Wholly Goodness is this a busy time for me!  I’ve spent my every waking moment either at the day job getting ready for visiting dignitaries, online with The Artistic Biker Live! on Thursday nights from 7-9c, or at the new studio cleaning and making preparations.  I was at the studio last night (Sunday) until 1:15am!

Also, I made a tutorial about SPLATTERING available at Dirty Footprints Studio’s 21 Secrets Workshop.  You will notice there is an affiliate link above because not only did she invite me to be an instructor, she is also sharing all of the profits with us!  How great is that?  Registration starts today for a measly $59 and the classes open October 1st.  So CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW AND SIGN UP!  :)

Speaking of Oasis Studios & Gallery, we are not as far along as I would like, but still close enough to have our grand opening on October 1st!  Many of my online and offline friends have offered to put works in the gallery for opening night so that the walls wouldn’t be bare.  I intend to display the works for the month of October in a Friends of Oasis show. On opening night, though, I will hold a silent auction and sell the pieces.  If you would like to participate, send you work, along with a note telling me whether it is a gift, commission, or loan, to:

Oasis Studios & Gallery
211 W Blakely
Rush Springs, OK  73082

A few weeks ago, I had Bill Flowers, The Snake Artist, in my studio.  We went out sketching in the Wichita Mountains, gave a presentation to some local pre-schoolers and then had a public speaking engagement at the local library.  Meeting Bill and Jennifer was a wonderful experience! They are great people you should be watching. You can watch the video at The You Tube or watch in the embedded player below:

Be sure to check out The Artistic Biker Live! every Thursday 7-9pm U.S. Central time.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-artistic-biker Upcoming events on The Artistic Biker Live!: 23SEP2010 Jenn Sloane at Live Teach Create will talk with us about keeping kids interested in art, the products that cross the line between scrap booking and art journaling, and of course there will be give aways!

Several weeks ago when Jeanette Jobson was on The Artistic Biker Live!, I did a tribute to the Gyotaku technique.  I really liked what was going on so I decided to do it life sized.  I LOVE all the colors on this, and it’s only 12 layers!

Once again, this is 24″x36″ painted on a recycled wall calender.  I had a digital master made and uploaded it to Red Bubble to sell prints.  You can get postcards, greeting cards, and small prints and canvases of Gyotaku Dreams.  I thought this might be the quickest way to a new parking lot at the studio.  Head over to Red Bubble right now to get your print!

Speaking of Oasis Studios & Gallery, we are not as far along as I would like, but still close enough to have our grand opening on October 1st!  Many of my online and offline friends have offered to put works in the gallery for opening night so that the walls wouldn’t be bare.  I intend to display the works for the month of October in a Friends of Oasis show. On opening night, though, I will hold a silent auction and sell the pieces.  If you would like to participate, send you work, along with a note telling me whether it is a gift, commission, or loan, to:

Oasis Studios & Gallery
PO Box 63
Rush Springs, OK  73082-0063

As for the video for Gyotaku Dreams, you can watch it at The You Tube, or in the embedded player below:

Be sure to check out The Artistic Biker Live! every Thursday 7-9pm U.S. Central time.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-artistic-biker

Upcoming events on The Artistic Biker Live!:

16SEP2010 Poetic Dreams will be on hand to deliver some Poe Pressure! She will provide me a list of materials and guide me what to do with them Live. This will force me to do something I wouldn’t normally do in my journal, and it’s a good way to keep things mixed up.

23SEP2010 Jenn Sloane at Live Teach Create will talk with us about keeping kids interested in art, the products that cross the line between scrap booking and art journaling, and of course there will be give aways!

Hello Peoples! Last week on The Artistic Biker Live! I was fortunate enough to interview Risë Freeman-Zachery. Risë is a textile artist living in Midland, TX. She and the Ever Gorgeous Earl have been traveling the countryside doing book signings and, in the process, interviewing people themselves for a new book due out next September.  She has several books out already that encourage people to develop their creative space, their creative style and their creative self.  She was just an absolute joy to talk to and if this colorfully tatooted, orange spiky haired, cheerfully smiling lady walks up to you on the street, do NOT miss the opportunity to visit with her.

Because Ricë is a textile artist, I thought it only fitting that I should work with textiles this week.  I gessoed the background of my journal and then used a paper towel to create a denim texture. I pressed the paper towel into the gesso and rapidly lifted it off. Then I used two different shades of blue from different angles. The first was watercolor that I just spread all over. The next was rich blue acrylic that I sprayed on and lifted off with another paper towel. The spray bottle is a standard 8oz. sprayer that you can get at any hobby store or department store. I filled it with 1/4 cup acrylic paint and the rest of the way with water. After, I spray clear water through the head to ensure no acrylics dry in the sprayer tip.

I “sewed” some bits of fabric together using a stapler and then cut the shape of a heart and pasted it into the book.  I had some FAUX leather pieces that I made for an earlier project and used them to make the corners of the page. I gave them a stitched look by running thread through a series of holes made with a stapler.  I glued those in place and then took to the page with my acrylic paint pens adding doodles and the words:

When you soften a scarred heart, it can be as warm as a Quilt!

You can see the video at The You Tube, or just watch in the embedded player below:

Be sure to check out The Artistic Biker Live! every Thursday 7-9pm U.S. Central time.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-artistic-biker

Upcoming events on The Artistic Biker Live!:

09SEP2010 Gary Reef, mixed media artist and all round great guy, will be visiting with me to discuss his favorite mixed media techniques, his use of stencils and spray paints, and life as an Aussie in Norway.

16SEP2010 Poetic Dreams will be on hand to deliver some Poe Pressure! She will provide me a list of materials and guide me what to do with them Live. This will force me to do something I wouldn’t normally do in my journal, and it’s a good way to keep things mixed up.

If you were following The Big Sekret Project, you know that the secret was an Art Journaling E-Zine that I am working on with Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studios, Klaire Scattergood of Rhomany’s Realm, Eveline Hessels of Eveline Timeless, Samantha Kira the Journal Girl and Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studios.  I am thrilled to be included in such an amazingly talented group of artists!

Well it’s here! It’s finally out. It’s 41 pages of journaling, journaling instruction, an interview with Teesha Moore, book reviews and more. And this is just The Beginnings!  The zine is a $5 purchase and you can get it at http://artjournaling.ning.com.

ALSO!

Leslie Herger does a ustream broadcast where she demonstrates painting and drawing techniques.  Her show is on Monday nights from 6-8 central time.  She has decided that the works she creates on her show will go to support developing the arts in rural communities.  She has named Oasis Studios and Gallery as the benefactor and is auctioning her paintings right now. 50% of the money will go directly in support of Oasis Studios! Run, don’t walk over to E-bay and bid on that sucker RIGHT NOW! So head over to eBay and bid!

Hello Peoples!  I’ve just had an AMAZING weekend.  The Snake Artist Bill Flowers and his wonderful partner Jennifer Rowland came to visit my studio! Of course, my studio is not quite ready to receive visitors yet, but I couldn’t let that get in the way.  Saturday morning, Bill and Jennifer accompanied me to the Grady County Fair where we tended the booth for the Rock Island Arts Festival.  Saturday afternoon we visited the Wild Care wildlife refuge in Noble, Oklahoma.  All day Sunday we hiked and sketched wildlife at the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Reserve.  Here’s the really cool part, I got to show them their very first ever buffalo, long horned cattle, prairie dogs, collared lizards, rattle snakes, and humming birds.  Being from Australia, these folks had never even seen a squirrel before.  The way they were amazed by things that we take for granted every day was really an eye opener.  It will really impact how I see the world for a VERY long time.

Last week I had the pleasure of talking with Juriaan, the Viking artist.  Juriaan is a very talented artist drawing and painting murals out in Washington State.  He made a very funny video with his daughter acting as a ventriloquist dummy where he was instructing us on the very basics of cartooning.  As he drew, every time he said the word “bunny” she would whack him with a wooden spoon.  You can watch that video and many others on his YouTube channel Juriaan13, where he continues to give drawing instruction.

Using his cartooning techniques I drew a bunny and made him a vampire bunny that sparkles just like in twilight.  That will make more sense if you watch his video.  Then, as my wife is a huge Twilight fan, I had to stake the Team Alice sign.  Which of course leads to the song, White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.

This was so much fun.

You can watch the video on the YouTube, or in the embedded player below:

Be sure to check out The Artistic Biker Live! every Thursday 7-9pm U.S. Central time.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-artistic-biker

Upcoming events on The Artistic Biker Live!:

02SEP2010 Bill Flowers, The Snake Artist, is coming for an in studio visit and we will go out sketching in the wild of the Wichita “Mountains”.

09SEP2010 Gary Reef, mixed media artist and all round great guy, will be visiting with me to discuss his favorite mixed media techniques, his use of stencils and spray paints, and life as an Aussie in Norway.