friday fill-ins

IMG_2629, a photo by alteredstatesstudio on Flickr.

and.... here we go.....

1. why is it that i am not done christmas shopping?
2. how much the dog weighs in meatballs, (this one is for you boys....) that's what i want to know!
3. hold on- do you hear your wishes whispering to you? listen closely and reach for those dreams.
4. we are ready for change, but, it needs to come soon.
5. do you collect something? what is it? i love old, vintage clocks.
6. remember to live, laugh every day- it is good for you, be with who you love.
7. and as for the weekend, tonight i'm looking forward to watching my husband play family feud, tomorrow my plans include going shopping with my best friends and the ladies, and sunday, i want to work in my shop to get ready for the upcoming art show- Artists Against Hunger.

yupo paper continued....

IMG_2622, a photo by alteredstatesstudio on Flickr.

this is my newest rendition on the yupo paper....i continued to play and then decided that what it really needed was to add some collage and my favorite french script stamp. ultimately, my plan is to cut this large sheet into several small original works for an up-coming show. :)

 Artists Against Hunger Show  is coming up in two weeks. the show will kick off on friday, dec 7th.

art journal

IMG_2619, a photo by alteredstatesstudio on Flickr.

here is my newest entry into my art journal. i tried donna downey's technique of putting  sticker numbers underneath and then painting over. i collaged one of my wine label's toad hollow. the label is super cool and as i remember the wine was very good too!

a reminder to have faith- a gift for a friend

IMG_2499, a photo by alteredstatesstudio on Flickr.

when one door closes, another door will open. you must believe.....recently i was reminded of this through a friend. i made her this. it was for her new desk,.......she never doubted.

"give thanks" door

i had picked up this kitchen cupboard door- it was an sample from a home improvement center; knowing that i would re-purpose it....i lightly sanded it, wiped down and painted it black.

once the black was dry, i used a fairly bright yellowish green and raw sienna. i painted the green all over and used the raw sienna only as an accent on the corners and on the inside along the edges. i then sanded the edges and corners to provide that worn look i was looking for and allow the black to show through.

i then drew the words in pencil and then followed up with a sharpie and a coat of spray varnish to keep my cupboard looking good! and i deeply apologize.....i saw this idea on another blog and i now, i cannot find it to share the link (thought i had pinned it....). my door looks very similar, so, if you have seen something like this- please leave me a note so i can give proper credit. thanks!

i had started another art journal...mainly because it is a music notebook and liked how the paper was ruled. i have seen several other journal on different paper and liked how those looked. i decided that the cover was way too boring... there was a nice watercolor palette close and i just started to paint.

add a few little details- i like the blue arrows....

here is the cover as it is now. i don't like my green blob at the bottom, but, collage can fix that easily enough. it is not the most beautiful, but, i did have a good time!

model drawing

thursday night i went over to the city and joined my mom at the university to go to the model drawing class. the model for the evening was a very agile young man who did almost impossible poses. i am not evening willing to show a glimpse of the quick 3 minute warm up sketches- you would think your five year old had done them....

this was his last pose and he held this for 40 minutes. i wasn't as happy with my paper- i was wishing i had some colored paper for the pastels to show up better on, but, what do you do....the other thing i learned that night, is that india ink does not like to be on top of pastel- at all.....friday morning, i was liking my drawing much better. i decided it was probably in direct correlation to the amount of competition at home versus the university.... :), but, i do like it now- it is what i would term "my speed."