Inklings of Autumn Watercolor & Walnut Ink 11×14 Abstract Art
Inklings of Autumn.
Are you feeling it yet?
Can you smell it?
I’m getting
Inklings of Autumn.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Inklings of Autumn
jodi mckinney
Peek a Boo Giraffe
Peek a Boo Giraffe.
A fun monochromatic painting I recently did using all Sepia watercolor for this “peek-a-booing” giraffe.
Did it make you tilt your head?
Peek a Boo!
P.S. I am pretty excited to be the “Artist of the Month” at a sweet, fun and delicious coffee shop near me – Wunderbar Coffee & Crepes.
Wunderbar serves Italian inspired coffees, French crepes and American grilled cheese sandwiches in a historic German town north of Pittsburgh named Harmony, PA.
If you are anywhere nearby, I hope you will check it out and experience the wonder of Wunderbar. It is not your run of the mill cafe. Their focus is “to provide a fun and unique space where everyone is welcome to gather, connect and create relationships, for a moment or a lifetime. Where the collision of senses and caffeine fueled inspiration explode and splatter. An open minded destination where transcending concepts and ideas are explored in depth and shared with everyone to experience together and by themselves. A refuge from empty promises and meaningless stories. An escape from a suffocating environment full of pre-existing notions that condition us to be the soul-less product of our over commercialized world. A breathing, living, self sustaining space that is an embracing work of art in itself. A place you can’t wait to return to!”
Here I am Saturday after hanging up my art. Thanks Wunderbar!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Live Intentionally
Live intentionally.
Look with your heart
instead of your eyes.
Listen with your soul
instead of your ears.
Feel with kindness
instead of your hands.
Give unconditionally
without expectation.
Trust completely
without hesitancy.
Love incessantly
without inhibition.
Live intentionally.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My “To Be” List
My To Be List.
Instead of a “To Do” List,
I want to focus on a “To Be” List.
I want To Be:
- Kind
- Loving
- Tolerant
- Healthy
- Happy
- Significant
What would be on your “To Be” List?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Hauling Pumpkins
Hauling Pumpkins.
I’ve been wanting to paint this for a while.
A year or so ago, I painted a red truck with a Christmas tree, which has been kinda popular around the holidays (and is still available in our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop and at Berry Vine Gifts).
People have asked if I could do other holiday/seasonal versions of it. Since the red truck trend still seems popular, I made a Pumpkin Haulin’ version for Fall.
It was fun to add colors to create the feel of swirling leaves and the colors of Autumn.
We are gearing up for the fun seasons ahead, where my DIL Colleen and I will be participating in a few local shows in addition to our usual Etsy and Berry Vine Gift sales and events.
If you are in the area, look for us at the Lake Latonka Fall Festival on Saturday, September 7th and then the Big Mars Craft Show on Saturday, November 16th.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Celebrating Friendship at Stony Brook State Park
Stony Brook State Park, Finger Lakes Region, NY – Girlfriend Camp GFC 2019 – August, 2019
Celebrating Friendship at Stony Brook Park.
Climbing stairs
Crossing bridges
Converging pathways
Circulating blood
Conversing thoughts
Circumventing hazards
Communing with nature
Connecting souls
Contemplating life
Considering options
Challenging opinions
Cooperating ideas
Confessing truths
Collecting memories
Celebrating friendship
#GFC2019 Stony Brook State Park, Finger Lakes Region, NY – August 2019
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Celebrating Friendship at Stony Brook State Park
Cherish the Moments
Sunset over Lake Ontario, Rochester, NY – August, 2019
Cherish the Moments.
As the sun sets
and closes another day,
collect moments
to cherish as memories
on this page…
in this chapter.
For this time…
in this season.
For every day may not be good,
but there is something good in every day.
Find it.
Hold on to it.
Cherish the moments.
Treasure the memories.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Red Cardinal Watercolor
Red Cardinal Watercolor.
I was away this past week on a wonderful “GFC” (Girlfriend Camp) trip, followed by a couple days of grandie girls and family fun.
This past Sunday afternoon, after over a week away from any ARTing, I found a bit of time in my art studio to paint.
I always fear when I’m away from it for a while, I will “forget” how to do it.
I decided to do a bird, then chose a cardinal. I had some Simon & Garfunkel playing. I felt completely relaxed, and just painted. No drawing. No warm-up. And I got lucky and loved the result.
Just in case it turned out, and because I’ve been asked about sharing my process and “teaching,” I took a few quick iPhone photos of the steps I took along the way to share with you.
I found a cardinal photo on my ipad and then started with the eye placed where I thought was about right on a 10×16 sheet of Arches Cold Press. I used Daniel Smith Indigo and Quinacridone Gold, leaving some white for the highlights in the eye.
When painting loose, you need to have a focal point, and when a bird or animal, a good focal point is the eye and/or beak/nose. So from the eye, I used a wet brush to outline the beak, then added some Daniel Smith permanent deep red and water to blend the colors.
I deepened some of the colors and added the crown shape of the cardinals head and the shape of its neck. This is pretty much all the “detail” I wanted in this painting.
From here, I added some more of the red and some cadmium yellow.
Then I just got super loose adding some violet and blue and green gold, lots of water for movement, and more indigo splashes. I held the painting up vertically to let the drips run.
And this is what resulted. I’m happy with how it turned out, and so glad to know I didn’t “forget” how to do it after being away for a while.
This painting – as an original, prints, and greeting cards – is available in our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy Shop and at Berry Vine Gifts in BradfordWoods, PA.
Have a wonderful day, and don’t be afraid to fearlessly and joyfully go for whatever it is you love to do!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Be the Light
Summer Morning Sunrise – Mars, PA
Be the light.
Let the light
within you
shine as bright
as the morning sun
breaking through dawn.
Be the beacon
to those who
cannot see
through the thickness
of the misty fog.
Be the light.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Classic Oatmeal Scotchie Cookies
Classic Oatmeal Scotchie Cookies.
Cookie week continues!
I have been making these classic oldie-but-goodie cookies quite a bit lately and realized I have never shared the recipe here. Not that you couldn’t likely find it elsewhere or directly on the Quaker Oats website, but I wanted to document it here as one of the classics I make and also highly recommend it to those who may have never heard of or haven’t thought about in a while.
They might seem a bit ordinary after the past two recipes this week (Toffee Coffee Oatmeal Cookies and Macadamia Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies), but I promise they are (still) an amazing cookie!
These are one of hubby’s faves. A chewy oatmeal cookie bursting with bits of butterscotch yumminess.
Do you have a classic cookie recipe that takes you back to a place and time? Takes you back to a great childhood feeling? To me, these are that kind of “feel good” cookie. They are simple, but delicious, and a sure crowd pleaser!
Hope you will give them a try…. or a try again!
Here is how I make them.
Classic Oatmeal Scotchies*
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1-1/4 Cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 Cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
- 1 package (11 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Chips
Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add baking soda, salt and flour; mix well. Add oats and butterscotch morsels; mix well. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto baking stone or ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
These cookies freeze well. I simply store in the freezer in Ziploc Freezer Bags.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 