Lone Star Blue 💙

Mixed media piece depicting a landscape with jagged lines in front of. This is a personal response to the sadness I felt when reading about some of the “victories” described on the Department of Interior website. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” includes changes to promote expansion of oil and gas production, coal mining, and more logging (20 million more board feet annually). Our public lands were intended for preservation, not destruction. What is done cannot be undone.

“Our Land, Once Big and Beautiful”

While we’re being distracted by Epstein files, MAHA Coke & racist team names, our public lands are being destroyed in the name of Energy Dominance. Nothing beautiful about it.
More in alt text 👇

#ArtYear #mixedmedia #watercolor #ink #contecrayon #coloredpencil

Love the energy in your sketches

Thanks for sharing the joy!

Thank you!

Watercolor painting of an imaginary city, with buildings in light tan, blues, terra cotta and burnt sienna. The buildings have different shapes, and lots of tiny details drawn in white and black ink. The sky overhead is a stormy indigo color.

I could paint imaginary cities every day.

Look closely & see the textures of ancient walls, stone archway, roofs, wooden doors, balconies & windows.

I love this lesson from “Creative Abstract Watercolor” by @essoldodesign.bsky.social.

#watercolor #ink #creativeabstreactwatercolor

Thank you! It’s inspired by my friend’s fairytale garden and her love of beautiful story books.

Abstract watercolor painting with waves over colored pebbles.

A summery watercolor painting for a friend who lives by the water. Inspired by a lesson in “Creative Abstract Watercolor” by Kate Rebecca Leach at @essoldodesign.bsky.social

#watercolor #nature #artyear

Watercolor painting of a tiny mushroom fairy cottage in warm browns, green, yellow and blue. The house has rounded windows, one with a window box filled with tiny red flowers. Steps lead up to a wooden door. Flowers and mushrooms surround the cottage, and a clothesline tied to a twig has a little white cloth and butterfly fairy wings hanging on it.

Hand-painted watercolor fairy house for a special friend.

#watercolor #painting #creativity #imagination #artyear

“When you are lost, choose beauty.”

This really spoke to me this morning.

Gina is finding a way through, one stitch at a time. Beautiful work.

Street art in vivid aqua, purple and yellow. Pictured is a young woman under the water with a scuba más and light on top of her head.

Street art by abstract_avila in Galveston, Texas.

#streetart #urbanart #galveston #texas

I just called my Representative using 5calls and spoke to a staffer about H.R.1. CALL NOW & let your voice be heard!

Thank you @5calls.org!

And thank you @repfletcher.bsky.social for being accessible to your constituents & opposing this monstrous bill.

#biguglybill

You have no idea. Just seeing your bright spots of joy and encouragement in a flood (feed) of negativity reminds me there’s good in the world. Hope you’re healing & feeling better.

Lovely! 💙

Calming and colorful

Your affirmations are timeless and just what I needed today! I’m sowing seeds of wonder and light by painting each day. Feels solitary, but good to create something positive.

Very true. Whatever I wrote reflected my journey at that moment, and I could have been kinder to that poor searching soul.

A page from a journal shows a woman with long dark curly hair looking out the window of a bus at a church. She tells us that the church is dedicated to her “santo” - St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of lost causes. She says she thinks this is appropriate, with a sad, sarcastic chuckle. We get the feeling that she is in a hopeless situation.

Every time I start a journal, I get tired of my introspective drivel, stick the diary in a drawer, find it years later & shred the pages.

But stories are different. Moments are like little movies. So I write them down & sketch what I see. Enjoying this more.

#ArtYear #journaling #storytelling

Now you know the perfect example to win the next debate 😂

Graphic from the Fort Bend County library system using tacos to explain the difference between a (storm) watch and a warning. This photo shows the ingredients of a taco laid out and says “Taco Watch - We have the ingredients to make a taco.”

Graphic from the Fort Bend County library system using tacos to explain the difference between a (storm) watch and a warning. This photo shows the ingredients of a taco laid out and says “Taco Warning - We are having tacos. RIGHT NOW.”

Since we’re on the cusp of hurricane season down here near the gulf coast… It’s helpful to know the difference between a watch & a warning. The Fort Bend County library system explained it perfectly. Using a language we all understand.

#taco #hurricaneseason

Small abstract piece with colorful lines radiating out and forming wavy patterns, and colored circles floating like bubbles.

Mindful & meditative art inspired by A.A. Murakami’s Floating World immersive exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Materials: Faber-Castell aquarelle pencils, ruler, circle template, aqua brush with water.

#ArtYear #watercolor #mindfulart #color

Page from an artist’s journal with an ink and watercolor sketch of a plate of pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) and a cappuccino. There is also handwritten text describing a visit to Manteigaria, a cafe and pastry shop in Madrid, Spain.

A visual diary or artist’s journal is a good way to observe, record thoughts, experiences & memories, use watercolor, pencil & ink, and do some urban sketching. It’s fun & meaningful - can’t wait to do more!

#ArtYear #drawing #sketching #watercolor #ink #journaling #urbansketching

Each of his creations is magical and has its own personality or spirit. I really admire Dambo’s creativity and work.

Thomas Dambo’s “Malin’s Fountain” (#127) in Austin, Texas. This large troll is seated in a wooded section of a park, and is constructed of salvaged wood, branches and stones. The troll ((Malin) is holding a large basin that serves as a fountain. Malin's Fountain symbolizes the community's strength and ability to come together as one.

This is a poem written by Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo, and carved into a boulder: Sometimes, the summer times are dry Sometimes, the sky will cry Sometimes, the fountains full of rain Sometimes, an empty drain Sometimes are good for summer birds Sometimes are cursed with thirst So it always makes a difference when You fill the fountain up again

Metal plaque that says “No. 127, Malin’s Fountain, Thomas Dambo”

I was so pleased to find Thomas Dambo’s “Malin’s Fountain” (#127) in Austin, Texas.

Malin's Fountain symbolizes the community's strength & ability to come together as one.

Thomas Dambo is a Danish recycling artist & his mission is to 'Waste no more'.

#thomasdambo #artsky #art #sustainable #austin

It’s serious, y’all. 105 degrees in May.

Thank you, Anna! Seeing your Aureolin Yellow & Rose Madder combinations inspired me to add a few warm yellows, pinks and oranges. 💛🧡💖

View of the green countryside and the medieval walled town of Sepúlveda, Spain. At the top of the hill is a Romanesque church and winding roads lead through old buildings and plazas.

“View of Sepúlveda”

This is a view of the medieval town of Sepúlveda, Spain, with its stone walls, Romanesque church & old buildings, and narrow winding streets.

I’m back to 3x3 watercolor & ink and enjoying focusing on all the details.

#watercolor #ink #artsky #ArtYear

Pay attention, but remember there’s beauty in the world.

See the comments for a healthy dose of Vincent Van Gogh.

So beautiful, and pulsating with life energy. Thank you @wonderloststudio.bsky.social for sharing your work, process & inspiration.

Graffiti scrawled on a white wall in Madrid that says “No Estress” (no stress).

This photo shows a large round grey stone on a brick sidewalk, with the coat of arms of Madrid - a shield with a crown, a bear, and a tree. Purple graffiti that says “No Te Compares” (don’t compare yourself) is scrawled under the insignia.

Street Messages

“No Estress” (no stress) & “No Te Compares” (don’t compare yourself). Interesting what you notice & what speaks to you.

Seen in the streets of Madrid, Spain.

#graffiti #streetart

Collage art by a digital creator seen on a textured terracotta colored wall in the Lavapies neighborhood of Madrid, Spain. Top left is a torn leaf shape on paper printed with space, stars, nebulae and planets. Next is a photo of Michelangelo’s David with a paste up of DaVinci’s eye - a speech bubble says “never mind!” A neon red orange sticker says “MAKE ART NOT WAR” and features a bike made of cork circles that says “La vie in bike.” The bottom sticker is a piece called “Universal Love,” and shows a silhouette of two figures, facing each other, made of a print of a universe of stars and planets. The artist’s work can be found on Instagram @prospektcol.lazzaph

“Make Art, Not War”

Collage art by @prospektcol.lazzaph (IG) on a wall in the Lavapies neighborhood of Madrid

More details in alt text 👇