Seeing the Light

Okay, it's Sunday night and I haven't been a very good blogger lately and I am truly sorry. Between running around and traveling here and there something had to give and well, I am just not disciplined enough to plan everything ahead of time. I guess that is why they say life sometimes gets in the way.

So, I went digging through some photos looking for some kind of inspiration since my muse has also been very busy with someone else I might add :) and came across this wonderful shot of light. Let me ask you this, which did you see first, the hole or the light on the leaf below? I see the light but then my curious nature makes me see what caused it. I hope you are finding yourself looking for such things, it is what inspires me beyond belief.

3rd Color Pencil Workshop

Here are the lovely ladies with their favorite projects from my 3rd Colored Pencil Workshop held at Threads of Time in Danville Illinois. Not only did they do the four projects from my workshop, they also did Jingle All the Way Wednesday night as an added project. Oh yeah, these are some crazy maniac colored pencil artists and I'm glad I got to spend some time with them :)

I'm already planning my May and September 2012 dates. If you would like to know more about this fun, project packed three days, please visit my website at http://www.kellyhoernig.com/. The all day project for May is going to be Seashells No. 2 just to get you excited about joining us!

Beeautiful

I've been needing an "art challenge" lately, something to stir my creativity yet give myself some boundaries or limitations. So, looked around my mess of a studio and found this scrapbook paper die cut. Well, now you're talking. I usually like my designs to match the paper and look as if they are printed on it as well. Challenge accepted. Knew from the paper that a muted color palette was a must but on these papers I also like to use 8 pencils or less. The paper was screaming for an insect and it has been a while since I did a bee, so what else can I put with that. Flowers of course, to the photo files I go. I was thinking balloon flowers and so glad I found a great one with a lot of extreme light and dark values, perfect. I armed myself with 6 pencils, oh yeah, just 6, and away I went. Hummm, can this be done - well of course it can, you are looking at the picture of the finished piece :) Don't be afraid to challenge yourself, you might just be surprised with the outcome!

Colored Pencil Workshop

My booklets, patterns and all inspiration are packed and ready to go. I'm working on our name buttons and let me tell you they are so cute, can't wait for the girls to see them :) I can't believe this is my third workshop at Threads of Time in Danville Illinois. Never thought that would happen and am so grateful for the students signing up. If you have never been, it is a great place to relax and learn a lot about technique. Plus, the studio is open 24 hours because you never know when inspiration will strike. We even had an impromptu beading class at the last workshop - thanks Theresa! Hope you can join me in 2012, sometime in May and September.

R U Nutz?

The title of my latest Colored Pencil of the Month Club project came from how I went about getting the reference shot. Picture me, camera around my neck, holding an armful of stuffed things (a bird, squirrel and a couple hearts) walking around the neighborhood. Oh yeah, the neighbors probably think I'm crazy because I was sticking these items in the branches, on tree limbs, our wooden swing, even a couple of rocks. But the kicker, to get the shot I really wanted, I actually had to lay on the ground for the interesting perspective you see in this photo. The squirrel was too heavy for the tiny sunlit branches so I was the thing that had to change position. To make it even funnier, I started laughing out loud, imagining the neighbors looking out and seeing this picture wondering what that crazy artist girl was up to now. So, you see why I titled this as I did, I was the nutty one, imagine that :)

If you are interested in more information about the Colored Pencil of the Month Club please visit http://www.kellyhoernig.com/.

Blazing Bonfire

Some Thesaurus words for "glow" - blaze, bloom, brighten, brilliance, color, effulgence, flush, glare, glimmer, gusto, heat, ignite, incandescence, intensity, kindle, light, luminosity, passion, phosphorescence, pinken, radiance, redden, smolder, splendor, thrill, tingle, vividness, warmth.

Are these not some of the greatest words on earth? They are just so powerful in their own right, love that! I have to say gusto and ignite have to be my favorites in this long list. Not only because I'm trying to keep my creativity ignited by chasing that muse of mine here and there but also approach my art with playful gusto so I enjoy it a little more. I hope this blazing bonfire keeps the fall nights full of s'mores, laughter and a couple ghost stories shared among family and friends!

Word - Glow

The word for this week is glow.

Its verb meaning: to shine with or as if with intense heat; to have a rich warm ruddy color; flush, blush; to feel hot; to show exuberance or elation.

Its noun meaning: brightness or warmth of color; redness; warmth of feeling or emotion; a sensation of warmth; light such as is emitted from a heated substance.

Don't you agree that I couldn't have found a better picture for this word? The sun was setting and casting such a great glow on these sassafras leaves that it just made my job easy. There was no bad photo, just a cropping that showed off all the gloriousness of the warm light. I also love the color range from the palest of pink to the deepest red orange. Who knew one set of leaves could give you so much personality and a myriad of hues to explore? I'm so glad we have a lot of these trees along the woodline, I can't wait to see what they have in store for me this season!