Poppy Fire Works

I hope everyone has a 

joyful, healthy, creative, colorful, delightful,

intuitive, happy, 

and 

very blessed 

New Year!

A few more...

I couldn't resist this one... and below we are just having a little chat...

Maybe I will have some art sometimes soon. I have been thinking about doing the Scrapbook Challenge

but sometimes when I sign up of things like that I usually crash and burn but I am looking forward to seeing all the fabulous pages and tutorials for the artists who have signed up.

Oh, and by the way some of you had asked about the cameras.

Most of the pictures were taken with a Leica M9 

and Macaulay's camera is a Nikon D7000

A few Pics of Christmas in Greenville

We all passed the stomach virus among us so I have been down for two days now but I think I see the light of day today. Macaulay had it Tuesday and Wednesday, Daddy Marc had it Thursday, Chauncey had it driving home--it was bad and we were in a blizzard! Thank goodness Baby Marc never got it and so far neither has Zach. But we had such fun and thankfully I didn't get sick until right as we got home.
Here are a few pics since I have no art work. Daddy Marc takes great pictures with his extra fancy camera.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. We are having such a good time with Baby Marc. He totally loved all his toys and we are having such fun watching him play. He has learned to say, 'WOW!'

We are expecting heavy snow here in Greenville, SC starting at noon so they say.

If so, maybe I can get a picture.

This is a girl I started yesterday in my Greenville journal with the few supplies I have here. I used Koi watercolors, colored pencils and Neo colors with a little white acrylic. I actually had to finish her up last night right before goIng to bed. Just can't leave anything undone!

BLESSINGS TO ALL...and most of all...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Making old new again--but look old...

 For Christmas presents this year I decided to pull out an old watercolor image and use it again--but in a different way. One of the things I just love is making something look old and adding a little grunge and weathering. So I adhered this image to my favorite little cradled wood canvases, Baroque Artist Panels, added a script stamp and grunged the edges with Distress inks by Ranger. I like the way they turned out and since they are small (4x4) they can just sit out for decoration. I like it on the little black easel. 

Maybe next year I will put some in the Etsy shop.

I also wanted to thank you all for signing up to win the CalligraFun giveaway.

 Donna from Lucky Dog won and it was her birthday! How great is that!?

This might be my last post until 2011 because I have to pull myself away from the paint brushes and finish up my shopping and wrapping. I kinda like to do that at the last minute though because it really puts me into the Christmas spirit. I have avoided the malls so far but, alas, I just might have to brave it and go.

I do wish all of you wonderful and talented artists out there in blogland a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new year too! I do love you all!!! 

 oxoxox

Oh, just one more thing...

Marc says Ho Ho Ho...

 I will see him Thursday!

YAHOO!

And the "Lucky" winner is:

Donna from "Lucky Dog"!
Congratulations, Donna! Have fun!!!

CalligraFun Merry Christmas Giveaway!

If you would like to win a free CalligraFun class just leave a comment and Mr. Random.org will do his picking on Saturday, the 18th at 8PM.

In the class we do not write Merry Christmas but after you take the class you will be able to write just like this. I have been so impressed with all of my students' success.
You really can do this!!!

Amelia wth Poppies and Berries

Here is Amelia. She loves poppies and berries.

She is painted in the crummy journal with the paper that I actually I like. I think it's from Walgreens. It doesn't like watercolor as well but it stands up to Neo colors and acrylic very nicely.

Stay tuned because I am planning a giveaway of my online "CalligraFun" class tomorrow.

Amelia

I drew her today while I was happy and all snuggled up inside in the warm watching all my DVR recorded Glees. 

Yes, I am a Gleek. 

I am planning on painting her and I will post her tomorrow.

She is Amelia.

Natasha

Do you recognize her? This was actually another experiment of sorts. I printed her face on my Staples Photo Matte paper and decided to mask her off with painters tape and see if this printer paper would take some adirondack spray. It did take the spray but it sank right in like a sponge before it would spread but that was ok. So I pulled off the tape and painted her hair and her dress and worked on her face a little more.
And here she is---Natasha.

Happy Today

This is in the composition journal, as you can see, and I am always surprised what this paper can take. This is Caran d'Ache and acrylic. I think the acrylic gives it some stability. If it was watercolor the paper would just melt away. So yay for acrylics! And YAY for Neo colors and yay for the wonderful composition notebook ...and ... YAY for the sake of YAY!

Spray-a-Rama

As you know I love to spray.

Hope you enjoy the Spray-a -Rama.

EXPECT

I just got a few new colors of Adirondack spray in the new improved 2oz spray bottle. You know how I love to spray! This really was an experiment of sorts that was fairly successful. I have always wanted to write in whire calligraphy or Sharpie white poster paint markers on these inks and I have found that these markers or calligraphy inks won't sit on top of the inks and the inks actually bleed through. My experiment was to seal the inks with Jacquard NO FLOW, which is actually for fabrics, but it works on paper too. It smears just a bit going on but not enough to cry about so---today I found the solution so I can write on the spray thing-ies. YAY!

 Now I guess now I better to go to Walgreens for toilet paper. Oh the dreaded interferences with the art journey! Well, while I am there I guess I better get some bows for the packages, too. Y'all have a happy day!

oops--

Didn't mean to publish nothing--look below for todays post.  :))

She Believes...

I haven't decided what to do with her yet so I put her on this background in Photoshop until I decide. 

Finished her!

Thanks Kelly and Janie for the blond suggestion because I think she was a blond all along. I think I am feeling a little better about hair, thanks to Tam. Seeing her paint the faces has really helped me make the best choices for painting the face and hair.  I could have cloned out the seam in Photoshop but it's a lot of work and actually may not make it look any better. It's in a journal so--it's all good!
So let's see, what might be her name?
I think she is Ava.

Getting there---in progress

She is also in the Moleskine journal. I love the paper in this journal. It is very smooth and takes colored pencil really nicely.  I will say it again, Tam from Willowing is great!

Just a napkin for the background--now for the dreaded hair!  Her face is painted with Shiva paint sticks. Maybe tomorrow she will have hair color. Perhaps brown--ish.

She's a WIP

This is a WIP in the Moleskine colored with pencil and colored pencils. I haven't yet decided what to do with the other page on the spread or the color of her hair.  I think that Tam is one of my favorite teachers in teaching the face. I bought her DVD "Fabulous Faces"and I have been really enjoying it. With this girl I will probably go ahead and add some acrylic and maybe a collage background --or maybe paint--I will decide when I get there. Below I have added Shiva Paint sticks to her face and next--- on to the hair.
She is much yellower in this scan. The Moleskine paper is very yellowish.

Can you see her now? This is Hannah.

Don't we all remember our mother's telling us this, "Pretty is as pretty does," and then in turn we told our daughters. And how true it is. But if you want to look better just put some flowers around your face! Flowers make everything around them beautiful. This girl is painted in the Moleskine journal--see the seam? I am still liking the collage background because it's a no brainer because after you go to all the trouble to paint the face you surely don't want to mess it up with a crummy background. Her face was painted first with Caran d' Ache and acrylics which wasn't working so well for some reason so I pulled out the Shiva oil sticks and my favorite tool--my finger- and colored her face. I love Shiva because it always works. It takes overnight to dry completely though.

This is Hannah.

PS Not sure why she wouldn't show up. I think it's because I scheduled her last night for this morning and after it posted I had forgotten to republish after an edit---but who knows!!!!

Three model friends

I think these girls might be models ready for a photo shoot with full makeup on. I have always loved make- up and "painting" my face but as my face grows older I can see that less is more for me now. But for my girls more is more! I guess I am living vicariously through my girls with hair, make-up and long flowy hair!

I grabbed some scraps of paper and collaged the background. The sides of the canvas are painted black.

From left to right:

Ginger, Staci and Miranda

Transfer Girl

This girl was a failed transfer in this little 6x6 journal I have (which I love!) and I almost tore her out but there was something I liked about the look of it. I decided to try to bring her face forward and just leave most of the distressed background.
 Note to self: don't tear anything out too quickly--you just never know what the muse will have you do with it later.

I painted her...

 I really enjoyed painting her with a layer of Caran d' ache then layers of acrylic. I also love using the stabilo black pencil for the eyes and eye lashes because you can smudge it a bit so they don't look quite so cartoonish.

I like to name all my girls but sometimes I forget.
 Her name is Penelope.

I drew a girl instead

...instead of shopping on black Friday, that is...

I chickened out and decided I would stay home and shop online

and draw a girl. I will paint her and blog her tomorrow.

Shopping!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I will return hopefully----that is if I don't get trampled at the Black Friday sales.

Thankful

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Another Fab Fabriano Journal

I think I am addicted to spraying these pages. It's so FUN!

More pictures here.

Loyal

She is colored with copic markers and a couple of them were running out of ink which prevented me from blending the face properly. But no worries...sometimes we do have a blotchy face don't we?

Hope Angel

This is the healing angel we were to draw and paint in Tam's class. I think mine turned out to be more of a hope angel bringing things she hopes for me.  I have enjoyed Tam's class. She is drawn in the food composition journal. I enjoyed painting her with my new replacement Claudine Hellmuth paints. I like them a lot.

Sketch du jour

Ok, well, here I go a' sketchin'!

The chair on the right is a far better rendition of the chairs than the one on the left.

I actually should go outside in this beautiful weather and actually I think I will but first I wanted to attempt the chairs. The box---well, we just won't discuss it. I am still only using a pen because with a pencil I fiddle way too much and I want to see if I can just go for it. Of course if I were drawing something for a painting or something then I would use a pencil.

I really am going to pull out my "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and try to go through it--again. I did it years ago but didn't make it all the way through. It got too hard so---I put it down. I guess I didn't realize at that point that drawing what you see is a difficult task (at least for me) and pushing through is what makes us better artists.
Also, here is a YouTube of how I spray the pages for the journals. 

Old-->New Sketchbook

This is my old-->new  sketchbook that only had two pages filled so I am planning on using this for my sketchbook. It is a Bee Sketchbook with really nice paper that accepts wet media and just about everything else. I decided to use my newest girl on the front with some collaged pieces in the background. I actually created the front digitally and printed it on --Staples brand injet photo paper (matte) which is very affordable and excellent! I am so excited to have found it. Then I added Golden Polymer Gloss Medium to seal it give it a sheen.

Now, I will see if I can keep my promise to myself to draw something everyday. I guess time will tell.

And for me the thing that helps is to have a cute journal to grab. Anything that helps!

Now this was FUN!

Ok, I have found my new fun thing, making these journals! I absolutely love spraying paper whether it is copic spray, Montana paints or Adirondack inks. I love the way they disperse on the paper and well--yum yum yum!

This one is fashioned after Teesha's 16 page journal but it is a little different with the blank pages added. These are quick and easy to make but the spraying takes some time. But as I said---it's FUN!

Here are more pics.

Just draw it!

I used my 20% off birthday coupon at ReddiArts yesterday and bought this Koi watercolor set because the one thing I really want to do (and always have wanted to do) is keep a sketch book going. Alisa Burke is my inspiration here because hers is so fabulous. She doesn't use a pencil, she draws with a pen. That is what I did on this one. The watering can is on the front porch so I sat in the beautiful warm sun and just went for it. This sketch journal doesn't like the water too much so I need to pull one of mine out that will take water much better than this one. I hope I can keep it up. I am really going to give it my best shot. Drawing is so important and it's truly "no pain, no gain."
Have a wonderful Sunday!

New Journals!

I have really enjoyed spraying these pages and making a smaller journal. I really think I am addicted to spraying on color. I used Adirondack Color Wash Inks which I love! Watch your fingers though because it will stain. So much for nice looking nails. Oh, the plight of the artist!

More pics here and here.

Pretty in Pink

She was going to have white hair but there as pink on my brush and thought...ok.. pink's good too. As you see she does not have lines because she is painted in another one of my many journals that are partially completed.  One of these days maybe I will draw a whole girl--body and all.