Color me Happy in Yellow with Sunflowers and more!

Being an artist you begin to notice all the little things. We notice the things that other people miss in the business of their daily lives.  It's so easy to forget that we have been given a special gift of awareness. A gift of seeing an abundance of colors when others see only gray. Have you noticed how as summer approaches the colors begin to shift from the pastels of spring to the bright yellows of summer.

The sun is directly over us and it lights up the garden in a different way. It's now becoming time for sunflowers and rudbeckia, for marigolds and peaches. They light up the yard like little beacons of sunlight and I love this time. 

When we take the time to sketch and paint we really become intimate with the thing we are painting, learning each curve, the colors, the turns and twists of the line that will reproduce it onto our paper or fabric with our own personal dynamic.

Take a moment to look around and to see something new today, something that is brightening up your day.  Take a moment to really take it in with the special artists appreciation.

This month my Mug Rug Club received a sunflower template for their pattern. I not only showed them how to do some reverse appliqué but I made a book bag with my little mug rug and sent them my first video insert! There are sunflowers everywhere!

Here's to filling your days with warm sunshine, sweet aromas and bright yellows! I hope you have a happy, sunshine sunflower day!

The Sketchbook Challenge Blog Hop- Houses and Hideaways, creating your own Hideaway

Hi everyone! For the Sketchbook Challenge we decided to have a blog hop! I know, fun right. Many of the contributing artists have gotten together to share their expertise and show you some really great examples of houses and hideaways. Some have posted videos, some tutorials and many are giving away goodies so make sure you check them out this month. I am having a giveaway, I will tell you all about it soon.

I wanted to share more about my hideaway, which is in reality my backyard and gardens. I love to be outside and often love to have my breakfast or coffee outside in the morning, soaking up the sun and sketching before I even start my day. When our daughter Jennifer was hurt we knew that our traveling was going to be limited and that if we wanted her to be able to share in family events we needed to create a place that was handicap friendly. We created our shangri-la, that can be shared but it is also my hideaway on a daily basis. Do you have a special spot you can get lost in, a place you love to go and just write or read or sketch? If not you can easily designate a spot to call your own, and it can move as needed based on weather or other factors.

Here are some tips to help you find your own space.

1. Are there a few areas that you just love, that bring you instant peace and allow you to unwind and just enjoy your surroundings? That would be the best place to start. I could be under the shade of a tree, in a big, overstuffed chair, it can be anywhere you choose. I just think it should be away from anything that causes you stress and it should give you a change of scenery.

2. Claim this area and get acquainted with the surrounding areas, make sure you can go there to escape the outside pressures and demands that are placed on you. A hideaway doesn't need to be a vacation spot or a elaborate set up although it could be, a hideaway that is close allows you to visit more often!

3. Add comfort, have a blanket within reach, maybe a pillow or have them ready to go out with you when you visit your hideaway. Do you remember when you were a kid and you made a fort, we are making adult hideaway forts again. Somewhere that offers you something special and you can't wait to go there and just play.

4. Stock your hideaway with things you might want to do while there. A good book, sketchbooks, notebooks for writing etc. If your hideaway is outside maybe keep a basket full of your supplies next to the door so when you go out you can just grab it and go, no running around trying to gather things. Being ready to go sketch or journal is half the battle. If your time is limited and busy the thought of having to gather supplies might cause you not to go at all.

My quilts are often inspired by my garden and my home and all of my sketches.

 5. Before you begin, start off by just taking notice of everything in and around your area and take on a attitude of gratefulness. By seeing the blessings that surround you, you open yourself up to the wonders and the intimate relationship an artist has with their subject matter. How is the light reflecting off the surface, what colors are the clouds in the sky actually, how many colors of green can you find in those leaves. How do the shadows make the lighter areas pop. This is learning to see your surroundings. Artists learn to really see.

 6. Make a date with yourself, a time when you will allow yourself to sneak away and grab some coffee, tea or a glass of wine and just get lost in your sketchbook. By saying you're important enough to make time for can be a big step but you wont regret it. That coffee in the morning, alone with my sketchbook, is very special. Sometimes I grab a glass of wine and go out to sketch around dusk. I love the way the warm sunlight dances off the trees as the wind blows through and begins to cool down the heat of the day.

 7. Take the time to capture a scene or an object that is near you. I love to walk the yard, searching for something that is begging me to be painted. Some days it may be the reflections of light, other days a flower or bee. It doesn't matter what it is if it speaks to you just paint it.

My girlfriend Pat came up and painted with me in my hideaway! Hideaways are fun to share too.

 8. Journaling is an important part of my sketchbook. I like to not only paint the scene or object but I like to say something about it, or how I am feeling or what it means to me. By taking the time to journal you turn a pretty sketch into a personal memory that you will have recorded for all time. I want to share my thoughts, a special moment when a child said something profound, I want to document it forever.

A little butterfly house quilt that was inspired by Matilla poppies I grow and butterflies we raised for the grandkids.

9. By taking time to enjoy some reflective time and the beauty that surrounds you you are better able to give back to those who need you. These wonderful adventures you have in your hideaway will translate into other areas of you life. Often my art quilts are a sketch I have done and then translated into fabric. 

Hollyhocks, I have cut pierce work into the leaves of the quilt showing the damage I have the snails that year.

I hope you will grab your sketchbook and join me by taking the time to sketch and journal the things in your life in your favorite hideaway.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and my companion post on the Sketchbook Challenge. I hope you will sign up to follow my blog and get my Newsletter(top right column). It comes out once a month and is full of wonderful art things, tutorials, my fabric lines and other artsy things I am doing and classes I am offering. I also will be offering some sketch classes online so sign up so you don't miss out!

 So my give away to thank you for taking the time to visit me and the Sketchbook Challenge is a sketchbook and mechanical pencil and a brush. I always have at least those things with me where ever I go. I may even include a sketch for you from me.

Here's a little sketching video I did for you!


I want to encourage you to make that special hideaway to record your life! All you have to do is leave me a comment and maybe tell me a bit about your hideaway. The opportunity drawing will be open until Saturday, September 28, 5:00 pm PST. I will then do a random drawing from the comments posted. I will post the winner that day and will need you to email me your information.

For some more tips on how to make journaling a daily event visit my previous blog post, blueberries for breakfast.

To see more of my artwork, art quilts etc visit my website! If you interested in purchasing anything feel free to contact me via my website.

To see more of my hideaway and gardens visit my garden tour post, all about opening up our home to raise money for the children's hospital.

Thanks for visiting!!

My sketchbook journaling class

My sketchbook journaling class, a photo by ddhabicht on Flickr.

Today was the first in a series of ongoing sketching classes. Today we discussed the different kinds of journals, styles, text, and layout. Everyone got their brushes wet as we tackled strawberries! We ate our props at the end, well some of us couldn't wait!
I finished my painting and cropped it

Descanso gardens

Descanso gardens
Originally uploaded by ddhabicht

We had a photo Meetup at Descanso Gardens today. It started off a bit chilly but turned into a perfect day for the gardens. Most of the camelias are in full bloom right now making the gardens a must see if you are in the area.
Randy decided about a year ago, to join a photo meet up group in an attempt to learn more about photography and meet some like minded people. One of the things I enjoy about belonging to the group is exploring some of the amazing areas that I never knew exsisted! Some of these areas are right under my nose!  Its so true that we often will travel for days to go sight seeing when we haven't even visited the sites closest to our own homes! These day trips are perfect for us as we can include Jennifer who loves to explore.  Although we have been to the Decanso many times but it was fun to explore with a camera and a paint brush. You begin to see things you have never seen or noticed before. You begin to pay special attention to lighting and shadows when you are painting or photographing.

 Today at the gardens was "fairy day" and all the little girls were dressed up as fairies, it was just too cute! I am posting my sketches now but I will add some photos of these little pixies in the next day or two.
                            
After the gardens we were invited to have lunch at a very dear friend's home who lived close by. After a perfect lunch and some great conversation we headed home! What a perfect Saturday excursion! What did you do today?

Sneaking in a sketch

I am so hungry to draw. Sometimes I feel as though I need to be able to just stop everything and just disappear and get absorbed into a painting or drawing. With all the sewing I have been doing my artwork has been ignored. Luckily for me, I had my little sketch book in my purse while I was sitting at the airport. This secretive drawing at the airport is almost a learned skill. Here is my airport sketching tips for you newbies.

1. First you have to get out the sketch pad and open it without drawing much attention to yourself. Its a slow movement, keeping yours eyes down.




2. Always have your pencil attached to your sketchbook as to not have to re dig in your purse.




3. Slowly open the book, pretending to write something as if you were making a note to self.




4. Glance around the room and see who might be watching you and who is totally absorbed in something where they won't move long enough for you to sketch them.




5. Try to position the sketchbook in a place where the people sitting on your right and left can't see what you are doing.




6. With your head kept down, glance up at your victim, oh sorry, subject. LOL Try to capture the shape and angle of your subjects head and/or body. Once you have the general shape you can now concentrate on one area at a time so you can remember it, draw it. Glance up again, repeat.




7. Every once in awhile you can raise your head and look around the room as if you are just checking out the people in general. Then zero in on your subject again and take in a good long look. Sketch more. I like to make sure I don't have people watching me at this time.




8. I like to draw people that don't know that they are being studied, if this doesn't work try doing some contour drawings as you stare them down. If they ask why you are staring at them show them your rendition of their face and I am sure people will stop asking. Enjoy.