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Sunday, January 23, 2011

A New Painting! and Week 4 of Journaling

Well.....sort  of  a  new  painting.  It  all started  out  with  one  of  the  papers  that  I  painted.  I  liked  it  so  well  that  I  decided  to  mount  the  whole  thing  onto  a  canvas  and  go  from  there,  but  things  weren't  going  well,  and  the  new  painting  is  underneath  this  one,  which  I  would  call  a  new  collage--


Let  me  tell  you  the story  of  how  this  Gypsy  came  about.  Like  I  said  it  all began  with  this  painted  paper--


Very cool--don't  you  think?   Well,  I  put  it  on  my  canvas  and  started  adding  more  details  to it, and I  was  liking  it  even  more.  So  I  decided  to  make  a  new  face  for  it.  She  was  coming  out  very  well  too.....and  then  I  started  painting  her,  and  I  started  not  to  like  her....but  she  was  okay.  But  the  more  I  kept  trying  to  "fix"  her,  the  meaner  looking  she  got....so  I  said...forget  this!  and  I  just  reached  for  a pretty  scrapbook  paper  and  covered  her  and  my  original  painted  paper  ALL  UP!!

So  then  I  figured  I  could  try  some  techniques  that  I've  been  wanting  to  do.  The  first  one  I  did  was  the  gel  transfer  of  a  face  that  I  had  done  in  my  Moleskine  journal  last  year.  I  knew  eventually  I  would  want  to  do  something  with  her.   And  last  year  in  my  workshop  with  Sharon  (BTW, this  is  an  on going  workshop--Faces--All  Norah's--GREAT  class!),  I  learned  how  to  transfer  inkjet  copies  with  gel  medium,  and  ever  since  then  I  wanted  to  try  doing  it  to  one  of  my  faces.  I  just  printed  her  out  in  black  and white,  did  the  transfer,  and  it  worked! 


All  I  did,  was  redefine  her  features  and  hair,  and  let  the  scrapbook  paper  take  care  of  the  rest  of  her  face.   So   where  did  all  of  this  distressed  shabby  texturing  come  from--this  came  as  a  result  of  all  my  other  techniques  that  I  tried  to  do  and  failed  at.  Everytime  it  didn't  work  out,  I  would  just  say--the  heck  with  this,  and then  I  would  cover  it  up,  and  then  I'd  say--ooh,  I  kind  of  like  this.   This  kept  happening--over  and  over--until  I  ended  up  with  all  of  these  layers  and textures.  If  I  was  trying  to  go  for  this  look,  I  probably  couldn't  have  done  it,  and I  Love  it!!



This  is  a  good  lesson  for  me--not  to  give  up!

So  if  you  want  to  find  out  more  about  her,  you  can  find  her  in  my  Etsy  Shop.

And  this  week  was  the  final  lesson  for  the Strathmore  workshop  (boy  that  4  weeks  went  by  fast!).  This  was  the  fun  part--the  doodling--whatever  came  to  mind.   Pam  suggested  using  paint  pens.  And  this  is  how  I  started  out--with  my  Sharpie  paint  pens  (black  and  white),  but  the  lines  were  looking  a  little  too clean  for  me,  so  I  decided  to  get  out  my  favorite  doodling  tools--my  brush  tip  pitt  pens.  I  probably  have  every  color  known  to  man.  I  like  these  because  they  don't  dry  instantly,  and  I  can  smudge  them  with  my  finger.  And  when  you   do  this,  they  dry  more  translucent,  so  the  background  comes  through.   Here's  my  finished  page--


Yesterday,  I  was  planning  on finishing  both  of  my  pages.  I  didn't  realize  that  one  page  with  just  the  finishing  touches  would  take  me  2  hours!  It  felt  like  2  minutes.   I  realize  now  that  this  is  my  favorite  part  of  journaling--the  process--not  even  realizing  how  long  you've  been  sitting  and  just  playing--very  therapeutic!   So  now  I  get  to  do  the  page  next  to  it!  And  I  learned  another  little  technique  that  I  know  that  I'll  use  again.   I  painted  with  the  white  paint  pen, and  then  when  it  was  still  wet,  I  wiped  a  little  around  with  a  baby  wipe--really  liked  that!

And  this  is  for  all  of  you  Idol  fans.  What  do  you  think  of  the  new  judges?  They're  much  more  gentler  with  their  constructive  criticism,  don't  you  think?  Randy  is  now  the  mean  one.  It  seems  that  this  year,  the  show  is  focusing  on  the  better singers  as  opposed  to  the  bad  ones...so  far.  I  really  like  Steven  Tyler's  fun  personality,  but  I  miss  sassy  Simon.


61 comments:

  1. Diane I LOVE this piece!! The face is beautiful and I love how it transferred! I am also in the Faces class with Sharon. I jump around alot and have a few classes going on so I need to get back to it! You are right, it is a great class! Its cool how things you thought were mistakes aren't so at all!

    I haven't watched idol in a couple of years but watched with the new judges and I like it so far! It does seem as though they are focusing more on the good ones. I don't miss Simon but was surprised at how Steven did and I really liked Jennifer Lopez. I liked how she shared that it was tough giving the feedback. And yes, Randy is the mean one for now! I hope it will be a good season!

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  3. The painting is amazing! I love your process and all the details. I also love how you experiment and take it one step at a time. Really shows in your work! It looks finished, rich and lots of yummy texture. :) Need to watch Idol, still haven't been able too.

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  4. Beautiful new piece! don't you just love happy accidents, when things don't go right so you have to come up with something to "fix" them which turns out wAY cooler then the original plan...that's the best!! Wonderful! Love the completed journal page too!

    xoEsther

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  5. They are both excellent. I love all the color and layers. Thank you for taking time to post and share.

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  6. Beautiful Diane, I love your work!
    Kisses.

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  7. Wow - your gypsy is SO beautiful! I love all that you did with her. I see some crackle effect, too. I'm still trying to perfect that. It never seems to work for me! LOL And your journal page is astounding, too. Everything you create is so colorful and full of life. :)
    I caught snippets of the "new" Idol. Steven Tyler cracks me up. We'll see how the season progresses.
    Have a great night!!! Theresa

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  8. I love the waxie look of all your art work. I think the eyes of the girl on canvas are stunning. I love her expression, green is one of my favourite colours.
    I am in that class too and I was only looking back to see about the napkins last week.I learned about tranfers through Sharon and would like to use more of them in my paintings. Xx

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  9. your transfer is gorgeous and so is your other girl! It sounds like your journal class was a lot of fun. I'm trying to journal more too.

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  10. Very cool and so beautiful! I love all the texture and the beautiful faces! Jennifer:)

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  11. Both of your girls turned out great! I love it when something isn't working out and you keep messing with it and painting over and it comes out!! I have one I will post in the next day or two--her eyes were so high up in her head and when I painted over them, I thought I had ruined her--but I like her alot now. And Idol--I like Steven--don't care too much for Jennifer and I miss Simon!!!

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  12. Hi there!
    This is sooooo beautiful - I love her gentle eyes and all the beautiful and rich detail. Just stunning! Thank you too for visiting my Mom - it was so nice of you. LOVING new new season and although I'm missing the other judges (what happened to Keira? was that her name? I loved her)! I'm just so happy that it is on again. So happy to see you at House of Art - should be really fun.

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  13. Beautiful! I just love your work!

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  14. Love the piece!! I love doing transfers also. They are so much fun!!!

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  15. well these are so pretty! I love seeing how she started off :) and what pretty faces! Your paintings always make me feel sunny and warm :)

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  16. WOW Diane....she really turned out lovely...gonna have to keep that in mind just keep pushing thru the mistakes...I love the textures and grundgy look to it...very pretty....and your journal pages turned out lovely...I've been wanting to take sharon's faces class for awhile now...think gonna treat myself for my birthday..take care.

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  17. Oh, she's so pretty. I've been wanting to try doing transfers of my own drawings, it turned out awesome! It's so freeing to remember that it's your painting and if you don't like how it's turning out, cover it up and try again. :)
    Now about American Idol. I was determined not to watch this year(not thrilled about the changes)but my kids really wanted to. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I agree with you though, I miss Simon.
    Have a great week Diane!
    Much Love,
    Jenny

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  18. Diane, both of your girls are gorgeous. They have such expressive eyes. I'm glad you kept working on them and didn't give up.

    Ack. I keep meaning to watch AI but I guess I missed it again!

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  19. ooooooooooh...they both are the SWEETEST ever and all your special "diane work" encorporated to make for stunning reviews, seriously, dahling...they are just the BEST ever! xo guess who?

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  20. ...annnnd i thank you for all your instructions added and enticements for us all!!!!

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  21. Oh Diane. As always, it came out just beautiful. And thank you for sharing the process and that sometimes things don't work out the way you think they will and you just keep on going. It is nice to hear someone else has "do overs"!

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  22. I'm doing the journaling workshop too and I love it! :) I realized I was stuck in a frame of techniques that worked for me and didn't even try to break out of it. This workshop made me do it. :) Both of your ladies are amazing. And I love the proccess you went throught with the first one. For me it was Wyanne's class that made me realize that I should never give up. I can always fix it no matter how bad it gets. :)

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  23. Your new piece is Gorgeous! Its funny how mistakes end of being a favorite. Love your journal page too,believe it or not I started doing one and then I never had the time to finish watching the videos to continue. At least it was a free class so I didnt waste any money. And as far as idol,that first night was a tear jerker with a couple of sad life stories with happy endings so far. I like the judges I think but I do miss simon.

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  24. What an amazing finish to what became quite a process! The layers and effects on this first piece is so appealing, beautiful. You achieved such rich depth of colour with your second piece that you posted. Love the old world oils feel to the piece, hard to believe you accomplished that primarily with brush pitt pens!

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  25. Diane - your journal page came out great... we knew it would though.. you had great bones there to work with!

    BUT....

    But........ your painting... you mess ups... oh my.... it's just stunning. I love it with all the layers that your oops caused! Fabulous!

    You still have a photo of your painted paper too so you can recreate it and use it again... or print it and transfer and collage it into your work over and over. Sweet.

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  26. Fabulous pieces D! Love all the detail and textures you combine so wonderfully.
    For the life of me, I cannot get the inkjet gel transfers to work for me...always disappointing...any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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  27. Oh Diane, she is gorgeous, the more you look the more she enchants you. beautiful work my friend
    take care for now and have a great week
    June

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  28. I can see you have been busy Diane - beautiful faces...

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  29. My girls look mean somtimes...ha! This girl is wonderful..so, I'd say you "fixed" her. All the layers give it an old world look. The uni-ball Signo pen I ordered from Dick Blick.
    Mary

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  30. It's so TRUE!! the greatest lessons I've learned by painting my 20 faces is that if I'm not happy with it- I'm just not finished yet. DO OVERS in art are like life- we always have a second chance, third chance, etc... to get it right and our failures become the layers of lessons underneath the hard won success.

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  31. OH AND I absolutely love both pieces- awesome, awesome work and detail!

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  32. Oh Diane, I love your girls, they are so beautiful!

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  33. Never give up! I have a few like that - and one waiting in the wings for a new face. At the moment she just looks so sad, I know I have to do something with her! I absolutely adore all this grunge and crackle. Thanks for sharing your process, it's always such a joy to read how an artist gets to a finished piece - almost as good as looking over your shoulder while you create.

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  34. I like seeing the progression and how you worked around something you didn't care for without just chucking it out! It looks great.

    My husband and I refuse to pay for cable or satellite, just got a roof antennae the other day so I will have to check out American Idol. Prior to the Antennae we only got 1 channel! and it wasn't FOX. Are we behind or what??:)

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  35. Diane this is simply stunning as are all your pieces...please let me know when you make another Angel Piece...I just LOVE them! Hugs and eay to go with your Etsy Shop!!

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  36. She is beautiful...so thoughtful and romantic! ♥ I love the mixture of colors, too! ♥

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  37. First, thanks so much for coming by even when I haven't had any time to visit. Your continued support means more than you can possibly imagine.

    Isn't it fun when you get these serendipitous moments? I love it when that happens. Your new lady is a real beauty! I love to read that you get lost in your art, too. I thought I was the only one.

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  38. oh diane, the gypsy in you is coming out & painting up a gorgeous storm///love it all!!!
    & the new judges, i think they
    got it just right this year!
    xox

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  39. I love this! And I love reading about your process. Yes, you are right, sometimes if we don't give up it can end up to bee a masterpiece!! I think I do like the new judges and Steven Tyler is really very funny. Randy is trying to be mean but he is really not a mean person so at least it's not a mean as Simon---but I kinda miss him too.

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  40. wow wow wow!!!!!!!!!! You are such an amazing talented artist!!!

    I love your canvas....the painting is beautiful, but I also really love all the script detail you have added....utterly amazing.

    Love the 2nd piece to...the image is beautiful and I love the string of hearts......you are such an inspiration!!! Hugs Juls

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  41. Diane they are both beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. I loved reading your process in creating, thank you for sharing the details with us.

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  42. love your art and your blog! Thanks for stopping by and nice to 'meet' you. The "it's ok to not know" statement is so much of what is going on right now in my life! We just both took early retiremtn (he is 55 and I am 54). We are putting our condo up for sale and hoping to move into a larger place so we both can have our own space...so I just have no idea what is NEXT? I guess it will be revealed and I just need to be open and show up. Right?
    Elizabeth

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  43. I was here yesterday, I didn't comment then because I was working on the painting I posted for today, and what you said made me want to get right back at it and see if I could get something.

    I had this old wall in mind, a wall like I use to see in abandon houses when I was a kid. There were many layers, paint, plaster, wood lathe, parts chipped away, there was even newspaper on the walls or pictures, just like collage only it was someones home or had been. I remember seeing lists and marks on the wall indicating how much the children had grown.

    It is very exciting, you work in this post is stunning I can tell your having a wonderful time. I sort of don't want January to be over it sort of feels like a free month, and also I am able to do a lot more now so not as much art work. I can run some of my own errands now, and go to therapy alone. However recovery is a good thing and I am thankful for it.

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  44. Diane..Girl, I'm Lovin' This Piece! I Can't Get Over How Cool Your Process Was! Especially Loved The Profile And Edging. I Need To Check Out Sharon's Class.

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  45. You are so talented!! This is gorgeous! Oh and Congratulations of being featured(O:

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  46. Lovely pages! I tend to record and ff through the bad singers, that I can do without. But, love seeing the good ones. Yes, I miss Simon too but, love these judges. Have a lovely week. ~Theresa

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  47. Beautiful work...even the side of the canvas looks great. Rich colors and textures.What you thought were mistakes , were actually part of the process.I love that...great lesson = )

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  48. Both pieces are gorgeous but the first one just grabs my heart...and I love how it all came about...I swear as soon as I make a mistake now I usually find if I go with the flow, it helps me make something I like better. And you are so right, it is all about the PROCESS...just like I told the parents of my Kindergarteners years ago when they'd get upset because their child would scrbble or go out of the lines! EEEEEKKK

    At least American Idol has us all talking and Simon will be back in the fall with X Factor...:)xoxo

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  49. Love this Diane! Thats what Mixed Media is all about! It is just going for it. There are no mistakes. Both those pieces are great!!! Love them!

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  50. Beautiful work...love the sides of the canvas!!!!!!!!!!!

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  51. This is amazing. The eyes on the first image are ALIVE! LOVE all the textures you achieve :-)

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  52. Diane - you are amazing. I started that Strathmore workshop also (probably heard about it from you) but I did not keep up with it. Ugh! I am so thoroughly, totally impressed with your creativity. You inspire me to try to just let it flow, something I am not always good at. I so enjoyed reading about what you have been up to. The face is enchanting. I love it!

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  53. Stunning work - truly magnificent. There is so much beautiful art out there!!

    ~magick~
    Meliss

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  54. WOW!! Your work is just so amazing!

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  55. Oh Diane these are amazing!!!! The second one is brilliant! : )

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  56. This painting is beautiful! You should be really proud of yourself. I'm so glad that you are enjoying the resin class. Thanks for leaving such a nice comment about it. As for me...Steven Tyler is totally making American Idol for me! Love ♥ Wyanne

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  57. Diane, those beautiful faces! I too am a fan of gel transfer...there's a Yahoo group call 'inkjet_transfers' that you may enjoy...lots and lots of techniques and ways to use the transfer process.

    I did Wyannes's resin class too...so good, right?!

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  58. Diane you have achieved what I dream of...this is how I imagine my faces but I just end up drawing faces and not get g to this point...I love it, will need to look into the class you did, is it an ongoing one?


    Glad my blog post got you a sale YAY! Fabulous, take care xxx

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  59. wow, i really like your mixed media pieces, they are over the top creative!!!...the details--amazing

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