Give Mom the gift of art this Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is almost here! This Sunday, May 13th, is the day to show mom just how much you care and how grateful you are for all she does. And there's still time to get creative with your gift-giving this Mother's Day!

Is Mom's greatest love — after you, of course — art and creativity? Why not shop JerrysArtarama.com for the perfect gift! Whether mom prefers painting or pastels, drawing or printmaking, you're sure to find the ideal gift amongst our thousands of discount art supplies. We've even put together a handy Art Supplies Shopping Guide that makes it easy to find the best art gift ideas, whether you're searching by medium or by price.

We're also happy to offer our newest category: Art Sets! Here you'll find great sets of oil paints, soft pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, easels, paintbrushes and more — many also including accessories and other gear to create a complete art media set up. Is mom looking to start a new art medium? One of these great art sets could make the ideal introduction — and earn you some major brownie points!

Some great Mother's Day gift ideas:

• Charvin oil painting sets
• Cretacolor Drawing Sets
• SoHo Urban Artist Colored Pencils
• Dryden Art and Canvas Keepers
• Turner Artists' Watercolors
• ...and so much more!

If you're still completely stumped on what to get mom for Mother's Day, never fear: Gift Cards are the ever-popular, one-size-fits-all option! Let Mom pick her favorite art supplies for herself, and rest assured that she'll be pleased with her gift. In need of a last-minute present? Jerry's has eGift Cards that can be personalized and sent directly to Mom's email — since they arrive in just minutes, there's no excuse for missing Mother's Day!

So what fabulous art gifts are you getting your mom this Mother's Day? Are you a mother yourself, and if so, what would you want? Let us know in the comments below!

Da Vinci's famous masterpiece, copied alongside the original!

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa — probably the most famous painting in the world, right? It's also one of the most copied paintings in the world, with dozens if not hundreds of replicas created over the centuries. Everyone recognizes it, many love it: "iconic" is certainly a good descriptor of its impact.

Now, we have even more to learn about this masterpiece. Just this month, the Prado Museum in Spain unveiled an amazing discovery: what is believed to be the earliest copy of da Vinci's famous piece, most likely painted right alongside the master in his own studio. The Art Newspaper reported the findings, and the news took the art world by storm.

For years, the Prado had in its collection what appeared to be a pretty standard Mona Lisa copy — in fact, some thought it was a pretty poor copy, as the background was a swath of black paint, instead of the dream-like landscape seen in the original. It turns out this black background had been added later, possibly during the 18th century, for reasons unknown, as discovered when the copy was scanned and underdrawings shockingly similar to those of the original were uncovered.

The Prado and the Louvre in Paris (where the original Mona Lisa resides behind layers of glass and security) have determined, based on various factors including panel composition, age, and the fact that the underdrawing of the copy changed and developed in a similar fashion to that of the original, that this copy was most likely painted concurrently with the original: side by side with Leonardo, probably by one of his more respected apprentices.

Now that the layers of black paint have been painstakingly removed from the copy, we can see the ethereal landscape background — and since the copy has been restored and cleaned, we have a much clearer view of the Mona Lisa herself. As da Vinci's original is priceless and irreplaceable, chances are it will never be cleaned; meaning its layers of cracked and darkened varnish will forever cloud our view. Since the copy is no longer so occluded, we can see Mona Lisa perhaps more as she was: a lovely lady much younger than the original makes her appear. Other details, such as the spindles on her chair, the delicate, semi-transparent veil around her shoulders — and yes, even her eyebrows — are far more visible in this copy and can tell art historians much about the original that was thought lost to time.

Next month, the Prado copy will travel to the Louvre for an upcoming da Vinci show, and the two paintings will be reunited after 500 years apart.

(And speaking of the Mona Lisa, here at Jerry's Artarama we're pretty tickled about this new discovery. We ourselves, with help from you, just completed our own copy of the Mona Lisa, as featured on our 2012 catalog cover. While not painted alongside Leonardo, this version of the Mona Lisa was painted by you, our customers and contest entrants, and compiled by PictureMosaics.com into the mosaic masterpiece replica that is our thanks to you for your continued support. Who would have known that the timing would be so appropriate?)

So what are your thoughts on this newest discovery in the art world? Is the Prado Mona Lisa copy a star or a sham? Which version do you prefer, and why? Let us know in the comments below!

Elizabeth Gyles Johnson is a pencil artist who focuses her art on the delights of life. Elizabeth teaches the intricacies of drawing at all skill levels to a collection of students worldwide through online workshops and classes at CreativePencils.ning.com Read more about Elizabeth in our featured Artist Spotlight post, then watch here as she creates an art journal page using SoHo colored pencils.

Art Journaling with Colored Pencils

Featuring SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils

by Elizabeth Gyles Johnson, artist and instructor, CreativePencils.ning.com

An art journal can be an artistʼs best friend. It can tag along wherever the artist goes and can be a place to explore new techniques, new ideas and new supplies. Artist pencils are the perfect tool for an art journal because they are so portable.

A new pencil Iʼve been using lately is the SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils. I have the set of 72 colors. And oh what lovely colors they are. There is a rich variety of colors in this set. I have found the SoHo colored pencils a joy to use. They are creamy and lay the color down smoothly. After creating a quick background with a blue watercolor, I was able to get right into the joy of coloring with the SoHo colors.

Colored pencil art is all about the layering of color to achieve depth and the desired shade. I was very pleased with how the SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils blended. As the colors built up, they blended and created new colors altogether.

And yet, even after several layers of color, I was still able to get some defining lines with a sharpened point on the SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencil. The color stands out well even on top of several layers of color.

The SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils sharpen well to a nice point and they do not wear down quickly. I found the SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils to be a great choice for art journal colored pencils. The budget-wise price allows the freedom to color and create with abandon in my art journal. I will be using them a lot in my art journaling adventures.

Supplies Used:

• Art Journal
• Soho Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils:
  • Permanent White
  • Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • Cadmium Yellow Deep
  • Indian Yellow Light
  • Hooker's Green
  • Turquoise
  • Sap Green
  • Yellowish Green
  • Light Turquoise Blue
  • Sepia
  • Burnt Umber
  • Raw Sienna
• Caran d'Ache Full Blender
• Blue watercolor.

Watch as Elizabeth uses layer after layer of color to create depth in the journal page:

Elizabeth Gyles Johnson purchases all of her artist pencils from Jerryʼs Artarama because of their customer service and great packing of delicate artist pencils for shipping. Here are some other drawings Elizabeth has done with pencils purchased from Jerryʼs Artarama.

Have you used SoHo Urban Artist Professional Colored Pencils? Tell us about it in the comments below!

This is brought to you by the Jerry's Artarama Online Art Team - Promoting Art and Artists in our communities - For possible inclusion or to learn more about this program, please email us at webmarketing@jerrysartarama.com

Capturing Your Dreams One Drawing at a Time

Elizabeth Gyles Johnson has been exploring the world through an artist’s pencil for over 25 years. During those years, she has experienced and even taught many avenues of art, but pencils remain her first love and continue to be her favorite way to express creativity. Elizabeth’s art has sold and is enjoyed internationally.

As the artist behind Wind and Honey Creations, Elizabeth uses her passion for creativity to remind us of delightful moments, often focusing on the wonders of the relationship we have with animals. She chooses to highlight the joyful and magical moments of life and especially childhood. Elizabeth is particularly sensitive to the uniquely nuanced personalities in the eyes and presence of animals. It is her desire, through paint and pencil, to capture the soul and particular personality of an animal and portray it in such a way that others see and feel it also. Through various types of pencils Elizabeth finds the freedom to allow her imagination to run. She pulls together bits and pieces of real and imaginary moments to create an artistic pastiche of intriguing beauty while retaining the joyful and magical moments of childhood. She also enjoys incorporating her drawings as the finishing touch to a collage.

Elizabeth has been teaching drawing to local students for 13 years and is now sharing her very successful teaching methods online through a video class format. She has recently created her own teaching site, CreativePencils.ning.com, where students of any level may begin classes and move at their own pace. Elizabeth’s upbeat and affirming attitude is contagious among her students. There is no pressure, only positive, affirming encouragement toward growing the student’s skill and ability to "see". "Seeing is the first step toward successful drawing," says Elizabeth. Through the Creative Pencils site, students are able to interact with Elizabeth freely, asking questions and receiving detailed critiques of their work. In addition, Creative Pencils has studio groups where members share their adventures in art journaling, Artist Trading Cards, and various other subjects that might be fun to explore together.

Creative Pencils begins with Pencils 101, which is the foundational class upon which all other lessons are built. Once a student has completed Pencils 101, they can begin the monthly lessons and workshops growing wider and deeper in their ability to create with an artist pencil. Elizabeth begins every student with graphite pencil drawing so as to establish a solid grounding in line drawing and shading. Additionally, this fall Elizabeth will be offering classes in her animal portrait techniques through the site. Creative Pencils will offer classes in other artist pencils as well, including colored pencils, water based pencils, charcoal, pastels, and oil pencils.

Elizabeth uses a right-brained approach to teaching drawing. She has found this to be very effective as she has taught hundreds of students to draw using a wide variety of pencil types. More importantly, Elizabeth is particularly sensitive to the questions and needs of the students. Her lessons are thorough, clear, and easy to understand. Rather than insisting that students mimic her drawings and subjects of choice, Elizabeth encourages each student to find their own sense of creativity and style. Her students have the freedom to choose the subject they desire to draw. Many choose flowers, architecture, or landscapes rather than Elizabeth’s choice of animals. Her teaching methods are just as effective for these students.

This June, July, and August Elizabeth is participating in the online art retreat Artful Gathering 2012. Elizabeth will be teaching a beginner to intermediate level workshop in soft pastels in the first session. The subject is a black rabbit. In the second session Elizabeth will be teaching an owl portrait created in graphite pencil and Derwent Graphitint pencils. This workshop is for intermediate to advanced students.

To learn more about Elizabeth Gyles Johnson, her art and the classes she teaches, please visit CreativePencils.ning.com.

This is brought to you by the Jerry's Artarama Online Art Team - Promoting Art and Artists in our communities - For possible inclusion or to learn more about this program, please email us at webmarketing@jerrysartarama.com

Cristina Zinnia Galliher is a mixed media artist living life with a passion for art! Known to her art friends as Zinnia, she teaches others how to create variations of mixed media art for all levels through her online workshops and classes at RosesOnMyTable.com. Learn more about Zinnia and her work in our featured Artist Spotlight post, then read and follow along here as she outlines her method for creating beautiful mixed media art journal pages from start to finish!

Mixed Media Discoveries in Journal Exploration

by Cristina Zinnia Galliher, artist and instructor, RosesOnMyTable.com

By nature, mixed media art involves an enormous amount of experimentation, and in my search for quality art supplies that are sensibly priced and which also perform well, I find myself testing new products all the time. My art journal serves as my canvas for exploration, and for this page spread I have incorporated Turner Acryl Gouache paints, stencils, collage paper, and my graphite drawing.

1. Since I am not working on canvas, I need to prepare my book pages. This is a great opportunity to recycle old book pages, newspaper clippings, tissue paper, and scrapbook paper. Starting with an ordinary thin-paged journal, traditionally used for recording written thoughts, I began by bulking up the pages using regular gel medium, gesso, and paper.

2. The papers used to create this foundation consist of various textures, thicknesses, and color. Interesting patterns are formed using dress pattern tissue, old ephemera, book pages, and an antique newspaper clipping.

3. Whenever I paint layers of color on to my journal pages, I like to create noticeable contrast while balancing the interplay of the paper underneath the paint. I began my experimentation using Turner Acryl Gouache in Pearl Lilac over a glaze of other paints that I normally use. It was delightful to find that the Pearl Lilac (above) intensified the other paints when I used it as an overlay. In other areas where I applied it lightly (below), it was very lustrous and translucent.

4. Turquoise and Light Blue were used to highlight the corners and borders of the pages. The intensity of the paint is noticeable, and it "grabbed" the paper beautifully without bleeding or fading.

5. Stencil work was then applied over the dry paint layers. I used molding paste for this process. Once the paste dried, I reapplied the Turquoise paint color which also re-intensified the color under the stencil work, and around the edges of the stencil pattern.

6. To bring the peaks in the paper and the stencil work forward (above), I've applied Turner Acry Gouache in Pastel Sand and then Deep Gold colors.

The body of Turner Acryl Gouache paint is fantastic for picking up the peaks and the highlights of the textures, and because the paint is so versatile and adaptable to the techniques I use, I also used Pastel Sand to highlight the face and the hair strands.

Testing, exploring, and creating are the reasons why I am committed to keeping my art journal. Each discovery leads to a new one. The quality, versatility and adaptability of Turner Acryl Gouache paints is outstanding, and I look forward to future explorations in my work using other Turner paint color palettes.

Materials Used:

• Art Journal
• Turner Acryl Gouache: Pastel Sand, Turquoise Blue, Light Blue, Pearl Lilac, and Deep Gold
• Stencils by Artist Cellar
• Gel Mediums
• Molding Paste
• Gesso
• Flat Paint Brush, ½”
• Round Brush
• Rubber Stamps
• Versafine Black Ink
• Assorted Scrap Paper

Watch Zinnia's process for creating mixed media journal pages in the video below:

What are your experiences in mixed media? Let us know about your own artistic experiments in the comments below!

This is brought to you by the Jerry's Artarama Online Art Team - Promoting Art and Artists in our communities - For possible inclusion or to learn more about this program, please email us at webmarketing@jerrysartarama.com