Stars in their eyes...

I haven't painted any girls in so long I thought I would see if I still could paint some. They are mostly watercolor with some acrylic and punchanella thrown in. If you look closely, they really do have stars in their eyes.

It worked! Xylene Transfer!

Well, just when you think that you will never ever create anything again (the new Somerset Studio had a name for it) Creative Deficit or something. That is what I have been feeling lately. I don't know why, but I still say that it might be a wind down to get back to my roots with the conference next week....but here is something that makes me so excited that I am about to do the happy dance. I decided to try a Xylene transfer. I thought I had thrown out my Xylene in the move several years ago but I came across it and decided to just go for it and see if it would transfer. I used to do it all the time. The lettering is a font from my computer but I turned it backwards and printed it on my laser printer. You have to have a laser print--at least I think you do.

The top one is on painted muslin and the second one is on watercolor paper from a previous background. I thought it turned out pretty good. And the xylene is kinda like smelling gas--either you love it or hate it. Here below are a few more backgrounds that were passable but have potential.

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.

More stuff before we leave to babysit!

We are driving up to Greenville today to keep baby Marc while his mama and daddy go on a business trip for a week! I am really very very excited to keep him and I am glad Papa Chaunce is taking a week off so he can be there with me because I know it will be tiring.... but oh, in a good way! We love being at their house because you can see the mountains and it's like being on vacation. Baby Marc is growing so much and toddling everywhere and starting to say a few words. All that being said, I seriously doubt that I can get any art done even during his nap time so.... farewell, my bonnie blogger buddies, I will see you after the 27th. But I might start having blogger withdrawal and have to post a photo or something. Y'all have a wonderful and creative week. I will surely be checking in to see what you are doing. I've GOT to do that!!!!

BYE!

The backrounds for a paper quilt

I am trying to do some larger backgrounds and tear them up and make a mosaic paper quilt. I don't know how it will turn out of course but I plan to sew the pieces together. It takes me quite a while to cover the whole pieces because they are quite large. The bottom one is 18x24 and the top ne is even larger. I know that when it is torn up or cut up--the top image is on Yupo) I might have some interesting pieces to mix and match with other backgrounds I have. I used all sorts of ways to get the color on the paper: Adirondack spray inks (which I love), acrylic with stencils and stamps and my copic air sprayer, free writing and ...I think that's it. I tried to make it colorful so it would be a colorful mosaic quilt. We'll see. If you do a close up they look better. In real life they are bright and colorful but in my monitor here it they look a bit muddy.

BIG Piece and a Poppy

My goal is to GO BIG! This is actually a fairly cheap canvas 24 x 36 on sale for 30% off at Hobby Lobby so I felt relatively safe to try something large. I used my spray paints and stencils and then took it inside and stared at it to see what it needed. Big is definitely a challenge and this is really not all that big. it is tiring to go larger because it involves moving around in all sorts of contorted positions to get the lettering and embellishments. I painted the sides black. I am still think about the "Art -rageous" show coming up so maybe I will put this in. I have to stare at it some more. And below is another Poppy.
This Poppy run is more of a Poppy explosion. These Poppies got a bit jumbled up in the excitement of my dash for the paints and I got a bit over-exuberant. I got some new Twinrocker 6x8 paper (yummy yummy!!!) so I am practicing to see if I can get up my courage to do some originals on this paper. I usually get the paper out and the sheet stares at me with those big blank white eyes and I start to do an "art start freak out". Ever had one of those? What is it about blank paper (with the most fabulous deckled edges you ever saw) that freaks me out? Oh yeah, I might mess it up! Well, anyway as Joyce Meyers always says, "Just do it afraid!"

So, we'll see if I can do it. If I don't get up the courage to use the paper then I have wasted it anyway so....go figure!!??

Pear Impromptu

Sometimes don't you just have to run as fast as you can to your paints and paint a pear? No? Well, sometimes I do. I love pears--and I love to eat a juicy ripe pear. An aunt used to send us a whole box of pears for Christmas when I was a child and we had pears for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As you see this is actually on cheap graph paper and I used some stamps and Caran de Ache for the shading. It gives a glazing effect which I like and will start to learn to do with my oils. I am way far away from that though. I have to do my value scale on the pot I drew first. Drawing the pot was the first hurdle! And it all comes back to the drawing...the hardest part.

Power to the Pear!

Imagine---progression

These two above and below are just the closeups of the Golden crackle paste. I added some darker glaze and wiped it off so the crackle would show. I think it kinda got lost in the final one but you can still see it if you look closely.

Now for the first layer of writing. I did this quickly (as you can see!) with a brush.

Then (----time passes...) more layers and stencils. Maybe I should have stopped here...but it doesn't have a focal word element as I had planned.

But here it is...I think it is finished. If I did anything else to it I would probably paint over some elements to tone it down. Hummm...the challenge is--when to call it finished. I guess if I did many of these I would get to know that but I am not sure how long this journey will stay in graffiti-town. It sure is fun though.

The quote says:
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will get you everywhere." -Albert Einstein

Whew! I'm tired now. Time for chocolate!
And here is my thought for the day:
"If anything is worth doing, it's worth overdoing." That might be appropriate for me today. I will look at this piece tomorrow and see if this thought really is true. If they don't sell then I can always paint over them and pretend like it never happened! What happens in Graffiti town stays in Graffiti town.

Mother's Day Giveaway

Happy Mother's Day! I thought I would do a quick giveaway so if you would like this little 3x5 list book then leave a comment and Mr. Random.org will do his thing on Tuesday at 8:00 pm EST. This little list book is bound with the Rubicoil and the cover is hand collaged and painted and the first page has a little sewn folder for receipts. SO if you are living in the US (only) then I will send it on to you when Mr. Random picks your number!

Doodle Flowers in Greenville

I drew these out after the baby, Macaulay and Baby Daddy had gone to bed. I know that I needed to color it in quickly then I could sit around and doodle with the Sharpie and white paint pen. I am admiring Alisa Burke right now so these are similar to her wonderful and fabulous doodles---actually she is quite fabulous herself. I am thinking about taking an online class from her next...Graffiti Chic. I am in a messy splattery mood these days.

The "Zones" Of My Life

Creating art is an interesting thing for me. It is a process of sliding into the creative zone without planning it and finding yourself joyously creating. But if I have to do a commission work or I have to create on demand, I am sometimes dead in the water fairly quickly into the process and have to push myself to create...and usually this is in the dreaded twilight zone. I can still turn something out --- but with extreme difficulty. But if I slip into the creative zone the finished product might not be a masterpiece but the point is, how did I feel when I was creating it?? That's the creative question I ask myself. If it was fun and enjoyable and the outcome was pleasing then I have been in the creative zone--which is also outside of any time zone.
These two paintings above started off as just some calligraphy on 6x6 scrapbook pieces of paper that came in an order as a freebie. I was actually thinking about tossing them into the scrap bin (and the trash bin crossed my mind too) probably to be lost forever and never used since the paper was rather uninteresting. I wrote the calligraphy (again, no plan) and then started to do some doodle flowers around it and then ended with...having fun! Isn't that the goal of our art anyway...having fun...the journey is the destination...and all that rigamarole??? How many of us are making thousands with our wonderful art anyway (or hundreds...or even just a few dollars??)

Well, some of you are but for me...I might as well have some fun!

I love a flower girl...

Well, Suzi just had to go and do it---make us draw a profile---of a male no less...AND Henry the 8th no lesser!!!! Suzi, I love you dearly, but not that much. I do like what she is doing around the face so I might have to skip the profile and just go on to the background. That is, for now, but I guess it's just because I tried in Misty's class to draw profiles and drew monsters . I am afraid of monsters...always have been...
And...I can't wait to show you my new passion....maybe I will blog it tomorrow. I've been busy!!

Drawing a Three Quarter Face with Suzi

I have just started Suzi's new class, "Piety and Passion" and it's going to be really great and for me---kinda hard so far. I have only just done a few videos of lesson one and this is my first time drawing a 3/4 face. It was a struggle most of the way through this painting and I cropped her closer up because the hair was so bad. I need to just sit down and practice some 3/4 faces. It's like practicing calligraphy letterforms--practice practice practice and then your mind starts to get it. In the class we will be drawing Victorian women from the Tudor times and they were stoic, powder faced and regal. It will be fun attempting this. Actually this one was suppose to be a powder faced regal girl but she just turned out to be a hippie I think--with flowers in her hair.

Painting the girls

I have been taking Jane DesRosier (Gritty Jane)'s online class.

This ethnic-looking girl is painted starting from black, adding darker values and using blue/ green tones for the contours of her face to create the shape. The lighter tones are added. So now I know how she achieves the wonderful depth she gets in her paintings and with her faces. Since the class was only several hours long, I decided to do her class this weekend. It really will take some practice but I want to learn all the different ways to paint a face since that is what I love to do the best.

The painting below was also starting from black. I painted her just before Christmas before I had even signed up for Jane's class. I thought it was rather interesting that I started this one from black then that's what Jane taught in her class. This girl actually started out to be an angel with a halo which turned into a hat and wings that turned into trees. She looks a bit miffed because I think she actually wanted to be an angel.

The Flower Goddess

The image above is with a filter from my "Totally Rad" program that really does put totally rad actions on photos and paintings. Pretty cool, huh? I could go on and on with the totally rad filters. The original is below.

She does look rather goddess-like and actually kinda Cher-like with all the flowers in her hair. I am so tired of painting hair the same way over and over so I thought I would try something different. The background is paint and stamps and brayers and more stamps and wax paper mono stamping and script stamps and toilet paper circles. I did add the flower goddess text in a circle in Photoshop just so I wouldn't forget how to do that. She has been enhanced somewhat in PS and just a few butterfly stamps added. I should be Christmas shopping rather than painting a flower goddess. Maybe someone will receive a Flower Goddess as a Christmas present! I probably will add some sort of quote but not sure about that. Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Conglomarama!

This was a 5x7 canvas board that has been hanging around for quite some time with Tim Holtz White Distress crackle already cracked and just waiting for color. This little thing has so much going on that I called it a conglomarama. The whole piece was just too busy without a focal point so I divided it up into four. It has a magazine transfer, packing tape transfer, stamps, collage from old torn up Bible and lookey there---lavender! That's about as much as I could stand but actually--it's ok. I did this in my closet studio here at home. It's pretty cool looking up close---actually it looks better up close!

Red Flowers--Redone 16 x 20

I found this painting that I did about a year ago and I never liked it. I really couldn't tell why I didn't like it and I almost tossed it. I brought it out of the dark crevices of the morgue where the other failed paintings reside and I thought that maybe I could raise this one from the dead. So with a few shadows, values and color I think he relives now! I dirtied up the edges a bit and I never would have thought to do that a year ago. It's funny how we learn new things and ---so--I kinda wish I had all the tossed ones and maybe I could raise them up. Some were deader than dead as I recall so ---they are resting in painting heaven where they are very beautiful now.

I will post some canvas paintings from Lisa class soon. I need to decompress a bit and get it all out and take a look and see what I have.

Oh, and check out my very talented Italic Calligraphy student, Sue K, and see her fabulous practice sheets. GOOD work, Sue!! I am so proud of you!!! Thanks!!!

And also, here is a sweet link from a wonderful artist, Shirley, from Shirley's Illustrations! You will absolute love her illustrations. They are precious. Thanks, Shirley!!!

Canvas Collages

I have been working on some backgrounds on non gessoed canvas. I love how it frays and love the texture although it makes it more difficult to use a nib for calligraphy but I figured out if you just press real hard it works better. You only get about 1/2 a letter with the acrylic on the nib but you just keep dipping--alot. I used No Flow by Jacquard so I could have a better surface for the FW white acrylic ink. Neither one of the pieces are finished. The top one is closer than the bottom one but I am not sure which direction to go in. I know that I want to do some sewing on them. I have it sitting out and when I walk by I try different things but haven't found just the right thing yet. If I do I will blog them. This is a bit out of my comfort zone but my motto is---

"Make it work!" Famous quote by Tim Gunn---I get such a kick out of him on "Project Runway"--my new favorite show. Where have I been for the last few years? I need to order all the back shows.

The glory of the Lord

I am beginning a bible study soon on prophesy with a wonderful Bible teacher here named Cindy Zeigler. She is an artist too and makes wonderful things. As I was reading about the time with the Lord will return I just wrote this calligraphy, very quickly with my Parallel Pen , scanned it and put it on this background I had. It is enhanced with some digital brushes and the calligraphy has undergone a color change from it's original red to gold. I tried white, light blue off white and settled on gold for the contrast. I haven't printed one of these digi works but I am planning to do that at some point. I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Sunday!

Watercolor Photo Painting

I have taken several pictures of things from the studio and plan to turn them into line drawings to paint some simple watercolors from the photographs. I printed these two line drawings on Arches 140 LB paper. It's fun and quick. My goal was actually to paint them more whimsical-like such as Kelli Nina Perkins does (she has a great DVD). But they always end up with fairly realistic colors.  Maybe I will paint them again with bright and outrageous colors and see what happens.  I just love the yummy colors she uses. It takes courage to use those bright colors and I must try and see if I can overcome my fear!!!  Just do it!