Sometimes...

Sometimes I just need to do some calligraphy. It's good for my soul. This is an Italic variation I like to do that I learned from a  Connie Ferguson workshop.

I wrote it out , scanned, did some Photoshop magic and placed it on this old mixed media piece that I had saved in my files. It's always fun to do and gives new life to old art pieces.

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!

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.

Just a bit of Collag-ilating

Collag-ilating (verb)--I made up that word. I think I might do a Wikipedia entry. It is when you just start gathering your paints and magazine scraps and stamps and markers and charcoal and packing tape transfers and bits of fabric and just start to collage it on mindlessly, happily and serendipitously until you have something that you like. That is collagilating. This is a piece that started by collagilating and became this. As you see I grabbed those colors again that I must love.

Oh and Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 will be a blessed year for all of you. I love you all---and I love your art. oxox

She's a model from a catalogue

I haven't painted a face in a while and decided I'd better do one before I forgot how.
 She is fashioned after a model from a Chico's catalog. Anytime the face is turned a bit and not straight on I find it much more difficult to get the face right---the nose, the cheeks but she's ok. She has high cheek bones. That's why she is a model I guess. There is collage in the background.

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...

SING!

Here is another ditty with the FX edges applied. This is on a little 5 x 7 canvas board. Have you ever received those freebie note cards in the mail and usually you glance through them and then file them away and revolving file 13? I usually do that whenever things like that come in but these little birdies were a keeper. So I collaged them into a little piece.

I am working hard at filming an online brush lettering class that will be offered at Creative Workshops. I filmed the first one today and I got so frustrated--I did the whole first lesson thinking it was recording when it wasn't! ARGGG---but maybe I did better the second time. iMovie is what I am using to edit and there is a learning curve there. And--goodness gracious--my hands in the video look like I am 90 years old! Well, nothing I can do about that---but as the saying goes..."the face will deceive but the hands (and neck) never lie!" Hopefully no one will notice... But really, who cares anyhoo?? Age is just a number... and mine is unlisted. :) I also sound like backwoods Betty. I never really realized what a twang I have until I started filming myself. Ok so--byyyye y'all. See ya tomarra.

Believe

Have blessed Easter.

She dreams of the day...

I made this little 4 x 4 wall hanging ditty for a friend who is having a hard time right now with life stuff...and I know she dreams of the day when it will be over. One day it will. God is faithful and prayer availeth much!  I used a coaster and printed on paper-backed printable fabric. I could have just as well used paper but I kinda wanted a bit more rustic look.

More in the big journal...

More collage, circles with my favorite stamp-- toilet tissue paper roll, calligrapher marker and white paint pen for the lettering. This 12 x 14 journal has nice thick pages and takes gesso and paint really nicely. I am not sure who makes this journal but it is one of my favorites. Have any of you noticed the yucky yellow/green pages in the Molskine sketch journals if you have bought a new one lately? Lots of people are complaining about it and you should ask the retailer to open it up for you before you buy it and see if it's these new yucky pages. I usually just buy the watercolor pages anyway in the Molskine. Have a nice Monday!

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...

ARTist Inside YOU

Ok, well, this one feels somewhat better to me---maybe because I did a little calligraphy with my nib and it has more of a layout and design.  This is an original Shiva portrait painting that I collaged on then painted shoulders etc. I love a Moleskine. Such nice paper. This one is the watercolor paper but the sketch ones are really nice too.  

A Very Great Lady and Noble Princess on a Tattered Old Book Cover

I really enjoyed creating this and I think it is because it is something new that I tried. The girl's face is an original painting but I pasted her on and added some stamps to the background of the tattered black book cover. Her dress is collaged and I painted the collar. I went on a tattered book hunt and decided that I would not pay more than $5 for any tattered book. Surprisingly, sometimes the more tattered the more expensive the book is because it is old. But I did find some interesting tattered covers that I hope to incorporate some paintings on them. I actually won't use the ribbon when my antique brass chain comes in. Then I will swap it out. I found the text out of one of the old books. She is 5 x 71/2.

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.

Transforming Background

This started out as a nice little background that had some yellows and greens that I had painted several weeks ago. I had painted a little head and a face and was proceeding to paint her hair when the wind suddenly blew her hair across her face and ruined her completely. The wind was actually me trying to blow her hair across her face in a natural manner which turned out like she had a mustache in the most unattractive manner. I just couldn't fix her so I got frustrated and painted black gesso all across her and covered the whole thing up. I was mad---but not to be defeated. So I just started putting down colors and as you see--not much black left-- although I intended for a little more to show through. So I think this little $2 canvas panel was saved for now. I will post the finished painting tomorrow---if it works.

Daisy Girl

I used the background that I posted several days ago (the third image). It is 8x8 on a canvas panel. I need to go to the store and get a deep edge canvas to adhere her too. I am seeing that all my girls are looking the same so am going to try and change them up and bit--just so they will not be the same girl every time. Actually these girls kinda look like my daughter, Macaulay, so maybe there is something sublime going on here.(Or is it subliminal--or both??) Hummmmm...except she has brown eyes.

A Virtuous Woman

This is on the background of the first canvas I posted several days back. The Scripture is from Proverbs 31--"Strength and dignity are her clothing and she smiles at the days to come".... and there is Scripture along the sides.

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.

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.

Backgrounds for...something

I enjoy making backgrounds---when they turn out. I actually like these but then, I have been watching people do great backgrounds on Youtube for several days so this might have helped. The top image is on a a 9 x 12 canvas and the square ones are 8x8 canvas panel. I am really trying to just create intuitively and not think or plan too much. I also have a girl that has been in progress that I will post tomorrow.