20 Years Ago Today

I am sharing this post as a reminder to myself (and anyone else that might need to hear it) that dreaming big and not being afraid to go for it can lead to some pretty amazing adventures.

Today marks the 20 year anniversary of that time this mural (and my friend & business partner, Zoë, and I) were on the Oprah show after a whirlwind trip to Racine Wisconsin (and Chicago!) to paint a surprise mural for one of Oprah’s angels, Julia Burney (now Witherspoon).

In April 2001, our mural and decorative painting business was still just a fledgling company... I was a young, wide-eyed dreamer who was only a few months away from getting married. When Zoë and I saw Julia’s inspiring (and close to our hearts) story, I had no doubts about what I wanted to to. I wanted to volunteer to paint a mural for her new reading center, so I immediately emailed Oprah... No second guessing, no hesitation, no questioning whether or not it was a crazy idea.

Looking back, there is a lot that I can learn from my younger self. So, to celebrate this special day, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I knew then (without even realizing it!!), but need a reminder of now:

1. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. So, you might as well PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE.

2. POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS, if you...

3. DREAM BIG, WORK HARD, and GO FOR IT!

4. It’s okay to be nervous... Feel the fear, but DO IT ANYWAY! And, finally...

5. FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD.

If you’re interested in reading more about my time on Oprah, you can find the whole story on my website HERE.

I would love to hear about what big dreams YOU are dreaming today!

(Please share them with me in the comments!)

2018: 132-138/365

(Smiley face emoji courtesy of Tyler.)

As an artist, I love to tackle projects that take me out of my comfort zone.  So, when my sister asked if I would help her paint her car ("Major Tom"), I was very excited.  If you know me, then it should be no surprise that I will paint on just about anything... Stevie's car was just an oddly shaped, mobile canvas.  From far away, it looks like it's been tie-dyed, when you get up close it looks like a galaxy, and from every which way it looks like fun on wheels!

If you're interested in reading more about my amazing sister, Stevie, you can check out some older posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.

(And, here is a portrait I drew/painted of her.)

2018: 72/365

In honor of my sister Stevie's birthday, I thought I would take a break from the puzzle pieces to share a painting that I did of her a while back

(but never posted).

2018: 62 & 63

While doing some cleaning this weekend, I came across the very first picture book I ever made!  It was only as big as a quarter, but it was the perfect size for the Sesame Street characters that I made it for!

2018: 42/365

More animal mash-up fun...

His name is Ozzie.

2018: 24/365

Happy National Compliment Day!

Armed with post-its, pens, and positively punny praise, Tyler and I headed out to spread a little kindness today...

(Since it is also National Peanut Butter Day, we had to make sure to include some of the nutty stuff in one of our compliments!)

Leaving little notes of encouragement is one of my favorite things to do.  I even created some free printable kindness cards, in case you're interested!

2018: 13/365

As an artist, one of my favorite things to do is 
create handmade & heartfelt gifts!

In this case, personalized note cards with matching stickers 

for the newly engaged couple!

2018: 9/365

I made this drawing for a friend tonight, but I thought that I'd post it here

just in case you could use a little encourage-mint too!

2018: 3/365

One thing leads to another...

abstract collage, 1-3-2018

Yesterday I shared pictures from (and art inspired by) my New Years Day adventure at frozen Niagara Falls.  After I wrote that post, I was inspired to look through some old family photos because I remembered that when my uncle was little, they "shut off" the American side of the falls.  I was very excited to find the photos I was looking for:

Niagara Falls, 1969 (American side "shut off", Canadian side still "on")

These photos lead to some loose drawing exercises for my
morning warm-up...

Techniques I used include:
- Contour drawing/ Blind contour drawing
- Non-dominant hand drawing
- One-liners

(I used one of today's drawings combined with yesterday's textured papers to create the abstract collage at the top of the post.)

2018: 2/365

Sometimes you just need to see things with fresh frozen eyes...

Yesterday, my uncle sent me a link to an article in The Washington Post about how spectacular Niagara Falls looks right now.
I have lived a short car ride away from the falls my entire life, and like many things that are in our own backyard, I have come to take the magnificence of this natural wonder for granted.  Reading a national news article about it was just the wake-up call I needed.  So, late yesterday afternoon the boys and I bundled up and headed north...

Now, I think I need to express how intensely I dislike cold weather... So much so, that when I asked Bob if we could go check out the frozen falls he said, "Who are you?!?"  But, there is something about the start of a new year that makes me want to shake things up and get out of my comfort zone.  
And, I'm so glad I did... The view was breathtaking!  
(Literally.  Record low temperatures combined with mist that freezes in the air and turns to mini-ice-daggers-that-stab-at-your-face will actually take your breath away!  Hahaha!)

It turns out that once I got past the extreme cold,
I was left with some pretty remarkable inspiration...
Today I played with textures based on yesterday's view.

Things I experimented with:
- Scratching into the paper before applying a watercolor wash
- Using a glue stick, and white crayon as a resist (to keep white areas) before applying a watercolor wash
- Torn paper as relief
- Using torn paper edges as a "stencil" for pastel application
- Applying paint with plastic wrap
- Layering all of the different techniques

Don't Worry...

"Barry"
(A drawing I did this past week for a dear friend's birthday.)

I know I've been away from the blog for a while, 
but I'm happy to report that I'm not trapped under anything heavy.

More soon...

A Cheese Sandwich, A Teabag, A Dog, And Yoda...

Or, in other words...

Happy Birthday Tracey!

"Smarter than you think, Mushu is."

Graphite on teabag

My friend Tracey's daughter is a genius of epic proportions, and for her mother's birthday she is creating an origami Yoda! 
(How cool is that?!?)

Tracey believes Yoda will add wisdom to her studio, because her current studio-mate (her dog Mushu), is a lackluster conversationalist.  If you have read Tracey's latest blog post, then you know that she also believes Mushu is 
"about as bright as a cheese sandwich"...

"Bright As A Cheese Sandwich"

Prismacolor pencil drawing on a toast photo

(presented on a dinner napkin)

In honor of Tracey's birthday, I have created two portraits of her beloved "mutt"...  One as the "cheese sandwich" Tracey contends Mushu is as smart as, and one as "Yoda", because I secretly harbor thoughts that Mushu is much more clever than anyone knows.

(close-up)

The jury is still out on poor Mushu, but what I know for sure is that Tracey is absolutely brilliant and definitely deserving of some silly artwork on her special day...

Happy Birthday Snicker Buddy!

To Tracey With Love (And Humor!)

(a page in my sketchbook)

I originally created this drawing for my Clooney-and-tea-loving pal, Tracey, in July.  Then, when EVA & I decided to host a tea party for her, I thought it might be fun to revisit this drawing and play with some new ideas...

It started off pretty harmless.  I printed my drawing and cut it out to try different backgrounds.  But, knowing how much Tracey shares my love of silly (and actually encourages my antics), I couldn't stop there...

So I took George for a ride.

(Yes, that's George Clooney in my passenger seat.)

I brought him with me to the post office.

And, I took him to the grocery store.

(It's pretty appropriate that this photo was taken by the bananas.  Because, if you are taking pictures with a cardstock cut-out of a George Clooney drawing, people are going to look at you like you are... bananas.)

Since George is truly a gentleman, he wouldn't think of attending Tracey's Tea Party without bringing flowers.

Or chocolate!

(I had so much fun with George, I can see why Tracey loves him!)

I'm Back!

A page from my sketchbook in the artsyville style...

(Although, no one doodles like Aimee!)

Recharging My Creative Battery

My original intent for this post was to do an ICAD update, but instead I've come to a pretty big (and pretty scary) decision...

I've decided to "unplug", except for my behind the scenes work with EVA at Paint Party Friday, for the remainder of the summer.

Yesterday was Tyler's 7th birthday... If you've been reading my blog for awhile, then you may remember me mentioning that we celebrate "Birthday Weeks" in the Dudish house.  In the midst of the merriment I became a little bit wistful thinking about how fast time seems to be flying...

I was reminded recently (by a couple of wonderful blog friends) of how truly precious each moment is.  So, as a result, I have decided to enjoy the school-free time I have with Tyler and savor each and every moment!

I'll be back, creative battery recharged, in September...

(I hope you will all still be here!)

Tutorial Try-Out: Glue Collagraph

A Mommy-Tyler Glue Collagraph Collaboration

If you read my last post, then you know that Tyler was on Spring Break last week. So, for this week's tutorial try-out (Belinda Del Pesco's Glue Collagraph Tutorial), I had a helper...

Tyler drew pictures (using a sharpie marker) on matboard that was coated with gloss varnish.  I traced his drawings using Elmer's glue, straight from the bottle.

We let the glue dry overnight, then the next day we inked our plates using a brayer and Speedball water soluble black ink. (We printed the images on 140 lb. watercolor paper.)

When I was in college, the "second pull" was always my favorite, so we were sure to create "ghost prints" too!

(This was a lot of fun, and I'll definitely be doing it again, but I think I'm going to try different glues to see if I can find one that isn't as runny.)

Did you try this tutorial?
If so, please be sure to link up below.
(I can't wait to see!)

And, be sure to read all the way to the end of the post to see what tutorial I'm trying next!


It seems I've been bitten by the printmaking bug, so next week I'll be trying out a tutorial that has been at the very top of my list ever since I saw my friend Karen creating lots and lots of beautiful gelatin prints.
Gelatin Printing Using A Homemade Block by Karen at I am Rushmore

I am very lucky to have received a super fun zine from Karen that describes how to make a gelatin block in great detail.  But, I realize that not everyone knows how to make a gelatin block, so here is a link to a site that has directions (and answers many other gelatin related questions too):
Linda Germain's Gelatin Printing

A Day With T

This week (which also happens to be Tyler's spring break) 
has been full...
Full of adventure, full of uncertainty, full of fun, full of chaos, and full of art.

A day at the gallery seemed like a wonderful way to round out a rollercoaster week!

T holding "T" by Chryssa.

While we were driving, Tyler said, "Wouldn't it be cool to take a photo to make it look like I'm holding one of the paintings?"

"Ace" by Robert Rauschenberg is Tyler's favorite painting.  He "likes all of the different materials he used to make it."

It was such a nice day, we even got to spend some time in the gallery's courtyard.

(Don't worry, he's not actually close enough to touch the painting!)

And, of course no trip to The Albright Knox Art Gallery would be complete without the hunt for Jackson Pollock's matchstick!

Tutorial Try-Out: Glue As A Resist

This weeks tutorial, "Glue As A Resist" at Unruly Paper Arts, started off as a pretty straightforward process...

I did my first page using glue applied straight from the bottle (and watercolor once the glue was dry).  I guess I was still feeling a bit inspired by last week's tutorial, because I decided to add some gesso to help define leaf shapes.

I liked the results, but using glue straight from the bottle created a raised texture, and I was interested in seeing if I could create a resist that was flat...

For my next page, I applied the glue with a brush.  Success!  The "leaf veins" I had drawn completely disappeared when they dried.  When I applied the watercolor to the page, they magically appeared again!  I decided to add some micron & gel pen details, and some panpastel shading too.

This technique really got the wheels turning in my mind, and I thought since the images painted with the glue completely disappear, it would be really cool to create...

Top secret messages!

Well, with an idea that fun, I had to let my favorite little collaborator in on the "secret"!  Tyler and I have been playing with this magical technique ever since...

One of Tyler's "Secret Messages" That I Revealed With Watercolors

One of My "Secret Messages" That Tyler Revealed With Watercolors

Did you try this tutorial?
If so, please be sure to link up below.
(I can't wait to see!)

And, be sure to read all the way to the end of this post to see what tutorial I'm trying next!


Since the glue is already out, I thought it would be fun to try:
Belinda Del Pesco's Glue Collagraph Tutorial.