My Art Process

 Hey I'm back!  It only took about 8 months but I knew eventually I would be coming around.  I thought in this post I would show you how I go about making an art piece (in most cases).

I'm not an intuitive type artist--I've tried, but it will get too frustrating for me--I need to have a plan.  So in this one that I made I knew that I wanted to have paper collage in it.  And the first thing I did is think of my color palette and once I decide on what colors I want I get out my cardstock (110lb), paints, stencils, mark-making tools,etc and have fun with them--

I experimented with a new color choice--tangerine, gray , sage, and cream--and I stuck to those colors.  Next I knew this was going to be a dimensional piece so I took my 6 x 12 wood cradle board and flipped it around. I like these wood boards from Blick--they have deep 1  1/2" sides which makes it perfect for what I like to do.

Then I gathered--my studio and house for that matter is filled with all of my findings, so I never have a problem bringing a little story together--

This is what I initially found--but as I go into making it--I change my mind on some of the items and add some more--this is where I let the piece tell me what it needs--I just need to get out of my way and listen.

My finished piece--

really happy how it brought itself together

Next a different idea using the same paper (with some book pages) as my pallette--

paper flower collage--I like to tear the paper for the petals for a more organic look

and the finishing touch includes water soluble crayons and these Faber Castell watercolor markers which are awesome!

Lots more paper left, so continuing on--

.....my latest box--I never get tired of making these and this one has already found a new home in North Carolina!  You can find the other 2 in my Etsy shop

In other news--I signed up for Lifebook this year--such a great deal with all of the teachers and weekly lessons--hard to fit in with everything else but you have the videos forever and can take advantage of them at your own convenience 

I love Tamara's art and her classes--very detailed --these are from my classes with her--

These were both done in mostly watercolor--a bit scary for me, but with Tamara's instruction it's not so bad--she takes you step by step.  And what I love to do most is to add to the watercolor painting with crayons, posca pens (another awesome product), pencil, etc to bring it all together.

So I've been trying out new art supplies lately and I'm going to try to get a post together with my favorite supplies--hope to see you soon...

What I've Been Up To This Year--Creatively Speaking

 It's been a while since I've been here, but I'm always in my art studio every day--just neglecting my blog. I'm more active on my Facebook and Instagram pages, but I feel that I need to re-visit my blog here since it was my first venture on the web and I've met many online friends because of it.  I'll never stop blogging, just not as much.

So, what have I been up to--I've been playing with paint and collage and some assemblage (finding lots of great flea market finds too!)

I started out the year painting (my first love) with mainly acrylics and painting some of my favorite things (or animals in this case)...horses, giraffes, and elephants...in a whimsy style way...

They all ended up in barnwood frames that I collaged my painted papers on to like this giraffe--

I took that giraffe and put her on a cigar box--

didn't stop there--

I always enjoy making these boxes!

And this time of year, I will usually make some circus assemblages--here's just a couple of what I made--

When I make these I try to use mostly items that I find at flea markets, thrift stores, yard sales, etc (sometimes gifted to me too!) I'm always amazed at what I can find--it's definitely a 'treasure' hunt and you know the saying--"one man's treasure is another man's junk"--some people probably wonder why I get so excited when I find these things--but I know just where they are going to end up :-)

Some of my favorite finds from this year....SO FAR....

I can never pass up old cameras or photos.  Half the fun of making assemblage art, for me, is looking for my 'supplies'

So I've been busy with my little treasures (getting ready for my BIG show in October)--and here's a couple--

I call this one--Bird Watching

His and Hers

So, this is just a sampling of what I've been doing--I love what I do and so happy that I can do this every day.  I hope you can find the time to do what makes you happy--makes all the difference!

Till next time.....

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

Filling my Etsy Shop

 It's been a long time since I've posted here--getting back to a bit of normal around here and enjoying it, so needless to say,  I've been very busy and active in a good way.  I've still been making art and playing in my journal.  I post on Facebook just about every day, but I've really neglected my blog here.  I'm hoping to get back into it now that the winter (the dark days) is fast approaching.

But I do have to say that my favorite season is happening right now, and around here Fall lasts for about 3 weeks before the cold comes in, so I'm enjoying it as long as it sticks around and it has been more than usual this year.  Love the brisk air, the changing of the leaves, the specialty foods! and everything else that comes along with this season.

And I'm winding down from all my preparations from my gigantic show that I had in October--it was amazing--the people that came and supported all of us artists was overwhelming!

I've had time now for myself and was able to add items in my Etsy shop   plus make some new Christmas items for it.  Here's a sampling of what you can find there:

And also I've added my Christmas cards--can be purchased individually or  as a set:

You can find everything HERE

I hope to be back soon with new art and what I've been up to--hope you all are getting back to a normal life after this last crazy year we've had and enjoy the holidays that are coming up!

Altering a Cigar Box From Beginning to End

 It's been a while since I've showed a step-by-step project here, so I decided it was time.  And with what else?--a cigar box!  I never get tired of making these.  Here's the finished box first--

I like the look of mosaics, but have never actually tried making a mosaic piece, so I go with the paper to mimic the look of mosaics, which is how I went with this box.   But let me back up and show you the before picture--

Just a plain old cigar box from my local tobacco store (actually this one was a little fancier) but it's all wood which is what I look for.

Next was deciding on my color palette , and pretty much all of the time when I make a box it's with collaged papers, and usually my own painted ones.  So here's the palette I decided on--

...some newly painted, and some scraps (which I have a ton of!)--

Next was figuring out my design, and since I was going the mosaic route--here's the result of the first step--

This is where a paper punch comes in handy.  I used a 1 inch paper punch for all of my 'mosaic tiles', and once they were on the box I  edged the top and bottom with washi tape.  I always use a matte gel medium for this step and also seal everything with it too, before I go on to the next step, plus on the top I added tape measure--I love using vintage cloth tape measure!

Next I had to do my black 'grouting'--

For the 'grout' look I use Faber Castell pitt pens--I like these because they blend well, but end up being permanent once dry since they are an India ink. I also like to finish off all the edges too with these pens.

Next is giving the box a little more of a design--

..by adding wood feet that I painted (you can find these at any craft store), and also giving thought to the top of the box

Now the final details--

It's these little details that lets the box shine...

And again here's the finished result--

A couple of notes.  I always seal my boxes with gloss varnish--the varnish really makes the colors pop. And also, I didn't take a photo of the inside, but I always finish it off by painting it usually the color of the feet.

I hope I've inspired you to create and if you do, I would love to see it--you can share it on my Facebook page or on my Instagram