If You can't say something NICE, don't say anything!

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Well, dear people out there...I was brought up with the above axiom...so my mouth has been very quiet, my blogs very quiet. 

I've spent the last two months buried in small projects, streaming favorite shows..(Bridgerton was so fun). Reading and doing lots of art. LOTS and lots of art.

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Experimenting...gesso on watercolor paper, alcohol inks, water color, salt, and just letting it all go...

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these are sections

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salt, rice thrown on the wet inks/paints.

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Spraying with alcohol and rubbing areas off...

I took three different classes in January and two in February, but the final one lasted 25 Days---++++. 

Mather classes were also good in February. 

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One of my favorite classes was these patchwork frames, which I did round with collage and still need to do a bit of enhancement.

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These are on 10x10 canvas, with magazine images, as well as lots of hand-painted papers bits and swatches.

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My two boys and their lovely wives, my daughters. Both are immigrants to the USA so I am proud MOM for them here in Chicagoland. 

 February was a 25-day challenge class with pep talks, guides, videos on all kinds of creativity and materials.  Here are a few of my favorites from that class.

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 You were to spend 20 minutes doing quick intuitive work each and every day. Here are a few of my favorites from that class.

This was a two day project...laying the base, collage, and paint, markers, glazes, paint pens. I've lived in 5 towns in my life all with water...this is a compilation of my Hometowns.

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Acrylic 20 min on watercolor paper. Started as a landscape, but when you go with what happens...the eye screamed make me a face.

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I spent a whole afternoon with watercolors, pencils and water soluable markers. Taped off watercolor paper. Winter day, sharp light and our Northside backyard had great shadows...

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Tapes removed.

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Another version, I just chased the shapes and the shadows. Winter snow is never pure white...

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This is the window scene...the light is gone and the shadows it clouded up and quit.

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Another day I played with music on ...Ragtime Fats Domino, and Shostakovich with Leonard Bernstein on the piano and directing full orchestra (totally divine playing).

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Quick acrylic full page 12x18...watercolor paper. Burnt Umber, Phtalo blue, Crimson and white...super fast, less than 10 minutes.

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This was a prep.,..cleaning off the palette from the beach scene, also Ultramarine blue, this is in a glossy page thrift store $1 photography book.

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Next day I saw her....less than 20 minutes, acrylics, and Posca-like pens.

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I have a brain that never stops working...results insomnia, agitation...or just watching the news and this was a very bad day...20 minutes and...yes, there is everything in this.

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This was also a palette cleanse piece, where I rubbed unused paint on loosely with water, the next day I saw this in the patches and did a "Selfie" with my computer screen camera on. Is it accurate, somewhat, a bit of exaggeration.  Ever stared at yourself for 20 minutes.

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but definitely a trip into different techniques and materials. Watercolor paper, water soluable crayons, markers, charcoal, alcohol, pens...

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This one went so fast --less than 15 minutes..limited palette, lemon yellow, pthalo blue, burnt umber and white... scratching, palette knife and brushes.

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Most fun was rolling my fingers in the white and making the water. Best part of the 25 minute limit is I'm walking away and not fiddling with things. I like that. I may force myself to walk away MORE!

Working in so many media isn't really confusing, it's freeing and I'm loving the play everyday aspect. I'm going to try and do something everyday. Even if it is just prepping pages or sealing finished ones. Using paper instead of canvas is cost effective for playing and if something wonderful happens you can mount it or frame it. I've even used Multimedia paper for bases with a plastic placemat behind them...and it holds up fine.

Hugs to you all, I hope you have had someway of coping with your world this last two months. 

Sandi

Any questions I'll be happy to answer, or email me at barlane27@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for visiting,

 I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

OldNewGreenRedo, is an ad-free blog.  

I do not endorse or receive any $$ for any products I may use. I enjoy showing how I use products, 

but I do not receive any $$ from anywhere I shop.

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Sandi 

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Sindy's Graduation Project...just a bit of Fun!

 Sindy: Okay, let's see if I can do this in one take, I have to get these desserts packed up and to class for my final. 

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Aidan: Okay, Sindy, remember to smile, and look right into the camera, and I will keep moving to get different views as you speak.

Ready.....Action!

Sindy: Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

I’m Sindy Odders, one of the assistant pastry chefs at the Hyatt Hotel at River North in Chicago. Today, I have prepared for you a selection of vegan and vegetarian Valentine desserts. 

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I have adapted these recipes to vegan and or vegetarian from historical and vintage cookbooks 

for my senior graduation project at the Culinary Institute.

Whether you choose to be vegan or vegetarian for health, personal, or religious issues, 

no one has to deprive themselves of fabulous desserts. 

I have prepared for you a selection of delicious cakes, tortes, tarts, pudding, 

and cookies for your Valentine's Day celebrations. 

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My personal favorite is the Strawberry torte in an almond pastry shell. The Peach Melba cakes are topped with a festive strawberry, and the Strawberry Layer Cakes have whipped coconut milk frostings and fresh strawberries.

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Desserts are the perfect food for entertaining or treating your family for Valentine's Day.

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We have a Chocolate Lady Finger Coconut Cake, a Raspberry Macadamia Nut Torte, a Carrot Cake with a Caramel Vegan Meringue topping. The most unusual recipe on the table is my frozen Vegan Avocado Gelatto Chocolate Cake Roll, topped again with strawberries.

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The favorites at here in my test kitchen are the chocolate, vanilla, or gingerbread heart cookies. 

I make these all year round for my housemates. They never last long.

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We can't forget tea, coffee, or a Lemon Curd Torte and Bon-bons with a Coconut Creme filling.

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The recipe for my Almond Strawberry Vegan tarts will be available on my Facebook page. This is 

 Sindy Odders-TheVeggieDessertQueen signing off from the HFIM test kitchen and have a 

fabulous Valentine's Day Celebration. 

Sindy, that was great, but I was drooling all over your table. Can I please have some of that cake.

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Aidan: "Who said this wasn't a high paying job! I should have your video ready by tomorrow on this sugar high.  Say, let me try the Avocado Gelatto rolly-thing, that looks delicious."

Sindy: Anything you want, you are a real doll for helping me. Now, I have to get everything to school for my final grade. Now, to begin working on my food van, but I really want to have a bakery shop some day! I have all my recipes, just need to get ready to go. 

(PS I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian cook, this is just what Sindy chose...? I've been assured all these recipe's may be possible, though. Much of the food is delicious erasers from Target, cookies are Sculpey clay/fabric paint/glitter, and plastic miniatures from assorted thrift store goody-bags.)

Sindy is a Katniss Barbie, Aidan is a 2004 are rescues from a thrift store. 

This story is originally from 2018, but was one of my favorites to put together. Enjoy.

I'll be sharing at these fine parties:

PLEASE do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission, but Pin away!

All the opinions and photographs on this blog are my own, unless otherwise stated. 

 I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions

 or products shown, or from where I shop. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

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The Journey: I held my heart in my hands, then painted it on paper!

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You haven't heard from me much this month. I've spent the month cleaning, organizing and catching up in the doll room. I've also been taking multiple classes on painting in acrylics. 

Acrylics was my bane in college...expensive, working on 3 x 4' foot canvases on students' pennies. Every squeeze of a tube of paint, meant something I had to go without. Our teachers were hardly hands on...pretty much letting us pants-fly with little or no direction, but often with deep scarring criticism, disguised as teaching.

I had started with watercolors a few years back after my last knee failure and eventual replacement. I painted during Covid...explored online classes, experimented  for fun and with no limitations or criticism. I thank you all for the encouragement. 

Acrylic Classes online are great! I was truly encouraged with the color mixing and limited palettes used. The emphasis on value or darks and lights.  I really wanted to paint without black, but concentrate on the wide values of colors dark to light...really a reverse way of thinking from watercolor where you work light to

 dark.

A series of photos altered to show the palette and values in the shades of color.

Changing the photo to black and white, shows the gray scales...Where the darkest shades of a color should be.

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My version...I did this twice, once on canvas and another on gessoed watercolor paper.

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 Here you can see the stay wet palette, which keeps your paints fresh and usable...pretty much no waste this way.

Another scene from a class with Jed Dorsey, photo was drastically altered to increase the contrasts and values of color.

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 selections 4 colors plus white.

This is the comp screen photo altered.    

   

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I really worked this scene quickly and with a bit of abandon...using large brushes on gessoed watercolor paper---loved this working large and inexpensively. 

12x18 watercolor paper gessoed.

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Well, I thought this isn't going to be so bad...learning lots, feeling confident, not wasting, experimenting with colors, values, compositions. Having FUN!

Burying myself in the idea of working/painting.

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Another class for radiant color mixing....

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Cadmium red medium, Magenta, Pthalo Green and Ultramarine blue, Lemon yellow and Cadmium yellow medium. I didn't plan on using them all, and really didn't. But mixing on the palette is a great way to see what you can do.

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Another Altered photo for another class....I increased the values and deepened the colors... I wanted to work on an intense sun source.

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My version: a bit too much fiddling and going to smaller brushes, colors overly intense, I may revisit this study again and take it down a few notches.

photo altered from DIana Shyne's.

The final class an altered photo of Arizona by Diana Shyne....I heightened the colors and deepened the darks...thought this would be a fun and loose experience.

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Watercolor pencils sketch on gessoed watercolor paper. So many planes of light and darks in this subject. I thought I would get a handle on this...also using 12x18 version of a square photo...so added I more mountains, and stretched out the foreground.

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Here's a closeup of the sketch. Feeling confident I got this.

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Another mixing study....Hmmm, not going to get that blue like the screen...but.

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Really planning on using these brushes only.

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After an hour or more...this is where this painting is at. Darks all blocked out, I'll have to come back in for another day.

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Palette when done, I circled the colors I had used...Magenta, Ultramarine blue, Lemon Yellow, White and Pthalo green. The rest are still wet leftovers from the other paintings.

NOW the next day, Today! 

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I have no photo I worked from, basically painted as the instructor was painting, Michelle Gibbs. Lovely English lady---great in speaking with color...I just puttered on...

relaxed, intent, and mindless, maybe that was the issue, mindless. I didn't even have music on.

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New Color Study, a new Pthalo Blue, Quinacridone Magenta, Cadmium Yellow Med and white. I used a lid cover as a palette, since these were NEW colors and I wanted to see what the difference might be with no chance of mixing with other colors.

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Definitely working looser...patterns of light and darks...did not glance at the reference photo (I didn't even have it on screen, was following the blocking of the instructor and then took off on my own.) 

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There are some bits of this painting I really love...even this 'floating' island of trees ...LOL.

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Okay, I quit and decided to clean both palettes and spread the paint on a blank page for collage or a future abstract project. Waste not, want not. Sometimes I hate being a child of Great Depression survivors.

I used a palette knife to scoop up the unused blobs of paint, then a brush to spread it a bit with water..working very quickly. I quickly filled a 12x18 page of watercolor paper with large triangular blocks of colors. I had watered down the blue/teals with white and yellow...the last to go on was some skipping reds applied with a palette knife.

Cadmium red med, basic red, and magenta mixed together and I scraped and spread them, scratching here and there and the mixture landed on top of everything else. 

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I had taped the corners to the table top. I opened the black with thoughts of trees in the woods with a shadows in the snow, maybe a red sun throwing some rose light. Yea, that's what it was.

Black is so heavy and dark and I hadn't used it at all the whole month of classes.  I worked with a huge scruffy brush, and soon my fingers were in the paint, then a palette knife scraped, cut, sliced. I pulled out more red, and added a huge blob of white to counteract that black.  The white smeared then grayed, stirring into the blacks.

I was out of breath, my heart raced, sick to my stomach....I stared at the tabletop.

Scientists and Neurologists say we act 95% of the time out of our subconscious self. Basically whatever your old or immediate experiences are, your habits, and/or your routines; they are the historical guides into your unconscious thought processes and how you deal with your life.

I stuck the brushes and knife into a glass of water  and walked away.

I had painted "Blood in the Snow"...

S Magle

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No, my world isn't just full of insipid landscapes and happy colors.

But, after a whole month of hiding in them, it really hadn't helped.

Apparently this was my subconscious telling me to deal with reality.

Today, January 29, 2026, my journey...

I held my heart in my hands,

then scraped it on paper!

Thanks so much for visiting,

 I will post at the following Link Parties, I hope you visit them.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

OldNewGreenRedo, is an ad-free blog.  

I do not endorse or receive any $$ for any products I may use. I enjoy showing how I use products, 

but I do not receive any $$ from anywhere I shop.

However, the link to my BarberryLane Etsy shop

on the right hand side if you choose to visit for a

Antiques, Craft Supplies, Vintage, Dolls, Mini's, and more. I will be opening an Ebay shop in the New Year. Stay tuned...

  

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Sandi 

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