Bent

12 x 12" Mixed media on watercolor paper

Inspiration for this piece:

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15 x 22" Mixed media on watercolor paper

Trust and Believe

Mixed media on 22"x 30" watercolor paper.  This piece was painted with acrylics, shading and dimension added with oil pastels.  The journaling to the right was blurred to keep private.

Jackson

Decided to change my color palette a bit this week using more muted tones. I took this pic of my grandchild a few years back at the beach.  Loved his little shorts almost falling off and have wanted to paint it for a while.   My daughters birthday seemed like the perfect occassion. 

12" x 18" oil on canvas

What does X look like

I have a milestone birthday coming up on Thursday....the kinda birthday that makes you stop and reflect.  Am I where I want to be in life?  What have I accomplished in life?  What would I change if I could?  What are my goals for the future?

12"x18" watercolor, graphite and ink on hotpressed watercolor paper

Joy and a Happy Muse

Wishing everyone Joy and a Happy Muse

in 2014

8x10 Mixed Media on Cotton Canvas, digital manipulation

The Journey

This piece is entitled "The Journey".  Sometimes the journey is a smooth ride.  Sometimes the journey is a bumpy road.  Sometimes the journey takes an unexpected turn.  Sometimes the journey slows to a stop....I consider this time a moment to regroup and reflect as has been my process lately. 

After not having enough time to paint for three months due to a hectic work schedule,  I was finally able to pick up my brushes again.  I have missed and longed to create in my art journal with acrylics, oils and inks.  As with many others, art is an outlet.  Art is my therapy.  Art allows me to express feelings and thoughts....good or bad.  I truly love to paint, put it through photoshop then run it through pixlr for different effects as is the case with the above piece. 

I created the above piece with acrylics, oils, inks and spray paint.  This piece took many different turns with many, many layers.  She ended up with wonky eyes which I am coming to embrace.  The tear was not intended, it came about when I used ink on the eyes then turned it up to get a look at the progress.  The tear just emerged.  

Today I am truly thankful to have the time to create again.

The Journey continues.

Is it Christmas yet??

A litlle Christmas photoshop for a friend, Lisa Burton.  This is her granddaughter, Presley

Naughty

The light

Light's all around

From dawn to dusk

From twilight to sunshine again

A ray of hope, A beam of life

Amusing every soul.

Eyes that dare to dream..

                                 - Sudarkodi Nagarethin

Once upon a time....

......there was a little girl.

Moments in time

Deviant Scrap Hotel Hell Collab

The shadows

Deviant Scrap Hotel Hell Collab

ill fated

No time to break out the paints, but seriously wanted to create tonight....so....turned to the next best thing....digital.   Deviant Scrap has some awesome Halloween kits/elements:
 Pinkloty
 ItKuPilli
 Hotel Hell

No trespassing

Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society.  If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.  P.J. O'Rourke

8x10" oil/mixed media

Ashley's Alice

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!!!!!

YouTube video of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland

  The above was painted with love for my daughter Ashley which requested something from Alice in Wonderland.   I so love Alice in Wonderland so this piece was SOOOO much fun to paint!

  The piece is an acrylic/mixed media on a 14" x 22" cradled birch board.   My favorite part of the piece is the addition of Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Pearlescent White which was used to highlight all of the white.  When the light hits the white from a certain angle the piece looks so magical!!  I wish I could show this in the pic but there is no way to show without a huge flash on the piece.  

Anyway, I think my child is going to love this!

Inspiration:
http://klimtbalan.blogspot.com/2011/03/wayne-anderson.html
http://www.dominicmurphyart.com/index.htm
http://www.filmofilia.com/new-and-hi-res-%E2%80%9Calice-in-wonderland%E2%80%9D-images-9689/#oogleto:http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/aliceinwonderland_4.jpg

No poptarts today

No poptarts today.  
Acrylic/mixed media on three each 6"x6"x 1.5" stretched canvas.
Inspiration  Land of Lost Luggage  "Act Natural" online acrylic class.

"Act Natural" abstract

Anyone who follows my blog knows how I love to take online art courses.  This week I stumbled upon thelandoflostluggage with Julie Prichard.  The site was exactly what I had been looking for!

Just getting back into art recently there is so much that I want to explore/learn and have taken some awesome online courses.  This particular course  "Act Natural"  explores the art of making "grunge" which can be used for backgrounds or stand as contemporary abstracts on their own.  

Julie has a ton of courses that I wanted to take but this one for some reason just stood out.  I am sooooo impressed with her class!  Julie is very knowledgeable and very organized.....I love that.  From the time I paid for the class, to the time I clicked on the first video the whole process was completely spelled out.  Being very familiar with online courses I didnt need an intro but decided to watch the intro video anyway.  Anyone not familiar with taking online courses would easily be able to find their way around with this intro video.  Just the whole process was very impressive.  

Not only does Julie give you a fabulous class showing you in detail the techniques, paints and brushes she uses to get awesome effects, each lesson also has a printable PDF.  The PDF's  have instructions, paints, brushes and supplies with the dickblick reference number attached.  

Check out her site The Land of lost luggage for some awesome online courses. Julie also has courses with Chris Cozen which  look awesome!!!!  So many to choose from it will be a tough decision deciding which to take next, but I definately know....there will be a next.

The above pieces are my first lessons with Julie in my art journal.  Will probably go back and play with this piece more tonight but just had to post about this exciting class!!

Little Red Riding Hood

Finally I finished this piece.   Have been "piecing" it together for what seems like forever.  

I made Riding Hoods face out of paper clay after taking JoAnnA Pierotti's online tutorial  Creating faces.  Once I decided I wanted to make Little Red Riding Hood with her, I added more paper clay for the hair and the hood then painted with acrylics.  Background was created on 11"x12"x1 1/2" birch with stain, oils, acrylics and spraypaint.  I did make the Big Bad Wolf out of paper clay but he turned out looking more like Rudolph so he didnt make the cut....

Dreams

"Its the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

-Paulo Coelho, Alchemist

Acrylic, graphite in art journal. 

True Free Spirit inspired.

You go ahead, I'll wait right here

Art journal - mixed media

Free at Last

 My dearest and oldest friend Ed died a couple of weeks ago.  My journal is full of journaling and drawings lately in his honor.

 Ed was an old school kinda guy that has taken care of his mother for 10 years.  Taking care of his mother for 10 years was a double edged sword for Ed.  Although he enjoyed the final 10 years of her life, it took a tremendous toll on him.  Ed's mother died one month ago at 90 yrs old.  Ed of course was mourning her death, but was finally planning his decent to Florida.  Life for Ed was finally just beginning....he would be free to hang out by the pool all day and travel to all the places he had longed to visit and experience.    In the last month the "old Ed" I first met, a happy go lucky, fun, stress free kinda guy emerged again.  This was FINALLY  Ed's time to live....truly live. 

Exactly one month after Ed's mother died,  Ed died in his sleep.

I miss my friend horribly.  I miss his dry wit and huge heart.  I miss his old school ways.  I miss his laughter. I miss being called "angel".   I just miss Ed.

If you are a caregiver, please remember to take time for yourself.  Respite care is not a privilege, it is mandatory.

You are free at last now Ed.

Serenity

God, grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change...

Courage to change the things I can

and Wisdom to 

know the difference.....

They say art reflects our life.  Without going into detail, this stands true with me.

9x12" oil and acrylic on stretched canvas.

Wicked

'Its's just life, so keep dancing through."
-Wicked

  

This piece was inspired by Wicked the musical, the witch offering Snow White the poisoned apple in Snow White and the seven dwarfs.......and life experiences.

Acrylic, distress ink, spraypaint and panpastels on a 16x20"  birch cradled panel. 

Lindsey

This little piece was made as a graduation present for a dear girl named Lindsey.  Tomorow it will be printed and placed on mixed media craddled birch.
Imagery from ItKuPulli, Pinklotti and TumbleFish, all on deviantscrap.
Young lady and cat from Lindsey.

WIP Izannah Walker inspired dolls

Recently I have grown to love Izannah Walker dolls so I purchased this awesome PDF book by Dixie Redmond  HERE.  Dixie Redmond has put together this beautifully detailed book of how to make your own Izannah Walker inspired doll (emphasizing "inspired" for me).   She takes the doll step-by-step and even includes patterns!  

This is my first attempt at actually making my own doll and let me tell you....this is alot of work but very gratifying.  Because I do not sew....at all....I am improvising...alot.  The head is made of paperclay.  She is not perfect, but I think she is almost ready to cover with cotton stockinette/material. Before I cover her, I will make a mold of her face and bust therefore speeding up the process considerably.

Have a good one!!

Alma

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

The beat of her drum

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.  Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."

                                                                                                     -Henry David Thoreau

9x13" framed canvas.  Mixed media including acrylic, empherma, various markers and paper clay. Inspiration Tims Sally Free Spirit.

WIP - playing with paper clay

WIP

Have been playing with paper clay this week.   Of course the little girl on the bottom is inspired by the Tims Sally class I am taking.  Wanted to take the girl a step further and make her out of paperclay.  Now to finish painting the background for these guys and assemble.

Dance Me//The Civil Wars