Global Christmas

Global Winter Wonderland

We are hours away from the new year! How the heck did that happen?! I recall as a child how long the days were and the years seemed forever. As an adult it's more like a month shoved into a week. Seriously! I cherish everything from 2014. A whole lot of learning, failing, new friends and adventures. That I'll get into on the next post of 2014 review. 

Christmas can be a little emotional for me. I'm grateful to have friends that have become family live nearby. It makes these cold days warm and cheerful. I've grown to celebrate the holiday's surrounded by family, friends, hot meals, laughter and love. That's the true gift that keeps on giving. 

We planned a great little family Sunday Funday trip north to see the holiday lights. It was our first roadtrip together and we had a wonderful time. One little boy surrounded by 3 ladies is always an adventure! Grateful that my godson has allowed us to be apart of his life. 

Here is a little trip of what Global Winter Wonderland was all about. I've never seen such a thing and was like a kid in a candy store. 

    

     

    

And so, the night ended with stories of our first holiday light event. It was truly a night to remember. 

Continuing on the Global Winter our Christmas was just that. A mixed (Thai, Brazilian, Latin, Native American) group of friends coming to celebrate this joyous day. We ended up calling it Global Christmas. Fitting right? 

Each of us cooked up our own special dish. I was able to share some traditional food with friends for the first time. Thankful to my mother, sisters, aunts and grandmothers for teaching me how to cook traditional meals. We all ate until our stomachs hurt and laughed just as much. It was such a relaxing and fulfilling day! 

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. May you continue to receive the gifts of love, laughter and good health throughout the year. 

xo Starlynn  

Precious Sticks Of Color: Drawing Faces

Reconnecting With Soft Pastels

Sketching with vine charcoal

After spending time with oil pastels I decided to dip back into soft pastels. I have to admit they are my favorite medium to draw with. Funny though, they haven't seen much sun the last year. My collection has been precious to me and a lot having to do with the money I put into building a good set. They have been kept closed and untouched waiting for that special drawing. A drawing that wouldn't just sit in a sketch book but would be a masterpiece selling for major bucks. Yeah, pretty silly. 

 Since stepping foot back into the drawing world I realized something. I'm hoarding these amazing sticks that could be put to good use making masterpieces in my sketch book. Who cares if no one ever sees them. What am I waiting for?! What are you waiting for?

She's not complete on the outside but I see how content she's become inside.

xo Starlynn

The Elves Are Here!

Holiday Greeting Cards

Scrapbook paper, paper flowers, embossing, ribbon and pearls.

The busiest time of the year has arrived and the elves are hard at work. Well ok, their really is only one elf. Betcha didn't know that this elf makes handmade greeting cards as well. It's a hobby that has grown and now (jokingly) considered a hoarder of scrapbook/crafting supplies by my friends. I'm in denial and if I use them daily then I'm fine, right? I'll share the journey and early photos of my handmade greeting cards in a later blog post. For now I'll let you have a peek at the card stack.

The above photo is of the first three cards made for 2014. I tried a new layout (top card with poinsettia and deer) taken from a card maker magazine. With the added ribbon and tilt of the sentiment it became a present. End result is two thumbs up! The bright cheerful card to the left was fun. A lot of cutting, measuring and paper choices. Color combo was on par and will be revisiting that idea again. The third card had me giggling. Absolutely LOVE how beautiful the outcome was. As you can see (below) I loved it so much I made a billion more.

Gold embossed trees on textured cardstock.

Their has been something about gold that has caught my eye this season. It's been showing up in my wardrobe and card layouts lately. Pair gold (embossing powder) with pretty solid cardstock and you got a simple elegant card. I'm going to run with this gold loving idea until I run out of supplies. Have a lovely day!

xo Starlynn

Rain Or Shine

Show Up Each And Every Day!

Whether it's cloudy outside, birds are singing or your stuck waiting to see the wizard. You as a motivated and creative human being show up. That goes for every thing in life. Showing up for 15 minutes to draw a circle, face or even scribble a few relieving words does wonders. The outcome may not be a masterpiece but it's there and you will feel much more accomplished. 

These two photos are a prime example of what happens when you show up. Faces have been appearing in a lot of my drawings lately. It's a great thing because I have always had trouble drawing them. My drawing mojo was down that day and I was a bit frustrated. I told myself, draw a face and see where it takes you. So I did and ended up with this very delicate lightly drawn face. That was it. I closed the book and went on with my day. 

It wasn't until a few days later that I went back and started making large scribble like marks over her face and onto the next page. There was no "what did I do!" moments, I wanted to see where she would lead me. The Fall weather that week was hitting and the crave for warmth and bright colors overtook me.

 In the end I ended up with her. A girl so full of sunshine and beauty. A life filled with great energy. Her thoughts roaming in all directions and filling with endless ideas. Sometimes giving in to gloomy days but never loosing focus. She is determined. She is a student. She is her. 

This particular day I didn't know what to draw. When I have those moments I usually end up drawing flowers. It may be the same flower I drew the day before but it doesn't matter. 15 minutes of mistakes and layers of oil pastels I came out with this. Bright, beautiful summer flowers.

What did I learn? You don't need a plan. You just need to show up. Not having an idea or any expectations have been very helpful. In life and as an artist. It gives me a lot more room to be creative and the best thing, no right or wrong.

Layers of oil pastels with yellow and dark blue being pulled into the petals. If you look closely at flowers you'll be amazed at what other colors are hiding behind the main color. Look at the sky or a photo of a sky. You can see that there is more to a blue clear sky. You may be able to see grey and salmon colors. Perhaps even orange and pinks as the sun sets. It fascinated me when I first seen and work on a landscape drawing. I'm pretty sure you'll be amazed too! Go ahead, take a look.

xo

Starlynn

Did You Say Pumpkin?!

Sunday Funday! The first of many more visits to the pumpkin patch with the family. We couldn't have picked a better day to stroll around and let our inner child out. I secretly think we (adults) were more excited then the little guy! He did need a little time to warm up. I wouldn't blame him either with 3 ladies taking photos any chance they got. The crowd was light when we arrived so we were able to enjoy the farm. 

All in all it was a trip to remember and high-fives for beating the traffic! I'm grateful to have two wonderful ladies in my life that have become more like sisters. This year we have become much more close and I for one, have embraced friendship more then I ever have. I hope that you all enjoyed your pumpkin patch visits!

You can't leave the pumpkin patch without taking a hay ride or hoping on the train. The little got to play in the kid zone as we happily snapped photos of anything and everything. The train ride itself was great! I loved all the little decorations and little town setups. Hopefully they have something like this for Christmas.

 

Pumpkin hugs, Starlynn

Fall Pallet & Still Life

If you haven't heard, it's Pumpkin Season! I'm pretty sure many of us have taken a trip to the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, made a pumpkin dish or indulged in a pumpkin beverage...or maybe not. Maybe you had strawberry pie instead and I'm jealous. 

Lately I've been taking a closer look at objects around me. Whether it be while out at a coffee shop, sitting at my desk, or walking down the street. I'm noticing shadows, mixture of colors and where light meets dark. With the Fall weather finally setting in the scenery is starting to change. I have to admit, I'm falling in love more and more as the days go on. The leaves and trees are my absolute favorite! It's no surprise that I've been going to the same brown, yellow and orange color pallet while drawing. 

 Drawing 15-30 minutes per day has given me a creative boost. I've seen growth and also areas that need more work. It's like a daily assignment I have with myself but no pressure as to when it gets done. A little flashback of being in the school's art studio for hours. (giggle) It's no secret, I dream of having an art studio.

Dimension, color and grey?
Seeing the grey pull through the stem and casting a shadow.

Cups, cylinders and spheres have always been a challenge. 

Attempt at drawing a coffee mug and an apple. 

Show up each and every day.

xo

Starlynn