May Brought Assemblage, Collage, and More Journaling

While  everything  here  is  very  slowly  opening  up, I'm  still  being  a  bit  of  a  hermit.  I've  ventured  out  a  bit ,  but just  a  bit.   Again,  I'm  so  happy  that  my  art  keeps  me  from  going  a  little  crazy.  So.....what  did  this  month  bring  for  me  creatively?

Well,  since  I  haven't  been  out  to  flea  markets  and  garage  sales,  I've  been  shopping  virtually  and  actually  finding  some  pretty  good  deals  especially  on  Ebay.  I  found  some  great  wood  cigar  boxes,  and  now  I have  more  than  I've  ever  had, so  I  decided  to  take  a  different  direction  with  them.

A  little  assemblage--

I  love  going  through  my  stash  and  making  stories

I  also  like  supporting  small  businesses  which  is  even  more  important now.  I  found  a  favorite  Etsy  shop--the name  of  the  shop  is  Hay Meadow Creek Crafts  where  they  make  plain  wood  shapes--lots  of  different  house  shapes,  which  is  what  I'm  looking  for.  The  2  houses  that  I  used  in  my cigar boxes  was  from  their  shop.

The  pieces  are  all  sanded  and  ready  to go!

I've  also  been  recycling  my  old  art  images  and  making  collages  out  of  them--

The  face  is  a  sketch  I  made  and  I  then  printed  it  out  on  a  dictionary  page,  and  the  sunflowers  are  from  a  painting  I  made  a  few years  ago.

and  another  one...

same  thing--just  with  lilacs  in  mind

And  back  to  my  journal--I  had  lots  of  fun--

I  liked  these  so  much,  I  just  couldn't  shut  them  up  in  a  journal,  so  I  put  them  on  8 x 10  wood  cradle  boards--

And  they're  now  in  my  Etsy  shop  HERE

So,  basically  I've  been  doing  the  same  that  I  have  been  doing  for  the  last  few  months,  but  now  that  Summer  is  coming,  we  might  take  a  few  day  trips  cautiously--we'll  have  to  see.

Stay  safe  everyone!!

Transformation--Sunflower Painting

I  always  love  transforming  the old  pieces  that  I  pick  up  at  flea  markets  and  garage  sales--like  this  one....

actually  one  of  2  old  cupboard  doors  that  I  found  at  a  flea  market  this  summer--$5.00  for  both--that's  $2.50  each!  You  can't  feel  guilty  about  messing  up  on these  at  that  price,  and  they are  a pretty  good  size  too--18 x 30

So--first  step--

putting  on  my  first  layer

next  step--the  sunflowers

used  a  palette  knife  for  the  first  time--once  I  got  the  hang  of  it,  it  was  fun  to  do

the  finished  door--

so  happy  with  this--don't  pass  up  those  old  doors or  whatever  you  may  see  at  flea  markets  that  could  very  well  end  up  in  the  trash--it's  always  fun seeing  what  you  can  do  with  pieces  like  these.   so now.....on  to  the  next  one!

Some More French Country

I'll  call  this  post  part 2  of  my  French  Country  art--all  thanks  to  these  papers  from  Graphic 45.

 

 

How could  you  not  love  these?!   These  are  what  inspired  me  to  make  some  more  canvases--

 

 

started  out  by  painting  some  more  sunflowers,  and  then  'framed'  them  in  these  very  cool  papers--

 

 

 

Next--a  new  sunface--

 

 

 

...shining  down  on  some  more  sunflowers  and  a  rooster...

 

 

 

And  I  did  what  I  always  do  when  I  love  what  I'm  making--

 

A new box!

 

And  here's  another  little  sunny  face  for  you--

 

 

 

Zoie!--enjoying  her  summer.   She's  going  to  be  meeting  her  little  cousin  in  less  than  2  months--we're  all  very  excited  here!

French Country

That's  the  name  of  my  new  pad  of  papers  that  I  found  from  Graphic 45--Love them!--but  then  I  love  everything  that  Graphic 45  comes  out  with.   I  haven't  really  used  them  yet  ( but  I  do  have  plans  to)   I'm  one  of  the  guilty  ones  that  will  purchase  everything  she  sees  and  then  forgets  she  even  has  it  until   she  stumbles  on  it  a  year  later.   But  these  papers  are  spread  out  (all  over  my  art  room floor)--giving  me  inspiration  for  my  latest  paintings--a  mini  step-by-step  of  my  first  one--

 

 

I've  been  basically  gone  for  the  last  month  because  of  my  weekly  shows--I  didn't  really  have  much  time  for  art--just  'quick'  art.   But  now  that  I  have  a  little  break,  it  was  time  to  get  out  the  paint,  paper,  and  canvases.

 

 

...first  couple  of  layers...

 

 

 

...and  then  I  started  painting  (here's  where  the  French  Country  comes  in)

 

 

 

 

This  time  of  year  I  always  seem  to  go  for  the  roosters  and  sunflowers,  and  I'm  really  happy  with  the  outcome  with  a  big  thanks  to  Graphic 45's French Country Collection.   I  find  inspiration  everywhere,  and  these  papers  made  it  Very  easy  for  me.

 

Here's  another  finished  canvas--

 

 

 

...and  now  I'm  starting  to  put  those  papers  to  use  in  my  girl's  dress  and  her  matching  sunshine.

 

And  there  will   be  more  French  Country  in  my  next  post!

What I've Been Working On, Some of My Favorite Products, & a New Class

Wow, I'm really getting into the swing of things now that the festivities are behind us, and the dark gloomy months are ahead in this part of the world.  I actually had been working on this piece way before Christmas.

It was one of those pieces that you start out with, and it ends up completely different than what you  had in mind.  I just wasn't happy with the background, so there are many different layers on this, which actually makes it end up better. Tara over at Aquamarine asked that question. If you're not struggling with your artwork, does that mean it's not good?  I like it the other way--when your muse takes over, and you just let her tell you when it's finished.

I also wanted to tell you of the some of the products I used on it.  My favorite one that I like to use is Golden's Crackle Paste

I  like to apply it right out of the container, but you can mix it with colors.  And depending on how thick you apply it, is how the cracks will appear when it dries.  I applied it pretty thick, so I would have the bigger cracks. It usually takes overnight to dry.  I love to paint over it, because the paint just goes into the cracks, and you can wipe over it, and add more--it's a forgiving surface.

I hand-painted papers again for the flowers and vase. I have SO much patterned paper here already that I should be using, but I really like the look and texture of the hand-painted papers.

 

After I collaged the papers, I added detail with Derwent Inktense Pencils--I had these for a while, but never used them . These are cool!  They go on like colored pencils, but when you add water, they spread like paint, and the colors are very intense just like  the name says. They say that even though they are water soluble, that once dry, they become permanent, but I noticed that the next day when I rewet them, they ran, so I just sprayed a workable fixative on them.

Another one of my favorites are the Faber-Castell Pitt pens.  I like to use these for outlining, and they are permanent (India Ink), but when they're still wet, you can smudge them to soften them up a little. I really like these, and they come in every color imaginable.

And the class I'm starting is Suzi Blu's Goddess and Poet class.  I love Suzi's art, and especially her faces, but this is fairly new for me.  I'm definitely a beginner, and this class is for beginners.  I started watching her videos and downloaded the pdf file that comes with  them--she's a very good teacher. Short of her standing right behind me, I couldn't get  a more thorough lesson--so I'm hoping I can get this.  I'm hoping to keep you posted on this.