NEW SECRET BLOG starts Saturday June 1st

My online classes are called Secret Blogs. The newest one which will last a whole year from June 2013-2014 is all about DRAWing and Dry Media like pens,charcoal, pencils and PanPastel. It is an almost daily record of what I do in my journals and sketchbooks.
You can join at anytime although it is easier to watch from the beginning!

Only $35 for the whole year of info on products, links and tons of pictures.
Hit the pay pal button in the upper left column to join today .

Coffee Break Lady

This is a CoffeeBreak Lady Here she is a bit over the edge with silver paint....which means I need to dig out the stencil and give her a better outline.

From the D journal

This is a journal I have started up again......It began as a sample altered book and contains pages from a variety of people back when we were doing round robin books. Since then it has been sitting in my studio waiting to be picked up and worked on.  

My newest painting....hanging while I decide if it is really done or not.

I have seen more .....

Double rainbows in Idaho than anywhere else I have ever lived!

Handcolored leaf gelli print

Handcolored Gelli

Cannot stop myself ......more zentangle

My favorite so far

Again just shaded with Copic markers and Nero pencils. I do get a lot of questions about what paper to use. I am so Lucky to work at an Art Supply store....I get great deals on all kinds of paper. Lately I have been using Stonehenge  because I have a good stash of it. I did about 50 prints with Strathmore charcoal paper which is much thinner and performed really well for a dryer prints.

When I start printing, for the first hour while I warm up just regular bond paper or newsprint is fine. If I do get a great print I can always make a good copy or just a great close up photo.

Just a little shading

with Copics and Nero pencils

on this series

I think I will do a bit more  drawing details on these with charcoal.

hand coloring the gelli prints

I am going through my stacks of gelli Prints and picking a few to hand color and detail.

Today in CDA @ Creative Element if you re coming to Journaling bring Pens all of your favorite PENS oh and your journal. 4:30 pm

WINNERS! here they are............

The winner of the Chris Cozen Stencil Package From Artistcellar is Tacoma Sarah!

The winner of the Chris and Julie's new book/ DVD Pack from F&W books is Aimslee!

AND the winner of my new Blog/Class is Tina Hunt!

Congratulations to you all!

 Prize peeps will be contacting you via email

Thanks to all of you that participated  and I hope you will come back often for a visit.
MaryJo

Announcing the WINNERS on Wed May 22nd

Come back tomorrow( MAY22) for the announcement of All three winners from the Blog Hop Here!

More pods with a Glaze Pen.....which is so shiny!

Finishing the drawn pods as a zentangle

Thanks for visiting

I love Chris Cozen's use of nature in her pieces so I am totally thrilled to have received this wonderful POD stencil set from Artist Cellar. BTW Chris's new book with Julie Pritchard is incredible.
This coming June, Chris will be teaching at Spokane Art Supply and I cannot wait to see how she uses these stencils!

When I get a new stencil I like to see how they look just outlined in black so that is always my first step. Once I saw this I knew I wanted to draw them in pencil in mass. Come back and see this as a full page in my doodling journal later this week.

I use a lot of figures and I make my own templates sometimes  using magazine cutout and them painting them with plain acrylic on both sides then coating them with matte medium and then Micro Glaze. This makes them tough like vinyl and the Micro Glaze keeps them from sticking together. If I end up loving the image I cut out a REAL stencil from acetate.

These two look kind of beat up but they work fine for an outline in pencil. I chose Strathmore Mixed Media board for this project....it takes everything so beautifully.

so I outlined them and started applying this thinned fluid acrylic (Golden)

Here is the finished base color

Then I drew the pods piling them up in pencil.

Building up levels and usingdifferent values of  pencils to add depth

Then I added more color with Copics and sharpie poster paint pens

I like to add highlights with the sharpie poster paint white

Here is the coloring part way through

Thanks so much to Chris and the Artist Cellar for including me in this Blog Hop!

To celebrate the release of Chris' stencils of course we have PRIZES All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, including your email address, to be eligible to win one, four-stencil set . Comment by end of day on May 18th, at which time I will chose the winner randomly.

OH MY.... there is more to win! North Light Books and F+W Media are  providing copies of Chris' new book written with Julie Prichard Acrylic Solutions: Exploring Mixed Media Layer by Layer AND a copy of Chris' workshop DVD Acrylic Painting: Color, Texture and Value. Another LUCKY person will be chosen at random to win both the book and DVD.
AND .......I will be offering to yet another lucky random person a YEAR of the My Newest Secret Blog which begins in June!

Tomorrow on to JANE!

5/12 Artistcellar
5/13 Seth Apter

5/14 Mary Beth Shaw 

5/15 You are HERE!

5/16 Jane LaFazio

5/17 Pam Carriker 

5/18 Jeanette House

5/19 Chris Cozen

That is it...done & done....Come back by anytime!

Come to Club at Spokane Art Supply

Bring along all your Spray inks and empty Spray bottles

I will bring loads of new stencils and stuff to fill your empties!
You will also learn how to make your own people stencils like those in my post for the Blog Hop!

I have to let it dry

Another kitty girl beginning

Kitty Girl

BTW the blog hop stop today is
 Seth Apter's blog The Altered Page

Here is one more from the same journal .....Coffeebreak men stencils behind her. Crafter workshop 6x6 stencil in the background with pink spray paint. pencil and pen lines.

Metallic paint & pencil

Just another Journal....... the background was a mess of paint I had used a few nights back Bronze, Micaceous Iron Oxide, Green Gold, Vat Orange (Golden of course) ....I was using this as the palette for another project. The next day I did a bit of scribbling with a white pencil ( a Stabilo All) then took a homemade stencil and outlined in black pen. Just a few dashes of orange to highlight the guy (which looks great over the bronze)......that's it for now.

Today the Blog Hop Starts

Artist Cellar
The blog hop begins today
you will want to start at Artist Cellar
Be sure to post something on every page you visit this week to be entered.

SECRET BLOG #2

OH MY June is coming up fast!

I am still behind on Projects from the first Secret Blog and we start #2 in just a couple of weeks. Do not Panic! (that is what I always say in my head) It may take longer to finish than I thought but I will get you all the promised projects!

In the meantime I am offering the new blog so I have time to get everyone onboard and try to get just a tad ahead of the game.

All you #1 Bloggers read the description for the new blog and let me know what you think.......

EXCITING Blog HOP with ArtistCellar and Chris Cozen

This is so exciting for me .... My first real Blog Hop, of course I have flipped through a few but I have never participated like this....Thanks so much to Chris Cozen and the ArtistCellar for having me
Go to ArtistCellar and sign on for their newsletter today for more info This is all to celebrate Chris' new line of Stencils Playful Pods with ArtistCellar so go check that out today!

LOOK OUT!!!!

Here is the itinerary
BLOGHOP AND PRIZES  ( My links are not working here yet but head down to my links and they are all hooked up there)
Of course we are planning an awesome Bloghop with lots of prizes to celebrate the release of these stencils. I mean, some seriously good prizes! The bloghop will kickoff on Artistcellar's Blog on Sunday May 12th. And from there, we go to: 
May 13th - Seth Apter
May 14th - MaryBeth Shaw
May 15th - MaryJo McGraw
May 16th - Jane LaFazio
May 17th - Pam Carriker
May 18th - Jeanette House
May 19th - Chris Cozen will wrap it all up. 

Please note, the links will show the Playful Pods project on the day the artist is scheduled to post. Like always, we encourage you to leave comments at each blog on the day of their post because that gives you a chance to win some fabulous prizes.  What prizes, you ask? Well... you know how Chris Cozen and Julie Prichard just released a new book called Acrylic Solutions: Exploring Mixed Media Layer by Layer? And Chris has a DVD out called Color, Texture and Value? Yeah, one lucky person will win both the book AND the DVD! Oh, did I mention that North Light Books is donating enough book/dvd packages so eachartist can give one away? Yup, that's EIGHT chances to win! 

Today at Creative Element

So this afternoon 4:30pm at Creative Element Visual journaling & altered books we will be exploring cut out body shapes and silhouettes.....bring your scissors and black pens!

Studio Play today

Today at Studio Play we will be creating glazes with clear tar gel at 5:30 it is only $10 to come and play...don't bring a thing!

another Gelli print

Everything looks like a face to me.....

This is a 3 layer print.

Wes Hanson: Mixed Media Painting Class at Creative Element, Ma...

Wes Hanson: Mixed Media Painting Class at Creative Element, Ma...: Rampage River Mixed-Media Painting Creative Element (667-0813) at 210 W. Sunset, Coeur d’Alene (south of Home Depot) Saturda...

May 8th Studio Play

Join me for Studio Play at 5:30 loads of fun and low pressure practice play for Mixed Media fanatics!

We will be trying out Clear Tar Gel as a glaze and more......Don't bring a thing! It's only $10

It even works on tyvek stencils

Here is one that is halfway cleaned

Cleaning stencils

A constant question in using stencils is how to clean them. Here is what I do ......
Put the stencils in warm shallow water filled sink
Get a steel wool pad
Start scrubbing till all the acrylic is off
Thats it
The hard part is catching the solid acrylic paint before it goes down the drain......
a good sink strainer is all you need here.

Done with this one ....I think.

Stopping for now

Working the hair.

The most awesome Sign Pen

Another page

Another Zen beginning.

Big stamp sale this month at Spokane Art

Look what Chris Cozen is up to ......