Bye for now...sending you a heart...

I am excited because, as I have been saying all week, I will be driving down to Orlando in the morning for a week at IAMPETH-International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting

I was picking out a chunky journal to take for the area where members can display what they have been working on---and of course I will "survey the land" before I put mine out there. Things might look like this-- YIKES! so a chunky journal(which does contain lots of original calligraphy) just might not fit in. Well see---I have never been to one of these Master Penman conferences so I am not sure what to expect.

So this little heart from the backgound pieces was going into the chunkey journal and I decided to write a little quote on it. This calligraphy is buy no means the standard of which I will be seeing and re-learning this weekend---but it's fun and quick and easy.

Have a wonderful week and hopefully I can post some pictures as I go along.

and oxox

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.

A few more backgrounds...

Here are the last of the new backgrounds for the journal. I bound the journal yesterday after Distrezz--ing all the pages. I really like what this little machine does to the pages. I am getting a little better at sewing books now so I am happy that I have gotten over that sewing hurdle. I will take some pictures of this journal and post them in the next post. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's springtime here in Jacksonville with a fine yellow dust everywhere.

Backgrounds for new journal

I have been in a background mood recently and I have painted some backgrounds to go into this journal. But actually I think I will have to make another cover a la Remains of the Day journal because my pages turned out way too wide for the hard cover book I prepared. I spray painted the back of these so they would be two sided for the journal. I have not bound the journal yet because I have been waiting for my toy and it came in yesterday-it's THIS! I am so excited I am about to jump out of my skin. I just love distressed edges and finally there is a machine that will do it. It's like this--on steroids!!! It is simple and sounds loud and dangerous and works SO great! I will put up some more backgrounds tomorrow. I love to do backgrounds.

Inside you...

Sometimes I just feel like combining some calligraphy with a background using a little digi-power. I feel powerful!

Digicollage-

This is a collage of my different painted backgrounds with digi stamps and cool erasers and all created in Photoshop. I love making these collages because you don't have to get your hands messy or even open a jar of Golden soft gel (but oh how I love soft gel!) And no clean up when you are done. I love to do this because it is like exercising and practicing for when you do feel like getting out the soft gel, all the backgrounds and getting messy.

I am up in Greenville with our daughter, hubby and my precious little peanut, baby Marc.

I really didn't feel like dragging out all the art supplies here today. It's fun and it's still an original created by my clean hands---my clean hands are just doing different things. But actually as fun as this is...it probably takes just about as long or longer to assemble the collage this way!

More backgrounds...love to do backgrounds...

I really do love to put color on paper then add stuff...and more stuff---and sometimes I over-stuff then have to gesso over the over-stuffed stuff.

These are about 9x11 each and I painted them on Arches hot press 140 paper because that was what was right in front of me here at the closet of creation at the house. Tomorrow afternoon I plan to film lesson three. I think I have hit some procrastination-ing because I was planning to have that done today. Well, I will be Scarlet and just think about that tomorrow. Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day!!

A few nighttime backgrounds

Sometimes I just have to put some color on paper and create---something---and who knows what it will turn out to be. I love to try to do no-think intuitive painting because sometimes you get and gem and sometimes you don't. The ones that don't can be torn up and sometimes then the torn pieces turn into gems. The urge to do this usually hits me about 10:30 pm and I go into my "Closet of Creation" where everything is right at my finger tips but not much room at all. But I do create some fun things in this small space here at home.  This is a big closet for a closet but a small space for a studio. Our next door neighbors have installed a wine cellar in their closet area. We live in a condo and our neighbors have the same layout except opposite. His wine cellar is fantastic and it's mind boggling how he has figures out how to catalogue all the wines and go right to it. I should let him come over and catalogue my art supplies!  I'm sure I'd never find a thing ever again.

More Layer Love

This is more "Layer Love" in my special journal that I will give you more details on it later---because it is really special.  I am still only on Lesson 4 ish.  But I am enjoying it so much. 

I started this one with yellow and built around it with sap green and blues, punchanella and my favorite stamp--tp roll.  

Dry Brush in the "Special Journal"

Here is one I did this morning in the "special journal" with a few stamps, punchanella, and a little but of calligraphy. When I get back home in a few days I will do a vlog about this very special journal.

Oh, and here's something funny that my daughter, Macaulay, and I just experienced. We always watch "Fox and Friends" in the morning and every morning they read little silly  rhyming jingles  that people have made up and send in through email. Macaulay sent one in this morning  that said:

"When I wake up early 'cuz my new baby is cryin', nothing's better that Steve, Gretchen and Brian."  AND they just read it on the air!  Bryan said,"Macaulay from South Carolina sends in..."

We had no idea that they would really read it and we would even catch it. Well, we got our kick for the day.

Layer Love Online Class-- Reds

 I usually have an online class going all the time (I am a junkie!), sometimes two (I try not to do that). This one was good and I liked Julie Prichard's background methods.  I have not quite finished it yet ---this is only lesson 3 of 9 lessons.  She has become friends with Suzi Blu  if you want to be entertained and have a little giggle, you should check out some of her  (their) video entries. 

These are painted on 8x8 canvas board with her methods of layering.

Green Day

More journal junkin' with left over green paint mixed with mat medium.  The mat medium makes it act like paste paper.  What is paste paper? Most of you know what that is but for those who don't-- it a process of laying acrylic or watercolor paint on paper with wheat paste or Elmers Art Paste which makes interesting texture made by sponges or other tools. I use paste paper a lot for backgrounds for calligraphy. This (images above) will not work for lettering because the mat medium is a plastic and the nibs will slide all around and the gouache won't stick. That's why we use wheat paste for backgrounds for lettering. It's all FUN!!

Layer Love Online Class

I love online classes and I try to restrain myself and not take them all!  I think it really is the way to go to learn new techniques and a way to keep learning and creating. My only concern is that I start to depend on others to tell me how to create and at least for me, I try to take the techniques and use it is a style that I feel like is mine. My style?  HMMM...My style might be a combination of many people whom I admire, at least in the mixed media genre. I know that is becoming a problem in blogland with people fudging on other's style and selling on Etsy.  So it is a little bit of a dilemma for me, I love the styles I learn but I am very skittish in its application and use for sales. But, all that being said, I am enjoying the Layer Love class with Julie Pritchard.

I like how she layers her colors and leaves a lighter area then drips the color. It is very organic and fun. I am enjoying it. Unfortunately, the original has much more detail than I could capture in the photo.