Cynthia Armstrong

San Juan Bautista Mission garden

The little town of San Juan Bautista is chock full of fun things to sketch and paint. Let’s meet up at the Mission on November 11 from 2 to 4 pm. Dress for the weather……

Town chickens roam the streets. Many colorful characters!

For those who enjoy architecture….the mission is fun to sketch.

Shared studio space at Linda Cordy’s home

Through my friend Linda’s encouragement and support, I screwed my courage up to apply to this year’s Open Studios Art tour…..and was accepted. It was a fun and successful 2 weekends. Below are pix of the studio space and set up just before the tour began.

Entrance to Linda’s studio and my shared space

Work in progress and process board

Display area in Linda’s back yard….I’m grateful for the fine weather we had!

Display area. I loved Linda’s whimsical pedestal sink planters.

Hello Friends,

You are cordially invitedto come visit the next two weekends during Open Studios Art Tour.

I’ll be featuring oils and watercolors. You can find me sharing the studio space with my friend and fellow artist, Linda Cordy at her home studio in downtown Santa Cruz (308 Maple Street, across from Louden Nelson Center). Look for the bright green Open Studios signs, #231 -Armstrong, and #232 – Cordy

Bring a friend! I look forward to seeing you.

Cheers,

Cynthia

October Sketch Crawl – UCSC Arboretum

While the good weather lasts, let’s get out and enjoy it! This month’s sketch crawl will be on October 28 at the UCSC Arboretum, from 2 to 4 pm. Of course, if the weather changes, I’m still game. (Have you ever sketched in the rain? Try using salt on those watercolors and experiment).

From my show in New York. As if……..

Found a fun website that allows you to insert your images into museums around the world. Check out Museum to have your own fun.

Bigger is soooo much betta!

Java-licious

Just HAD to try it! This specialized gesso allows you to paint watercolors onto any surface. I tried it on a number of field sketching journal covers and LOVE it!

Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground

Just paint it on, let it dry 24 hours and you are good to go. Paint with watercolors as usual. Seal it with UV resistant spray varnish.

Use artist’s tape to cover binding edge; paint on the watercolor ground; let dry 24 hours.

Paint cover and then use spray varnish to seal.

More cover art using D.S. watercolor ground. Recent trip to France featured on this one.

Aromas Day T-Shirt

My painting of an old barn along Cannon Road in Aromas was chosen to be the icon for this year’s Aromas Day. T-shirts and posters to follow!