Drawing the Girls

I am starting to film my new online class, "Drawing the Girls."  God willing, it will open the middle of March but then again we know about those best laid plans! It might be April. So far it has been fun brushing up on my drawing and coloring skills for these fun girls.  I drew her today and tried a couple of hair colors for her as well as a few techniques for coloring the faces.  I draw these faces every time I am waiting or anything or listening to something. It's the way I doodle.

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 Accidentental Journal

I had some scrap cardboard that was bugging me that it was hanging around. (Above image is the whole sheet.) So I just started adding some collage scrapbook paper (because I NEED to use this scrapbook paper!), paint, stamps, punchanella, toilet paper roll...etc. Then I really didn't like it so I cut it up into 4 pieces(two stuck together in the book press because it was still sticky unbeknownst to me--arggg!). But, still, I liked it a little better. Then I sewed around the edges...and I like it a little better still. Then I randomly started pulling put scrapbook paper and folding and cutting for signatures. Ok, so then I thought something might be happening here. Then I printed the "Today's Date" and the lines and started cutting those and pasting those in. I got together 5 signatures and started sewing. Then I added the scraps at the spine (which really weren't the right colors but hey, this was all by accident anyway, so who cares?? So about 6 hours later give and take a few---here is what emerged. But, would someone please come over and hide that bottle of Golden's Green Gold for me...please!!???

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!

Mystery Flowers

These are painted over collage although the collage and if you come in close you see can a bit of the collage peeking through. The top image you will se some distress crackle paste that I thought was almost dried up but crackled very quickly and I guess I should go ahead and use it up before it completely dried out. I like using this crackle paste from Ranger. It gave the top image an interesting texture. Both of these are on a 5 x7 canvas and I am planning to put them into Etsy later today.

Orange Stitch flowers

This is a watercolor wash background for the pedals and a much too watery script stamp in the background. Probably, the lettering could have been left off of this one but I think I just wanted to put the little dew drop on the leaf with a little faux crystal. Do you see it? It's not good with the scan and I tried to fix it a bit but that didn't help. I am also not that crazy about Tagore---what does this quote mean anyway???  Rhetorical question--

Bernie did a good job but I do think I need that walking foot. Hopefully soon. So if I had it to do all over again, I'd not use the script stamp and put just the lettering.  Both together makes it a bit busy but---it is what it is...art du jour!

Tags

These tags were really fun to make. The two on the end are collages with a little bit of lettering and the middle one is acrylic and stamps and a little bit of lettering. The nib doesn't do as well on this surface. The tags are pretty flimsy so I pasted two together. I like making these and maybe I will cut out some tag shapes like this with some watercolor paper and do some little originals. Sewing on them is fun too.

Little Cubes of Mixed Media and Collage

Well, ok, I am now officially, head over heels, desperately in love with.... Rub Ons!! Oh my goodness, where have I been all these years?! They will rub onto anything. I read where you could make your own rub ons from transparencies. Works ok--but not nearly as good as this. Think I will buy more. I made these cubes a while back but I just put on the rub ons. That officially makes it art du jour!

I bought a FLIP video camera yesterday. Maybe I will film myself doing---hummmm---I don't know yet---but hopefully-something artsy...

My Voice You Shall Hear

Maybe some of you might remember this piece from a ways back but I have finally adhered it to a canvas so it can go into the JCA North Florida Calligraphers show coming up in May. I am not sure how many pieces I will put in but I do know that I am planning to not spend a penny on framing. Everything will go on canvas or in a Target black frame (my favorite frame anyway). I have spent so much money on framing in the past so no more----I'd rather buy art supplies!!

This one is 11 x 14 and I tore the edges with a "ruffled" ruler. It might be too "ruffled". I can always tone it down with watercolor. I will have to look at it awhile and decide.

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!

Paint the Art of Your Heart

Here is the collage piece with the white Gesso. Also Sharon Tomlinson was so very kind to write me a note and share how she does this---she used Golden Zinc white. I ran right out and got some. I haven't adhered it to the 12 x 12 canvas yet with the Scripture around the sides. I was just trying it out to see if it worked. I used black gouache to letter it with my calligraphy pen. The tiny hearts are a carved stamp and the white hearts were already punched out when I pulled it out from my scrap drawer.

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.

THE SIGHT OF STARS

This piece is 16 x 20 and she is part of a series that I am starting to gather for my upcoming show at ReddiArts, our arts supply store that has a gallery. I am very excited about doing this because it is great exposure.

She had a very bad hair day so a head band had to be painted. I just couldn't get her hair to work. So when all else fails---put a headband I guess. She is collaged and painted and stamps and other stuff were added. I started her several days ago and finished her up late this afternoon. I painted the sides of the canvas brown.

I have digitally (in Photoshop) put the quote in for layout purposes to see how it will look. I do this alot. After thinking about this quote though, I don't think I will use it because it was by Vincent Van Gogh and I don'tthink he was a particularly religious man. For me, I do know many things that are certain (the whole Bible!) so I have decided to pick another quote. Don't know what it will be yet but the layout should look like this when finished.

Tomorrow I will be doing paste paper with the calligraphy students at my studio. I will blog some of my papers if they turn out. I like to paint faces on the paste paper. It makes the faces much smoother.

MAKE A WISH

This is painted on 11x 14 Ampersand Artist Panel for Oil and Acrylics.

I want to fine more of these surfaces. It is a very nice board with 1 1/2 inch sides. Really nice surface for the acrylics. I actually I had on my gloves and put the paint on with my fingers to get texture. Then I just started adding stuff---punchanella, stamps, stencils, more paint. I painted the girl on 140 lb watercolor paper with acrylic and pasted her on. Her dress is collaged with tissue paper. I tried to darken around the edges so she wouldn't look so much like she was collaged on. I think it is ok--you can't really tell unless you really look up close. Then I held my breath and wrote the lettering with white gouache with a nib. It worked great. I will spray it with varnish to adhere everything. I like her freckles.

HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS

I am trying to use all of my supplies! This background is Adirondack Color wash spray which is a product that I really like. The colors are intense and it sprays a fine mist. I sprayed the canvas with water then sprayed several colors of the color wash---then Saran wrap. I had to put workable fixative because the color wash will move when rewetted. I am not sure if this will give a close up because I right clicked from my Flikr account to insert this picture.

LISTEN TO THE WHISPER OF THE SPIRIT

This girl is painted on paste paper with my original calligraphy. It is backed on paintable card board backing then glued to a Windsor and Newton canvas panel. You can't really see it but it does have some dimension.  She is 1o x 10 size. Her face was painted with Shiva oil sticks. Maybe I will put her on Etsy. I think she is differentfrom other "faces" on Etsy since it does have my original calligraphy. Other "faces" on Etsy do not have the lettering. Maybe that will be my niche. Hope no one will think I copied them because I didn't.

ANGELS UNAWARES

I started this painting on Thursday of last week and it;s actually painted on cardboard. But with gesso, you can just about paint on anything and it will be ok. This is a collaged background with stamps and acrylic paint. Many of the stamped images in the background are a new stamp that I have just had made of my calligraphy. You can see it faintly in her wings and all around. The Scripture is from Hebrews but it is small at the top right and hard to read. It says, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby we have entertained angels unawares." I just love this Scripture.

Again, all these paintings were inspired by the book, "Taking Flight" by Kelly Rae Roberts but I am not referring to the book anymore and hopefully moving toward my own look with these paintings. My faces are very different from hers but the overall look is similar. I highly recommend the book if you want to learn to do some really great collages and portraits faces.

"SHE DREAMS"

This collage is on 1" Poplar board 8x8. I wanted to paint on wood and in my new favorite little collage book, "Taking Flight..." the author uses wood sometimes. She says that Poplar is the best and it's very inexpensive. The very nice fellow at Lowes cut them all for me. These are all collaged first with paper without too much thinking then layers are added. The mission for me here is to try and create intutively without over thinking (I still overthink it but it's getting better.) I know that this is a far cry from the Art of Classical Calligraphy that I was trained in but I always go back to it. It is my first love and I actually practice quite alot----- but nothing blogworthy recently.

The "Day" in the piece holds very special Biblical meaning for me but it can really be any day in the future that you are looking forward to and dreaming of---getting married, having children, or grandchildren, when you feel better, when you are rich----whatever!

"DAY TWO"

I just wanted to see this piece online. I actually did this several years ago and it was in a show the Lettering Group did at the JCA.  Each person drew a day from a hat and we created a piece from the Scripture.  As you see, I had day two. It is one of my very favorite pieces. We sold the whole collection for a pittance---I wish I still had it. It was an incredible show. They were fairly large. Some lady bought all seven. 

 I would love to see the collection again. I will probably post something else today because I have been working on something. It will display above.