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

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

More Creatures

My one imaginary creature became a collection of three water colours.  I am so happy with how they turned out.  I think I will get them framed to give to someone.
Thanks to Carla Sonheim for an awesome class!!
BABY BIRD

BABY HORSE

and now the collection:
Thanks for visiting!!

More Water Colour Fun

I am still working on my imaginary creatures and this one is a dog - of sorts.  The purpose of the exercise is to look at random markings on a page and interpret them into a creature.  I saw a dog-like creature in my water colour markings.
This guy was just plain fun to paint and I hope he gives you a smile!
Thanks again for stopping by!

Water Colour Blob Creatures

I have to tell you - I am in love with classes by Carla Sonheim.  She has the absolute best style of teaching and her classes are a joy.
I am taking an Imaginary Creatures class right now and exercise one is to paint a water colour blob critter.  
Here are the ones I did:
When I look at them, the first is a coy dog, the middle one a penguin and the third one - I just do not know.  But that is so okay with me.  In fact - I love this soft little painting for a child's room.
I cannot wait until day 2 (may even cheat later today) to see what we do next.
Thanks for visiting!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

A Whimsy Girl Trinket Box

I purchased a wooden box and then painted it and covered it with paper, added a girl and a bit of embellishment and - voila- a decorated box for a special young lady!
Thanks for stopping by!

Silly Photos

I think everyone knows that I got an awesome camera for Christmas and LOVE to take pictures. But (I admit) I am not the greatest at it.  I found this course - Silly Photography - by Steve Sonheim and have finished the first assignment.  I had to take twenty photos of the same subject - with my eyes shut.  I could not open them until all 20 were taken. I then had to pick my favourite and post it somewhere. I did this assignment six times and here are the results:
I like this photo because of the scope of the elements I captured from my back yard. I  am happy that some areas are in shadows and some in sunlight.  The trees seem to frame the area.
Possibly my very favourite photo!  I shot into the tree from high and low and by walking around.  Since my eyes were closed, I bumped into the table LOL.  I love the contrast between the smooth and rough branches in the foreground. Just enough shadow to make it interesting.
Not the best 20 to choose from.  I was a bit crooked with most of them and, since we were not supposed to edit, I could not straighten them.  I do like the depth of this picture and how much detail there is even in the background.
Another poor 20 results - but this is the best of them.  I somehow got the base of the tree (guess I pointed down) and I kind of like that feature.  The lighting could be improved with editing.
I really like how the pink of the blossoms adds colour to this photo.  There is a bit more contrast in this photo and the details are crisper.  This is actually a phot I am happy with -shows lots of elements without being too busy!
OK, I had to take a series of photos up into the branches of the tree.  For this one, I must have stepped backwards and only captured the top of the tree.  Since the sky is so clear, the details of the branches really stand out.
I think I will practice this exercise again soon.  It was fun and really made me look at my pictures.
Have a great day!

Friday, May 24, 2013

A Baby Owl - Very Plump

Good afternoon!
I have a canvas I finished today.  Thanks, Juliette Crane, for your amazing course.
The canvas is 5X7" and the background is done on using the GelliArts plate and acrylics.  The owl is also acrylics with a heart from left over canvas on his belly.  
I wanted to make him plump since I saw a baby owl all hunkered in and he looked so fat that I had to make mine like him.  There are lots of dots on this picture used in all different ways.
I used acrylics, collage, paint pens and a Pitt Pen to create this canvas.
Hope you like it!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Gelli Art Fun

Hi to everyone!
I got a new toy last week - a Gelli Arts Plate and have been learning how to use it.
Here are some backgrounds I am making to incorporate in my mixed media work.  I can just see an owl in front of one of them.




These are so much fun to do and the results are not always what I expect!


Friday, May 17, 2013

Another Sweet Sketch

Another sketch destined for a card front......

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Four Seasons ATC

I loved the ATC I made yesterday so much that I decided to create a "Celebrate The Seasons" collection.  These whimsy girls (inspired by the class I took from Megan Suarez) all have differnt hats and embellishments which suit the season.  They are done in colours appropriate to the time of year and are all coloured using Copics.  The girls are cut out and Mod Podged on the background paper.  I also Mod Podged over the entire card fronts to protect them and glued a plain piece of card stock to the backs for stability.
Thanks for taking the time to visit.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ATC Time

I did this ATC featuring a whimsy girl from Megan Suarez's workshop.  Isn't she cute?
Since it is an ATC, the entire size is 3.5" X 2.5" and, as you can see, she takes up most of it.  I decided to add the spring sentiment since it is such a lovely day here and she is definitely wearing a straw hat.  The girl is coloured using Copics and a gel pen for highlights.  The background paper was created by using a gelatin sheet for monoprinting.  The white parts of the paper showed up when I used a paper doily as my stencil.  The entire card is mod podged to another piece of card stock for stability.  BTW, her flower is a white one which I also coloured with Copics.
Hope you like her! (P.S. let me know)

Monday, May 6, 2013

Sleeping Owlet

Another owlet....this one painted with acrylics on book paper.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Cinderella

I drew a Cinderella the other day and decided to colour her today.  Then - what to do with her?  I painted a canvas (11X14) using watercolours (a Crayola kids' set) to create a whimsical castle.  Then I glued her on with gel medium.  I did discover one thing. DO NOT USE CHEAP CANVAS BOARDS!  All I could find was a bargain brand and when I unwrapped the 3-pack, the gesso had adhered them together.  When I seperated them, there were patches where the gesso had lifted and I could not repair them at all.  I will have to purchase some from Michael's - the ones i had were from Joanne's.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

An Old-Fashioned Whimsical Girl

This whimsy girl is dressed in old-fashioned clothing and is coloured using Copic markers.  I am trying to do a sketch a day and this is today's.

Dream Owl

Influenced by the class I am taking from Juliette crane, I created this owl:
This is acrylics on paper and the stars are sharpie silver pen.  The tummy is collaged on using scrapbooking scraps.