Seattle Book Signing! 🌼📕

Hello hello, I am so excited to share an upcoming book signing event in Seattle with two of my favorite people and artists 😊💓💚  Carla Sonheim and Diane Culhane. Please join us if you can as we would love to say hi!!

We will be at Clementine’s in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington on September 7th for the first Thursday Art Walk. 5-8:30 pm

Here is some information for you about our books, Expressive Flower Painting: Simple Mixed Media Techniques for Bold Beautiful Blooms by Lynn Whipple,  If You Can Doodle You Can Paint: Transforming Simple Drawings into Works of Art by Diane Culhane, and books by Carla Sonheim.

All my very best

🌸XOXO Lynn

The Orangies! A toast to our beloved pets!

I don’t know about you, but have hundreds of photos of the pups on my phone 🙂

Action shots, sleeping shots, playing with the ball shots, belly up shots….and they all make me smile! Today, while I was going through my computer looking for a photo of a art piece, I found some early shots of our Kaya and her 10 puppies!

We kept one of her pups, the dear Smudgie, and the two of them lived blissfully and happily together for years and years 🙂 We still have sweet Kaya, and I am grateful daily for her kind disposition, beautiful face, ever wagging tail, exuberance over the ball and/or treat, her nudging nose (if you stop petting her for a second) and even her snoring.

She is a love. pure love.

Do you have a wonderful companion that adds to your days? Makes you laugh? Is an important part of your family?

I want to send a smile your way, and a loving nod towards you and your very own sweet pets, they are the best! xoxo

sweetest boy ever!!

the beautiful girl dog!!

10 PUPPIES!!!

who could resist getting on the floor with 10 puppies!

my funny girl at the studio with me 🙂

Win a free Online Class!! YeS!! The Joy of Mixed Media Assemblage starts soon!!

Its a happy thing when you move your hands and make things! This class is a great excuse to go on the hunt or finally use all the pieces and parts that you have collected. And its fun to combine things and photos in a fresh new way 🙂

Here are a few tips for the type of box you might find to turn into an assemblage..one way is to purchase a “cradled wood panel” like the one above, or dig through antique shops, attics, yard sales, thrift stores and look for a great wooden box that has lived a full life and has “juice” and character, like the one below. One thing to keep in mind is finding a box that is one or two inches deep, and its also important to look for the sides edges of the box to be at least one half inch to one inch wide.. the reason for this is that you will need a little room to nail your plexiglass to the box….see the tiny nails….its an easy and great way to give your assemblage a fabulous finish 🙂 add some wire on the back and it will be ready for hanging on the wall 🙂

;

Do you have a great stash of wonderful “found” things? I bet you do 🙂

Leave a quick comment below to be in the drawing for one free online class, The Joy of Mixed Media Assemblage.

I will announce the winner on Thursday evening, October 23, class starts on Monday October 27th 🙂

If you have already registered (thank You) if your name is drawn, we will happily credit you for your class! XOXO

Which is more fun? Making things with our hands or sharing them? Do you have a favorite?

summer fun, making painted rocks and leaving them out in the world for anyone to fine and enjoy

Wow! This is a bit like the chicken and the egg question….making art seems to the the answer……..because it is always fun and it seems to come first…….. But when I think about it, many, many times when I first feel that pull to make something, (which is very often, in fact I feel “cranky” if I go to many days without moving my hands) I find myself most excited about making something for a friend or family member. It may just be a sweet little card or note to say thanks for something thoughtful that happened, or its a birthday, or just a random playful act that was inspired by something funny that happened with a certain person in mind.

I don’t know about you, even the days when I am not sure what to make next, getting my hands moving by making something for someone will start the entire process and away we go!! Art mAking ensues!! As much fun as the actual making of things, is the joy of the moment when you share it!! I love that part too!!! I guess its just a delicious cycle.

I have also found great joy in sharing the “how to” of moving our hands, through teaching. It’s just another way of sharing art and encouraging others to find their voice in this glorious game of creativity. And the sharing that goes on in class is truly one of the most enriching and satisfying things of all. As a teacher I have found that we all learn so much from each other. The dynamic of sharing is multiplied!! It is always astounding how much I learn when I teach and how incredibly generous and giving everyone in class is! The atmosphere of encouragement and the willingness to help each other experience that great basic joy of creating is so enriching!

So I encourage you not only to move your hands 🙂 and remember that there is no wrong way to do anything!! In my mind its always only a layer anyway so you can’t really mess it up….which is very freeing! So let yourself play and make things and share them! Post them! Give your work as gifts! Have a gallery show! Do an outdoor show! Do an online show! Blog about your work! Enter a contest! Sell your work!! Make sweet things and leave them out in the world anonymously! There are tons of ways to share what you make! And Bravo to you for the bravery and brilliance to do both! I think the two things, making art and sharing it, go hand and hand! A perfect circle!

painted stick!

sending love!!

xoxox

Hello world!

 

 

thanks for visiting my blog

Greetings and salutations.

 

 

Howdy and hiya.

And, as my old phone message used say, hello, hello, hello!!

Here’s the deal: I like stuff. and by stuff, I mean just about everything. Really. So many things to notice, celebrate, react to and appreciate.  Today’s thing has something to do with tenacity.  As many new bloggers might tell you, getting a new blog up can be a bit of a stretch. Lots of choices, themes, templates, images, fonts and formats. But here it is. I started hours ago, and even with header number 23, which is just ok, I am off. It will get better, and smoother and creamier.  Since I am an artist…. I like brownies!!! haaa, my husband just walked in with a HUGE brownie and dagnabit, that puppy is GOOD! I have no willpower, but we do enjoy. That may be a bigger theme. Enjoying! Now we are talking. What did I enjoy today?

1. several good, loud, round, full laughs with my friend (and today, slightly hormonal) Jamie 

2. smiling at 2 orange dogs. Tally for ball throwing: 125,364. Tally for tall wagging: 18,297,473,930,234.  

3. smelling chicken cooking with spices and ghee.

4. reading with small, white and grey striped, one eyed, purring cat on lap

5. iced coffee with my friend Larry aka Fred    

6. learning about a cool collaboration coming up with artist Anna Tomczak                                    

7. making a bank deposit (the more of these the merrier)

8. getting this blog up, finally!!

9. planning a trip to do a workshop in Kansas City.

10. and all the people, traffic, chit chat and Dancing with the Stars in between

sending lOve!

xoxo Lynn

p.s. and remember, as my friend Dale Jarrett sez: Bacon is the candy of meat.