Linda & Opie's Burnt Offerings

Wintertime...and the Living is Easy!!!

our winter house...

... well it's been one month since we closed on our place in Florida and we're loving it beyond words. and it's not just the weather (which is pretty perfect) - it's the lifestyle that goes with living in a climate like this.

for the first time in decades i'm in bed before midnight and up at 7 after a really good nights sleep.

we ride our bikes around 8am and then swim almost daily. sunshine is now my friend (not that i sit out in it) and i can feel myself healing and thriving.

afternoons when it warms up, i'm indoors working on my digitography. i have a small studio just for painting and digital art and bought an easel and a duplicate pen/tablet like the one i have in our loft in MA so i can still work on things when we're here.  opie just finished putting a scaled down music/art studio together, so he too can do his thing. printmaking and larger mixed-media art will be done in MA because our studio is enormous there... but this dual location situation has a nice yin yang balance to it and i can't wait to see what we accomplish in both spaces.

there's also a really nice art scene here and we're getting involved in our local art league and have been going to art shows in neighboring cities every weekend. tomorrow it's Venice and in two weeks we're going on a day trip to the Dali Museum (happy happy joy joy!)  i'll blog about it later this month.

on another note... yesterday was our 25th anniversary and we went out for an early dinner because we had tickets to a "sophisticated comedy" called 'to be continued' right here in Del Tura at 7. we really enjoyed it and afterwards we went to the billiards room (also here in Del Tura) and played some pool. they have 4 regulation tables and we haven't played since we lived in ohio. i'd like to say it was like riding a bike - but truthfully - i can see i'll need alot of practice! opie of course kicked my butt 4 to 1... but we'll still be in florida for another month and i can only improve.  

well enough for now -- although i must confess it feels really good to be blogging again!

until next time...

And Off We Go

we've talked the talk and now it's time to walk the walk - so we're spending some quality time sketching and photographing Sedona and its surrounding areas to try to capture the beauty there. theres something about travel that makes you want to watercolor sketch...

these were sketched in France in the village of Dufort where the copper pots are made.

we spent 24 days there - taught two mixed media workshops - and took in the sights.... we even went to Lourdes! the south of France is a gorgeous area with fantastic food and we had an unforgetable time.

can't wait to see what Sedona is like. we've never been there before and are very excited. then we're visiting opie's daughter in Vegas. she just returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for children with aides - and then we'll fly home and sketch some more!
one of the great things about watercolor sketching is you get to travel light. we're taking a camera, our iPad 2, a compact watercolor set and water-brush and a sketchbook. Nirvana!

we'll have lots to share with you when we return - so stay tuned...

Sketch Club… there’s an APP for That!

Many of you know that Opie bought me an iPad 2 in May (i so LOVE it - i got him one - and now he'll  finally be more active on this blog) – so as promised – I’d like to share with you my latest obsession – the Sketch Club app... the best $2.00 you will EVER spend!!!

 
my very first sketch - roughly 5 weeks ago.

Sketch Club  (created by Blackpawn.com - who in my opinion is a creative genius) is much more than a sketching app – it’s a fun and nurturing artist community where you are encouraged to sketch in a fun, friendly, and completely unintimidating environment. With all of the mixed media that Opie and I do, I honestly haven’t seriously sketched since my young teen years, and yet I feel completely at home here, and so will you.

 
my homage to Project Runway!

There are daily challenges if you’re so inclined to participate, as well as compos (aka competitions)  which provide an interesting way to collect glops (which are like reward points) that you earn whenever you upload a sketch or comment on someone else’s. When you earn 150 glops you get a heart which you are free to bestow on a favorite sketch, or if you’re not into challenges and/or compos, you can simply upload a sketch at will. There’s never any pressure to go beyond your comfort zone.

 
this was done for a daily challenge on Fish.

while this was for a Caricature compo...

 
( i had such fun with this one )

Built into this app are several brush styles, layer transform tools, and (if you're using an iPad) even shapes, plus mirror/symmetry modes providing you with unlimited possibilities. You can even record your steps as you go along! When I first began in the app, I had a very limited understanding of brushes and hardly no understanding of layers, and yet with a bit of experimentation and feedback from other artists, I’m loving what I’m doing and the learning curve gets easier with every sketch. Then when you're finished, you can email your completed sketch, or upload it to Sketch Club or even to Facebook. How cool is that! This app is only about 10 months old, yet it is updated often, and to date there are over 144 five star reviews. So if you have an iPad (or an iPhone) and are into sketching – come and join this community of kindred spirits.

 
in this sketch i explored several brushes and layers.

Since there are so many different apps available for drawing, sketching, photo editing, music, and more, it’s very easy to either buy more than you need – or become overwhelmed by the selections.  Over time we’ll discuss several of our must have favorites since we’ll be taking this blog into new (digital) territories that includes sketching, photography, editing, and the joys of combining them all into a brand new category we’ll be calling: Digitography.

So as they say - fasten your seatbelts - it’s gonna be a bumpy ride down the digital highway!

 

when life gives you lemons...

take that time to learn something new!   i've had salmonella for a month and it completely kicked my butt - but the down time allowed me time to experiment with my iPad 2 and it's become my latest passion.

 

i love using the different photography, drawing, sketching and watercolor apps and go back and forth between them until i'm happy with the results. i'm still learning the many different brushes and tools so i'm taking baby steps - but i'm a quick study when i'm motivated! this began as an abstract sketch which i added subtle watercolor to.

 

this photo (which i did not retouch or alter in any way) was taken with the iPad 2 camera which almost everyone except me says is crap, because of its low resolution. i personally love it and wouldn't change a thing and even entered it in our village photography contest.

 

this was also taken with the iPad 2 camera and then i had a blast experimenting with different apps, filters, layers, effects, etc. i can't wait until i actually understand exactly what i'm doing - but i will say that my new favorite app is Sketch Club and i LOVE being part of that creative community.

happily, my salmonella is gone as of aug 8th (YAY), but my passion for iPad-ography is here to stay and i will be posting lots more about it and the progress i'm making.

btw: i recently started a new series called: flowers re-imagined -- and it's all done on my iPad -- which i'll share with you in future posts.

your comments -critiques and posts are most welcome...

A New Year -- A New Start

What a month! I’ve actually heard it referred to as Snowpocalypse – Snowmaggedon & Snowzilla – and here in N.E. Ohio -- each title is right on the money.

 
Here's a sketch i did of our house -- enough snow already -- where's the sun!

Although, on a positive note, the weather has given us lots of time to do some much neglected things – like finally post our 2011 teaching schedule on our blog (it’s in the side bar – and eventually we’ll post it on our website as well)

I’ve also uploaded lots of photos to our flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/burntofferings/

I can’t even remember the last time it was updated – I know… my bad – but it’s looking good now, and best of all we’ve finally made some time to embrace some of things we love but never really have time for, and who knows, this may be the year I actually learn how to make a “real” link in a blog post!

As you can see from our teaching schedule, after June, we’re winding down a lot to finally pursue and explore several of our own artistic interests which we’re very excited about. We’re also thrilled to be back at Art and Soul – Hampton, Va. in Apr/May and we’ll still continue with our own studio workshops, but for this year at least, they will be on a very limited basis - so to make up for that, we’re teaching 2 very exciting workshops here in our own Cleveland and Chagrin Falls area in late May. One at the Morgan Conservatory, the other at Valley Art Center (see the sidebar for more information) so if you've ever wanted to take a workshop with us -- the time is now!

It seems as if we’ve been talking about taking a break for years, but now that flying has become such a major stress issue for me, and because stress seems to trigger my ear problem, we’ve finally decided that this IS the year to wind down and explore new frontiers. No more procrastination, no more excuses. And since we’re not getting any younger (contrary to what we may think on that subject!) - we’d like to see just what we’re personally capable of creating ... so it’s time to blow our own minds!

Opie plans on doing a lot more with photography (god knows he has enough cameras) as well as devoting more time to his music studio.

 

And speaking of music – our original CD – Strange Tales – is finally back in our Etsy Shop.

 
This music has been described as both Timeless and Haunting. We know you'll love it.

As for me, I’ve been immersed in teaching myself how to work with a graphic tablet to digitally enhance our original photography in several new and exciting ways. And even though i’m in the trial and error stages, i’m actually doing some pretty cool things so i’m very excited by it all. I truly believe there's a major perk to being self-taught – i never have to worry about breaking any “rules” (since i never learned any) – and nothing is off limits - because i don't know any better! can you say: Win-Win!

 
i did this digital sketch of opie in France wearing mis-matched shoes. He was obviously distracted but quite adorable. I’ve also been sketching and drawing more and even doing some monoprinting -- all of which I’d really love to continue to do on a regular basis - and since i LOVE to cook,  i’d like to blog a lot more about it and maybe share and/or exchange some recipes with you.

 
i did this pen and ink sketch while we were teaching in France - the whole experience was "highly prized" which just happens to be this months theme for the sketchbook challenge - which i'm seriously thinking about participating in. If you haven't heard about it yet - here's their blog link: http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/  so go check it out. And - on the subject of cooking - this pot roast was Saturday's dinner and quite delicious.

  

So lookout 2011 – it's a new year - a new game plan - and here we come!

 

Happy Holidays

 Seasons Greetings from Opie and Me. 

It seems as if this year just flew by!

 

 

We wish you all a colorful holiday that's filled with friendship, family, and everything you hold dear.

We are thankful for our very many blessings and while this has been a year that has felt as if we were "playing catch-up"...

we finally have (for the most part, anyway...lol)

our book is done - except for captioning the details shots, which will be finished this week.

and our poor neglected Etsy shop has finally been updated for the holidays with more to come (hopefully).

We've added a new 2-sided Dos Dada Doll:

   

In addition to Wearable Books, Tin Tock Dada Clocks, Jewelry, Original Music, Cool Tools & more. So if you have some time, come see what's new.

Happy Sunday.