Snowman Tags

It seems like forever since I was able to do any kind of art.  But really my surgery was not quite two weeks ago.  I am so tired of not being able to create that I gave it a go today.  I did some water color tags with snowmen on them.

The tags are cut out of water color paper (140 lb) and then I water colored the snow people. Any little snow piles are either white acrylics or moulding paste.  I drew the figures in pencil first and did not erase the lines.  I like the softening effect.  After I finished painting the tags, I outlined them in permanent pen.
Although these are not very demanding to do, they are fun and I was able to create them with very little trouble- even though I am still healing up.
Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Fairy

Hi!
Before I go on, I want to explain what happened to my sketch of the day.  I was making a copper wire pumpkin when the wire pierced my finger.  Almost immediately, infection set in and I have been on antibiotics for just over a week.....and it is not cleared up yet. 
So, today was my first day even giving any kind of art a try.  Here is the result:

This is a mixed media canvas (12X6") with the background being layers of spray inks which I blended together.  Then I dripped gesso down from the top.  Next was stamping tiny snowflakes with gesso. I drew the fairy on bristol paper, coloured her face with Prisma pencils and then cut her out.  Her wings are cut out separately out of vellum and I lined the edges with paint pen (as well as adding the dots).  I then used matte medium to adhere the wings and head to the canvas.  Next was painting her hair.  I painted the part that I drew on the bristol and then carried it over to the canvas to incorporate her into the piece. I used fluid acrylics.
The last step was stamping the larger snowflakes using gesso. (I added these where I did so that I could cover over a mistake)
Now, my only question to myself...and to you....should I add some text?  Let me know what you think.
Bye for now!

Pumpkin Art (sort of)

My pumpkin family is about twenty years old.  They were such a simple yet fun project to do.
My dad cut me a log and then here are the steps:
I de-barked the log (not an easy thing to do) basically by roughly cutting and then sanding the post.  
Then I cut it into sections with a chain saw.  I made the sections all different sizes.
Now for orange OUTDOOR acrylic paint - several coats.
Drill a hole in the top and glue in a dowel you painted green.
Draw and paint faces once again using OUTDOOR paint.  
And you are done.  Every year they will weather a bit more and you will find that everyone loves these permanent jack-o-lanterns.

A little story about my pumpkin family:
You will see from the photo that there are nine left in my little group.  There once were twelve.  I gave one to my daughter for her own front step when my grandson was tiny.
The other two kind of walked away.  About ten years ago, a little boy stopped by my home a week or so before Halloween, rang the bell and asked if he could have one.  How could I say "no"?  And then a few years ago, a little boy was trick-or-treating and when he was leaving, he just picked up the littlest one I had.  His dad told him to put it down and he started to sob.  As a result, that pumpkin found a new home.
Just like in a real family, apparently my pumpkins sometimes feel the need to leave the nest.
Happy Halloween.

Day Of The Dead Addiction

Good day everyone!
I am soooooo loving painting these Day Of The Dead girls!
Here is my second one - acrylic on canvas:

I learned a lot doing her.  The large flower on her forehead makes her face look way too wide so I either should have made it smaller but - better yet- should have shown a hint of her other eye.  I painted in her eyelashes but they get lost in the embellishment around her eye.  Next time, I will do as Megan did and do a circle around her eye and then embellish.  The other thing I would change is the two tiny flowers beside her nose.  I just do not love them.
I know I sound very critical but over all I really like her.
Thanks for visiting.

Day Of The Dead Girl

This 12x12 canvas is done in acrylics. She is a Day of the Dead face based on the class I took by Megan Suarez. I think the black flourishes in the center of her face are a bit heavy but other than that I really like her.  She was so much fun to do.

Fairy #3

This fairy features a water colour background, acrylic hair and wings, and a face coloured with Prismacolor pencils.  The floral head band is also acrylics.  I used perfect pearls on her wings as well as paint to give them shimmer.   Hope you like her!

Fairy #2

This fairymust be a garden nymph as she has a butterfly as a friend.  I used acrylics for the hair, wings, clothes and background.  The butterfly is a die cut.  Her face and body are coloured with Prismacolor pencils which blend sooooooooo well. She is 9 X12 and painted on bristol paper.

Whimsy Fairy

Good morning!
I wanted to show you my wood nymph in-training. (You can tell by her crooked wings that she has a way to go)

I drew her with pencil and coloured her face with Prismacolor Pencils.  Her hair and wings are painted with acrylics and her headband and dress are Twinkling H2Os. The background is acrylics printed using my Gelli pad.  A real mixed media work.

I am having a bit of trouble blending the coloured pencils but am sure it will get better!

See you soon.

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!

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!

Sleeping Owlet

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

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.

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.

Momma and Baby

Owls again!  This time, I did a momma and her little owlet.

I wanted them to have the same colour scheme but also wanted the viewer to remember that birds change as they grow up so I changed the patterns slightly on the two.  I started to create a complex background but loved the sunset look and so I stopped and just added part of a tree.
All paints are acrylic.  Thanks to Juliette Crane and her wonderful workshop for the inspiration!

Assignment - Background

Good day and thanks for stopping by.
Today I have an owl I did as a practice doing backgrounds.  I really struggle with backgrounds - have a hard time knowing when to stop, how many layers to use, combining colours in different layers. About the only thing I don't have trouble with is texture.  This owl started out as a background exercise but I never know what the background will look like until I add a foreground image.

I love how the dripping looks but don't know whether I should have added something else or not.  ???
The owl is acrylics and I decided to do him so that he almost sinks into the background - I think I accomplished that part of my goal.
If anyone has hints or suggestions - comments are always welcomed.

Yet Another Owl

Good Friday morning!
I am so loving the owl class I am taking by Juliette Crane...it is almost too much fun!
One of the exercises is to do a close-up of a head and here is mine:

This is a page I did for my journal and it is acrylics and water colour crayons.  The cheeks are pastels which I dabbed on.  

I was a bit worried about this piece as I am not so good at larger drawings but I have to admit I am pretty happy with him!

Thanks for visiting!

Owlet Art Journal Page

Hello once again!
I am taking a class by Juliette Crane at the moment this is an art journal page I did.  

The owlet is a charcoal drawing (which I love) but I am very unhappy with the flower.  I decided, however, to keep the page as something I can learn from.

My Whimsical Owlet

It appears my whimsical world is expanding.  I did this mixed media canvas today.

This little owlet is possibly my favourite mixed media project to date.  He is painted and collaged on to a painted night scene.  This is the largest painting I have created so far (14X10"). I painted the background a mixture of blues and greys and then used a credit card to do the ground and grass.  The trees are a series of curly branches with tendrils and berries/flowers on the ends.
I love how my cute owl turned out.  He is simply sketched on paper, painted and then cut out and glued down with gel medium.  All paints are acrylics.
Hope you like him!

Another Little Girl

Hi again!!
Just a quick post to show you this cute little girl I created using acrylics and collage.  I like the round face and the two little curled pony tails on her.  I also like the flowers which were tapped on with a shaped sponge and then the centres were done with a pencil end. I used a couple of shades of green and an old credit card to do the grass and the lining is done in india ink.  I thought the flowers in her hair made an interesting headband.
Like my last few pictures, this one too was inspired by Natasha May.
Hope you like it!

Texturized Girl

Hello everyone. Hope your Easter was a pleasant one and that you enjoyed time with family and friends.  
I have another girl for you today -this one which incorporates  the  background into the girl (or vice versa).  This girl is painted with acrylics and she is painted on the textured, patterned background.  The background is a combination of spray inks, paints, stencils and stamping. 

She is inspired by the class I am taking by Natasha may -with a twist.  In the class, we painted over the background so that the hair contrasted.  I LOVE the fact that I left the background as is and only outlined the hair.  I did put a white shadow around the entire lady so that she stands out just a bit.
Art is about expression, growth and learning.  In this painting, I learned a few things that I will do different next time.  When I make a slightly tilted, turned head, I have to be more careful of the facing cheek.  it is a bit thick on this painting but I could not fix it without sanding it right down. But, in general, I really like this piece.
Thanks for visiting!