Frustration and Fun

So, I started with this very cool background.

 

Then I added a girl.

 

Then I decided it needed to be night and I ruined it.

 

Total frustration! I can't get the background like I want!

 

Now, I just want to have fun!

 

 

 

 

I'm taking Juliette Crane's e-course, How to Create Whimsical Animals. These images are from sketchbook week. This class is wonderful (and we just started week two!). There are no other six week courses out there that focus on animals. Trust me, I've looked. Juliette has a very free, intuitive style and I enjoy that a lot. Hopefully taking a break from my other painting will help me to get it where I want it to go. The girl is so cute. She needs an awesome background. It will get there I'm sure.

Juliette's course is available until August 2013. There is plenty of time to join in the fun. I'll be posting my work for the course so, stay tuned!

 

 

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A Tough Month

Ever have one of those months that are just crazy! August was ours. First, my parents (Nana and Pop Pop) went on vacation for about 4 weeks so, I lost some regular babysitting time. Then, both kids got sick. Then all four of us went on vacation. Then I needed to recover from vacation. Then both kids got sick again! This is why I haven't blogged. It's been CRAZY!

Vacation was fun.

Uncle Kris has a pool!

And I have managed to get some 4x6 pieces of art done. I like working in this smaller size. I get a quicker sense of accomplishment!

Things are returning to normal so, I will hopefully get back on a regular schedule!

 

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On My Art Table

Homework from Sarah Ahearn's "Pages and Paint" E-course

For this painting I followed instructions from written prompts. I had two minutes to do each prompt. Sarah has this game in her book as well. This was fun. I enjoy painting without thinking.

 

Below is a journal page (still in progress) for Mindy Lacefield's Neat Stuff.

My daughter contributed the scribbles. The brilliant stick people are mine! She asked me to draw our family.

 

The following pictures are a work in progress.

First I created this background on 18x24 Mixed Media Paper from Strathmore.

 

Then I cut them down to 4x6's. I have an idea of what I want to use them for but I'm not sharing yet.

It's a secret!

 

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Lost Art Day...Found Fun

A couple weeks ago my babysitter cancelled at the last minute. I lost my art time. I wasn't very happy as my art time is limited. Fortunately, it was a nice day so the kids wanted to play outside. While unpacking a green plastic tote of all it's toys, we found a new friend.

 

 

 

My son is also an aspiring photographer. He's not perfect but he is only 4 1/2.

He did do a pretty good job capturing emotion! I love the emotion on Caitlyn's face! Oh yea, and that's a pretty good picture of me too!

I may have lost my art time but I got some wonderful memories of foggy fun instead!

 

 

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I Can't "Art" Without....

As promised here is the first installment of my new series discussing my favorite art tools.

I Can't "Art" Without....the black Stabilo Pencil

This pencil works on paper, glass, plastic and metal. It is also water soluble. When I use it on white paper and add water with a brush, I love how the lines come to life. It reminds me of old black and white cartoons of the 1930's.

 

The only issue with the pencil is it isn't permanent when dry. If it gets wet again it'll smear. When I use it on artwork I bring the black line to life with liquid matte medium on my brush instead of water. This gives me the look I like and makes the line permanent.

I did an experiment comparing my Stablio method with black Intense Pencils (a post about them later). Inktense are like watercolor pencils but they are permanent when dry.

 

I like the look of the Stabilo better.

I've also used it in my art work as well. The Stabilo gives me the bold line and shading as well.

I was introduced to the Stabilo from Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story (aka- Best e-course ever!). She uses it to draw in wet paint. A lot of other artists use it too! It's not an expensive tool so, pick one up and play! Check out the links below.

Stabilo

Mindy Lacefield

Paint Your Story

 

 

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From My Sketchbooks

I've been practicing some girls for two e-courses I'm taking. Mixed Media from the Heart and Learning with Tascha. Here is a sampling.

 

 

The top three sketches are inspired by Danita's Mixed Media course while the bottom sketch is from Tascha's. At first, I copy the artists' work and then I will keep sketching until it becomes more of my own. I usually can't replicate someone else's work no matter how hard I try. The Tascha sketches are pretty close though.

 

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Crafting with the Kids

We made butterflies for Nana and Pop Pop's anniversary. The kids painted and I assembled.

 

 

 

 

I managed to convince the kids to not mix their cool and warm colors together. They really liked using the liquid watercolors. I added string to the butterflies so Nana could hang them up in the apartment.

A couple of tips if you want to try this at home. Put watercolor paper under the filters while painting. Any paint that soaks through ends up on the paper and makes a neat pattern. We will use those papers in a later project. And spritz the filters with water before painting. It helps the colors bleed and spread better. I hope you will try this with your kids. It's very fun. Watered down acrylic paint may work in place of liquid watercolors. Acrylic inks (like the Liquitex brand) will definitely work. I'm not sure how well regular watercolors will work. The liquid form is more vibrant.

 

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