New Mixed Media Art--My Step by Step Process

 I especially enjoy making art this time of year--I'm pretty much hibernating now with our nasty winters that we get here.  I'm not on a time crunch like I am later in the year so I thoroughly love the process of creating.  And  I also can take the time to stop and take photos of my art process for you to see and maybe  give you some inspiration to try this too.

Here's the finished piece:

This is a dimensional piece that was a bit time consuming but very fun to do.  So as you can see it's collaged with papers that I hand painted.  I love painting papers and it's somewhat of a warm up for me. I started out looking for objects in my studio that I could make marks with on paper--

And I like to paint  some textured papers also:

The one painted in blue is a textured wallpaper and the one painted in yellow is from an Etsy shop--HimalDesign --great hand made papers there!

After a fun day of painting papers--I have my palette ready for my art project--(the other papers were painted on 110lb cardstock that I get at Staples--office supply store)

So going into this project I knew that I was going to transform these 2 pieces--

The wood square is actually a cradle board that I got from Dick Blick--I just flipped it over so it could be used as a shadowbox.  And the wood heart frame I've had forever--I found it at Michael's and I'm pretty sure they don't make these anymore--it fits perfectly over this 8 x 8 cradle board.

The next part for me is fun--I look through my plethora of embellishments and vintage finds that I have everywhere in my house.  I like to make my story before I actually put the art together--

sometimes I find other objects as I go on, but the main theme will stay the same..

Next comes the paper collage part--

I made a template of my heart frame, marked a grid design on it, and numbered each piece, cut them and used them as pattern pieces for my papers that I wanted to collage on the  frame

Next, all my papers went on the different surfaces--

I like to use gel medium to adhere the papers and these papers are fairly thick with the paint on them, so I like to wet them down before I put on the gel medium--it makes them more pliable and easier to work with.  You could also use Mod Podge, but I prefer the gel.

So now everything comes together--

.....and don't forget the sides!   I  pretty much use E6000 for the gluing part and I nailed the heart frame to the cradle board.

I hope I've given you some inspiration to take some time for yourself to play--whatever your creative outlet is.  This was very fun and relaxing for me--great therapy for this time of year!

P. S. Right now you can find this piece is in my Etsy shop HERE

February-- Art Playing Discoveries, Lifebook 2021, and More Etsy

 I've been doing a lot of playing in February and cleaning and sorting--not much else to do in this part of the country--too cold!  So every time I go to de-clutter and 'clean' I end up stopping and making art, because I find little things that I've forgotten about and then discover that I can put them together to make some art pieces--like these--

I've also been discovering new art supplies again--this time--Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils.  I've always loved the look that you get from chalk pastels but not the mess--these eliminate a lot of that mess, but you get the same result as a hard pastel--

 they blend beautifully too--love them!

 And another new discovery--the artist Jenny Manno--I first found her when I took a small online class from her and realized how much I loved her style, and then found out she had a Facebook group  called Next JENeration Art (with lots of prompts) which anyone can join and also a great you tube channel--every Tuesday she puts up a video sharing different art supplies and demonstrations--she focuses mainly on quirky portraits, but just learning about the supplies alone are very generous on her part.  Here's one (out of the many prompts on her Facebook group page) that I tried--

I made her with mainly the CarbOthellos--lots of fun art playing in Jenny's group!

And still loving Lifebook 2021--such a supportive and talented  community there--really happy with my latest portrait from Tam's (Willowing) lesson--

and another lesson about celebrating yourself--I put my own variation on it, but the message is still there--

Meanwhile back in my Etsy Shop I've been adding more art.  I 've decided to cut down on the number of art shows that I used to do (not sure what this year will bring anyway) and focus on more online business.  I  really do enjoy getting out there and meeting like-minded people at shows and fellow artists, but I don't enjoy the setting up and tearing down of a display and huge tent that's only been up for 2 days, not to mention about worrying if the weather will be bad.  I'm rambling here, so let me just show you what I've been up to this month for Etsy (remember--I've been trying to declutter my art room and house :-)

I've been having lots of fun!  You can find these HERE.  Hope to see you next month when Spring (hopefully) will be in the air!!

  

October--All About Etsy

 So  in  October  I  was  able  to  participate  in  one  show,  which  has  always  been  my  favorite.   It's  outdoors  in  a  wooded  setting.   This  year,  of  course,  there  were  many  restrictions  due  to  the  pandemic,  and  I'm  happy  to  say  that  everyone  was  compliant--crafters  and  customers.  We  were  just  happy  to  be  out  and celebrate  Christmas  in  the  Woods (the name  of  the  show).  I  was  happy  to  see old  friends  and  make  new  ones  as  well.

I  actually  did  quite  well,  but  I  had  a  LOT,  considering  that  all  I  did  was  make  art  and  not  go  anywhere  for  most  of  the  year,  so  I  took  some  of  what  I  had  left  and  put  it  in  my  Etsy  shop.

Here's  some  of  what  you  can  find  there--

....some  assemblage

...paintings, a box, and some  6 x 6 art  squares--

and  there's  also  Christmas  in  my  Etsy--

And  new  this  year,  I  have  Christmas  cards--all new  6  designs  that  I  made--

And  today  I  just  added  some  more  fun  art--

Yes,  I  never  stop  making  art,  so  there  will be more  coming,  including  Christmas.   I  hope  this  holiday  season  that  you  all  can  help  support  small  businesses  that  are  having  a  tough  time  this  year.   Some  artist  friends  that  I  know  depend  mostly  on  art shows,  which  were  pretty  much  all canceled  this  year.   By  supporting  us  it  helps  us  continue  to  do  what  we  love  to  do  the  most.

You  can  find  my  Etsy  shop  HERE

And  I  thank  everyone  that  has  supported  me  in  the  past--I'm  so  happy  when  my  art  makes  you  happy!

Lots of New Items in my Etsy Shop

 Now  that my show season is over, I've stocked my Etsy shop with lots of art including some Christmas assemblages--You can find all of these HERE

Now  that my show season is over, I've stocked my Etsy shop with lots of art including some Christmas assemblages--You can find all of these HERE

Brand New Art--Sun and Moon

This  last month  was  not  a  fun  one--I  fell  and  fractured  my  wrist--the  only  good  thing  about  it  was  that  it  was  my  left  one.   I'm  restricted  in  what  I  can  do, but  thankfully  I  can  still  paint,  which  has  been  the  best  therapy!  A  little  slide  show  of  what  I've  been  up  to--Only  a  portion,  because  I  have  been  painting  like  crazy!!

my  favorite  subjects  to  paint--the  sun,  followed  by  the  moon...

  

And  a  couple  of  them  turned  into  greeting  cards--

These  cards  are  5 x 7  and  blank  inside--also  great  to  frame--they're  available  in  my  Etsy  shop  along  with  more  of  my  art  on  cards--you  can  find  them  HERE 

So,  needless  to  say,  glad  January  is  past  me  and  hoping  by  the  end  of  February  this  cast  will be  off  of  me--I'll  never  take  my  left  hand  for  granted  again!!  Hope  you  all  can  find  the  time  to  do  what  makes  you  happy--it  sure  does  make  a  difference!

New Funky Village for 2017--Step by Step

Not  quite  the  new  year  yet--but  almost.  Had  a  great  Christmas  with  all  of  my  family--really  fun  with  everyone  being  together  all  at  once--that  doesn't  happen  much  as  they  get  older--so  it  was  the  best  Christmas  gift.  In  between  all  of  this  celebrating,  I've  been  sneaking  away  to  my  art  room  and  playing.  My  favorite  way  to  relax (and  you  know  this  if  you're  a  frequent  visitor)  is  painting  papers.   This  time  I  got  out  my  alcohol  inks  and  yupo  paper  

I  found  this  tutorial  on  you tube  by  Mary Beth Shaw for  Stencil Girl Products--really  fun  and  very  easy  to  do.  

 Here's  the  link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLPX-S7ZKpI

I  also  played  with  my  new  Gel Press plate
and  110lb cardstock  paper

 

Next--made  some  textured  papers--

...with  gel  medium  and  stencils (and the  110lb  cardstock  paper  again)

So this was  my  color  palette  that  I  ended  up  with--

...and  I  decided  to  use  a  9 x 12 deep-edge  birch  cradle  board--my  favorite  substrate  to  work  on

Next  step  for  me  is  just  as  much  fun  as  the  first  one--

...my  first  layer  of  papers (my  background)--mosaic  style.  I  like  to  leave spaces  in  between  the  different  papers, so  I  can  fill it  in  later  with  my  black  pitt  pen
 (like grout in between mosaic tiles)

My  next  layer  is  when  I  added  my  main  theme,  houses  in  this  case--

.....and  then  my  'grouting'  with  my  pitt  pen--along  with  some  stamped  words  here  and  there

After I  sealed  it  with  gloss  varnish,  I  added  some  embellishments  for  further  dimension--

All  finished--

and  now  in  my  Etsy shop.   I  really  enjoy  making  this  mosaic-type  of  art  and  hope  this  funky  little  village  finds  a  new  home.  You  can  find  it  HERE  in  my  shop.

I  hope  you  all have  a  very  happy  2017!!