back to canvas

i have been working small and in my art journals- which i love to do, but, sometimes i have to stretch my creative mind and fingers a little and work big again. this canvas is the first mixed media piece of many (i hope....) as i build on a concept i have been working on in my head.

i am currently working on a 24"x 30" canvas. here are a few sneak peeks for you:

i was using some of my new paint....which i discovered i so loved (thank you mom!). i love how you have to look close to appreciate some of the smaller details. 

i have used a mix of supplies that included acrylic paint, pencil and a thick, black charcoal, collage papers, and ink.

my pictures do not really capture the charcoal well- but, it looks almost like velvet sitting on the canvas.

happy monday!

need a bit of happiness?

been a long week?....need a little something to make you smile? how about a mini bit of colorful happiness?

i listed a few of these mini's in my etsy store today just for you!

happy friday!

ATC: fairy tales...

blue twig studio hosts an ATC challenge each month and this months challenge is fairy tales. i am playing along and made my ATC last night with a few stolen moments in my studio.....

i had been saving these images of the girl and the wings....just waiting for the perfect reason to pull them out of the drawer. i think that she is very sweet and i feel like she was perfect for this ATC.

one of my favorite quotes is from Alice in Wonderland, "If i had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense."

happy wednesday to you!

repurposed frame

if you are a sixties or seventies kid, one look at this frame and you can probably name off at least one person you knew who had a set of these metal frames with an art print hanging in the dining room or living room. the bummer part is that one had the convex glass and the other frame was missing the glass; so i removed it from both so i could use the frames.

i did use the original print cardboard back and simply drew a template so i knew what shape and size my mixed media piece needed to be. a little paint, some collage, and i threw a little sewing of some sari ribbon onto the front....and poof! i am calling this piece done.

i did spray the frames black and then, sanded some of the edges.

happy tuesday!

bookmarks anyone?

let me tell you how much fun i had making these.....omg! i had to make a couple for a swap, and the first couple turned out so darn cute...that i thought i better make more while the spirit was moving me!

i am posting these cutie-putie's into my etsy shop here. so swing by and get one- your book will love you for it!

a look back #DLP {when not to stop}

looking back through my Documented Life Project art journal, i realized i had made pages that i had not shared those with you.... (what the heck?....) so these pages are actually from the When Not to Stop back in february; and as you will see....i should have maybe asked myself, "should you stop now? or maybe now?!...." i will let you decide.

i did gesso the both pages to begin with and then started my layers. there are many layers on these pages and i had great fun with stencils as you can see on my pages.

happy wednesday!

Happy St Patrick's Day

wearing your green today? may the luck of the irish be with you today! happy St Paddy's day!

#DLP {making your mark}

posting my page for the challenge for the Documented Life Project- this one was the Making your Mark challenge. their featured artist for this challenge was Robin Mead and i loved her page and seeing her process for this challenge. (click on Robin's name to see her page.)

i did some mark making over and underneath the layers of paint and spray ink. i really liked the colors on this page. looking back at this challenge page, i almost feel like it is now, not quite finished though....i feel like adding some more doodles and marks after looking at this post pic. time shall tell.....

happy monday!

altered book

i have been at an altered book class the past two days. the class was taught by a long-time good friend of mine- Jennifer Stone...who is incredibly talented....and in her A-mazing studio space!

this is the cover of my book below. (we had to try and choose a cardboard book from her vast collection of fun shapes and sizes.)

i had such a fantastic time on thursday gluing, doodling, and painting- that i spent the night and took the class again on friday! the class was really for anyone at any level and Jennifer did just a wonderful job explaining the process and answering questions as she went and helping anyone that needed any assistance.

here are a few pics from the rest of my book.....

my book is not quite done- i still have a few pages left to do something with....but, according to Jennifer, the book are never, ever quite done..... she told us that even in the books that may look done- she still grabs those, and finds herself adding something to a page. the books literally have to be taken out of her hands when sold to stop the process.

happy saturday! hope you are busy creating something!

#TBT

#tbt

i could hardly wait for today- planning on doing some of the "they laughed" today as i am heading to a friend's house for an altered book class today. be sure to stop back tomorrow,...i will post what i make in the class. so excited to get there and get started.

happy thursday!

evolution {through destruction}

how can a 4" x 4" little canvas give me so much trouble?!....... i like to work small sometimes and had already painted this one which also included layers of collage. however, i grew tired of it and wanted to paint over it and make something else. i like being able to paint over other paintings. i like not starting on a blank canvas and the texture of the layers of paint and collage that may already be down- and then, sometimes peeling back through those layers to the original.

so i began the task of the re-do... only to discover that the layers of collage underneath all of this painting (including my new layer of paint) was soft because i paint so wet. "alright- no problem...let's take that collage off and see what i have"......20 minutes later with me picking and poking, pulling and peeling....and the evolution is this. i love the hot pink and yellow orange in the left upper corner.

i really like the colors and the three circles down here in the corner and the bit of collage that were left behind.

much happier now with this little guy! not sure i will do anything else....will let it "cook" for a bit to make sure that it doesn't need anything else.

happy tuesday!

cardboard book {collage and personal insight}

still slowly working through this little cardboard book i had purchased when the inspiration strikes. my challenge for this page was to only use scraps i could find around my work area.

as a collage/ mixed media artist i find it incredibly difficult to throw anything away.....let me be clear....i cannot hardly throw anything away. which is probably fine if you are an organized, neat artist. but, i am not.

nope. not neat in the least.

in fact, my studio is normally in a state of what i would call organized chaos. i tend to work and paint wet which means i normally have several projects "cooking" all at once. i will work on one thing and then have to set it aside and will grab something else. there are normally 2 or 3 art journals open, drying and in various stages of doneness.

sometimes though the project is not wet...sometimes i come to a point and i feel like i am not done with it, or i am not sure i like it, but, i do not know what to do next. i like to leave those around in unexpected places. sometimes it is easier to "see" what i don't like about it if i am not staring directly at it. i will come around a corner, and be like, "oh holy cow, i have no focal spot and this is a hot mess..." then, i can go back into the piece and fix what it needs.

do you have any tips or tricks? how do you work?

happy saturday!

wooden cradle {rewritten}

have you ever painted on a wooden cradle? ooooh, i do love them....in fact, it is almost to the point that i only want to paint on cradles instead of canvas or paper.....

i think some of my reasoning is the way i paint. i tend to paint wet, and i like layers- both of which hold up really well on the wooden cradle. the other thing, is i like to "peel" back through some of those layers and sand back through to the wood- to provide a worn, and loved feel.

this painting is just as much about what it is on, as what was written. sometimes don't you just feel like you need to write whatever that is down and get it out of your head? the cradle is only a 6" x 6" so when i was writing, i found that i quickly reached the bottom....so, i simply erased writing back over the top of what i had just written.

i really like how some of the words written in pencil can be seen more clearly and other words not; allowing you to see some of my message, but not the whole thing....allowing you to fill in the blanks- make you wonder about what else was written.

here is the final piece.....