TOO MUCH ART Sale: Day 8

For today: a fun flower image and a landscape painted in Santa Fe. Enjoy! Shipping is $5 per piece or email me to pick up. Thank you! 

SOLD “Spring Lilies”, handcolored print, matted 10” x 8”. Price $20 

This is a fun flower drawing, with a kind of “retro” 50’s/60’s feel to it—looser than my usual rendering style. Still, I couldn’t resist a few gold touches to highlight the stamens.

SOLD “Santa Fe Trees”, oil on Italian canvas panel, , 8 ”x 6” unframed. Price $35

Another plein air landscape, painted in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above Santa Fe. That area is abundantly populated by ponderosa pines and aspens, a lovely cool spot to paint on a hot summer day. 

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Artwork Underway ...

Nature Sketch on paper, mounted on panel 8x8"

I've always loved drawing. This one was done several months ago with pencil, pens, and inks in my sketchbook.

I came across the drawing a weeks ago and decided to cut it out of the sketchbook and mount it onto a wood panel. I'm not sure where I'll take it next, and will post it for you to see.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. See you next time.

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Text and image ©2019  Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Summer Drawing

In the Garden: Cinderella's Lost Shoe (and Key), 2015. Ballpoint pen on paper.

There are quite a few unfinished paintings I've got going right now....nothing to share with my faithful readers yet. So in the meantime I'll share a drawing from my sketchbook. (Maybe you can find the shoe and the key in the drawing, too.)

Enjoy your day! Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Talk

"Ti Plant Graphic" 2013, Boogie Board RIP drawing

Last Monday (September 16), I gave an informal talk/demo to the Rainbow Artists, a local women's art collective which supports visual artists, as well as writers and those engaged in other art-related fields.

My talk was about the artwork I create on the Boogie Board eWriter. So I took my three Boogie Board tablets—the original 8.5 LCD one I purchased over a year ago, the Boogie Board Jot, and the Boogie Board RIP—and samples of the work I created on each one for my "show and tell" narrative.

I passed the Boogie Board tablets around so everyone could try one out, and explained how I start my "digital printmaking process" with a drawing on the Boogie Board.

Since I hadn't used the Boogie Board RIP very much and didn't have much time to create an elaborate piece of artwork on it, I did a quick graphic rendering of a Ti Plant (from the image I developed back in September 2012) and added some color in Adobe Photoshop. I think this graphic might look nice on a t-shirt, What do you think?

If you would like more information about the Rainbow Artists, visit: http://www.rainbowartists.com/.

If you would like more information about Boogie Board eWriters, visit: http://improvelectronics.com/

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. Have a great weekend.

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Text and images ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Spring ... and Mother's Day

Garden Varieties #6 w/ Gold Drops, 2013. Mixed media on rice paper.

Now that we've made it through Tax Day, we can turn out thoughts to Spring, gardening, flowers, and the next major celebration: Mother's Day, coming up on Sunday, May 12, just about 3 weeks away.

I've been looking through the hand colored version of my Boogie Board drawings and found one to give to my mother for her special day in May.

However, there are several others, like the image posted today, that are quite nice, too. So, for the next few weeks, I thought I would share these with you, Dear Readers, in case you are looking to give to your Mom (or someone else special) something a little different this year. (Today's image is Garden Varieties #6, w/ Gold Drops.)

Printed on archival rice paper, each Boogie Board drawing is embellished with color pencil, color inks, and/or metallic media, creating a truly, one-of-a-kind mixed media artwork. Each one is matted and ready to go into a standard size 8" x 10" frame. The price for each hand colored version varies.

To purchase, go to www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com.

Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy a wonderful day.
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Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Going Tropical!

Tropical Garden #1: Ti Plant
Boogie Board Drawing and Adobe Photoshop

As I mentioned in last week's post, I'm staying with my sister and brother-in-law in the Orlando area for a few weeks. After my stroll around their yard last week, I looked to the lovely and colorful tropical plantings on the property for some creative inspiration.

One of the plants that caught my eye is the ti (pronounced "tea") plant, also known as cordyline. The rich green color of its leaves transitions into deep pinks and brilliant magentas towards the tips and edges, making this tropical shrub a real eye catcher in the garden.

The image posted today started out as a Boogie Board drawing, and looked similar to the "Garden Varieties" renderings I posted on this blog over the summer. However, the finished image just seemed so lackluster, so bland. Hmmm....well, of course! It's a tropical plant. It needs color!

Thanks to the digital graphics power of Adobe Photoshop, I was able to add color—and a whole lot of visual excitement—to transform the Boogie Board drawing into the image you see posted today. Available in my ETSY shop at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com.

Thanks for taking a moment to take a look. Enjoy a great week!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back to the Garden

Garden Varieties #9
Boogie Board Drawing

I'm so addicted to drawing on the Boogie Board. It's a stress reliever and a relaxing way to unwind.

Just set the stylus tip on the tablet surface and let it flow. Since there's no eraser, there are no "mistakes." You never know what will happen.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Enjoy a great weekend!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Garden Varieties #8...Done!

Garden Varieties #8
Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

As promised, here is the completed version of yesterday's Boogie Board drawing Garden Varieties #8.

I must admit that I did not take a good photo of the completed drawing (and I pushed that "erase" button too soon!) So I compensated by doing far more tweaking of the image on my desktop in Adobe Photoshop Elements than usual. I am hoping that the end justifies the means.

Now, to answer this question from a few readers:

Will prints of your Boogie Board drawings be available?

This week I started printing out the completed Boogie Board drawings onto different rice papers. I like printing on rice paper because of the natural color and the texture of the paper. It makes each print truly unique, since the surface of the paper is varied and takes the ink differently each time.

Since the rice papers are a natural color rather than white, the final colors in the prints are varied. Some look just great, and other prints are less striking. So I am in the "Artist's Proof" stage of production. I'll let you know when the prints will be ready for purchase, perhaps by next week. Thank you for asking!

To all my readers, thank you for taking a moment to read this post. I very much appreciate it. Enjoy a nice weekend.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Garden Varieties #8 WIP

Garden Varieties #8 (WIP) / Boogie Board Drawing

Today I thought I would share with my dear friends and readers a Boogie Board drawing in progress.

The image you see with this post shows Garden Varieties #8 after I drew the basic lines for the drawing and started to rough in the lighter areas. (I was at my car dealership getting an oil change, and took my Boogie Board tablet along.)

Once I got home, I photographed the unfinished drawing on the Boogie Board, transferred it to my desktop computer, and did a little "prep work" on the image to enhance the image readability for today's post. I increased the contrast and saturation, removed dust specks, and put the black border around it.

I am posting this WIP (work in progress) as a visual illustration to answer the following question from an artist friend about the Boogie Board tablet:

Does the Boogie Board have a range of colors?
No. The blank surface of the Boogie Board is a blackish color. When you write or draw on it, those areas become a lighter color, sort of a greenish gray, depending on the light. So it's like doing a white line drawing on a black background.

When you want to clear the Boogie Board tablet, you press the round "erase" button at the top. The Boogie Board flashes for an instant and the working surface goes blank, back to the blackish color.

The variation of greens seen on my Boogie Board drawings is the result of changes I make to the drawing images (increasing the exposure, contrast, tone, and color temperature) after I transferred the drawing to my computer desktop.

Of course, if you have an image manipulation program like Adobe Photoshop on your computer, you could do all sorts of color alterations to the drawing once it is transferred to your computer desktop.

Tomorrow I'll post the finished version of this drawing so you can see how it turned out.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. See you tomorrow!

PS: And, oh yes, I changed the look of my blog page. You are welcome to comment on that, too.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

So, What is a Boogie Board Tablet?

Boogie Board 8.5 LCD Writing Tablet (with Garden Varieties #7 drawing)

Several of my readers and artist friends have emailed me questions about the Boogie Board tablet that I've been using to draw with for the past few weeks. So, in today's post, I thought I'd start off by sharing some basic information.

The official name of this eWriter is the Boogie Board 8.5 LCD Writing Tablet, developed by Kent Displays of Ohio and sold through iMPROV Electronics. You can see the different Boogie Board models (and in pretty colors, too!) at http://www.iMPROVelectronics.com/us/en/

Today's post shows a picture of the Boogie Board I am using, sold under the Brookstone label, that I first saw "in the flesh" at my local Staples office supply store.

The Boogie Board tablet is thin and very light, weighing only 5.6 ounces—much lighter than most paper sketchbooks—and comfortable to hold when drawing. The writing/drawing surface measures about 7" x 5", a nice standard size familiar to artists.

The writing/drawing surface is smooth with a kind of semi-matte finish that the stylus just glides across with ease—having less resistance than pencil on paper. The tablet is pressure sensitive, so you can vary the line weight as you draw.

Pictured to the right of the Boogie Board is the dense plastic grey stylus which comes with this tablet. It's about 5" long and fits nicely in a slot at the top of the Boogie Board tablet. Also pictured are the rubber tipped paint erasers that I used on my last drawing, Garden Varieties #7.

I like drawing on the Boogie Board tablet because I can carry it around with me anywhere. It doesn't require electrical charging or being plugged in, and drawing on it is a spontaneous process—there's no going back, re-doing, deleting, or erasing a line or "mistake" while drawing. You just keep working until the drawing is finished—good or bad—and then do another one! I find the Boogie Board tablet a great device for drawing practice, which is exactly why I bought it.

Which brings me to these two questions from readers:

You make these beautiful concoctions and then erase them? and

How do you get the drawing from the Boogie Board to your blog?

I photograph the drawing on the Boogie Board with my digital camera, transfer the image to my computer, and save it to my hard disk. Then I use image software to even out the color, sharpen the edges, and resize it for uploading to my blog.

There is a new Boogie Board tablet that has a "SAVE" feature, designed to store up to 200 pages (or drawings) and made to connect to your computer. It's called the Boogie Board RIP (for "Record Image. Preserve.") You can see that device, too, at the website noted above.


Thanks for your interest. I hope you are enjoying a good week. 
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Power of Art

Garden Varieties #6

Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

 

"I believe our memories have a much better idea

about what is art than our eyes do...."  

 —William F. Reese

Many thanks to those readers who left nice comments or emailed me kind remarks about the Boogie Board tablet drawings posted last week. I appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement!

Today I would like to share one email in particular. It's from my sister, writing about my drawing and connecting it to memories of her daughter Emily, who is all grown up now and will be married next Saturday. 

"When Emily was little, there were no houses at the end of our block—it was all woods and weeds. We used to take a walk in the early mornings during warm weather to see a cluster of morning glories in full bloom. We would go to "see the colors" and count how many there were altogether and how many of each color.

"A few years ago sewer lines were put in and the land at the end of the block was "developed". There are now several homes lining the cul de sac. The other morning I took a walk and looked for the morning glories, but they were gone. Yet in my mind's eye I saw a little girl with a head of wild yellow curls bending over a thicket of blooms, marveling at the beauty of the colors and carefully counting, "1, 2, 3 blue ones, Mama!" (the blue ones were her favorite).

"Your drawing reminds me of those sweet moments shared so very long ago. There is a certain irony that your drawing, like the morning glories, is only temporary. I find that sad somehow, but I am thankful you shared it with me, if only for moment."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a wonderful day.

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

I'm still Boogie Boarding...

Garden Varieties #5

Original Drawing • Boogie Board Tablet

Did I mention that I am having FUN drawing on my new Boogie Board Tablet? Here's today's drawing. Have a great weekend, and thanks for taking a look.

Boogie Board Drawing #3

Garden Varieites #3 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

And here's another drawing done on the Boogie Board.
Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Plein Air...from the Studio

Graphite & color pencil

With the temperature and heat index over 100 degrees here in Florida, working outdoors is out of the question. However, I do have a very nice view of my neighbor's house from my studio. And my neighbors do have a nice tall palm tree in their front yard. So, why not just paint the view of out my window, sort of working en plein air from my nice cool studio? Works for me!

As I've mentioned in the past, when I am unhappy about how a painting is turning out, the problem is usually the drawing. I find that drawing is the best tool for really observing an object, getting the details, and gaining understanding of how a thing truly is. I find that I discover the beauty of an object just by drawing it.

So, I've begun my study of Florida trees with this drawing of my neighbor's palm. I'll be working up a small painting that I'll show you in my next post.

In the meantime, thanks for taking a look and stay cool this week.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there, too!
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Text and image ©2010 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Great Southwest

"Canyon"
by Carol Adamec
Origina lDrawing
Pastel & charcoal on brown paper
20 x 30" approx
Contact Artist to purchase.

A friend of mine is river canoeing this week with a group of her boating pals. They'll be up near Bluff, Utah, camping along the way for several days.

I know that they'll be enjoying stunning vistas and awesome canyons like the image pictured on today's post—a large drawing I did almost 10 years ago that still awakens in me the stillness and grandeur of the vast and varied Southwest landscape that I find so thrilling.

Thanks for taking a quick look. Have a good Friday and a great weekend. See you Monday.
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Image & text © 2008 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.