Do what you Love, Pass it on - Day 9 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days with artist Nancy Laliberte

Samples from my sketchbooks

ink and watercolor on arches watercolor paper

I teach a weekly art class at Acton Academy in Wausau, WI. Today's class involved going on an ARTventure in the school courtyard. Taking the time to see and sketch with an artist's eye is a great way to instill attention to detail habits in a fun way that can carry over to other areas. The meditative aspect to being outside in nature can't be beat. And, when we finish a bit early, I make the kids play for a bit before going back inside. ;-)

watercolor and calligraphy pen on paper

A page from my sketchbook/planner/journal - a quote from the late Dr. Wayne Dyer - while catching a part of his movie, "The Shift." 

Thank you for allowing me to share my creative joy (and life) with you!
- Nancy
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See additional artwork at www.nancylaliberte.com

Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook

Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop  

I heART Journaling – Travel Journaling

My family loves to travel, and I love combining traveling with journaling. Sure, I take a lot of photos, too, but there is nothing like taking a little more time and sketching and writing about what you see and feel along the way. You will find you'll remember so much more than what a photo shows. Looking at the sketch of my Caprese salad from a recent trip, I distinctly remember the taste of the creamy mozzarella cheese, the basil, the tanginess of the balsamic vinegar, not to mention how the salad was artfully plated. Vacation memories!

A fun sketch from a trip to Galena, Illinois, last summer. Downtown Galena has several blocks of fun shops. While my husband was golfing, my kids (Erika and Nicholas) and I went "exploring and adventuring" visiting various shops, and enjoying some treats along the way.  

This entry was from several years ago, and I am including it to show another way of recording a trip by using a timeline/calendar approach. It's a quick and simple way to journal and capture some great memories. It lends itself to daily journaling, too.

Journaling on the go - my travel journaling kit. Depending on the activity, I pare it down even more to just a pen, travel watercolor kit, and waterbrush. Here is an entry from a trip last year where I go into more detail about it.

Tomorrow I will be teaching a journaling class from 12 noon - 4 pm at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. While we won't be traveling, I will be sharing the techniques I use when travel journaling. I believe in hands-on learning, so there will also be a number of writing and mixed media exercises including stencil-making, and making your own mini-journal--perfect for traveling! There is room for a few more peeps--we are so lucky they have such a nice, big studio space!--just register with the CVA by stopping in or calling 715-842-4545. 

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See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

The Sketchbook Project, Part II by artist Nancy Laliberte

As mentioned in my last post, a couple of months ago I signed up to be a part of the Sketchbook Project, a traveling library of artists' sketchbooks. Today's post is a continuation of the pages I created for my book, "Viewing...from the Heart."

While on vacation earlier this month, I created a couple of colorful spreads using acrylic paint, a permanent ink pen, metallic gel pens (because every day should have a little sparkle in it), and a rubber stamp (which I had put on the page before leaving on my trip). I did accidentally dip my brush in the coffee cup one time, but never in my pie! 

This page started out with a tissue paper background (tissue paper that was inside the box of a recent winter boot purchase), with hand-painted papers and hand-made papers collaged on top of parts of that with matte medium. Some of the hand-made papers had metallic gold (there's that sparkle again!) in them, and as I looked at the page and pondered what to do next, the words to a hymm sung at my church popped into my head. I grabbed my markers and pens and started writing away.

Here is another page spread that started out with hand-made and scrap papers glued down with matte medium, then painted over with Tombow markers and acrylic paints, and then text and a few drawings added with a white gel pen. I've noticed I often use pink and green in my art journaling. And now that I think about, my wardrobe contains a lot of pinks and greens, too...

The center spread--after pages of color, I kept it simple with black and white and a pop of color using Zentangle inspiration and gel pens. 

After all of that ink work on the center spread, there was quite a bit of bleed-through on this page that I wasn't sure what to do about. I dug through my pile of papers and ephemera and found this fiber-y, ochre-colored piece of paper that inspired me to paint a bird's nest on it. The paper covered up most of the marker, and it's color and texture worked well with the theme of the page.

There are still a few pages left from this fun project that I will show in my next post... 

Curious to give this a try, but don't know where to start?

Don't be shy, come join the sketchbook movement! I will be teaching a mini-workshop, "Creative Journaling for Busy People" on Saturday, February 1, from 12 noon to 4:00 pm at the Center for Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. Cost is $50 + $8 material fee. Just bring a 9 x 12 sketchbook preferably with 90 lb. paper or more, all of your other materials are included making it super easy for you to show up and have fun! Register with the CVA at 815-842-4545. More information is on their website and mine. See you there!