GPP STREET TEAM # 45 Back to Back

Michelle over at the GPP Street Team had a fun challenge this month. I am glad I got the time to work on this challenge. She asks that you take a background and work on it three different ways.

I started with this background I had done for the challenge on tissue paper. It is rich with a lot of layers.

At first I printed out 2 copies but they came out small so I glued them down to the page and added a strip of another color and then ribbon on the side to fill in another gap. Then I decided to do a collage.

Next I just made copies on my printer so they came out full size.   I added one scrap of paper to enhance the color and make it look a little different.  Then I saw this image of a woman in the background so I painted her.  I added scrapbook paper for the dress. The bird and words came next. To finish her off I outlined in charcoal. Charcoal is one of my favorite things to use on a page.

Here I turned the paper in a different direction and found another lady in the background. I decided to paint over the background and some of the dress area.  I added the words, covered the white paper in pastel and outlined in charcoal.  This challenge was so much fun.

I'd love to invite all the of the GPP Street Team Participant to check out my new network here 

To see what the rest of the GPP Street Team did this month go here

Its all smiles from now on

This is how I have been feeling this week. Its just all smiles since I started the Queen's Castle. I also just decided that I really miss the Self Portrait challenge that used to be so big a few years back. I think I will start one on my network. You know I think the old me would say are you nuts starting another thing that you need to come up with an idea for. Now what I feel is no pressure at all.  It seems that all I am doing and dreaming about this new venture just makes me happy. It all seem right and things are flowing so well.  That is what happens when you have a dream and start following it. You can join here

My friend Kim aka The Queen of Arts posted the other day about wanting to rid herself of the idea of being broken. She is the most inspiring wonderful women that I have met online. I had done this page last week and just wanted to show it so she knows she is far from broken. She inspires me with her posts so often and it was her rock that really pushed me off the fence to take this leap that has made my life so joyous this week.  Thanks Kim for all the love you spread.

As you can tell by the picture its gotten really cold here. I am just not ready for coats and hats yet. I thought I'd share another portrait where I am not so giggly with it all.  Its hard to find those now days which I am so grateful for.

What are you grateful for today?

Wishcasting Wednesday What do you wish to shed?

Its time for Wishcasting Wednesday and today Jamie asks What do you wish to shed?

Oh this is an easy one.  i wish to shed any limiting beliefs about myself, my goals and aspirations.  I just undertook a big leap and opened my own network so I wish to shed any limiting beliefs that may now creep in.  I want to have confidence that this is the right path for me.

Next week Nanowrimo starts so I need all the courage I can muster.  I wish to shed any beliefs that limit my ability in this project too.  I want to know I can do it and feel confident in my undertaking.

To see what others are wishing this week go here

In this journal page I pulled out some found art. I thought I would leave them faceless and then started putting faces on the women and they looked really funky so I covered them up again. I am not sure what this means but it was interesting to paint.

This is my contribution to the Creative Challenge over at my ning site. The sunflowers are napkins that I added over acrylic paint.  To participate in the challenge head over to my network.

Some sketching

I thought I'd do some sketching of my potential characters for my Nano novel next month.

The story concerns 2 teenagers from a tribal culture and my first attempt although nice was a much older woman. Then I thought maybe she'll be the mother.

I never draw men so this was a challenge, he looks kind of fierce like the chief or something.

Once again I tried to do a girl. I think she came out younger looking but not quite what I am envisioning. It looks like sketching characters will involve many more tries. It was fun though so I think I will do more.

A big thanks to all of you who headed right over to Ning and joined my network. I am really excited about the potential of creating a site where creativity and inspiration reign.  My first creative challenge is going to be so much fun.  Remember you can always sign up here or by clicking on the link in my sidebar.

Following your dream

We all have these dreams, sometimes they seem in the forefront of your mind and other times they are so far away that we just can't see them. This how it was for me. It must have been two years ago or more that online classes and Ning sites burst onto the scene.  At the time I thought I could do that, I could have my own network, I could teach too.  The ole inner critic shot me down quite a few times, especially when it seemed like every artist seemed to have a network.  That critic would say what do you have to offer? There are enough classes out there, why even bother. I am sure you know the litany, we all have this inner critic to deal with. Sometimes we listen to it and sometimes we don't.

Ok fast forward to last week and this post.  That exercise was all about this said dream. When I did that artwork it must have set the stage.  Yesterday I was writing a friend about this idea and then I thought maybe I will do this in January.  I kept seeing one of Kim's rocks that for some reason was on my kitchen counter.  The message said Why Wait. I thought Kim is so wise, why wait indeed.  Now I had looked at that message many times before but it never clicked. It was a rainy cold day yesterday and I spent it creating my dream.  I would love it if you would have a look, if you would join, if you would tell your friends.  Here is the link

Look what I got today

I got this baby in the mail today. I have missed having a point and shoot camera since my cat broke my old one. I loved that Panasonic Lumix and really missed it. So when I could afford a new one I got an updated version.















It will be great to have a camera that I can take anywhere.  It was  hard taking self portraits with my Canon Rebel XSI camera.  I had to use a tripod or prop the camera on my fireplace so as a result I pretty much stopped doing self portraits and missed it.  So here is the first of many to come.

Finding my way

Thanks to all of you who gave such great advice about my art slump. I took your advice and just decided to play. I realized that Tams's free class had started so yesterday I downloaded the videos and then today I watched them and worked on the first exercise. This is a really great class and its free. Check the button on my sidebar to find out more.

This is my initial drawing, it is supposed to represent me but it doesn't have to look like me. On the left we wrote words our inner critic was saying and then covered them up with gesso.

This one has the initial painting done. Most of this was done with watercolor crayons and some acrylic paints.

This final page I added the words. We were supposed to make a positive statement or a message to ourselves of what our inner critic was really saying. MIne says 'the world needs your gifts' and then to add a word on the face to embody that and mine was confidence. I thought it was a great exercise.and very empowering.

The Bear - Film by Jean-Jacques Annaud

Dave just sent me this film and all I can say is wow!

The Bear - Film by Jean-Jacques Annaud

What ever happened to being fearless!

Last month I did that session with Creative Awakenings all about being fearless as an artist. I did a few journal pages and I felt I was on to something. Now this month it feels like everything I do is crap. All the paint I put onto the page bores me. The colors look awful and it gets so frustrating.  I end up putting paper over it and doing collage.

Here are two examples of that. The pages started out with yellows and brown and both got covered up. I had intended to just use this paper and then do a face on top but as I was looking for images for the next page these guys on camels wanted to be here.

In this one I covered the entire page with glue and just did a patchwork of papers pover it. Now granted that is a fun exercise but its not what I want to be doing.  I want to be painting but I can't seem to do it to any satisfaction. Does this happen to any of you?

I wonder how all of you stick to your visions when you get in the studio.  I have been so frustrated lately that I don't even want to begin.  I know its a phase and I should just go with it but....

Yellowstone Recap

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Yellowstone. I didn't manage to take that many pictures.

This is the view from Fishing Bridge, it was really beautiful that day.

I loved the seeing this little splash of yellow among all the green.

We managed to see four different wolf packs. We were watching a buffalo carcass through our scopes when this pack came across the ridge behind us. There were four adults and 5 pups. The pups got scared when they saw all people so they went back up the hill. The 4 adults made their way to the carcass and challenged the grizzly that was there. I ran for my camera but I really didn't get very good shots.

In this photo are two members of the Agate pack. The whiter wolf is the alpha and she is 9 1/2 years old and the oldest wolf in the park. It was really awseome to be able to see her. We ended up seeing 3 different grizzly's on that carcass. We also saw a grizzly with 2 cubs at another location.

When you go to Yellowstone in the fall you get to see these amazing bull elk. They hang out in Mammoth Hot Springs with their harem of cows. You can hear them bugling during the day and sometimes at night. Bugling is the sound them make to call in their cows and let other bulls know this is their territory. Its a really interesting sound to hear. We also heard coyotes and wolves howling too. There really is nothing like hearing a wolf howl in the wild.

Its Almost Nanowrimo Time

 National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. So if you have ever considered writing a book this is the perfect time to do so. Over 50,00 people have already signed up. This year I decided not to be a municipal liaison. My good friend Amber took over this year. This will be my fifth year doing Nano as we call it. I decided on doing a young adult fantasy. So far all I have is a snippet of an idea and a couple characters. That is all you really need to begin. Why don't you join me this time, I am a great supporting cheerleader..... Go here to sign up.



I found this great video on twitter, its a Nanowrimo Song to get you in the mood.

Wishcasting Wednesday - What do you wish to fly free from?

The lovely Jamie Ridler asks us today What to you wish to fly free from? As per usual Jamie always ask great questions.

I wish to fly free from all the shoulds in my life

all the expectations that I set for myself

one week it may be exercise every day and then

it turns into a chore that I resent.

Or it might be doing Art everyday

sometimes the commitment becomes too much

and I tend to stress about it.

I want to be able to do the things I love

without conditions

To see what others are wishing today go here

That sure looks like it hurt

I was in the house and Dave came in and said "We need to do surgery" and my comment was what happened? I am thinking is it dog or a cat that got hurt but no it was one of the sheep. He says "Athena had an encounter with a porcupine". So I get ready to go help. Now Athena didn't look too bad but then we discovered 3 of 4 sheep had porcupine quills on there faces. They looked quite comical.

This is Emily and she apparently tried to butt the porcupine and did not get any award for her efforts.  The quills really are sharp.  I am sure this must have really hurt when it happened.

Here is the surgery going on Juno my black ewe, who also tried to butt the porcupine. They really didn't like us pulling them out but it had to be done.  Some of the quills were really small and others quite big. After awhile Juno would not hold still so we had to put her on a stand to keep her head stable.  We got all the quills out and the sheep are doing fine.  You never know what will happen when you have animals.

Some Art Journal Pages

I am back from eight days at Yellowstone N.P. It was a fantastic trip which I will post about later this week.  I have been home a few days just doing laundry and trying to catch up with things.  Coming back from a wonderful trip is always hard.  I always find it difficult to get back to my old life.

For now I think I will just show some art.  I managed to do a little art there and some more when I came home. I took 2 journals with me and worked in both of them. First the manila folder journal.

Here are some pages in my other journal; the one that is made from an old book. I am really liking working in this book.  I have been gluing 3 pages together, adding gesso and then paint.  All the pages have a real nice feel about them.  This book is turning out to be a lot of fun to work in.