap!  We were so lucky to have her in class, as she treated us to using a whole table full of Twinkling H2Os, or “Twinks” as we affectionately call them.  Thank you Luminarte for your twinkling sparkling offerings on our buffet and the products in the students goodie bags!

Mega TWINKS!!!!!!!!

So many skill levels and these handmade journal embellishments were spectacular!  Made with Ranger Glossy Accents, Sakura Koi Watercolors and Twinks……..Thank you Sakura for your colorful contributions to our workshops!

Binding the journals together….

Bright bold colors created with Ranger Color wash, colorful acrylic dabbers and perfect pearls mists.  Thank you Tim Holtz and Ranger for supporting our class with your wonderful products to giveaway!  Everyone went home with bags of goodies from my product sponsors. 

So glad the hotel carpet was covered with construction grade plastic, whew!

A blast of color, beautiful boldness and a journal ready to embellish and letter with their Big Brush pens from Faber Castell…….Thank you Lisa at Faber Castell for the delicious Gelatos and bags of pens the students were able to take home and finish lettering their journals!
Thank you ladies for coming, we sure had a “Color Blast”!  Hope our creative paths cross again. 
 If you LOVE COLOR and if didn’t make it to Costa Mesa, you can come to Create Chicago in August, where i will be offering these workshops again. See you there!
NEXT POST ON WHIMSPIRATIONS: “Oh My Word” and “Color Me Copics”…

a "Coloring Arts" show!

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Are you a Copic coloring fan/fanatic?  Did you see the FREE ART TO COLOR in my article in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine?  

I’m hosting a “COLORING ARTS SHOW” right here on my blog.  
With YOUR colored art! 
Pick up the May/June Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, print out the art on page 70.  Color it up with your Copics or whatever you have and let’s showcase the beautiful art works.  
 Email your finished page in a jpeg. format to me at: jzsharpe@yahoo.com 
by June 7, 2011.   
I will post your art along with your blog if you have one.  
On June 15th we’ll have THREE random prize drawings for my signed Copic art “PRIZE PRINTS”!
So, go on, get coloring and have fun.  I’ll be waiting at my mailbox for your masterpiece!  
Leave a blog comment about the coloring article 
and you’ll also be entered in the drawing to win 
the “PRIZE PRINTS” on June 15th.

hello, my lonely blog!

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I have been a bad blogger!


Consumed these last four weeks, with lots of excitement, especially with my son Kevin’s  college graduation!  Did  i tell you that he earned his degree in Art Education, from my alma mater, Nazareth College? I earned my Art Ed degree exactly 30 years earlier, to the day!  We couldn’t be prouder with TWO Naz Art Ed grads from the class of 1981 and 2011.  AND to add to thar, my 30 year reunion is in 3 weeks at the college.


Then there’s been the prep for the Create! retreat in Costa Mesa (i can’t believe the ton of supplies i am lugging cross country!) and getting my Etsy shop (so many prints going out to new homes) up and running!  Won’t bore you with all the details, but will get back in the saddle from Costa Mesa and blog about the four workshops i’ll be teaching……..for now, i must get to sleep, flying out this afternoon.  Even though i live in New York, looks like i’m already on west coast time, bloggin at 2am!!

Mr. Kevin Sharpe, Aspiring Art Teacher



….and me, i’m flying off to Create! in Costa Mesa……



whimsical wednesday, thank YOU!

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…thank you for everything…this is for you…
I just want to thank YOU, and can’t tell YOU how much YOU 
touch my heart.  
I wish i could list you by name and thank you for your support, sending me notes and emails and for leaving comments on my blog and Facebook.  It encourages me on a daily basis. 
…you are my inspiration….it’s my hope that my little artworks make you smile, touch your heart and stir your soul.  Thank you for letting me know that it moves you. 


…this is joy….How lucky i am, blessed to live in the joy of my creativity and to know and accept that my art is my vocation.  This lifestyle looks really great and dreamy, but it has it’s challenges, like anything else.  But, i can’t imagine myself being anything other than an artist.  I joyfully embrace what i was born to be and hope, in your beautiful life, you can too.
In my life i have such great joy….thankful for YOU and all the opportunities that support my life journey.

Right at this moment, NOW is just enough………creating, painting, lettering, journaling, teaching, inking, writing, researching, learning and sharing.  It’s so good.  Thank you for appreciating what i put out in the universe!


…doing life artfully…. I’ll always be making new artsy things with my abundant colorful tools.  I hope i can inspire you to even color a little!  Paint, ink, get messy and play.  Try new things and experiment with new ways of making your art and expressing your creative spirit.





 …Love you for making my colorful world joyful and bright.  I thank you by your name, so thank you ____(insert your beautiful name here)________, for everything!

A woman who works with her hands is a LABORER; a woman who works with her hands and head, a CRAFTSMAN; but a woman who works 
with her hands, her head and her heart is an ARTIST.
 St. Francis of Assisi

magazine and marker magic

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It’s here, it’s here!  My first article for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine has arrived to subscribers! (these photos are from my friend Mel)  The May/June 2011 issue should be on your news stands any day, if it’s not there already. 

I’m over the moon excited about this, even made it on the cover!  Well, almost.  Those are my little hand drawn flowers in the upper right corner of the magazine cover.  My 5 page article is titled “Making Magic with Markers”.  It’s about my love for Copic markers in my artwork and teaching.

It features my original, hand drawn art, full color illustrations and some small tutorials on how to use Copic markers and get beautiful blends in your projects.  It’s my take on an “artful” way to color.  After all, coloring is very relaxing and really good for you!


I must say that my favorite part of the article is some FREE ART!  I created this black and white illustration for readers to print out and color.  It’s a special little “whimspiration” that you can practice your coloring and then display.

So pick up the May/June issue, color along with the little lesson and create your own Copic color-full masterpiece!

My original illustration colored for this magazine shoot

Thank you, thank you to my editors Jenn Mason and Barbara Delaney!  The article is gorgeous, and you’ve done it to perfection.  So very proud to have my name on it.

it’s "in the NUMBERS"

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Well, my art will “BE” the numbers!  Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, i will be featured on the Create Mixed Media website in the “The Week As Art” section for an entire week.  The hosts ask artists to illustrate calendar numbers on their page, and it links right back to the artists website for seven days.  


Create Mixed Media is an interactive website from the book publisher North Light Craft/ F+W Media.  It’s such an enjoyable site, showcasing everything exciting and relevant in the mixed media art world.  There are technique blogs, book reviews and art product promotions, artist interviews and more.  A great site to find inspiration and the courage to create your heart out.  Go visit!

  

What an honor to be featured.  Thank you Create Mixed Media!