I am finishing up the last week of an on line workshop, and it had some fun ways to express your art.  This very last week, the course was run by artist Michael Hobbs of the UK.  Michael gave us some pointers of how to budget time, but also be good to ourselves and reward ourselves as part of the creative process.  One of the lessons I liked, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, was the lesson on how to “blow up” your work.

I watched the video and though to myself, “Oh, I am not going to want to do this.”  Then I forced myself to do it using a sketch I did last week of Mack, my Chihuahua.

Well, much to my surprise and delight, I loved the whole thing.  I blew it up and I pieced it together and wow, it’s awesome!

I love seeing it hanging there on the wall, so here is the original sketch with a ruler so you can see the size and here is the final product hanging on my studio wall.

#sketchbookskool #artforall #illustatedjournaling  #visualjournal #sketchbook #sketch #ginalento

   
   

These are a few ATC’s that I did for a card swap.  I was not feeling inspired until I looked at our wine rack, so I did mini portraits of wine bottles.

  

I am trying to follow the morning pages ritual as spelled out in “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I am not a writer and I want to fit “art before breakfast” in with the writing ritual so I found a way to do both combining the morning pages with sketching or doodling and I am finding that I am really getting some cool ideas. Anyway, here’s a sketch that I did of my Chihuahua, Mack. He’s a long haired Chi.

#sketchbookskool #artforall #illustatedjournaling #visualjournal #sketchbook #sketch #ginalento

  

One of the gifts I gave my husband was a tiny book that I made and I illustrated the e e Cummings poems “i carry your heart.” I am not showing the whole book, but you get the gist of it.
#valentines day 

    
 

Last year, during all the blizzards and snow storms, I painted and sketched snow scenes.  Today, I decided to use the time indoors to play in my studio and I created a ‘Zine to entertain you.  I was poking fun at myself while using a cartoon of my husband to represent the pastel painter.  Those of you who paint with pastels may get a chuckle out of this one.

All you have to do is print out the “Zine, trim it to size and open the PDF Instructions to see how to make it into a little book.

Enjoy.

Click on this link for the ‘Zine

How to be a pastel painter

 

 

Click on this link for how to assemble the “Zine

PDF Directions for making the Summer 2014 ‘Zine
#sketchbookskool #artforall #illustatedjournaling #urbansketching #visualjournal #sketchbook #sketch #ginalento

 

Of course An Affair to Remember is one of my favorite movies. Here’s a nod to Hollywood and the potential blizzard on the way.  Since moving to Long Island 7 years ago, blizzards have almost been an annual event so I just make sure we have what we need in the house and enjoy the time in my studio.

  

Book number 3 contains a “wing it” recipe that has been something I have made since I was a kid.  My mother used to make the iced tea during the summer and it was pretty much all we drank in the category of soft drinks.  She never purchased soda unless it was for a special reason.  Once in a while we were allowed Kool-Aid packets.

Here is her recipe, modified slightly (there was no such thing as Organic back then).

Over the years, I have tweaked and fine tuned it and many visitors to our home look forward to our iced tea.

This one is for you, Mom.

 

 

 

Yay!  I finished up a sketchbook today!  After I came home from the Hamptons Coffee shop in Aquabogue, I went out to sketch at Barnes and Noble with a friend.  It was starting to snow on the way up and I almost turned around.  I sketched for a little bit but it was starting to snow harder so I packed up and left.

I did a sketch of two people, one behind the other. The one in the back was a woman who was wearing a gown.  My friend and I were dying to know why she was wearing the gown (or very long skirt).  She was reading in the same spot for a while which enabled both of us to sketch just the woman in the long skirt/gown.  Her male companion (husband, boyfriend,friend, family member?) came over to get her and he wasn’t as dressed up as she was.  So the plot thickened.  My friend left with her husband to go get something to eat and I jumped ship because it was snowing harder.   It was a fun sketch outing because of the mystery with the woman’s outfit.

Good sketch Day.

#GinaLento

   
 

Sketches today at the Hamptons Coffee Company’s new place in Aquabogue. I love the brush pen with the non-waterproof ink but it’s not good when it bleeds in places like faces, where I don’t want it to. I might have to get a 2nd pen and put waterproof ink in it for faces.  They have 4 locations. It’s a great place with really good coffee and Coffee shops where you can sit and watch people socialize are a great place to sketch.

#drinklikealocal #Aquabogue #GinaLento