OfficeTYPE

Day 10 of 29 Faces

2012-02-10T15:10:00.002-05:00

Here's a WIP for today. Hoping to further develop some of the recent WIP sketches into paintings this weekend.

Day 9, 29 Faces

2012-02-09T20:42:00.001-05:00

Here's a quick WIP sketch for day 9. Oh dear, there are not enough hours in a day.

Teaching Art

2012-02-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've been teaching a 14 week art class to two groups of students for the past month or so. I am so impressed with how they are doing. They are so attentive and willing to try new things plus they are having some great results too.

Below are a few quick samples I made for them for recent lessons. Last week they learned about 1 point, 2 point, and 3 point perspective. This week they learned about shading strokes, grey scales, cross-hatching, and determining a light source. Next week I am going to have them experiment with right-brained drawing. I can't wait - I'm so proud of my students!

Painting Process

2012-02-08T17:26:00.002-05:00

Today, I thought I'd show the process behind some of my recent paintings.

Day 8, 29 Faces

2012-02-08T10:58:00.001-05:00

Here is day 8 of 29 Faces. As you can see, this one is a WIP sketch. Started it last night. I probably won't have chance to do more on her today, so I'm just posting her as she is right now.

Day 7 of 29 Faces

2012-02-07T06:33:00.000-05:00

Today is day 7 of 29 Faces. This is going to be hard to keep up doing during the week for me, but we'll see how it goes. Not all evenings are free for drawing and painting. I may just end up with a rough sketch sometimes, instead of a finished piece.

This one took a lot of time as I had to keep messing around with the neck to get it the angles right. I think I re-did it about 3 or 4 times total. A mirror really helps. I started it on Sunday and finished it last night while watching "The Voice."

I think this one is one of my new favourites. I love the historical theme.

Oil Stick Portrait

2012-02-06T17:32:00.001-05:00

For day 6 today, of 29 Faces, I am showing a WIP of a face I started last night. I'm using Shiva oil sticks, for the first time. So everything is done with my fingertips, except for a little on the eyes and mouth that I did with pencils. I'm letting it dry before I go in add add more details.

Anyone have any tips for working with Shiva oil sticks? I've only ever used oil paints from a tube, not this stick format. It's really fun for blending, which surprised me, but I'm wondering what is used to get finer details? Do you thin it out to a paint consistency with turps and linseed oil (like the tubes), and then use a brush?

If I can't figure it out, I'll try going in with acrylic or water soluble crayons and see what happens... After it dries. ( my oil paint tubes and such are in storage so not accessible on the boat right now.)

29 Faces -Day 5

2012-02-05T06:04:00.002-05:00

Here is my face for day 5 of 29 Faces. I actually painted her last night, not today... So just don't tell anyone.
9"x12" canvas board. Acrylics, graphite, and water-soluble crayons. Background is vintage book paper and moulding paste.

Day 4 of 29 Faces

2012-02-04T16:41:00.002-05:00

This is my version of Natalie Portman. Graphite pencil. Day 4 of 29 Faces. I think I will paint for tomorrow's face. :)

Finding the lovely 29 Faces

2012-02-03T13:21:00.008-05:00

Happy Friday! Here is my homely, little alien girl above! ;)

Today is day 3 of 29 Faces. (29 faces in Feb).

Also, Jeanne's first Finding the Lovely Friday link up party can be found here.

Our new feature on ScrapScene is: WIP Monday. Click the link to show what you've been working on during the past week.

I think I'm pretty much done with this girl

2012-02-02T06:53:00.004-05:00

I think I'm pretty much done with this girl. Time to move on! She is charcoal and watersoluble graphite on a painted canvas board surface. 9"x12".

And, it's Day 2 of 29 Faces!

I do not think I showed this one yet

2012-02-01T03:43:00.001-05:00

This one is now completed. 9x12" canvas board.

A new portrait - WIP

2012-02-01T03:38:00.003-05:00

This is a new one I started last night. My first instalment for 29 Faces.

Just a Couple More Drawings

2012-01-31T10:34:00.001-05:00

On the left, I used water soluble graphite and charcoal. On the right, she is a WIP done in charcoal.

Made some progress

2012-01-28T13:34:00.001-05:00

Made some progress on this girl last night. I'm not quite done with her yet.

(Sometimes this Blogger app cuts photos off when I upload from my phone, so if it does, sorry about that. I'll fix that when I'm back at my computer.)

Started 2 More Paintings Last Night

2012-01-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple more paintings I started last night, while watching American Idol.

New painting - WIP

2012-01-25T18:44:00.003-05:00

Just trying out this Blogger App so I can blog from my iPhone.

Here is a painting I started the other day. Not sure what I'll add to it next. Maybe some text..? I have to think about it some more!

Girl with a Blue Tam

2012-01-22T16:20:00.002-05:00

New painting, "Girl with a Blue Tam." For sale in my Etsy shop. 9"x12" canvas board.

Creatively Made

2012-01-22T15:48:00.004-05:00

I've been painting up a storm this weekend. Jeanne Oliver's "Creatively Made" class is so inspiring. Check it out if you get a chance.

A Few More Portrait Photos

2012-01-19T16:44:00.003-05:00

These are some partial shots of some recent paintings. I'm planning on trying to get some good photos of my paintings this weekend, so I can finally list them in my Etsy shop! Need some good daylight for it though. :)

Charcoal Portraits

2012-01-17T06:39:00.000-05:00

Played a bit with charcoal the other day...

A Couple of Finished Portraits

2012-01-15T21:34:00.002-05:00

Did a bit of painting today, finishing up a few that I had on the go for a couple of weeks now. The one below is the one that streaked after I applied clear gesso. I am going to need to find a spray fixative instead for the next ones.

Finished this girl too. She was started during the Christmas holidays.

Working on this Girl Today

2012-01-08T17:07:00.005-05:00

I've been working on this girl today. I just put clear gesso on her so I can add more layers, but it did a little streaking. So I'll have to fix that up. Actually, maybe I like the streaks... we shall see how it goes. ;)

This is how she looked yesterday:

Below, you can see how she looked several weeks ago: the start of her eye, anyway.

P.S. I have no idea why Blogger decided to underline the above sentence...

Collage of Paintings

2012-01-05T08:15:00.001-05:00

Here is a collage of some recent paintings.

Hankie Curtain

2012-01-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

I've seen this idea around and finally got a chance to try it out myself. So simple. Hankies sewn together to be a sheer curtain with no lining. I need to collect some more hankies though, to make it larger. These are ones that my Mom brought me back from a trip to Wales last spring.

Painted Pillows

2012-01-03T08:04:00.003-05:00

These are some fabric pillows/cusions I made last week. First I painted on unbleached cotton and then sewed them into pillows. :)

"Raining Angels" Mixed Media Painting

2012-01-02T08:36:00.001-05:00

I sure had fun with this one. I want to make more of these little characters!

Mixed Media Painting "Soar"

2012-01-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Trying a little something different right now. Happy New Year everyone!

Dark Haired Wide-Apart-Eye Girl

2011-12-31T08:10:00.001-05:00

Here is a dark haired wide-apart-eye girl I made on Wednesday as well. This girl isn't finished yet, but she's well on her way now.

Blondie

2011-12-30T08:08:00.001-05:00

This is another wide-apart-eye girl I made on Wednesday. I may add some more shading and layers to her yet.

3/4 Portrait

2011-12-29T09:05:00.001-05:00

This is a new girl that I finished yesterday morning. I have two more new ones I made yesterday as well. They aren't quite finished yet, so I may show you them tomorrow.

Portrait Making this Week

2011-12-28T08:17:00.003-05:00

The kids and I stayed back at my Mom's this week, while T went back home to work for 3 days. So, I've been getting lots of painting in so far. Hoping to keep on the trend!

Below is a new portrait I started this week. She is pretty much done now, I just have to work on the background. I did her on paper and need to transfer her to canvas board, but I didn't bring any gel medium with me so it will have to wait until I'm home.

This lady is the same one I showed you the other day, but I have finished her now. She has a bit of an alien look to her I think. I may make more of these wide-apart-eye girls.
I started another one last night, but I'll put a pic of her up maybe tomorrow. She has a bit more work to do yet.

Merry Christmas... and some painting

2011-12-25T19:03:00.005-05:00

Hello there and Merry Christmas! We went to a hotel for a couple of days, with a nice pool and jacuzzi. Then we went to my Mom's, where we are now.

At the hotel on Friday, I started another painting. This one is still in the works. It is painted straight onto canvas board, which is quite a textured and bumpy surface. I think that now I've figured out why so many artists begin their drawings and paintings on paper and then transfer it to canvas using gel medium. The surface of the paper is much more smooth and so now I wish I had begun this painting using that method. It would be so much easier to get finer details.

This morning, I started to paint some faces on unbleached cotton. Another bumpy surface. Then this afternoon, I sewed them up and stuffed them with polyfill. They are painted using watercolour pencils and water soluble Neocolor crayons. I would like to try printing onto fabric from a printer and then sewing that up into dolls. It would certainly be a time-saver.

That's it for now! Hope everyone is having a great day!

The Beginnings of a New Portrait

2011-12-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

This is another portrait I began one evening last week. See what I mean? I have several on the go that need to be completed.

Eye

2011-12-17T19:36:00.002-05:00

Last night I started another portrait. (I know, I really should finish the others I've got on the go!). This is graphite with watercolour pencils and NeoColor water soluble crayons.

Painting

2011-12-16T12:38:00.002-05:00

I'm still working on this girl. She is getting closer to being finished. I'm hoping that I can find the time this weekend to get her done!

Here is a collage showing some recent paintings.

Here's another girl

2011-12-12T07:20:00.000-05:00

This girl I worked on at the same time as the last girl I showed you. That is why she looks so similar. ;)

This is how she started out:

This is her in-progress shot:
And then to the final picture at the top.

Ok, I think she's finished

2011-12-11T15:12:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I think she's finished now. I may fiddle around with her a bit more... we'll see. I think I'm tired of working on her though - time for a new girl!

Here's how she started out:

Then to this. The beginnings of hair:

Finished the hair and added in shoulders.
And then to the first picture at the top where she got clothes. ;)

Work in Progress

2011-12-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

Making some more progress on this girl. Not quite finished yet...

In Progress Girl Paintings

2011-12-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of girl paintings in progress.

Portrait in the Works

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

This is a painting I'm working on, based on the drawing I showed here. I've got a few problems to work out on her yet...

In Progress Girls

2011-12-05T21:25:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple more in-progress girls from yesterday. I'm dying to get back at it, but the lighting is really poor here in the evening, plus I'm ready for bed!

More Angel Girl Paintings

2011-12-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

More angel girl paintings from this weekend.

Painting Girls - Angels

2011-12-03T16:09:00.001-05:00

I got a chance to do a lot of painting this weekend. Since we have the plastic on the boat, we have more living space. So I've made a little studio space for myself on the front deck. I love it that I don't have to put my things away before I'm finished a project!

More Textures

2011-12-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

More experimenting with paint, paste and textures.

Textures

2011-12-02T12:10:00.000-05:00

Playing with textures and paint...

Altered Journal Covers

2011-11-27T17:12:00.003-05:00

Made my art journal pages into books using Roben-Marie Smith's technique. Above are extra painted fabric strips drying.

Art Journal Page

2011-11-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

"I made a wish and you came true!"

Art journal page.

Art Journal - Altered Book

2011-11-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

"From every stormy wind that blows... there is a calm a sure retreat..."

Art journal page in altered book.

Art Journal - Altered Book

2011-11-25T20:26:00.002-05:00

"You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds." - Thoreau
Art journal page in an altered book.

Fabric Marker on Pillows

2011-11-23T09:08:00.002-05:00

Remember that fabric I wrote a hymn on with a fabric marker? Well now it is 2 bolster pillows!

Mixed Media Portrait

2011-11-20T08:34:00.001-05:00

Water colour pencil crayon, Neocolor, modeling paste, book paper on canvas board.

Vintage Style Canvas Portrait

2011-11-19T09:13:00.002-05:00

Canvas portrait - old book pages & drawing with watercolour pencil crayons. Inspired by Jeanne Oliver.

More Girl Drawings in my Art Journal

2011-11-13T10:10:00.001-05:00

Drawing

2011-11-12T18:26:00.001-05:00

Working on this sad little girl in my art journal today.

Art Journal

2011-11-11T07:21:00.000-05:00

We moved into our winter slip so now we can get our frame and plastic up. This will mean more room on deck where I can leave my supplies out while making things. This will be good for productivity!

Art Journal

2011-11-10T08:17:00.000-05:00

Art Journals

2011-11-09T08:10:00.000-05:00

Art Journals

2011-11-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

I watched the wonderful videos from Roben-Marie Smith's online class, "Art Journal Conversion" and they were amazing. She is such a talented lady. Just go see her work here on her blog. Anyway, here are a few pages I made after watching her videos.

More Art Journal Glimpses

2011-11-07T16:03:00.003-05:00

I've got lots of recent art journal pages to show you over the next few more days. I had a chance to play with my supplies this weekend and the kids did too!

Art Journaling

2011-11-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, more art journaling!

Just a Corner

2011-11-05T08:34:00.001-04:00

Building layers.... just a corner. I'm hoping to make some time for creating this weekend!

Playing

2011-11-04T16:32:00.000-04:00

Playing in my art journal....

Art Journal

2011-11-03T09:34:00.001-04:00

Art Journals - WIP

2011-10-30T10:02:00.001-04:00

I've been so busy lately with homeschooling, etc,, but still have found time to play in my art journals! Will try and post more again soon.

Apple Prep

2011-09-30T11:38:00.001-04:00

Apple crisp... mmm!

More fabric painting...

2011-09-22T08:19:00.000-04:00

Lots of fun lately!

Painting on Fabric

2011-09-21T16:16:00.003-04:00

Here are some more experiments with painting on fabric:

Silk screen printing drying outside:

Silk screen printing in progress:

My New Fabric Designs at Spoonflower

2011-09-13T19:44:00.004-04:00

I have a few new Spoonflower fabric designs up. Here they are:

Feathered Sky: This is a photo of an actual swatch.

This is a virtual image so that you can see the pattern repeat and sizing.
Fleur Yellow:

Frame Whimsy:

Antlers on Brown:

And, here is the link to all my Spoonflower fabrics. Thanks for looking!

Stamp Carving

2011-09-10T11:02:00.006-04:00

I will need to go and find more pink erasers. They are such fun to carve for stamps. Even my little guy did a couple up. I will have to take some pics of his yet. These are ones I did. The white eraser is from a different material and doesn't cut as easily as the pink.
I cut the design on this lino-block several years ago and forgot about it. Now I'm planning to try it out and print with it onto fabric.

This other one is another that I started awhile back, but never finished. So yesterday I worked on it some more, but cut my finger. So that will put a damper on things!

New Fabric Design at Spoonflower

2011-09-02T10:01:00.005-04:00

I've received and approved the test swatch from Spoonflower for my latest fabric design, "In the Woods." This is from a drawing I did awhile back and it is available as of today, here. This design can be ordered in many different fabric types, from quilting weight to upholstery weight twill.

Thanks for looking!

More Handpainted Fabric

2011-09-02T09:35:00.003-04:00

Here is a little update on my handpainted fabric that I showed in the previous post. I've begun to add some details to them. I may still add more to these ones, not sure yet. :)

Fabric Painting

2011-08-31T11:00:00.006-04:00

I've been watching the videos from Alisa Burke's online class, "Beneath the Surface." So inspiring! The wee ones have been watching and painting along with me. :)

Edited: These are backgrounds and I haven't begun to add layers & details yet. That will be the fun part!

Another...

2011-08-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

This is another painting that is unfinished, so I've cropped it a bit. Someday I'll get back to these unfinished projects!

A Couple of Paintings

2011-08-12T09:17:00.002-04:00

I was cleaning out our storage unit and came across a couple of my paintings from about 10 yrs ago. The second one is unfinished. I really should finish it.... one day! The first one was made with plaster and stencils.

Blog Changes

2011-08-12T08:59:00.003-04:00

Ok, I messed around with the blog again. New banner and new sidebar icons too. :)

Dolls on eBay

2011-08-04T09:07:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd try putting a few of my handmade clay dolls up on eBay to see how it goes. If you'd like to check them out, you can see them here, here, and here. Thanks for looking!

New Banner

2011-08-02T13:04:00.002-04:00

Time for a new banner...

More MB Pics

2011-07-30T11:38:00.002-04:00

Just a couple more photos from our trip to Manitoba last month. The first two are at Star Mound.

This one is at Pilot Mound.

Vintage Wallpaper

2011-07-19T16:13:00.003-04:00

When we were in Manitoba last month, I picked up some vintage wallpaper to play with. Here are a couple of shots of them. One is also shown in the background of the new header.

At the Beach

2011-06-22T08:13:00.000-04:00

The campground we were at this past weekend has such a nice beach. We had great weather too. Perfectly sunny and warm.

Camping with the Boler

2011-06-21T17:59:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we went camping with our Boler trailer. The first time we've been out this year with it. So much fun. I'm not sure why we don't do this more often. We do have another trip planned for mid-July and hopefully many more will follow as well.
A view inside the trailer one evening.
I decided I wanted to learn how to 'whittle.' So here is a log cabin I started to make with Lochlan.
We left the 'logs' in the trailer to continue on them during our next camping adventure.
Just a shot of a quilt I made for Eireann about 3 yrs ago. This one stays on her bunk in the camper.

On Father's Day, we hiked the bluff trail at the campground. There were lots of sand dunes.

Tomorrow, I'll post some pics of the beach.

Inside my Art Journal Box

2011-06-16T07:07:00.000-04:00

You can read my recent article about what is inside my traveling art journal box in a post here.

Art Journaling on the Go

2011-06-14T18:44:00.006-04:00

These are some photos of the art journal pages I completed while on our Manitoba trip. You can read about it in more detail here.

Manitoba Trip

2011-06-10T14:35:00.003-04:00

We just got back from a trip to Manitoba to visit T's family. We had a great time visiting everyone and seeing the sites. I could do without the wood ticks though! We went to the fossil museum in Morden, an attached house/barn museum in Neubergthal, T's parents cabin in LaRiviere, climbed Pilot Mound, visited Crystal City, went to the old school house museum at Star Mound, drove through the little village of Snowflake, explored some abandoned houses, and did lots of geo caching, metal detecting and bug collecting too.

Art Journal Photo Dump

2011-05-19T19:37:00.003-04:00

Just a few more art journal photos that I don't think I've posted before. We're getting ready for a trip so not much time to create right now. Heading out to Manitoba next week!

Afghan Girl

2011-05-14T11:07:00.003-04:00

More highschool art. This was drawn from the cover of the National Geographic cover photo of the Afghan Girl, printed in 1984.

I've been neglecting this blog lately. Hope to get more time for crafting and artsy stuff soon. Been busy with so many things: schooling, funeral, family visits and visitors to the boat, and we took off the winter frame on the boat too so lots of cleaning on deck. Summer is finally here.... I think!

More Old Art

2011-05-02T23:20:00.001-04:00

More old art - from highschool days. An unfinished portrait.

Art Journal - Faber Castel

2011-04-26T17:29:00.004-04:00

Here is the link to the post on ScrapScene about my art journal pages using some Faber Castel products. (There is a giveaway there too!) I had such a fun time trying out the Gelatos especially. I think I've found another new staple to keep in my supplies.

Grandpa

2011-04-26T17:03:00.001-04:00

My Grandpa passed away yesterday. He was 92. He lived a good long life and I know I'll see him again one day. This picture was taken on my grandparents wedding day.

Art Journal - Faber Castell

2011-04-24T09:10:00.002-04:00

I've been playing in my art journal with some Faber Castel products for a post on ScrapScene. Here is a little peek...

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:43:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter! We are all on the mend here and I did some art journaling yesterday too. So things are looking up.

P.S. This little bunny was my Grandmother's. She loved him enough to make him some little knitted clothes, and now I love him too!

This Weekend

2011-04-16T11:32:00.004-04:00

Well, we are a bunch of sickies here right now, so probably not much crafting will go on this weekend. We'll see how tomorrow looks.

Have you seen Pinterest? It is a place where people "pin" photos of things that inspire them around the web. It's like a big 'ole inspiration board. You can see my page there here.

Art Journal WIP - "The Lady"

2011-04-14T08:20:00.000-04:00

"The Lady" is coming along. I'm not done with this page yet... still more layering and texture to add. Also, her neck is looking a bit too long, so I may have to shorten it. I love this about art journaling. You can go on to another page and then come back later and add more to it. Seems like lots of pages are ongoing...

Art Journal - WIP

2011-04-13T07:26:00.000-04:00

Another page... no journaling on it yet though.

Peat Pot Basket

2011-04-11T08:45:00.000-04:00

I found some little peat pots at the dollar store and made some little Easter baskets with them using Mod Podge, and old book paper. The one below was made by using Mod Podge on dressmaker pattern tissue paper. Liquitex inks were used to antique the edges and a rubber stamp was applied as well. See more in my post on ScrapScene here.

More Art Journal WIP

2011-04-10T19:07:00.001-04:00

More art journal WIP pages from today. I'm adding some figures to some of the pages.

Art Journal - WIP

2011-04-09T20:10:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I worked on more art journal pages. (After the laundry of course!) These are all on the go - and so far no text.

Shrinky Dinks

2011-04-07T09:09:00.006-04:00

I've been having fun testing out some Shrinky Dinks product samples for a post on ScrapScene (to come.) ** Edited: here's the link.

Art Journal - WIP

2011-04-04T08:14:00.002-04:00

Weekends are a good time for me to get out my art supplies as I can play in my art journals without feeling guilty that T is at work, slaving away! This time of year is great also, because I can do my experimenting on the front deck and leave my supplies out for a bit. The temperature is warm enough under the plastic to paint out there plus things are out of the way from tempted little people fingers. So this weekend I worked on 8 different pages. They are all in various stages of completion. Here are a few photos.

On the left is "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3. On the right is "Cloudless peace for me," a phrase from The Little Flock hymnal #137.