Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! - Dr. Seuss

Saturday, December 22, 2012

A Card is Born

I am just going to show you the evolution of a thank you card I made using one of my "little girl" sketches.
She started as a sketch in my book,
I adjusted the contrast, cropped her and printed her in Photoshop,
Then I coloured her, cut her out and added her to a card front.

I find by using my sketches in my cards, I am liking card making again.
Thanks for visiting!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Angel Sketch

Since I got "hooked" on drawing, I have taken my sketch book everywhere.  The other day before work, I drew this large-headed angel.

Her nose is a tiny bit harsh but I like her just the same.  I am not sure if I will paint her or not.    I think I might finish her and use her on a journalling page.
See you later!


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Christmas Cat

I am having so much fun painting these little girls.  This one is in her jammies and sees a kitten for Christmas.

These characters are a great way to practice my face drawing and whimsical bodies.  I am especially happy with the softness of her face and the cute pig tails.  Also, I have never drawn a whimsical animal and I think the cat turned out sweet.
Thanks for visiting!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Another Christmas Whimsy

Hi again!
I do not know why but I LOVE whimsical characters and am immersing myself in learning how to draw them.
Here is the second of my Christmas whimsy pictures.  This one is definitely going to be my Christmas card.
I have to get some better water color crayons as I have nothing which is dark enough blue for night sky.  I also want some more colors.  I will have to order neo colors.
I really like the face on this girl.  I hope you do as well.
Thanks for visiting!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Christmas Angel

I am taking a whimsy class and this is what I did:
I am so enjoying Tamara Laporte's classes.  The end result of this course is to create Christmas cards.  I am going to use a scrapbooking program to see what I think about this as a card.
I will let you know.
Thanks for visiting!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Portrait Of A Girl


Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Hope everyone is enjoying the day.
Today I have a portrait done in pencil which I did as part of an online class.
I am really working on faces.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Painted Doll

Here is my first painted doll - painted with acrylics.  She is still kind of sad looking but I have to work on that.
Thanks for stopping!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Doll Dreams First Attempt

I am working on a course at Doll Dreams and here is my first sketch.  I really have to make my sketches a bit darker so that I can better post them.
Hope you like her!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Whimsical Girl

Hello!  It has been a while but I have not been dormant.  I have been learning - or trying to learn - how to draw faces. Here is my first whimsical young lady and I really like her.
I asked some very talented ladies (at Pamela Joy) for input and, as a result, this is the sketch I will paint.  She originally had a Rudolph nose so I softened it and she is so improved.  Thanks Laura and Eva for all your advice.
I will show you my girl again once I paint it.
Thanks for visiting!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

"Joy" Journal Page

Hi,  I am taking a workshop by Laura Thykeson entitled "Embrace the Day" - journalling your emotions.
I just started last week and have some catch up to do but I wanted to show you my first page - Joy.
Anyone who knows me that my favourite colour is orange so that in itself is an indication of joy.  On the page, I tried to inbcorporate some collage, painting and stamping as well as some fabric (the heart).  A note, you cannot tell but the fish are stamped on a clear plastic sheet to add some depth.  Rather than write paragraphs, I decided just to put spot labels on.  I stamped the big sunflowers and then placed the boys' pictures in the centers.

This is a closer look at the watercoloured face (a representation of me - not a portrait).
I hope you like this page.  It was so much fun to do.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Girl!!

I finally did it.....I painted a person.  I have been feverishly taking classes and this canvas is directly a result of the Summer Girls class I took on line by Tam.  Here she is:
She is sketched and then painted with watercolor crayons and pencils.
Here is a closeup of her head:
I am quite happy with her for my first ever person.  I think she is pretty.  I am a bit disappointed in the page though.  I should have used a smaller canvas rather than the 9X12 watercolor paper for the background.
Please let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

A Water Color of Sorts - Just a Beginning

Good Sunday Afternoon!
I have decided that I want to expand my horizons and explore some painting.  To that end, I am taking several courses on line.  I am taking an art journalling course by Junelle Jacobsen and the first part is about water colour.  Here is my first effort.
Part of the process is choosing a word which means something to me.  I chose "forty".  Steven and I have been married for 40 years and I am always amazed that we are happier now than we have ever been.  I wanted to show that and also bring in our love of the Caribbean and our vacations - just the two of us.  So I decided to show a couple of bright, colorful, tropical birds.
Now, this is my first ever water color and, although primitive, I am pretty sure it is a perfect addition to my journal.
I promise I will improve.  But after all, my journal is for me and I am happy I included it.
Thanks so much for visiting!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Frankie Halloween Canvas

It has been a bit of time since I could do any mixed media work but I got a chance to work on another Halloween canvas the last couple of days.  This one is a cute Frankenstein.
When I got him done, I looked at changing his stubby fists but decided I kind of like them.  They remind me that he was put together of different body parts.  Contrary to the original Frank, he is a bit shorter so that his big head can draw a lot of the attention.  I love his juvenile expression.  He is pretty close to my original sketch other than I added striped socks (just because I like them).  Here is my sketch:
I think this is the last of my Halloween canvases but - if I have time - I want to do a haunted house...my favourite symbol of Halloween.
Bye for now!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Autumn Bumbles

  I love taking pictures and have a great camera which goes with me practically everywhere I go.
I would like to show you a couple of photos I took this morning of a bumble bee on one of the marigolds in our front garden.  
I love the top picture as I was able to get in so close that you can even see its eyes.
This is an art blog but from time to time I will include photos.  They really do inspire me.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

More Halloween Art

I am back at it again. Another Halloween canvas.....this time a witch.
My little witch is a cross between grumpy and sweet (if that is possible).  Her face looks a tad stern or "witchy" if you want but the rest of her is like a little girl.  I used sheet music for the background and I could not get one wrinkle out - but, oh well, I can live with that.
Here is my original sketch:You will notice that my final work is very different from it.  I decided to soften her nose and make her much taller and thinner than the original. I also did not include the bat and moved the jack-o-lantern to the middle and to put a black cat in it.  I also liked the idea of making her pumpkin and cat 3-d so that is what I did.  Since the witch has darker clothes, I decided to make the background base yellow with orange and green accents.  The raised dots are molding paste mixed with orange paint.
Hope you have enjoyed my Halloween pieces as much as I have.  I may be finished with them - but, then again, maybe not.
Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Another Leather Cuff

I had left over beads and a narrow strip of black suede so I decided to create yet another cuff.
I strung the beads with small gold spacer beads between them.  This cuff is held together with a button clasp.  It was a tad too short to use a snap so I put a button on one end and a loop on the other.
Hope you like it.  

Monday, September 24, 2012

The Grim Reaper

Yet another Halloween piece- this one of the Grim Reaper (cutesy style).  It was more difficult working with a dark figure.  I did a lot of the shading in white or grey.  It was also a bit harder working on the background knowing my figure would be dark.  For my foundation, I used anatomy book paper and, if you look hard enough, you can see a bit of the skeletons in the background.

And my original sketch:
The sketch was a bit chubbier and his head a bit rounder but once I started working on an 8X10 canvas I needed to make him tall, dark and handsome - LOL.  He is a cutie in either version and I really like him ALOT!!
Thanks for visiting!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Leather Bracelet

Back again!
I made this bracelet (leather cuff) today and wanted to show you the result.
The central medallion is from Michael's (on clearance, woohoo!) and the bead dangle is one I made using black beads and beadcaps on a stick pin.  I sewed the medallion on and then used a dab of nail polish to secure the knots.  To close this cuff, I used my Big Bite and attached a heavy duty snap.
let me know what you think!  And thanks for stopping by.

Halloween Art

Well, for my first real post, I wanted to show you a couple of canvases I did which are inspired by the Cider and Pumpkins workshop I am taking on line from Christy Tomlinson.  She is an awesome artist and an amazing teacher and I am having the greatest time with these little Halloween paintings.
My first is an owl all decked out for the spooky night:
And here is the sketch I did to start from:
As you can see, he underwent quite a few changes from sketch to finished piece.  I am trying to get into the habit of sketching before I jump to the canvas.  This does not mean that I have to copy the sketch, it just is a starting point.  It helps push me in the direction I want to go.

The second one is a little pumpkin boy:
And here is his sketch:
As you can see, this little fellow went through quite a metamorphosis to reach his final shape.  His head is rounder, his body fatter and his clothing is just a bit different.  I had originally envisioned his head sort of checkered but decided to make it all orange and his hands now wear dotted mittens.

Please let me know what you think of my little guys - good or bad.  They are my vision, yours could be quite different.  That is what makes art - art!

To Begin With...

Hi, you may wonder why I have created this blog.  Well, I find that my stamping blog, CHERYLANN'S STAMPING SPOT , does not really cover all of my creative endeavours.  I have begun taking art classes (on line) and have rediscovered a love of other forms of creativity.  So I have decided to make a home for all my artistic efforts and for what inspires me.  I hope you will accompany me on my journey to discover what happens when Wishes Become Art.
Welcome aboard!