Sea of Stars

In January I signed up for a five month series of classes on visual storytelling and illustration. The series was taught by Tara Larsen Chang, a fabulous illustrator and instructor at Cloud 9 Art School.

In this series of classes Tara introduced us to many amazing illustrators, past and contemporary, and to such a wide range of visual concepts that it was hard to keep up!

We learned about developing ideas, thumbnail sketches, composition, value, color comps, and practicing technique before ever starting the final painting. It has really been such a great foundation for adding storytelling to my art. (She will be offering this series again in 2020.)

Here is my finished piece, called Sea of Stars, done in watercolor, gouache, and color pencils, size 22 x 15 in. / 50 x 38 cm.

Storytelling in my artwork is a new direction for me. Instead of painting directly from a photograph, the challenge in Tara’s class was to create my own narrative using parts of photos, memories, and my imagination to create a story. 

Original photo, circa 1969

This work was initially inspired by an old family photo of me and my brother, Richard. It was taken many decades ago and I have no real memory of the circumstances of the photo but I like the sense of sibling bond and the idea of looking ahead together. So for my painting, I focused on the bond between young siblings embarking on a journey of wonder and awe as they set out to explore a magical universe. 

We needed to articulate our ideas for our paintings by writing a short paragraph about our inspiration, our story. That exercise help to clarify for myself what elements might contribute to my painting and what would just be distracting. Coming up with a clear idea was a strong starting point.

The idea of growing up together, learning about life and discovering both exciting and frightening possibilities along the way, led my choices. When I showed Richard the original photograph of us, I mentioned to him that even from a young age, he had his arm protectively around me. His response was that I was missing the fact that he was actually leaning into me for support. I love this feeling of give and take, adventure, and the sense that we are all under a sea of stars together.

Next we played with various formats (horizontal, veritcal, square) and sizes while sketching compositional ideas. Once we had a good idea of how to organize the shapes, lines, and elements, we explored various ways of shading. These value studies are purposely done in just shades of gray to be able to clearly see the values without getting confused by color choices.

Thumbnail studies are devoid of details. The objective is to study the play of light, middle and dark values of the biggest shapes in the composition.

Once we were happy with our decisions, we started to explore color palettes.

After all these variables  were explored and studied, it was time to commit. Before starting my final piece I explored techniques for creating various parts of the painting that I did not have experience doing (such as creating the stars and the hair whipping in the wind). These studies were smaller versions of the final painting.

Once I was confident with my techniques, I began the final piece. This process has been a journey. Tara’s classes have taught me so much and changed the way I approach paintings. I’ve already started work on another storytelling piece and can’t wait to travel down the path of this process again. 

Exploring ideas, compositions, values, colors and techniques is a joyful journey. Here is my finished painting, Sea of Stars. Happy adventures to us all!

Teens in the Park

With the weather turning towards spring and summer, I’ve been taking my students outdoors. Last week I took my teen students to Bothell Landing Park, a great park about one mile from Cloud 9 Art School.

I’m sharing my love for nature journaling with the teens: nature journaling as a path into the exploration of the natural world around us. Sketching is a way to develop a personal connection with our world.

To keep a nature sketchbook, all we need are some art supplies and to ask ourselves “What is happening outdoors, this particular season, day, time of day, and in this particular place?”

Here are a few photos from our evening at the park. Despite the challenges of finding comfortable seating, figuring out what to sketch in a park full of beautiful sketch worthy moments, and so many distractions, everyone wants to head out again next week. Weather permitting, we will be sketching nature outdoors again next week.

As one teen discovered… “this is so relaxing.” Yes, yes it is.

Color Theory Around the Table

In my 9 - 12 year old art class, students have been learning about the color wheel, color temperatures, analogous color schemes and creating contrast. We decided to apply the lesson in a big way. We painted the long table of Cloud 9’s downstairs studio!

Each student was given a section of the table to paint in various shades of one specific color: yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green. First they had to mix various shades of their given color.

After mixing their shades, each student painted floral shapes on their section of the table.

The idea was to paint flower shapes with different values in the same hue. Everyone approached their floral painting differently. Some finger painted, some used literal shapes, some swirled their brushes.

We then let the table dry.

The following week, we added contrast with accents of black.

The following week we painted two protective coats of acrylic clear coat.

The table turned out beautifully! Another masterpiece at Cloud 9! Kudos to all the young artists who embraced this lesson on color theory!

Summer Classes & Camps

The instructors at Cloud 9 have put together an exciting line up of summer classes and camps for kids, teens and adults: drawing, painting, digital photography, sketching, comics, crafts, yoga and more!

Check out the classes for adults by clicking here.

The classes & camps for kids and teens are here.

For a downloadable catalog of our summer camps, click here.

Don't delay. Camps fill up quickly!

Please share our catalog of summer camps with all your kids, grandkids, family and friends.

Registrations are open and we look forward to a creative and fun summer with you all!

Please visit www.cloud9artschool.com for more information about the school and all the classes we offer for adults, kids and teens.

At Cloud 9, we are a joyful community focused on creativity and discovering our world. Cloud 9 Art School is committed to being a place where children, teens and adults find inspiration, learn, and have fun in a relaxed, professional studio environment. 

Come learn, have fun, and be inspired!

Nature Sketching

I am teaching a nature sketching class to a group of adults who range from “I’ve never drawn anything since third grade” to “I paint and draw every day.” Every week we meet for several hours and learn about other naturalists and the multitude of approaches to keeping a nature sketchbook. We learn about sketching and painting flowers, trees, leaves, birds and anything else that we are curious about in nature.

Today is 68 degrees, sunny, and a perfect spring equinox for our sketching outing. We spent a few hours sketching in the sun.

Here are some pages from the sketchbooks of my students. If this inspires you to grab paper, pen and head outside, here is a quick exercise to get you started.

Ask yourself “What is happening outside right now?” It can be outside your window, your backyard, in a park, anywhere. List seven observations… Date, time, season, temperature. What do you feel? Warm sun on your skin? Wind in your hair? What do you smell? Fresh mowed lawn? Rain hitting hot asphalt? What do you hear? Birds chirping, a wind chime in the distance, kids laughing? Write down your observations. Then do a little sketch of something that catches your eye. Something simple or something complicated. It’s up to you. Paint it if you’d like or leave it black & white. Enjoy connecting with nature. Turn the page.

Welcome to keeping a nature sketchbook!

Teens take on Jackson Pollock

In my teen art class yesterday, we looked at paintings by Jackson Pollock. Pollock (1912 – 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement.

He is mostly known for his technique of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface (called ‘action painting’ since he used the action his whole body to paint, often in a dancing style). This extreme form of abstraction divided the critics: some praised the immediacy and fluency of his artwork, while others ridiculed his work.

I showed the teens some of his paintings and we discussed the techniques, the artistic impact, and whether we agreed with the criticisms he received.

Our project was to paint a table in his style. First I asked the teens to come up with the steps involved in putting together a group project like this. They quickly got organized, breaking down our Pollock project into these steps:

Covering the floor to protect it and wearing aprons to protect our own clothes.

Taping the parts of the table that we did not want to paint.

Deciding on a palette.

Mixing the colors chosen.

Painting the table with various drip and spash techniques.

Goals included:

Painting only by dropping paint on the table. Brushes and sticks were not to touch the table at all. Essentially Painting in the air and letting it drop onto the table.

Painting evenly so that in the end, there is no one area that commands the viewer’s attention than any other area.

Paint randomly so that every square inch is different than any other square inch.

Setting up a system of painting so that all artists could be involved from start to finish.

They did a super job and we all had such a great time in the process. Here are some photos from the evening. Great job! And now the Cloud 9 downstairs studio has one more piece of art in its collection!

Winter Ode Animation

One of my students, Debbie Wachel, made this awesome animation as an ode to my art school, Cloud 9, which has been closed for the past two weeks due to snowmageddon in Seattle.

I’ve missed my students and the school terribly these past two weeks. I mean, look at this animation? I have the best students ever!

Thank you Debbie!

Teens learning about 3-D art

Over the past few weeks the teens in my Monday evening classes have explored 3-dimensional art in both paper mâché and in clay. The subject was to make sculptures inspired by faces, masks, or animals.

These projects were challenging. They had to come up with ideas and then build the structure underneath that would hold their creations together. They then had to build the paper mâché works and mold and sculpt the clay pieces.

After these pieces dried, they had to paint and embellish them. Thinking in terms of viewing their pieces from all sides added another level of design and problem solving.

Here are some of their fantastic work by these young artists!

Abby

Kirby

Emmi

Eli

Ash

Alex

Abby

Kirby

Learning about Van Gogh

In my 9-12 year olds art class, we learned about Vincent van Gogh and two of his most famous paintings, Sunflowers and Starry Night. Then the young artists painted their own interpretation of these paintings, using heavy paint and obvious brushstrokes, just like Vincent did. I love all their interpretations!

9-12 year old artists & Gustav Klimt

In my art class for 9-12 year olds, we learned about Gustav Klimt and how he used pattern to create his great works of art. I asked the kids to create their own masterpieces keeping #pattern in mind, repeating shapes, colors, lines or colors.

Don’t hate me for having the best job ever.

#bestjobever #teachersofinstagram #teachingartist #kidart #bothell#kenmore #woodinville #canyonpark #millcreek  #gustavklimt 

Perpetual Nature Journal

During the first week of January I started a perpetual nature journal. I learned about perpetual journals from @laragastinger on Instagram. The pages in her’s are breathtakingly beautiful. 

The idea is to divide the pages of a journal and date them. You can do a page or a spread for every week of the year. Don’t put year dates, Just the month and week. Once a week, I draw something I find in nature that week. Then go onto the next week.  It is called a “perpetual journal”  because it repeats every year (until the pages get filled up). If you miss weeks here and there, it doesn’t matter.

Since the pages are dated by the week, you will return to that date and add another sketch or observation from the current year on that page. Thus, one page can have entries from multiple years on it. 
Some pages may end up being infrequently filled out and you may go in cycles of drawing/note taking frequently to not at all and that’s just fine. This set up allows you to come to your nature sketchbook when you are able to and to not worry about it when life is busy.It will always be there, waiting patiently for one you come back. The years go by quickly and you will find yourself back at that week’s page soon enough. As the years go by, each page can show you your sketches from that particular week through the years. How rich and delightful!. You will have a personal documentation of what the nature around YOU is doing all year long. 
When I first came across this idea, I felt quite inspired. The hardest step was figuring out how to divide up the sketchbook. I randomly gave some week’s one page and other week’s an entire spread so that the entire sketchbook covered all 52 weeks of the year. 
I dated it with a cool stamp I found on Amazon that only has the month and dates. Then every time I do a sketch, I can add the year to the sketch.

It’s a lovely way to document the passing seasons and years and to document changing art styles and supply preferences as my art evolves. I’m in!
Here is my cover page and the first two pages for the first two weeks of the year. 
Tag along with #lgperpetualjournal on Instagram and you will see people drawing all over the world. So many styles and skills - you can just write text, draw from specimens, or draw from your photographs.

Thank you to @laragastinger on IG for introducing me to this awesome concept and for her inspiring art!

#lgperpetualjournal #naturejournal #sketchnature #naturesketch #artistofinstagram #livecreatively #lovelife

My Favorite Travel Sketching Supplies

Shopping for art supplies and books is one of the best things about being an artist but it can also be overwhelming if you haven't figured out your favorites yet. Below is a list of sketching supplies that I love to travel with. You can click on any item listed to go to a link on Amazon.com.

Sketchbooks

I have really fallen in love with this Moleskine Art Plus Hard Cover Watercolor Album which measures 8.25" x 11.75." It’s big and maybe for some people, just too big. Moleskines come in a variety of sizes so feel free to shop for other sizes. Just be sure you are getting their watercolor books.

Alternatively, I really like Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. They come in various categories and sizes. I prefer the:

Beta (contains cold press watercolor paper)

and

Zeta (contains hot press watercolor paper)

I like them about 8.25 x 11.75 or bigger but if you prefer smaller, get those instead! 

Pens

Waterproof ink pens in black ink, in various sizes. Many brands claim to be waterproof but end up ghosting ink when I watercolor paint over them so I prefer the  Black, Pigma Micron Pens which are truly waterproof. It's good to have a variety of pen sizes for various weights of line in general but when I travel, I want a lean set of tools so just limit to the .05 and the brush pen.

Black, Pigma Micron Pen 01/.25mm

Black, Pigma Micron Pen 05/.45mm

Black, Pigma Micron Pen 08/.50mm

Black, Pigma Micron Brush Pen 

My all time favorite pen though is the Platinum Desk Pen. Get some extra ink cartridges for it.

Watercolor travel palette

There are a lot of options out there. Below are some of the most popular with a great range in prices.

I recommend Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Box 12-color Half Pan as a starter set. If you are not sure how much you will enjoy sketch booking and don't want to spend much, this set is one of the best for a student level watercolor set.

If you are feeling a bit more luxurious, there are several professional grade kits that are just wonderful. Here are some of my favorites.

Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Deluxe Sketchers' Pocket Box

L'Aquarelle Sennelier French Artists Watercolor Metal 12 Half-Pan Set

Schmincke Half Pan Watercolor Pocket Set

All these travel palettes are smaller and perfect for sketch booking.

If you like the idea of picking your own colors, then I recommend getting this metal palette and filling it with your favorite paints. If you are signed up for one of my travel workshops, I will be selling these palettes filled with my favorite colors as an option.

My favorite colors for my travel set include these Daniel Smith watercolors:

Daniel Smith Quinacridone Rose

Daniel Smith Transparent Pyrrol Orange

Daniel Smith Burnt Sienna

Daniel Smith New Gamboge

Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Light

Daniel Smith Yellow Ochre

Daniel Smith Phthalo Blue Green Shade

Daniel Smith French Ultramarine

Daniel Smith Indigo

Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold

Daniel Smith Sap Green 

Daniel Smith Green Gold

Watercolor Brushes

I recommend having at least three travel brushes of various sizes. It’s important that they are travel brushes (they will have caps on them so that they don’t get ruined when you put them in your bag).

A affordable and convenient option is the Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips, Pack of 3. These brushes can be filled with water and are quite convenient. 

On the high end side of options I recommend the wonderful da Vinci travel brushes set. They are a joy to paint with.

Other incidentals for a good sketchbook set are:

A water container like this Art Advantage Double Water Cup With Lid or this fun little clip on container.

Paper towels

Mechanical pencil (so you don't have to worry about a sharpener)

Kneaded Eraser

White Eraser

A ruler (preferably clear)

A little bag to keep all your pens, pencil, erasers and ruler in. I love these little beauties because you can open them and stand up the bag like a cup to hold everything upright while you sketch.

I also bring a large ziplock bag to store my pens. Air travel has a way of making some pens leak so to safeguard against any nasty surprises on arrival, I store all ink and pens in a ziplock bag.

And that's a list of my favorites.

Enjoy and bon voyage!

When you click the link for a product, you get the same low price you normally would pay on Amazon and Amazon pays me a small percentage for recommending the product. 

Happiness

Between the glow of lights, the merry making, and the promise of a new year right around the corner, I find myself brimming with gratitude. I am so thankful for my friends, my family, my career in the arts. For a supportive, loving husband, a brother who encourages me to pursue my creative projects without hesitation, I'm grateful for good wine, and art classes in which students become dear friends. I'm grateful for another year of lessons learned and lessons shared. 

As I take stock, I want to thank you all for being part of my circle of art and part of my life at large.

Wishing you a magical season and creative new year!

Warmly,

Charlene

Upcoming exhibit at Warr-King Winery

I’m happy to announce that I have an exhibit opening in January.

Please join me on January 5 for an opening reception for my solo show at Warr-King Wines in Woodinville.

Birds & Botanicals
Watercolors 
January 3 - March 31, 2019

Warr-King Wines
19501 144th Ave NE, Unit D700
Woodinville, WA  98072

Opening Reception
January 5, 2019
Noon - 5pm

Exhibit on display from January 3 - March 31, 2019

Hope to see you there!

I tried something new

Most artists I know, and I too fall into this category, have a curiosity about all sorts of subjects and media and techniques. To be artistic, is to be naturally curious about the world: how light falls on subjects, how boundaries soften and harden, how colors appear to change with distance and temperature, how materials respond to techniques, how to reproduce effects, how other artists work… To always have something to learn is like always having an endless supply of Christmas presents to unwrap.

My curiosity recently led me to take a printmaking class for beginners. It was taught by Emily Brown at Cloud 9 Art School. A 4-hour session of being delightfully out of my comfort zone.

I learned that I have gotten really used to how I approach my artwork. I think in terms of color and value and detail. But printmaking took that away from me and I had to think in terms of composition, shapes, and in terms of black and white. Foundation things that I’ve swept aside over the years.

It was a great return to the basic principles of art and design, not to mention the challenge of thinking in terms of mirror images, learning how to carve out an image, approaching it from the point of view of negative space and understanding new materials.

I have so much more to learn. So much to re-learn.

Here are some photos from this adventure. Nothing improves my teaching skills like walking in the shoes of a student. And it was a lot of fun!

The Artist's Way Tools

I am leading a workshop based on Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, one of the best books written about creativity.

I'm thrilled to share The Artist's Way ideas with the participants of this workshop, which starts in about a month.

The workshop is intended to teach people to process and transform their life through acts of creativity. Equally exciting and frightening, participation is practiced through creative action, not just through theory.

There are two basic tools that run throughout the course, the Morning Pages and the Artist Date.

The Morning Pages
Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize our day. 

The Artist Date
The Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic.” They should encourage play, embrace joy, feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. When choosing an Artist Date, the only question you need to ask yourself is “what sounds fun?” 

We share our creative dreams and goals, we celebrate, we puzzle over our challenges... Together we work towards actualizing our own creative power but ultimately we each go through the process ourselves. And isn't that exciting?!

This workshop is really about how to grab your creative life by the lapels... because sometimes it's hard to know how to even begin... Apologetically? Enthusiastically? Cautiously? What if this... What if that?!

And although the workshop is in the context of being creative, it is really about living a full, passionate and authentic life.

Come join me for this creative adventure!

THE ARTIST'S WAY with Charlene Collins Freeman

Wednesdays 6:15pm - 8:15pm

January 9 - March 27, 2019

12 week series

Register at https://charlenecollinsfreeman.com/workshops/

#theartistsway #juliacameron #fearandcreativity #liveacreativelife #beinganartist #authenticself

#charlenecollinsfreemanart #cloud9artschool

#bothell #kenmore #woodinville #millcreek #canyonpark #seattle

Up, Up & Away

In my weekly art class for 9 - 12 year olds we created paper mache hot air balloons. And it was a blast!

To prepare for the class I blew a balloon for each girl and cut A LOT of newspaper into strips. When the young artists arrived, everyone put on aprons and we mixed the paper mache glue together.

The recipe I used was 1 1/2 cups of flour for every cup of water. We mixed until we got a thick glue-like consistency and got rid of all the lumps. 

The kids then soaked the newspaper strips in the paper mache glue and squeezed excess glue off before using it to cover their balloon.

Everyone had to cover their entire balloon with three to four layers of newspaper strips. We then let them dry.

The next week, the balloons were ready for paint. Before diving in the girls did sketches to consider different color schemes and themes. They considered the ribbons and yarns and embellishments they could use. Once they had decided on a final design, they were ready to paint.

The next week, we pulled it all together, adding the baskets with ribbons or yarn, adding butterflies and silk flowers and leaves.

They did a great job and we had a lot of fun. Up, up & away! To the next art adventure!

#teachingartist #teachingartistsofinstagram #bestgigever #cloud9artschool #charlenecollinsfreeman #papermache #hotairballoon

My color sketchbook

Here are some pages from my color sketchbook, focused on understanding color for the watercolorist. These exercises are designed to explore the properties of watercolor pigments and mixes.

I hope these pages might inspire you to explore your own palette. Or maybe these pages will just delight your eyes. That would be great too.

I will be teaching Understanding Colors for the Watercolorist as a 10 Week Workshop at Cloud 9 Art School in Bothell on Tuesdays 9:30am - 12:30pm from January 8 to March 12, 2019.

Designed to help watercolor artists understand both color theory and paint properties, we will explore the properties of watercolor pigments (transparent, opaque, staining, fugitive, granulating, on my!) and we will look at different ways of mixing color (on the palette, on the paper, wet-into-wet, glazing).  We will experiment with color temperature, value, and intensity of pigments. We will learn about the advantages of painting with a limited palette and we will make a lot of color charts in the process. 

We will play with formulas that work well for specific subjects (skies, skin, shadows). We will explore how to match colors and study classic compatible palettes (colors that work well together in a painting). We will look at the emotions of colors and explore the use of color through art history.

Each of the lessons of our workshop will introduce new ideas and exercises, new paints, techniques, and challenge you to think about color in new ways.  You will get a creative workout, but in a relaxed, supportive setting, where experimentation and play are encouraged while techniques and observation are emphasized. 

To register, visit https://charlenecollinsfreeman.com/workshops/

Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life. - Vincent van Gogh

Drawing the human figure with young artists

In my Tuesday afternoon class, I teach a group of enthusiastic 9 - 12 year old artists. We have spent a few weeks learning about the proportions of the human face and body.

We used graphite pencil, a mannequin head and a drawing mannequin figure to start our studies.

After drawing faces and figures in graphite from mannequins, the young students were ready to create a color pencil drawing or acrylic painting from their imagination, using what they had learned from our proportion studies.

These are some of their final pieces. Well done all!

#kidart #youthart #drawingthehumanfigure #figureinart #artteacher #teachingart #bestgigever #cloud9artschool #charlenecollinsfreemanart

Sketching in New Mexico

Last month I took a week long trip to New Mexico. It was a bit of an artist retreat. Nothing inspires me more than travel: seeing things for the first time, learning about other people, histories, legends, and trying new foods. This trip had it all.

I start off my travel sketchbooks before I even leave home. This time, I began with a page outlining the itinerary and a short to do list to get ready for the trip.

And I did a little homework to learn about New Mexico. I really enjoy doing this sort of studying before a trip. It adds dimension to my trips and to my sketchbooks.

I landed at the Albuquerque International Sunport Airport and rented a car. I decided to drive the national scenic byway, the Turquoise Trail, to Santa Fe. Along the way, I had lunch in the artsy town of Madrid where the waitress suggested looking on the ground as we walked around. She said we would likely find turquoise. I was skeptical but she was right! There were little tiny pebbles of turquoise mixed in with the gravel. That was a bit of magic!

The Turquoise Trail ends at Santa Fe, a perfect stop on the way to Taos, my final destination. In Santa Fe, I explored the amazing galleries along Canyon Road.

Arriving at Taos in the early evening, I was surprised by how small and lovely and inviting it was. Small shops, great restaurants, walkable, and interesting. Lots of galleries and museums and historical landmarks.

On the way to Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch, I pulled over for the Classical Gas Museum. I loved all the old cars and trucks, old gas pumps, vintage diner, toys, signs… some rusted out, some cleaned up to a shiny new glow. Amazing! I took about one hundred photos and I’ll be painting a new series of Love of Americana from these objects.

At the Ghost Ranch, I did the Walk in Georgia O’Keeffe’s Footsteps tour. It was fantastic!

This walking tour takes guests to the restricted area of Ghost Ranch where O’Keeffe lived, painted and found inspiration. Our small group walked through what O’Keeffe called “her red hills” – the Chinle formation. Our guide was a great story teller while she showed us O’Keeffe’s painting sites by comparing prints of her paintings to the land forms around us. She also told us about the geology of the area, the High Desert (Upper Sonoran) flora and fauna and history of Ghost Ranch.

Back in Santa Fe, I went to the O’Keeffe Museum and several more galleries. Art art art!

My last sketchbook spread from this trip covers a great day spent at the New Mexico State Fair. Colors, rides, animals, dances, fair food. It had it all. Look for some paintings from this day too.

Thank you New Mexico for all the inspiration!