flight plan

12 x 12 canvas with a cool shell threaded to hand off of the left edge that did not photograph well.

brand new day

"brand new day"

i don't think i ever showed you the finished version...

Art Doll ATCs

oh my gosh! This is an addicting activity. ATC art dolls. The add-ons have to fold into the card somehow so you still maintain the card size and your card will still fit into the sleeve. I love dolls and figurative things anyway, so this is just too, too fun to do - and much faster than an assemblage piece. I really liked figuring out how to get the pieces to fold into each other

Plaid Fairy
Stars in the Sky
Kindness

All for a new ATC Swap I joined. Mailed out today.

The Pulse

Please visit my friend Seth at The Altered Page.
He is doing an awesome thing called The Pulse.
Seth had a list of questions for 80+ artists - so here is a sneak peek into how we artists work, play and communicate.

Thanks Seth for all of your hard work!

I'm painting the drywalled basement. The end is in site. Thank goodness.

Art Guild Piece Finished

Beneath the snowfall

Winter quietly conceals

secrets of new birth.

- Jackson H. Day

Yay. Finished my piece for the art guild. The theme is nature. On the left is a pencil drawing of a winter sleeping tree and on the bottom right a single fallen leaf. It is (as usual) hard to see in the photograph.

There are many layers here starting with pages ripped from a copy of Jack London's "The Call of the Wild". Some of the lines can be read through the paint. Then a layer of gesso rubbed with 3 colors of paint and stenciled with crow outlines. Dabbed with some gold metalic here and there, and also some oil pastels.

After the wood, beads, fabric, feathers, button and metal piece were in place, I covered the linen and spattered everything with white and red paint. It is 16 x 20. Very warm and texture filled in person. I like to walk by and touch it, so I figure that's a good sign.

Recycled Words

This is too cool not to pass on.

Would you call this altered books or journals?

Either way the images are fasinating!

see Will Ashford

Drawing and Yoga

I am drawing! It is so fun. I am feeling better about it. More relaxed and like I remember how to do it again. Although she seems to have misplaced her ear...

Michael says she looks sad. I have no idea why she does.

Yoga yesterday and I have homework now. Stretching and spine poses. It was really wonderful. Can't wait for next week.

Listening to Alice

This is my page 3 and 4. They are supposed to be layered with hand prints and stuff. hmm. I guess I didn't get there. I will have to work on that later. This is what came out instead. Number 3 is my drawing - "She Listens to Birds" and number 4 is my drawing of Alice. She is for Vicki and DeeDee.

I'm not sure why Alice is crooked. She got drawn first and then I did the other elements. I think she is disgusted with the rabbit...should she go? Or maybe she has just returned and knows now what that rabbit is up to? Curiouser and Curiouser...

Journaling

Working on my journaling pages, but I find I like the visual aspect more than the journaling/diary part of it. I've been a self talker (in my head usually, btw) ever since I can remember, so I work out things in the car or the shower or while I'm painting a background, so it seems to work itself out before it comes out on paper.

This set of pages is from Sarah Whitmire's journaling prompets, and I liked doing it because it was one word descriptions instead of being coherent on the page. I liked it because it opened up some visuals for me and I played then with some of the other layers. I can't say I'm totally thrilled with the outcome and this "beautiful" presentation - but it was fun and told myself when I started that it wasn't supposed to end up in a magazine anywhere.

I get really hung up on pretty and perfect and presentation, so I have to push myself to just play with concepts and techniques.

I'm going to try this again with different colors and different stencil shapes.

I also need to get back to the paper dolls portion of Sarah's prompts - to go into my hometown drawing. I've had too many ideas, so I just need to stick to one and get it done.

Starting Yoga class tomorrow!!! Inhale...Exhale...

Smoky Eyes...

I bought the Suziblu "Party Girl" art kit. Because I am trying to be brave on all levels and I have posted to you before how I am afraid of drawing. Faces especially. I thought this would help to have a beautiful little face to look at and study and paint with no pressure.

It was really awesome. The supplies that come with the kit are fantastic. I got a big bag full of papers and sparkly thingies and rub-on transfers - so much that I did the painting and now I have lots left over to do many other projects. The paints are good enough to eat. Lucious and creamy and full of color in the smallest little drop, so you can water them down for fantastic glazing. I got the paints to complete just this painting, small pots, but there was plenty there for me to play a bit with them to make sure I was comfortable with how they worked, and still get the painting done.

I'm in love, love, love with the paints though. I will have to peek at what's available on the Artcellar list. Yummy. I can see why Suzi is always saying - "I love these".

Suzi's directions are step-by-step, with photos, so you can see what she means - but there is plenty of room for you to introduce your own creative style, once your comfortable with how the products works.

I wish you could see the cool sparkles in the swirls. Sometimes the photographs don't catch everything. You can see them on the left, but not as well on the right. I laid a stencil over the painting and used the awesome sparkly paint included in the kit. It is a little raised up so added some nice texture.

Thank you Suzi! I had a blast. She is so pretty. I must go buy a frame and put her in my art room to remind me that faces are not so scary after all.