Here's a little behind the scenes from my drawing and painting classes at CreativeLive.  

I met Lara McCormick who was Head of Design Education at CreativeLive and we talked about art and old times at Berkeley High School. She assigned me a content producer, Erin Persley. It was Erin's job to wring as much information about drawing and painting out of me as I could possibly say in our eight-hour day of shooting. We created a show flow, materials list, course graphics, and bonus material. I also made some backdrops to decorate my set.

I couldn't get through my introduction during the practice sessions but to my relief, when I had the live audience in front of me, I did it without messing up. My host Robert Mahar was such a big help and calmed my nerves.

I started off tracing around objects.

Later we traced pictures off an iPad and refined line quality.

In the color class I showed how to work with gouache. 

Then I printed some images on products with Society6 and displayed others.

It was the most intense day ever but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I just put some new images up a society6.com/cleomade you can print them as art, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and all this fun stuff.

My first Video for Castle In The Air is out.  I show you how to make this crepe paper faux bois gift box.  There is also an accompanying craft kit.  Each kit contains materials for three boxes.  They make great place settings, escort cards, or bouche de Noel for Christmas.

I've been painting plaids lately. I use them for my craft kits, on the cover and inside. On the back of the instruction sheet there is a nice big piece of plaid paper to upcycle in some way. I love that I never know how the pattern is going to end up looking. There is no pressure to get it right, if there is no right way in the first place. So they've become my version of zentangles. I start with a basic idea of a color palette, but I usually don't stick to it.

First I pencil in a grid. These are centimeter squares. Usually I paint every other square solid, and then fill the spaces in between with diagonal stripes.

Then I fill in the remaining white paper with another color. That's the basic plaid. I like to keep going, because it's a rare opportunity to just be decorative.

Add some blue lines. I try not to be super symmetrical, but it is important that the lines all end up at the same place on the edges of the grid. That way I can put it into a repeat pattern in photoshop later.

Add some green lines.

Add some light green lines. I like how the lines are starting to look woven.

Lastly I add some light blue squares at the intersections. Plaids often change colors where lines intersect.

It's important to know when to stop. There has to be a little breathing space left.

Happy New Year!  This year I'll be posting a wider variety of work, comings and goings in my studio, and art musings. I'll still do some of my Tiny Paintings Projects, and offer downloads, just not on the weekly schedule. 

To start with, I did some illustrations for issue 20 of Uppercase Magazine! There is not another magazine that so clearly encompasses my interests, and introduces me to new ones. And Im thrilled to be part of it.

Watch this show and look out for my hat paintings.

My Turducken Target, Bow, and Arrows was also mentioned on the Design Mom blog. I love that Gabrielle Blair is now an East Bay local.