Thursday, January 14, 2010

Something New Again, My New Suzi Face, and Some Exciting News About Bob!

Okay this may take a while, so grab a cup of......whatever you're drinking.  I wanted to first show you the companion piece for the sunflower I made--




My husband didn't think I was finished with it, because he didn't know what it was--which I kind of liked--it made me feel like an "artiste" (it's birds, BTW).  So now I have 3 pieces in my little series:




 

I'm very happy with all 3 of these--even thebirds

And the something new I wanted to share with you all--well, it's not really new, but it's new for me.  I still had alot of the handpainted paper scraps from all of these pieces, so I arranged them on my scanner bed to make pages--


And then I made copies of the bigger sunflower piece and reduced the size, and cut out the vase and flowers, and put that in my scanner with my new scrapbook paper--



I still like using just pieces of paper for collaging, because of the texture that you get, but when you want one of a kind scrapbook papers, this is a good way to do it.  And you can do it with anything, as long as it fits in your scanner--you just have to experiement and have a little PATIENCE (aka: my word for the year)

I used some of the papers to line an old sewing machine table drawer for a collage assemblage  that I want to put together--





And then, I wanted to show you my new Suzi face, because I'm very happy with it, and I'll tell you why:



When I sketched this face this morning, I just sat down not even intending on doing this at all--I didn't have my ruler, or my pdf sheet, and no Suzi video was going--I just started sketching.  I don't know if the dimensions or shading are right, and I don't care, because I like it.  What I like most about it, was that I just did it--I didn't feel like I was figuring out some math problem--it was more natural to me. Suzi tells us that
our  hands/fingers will remember with practice, and she's right.  The 2 main things that I wanted to learn from this class was how to make pretty soulful faces and to do it naturally.  And now I think that I might just be able to do that.  Next step--adding color : o

And now my exciting news about Bob!!



He got his license!!  They grow up so fast : (

39 comments:

Marlynn said...

OMG - Bob is driving, please oh please oh please don't tell Oliver. I have a great photo of him with his hairy blowin' in the wind in the convertible with his mommy holding him and me with the camera driving while shooting? HUH. Yes. I love your Suzi Face. AND, I have a sewing machine drawer just like that. I have to admit when I saw your bird - yes, I new it was a bird(s) I really thought you left off the Suzi Face? I mean Suzi was the second thought in your title...... I love your bird and sunflower and your paper. I have done the paper once and love what you have been able to create with it! WOWOWOWOWOW, OK, I'm heading back to Trader Joe's...... : ) PS - Bob reminds me of my Poncho, a Boston Terrier, I grew up with....

Micki Wilde said...

aww bob!! love the sunflowers and the birds look like gorgeous crows to me (I have a special link with crows) your suzi face is fabulous and yes she is right, the fingers do remember :)

Micki x

Christina Colwell said...

Love your art. Very earthy and wonderfully textured.

Thank you for dropping by.

Unknown said...

LoL...Bob needs to come pick up Matilda and take her for a ride...she loves to go bye bye car : )

Adrian said...

Oh, your Suzi face IS just perfect! I'm so glad you discovered the art that's just waiting in your fingers! Yes, Suzi is a wonderful teacher. So encouraging for all us newbies.
Happy New Year and your newest art pieces are very, very pretty.
Congrats to Bob! Does he now have a gas allowance?

Betzie said...

Oh my gosh, that last photo cracked me up Diane!!! SO CUTE!!! And your artwork is just so wonderful...I also love your new face and how neat is that...to be able to just sketch it without looking or thinking!!! Now, that is progress...as for me? I have yet to even practice one face or one eyeball...LOL One of these moments!!! I did watch my Lesson 1 videos though...progress...

Janet said...

I laughed so hard my hubby wanted to know what was going on! That last photo is priceless!!

As to everything else....I don't know where to begin! Everything is so incredible. I love the face. She's just beautiful. And the idea to scan your papers and the sunflower is such a great idea that I might just try it with some of my things....although nothing I have will turn out that gorgeous!

Sunny K. Lee said...

Thanks for the lovely comment~ Ya..I am...we are using supplies that teachers will yell at you for sure. I love your art...the colors are wonderful~

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Those birds are amazing. I can see them carved and made into a rubber stamp. Can you tell I have stamp carving on my mind?

The background paper is really inventive. I've heard others say to save your original paper, then copy and print, but I tend to not use my scanner for that purpose. Way to go.

What great news. Suzi is wonderful. Bob is driving. Too, too funny!!

Elizabeth Golden said...

Congrats Bob! I am chuckling so hard I hope I can type. Reminded me of the Dayquil commercial of everyone with their head out the window.
On a more serious note I love your sunflowers in a vase picture. It is gorgeous! Well done! I think the other two are fab, but that one is my fav.
I can't wait till you apply the color to your Suzi Face....

Buffy said...

Bob looks so cute,what a picture! Love how you did a series,they go so well together.All of them are beautiful and I have to say you are very quick to make things.And your Suzi face is adorable,it is so much better and less frustraiting when we just stop and do what we want to do,our own way. But I love learning too.

Sue McPeak said...

I'm so excited to try the scrap paper collage on my scanner. I haven't had it very long and I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking and trying to be more original with the pages. Thanks for that idea. Wow,Bob! You be careful and keep those BigEyes on the Road! Great Picture! Congrats on your portrait today...so free and natural...love it! Thanks for visiting today on my first VTT. It was fun!

Pretty Widow said...

I love everything! Thanks for the step by step on the sunflower and your collage paper - that is always fun to see!

Unknown said...

it all looks great! I just love the sunflowers. You've got to stop letting your dog drive though; the streets are already unsafe;)

Anonymous said...

You have been busy! I like your birdie picture very much...great idea to scan parts of the sunflower picture and scrapbook paper...it's a very cool look! The coolest thing of the entire post is Bob...I must say, he's way cool! I had the same reaction as Janet...he's so funny standing there behind the wheel...it just makes ya laugh. Thanks for sharing!
Mary

Anonymous said...

More...I forgot: I wanted to tell you that I've been doing the same things you mention when sketching the faces and not looking at the template, etc. I make one horizontal line and that's where the eyes go and I do try and make the space between the eyes the same as the eyes. I didn't want all my faces to look the same, nor do I want them to look exactly like Suzi's. Great sketch!!!
Mary

Anonymous said...

Diane, this is fabulous! Love, love, love the sunflower and birds. They are very beautiful. The first birds look like there could be one holding its wings up and praising! Love it.
How fantastic is it you drew from memory, this is brilliant. No stopping you now!

Hugs!

Julie

P.s Thank you for your lovely comment.

Niki Jackson~The Vintage Artist said...

Hi Diane
Wow look at you!! Your creations are lovely and congratulations on your sketching success you are doing fab! Your doggie is so cute in that sweater, what a great photo. Niki xxx

Adrian said...

Hey Diane, you are doing so much art already, why pressure yourself? Look at your Suzi faces. Isn't that a bunch of journal pages waiting to be dated?
You ARE journaling already. Now you know it.
love, a.

pammyjo said...

You go Bob. You can come by and pick up my girls. Wynnie and Dottie (2 princess shitzu).
I love your awesome pieces. Totally love the papers you made. Incredibly creative. :)

LivArtNow said...

What a wonderful post to read Diane :) Love to read your thoughts on your pieces and I love your art!! The birds are gorgeous and so are your scrap papers. Your dog is so cute behind the wheel :) is this his first car? :) Your Suzi face is beautiful, I'm looking forward to seeing more lovely faces from you in the future.

I also want to thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such sweet comments. They mean a lot to me. And what you say about never beeing dissapointed, well, that's the way I feel visiting your blog as well :)

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hugs,
Linda

Tara @ Aquamarine Art said...

This made me laugh so much! I love that collage/scanning idea - must try that. I just spent half the morning looking in junk shops for thins to paint/collage on (inspired by you!) and clearly just don't have the eye for it - that drawer is perfect! And your Suzi face is great too - it's so satisfying to just sit down and produce something without outside help.
That photo of Bob is priceless. :)

Terri Kahrs said...

A big 'yaaaayyyy' for Bob! That picture is priceless and too cute for words! LOVE your sunflower triptych. The crows are awesome and WOULD make great stamps.

Love the creative way you've used your scraps and lined the drawer for assemblage too. What a great idea!!!

And your Susi-inspired face is fabulous. She IS soulful and beautiful. Hugs, Terri xoxo

sharon said...

EVERYTHING here is sooooo fantastic! Your media pieces, and I loooove the way you made the sheets! The Suzi face is awesome, and I haven't tried doing it without measurements...that is wonderful!

BOB made my day!

You are such an inspiration!

Lisa said...

Another beautiful Suzi face and congratulations to Bob!! Just don't let the word get out via p-mail because then my dog will want to get her license too!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Thanks for your generous remarks about my organizing tips. I can't wait to see your studio as it develops. Be sure to take photos!

To answer your questions, I got the holders from a friend who had never assembled them. She said she got them at Sams Club, but that was several years ago. I've never seen them at our Sams Club.

And NO, I haven't found my lino cutters. I fear they were thrown out when the insurance movers packed things after my basement flooded last year. At the time they returned the items, I noticed several things were missing and even asked the movers (and the restoration owner) about them, but only got stares from the movers. I didn't notice the cutters were missing until this week because they weren't on my mind back then.

Steph said...

HI Diane
I so love your work...simply beautiful!!!

Martha Lever said...

I love you blog and I am going to cme back and spend some time. I got such a kick of of Bob driving!!! That is hilarious and I can't let Bucky see that! You face is wonderful!! I love that sweet little soulful face!!!

jgr said...

Hi Diane,
I'm happy to discover your blog and awesome artwork, I love it!! Your sunflowers and birds with all the texture, and I your 'Suzi' face is stunning. I'll be back for sure!

--Jane

Marlynn said...

Hidy Ho - I'm back. Thanks for stopping by and I'm so glad you saw Oliver's blog. I think Bob needs a blog...... think about it. Woof Woof - he is calling you! LOL

Say It In Color said...

Hey Diane....what a great blog you have created!!! Art, ideas, story and laughs with Bob! This is really great....you become a pro overnight with it! I still haven't changed and added things on mine!! GOT TO!!! Love your collage papers, I discovered doing that last year with my manipulated photos...and even sold some!!! So see, you have another thing you can sell at shows....I did very faintly on the back bottom edge put my info blog, contact info and copyright. People are always looking for something they don't see in stores all the time. Bravo for you!

Glenda T. said...

OMG, that pic of your dog driving is priceless, love it!!!!! I also love your art, amazing pieces!

Pamela Holderman said...

thanks for visiting my site. love the birds as I am particularly fond of crows: if you spent hours going back thru my blog you would know. Bob gave me a much needed laugh too! and we are the same age, but you look really young in your photo!

Linda Vincent said...

Oh wow Diane, you have created some fabulous things....and I am so glad you are enjoying the Suzi Blu class. The photo of your dog is hilarious! (I'm still laughing.)

Lorri said...

LOL @ Bob.
I love your Suzi face :)

Twyla and Lindsey said...

Oh, I love Bob! I'd go with him anywhere! Twyla

WrightStuff said...

It's always a pleasure to read your posts - fantastic idea on the scrapbooking paper! I followed the link to the Suzi course. She seems like my kinda gal! Do you recommend the course for someone who is just discovering the joys of portrait paiting? Is it good value for money?

WrightStuff said...

Thanks Diane - I think I'll sign up! Very excited now. Not sure what happened to your comment... how very odd!

Brandi said...

ha ha ha .. love your BOB he really looks like he is getting into it too!

I really like your face here .. it does not look like everyone elses, your right, who cares if the proportions are right .. it is quite darling just as is!

Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog .. glad you found me so I could then find you :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails