My Angels in progress from Suzi Blu's online class

Angel in progress
with MANY layers of Prisma Colored Pencils

"I love my angels." You don't hear that too often from my lips. The progress I have made since August and my first Suzi Blu class has been remarkable. My family, including my most critical daughter, Kari, can't believe. Once again, I am sharing my progression from Suzi Blu's online classes. This time it is her Angel Online class. I am hoping that this will inspire others to try. From my scanty initial block sketches to my sketch book and then on to wood. It has been a satisfying journey.

1st try at composition sketches

2nd try at composition sketch

The Angels started out at Suzi's place out on her lawn. (That day is when I initially injured my back for over a month). Suzi was showing me how she looks at all theses different books and magazines to get inspired. So, I did that. Then she said to make boxes on my sketch pad paper and start getting ideas down on paper. My sketches were really sketchy. About this time sitting on the grass and reaching for something, I pulled something in my back. Day was over as I realized I was really way too old to be sitting on the grass with my legs out in front. That night at home with some pain medication in me, I started drawing.

Page from
"The Fantastic Art of SULAMITH WULFING"

At home I made a copy of the black and white drawing in the book that I had been looking at on Suzi's lawn. I had chosen one of the vignettes from my sketch. Here is the entire page. If you look closely, you can see exactly where I got my drawing. Remember, I am don't selling theses. They are for my own personal pleasure or pain - as the case my be. . .

My 1st angel sketch

My 2nd angel sketch

My 3rd angel sketch

Theses three drawings were all done in two days. There are no other drawings. One of the books Suzi looked so familiar to me and so did the art work. She let me take it home with me and there I realized I had purchased years ago this artist's colored calendar. I then went and purchased the book for myself.

A couple of weeks later I went once again to Suzi's with my sketch now on a large 12 x 16 wood canvas and I burnt my first image on wood. You have to go very slow when burning. I feel I only made one major mistake while burning. Suzi reassured me that this can be easily fixed when I start painting. (The mistake was done when burning her cheek).

Wood burned final angel

When going through all my magazine pages I had ripped out over the years, I found this page. One night I decided to try to draw this. Here is the results.











Magazine page

My sketch of the magazine page

The Angel isn't complete, but there are layer upon layer of Prisma colored pencil on her face. I love her face (again something you don't hear me say very often). After the holidays I will paint her. I am really scared to add the paint. My comfort level is at sketching on a pad and my Prisma Colored Pencils. Golden paints will become my friend again, I'm sure. It's just that I get too married to what I have done and am terrified of ruining it, not realizing yet that I can always do it all over again.

Suzi and my dearest art friend Georgia, will be horrified with this declaration. From the beginning they both have tried to drill into me that there are no mistakes in art - just happy accident. I'm not quite there yet, friends.

Once upon our time in the far away land of Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha Nova Scotia, there lives a beautiful Princess of the Airwaves. Her name is Alice; she lives in a wonderland of caring and sharing, between two Dave’s, the mountains of masculinity that give her purpose. Alice masterfully expands time for all those she adores, her listeners.

Had my Ernie not encountered Alice out there on the waves of “Ham,” we would not have the pleasure of knowing and loving this determined survivor of three killers, heart attack, stroke, and cancer. Alice authors missiles of daily living with a flare of cursive, second only to hours of melodic ruminations she sets afloat upon the airwaves. Living, Laughing, and Loving humor of the “Frank, Ernie, Alice” kind is oh so rare and wildly contagious.

Now, here comes the mailman! And what to our wondering eyes should appear, but tiny little packages filled with crafts Alice doth share. Socks, shirts, and every other sort, emblazoned with the red leaf of Canada’s Court; handmade dish cloths and chocolate candies galore, letters and photos and how could there be more?

So, I and friend Carol, think,"how do we say, thank you” in the lovliest way? Then came the idea, "we'll make stationery to brighten her day". What you see below, designed in Sally’s workshop, are the results of our play.