Sunday Sketches - Just Playing.

For today's post, I was just playing with windows  and watercolors and shapes.  Its not exactly what I had in mind but it engaged my creativity and was still fun.

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Using High Flow Acrylics

I have really been enjoying doing faces with markers. They really help you work on letting go of imperfection. You can't erase, they are hard to paint over so what you see is what you get.  I love the freedom of that.  Yes it is a little hard at first to cover your beautiful background, but its only paint and paper. If you really mess up badly you can always collage over the page.  Give it a try.

I used watercolors for the background and high flow acrylic for her dress.   I also have ben having fun using liquid watercolors and a spray bottle, it makes the paint do such fun things. I like to think that she is contemplating something interesting.

I bought a few of the high flow acrylics by Golden a little while ago. I have started to use in all sorts of projects.  They are really thin but give good coverage.  I have been just putting a drop or two on my palette and then painting with them.  You could draw with the nozzle too.  Wonderful paint to work with. If you find yourself thinning out the Golden fluids you might really like these.

I seem to go through stages of using certain supplies in my art and then navigate to something else.  I think the change tends to spark things up.

Come April 1 I'll be doing Camp Nanowrimo.  It a little different from the November event. You get to set your own goals.  I am shooting for 10,000 words, I'll be working on my current work in progress. I think to will be fun.  We have a local group where several people are participating.  A group always helps keep me motivated.  You can join in by going to http://campnanowrimo.org.

How about you?  How do you stay motivated?

Making Stamps from Packing Material.

I found these foam packing materials that I saved for some reason and thought - Stamps!  So I pulled out Julie Balzer's book for some ideas.

This is an awesome book by the way. If you are interested in carving your own stamps, I highly recommend it. Its foam so it was hard to carve.  I had to use an exacto knife. So I carved a couple stamps and then just used marks to create stamps. First just pencil marks and then used a stylus to deepen the marks.





I made all these stamps from one piece of foam.  Now how cool is that!

Here is the sheet of paper I tried the stamps on.  I think they will be fun to use.

So I moved on to a spread for 21 Secrets.  This is the background i started with.

I added this napkin as a collage element.  I separated the napkin into 3 layers and applied with matte medium.

The finished page used several of the stamps I made today.  It is pleasing to create your own stamps and then use them in your own creations.

Pulse - Paint Party Friday

The theme for this section for Spectrum is pulse and rhythm and the heart. These images began with liquid watercolors. I chose blue and red to symbolize veins and blood. From and old dictionary I  cut out heart pictures and transferred them to the page using a packing tape transfer method. I added additional watercolors and acrylic paints.  It was very organic, just taking my time to determine what to bring out an what to let recede. Some of the outlining is done in black paint and some with the scarlet lime pen.

I love looking at some of the details and pulling out sections for viewing.  To look at those sweet spots brings a smile to my face.

This piece seemed very floral, I saw flowers right away.  They may be leaves or they may be seed pods.  It's had to tell sometimes, I will just let the be whatever the viewer wants them to be. I enjoyed working on this piece in a way I haven't on any other in a long time. In giving myself permission to take it slow and work on it for a long time if needed I felt it go in places it wouldn't have otherwise.

Working On A Vision

There is still room to add some things.  I had so much fun finding pictures for this and imagining myself on this journey. I love making vision boards.  What are you envisioning today?

Sunday Sketches

This is what I drew in church today.  I want to draw an owl on my drum and I need some practice before I take paint to the drum.  This is the first of many sketches I will be doing.




As a bonus a photo I took of an owl in her nest. The male was not to be found.  I imagine he ws out hunting.

A New Member of the Family

As promised the last page in this small journal.  I call this Waiting.  I see the three sisters waiting for something important. It may be their husbands coming home from the sea or something else entirely.

This shows the same image with the flap folded over.  The first and last pages have flaps.



 Here is a video showing the entire journal. For some odd reason it plays twice, so when I get to the end you are done.  You don't have to watch it over again.

Meet Belle, she is the newest member of the family.  She is 6 months old and is a border collie/heeler mix.

Wednesday Musings

This page started out with just trying out some new stencils. She started out being quite green but turned into more of a blue lady.  I find it fun to paint faces non-traditional colors.  That way anything goes.

This started as collaged papers and then morphed into this woman.  I think she looks a little rough around the edges. Like she is a singer at a lounge back in the 50's. She smokes too many cigarettes and drinks too many cocktails, been hurt by too many men. Its fun coming up with personalities for my faces. Some seem to really have them and others not so much.  In fact I am thinking that its the not so pretty faces that are more interesting.  I have one more page to finish in this journal.  I wanted to be done for today's post but that was not meant to be. Maybe tomorrow.

Daily Art Journaling

About all I do lately is journal.  Having finished that last one I have many more to fill.  I like working in different sizes and shapes. Its becoming like a daily practice for me.  A way to start my day in art and I love that.

Here I was exploring  a look at all my creative pursuits. This is in one of those journals made from one sheet of paper. I've only a few pages left to do.

In this one I used Carolyn Dube spark of inspiration as a starting point. This one is in a Fabriano Venzia small journal. Ive only done about 6 pages in this one so it will be around for awhile.

This was an attempt to explore the idea of having too many creative ideas. Its in the same journal as the first page.

I won a spot in the course Spectrum and have been enjoying it a lot. It going to last till the end of the year.  So I needed a new journal to devote to it. This is the cover I created for the course journal.  Its a strathmore mixed media journal. I sanded the ugly brown cover and covered it with old book and music pages. The I drew the flower, colored it in with distress stains and painted in the background.  The word on the petals represent the things we'll be covering in the course.

These pages are on the idea of opening.  I had written words and symbols underneath and then painted over it all. The left I liken to waves and water and the right is more on imagery, with a map and other personal symbols.  I love how the pages are connected but still very different.

Rita Catherine Farrell Somers

Its my mothers birthday today.  I am named after her.  She was Rita Catherine and I am Kathleen Rita. Our birthdays are a week apart so we shared the same astrological sign. I have her curiosity and love of life. She died back in 1998 but truly has never left me.  I see her in myself and in many of the things I do.  I wrote this fun post about her a couple years ago. I have no idea how old she is in this picture, probably her early twenties.  I wish I could call her for a chat or have her over for a cup of tea. What a talk we would have after all this time.

Finished Journal

Well I finished up this journal. When I first started using it I like the paper but then I began to use more water media and the paper just didn't hold up anymore. There are other journals with better paper that I like a whole lot more. So I am happy to put it to rest. Here are the last pages.

In the Forest.

My take on a whimsical elephant. i love painting elephants, love bringing them to life and hopefully garner some wisdom from them.  I always think of Ganesha, the Hindu god, the remover of obstacles. I know we can all use that help.

I so love drumming.  Its like the beat calls me back to some primal connection. Lots of gelli plate printed papers in there.

This is a magazine image that I first covered in clear gesso and then painted over in acrylic. I had not done this technique in a long time.  If you are interested in painting faces this is a great way to start.  The clear gesso leaves a gritty surface that takes paint really well.

I am calling this one "Under the Blue Moon"  I have been trying to paint under the full moon and the new moon every month. I wonder when the next blue moon is.  I'll have to look that up.

The Dancers And More

I have been diligently working in my Canson Mixed media journal. There are so few pages left that I am ready to end it and focus on another journal.

The Dancers - acrylic.

Ravishing redhead.

Oil pastel, just playing with color.

I started with all the scraps of papers lying on my art table. Mostly remnants of projects done earlier in the week.

Then I ended up with this.  I love how that happens.

and lastly the fairy forest.

Sunday Sketches - March 2

I've got three things to share today.  They were all created at church today.  It was a really long service.

First is my little baby elephant.

I did the color last week so added and extension to the left side of the page so I can now have the black and white and color versions.  Its not exactly the same but it is representative so I am satisfied with it.

Then another face and words, I guess I can't get away from that on on Sunday.

Check out alex's new home for Sunday Sketches here.