Happy Thanksgiving!

I like to refer to this as Gratitude Day. Reflecting on all I have to be grateful for. Writing it down. This has been such a good year for me. Yay!!

Has anyone accomplished, done anything that they wouldn't have thought of this year?
I know I have and it feels Amazing! Why?

Well here's a few things I want to share about my upcoming Reflections Of Nature Show:

1. All of the art that is being created for this show is of Arizona wildlife   Some of the paintings are my signature Reverse Glass Paintings. Other paintings are traditional acrylic paintings on canvas or board. The glass mosaics are made with hundreds of hand cut stained glass pieces.

2. I learned how to draw with my left hand.  I got a lot done, despite a recent wrist injury. I learned how to draw with my left hand. Teaching my brain to work with my left hand was a lot of work, but it makes me so very grateful to have my right hand back for the mosaics. Gratitude x ∞.

3. My scholarship awards this year from Skillshare and LinkedIn allowed me to upgrade my design skills. Thanks to the awards from these online class platform sites, I was able to learn new techniques in digital design, stay motivated with classes in social media tips (@ohn_mar_win).
Try new looser drawing and painting styles while my wrist healed :)  Some of this new artwork will be in my show this January.

Keeping frustration away, learning empowering skills, making my dreams come true - what an exciting way to enter the holiday season!

I'm really working to get more paintings finished and will post them here and on my:
 Facebook,   Instagram,   Pinterest.
There will be a pre-show sale for paintings I'll announce right before the installation Jan. 12.
Happy Holidays!

Coral Reef Mosaic Design

A custom mosaic design of the rich, colorful, vibrant life in a coral reef for a dear friend and mosaic artist Mermaids Sea Jewels.
Mermaids Sea Jewels specializes in beautiful medical alert jewelry and will fabricate the mosaic in her bathroom renovation. I can't wait to see her progress and am very excited for her.

Coral Reef Mosaic Custom Design,  by Sue Betanzos for Mermaids Sea Jewels

It's a large, ambitious undertaking that will be a creative journey she will document as it goes.
The mosaic will be fabricated in tile.  There are three panels surrounding the bathtub. The square in the center panel is the shower niche. The left panel will have the shower fixtures.

The floor of the bathroom was a custom design of playful, colorful blue swirls of iridescent blue tiles surrounded by sandy colored matt tiles - magical.

The concept was to use the line art and color key similar to a coloring book. This allows for artistic interpretation to serve as a creative spring board when fabricating - putting her own spin on it to make it her style.
The color illustration was done in colored pencil as a guide she will use when choosing tile. There is a scaled line art drawing (before coloring) that she has already printed, enlarged to full bathroom size on a banner printer at Kinko's to serve as a blueprint guide to mosaic from.

Colored Pencils for Coloring Classes

Colored Pencil Classes at the Kirk Bear Canyon Library March 6 & 20, 5:30 - 7:30.

Ready for some creative coloring but confused about what to get, where to start?

There are a lot of options out there and it can be a little overwhelming for the beginner, if you don't know what you're looking for. In the many years of drawing, I have tried a lot of brands, types of pencils, products.

Colored pencils have so many possibilities. It's a slow enjoyable medium with a zen like quality as layers of shading are applied. That's why coloring is recommended for stress relief - Slow, creative unwinding. The continued popularity of coloring books is evidence - they are Everywhere.

The following is a list of colored pencil brands I have tried and own. I often mix the brands to get the results I want.
I have featured the current popular brands with some prices and quality info.
Links enclosed are to:
 Michaels (online coupon), Sarnoffs of Tucson, Walmart (Prismacolors, best deal),  Amazon.

    Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils
$$   Pros: Artist Quality. Rich buttery pigments, blends and layers beautifully.  Large color selection. Online color charts available on their site for download. Available at many places, even at Walmart.
       Cons:  Soft core lead breaks easily. Not all colors are lightfast.
        Wax Binder. Can develop a waxy haze on top of layers.

   Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencils
$$  Pros: Artist Quality. Rich pigments, Large color selection. Hard lead core does not break easily            and keeps a sharp point. Good for fine details.
      Cons: The harder lead makes blending a bit more difficult.
      Wax binder.

   Koh-I-Noor Polychromos Colored Pencils
$$  Pros: Artist Quality. Nice pigments, blends and layers easily. Hard lead core does not break easily      and keeps a sharp point. Up to 72 color selection. Michaels carries this brand. Blends nicely with         Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils and Faber-Castell pencils. Get the ones Encased In Wood.
     Cons: Only found in select stores. The wood cased ones only found online.
      Oil binder. No wax haze, clean finish.

      Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils
$$$ Pros: Artist Quality. Rich pigments that blend and layer beautifully. Large color selection. Online        color charts available on their site for download. Most colors are lightfast. Lead is harder, keeps a        sharp point longer, doesn't break easily.
       Cons: A bit more expensive.
       Oil Binder. No wax haze, clean finish.

Sarnoffs of Tucson and Michaels offer the artist quality pencils individually to purchase. Another reason to buy artist quality - they are usually available individually in case you run out of your favorite colors.
Or would like to try a new brand but don't want to buy a whole set of the higher end products.
* Bottom line (no pun intended): get the best materials your budget can afford.

So don't wait - just start!
Stay tuned for paper suggestions. Art results depend not only on the pencil choice, but more importantly, the paper choice.

There are additional media combos for colored pencils like inks and mirco pens, watercolors for later posts. Mixed media is my very favorite method of creating.

Happy coloring!

New Colored Pencil Classes!

Time to learn new colored pencil techniques.
If you are a beginner or already have experience with colored pencils, then Colored Pencils I and II are being offered this March at the Kirk Bear Canyon Library.

Free to the public and sponsored by Friends of the Kirk Bear Canyon Library. Limited seating, registration is required.

Every Painting Has A Story, Colored Pencil Fox Painting

A colored pencil painting journey with Sara Pennypacker's story of PAX.

Although I know I am incapable of picking a favorite book (because books are sacred, like friends, and you can't pick JUST ONE), each story has a special place in my mind.
I usually have several books to choose from that I either read or listen to as I paint. (I am addicted to audio books!).

Pax  by Sara Pennypacker is a lovely, touching story I listened to and was very inspired by. The colored pencil painting that resulted from feelings as I listened (and then read again) to this story is of Pax and his friends. Their journeys. Animal stories are some my top favorites.
(How many times do companions wait for the return of a loved one, trusting that they will return?)

A great story I really enjoyed and hope you will too. Find it on Amazon, your local library (Tucson Pima Libraries for me), or audio book.

Pax  10" x 12" Colored Pencil Painting ©Sue Betanzos
Available Here

Colored pencil painting on white Stonehenge paper.
Great paper with just enough texture (tooth) for lots of layering, building colors, shades.
Pencils used were Faber Castell, Verithins (for fine detail), Prismacolor. Love the soothing zen of layering colors to create depth and value. (while listening to a story of course :)

Also: a Kum hand held sharpner, kneaded eraser, fine embosser with tape (to lift fine lines of color).

On the easel - Pax

A work in progress inspired by a lovely story.  Every artwork has a story either I am listening to or am inspired by. Books, stories are my passion!
I like working in layers in all my media, slowly building color relationships.

Pax in progress  Colored Pencil on Stonehenge paper.

Lucy's Warbler Watercolor

A week ago I heard a very different call, right outside my door.
Today I finally glimpsed the bird singing in the dense branches of mesquite trees. It was hard because the bird was small, grey and very quick - flitting from branch and tree.
I've since discovered that most warblers are small and very quick, as they eat the insects.

It was fun solving the puzzle because for a while all I could hear was the call. Plus I was determined to find it.
Once sited and after a bit of searching with sound and site matching I learned I had spied a Lucy's Warbler. It's call was insistent, distinctive.
Here is the little bird gem that I torpedoed a mornings work to find. Dashing out whenever I heard it's call in hopes of spotting it!

Lucy's Warbler Field Study - Watercolor, colored pencil

While searching I was also treated to bright red Cardinal, Phainopepla, cheerful House Finches, Mourning Doves, and a lovely rich orange Queen Butterfly!

Also, yesterday around 6 pm on returning from my jog I stopped to watch a Cooper's Hawk dine on a fresh dove. It was amazing how fast it finished. The hawk has a large nest in a large tree by my house. Ruby amber eyes flashed in the late sunset as it neatly finished it's meal.

Time to get back to work - Continuing on my fun new Birdy Journey - I am Drawn By Nature.