Sorry No Monster Monday

 Hi Everyone!

I'm finding that less to no screen time and all of your prayers and well wishes, has my eye healing. So, no monsters today. I will see everyone for FFO.

Wishing all of you a very happy Holiday!

Nicole
  

Sunday in the Art Room

 Hi Everyone!

Sorry No Sunday in the Art Room today.

Even though I'm wearing glare free glasses, I'm trying to stay off the PC to help heal my eye.

Here is something i worked on a few weeks ago.

Have a great Sunday.

Nicole
 

Friday Face OFF FFO 12/19/25

 

 Welcome To Friday Face OFF (FFO)

This is the place to show off your face art.

You know, ANY type of face, nature, the face of a flower, Photography, drawings, paintings. There just needs to be a face in your blog post.

 

This has been a weird week for me. Good and not so good all rolled up into one. In fact this is a good explanation for my entire year. I'm focusing on the good. :)

Part of that good is all of you and the another part is art. I'm thrilled with what I'm creating and week by week I will show you how it is all coming about.

How has your week been?

For FFO this week I have a colored pencil drawing. I like the sensitivity of this face.

Here is the original. Yes, I know the original is a painting.

For some reason I don't have any progression photos of this.

Only the finished piece. Obviously the painted original is much more vibrant  than the colored pencil but I like the way it turned out. I did make some changes to the eyes and mouth

I have some AI pieces that are in a Quest challenge. The challenge was to use the color yellow in a minimal style. These are mine. You can only have 4 entries.

For the Self Portrait challenge 2 of my lovely artist were left out so here they are now. 
 

 Erika N.

Her SP. I love her interpretation.

 and Mia 

A nice Andy Worhol representation.

It's time to see what some features.

All chosen by the number generator, but I'm making sure everyone gets featured.

 

 First up Kwarkito. Who can go wrong with an image of John Lennon?

Melbourne Street Photography

There is so much movement in this. 

Vivian Voo She joins in from FB so I hope all of you can click onto her. 

Melody Jacobs. Always has interesting posts.

Carola bARTz I love her curls 

Last but certainly  not least

Barb with her lovely doll.

The new challenge is to create a portrait of anyone you want. It can be your family, friends, actors, faces you find on the internet, or a perfect stranger that will allow you a photo to work from and to show with your portrait. You can work in any medium, except photography and you have until Friday January 30, 2026.  Make it fun and let's see what you come up with. 

That's it for me. Now its time to show me your face.

Nicole   

Huge Thanks

 Hi Everyone!

Thank you all so very much for the prayers and good wishes for my eye. I have accepted all the healing. As long as the shrinkage of the vitreous gel stops and there are no tears I am good to go. No more yoga for awhile or anything else that will put pressure on my eyes. 

Again thank you all.

 

Ophthamologist Need prayers

 Hi Everyone!

Well, this just sucks! I'm having symptoms of retina detachment in my left eye. I saw the ophthalmologist  today in Eugene. She, reported that my retina is not detached but that the vitreous gel that is behind the lens of the eye and infront the retina is shrinking. It is a sticky substance and as it shrinks, (due to old age) it pulls on the retina. She says there is nothing to do but wait. I see her again in a month. However, if symptoms change for the worse I am to call her immediately, even if it is on the weekend. 

I'm asking please, whatever your belief system is, to send all the healing energy, spell healing, pray healing, candle healing,  Reiki healing, crystal healing and good thought healing to me. I cannot be down with another surgery.  

I accept all healing words and prayers and ceremonies.

Thank you all very much.

Nicole 

 

Monster Monday

 Hi Everyone!

It's a new week and why not start it off with monsters. hee hee hee

Yes, it is Monster Monday but before I get into it......

All of my AI is made on NightCafe 

Right now if you sign up through the link above you will get 20 free pro creations. That's darn good. NC is free. You get credits everyday and if you join in with challenges, and Heart other artist you get credits and so many other ways. Right now I have 1,300 credits and I create a lot on NC. So if you want to try or if you are all ready using another prpgram come check out NC. 

On with the monsters, get ready.

Now for some fantasy/monsters.

 

Now for some pretties.

 

And the last one. Who doesn't like seeing happy kids in the land of sweets?

Hope you enjoyed the show and have a great Monday.

 Nicole 

 

Sunday in the Art Room

 Hi Everyone!

A few weeks ago when the self portrait challenge was going on, I suggested that tracing is perfectly acceptable. Believe me there are times I want to trace too. LOL

I was on Pinterest looking at art and a short video came up on a tracing hack. It's new to me and maybe new to you as well. I found a youtube that shows the hack and well, I'm impressed.

All you need is paper, a picture of what you want to trace and a dark colored oil pastel.

check this out.

I feel like tracing will help beginners to learn how a face is structured. Trace enough times and you will be able to do it from a photo or life.

 

The other day I reported that I'm deep into art right now. The house is clean but not how I normally like it, because all I want to do is draw. Life right now is very stressful for Mr. M. and I and art simply takes me away. The concentration of it, how one line can change an entire expression on a face. Seeing how a drawing comes to life and the emotion that emanates with a few shading techniques. I mentioned once that I'm not going for hyper realism, but I do want my portraits to look like real people. With that said, the colored pencil portraits allow me my weird side. No, I'm not showing them here. Saving them for FFO. I do one graphite and one colored pencil. I have also started painting again. It's been a long time since I had the paints out.

 

These are older pieces that sold during an exhibition. Some of you may remember these.
 

 

this is highly textured with a sand medium.

 

This piece sold before I got it off the easel.

 

 

This is another very textured piece also that was purchased by a lady that lives back east. She sent me this photo to show me where it lives.  

I did several pieces that I worked with negative space. It was for fun but people like them and I sold all of them that were on display.

 

What I'm trying to get across is, just create! It doesn't matter how, or with what medium. Did you know that when people are productive in art their brain starts boosting and straightens connections between the right and left hemispheres?Also, increases gray matter and releases dopamine and serotonin. So why wouldn't you make art? To all my dear blogging friends, photography is art.

 

That's my spiel for today.

Have the best Sunday.

Nicole 

Friday Face OFF 12/12/25

 

 Welcome To Friday Face OFF (FFO)

This is the place to show off your face art.

You know, ANY type of face, nature, the face of a flower, Photography, drawings, paintings. There just needs to be a face in your blog post.

 

Too much going on in my life. I lost the list of self portraits that didn't make the feature last week. If that is you lease contact me. 

  

I have been deep in art. Can't stop, takes my mind away from everyday stuff. 

This is a graphite piece just from my brain. Then, I add a colorful background with pastels. 

The first photo I could take while drawing.

 

Then I got the ears done. 

Then I finished with this. 

When I was done with this Mr. M. told me that it looks like my sister. She has been in my dreams lately. 

 

Here are a few AI

 

Time for features from last week.

Arnoldo

In fact here is his self Portrait.

 

Gillena

a portrait of her granddaughter.

 

Violetta

 

Mia 

Awhile back I mentioned that I am keeping track of who gets featured. I do use the number generator and I started a spread sheet. So everyone will be featured.

Yeah I like spread sheets. 

Also

The new challenge is to create a portrait of anyone you want. It can be your family, friends, actors, faces you find on the internet, or a perfect stranger that will allow you a photo to work from and to show with your portrait. You can work in any medium, except photography and you have until Friday January 30, 2026.  Make it fun and let's see what you come up with. 

That's it for me. Now its time to show me your face.

Nicole