creative jewish mom

Painting Clouds On An Orange Background

With the next Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat not for another 27 days, I am trying to spend as much time as possible painting, either in my sketchbook, or not. This week I got back into exploring how to paint clouds, an idea I had started working on a whole year ago, but just didn't get back to it. And then I painted some llamas with tiny cranes flying overhead, and then I painted some cranes, and then I realized that painting clouds was the natural thing to paint next! So, I painted one spread of clouds that isn't all that great, and then I painted this spread, which I do love, and so I'm sharing it with you. I'll say, after this one I painted another three spreads of clouds, and while it was challenging, it was so great to actually work on painting one thing! Now I need to try it on large sheets of watercolor paper, or dare I say a canvas? The biggest question of all when thinking about painting clouds should be what color background shall I paint them on? And friends, I suggest you try a few options to see what works for you, though I can guarantee you that orange is a winner. it need not be as intense an orange as you can see here peaking through, but orange of some kind as it just gives that oh so painterly look to your work, which I personally love. Want to see the entire painting? Keep on reading.....

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Mixed Media Migrating Cranes Painting

One thing I can happily say about 2020 is that I was able to stick to my plan of making a "sketchbook practice" part of my creative life! What can I tell you dear readers? While I was once very afraid and sceptical about sketchbooks, I am so very happy that I stuck with it, as today I am a staunch supporter! Sketchbooks or art journals, however you choose to call them, can truly be an amazing place to create, as without pressure to display your work, and without having to worry about what you'll do with the results, you are FREE to just explore. And at the same time you are contributing another page to the story that tells the very interesting and inspiring tale of your creative journey! And once you have more than just a few pages completed, you may even, gasp, be okay with pages that weren't all that successful, as that is part of the journey as well.

The other interesting thing I've discovered is that one page, or one spread in my sketchbook can inspire the pages that follow, imagine that, like an actual book! This happened to me last week, when after adding some tiny migrating cranes in the sky of my sketchbook llama family, I suddenly had the desire to try painting some cranes flying overhead. We are very fortunate to live on the migration path of cranes that fly from Europe to Africa in the fall, and back again in the Spring, and it is always a amazing site.......we scream to each other "cranes!" and we all run outside to witness a few hundred, or sometimes even more cranes flying overhead. Generally they are quite far away, but once a few flew much lower and I remember looking out of my kitchen window and even catching a glimpsy of some tiny crane feet!

So this somewhat loose mixed media crane painting in my sketchbook is all about capturing an exciting seasonal experience that we look forward to twice a year!

Try A Pink Paint Pen For Adding Tiny Details To A Colorful Landscape Painting!

I started writing this post a good five weeks ago, and never quite found the right time to post it, and now I know why! Yesterday I took a trip to the local art supply store and realized that they carry Posca paint pens, maybe at twice the price as some USA sources, but at least they are available, which was a huge surprise. So yes, I did buy two, a gold paint pen and a bright pink paint pen, two colors that are great for adding tiny details. I flipped through my sketchbook to see which pages could benefit from some tiny pink details and lo and behold the looming black mountain that was looking rather scary and flat called out "pick me!" And so after a few sketched lines, and a little smuding with my finger to make those lines less crisp, this sketchbook painting got much better, at least to my eye! So I now share with you my first experimentation with a landscape in this A4 drawing sketchbook, and I can't say I love it, but I'm sharing it just the same as I'm hoping that my journey can be an inspiration to you! Ah yes, and keep on reading to see the fun results on the opposite page!

Craft Schooling Sunday Is Taking A Holiday Break, Resumes Jan 2nd/3rd

Thanks for stopping by, Craft Schooling Sunday will resume on Jan 2nd/3rd. Have a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to reconnecting in 2021!

Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet

The 10th of Tevet (this year, December 25, 2020) is observed as a day of fasting for many, mourning and repentance. This year it occurs on a Friday, and the day leads right into Shabbat, which in itself is an interesting lesson in embracing the roller coaster of life, and learning how to go from mourning to celebration all within the same short period of time, because indeed life includes both aspects at all times. Many of you may be familiar with the Jewish custom in which the groom steps on a glass during the Jewish wedding ceremony under he chuppa. This custom is all about remembering Jerusalem and the falling of the Holy Temple, something that is deeply distressing, (or more realistically should be!) at one of he most joyful times.

Why is the Tenth of Tevet of day of mourning? Well, a mere 2.000 years ago, on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet, in the year 425 BCE, the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. This was the beginning of the chain of events that culminated with the destruction of the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem (The Beit HaMikdash) and the subsequent exiles of the Jewish People from their land. As you may know, that exile scattered Jews around the world, where they both flourished and suffered greatly, but that is of course a whole megillah that I won't go into right now.

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Fun Llama Portraits

It is true, the llamas may just be taking over, but I can't complain as they are just as cute as can be! After paintng a llama for Chanukah, and a llama portrait, I just had to record this llama phase in my sketchbook, and ended up creating a whole llama spread, which is such a fun surprise as one flips through the book. Animal portraits are all the rage, photography wise, but I think they are cute as can be when painted and approached in a more artful manner, which is what you can see here. I have placed my llamas in the Hula Valley, one of my favorite places in Northern Israel, and this was also a good opportunity to have a go at drawing some tiny migrating cranes in the sky. I'll admit, the second try (keep reading for that) is something I'm really happy with, and that has lead to some pages painted with blue sky and more cranes. I'll share that with you soon, though in the mean time, have a look at my cute baby llama and the whole gang!

Picture Ledge IKEA Hack For Displaying Your Art!

I am a huge fan of picture ledges when it comes to home decor, and we have them in three places in our home! They are of course great for displaying pictures, but also for displaying beautiful plates and platters, and in this case, in a nook in the kitchen, they are fabulous as an ever-changing gallery for all of my various projects! This year the shelves bear all kinds of fun paintings, and painted boxes and even some large 8-pointed stars made from wall paper scraps. I have to say, this corner of creativity makes me very happy, and is something that I look at all day long, and especially while standing at the kitchen sink doing that never ending pile of dishes! It feels a bit like a merchandised gift shop in my kitchen, as I have created with a specific color palette in mind, meaning all the pieces look good together. Yippee, now I finally realize how to make this picture ledge IKEA hack look great year round, create within a color palette for any given season or holiday. That does seem somewhat obvious, and not necessarily the way to approach a creative practice, meaning with color limitations, but hey, when artists create collections of paintings for a gallery show, those paintings are created as a group of sorts and must look good together to create an impression for the greater body of work. So there you have it, create with a specific palette in mind, and you don't have to make any excuses for it!

A few years back when I was in the middle of a painting stint, I realized that by simply wrapping a wire around a shelf I could hang paintings with clothes pins, which is so much fun, and a great way to look at work in progress, you know, while you're puttering in the kitchen! Speaking of puttering in the kitchen, keep on reading to see a full view of these shelves in all their winter decor glory!

A Whimsical Painted Llama Portrait Creates Smiles All Around

With the wonderful holiday of Chanukah now behind us, we can use this time to create non-holiday specific things that make us happy! It is true, I did create some llamas during Chanukah, and discovered that they are just so downright cheerful that I had to give a llama portrait a try! I'll admit the background was changed several times before I arrived at this pink, which is just as pretty as can be and looks great as a part of my pastel colored winter themed art. This llama's name is Millie, and she said to herself "llama lo" (why not in Hebrew) visit the dream destination of her choice, the Hula Valley. She arrived in time to see a very very early bloom of wildflowers, and is thinking about staying for a while!

So dear readers, try painting a simple and whimsical animal portrait, and then give it a name and a story, which adds so very very much! And if you have no idea how to go about this, do consider joining me in Amanda Evanston's Insider's group, which I where I learned to paint a llama portrait like this. Keep on reading to find out what supplies I used in this mixed media painting and see a previous version with a beige sandy hills background.

Craft Schooling Sunday Is Taking A Holiday Break, Resumes Jan 2nd/3rd

Thanks for stopping by, Craft Schooling Sunday will resume on Jan 2nd/3rd. Have a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to reconnecting in 2021!

 

Moroccan Sfinge Donuts For Chanukah!

Tonight on the 8th and final night of Chanukah we enjoyed a Moroccan treat call sfinge, which are basically fried yeast donuts, and perfect for Chanukah, on account of all the oil that is needed to fry them, yikes. In case you are wondering about that cactus in the middle of the donuts, well that happens to be our sugar bowl (of sorts, it actually has a cover as well) and it was a great call by my daughter to place it in the dish as it makes the whole thing look so festive, right? If you ever come upon a little plastic container with a cactus that is meant for q-tips, snatch it up to use as a sugar bowl, you'll thank me! Okay, lest I digress, back to the sfinge!

Fried foods aren't something I ever make, for health reasons, but once a year to honor Chanukah is fine by me. These donuts were actually made by my teen daughter, who is quite the baker, and the results were amazing. My husband, who grew up eating these Moroccan donuts with honey was quiet impressed, and now it looks like we'll be making these donuts every year, together with the traditional Ashkenazic potato latkes, on different nights of course! I won't plan on having sfinge except on Chanukah, but it is a treat made year round in many homes, and is apparently sold on the street from vending carts in Morocco. Speaking of Morocco, now that Israel has made peace with Morocco there are at long last direct flights, which means it will be so much easier for us to go there, hopefully in the not too distant future. (And yes, direct flights and a welcome wagon for Israelis/Jews is also now happening in Dubai and Bahrain, which in itself is a miracle, but I think I'll stick with Morocco for now.)