My Finished Canvas & Starting 2 New Classes

Remember my canvas that I  started here--well I finished it--

I said that I had a plan for it, and this was the plan. I wanted to paint some faces (2 this time), but I always get a little nervous when I want to do these girls, because I'm  still fairly new at  it.   I just love creating them though-- they always seem to  tell me how to finish the piece. 

Now, my 2 new classes--well Suzi's is starting next week--it's the continuing Goddess and Poet class--

PIETY & PASSION (love it!).  And I was thinking of taking the graffiti art class with Traci Bautista, but I'm putting it on the back burner for now.  Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen are starting a new one April 1--Complex Collage.  She just put the video up on her website on Friday  (click on her name).  As soon as I saw what this class was all about, I knew that it was for me.  Everything that they talk about on what they will be teaching is exactly what I want to do.

So next week, after I come back from my show, I'm hoping to be a little richer : ) and I will be signing up for these 2--I'll probably be poorer, but I'm still signing up. 

Painting Papers

I am now going into my full-work mode, well I wouldn't really call it work, more like play.  My art show season is starting soon, so I've been  busy painting papers for collage--

I found a tablet of plain scrapbook papers, and there were a bunch of white ones, so I used them, and I've been experimenting with different techniques (some were so bad, that I trashed them), but most of them turned out pretty good.  This one technique that I really like to do is stamping on foam stamps with clear gesso on the white paper--

And then when it's completely dry, I just put an acrylic wash over it. The gesso acts as a resist--you could do it with regular gesso too, and you don't have to use stamps--you can do anything. I love the clear gesso--I was introduced to it by Suzi.

And there was this paper--

I just started doodling and playing around with acrylics, pitt pens, and mostly neocolor crayons I and II.  The more I use these crayons, the more addicted I get to them.  This one turned out so good that I decided to keep it whole and put it on canvas like this and finish it--I'll post it when I do.  And  I read a tip from Pam Carriker--instead of using water with the neocolor II crayons , use Matte Medium instead, and this will set the color.  I read it from an article from here--

I just got this, and I love it--what a great publication. I love Stampington!

And I'm also excited about my new stamp--

It's a crackle stamp--that produces results like this--

You know, I love the crackle look, and I have yet to master it.  I always have problems.  Can anyone help me?  The effect I like is the very tiny crackle look, but I'd be happy with any type of crackle.  What am I doing wrong?  (I'm just adding this in--what I mean by the crackle method--is the method where you apply the crackle medium  out of the bottle, and then when it's dry, you apply paint over it and supposedly cracks will occur, which never happens for me.)

 

I've also been looking around at online classes (remember in my last post, I said that I'm kind of obsessed?)  What I'm looking for now are workshops on backgrounds.  I've looked at Julie Prichard's, and there are a couple on the Creative Workshop ning site, but I'm thinking more of Traci Bautista's--I am really loving the graffiti style art out there, and hers is outstanding.  Has anyone taken any of her online workshops?

So, I'm really looking  forward to my first show of the season at the end of this month.  It's actually more of an art and craft show, which to me is no different--don't get me started about crafters vs. artists--there is no difference!!  We're all artists!! I get to see my fellow exhibitors that I haven't seen since last year, and also returning  customers  (I guess that's what you call returning buyers of your work), and it's fun just to get out and be with everyone who's all there for the same reason. It's in Pittsburgh, too--one of my favorite cities--it's such an eclectic place--I love it!!