Hello! It's been a while.

I have taken a little break and became a new mom back in 2010 to a sweet little boy who is now three.  Being a mom has kept me very busy!  I am now focusing on painting and have started a new blog at cynthiadiblasi.blogspot.com.  Stop by and say hi!

Cactus Monday - Painting in Photoshop

Painting in Photoshop. . . who would have thought?  For the past few years I have been scratching on my tablet mostly in Illustrator and trying to master it, and I forgot about painting in Photoshop like I used to.  I have been inspired by some of the images I've seen created in this program as of late.  Very painterly and beautiful.  So I thought I'd give it a try again.

Here is my creation for Cactus Monday of a blooming prickly pear. . . vector free!  What do you think?

Sketchcrawl at the Talking Stick Resort and Casino

 

Last Saturday I attended the January Sketchcrawl at a local Indian Casino in Scottsdale.  Just two watercolor sketches completed. . . as I ran my mouth most of the time instead of sketching!  But that's what it's all about, right?

It was nice to meet a few new crawlers, and see some familiar faces from the previous ones.  I didn't do any casino sketches as it was dark in there and crowded.  Above is a sketch of the grounds and another of inside the hotel lobby.  Enjoy!

Sketchbook Project, page 4

And the sketching continues. . . Today's sketch was a special request by my artist gal pals here in the Phoenix area.  They wanted to be sketched.  The inspiration for this piece was a picture I snapped on my camera phone of them tearing into a clothes rack at a cute little boutique.  The shop owner came out to observe the scene and said that they looked like a bunch of piranhas devouring the clothes.  Amber (far left) replied, "Gnar! Gnar! Gnar"!  Ah, I love those ladies!  Yes, many purchases were made, and I got me a cute frilly scarf.

Not all sketchbook pages are going to grace the blog.  However, I WILL post all of them on my Facebook Fan Page.  I hope that you will "Like" me so that you can see them.  And who knows. . . you just might find yourself in there!

Sketchbook Project Progress

I finally have begun to fill the inside pages of my little sketchbook.  Here is a glimpse at one of the pages.  Portraits are calling me lately, and there's going to be a bunch.  I know it sounds crazy to do the cover first, but it just sort of happened that way.  Since time is limited, I'm just going to go with the flow of the creative process and see where it leads.  It's always more fun that way!

Cactus Monday: Nest

A teeny little nest snuggled between two pricklies.  This photo was taken with my camera phone, since I didn't bring my good one to a spur of the moment trip to the Desert Botanical Garden.  Happy Cactus Monday! 

New Facebook Fan Page!

It's about time, right?  Click on the image to go to my page and find out everything I am up to that may not get posted here.  I hope you "Like" me!

Sketchbook Project: The Cover

Well I finally started it after a month or so of trying to figure out my take on the theme I picked. . . "Adhere to Me".  I have until January 15th to have it completed and postmarked by that date.  I'm going to be sketching like crazy!

Stay tuned to see how it unfolds. . . I'd like to know that myself! 

Cactus Monday: Moleskine time at the Desert Botanical Garden

Lunch with an artist friend always seems to end up with a drawing session or some sort of creative process at the end of the day.  I love that!  Annie over at Chaos in color and I, went out for some good local Mexican food and decided to jet off to the garden and we stayed until twilight.  Twilight in the desert is my absolute favorite time of day to capture in art form, everything is so beautifully illuminated in amethyst hues, bouncing off of the green cacti.  I love that place, can't get enough of it.  Above is the sketch I did on location.  Another good reason to always have my moleskine and watercolors on hand and ready to go in my purse!    

Sketchcrawl 10-16-10 at the Phoenix Zoo, and the after party

A day at the zoo for a sketching marathon = lotsa fun!  I haven't been to the zoo since I was a kid, and had a blast.  I met up with a local group I belong to called Sketchydoodle, and we all hung out and sketched together representing the Phoenix group for the worldwide SketchCrawl.  Above is just a few of us crawlers.  

Here are some of my watercolor sketches from the day, in order completed:

 First sketch.  A handsome and curious little turkey vulture preening his feathers, watching us sketchers and enjoying the attention.

Depressed rhino with his snout in the mud.

One horned gazelle basking in the sun and being a perfect still model.

 Pink squawky Flamingos fluffing their feathers, establishing the pecking order.

Following the zoo was the after party, purple themed with wine and chocolate.  What fun!  One of the group members hosted a party at their house and hired a model, Crystal, who is a burlesque/fire/belly dancer.  Those gals make for great models, with those flamboyant costumes and artful makeup.  I decided to keep it simple and did an ok job. . . considering that I had a few glasses of wine!  What do you think? 

Cactus Monday: Desert Watercolor

I did a quick piece today in my new Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, just for Cactus Monday.  I never really work in watercolors, but love this new technique that I've been seeing for quick and easy portable color rendering.   Not to mention, the book and supplies fit nicely in my purse, yay!  It makes me want to carry my sketchbook everywhere I go, like I did when I was a kid.  This is a scene from the Desert Botanical Garden, featuring that very special cactus, a Saguaro. . . a few barrel cacti, ocotillo, rocks and a mountain view.  Many more watercolors to come! 

IF: Transportation

I couldn't resist illustrating a cute little hot air balloon for this weeks theme.

This is what blogging is all about.

Beautiful and talented lady Deborah Mori over at Life without Novocaine and I met for breakfast this morning while I was in her town of San Diego. 

I can't even express how wonderful it was to finally meet a friend that I have been conversing with and really getting to know these past few years.  We have laughed together, cried, sent packages, cheered each other on and celebrated each others' successes.  It's really amazing how people all over the world can connect with like-minded others and develop meaningful friendships over the internet.  She is one of those special ladies that I really admire, and have gotten to know.  Deborah, it was so nice to meet you finally!  

Well look what I got myself into!

After what seems like a long absence from my last post, I decided to take on a big project to make up for it.  Yes that's right, I signed up for the 2011 Sketchbook Project and got my sketchbook in the mail today.  Excited!!!  All boxes have been unpacked, furniture has been re-arranged a billion times in the new house and now I am ready to get back into my creative routine. 

So what is this Sketchbook Project you ask?  It is described to be like a concert tour but with sketchbooks.  My little sketchbook along with thousands of others, will make it's way around the country for all to see.  It will have a barcode on the back so I can track how many times it has been viewed.  After the tour, it will arrive to it's permanent home at the Brooklyn Art Library in NY.  Which makes me happy, because I have a good friend in Brooklyn who can check it out whenever the mood strikes.  Keep an eye on her for me Bridgette!

Each sketchbook has a theme, and I chose "Adhere to Me".  I'm not quite sure exactly how I will execute the theme, but you can count on  things being adhered with adhesives.  Maybe a cut and paste is in order of all of my archived sketch books throughout the years.  Maybe some collages.  Maybe a little of both.  Will it tell a story?  I don't know.  We shall see how it evolves!

Cactus Monday: Sedona

 Prickly Pears and Mountain View

It's been a while, but I'm back!  Life is sort of chaotic right now, as we are trying to get our new house set up in time for house visitors and still going out and enjoying the sights of Arizona.  We had some friends visit from back home in Maryland, and stayed with their Mom at her house in Sedona.  It was my first time there and I absolutely fell in love with it.  Sedona is only about two and a half hours from where we live.  A little less then a trip to Ocean City for my friends and family back East.  I would trade Sedona for a weekend getaway any day for Ocean City!!! 

Just look at these pictures:

Red rock trail overlooking mountain views

A cute little red biplane. 

  

The plane sorta looked familiar, but when I saw this sign it was kinda weird.  I mean. . . look at my blog header!  Sedona looks exactly like it!!! 

Next week we will be going to Vegas, which we have been to twice.  My husband and I got married in Vegas almost 10 years ago.  We thought it fitting to drive there and make a vacation of it with friends and family flying in for a 10 year vow renewal ceremony.  Same place, same day!  Not much art creating lately, but certainly lots of excitement.

I'll be back creating soon, don't worry!

Photo Friday: Motionless

Above is a photo taken of an embellished compass that sits on the top of a lookout point in the South Mountains of Phoenix.  The closest arrow in the photo points in the direction of the Superstition Mountains, and I am sure they aren't going anywhere any time soon!  Hence being the theme for Motionless.  There are many points of interest on the compass, I just so happened to quick capture this one.  With taking 600 plus photos that day, I have to say that this one is my favorite.     

Cactus Monday: Quail with a Prickly Pear

A quick whimsy and loose little 4" x 6" study on balsa wood with acrylic paint and pen.  I have a bunch of these cut to size, and think that they would make perfect mini paintings to keep around while in the middle of moving again.  Paint has been calling me back, and that's all I want to do lately!   

The inspiration for this piece is this past weekend's full moon I was admiring, and the stately little quails I often see on evening walks.  The scenery and the wildlife is very different around here, and so inspiring!

Cactus Monday: Our New House

We found it!  And much sooner than anticipated.  This house was just on the market for one day, and we snatched it right up. . . unknowingly beating another couples' bid.  Can you believe that?  It pretty much has everything we are looking for, except for that big Saguaro in the front yard I was really, really hoping for!  But let's be realistic, those things cost some big bucks.  So I'll just quick Photoshop one in from my sketchbook and dream, LOL!

We settle July 19th.  So in the meantime, I'll be doing lots of sketches of yard concepts.  I'm thinking desert in the front, maybe a few Palms off to the sides and in the back.  The back especially needs work.  We got an incredible big lot full of rocks, and I'd love to make it nice and lush.  Any suggestions or recommended landscapers in the Chandler area from my fellow AZ friends would be greatly appreciated!  Wow.  This is exciting and intimidating taking on this big project.  I'm so glad we finally found our house!

Cactus Monday: Renewal

A pretty and perfect red bloom, taken at the Desert Botanical Garden.

Just the other day my Mother-in-Law told me that she misses my Cactus Monday posts.  I missed two of them simply because I forgot!  I have been so pre-occupied with life events and getting settled, that I completely just forgot until Monday had come and gone.  Yikes!!!

Between house hunting and planning our 10 year anniversary vow renewal trip back to Vegas where my husband and I were married, my mind has been somewhere else!  Well, a fresh start is what I wanted, and that's exactly what I got.  Renewing our wedding vows just seems fitting at this moment, and the 10 year anniversary date just convienently happens to be coming up.  I feel like as soon as we find our house, we can truly settle in. . . our new life here in Arizona.  I'm looking forward to that.

A Special Request

I got a beautiful card in the mail today, with a little ladybug on the front that had angel wings and a halo.  Now if those weren't the two very things that my Mom loved best (ladybugs and angels), instantly I thought of her.  The card said, "Sending a little guardian angel your way. . . to protect and care for you everyday.  Signed, "From your Mom and Me".

And of course I knew right away who the sender was, my sweet Aunt Diane.  She has been sending me out of the blue cards like this my whole life.  She's a special lady I tell ya, and I bet I wouldn't even be interested in art if it wasn't for her.  She was the one who fostered the budding artist in me from the very beginning, with many museum trips and art starter kits.  She would gather all the newspaper clippings she could find about art, and send them to me in the mail.  And she still hangs all of my artwork from various stages of my life, all over her house.  I could go on and on about all the wonderful things she's done for me, and how incredibly kind she is!

So when I got this special request written in the card, "Have you ever done a painting of a ladybug?  I'd love to see one!"  I did just that.  In honor of my Mom's memory and for my Aunt Di.  The painting is on a teeny tiny canvas, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", and will be on it's way in the mail to her in a few days!