Painted Photos

I have been playing around with some painted photos. I really enjoy painting the prints of the photos that Marc, our son- in- law, takes of the birds in their back yard feeder. He is a very good photographer and gets some really great shots. I tried it with two different backgrounds.  I used acrylic and add some mat medium first to make the paper less absorbent although I am not sure if that really makes much difference. I think it's a fun thing to do!

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.

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.

Birds In the Journal

This is in my Moleskine journal. The birds are a stamp that is just the outline of the birds that I painted and the swirls are a hand carved stamp. I love to carve stamps and I need to use them more in my backgrounds. This Moleskine is a sketch pad so I coat it with Gesso before I paint although you probably don't really need to. But when you coat the pages with Gesso it makes the pages kind feel like leather when you're done.

Have Wings

This is from my art journal. I am trying not to think too much. Oh how I struggle with this! I guess I have been trained to plan my layout and design and by trial and error, paste up and re-lettering until the piece comes together. And by blood sweat and tears sometimes it did---sometimes it didn't. But this area of mixed media collage and the freedom in the art journal is so different that I am always trying so hard to jump back in that lettering arts box. I still love that box though---it is an art form that I will always strive for but thankfully---I have discovered---there is freedom outside that box!

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.

Just Having a Little Chat

She is painted on a 12 x 12 Ampersand wood panel. I decided that I would try a faux beeswax finish so I followed a recipe that I saw in a book and I have to say that I wouldn't try it again. I will just go ahead and use beeswax. In fact, I could beeswax over the faux beeswax but I probably won't. The birds are collaged on. I actually painted them first and didn't like mine so I collaged---but I think I will try and phase in my own painted birds. The collaged ones just look so much better!

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!