And now a word about my nephew......

I often blog about my talented niece Abby, 13. But, now it's time to spread some love to her brother, my equally-talented and uber-cool nephew Josh, 17. Besides being an apparent ladies' man, if Facebook must be believed (and it must), he is charmer to young and old, and a fun-loving, normal high school senior. He's also a 'guitar-bud' to my son Alex, 20, his cousin.

Besides being musically-oriented and a former football player and cross country runner, Josh is incredibly artistic. He has taken ceramics, photography, digital art and more, but every time I go to their house, I am struck by his charcoal drawings.

Here are three, including a self-portrait. He has multiple ribbons from art shows and much other work, which I hope to feature here in the future. He definitely has a variety of career options, and right now is considering Geology as a major at Indiana University, where his dad works.

His artist-wannabe auntie admires him for many reasons; his drawing skill is only one.

All in A Day's Work

It's called "The Care of the Mind." Not sure if it is done. 11 x 14 gallery-wrapped canvas. Acrylics, collage, charcoal, watercolor crayons. Still studying Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts and Journal Bliss by Violette, and very impressed with Twisted Figures art by Shonna Bucaroff.

Oh, and so much for Facebook DIY, my little sketch pad. Last night I decided to get with the program and join the real Facebook. How fun it has been to connect with art friends and reconnect with old school friends. Good way to care for the mind. They're old; I'm not. Come find me there here.

Facebook? D.I.Y.

I've been on a crazy doodling kick lately. I think it might be a stress reliever! The last photo- a zentangle- is definitely that. This one is 3" x 3" and doodled on watercolor paper with an extra fine point Sharpie. You can read more about Zentangles on the Web, and see many varieties on Flickr. It's fun to turn them every which way to see what you can see.

The face doodles started when I met Kellie Rae Roberts at Art & Soul, Portland, and had her autograph my copy of her book Taking Flight. I just love her solemn-faced girls, and have been practicing the techniques in her book. So, some of the these faces are her design, just tried by me.

The painted girl 'Fly' is in my regular art journal and done on a Twinkling H2O background with watercolor crayons.

The other faces are mostly charcoal pencil or graphite pencil. See anyone you know? I think I accidentally made Chloe from '24' and Alexandra Steele from The Weather Channel! I started doodling these after getting Journal Bliss by Violette.

I decided I will dedicate one of my journals to being a 'Facebook.' Grown-ups certainly can be and are on the 'real' Facebook, but I've got enough sites to maintain as it is. So, I'll just keep all my face doodles in one place. I can't wait to make a cover for it. So, Facebook? I say: (Do)odle it Yourself.

And now a word from Art & Soul

Soooo happily exhausted am I from my 1,600 mile/4-day art retreat at Art & Soul, Hampton, VA., that I thought I'd let my pictures do the talking. I figure they're worth about 15,000 words.