Do not be anxious--

Even though I am nearing the end of this journal, there are several more two page spreads to go. This is one of my favorite Scriptures that hits me in the face every time I read it. I know that the Lord has it all in His hands but sometimes I don't act like I believe it. Well, thank goodness for His mercy and forgiveness!

Things that work together

I was just playing around with some of Pat Dews techniques where she puts things that will make patterns and textures into the wet paint and lets it dry. This is punchanella (lower right) and molding paste over punchanella (top) and waxed paper on the blue and green. I wrote the letterforms in a Neuland type hand with a black calligraphy marker in my practice pad and decided that I would try and use it some how--- so this is how it all came together. I changed the letterforms to off -white and stuck it in! Works for me and made me happy!

2 more paintings

Well, color sure is good for my soul. I am very intrigued with Pat Dews right now. Bren told me about her and I am so glad she did because she is very funny and entertaining and if you like this abstract look then she is a great one to learn from. She uses all sorts of things to make texture--grids from the non slip rug mats, rubber mats for the sink, --all sorts of great stuff!

Anyway, these backgrounds I did here are not using her technique completely but I incorporated a few along with some Dina Wakley techniques.

Marc giving Nana a ride

I laugh every time I see this.

It was so fun having Macaulay and baby Marc here visiting us for a few days. This is just before they left :(

He is such a precious little fellow. Strong too!

I'm a happy sprayer--probably the fumes

Since it is so extremely hot and the mosquitos have won the battle for now, I must be content to spray inside. This is a different look than the spray paints but I might even like it better. I will probably use a combination of both when I can get back out to the red shed. This is sprayed with Maya mist, Adirondack spray and Glimmer mist. Love them all.

I wrote this with black gouache without putting any type of fixative spray. Big mistake but it came out ok even though it started sliding around a bit. I hate it when that happens. I should know better by now. Watercolor over thicker layers of acrylic doesn't want to stick.

I couldn't decide what to do with this one so I just left it for now. The darker color on it is my favorite new color of Adirondack--Wild Plum. I don't know what is coming over me--I have never been a plum of any color fan. But this--I love and it goes so great with the Butterscotch Adirondack spray. Yummy! I have one more I am working on that I will post tomorrow--maybe. It wasn't was coming together very well.

Graffiti My Life Journal

I really had a great time spraying away on this journal. Dina Wakley's online class is excellent especially if you like this grungy look and you don't mind getting a little messy. Ok--a lot messy. I don't mind messy for a while and then it gets to me and I have to clean it all up then continue on. I know, that a bit crazy but, it's kinda like getting a fresh start even though your are in the middle of the project. This book is sewn with a one needle coptic stitch and I sewed it up three times and had to cut it all out... and still skipped a signature so I just rigged it up and said, as Dina says, "Be at peace with it..."

I made a youtube video showing the whole book explaining a little more as to how I did it but I couldn't find the computer cord to my camera---arrrggg!!! So I just had to take pictures and youtube-it that way.

You can see it here.

Baby Marc is coming to town with his sweet mama so I will be busy for a few days. See ya next week sometime!

oxoxox

What makes me really really happy...

I have been thinking about what type of art really makes me happy and is really fun for me. Well, I think I love seeing colors come together on a watercolor page with some other strategic elements of either collage or stamps or punchanella---and with a little scribble writing. Then if it all comes together in a pleasing way then it makes me happy! I was playing around with my Maya Mists here. I love drawing faces and painting them but it is a bit more painful to do that (in a good way of course) and painting realism from still lifes (lifes?) with oil is even more painful (but still in a good)

and adding words is even more fun... so all in all, I think I must like to create abstract things the best. Well, that's what I think today, I am sure I will think something else tomorrow. I just love squirting paper with color---FUN !!!

Happy Birthday, Lori

Today is my sweet friend, Lori's, birthday. I have known Lori for over 20 years and I want to say just a few things about her that describe her:

She is funny, beautiful, kind, immensely talented (as you all know), caring (she would sit for hours and listen to my problems) extremely talented, (did I already say that??---it bears repeating), sweet, strong, faithful, creative, warm, giving, thoughtful, generous, discerning, has your back, truthful, loyal, brave.....and wonderful. And this just scratches the surface of wonderful words that describe Lori. I am so thankful that she is my friend.

Have a wonderful day, Lori. I love you!

Maya Mist I love you

Maya Mist, Maya Mist how do I love thee..let me count the ways. Oh, where have you been all my life? It is a great substitute for the spray painting and I like how it sprays. I do spray a little water over it to disperse it. I used the Adirondack spray inks for the Dina journal which I will show you soon. I am thinking about youtubin' it.

Scraps from the Dina journal pages

This actually started off as an experiment to see if I could write with white gouache over the inks that I had sprayed on these watercolor pages. I found that the ink rewets and bleeds into the white--(or vice verse) so this was after I had put a coat of clear gesso over the ink to seal it. I started writing was happy to see that it stayed white. Yay for clear gesso!!! These were pages sprayed for the Dina Wakley journal which I will blog after I sew it up. It was a very fun class.

Now Faith...

This is in the messy scratch journal where I put the paint that is left over from the pallet. The lettering is with a micron and the heart and stars were an afterthought created in Photoshop. This little scratch journal has some little creations in it that I like because for some reason there is no pressure in this journal. I should name all my journals scratch journals.

Journal Page in the Little Journal

I'm getting close to the end of this little journal. Both of the images on this page spread are prints from my files. Makes a good start for a journal page. Then I just add some lettering or thoughts---or Scripture. Scripture always works for me.

More journal pages...

Here are a few more pages. I try to do one every day. I am getting close to the end of this little journal and it's feeling so yummy and chunky in my hand. I love a finished journal. Great feeling of accomplishment!

Graffiti of my Life

This is the book of the PDF pages for this class by Dina Wakley.
I love this class.

I am practicing up to do the "Graffiti of my Life" online class by Dina Wakley. I have watched the videos all the way through and I absolutely love what she does and I am looking forward to getting started. It is a very neat journal with a coptic stitch which she explains so clearly. I am anxious to sew one up! These two pages are in my larger watercolor journal.

Spray painted page and journal pg

Well, I just couldn't stand it... even though it is way too hot, I had to go out to the red shed and spray. I must be addicted to the fumes. The mosquitoes were on the attack even though I had my eucalyptus on me (apparently that doesn't work). But I sprayed two large sheets of Arches Text Wove so Lori can make more journals. I scanned them as best I could so I could print some off for my journals and play with them in Photoshop. The lettering on the top is a digital stamp of my lettering that I made in Photoshop. That is SO FUN to make those digi-stamps(they are actually brushes).

I will be leaving for the weekend so I just wanted to say thank you (always) for your sweet and encouraging comments. I won't be able to visit your blogs to see what you have been up to but have a wonderful weekend everyone and I will see you all next week!

Palm Tree Journal Page

This is a little print of the Palm tree I painted in a class that was so much fun. I posted this tree a month ago or so but I like to put little prints into the journal. The Palm tree is written in "Calligra-FUN" letters and embellished with a Souffle pen and a Micron black pen.

Sunflower Journal Pages and a Copic girl

She is colored with copic markers and my calligraphy was added in Photoshop. I wanted to see how Sharon's class techniques would work with copics. I am rather out of practice with the blending of the copics but I think they would work great for this technique.
I hope everyone has a sunny day!!!!!

From this---to this

I am going back over some faces I have preciously painted. I think I painted this one in Paulette Insall's , "All About Faces" class in October of 2008 which was a very good class. I am not sure she even offers it anymore but it was my introduction to painting paces. I have gone on to Sharon's class where we use colors and I think I am going to love this style. Actually after you get over the shock of putting color into a face it is actually quite freeing. You still have to have a pretty good sketch and all of my faces classes I have taken have helped me to draw the face. I actually had to completely paint over her face with Titanium white and start over because the features were not quite right.
She possible needs something down in the right hand side so I might collage something on her. If I do that I will show you.

Technicolor girl---and a journal page

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!! Now, I don't think my girl here enjoyed hers.
She looks pouty, doesn't she? She is just doing her model pose just before she breaks into laughter. This is the best way to describe all of these somber girls I have been painting lately. This is another girl that I pulled from the stash that was colored in with colored pencils so I painted her with acrylic colors. I really do like the open acrylics the best. You can come back and work them a bit more before it dries. But I do mix it with some regular acrylics because I don't have that many colors of the opens.

Here is a quick journal page. I like to try and put an element on each page that I have painted or drawn. The architectural "D-Dream" stamp and a new one that I think is really cool. I am sure you will probably see this one again. I think that this small size of the journal sure does make things quicker.

Happy 4th!!

The Land of the FREE and the

HOME of the BRAVE.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Another Technicolor Face

Maybe it's getting easier. I don't think I fussed with her quite as much. I think it actually might be because I used the Golden Open acrylics which stay open/wet longer and workable longer. I actually think that if I paint a face I will always use these open acrylics---or oils. I haven't tried that yet but I will do that soon. This was a girl that I had already drawn since I want to concentrate on the colors rather than the drawing of the face at this point. It's quite an interesting thing... you can have the face drawn right then when you go to paint it's another animal altogether-especially the eyes. I need to work on her nose too. I put her on one of those beveled wood plank things that I got from Hobby Lobby. I love Sharon. I would like to meet her one day.

Summer is here...journal page

I am still working in this small journal that Lori gave me and as I am still trying to do...if I start one... I try to go on through and finish it. I like each journal to have a continuity. I wish I could think of insightful things about my life to put into my journal pages. Hot outside..got my hair cut...boring.

I will pull my quote book back out or even better, favorite Scripture-->not boring.

I made another one..

I am just about out of paper now and it's SO hot to go spray paint in the red shed. But here is another one I just sewed up. I love making these journals...I keep saying that I am going to make one just for me. Here are more pics.
Every other page is white although I arranged the pages here so you could see more of the painted pages. Have a happy Thursday.