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Risa's SoulShine Mosaic Grout Tutorial

A little grouting demonstration for the SoulShine mosaic paper weight memorial of Risa's lovely spirit. Colorful glass bead 'rays', chain, clear glass beads, red iridescent glass adhered onto a small black stone. A fun little student project!



Process:
• After glass and beads have been glued, the adhesive has to completely dry. In our dry climate it's about a day for Weldbond, a couple of days for cement. Weldbond PVC glue was used for this mosaic.

• Painters tape is used to mask around the edge for a nice clean grout line. Small cut pieces overlaid go around the curved shape. The tape also prevents grout from getting on the rest of the stone.




• Black Mapei grout was used with Mapei grout additive in place of water. An eye dropper is used for small work to add liquid because it is more controlled and easier. Walmart has them very cheap.


• As you can see I recycle my paint palettes! The grout is mixed a little thinner than peanut butter to get into all areas easily. Grout is gently smoothed over the mosaic and over the edges of the beads, making sure not to go beyond masked tape.  Then the grout is left to set up about 10 minutes or less.



• A small bit of sponge, container of water and patience is all that's needed to wipe off excess grout to reveal the pretty beads, glass, mirror.
Video link shows how I wipe the grout off carefully, not using too much water. A small towel to blot off the excess water is handy now.



•  Once all of the excess grout has been wiped clean, carefully peel off the masking tape around the edges.

Finished! The grout will continue to harden and set up for a few hours.



Soulshine Mosaic stone

A little Risa's SoulShine mosaic inspiration on stone with glittering beads and red iridescent glass, at the bottom. Came across a dog show today with tri-Aussies. Thought of Risa and this little mosaic came to mind :)

Dogface Butterfly and Monarch Butterfly mosaic stones are colorful companions. Mirror is a favorite material usually included in my mosaics.
The decorative stones make excellent paper weights and doorstops. They also decorate nicely in a landscape design.



Up next, Horned Toad Lizard below. Here is part of the layout and stone. The Horned Toad was supposed to go on a large jewelry box, but I like it on this Large, interesting natural stone below with it's mirror and chain accents.


Wildlife Painting - Mixed Media Class

For artists who like to dabble in a variety of media I'm offering classes in mixed media painting. Colored pencils with an underpainting.

It's my favorite method to work in, whether mosaics or painting because I like the effects of a variety of media and most of my work has a foundational underpainting.

The Barn Owl below was painted with an under painting of watercolor, then refined with colored pencils. White feather dots are gel pen.

Interested in advancing your art skills? Contact me for class information via this blog in the comment section below or my Facebook page Sue Betanzos Design where you can message me and post your questions.



Mosaic Rocks! Mosaic Classes

Well mosaics do rock Haha! In this case, on rocks that will go in the garden. The paisley is in progress with glass beads and mirror.  Dog faced Butterfly almost finished.

Easy versions of garden art on tile will be offered in mosaic classes this month.
Interested in advancing your mosaic skills? Contact me for class information via this blog in the comments section below or on my Facebook page Sue Betanzos Designs where you can message me and post your questions.

Winter is when Tucson shines as a destination area full of activities and fun. Choose something creative to do!

Fairy Bunny Acrylic Wildlife Painting

Monarchs on my mind and playing with a little fantasy.  A friend's yard is always full of bunnies and butterflies playing. Stories of urban fantasy by Charles DeLint, Laine Taylor and more authors  - a little Fae Flutter Bunny is one daydream.
Acrylic paints and  metallic gold paint (orange areas) in many layers on Bristol paper with a favorite quote. Collecting quotes is an addiction :)








Origami Day Of The Dead Puppy Boxes

Happy Friday!  Origami is so fun. Here is an easy Origami Puppy Box to play with.
I made just a few - my own puppy pack.
The hand painted ones are inspired by the Day Of The Dead, which is Nov.1 & 2. These little puppies are great helpers and can carry all kinds of small things. Enjoy!





Gila Dreams Mosaic Signs

This little Gila Welcome mosaic sign is on it's way to Philly to enhance the entry of a Herpetologist's home, where it will make a difference every day.

I'm feeling the itch to mosaic again and make another version of this most favorite subject, the Gila Monster. Another welcome sign or simply the beauty of this unique jewel colored animal.

Mosaic artwork can enhance an outdoor or indoor space as either functional or fine art. The beauty is that the medium of mosaic is very durable, dating back to ancient Roman, Greek with examples of Pompeii being the most known/seen.

Stained glass is my preferred medium, mixed with other glass, natural stones. Here is the same design using rich colors in a re purposed cabinet door with tempered glass.






Commissions for Gila Dream mosaics and welcome signs are available. Each is handmade, unique, made just for you.
Gila Dream - Glass Mosaic, ©SueBetanzos.com

How to Get Your Facebook Posts Seen

As we know, Facebook is constantly changing the way posts are seen. Only a very small percentage of your fans, friends will see those nice posts you make. You will see the amount of fans reached on the bottom of each post.
Facebook is in the business of selling ads to get posts seen. This can get expensive very quickly and can be tricky.
Here is a simple yet important strategy you can ask your followers to make on their feed when they like your page.

1. When a business page is Liked, there are options to choose from under the Like Tab.
Hover over it and the options shown under the In Your News Feed will be See First and Default.  Facebook auto selects the Default selection.

2. Ask/inform your fans about Selecting the See First to have ALL your posts come up in your fans news feed.


3. Under the same Liked tab there is a Notifications with the two options. Facebook auto selects the Live videos for notifications.   Click on the small grey pencil on the right to edit and custom select notifications.

4. Pin the post to the top of your page by clicking on the small grey arrow, upper right of the post.
A post showing these two steps can be pinned to the top of your business page as the first post seen by your fans.


Simple, yet effective. Get your posts seen by ALL of your fans.

I'm Published - Anne Kullberg's Colored Pencil Magazine

One of my colored pencil pieces has been published in Anne Kullberg's CP Hidden Treasures Volume III earlier this year.

Over 800 international entries and I am thrilled and honored to have my piece selected.
So many talented artists are in the magazine - I am humbled and happy! I picked up the colored pencil medium the beginning of this year, so wow!  :))

A digital version is available as well as a print version. Anne Kullberg's site has lots of wonderful information, instructional kits and more for those wanting to further their colored pencil journey.
The staff is super helpful, friendly.  I subscribe to their digital monthly magazine and love it - I'm hooked!
The magazine is celebrating 16 years in publication.

Here is my little screech owl Whooo, Me? and the page in the CP Hidden Treasures Volume III. I love these little owls. Please read more about screech owls here. They so interesting as well as cute!

Whooo, Me? - Colored Pencil 5x7"


Pyrrhuloxia Desert Cardinal Pencil Drawing

Pencil drawing of the Pyrrhuloxia, Desert Cardinal to practice some value studies. Value are the dark and lights of a painting or drawing. Color can sometimes be a distraction so I like to draw several pencil studies of a subject to get the feel of it.

Plus it's fun to play with the shades and the lovely graphite tones.
This is in my sketchbook, on Canson acid free 98 lb paper with Derwent pencils.


Pyrrhuloxia Pencil portrait study. 9x12" 








Linus, Dog Pencil Portrait

The Linus dog pencil portrait is part of a series of pet portraits and our connection to our pet companions.
That saying "pets enrich our lives" is an understatement. For many our companions are family members and our relationships with them are priceless.

*The impulse addition of my reading/working glasses was a visual pun that worked out, enhancing the original drawing.

Linus is a young Australian Shepherd that loves to be involved in every aspect of his family's life. Sometimes he can be relaxed enough to hang out with a good book!
His portrait was such a pleasure to draw and I thank the owners for loaning me the reference photo. The graphite drawing will be used for notecards and a personal newsletter.

Derwent and Faber Castell pencils were used on Stonehenge paper. I liked that the paper had just enough texture (tooth) to really do some nice layers. The thickness (weight) of the paper is great for pencils and even some light painting (not too wet).

Usually I like to start with the eye of the subject - it's the soul of the painting. Whiskers were added last with a very fine liner and gouache. Then I toned and refined the whiskers with a very sharp HB pencil.

Audio book I listened to: Downpour, by Kat Richardson. Urban Paranormal mystery. Pretty cool.

Linus Reading Glasses, 8"x11" pet portrait in pencil - original available 





The Eye -