Palm Tree Fun class

I went to a 3 hour painting class where you paint a painting start to finish. The instructor was wonderful, very sweet and very talented and we all went through the steps together and everyone created a beautiful Palm tree. We used craft paints straight out of the bottle...no mixing and she provided everything. You just walk in, paint and leave with a beautiful painting. It was son interesting to see how different everyone's painting was and everybody did really well! This is the Scripture she read to us. Very fitting I think.

AND..today is a very special day. Baby Marc is 1 year old! Can't believe it's been a year. We are driving up today to Greenville for the birthday party tomorrow. I will try to post some pictures of him eating his cake. I will be back Wednesday so I probably won't be able to create any art but I will resume with Art du jour when I get back!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Here, above, is the painting that I started with.
This (above) is straight from the website making the aged photograph. Pretty cool, huh!!? And actually that's all you get from the website. Below is what I did in Photoshop.
Here is the piece that I ended up with. I sent it through this website. It's all in Japanese so you just have to guess what the buttons say! Well, actually I think "choose file" might be in English but the rest is in Japanese. Then I added some color with the brushes on the overlay setting in Photoshop and added my calligraphy of Psalm 100 with about 50% opacity. Then I used the overlay brush setting again to color in the Poppies because the aged photograph is more black and white-ish as you can see. I didn't plan to make this actually --it was just one of those serendipity things. I love those magical serendipitous things!

Baby Marc is coming into town today so Nannie (that's me) is VERY EXCITED... and so very blessed....

Two more Altered Photographs

These are the same pears and pepper from yesterday's post with the photograph. Neither painting was working because I was trying to make it too realistic. I was about to RIP then I thought, "ok, can this painting be saved"? That's what I usually ask myself before I RIP. So you know what my motto is---"when all else fail---PUNCHANELLA!! Well, that helped me start to turn them around. They are about 5x7 and ok---saved...

Knobby Art with a Grungy Attitude

Here is one more 4x4 Knobby Art that has brass tacks (ouch, I hit my thumb and it hurt) and some wire. I love working with wire although I am new to it but it's fun.  The bird image is also

 a potential Knobette. I wrote the calligraphy with gouache(opaque watercolor) and it slid all around and didn't adhere very well because of the mat medium so I had to use my .005 Pigma pen with my magnifying loop and clean it up. I wonder something---I wonder if I add some clear gesso first in the place where I want to write (which would provide a grittier surface) would the lettering with gouache go on better?? hummmm...I would be a happy girl if that worked. Anyway, I took a deep breath and posted the Knobette up on Etsy.

More Songbirds

What a rainy rainy day here in Jacksonville, but my flowers need the rain.  It's a good day just to paint. In fact, I haven't even gotten over to the Red Door Studio today but I have been working in the Closet Door Studio here at home. I really should take a picture of my walk-in closet studio here at home. Actually I get quite alot done when I am here. I don't have much room but I have plenty of room to paint small things and it is well-lit.  I just have to clean as I go or I quickly run out of room.  

These two birds are more painted photographs. I included the photograph that I painted from and you can see that it is altered quite alot.  

Ok so now I need to put on my rubber boots and raincoat and brave the storm to take Bucky out.  I hope he does his business fast---

Greenville Journal time

While we are sitting around and baby sleeps I have some time to paint in the journal. I have set up a little table where I keep my art supplies. It has been a wonderful time up here in Greenville with the new grand baby but I am so glad that I can paint here too. I have to create---it must be part of my existence because if I go too many days then I start getting the art shakes!  I will be going back to Jacksonville on Sunday to leave the new parents on their own. I am sure they will be just fine. All is well.

Folk Art-Grunge Edge

Here is a Folk Art painting that I painted fairly recently with some edges applied. I could sit here all day and create these edges--it's fun. This is Frida as a child before the eyebrows grew in---just kidding. Frida was actually very beautiful but oh what a tragic life. But I must get on with my other task as hand. I get rather hypnotized as I sit here applying different edges. That's not good! Hope everyone has a lovely and creative day.

PS-- I have lesson 3 completed of my online calligraphy brush marker class that will be offered through Creative Workshops. I worked the whole day yesterday. I am getting the hang of iMove and it just gets funner and funner! (new word--funner) Still don't like my wrinkled hands! I need that Avon hands stuff.

Final one...finished!

The original plan was to do this one actually directly on the wall---yikes!--but I decided that since I had done the two other canvases then this would be easier. And actually it really went pretty fast. I need to paint the sides then I will be finished. We will be up in South Carolina for Easter so I will take a picture or film them and blog it. That will be fun!

Workshop with Golden Open Acrylics

Ok well, I made the plunge---to try Golden Open acrylics. I loved this workshop with local artist Diane Fraser. She is such a great teacher and gave us lots of information (aha moments!) and introduced us to these great acrylics. They are more transparent than the regular acrylics so you use them along with the regular acrylics but the glazing and workable effect is amazing. AND they stay on your pallet and wet for an hour or even longer. She is an oil painter and she said this is a great invention by Golden. I loved them and had to get all the colors but I will use them for my faces since it stays workable and blend-able longer. So basically you under-paint with regular acrylics then glaze (and glaze and glaze, if desired!)) with the opens. I love em!

In the Monskine Sketchbook Journal

I painted her with acrylic and she doesn't look as smooth as when I use Shiva oil sticks. I did smooth her cheeks a bit with the Shiva. I bought a hair stying magazine to get some new styles for my girls. This one is not having a very good hair day. Every time I draw a new girl I try and make her look different but as I look at all of them they all look like they are related---some look like sisters and some like cousins. One even looks like my mother did as a young girl. The girls are the most relaxing art that I do. I guess it's because they all become my little friends. I think her name is Crystal--bet you can tell why---her eyes.

Little Birdie on the Background

Here is the painting on the background. Part of the bird is collaged but I painted more stems and flowers and repainted over the bird. It is 8 x 10. The flowers are heavy body Golden acrylic which gives some dimension. For some reason I'm just kinda ho-hum about this one. Not sure why...but daily art stop's theme today is "birds."
I think the ho hum is that I didn't paint the bird from scratch because if I can paint a face-surely I can paint a bird. I think I feel like I cheated-- but that's just me---I am hard on myself sometimes.

Girl with a Bun

She is small---5x7. I used Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paints by Ranger for this background. I really do love these paints and all the colors are great. They mix really well to make other great colors. As you see, I am in a portrait phase---from Poppies to portraits. I was thinking that I need to call these girls something other than portraits because "portraits" give the ideas that I have literally drawn someone real. Hummmm....I will have to think about that.

Telling Secrets

This is on 8x8 canvas panel and is the third of the three backgrounds I posted several days ago. I tried a different technique on her by using more Caran d' Ache water soluble crayons for her face. And I painted a bird! I love birds and if you look around blog and etsyland---they are very popular in many paintings. Besides her being just a little bit cross-eyed--she looks pretty good. I enjoyed painting her. Some come easier that others.
Hope to see ya tomorrow! Thanks for visiting.

Near God's Heart

She is collaged and painted on 11 x 14 wood cradled panel. She has a metal embossed heart--yea! i used the metal embossing! Lori and I are going to A Small Cleverness tomorrow and take the metal embossing workshop and really learn how to do it. That will be fun!

On this piece I tried to not let the word strips quote be too prominent. You can read them if you walk up close---but then, isn't that the purpose?! She also emerged looking maybe of Indian descent? I think Indian women are so beautiful. Go see Slumdog Millionaire and you will see. Great movie, by the way--and usually I am a very tough critic.

Also, I will post something tomorrow that I am very excited about that I created totally intuitively. I think it is a breakthrough for me for a look I have been trying to achieve. I love a specific style that I have been seeing in the art of several of my admired artists that I follow--DJ Pettitt, Sharon Tomlinson, and Misty Mawn---among a few others. I am not sure what they do to get this dreamy, whitish effect on their art but I think I figured it out. White paint--or gesso! Who would have thought??? AND--I can't tell you how excited I am---I can even put my calligraphy on it. I will post it tomorow. I also have another girl that I painted on the first background that I posted yesterday. Stay tuned! My several days of research have recharged me.

Also, I forgot Milliande--she's great too.

HE Holds the Key

I am getting ready for my show at the ReddiArts Gallery here in Jacksonville, and yesterday they called and rescheduled my time to May and June rather than March and April. This gives me a little more time---whew!

This girl is on a 12 x 12 x 1/12 cradled wood board. You can find them at Hobby Lobby. She is collaged with paper squares underneath then painted with acrylic, stamps, Caran d 'ache and punchanella. He holds the key to her heart....so...who is HE? Well, HE holds the key to my heart too.

They Think Alike

This is acrylic with layers bubble wrap stamping, stamps, punchenella, and collage paper. It's on a 12 x 12 x 1.50 canvas and the sides are painted a brownish red. I painted the faces on another piece of paper and pasted it on--- and you can totally see that it is pasted on even though I tried hard to hide it with the hair. Well, it IS a mixed media collage. Who's to say I can't collage the face on!? Hopefully the collage police won't cite me.

HEAVENLY SOUND

It's really funny about doing these different pieces. This one started out really bad---background was bad, her face was not good, didn't know what it needed--- then it kinda came together and now I actually really like it. That is my calligraphy in the background and the birds singing and the sound of God's Word is surely a heavenly sound. So---there you have it!