I decided to make a watercolor journal to practice techniques from Michelle Brown's watercolor class on Spring Flowers. I just love her and enjoy her British accent and her beautiful watercolors. Hopefully my spring flowers will bring me as much enjoyment as the Poppies.
Here is a little doodle---watercolor pencils and brush lettering in my Molskine. This is my first scan with my new scanner. It is wonderful now that I got it working. Have you ever called and waited for the tech person to answer and when finally they come on and you attempt to explain your problem the machine just starts magically working and you feel like a total idiot? He actually laughed at me. Well, he doesn't know me so no harm done. It's working, that's the important thing.
I am so excited. I just got my new scanner from B&H Photo today. I don't have a good scanner at all and found myself futzing so much in Photoshop to make it better ---- so for my husband's birthday I got a scanner! Did you get that? My sweet hubby gave it to me for his birthday.
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.
This background started off black and the colors were built up using a dry brush technique with a crummy bristle brush. Then stamps were added. It is 7 x 7 . It looks rather spooky with the black leaves. Just a spooky day I guess. 
Rynda, Lori and Denice and I had a great time yesterday making backgrounds. We are all old calligraphy buddies and have such fun being together. Their backgrounds turned out great and I put the link to Lori's blog entry from yesterday. There is nothing better than an art community. it is so very important!
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.
Here is the background. It is on an 8 x 8 canvas panel. See the textures? Neat, huh?I think it is because the rubber backing of these stamps is sticky and tacky and that helps pull the paint off of the canvas. Anyway, I thought it was a cool texture. I love geometric shapes.
I am also very excited to be starting another online watercolor class with Michelle Brown. This time we will be painting Spring Flowers. Should be fun! We are studying and drawing the flowers now. If we don't understand the flower then it will be more difficult to paint it.
I will post a better picture of it soon--when I get over to my studio. Come back and see it.
Donna Downey has a great little journal download for $5 and it was fun to do. It wasn't hard but it sure took me a long time to fill these pages ---and--- I think I had fun. The problem with me and these types of visual art journal pages is this: for 25 years I have been striving for a beautifully layed-out and designed, hand- lettered calligraphic art piece. Calligraphy is an ancient art form and although some calligraphers are artists---some are not. There are some very talented calligraphy and lettering artists in this world that I greatly admire. Some use mixed media but they don't call themselves a mixed-media artist--they call themselves a lettering artist. Charles Pearce and John Stevens are two of my most admired lettering artists. I took a class with Charles Pearce. 
Macaulay, our daughter, is coming today from Greenville, SC, for a baby shower that her good friend and her mother are giving her. I volunteered that I would be glad to do the place cards- so here they are. Pretty good---I can always over scrutinize my calligraphy but I actually enjoyed doing them, It was a "labor of love" for sure. For the blue, I used Peacock Blue and white Windsor and Newton Gouache which is what most calligraphers use to get opaque color. I used a oblique pen holder and pointed nib.
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!
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.
Well, I just had to blog this. I just love old musty books...I love the tatters and the stains and the musty smell. I went to our HUGE Chamblin Book Mine here in Jacksonville in search of books I could tear up and use in my mixed media pieces and I came across this one. It is from 1879 and it will tell you all about being "proper." Of course being a little southern bred Georgia girl, we were taught much of this but not quite " assisting a lady to alight from her horse!" Anyway, I don't think I can tear it up. I think I might read it. It's a treasure.
I do hope everyone has a wonderful day with lots of love coming your way! And love from me also.
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.
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.
Here is the next page. These pages in this Moleskine are great--thick enough to take a drenching of water. I am trying to let these journaling pages be freeing and not get uptight about the blank page. It's just paper! yeah yeah yeah...we've all heard that one...
I am going to start to work in my (many!) art journals. This one is a Moleskine watercolor journal. I have all sorts of journals on order to try and see which is the best for me. I will let you know. So far, the Moleskine is the best but I will try all other kinds. I am funny about writing in my journal. Although sometimes I will write things, I have another personal journal I keep in a Composition notebook. I really dislike my handwriting and being a calligrapher, if it isn't written in calligraphy--well, it just ain't right--- so most of the time it'll be just art. These are---guess what???---POPPIES!!--in acrylic.
Lori and I had fun at the metal embossing workshop although it will take some practice. My borders aren't so straight. (Lori's looked way better) Hopefully I can incorporate this technique on some mixed media pieces. It takes a steady hand---and being a calligrapher you would think I had one!
This didn't scan as well I I had hoped. It dropped a bit of the flower but anyway this is a ditty that I painted with my Chinese brush. I love Chinese painting and I am very intrigued with Chinese Calligraphy and the whole brush thing---and it's harder than it looks and I don't have it yet. Anyway, here is a ditty. Here is my favorite Chinese calligrapher,Yanghaiying. She is addicting---to me anyway!
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.
