A Little Bit of Catching up...

Over this past week, I have had some interesting things happening, the first of which is I finished the painting I started of my Cinnamon Bear. I am still debating adding some inspirational words, like I do with most of my art, so I will live with it like this for a while, and decide later.

 Last week I posted about our vacation being cut short, and deciding to work on our log cabin to make it ready to use. I decided to share some pictures, I just love it's rustic charm! Here is the north side,

 and the south. It has two decks and entrances.

 The downstairs bedroom, the floor was scrubbed clean with deck wash, which removed the silver color and  then I oiled it to swell the dry wood and enhance the color.

 Here is the vinyl tile I installed in the bathroom, which now has running water,a sink, a toilet and shower. I love rustic, but I am old enough to appreciate some modern conveniences...

and here is the gorgeous view looking north towards our little town. The land lacks the typical trees, lake or creek I would prefer in a vacation cabin, but the view and isolation make up for that. I went up on my own this past Friday, and clear coated the floors, so we are now ready to place the furniture and start enjoying our little hideaway. There are two whole other floors that remain untouched for now, I have been focusing on the main living area so that we can use it. The ultimate goal here is to sell the cabin, along with the surrounding 77 acres, but for now, we can enjoy some quiet times, and staging it as a usable get away can only help it sell better.

Back at the home front, I was delighted to harvest my first carrots and green beans this week, and steam them up for dinner. I have never grown this multi-colored carrot variety before, and think it lends an exotic look to the meal. There are a few new potatoes tucked in there as well.

 Last winter, I posted about my participation in the Art-o-mat Project, where you create little pieces of art, the size of a pack of cigarettes, ship them in and have them placed around the country in refurbished cigarette machines... These machines are placed in museum gift shops, hotel lobbies and various other high traffic locations, and managed by the folks at Artists in Cellophane, out of Winston- Salem, NC.
Well, after I sent my box in, I waited a very long time to hear back from anyone, and was beginning to think that the whole thing was a bust. Either no one was interested in the art I had produced, or they were sitting in a warehouse because of a backlog of stock. Imagine my delight when I received a message on my Facebook page, from a young artist that had purchased one of my collages, and wrote in to thank me, and ask for advice on starting her career as an artist! I though it was very kind of her to write, and wrote back with some pointers on starting a blog and setting up a Facebook page.

 Then, in one of those amazing coincidences, I got a check in the mail from the Artists in Cellophane. It seems that my fears were unfounded, not only is my art work out there, but they have sold 41 pieces out of the original 50! As you can see on this activity report, they use an image of a vintage gas gauge to show my remaining supply, and it is almost on empty. I love the little message; "more please", and the smiley face. I also enjoyed seeing where my art was when it sold, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Las Vegas and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC!
 I was so excited to get this, I may have made a fool of myself, but with only Mr. How2 to witness, I guess I am safe...So my next project, besides my "Learning" ATC's for this months trade, will be 50 more tiny bits of art, mounted on blocks of wood so they will dispense properly through the machines. Participating in this project is not about making money with your art, at $2.50 per piece, you are not going to be living off your sales, but it is about networking, getting your art out there and validation as an artist, especially when just starting out like I am. My work spoke to someone...life is good!

This weeks theme for Every Inchie Monday is "house" and here is mine. Until next time...enjoy!

Finding Your Muchness...

Sometimes it seems like making art is all about the journey. I am constantly being inspired and influenced by some new style or technique. I am all over the board, trying to find a look that I can grow with. I realize that, as I mature as an artist, I will need to settle into something that works for me. Something that gives me the chance to create the impression I want, to invoke the feelings I want, yet still have the essential ME for all to see. This is difficult to do, as a new artist. Learning is copying, to some extent, it must be at first. But after you learn, you must go on to find the YOU inside the new style or technique.

                                     “You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness.” 

― Lewis Carroll 

Sometimes life gets in the way of this discovery. It is a rare person indeed, who can spend their days discovering their unique self and doing nothing else. There are children, jobs, housework, gardens and other responsibilities. They draw us away from the search, and use up our passions and creativity. I am trying to stop that, trying to rearrange my life to make my art a priority. It isn't easy, and it would help if I could be more than one person. But I am just me and this isn't Wonderland. Time keeps moving along at a steady pace, pretty much in a forward motion, with no sympathy for my inability to organize my day.

“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” 

― Lewis Carroll

I have never been good with schedules, and it seems my life is chock full of parallel priorities. But I am working on it, and I am finding my muchness again...and this time, I'm not letting it go...

The art work above is a new technique for me. It is a page from the play Romeo and Juliet printed in German. This I bonded to a sheet of watercolor paper, then applied acrylic paint with a brayer. After this was dry, I sketched the details, then painted them in with more acrylic paints. I highlighted the sketching using a permanent pen...I think I love this new look! I used a snippet of this background to create my twig inchie as well...

The theme for Every Inchie Monday this week is "twig";

to see the others, please click here!

 

Outside My Comfort Zone...

When my daughter started designing her new living room, she took a walk on the wild side by going with an African theme. She surprised me by asking me to create a piece of art that would work in the room, but also had some personal imagery. This sort of request is way outside my comfort zone. More painting than collage, custom theme, not really cutesy...But I decided to give it a try.

I started with a 14"x18" canvas panel, and layered it with papers and ephemera. I found magazine photos of elephants and giraffe, a map of Africa, and a great line on cardstock called Safari Chic, by DCWV. I gave it all a really good coat of gel medium and used my brayer to smooth it out as best I could. The magazine pages gave me some real fits, right from the start and even after they were down flat as can be, when I started adding paint, they lifted right up again, and made bubbles, which I don't like, but have to live with...
I added washes of color, and used the brayer to added thicker, grungy layers of acrylic paint. Then painted the mountains and background, working my way forward to the tree.

My daughter is a redhead and became the warrior in the piece. She is very fond of her cat, so I made him a bit larger, more of a panther sized, to be a companion in her wanderings. I was pretty nervous about painting the two figures, so I created them on a scrap of paper first, using a sketch and watered down acrylics, then cut them out and collaged them to the painting. I left the foreground mostly untouched, so that more of the collage papers would show through. I can't seem to do anything about the wrinkles in the lower right corner, and I am trying to accept them as a "textural element"...

I added a coat of acrylic encaustic, which did help smooth the pieces out a bit, and blended the figures into the background, so they didn't seem so "cut and paste". So here it is, my finished mixed media canvas; "Forever Fierce". I hope she likes it...

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is "makeup", you can see the others in this challenge right here!

Collage Chic...

This is a new 8" X 10" canvas panel I just finished. It is a mixed media collage, with an acrylic encaustic finish. It is my first piece of art that I am listing for sale, hopefully soon to be followed by many more!

Thanks for looking, until next time...enjoy!

Gadabout Artist: Playing in the Sunshine...

Well, we are firmly ensconced in sunny Yuma, AZ, and enjoying days of 70+ degree weather. I have no real complaints, we are hooked up to power and water, so no more batteries or sponge baths, very nice after dry camping in the desert for so long. There are many wonderful snow-birds to meet and I spent a lovely evening playing bingo with 253 of them! No beginners luck for me, though...too bad, it would have helped pay for all the extra beads and art supplies I bought in Quartzsite!

There are not a lot of art supplies available there, but a store appropriately named,  "Addicted To Deals" seems to be a clearing house for just about anything under the sun, and they had a wonderful assortment of scrapbooking supplies. The large rubber stamps were only 3 for $5 and the sets were under $2. I think they will be great for my ATCs and the art I am working on for Art-o-mat. Speaking of which, one of our new neighbors here is a wood worker, I am going to ask him later today if he might be willing to cut out the little blocks of MDF that I need for my first shipment to Art-o-mat. I have been working on the art, and had planned to affix them to the blocks once we returned home, but this would allow me to ship much earlier. There is a lot of trading of skills back and forth down here, and I thought I might join in...

Here are just a few of the beads I bought, there are hundreds of tents and stores selling them in Quartzsite, and you can find everything imaginable for jewelry making. I haven't been in the jewelry business for a very long time, but I just could not resist, old habits die hard. So when I finally get around to opening that Etsy shop, you will likely find a collection of jewelry as well as art. My sweet daughter has recently started making jewelry, so she will receive some as well. She likes the more ethnic/hippy style, so these pendants and wood and coral beads were purchased for her. Until next time, enjoy...

One Word Blog Hop...

Recently my wonderful group of fellow fliers, alumni from the Summer 2011 Flying Lessons course with Kelly Rae Roberts, decided to do a Blog Hop as a way of ringing in the New Year. This is my first time participating in a hop, and I have had tons of things to learn and questions to ask. Fortunately we have some amazing, and tech savvy artists in our group, and they have spent hours of their time talking the tech-challenged majority through this process. Ladies, you know who you are, sincerely and profoundly, thank you...

On the surface, I get the appeal of doing New Years resolutions. It makes sense really, who doesn't spend time  at the end of the year, after the holiday whirlwind has calmed and the dust has settled, to examine, not only the previous year, but our personal goals and path. But, lets face it, New Years resolutions are a cliche, breaking them is so common, no one really puts any credence to them when they hear them. I had at least three little cartoons posted to my Facebook page comically depicting the concept...
So this year I was interested to hear about the "one word" idea. Instead of a to-do list of unobtainable goals, (and lets face it, if we were going to do these things, we would be doing them, right?) you choose an word, one single word, and try, throughout the year, to focus on that word and bring it's benefits into your life.
  What word you choose is entirely up to you, I have heard examples such as; create, de-clutter, soar, heal, and peace. How you honor your commitment to this word is also entirely up to you. Some are making signs, creating jewelry, or producing a piece of art, as a reminder to embrace their word, and incorporate it into their everyday lives.

 I have chosen the word "moment". I have spent entirely too many years of my life, waiting for the right moment. Thinking only of the future, and the responsibilities I have to everyone around me. I am the ant, in the ant and the grasshopper tale. Raising my children, making the sacrifices, the tough choices, saving, scrimping, doing the right thing, and going without. Always, somewhere in the future, I would have time to do my thing, create my art, start my own business...someday.

"We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine." - HL Mencken

  My kids are grown and gone, and yet I am still holding out, waiting for them to get their feet on the ground, ready to catch their foul balls, still setting the good example and trying to guide them into responsible adulthood. But really, I am done. Oh, they may still need me, in a strictly advisory capacity and for unconditional love, but they don't actually listen if they, indeed, ever did. They are off and running with the bit in their teeth, and other than being a touchstone, when the world gets scary, I am left behind to rediscover who I am, and what I want.

"Rejoice in the things that are present, all else is beyond thee..." Mantaigne

    I struggle with worry, as if I stand a chance of warding off tragedy by trying to second guess destiny or fate. But the truth is, when I stop to really think about it, worry is just a waste of energy, it has no actual effect on what will be. I need to stop wasting my precious time, and focus on the things I can do to make my life what I want it to be. So learning to, not only live in the moment, but to live without fear and actually move forward into that big scary world again, now, not at some vague future date, is my goal and moment is my word to remind me of that.

 "This is the time, now is the moment." 

Until next time...enjoy.

To read other artists blog about their "one word" experiences, please go to this site. 

Gadabout Artist: Day 3

We had a somewhat restless night at the truck stop. There was a lot of traffic, and the truckers parked next to us got up at midnight, and, I kid you not, pulled out at 1am! He didn't make a lot of noise, but we were sleeping pretty light, just trying to adjust to life in the RV, and every little sound woke us up.

 I spent part of the evening working on these little pieces, the larger one, a 5" x 7" already had the gears and the Davinci sketch, I just wasn't sure which way I wanted to go with it. As I was working on the other, little cards, I realized I was unhappy with the canvas because it was so dark. So I added the same bright papers, and much more pleased with the piece. I am not done with any of these, but I am close.

Today, after leaving The Dalles, and driving along I-84 we ended up going into Portland. This was not the plan. We should have stayed on I-84 until we hit I-205, then around the south of Portland, and up I-405 to the exit towards the coast. But I had set the gps for "shortest" route earlier in our trip, and forgot to change it back. So "Jack", (that's what we call our gps, as in, "shut up, Jack!") led us astray...The shortest route, was NOT the easiest route, and we ended up driving through downtown Portland! Help! It was very bad! It would have been tough in a car, but in a 26' RV? A very bad idea...Mr. How2 was pretty stressed out. It was such a relief to clear all the traffic and start climbing up into the green forest again. We headed straight for the coastline, and into Tillamook, in time to have a little lunch and tour the Cheese Factory. Yum! We dropped by Debbie D's for cured meats. Very good, small batch smoked meats, and a perfect compliment to the variety of cheeses we bought at the factory. Can you guess what we had for dinner? :)
 We then headed west on highway 6 towards the actual coastline, and we got our first view of the ocean this trip. It is beautiful!

 Now, I am a flat-lander, born and raised in Minnesota, so the thrill of seeing the ocean never ceases for me. Mr. How2 grew up over here, so he is a little less awed than I...which is a good thing, since he was driving and these are narrow, twisty roads indeed...
We are parked now for the night, at Cape Lookout Campgrounds, and I can still hear the roar of the ocean, even tucked up here near the RV hookups. I cannot wait to explore it more in daylight, we only had a brief time on the beach before darkness fell, about 4:30, for crying out load...
As for the hook ups, this is kinda nice. This is the first time we have been at an official campground, and the cost of a dry camp was $15 and one with water, sewer and electricity was only $5 more, so we went for it. So we have hot showers, lots of lights and all the power we need for my computer and printer. . Nice to do it this way now and again, feels more like home. I almost wish we brought a movie to watch, it would be like date night! Here are a couple more pics...

I can't wait to use these new images in my art, I wonder what I will come up with? Enjoy...

*Thing I miss: A bathroom that I can turn around in. The one in our little RV is just big enough to sit down in and have my knees touch the wall...

*Things I love: The sound of the surf as I lie cozy in our bed...

Gadabout Artist: Days 1-2...

We left on our first RV trip yesterday, at noon. Yep, that's right, it took us most of the day just to finish the last minute stuff, and say goodbye to the family. We only made it as far as Wenatchee, WA, and since it was getting dark, we decided to stop for the night in the parking lot of Walmart. Not a very auspicious ending to our first day out, but very convenient for all the little things we needed to finish turning our little RV into our new home. I must say there is a very friendly group of people working at the Wenatchee Walmart, they were just super, and didn't need to be, nice huh? We turned in early, and woke to a few more delays. There was a fine freezing drizzle, and our wiper blades decided to stop wiping... So we waited for the auto parts store to open, had some breakfast, and I worked on this little 4"x4" canvas;

My goal on this trip will be to do one small canvas a day, and post it here for you to see, and to finally spend sometime remembering how to crochet, and make myself a shawl. I didn't get very far on the shawl, still trying different patterns, but I will show my progress as I go.
 Here is Mr. How2, driving;

The rest of the day was gloomy and overcast, and atone point, and solid pea soup fog. We climbed up and over Satus Pass, into the clear evening sky, then dropped down into it again. Until we passed Goldendale, WA and cleared the Oregon border, things were getting pretty dicey. Visibility was nearly zero. Then we broke down under the fog, and headed west along I-84, and it was clear sailing all the way to The Dalles, OR. We are stopped now for the night at a truck stop, and will continue west in the morning. At this point we have pretty much decided to head south along the coast, Hwy 101, and avoid as many passes as we can. Looks like the coast is supposed to be clear weather for the next week, we will see...

*Things I miss; my kitten snuggling up with me at night.

*Things I love; the fact that as soon as we stop, we are home, no looking for a restaurant or hotel.

A little stolen time in my studio...

The massive whirlwind that is the holiday season is in full rush around here, and even though I swore to sit this one out, it does tend to catch me up and toss me about, now and again. Short of holing up in a storm cellar, I just have to go along with it for now, and try not to instigate any additional breezes. All this to say, I have been away from my studio for a few days, and it is starting to show. I start to get antsy, and my hands get too clean. That probably explains this little project;

In a large bundle of mail, along with the ads, bills, and various generic greeting cards from local businesses, I got a decent sized magnet. You know the kind, the insurance guy, and plumber send a business card sized one every year. Well, this one was big, about 4" X 6" and was advertising a little boutique I went to last summer. It had a calendar on it, with numbers too tiny for me to read...I hated to waste it, to just throw it away, so I decided that, since I am a collage artist, and any surface is fair game, then hey! I need a new magnet for my fridge. The days of my children's art adorning my fridge are long gone, so I decided to make my own grown up version.
    I cut a piece of background scrapbook paper, and used Mod Podge and a brayer to smooth it down. I then added a strip of text from an old poetry book, I found thrown out at the thrift store because the spine was missing. Images were stamped randomly over all, using my StaZon ink pad, and then more embellishments and words. I coated everything with another layer of Mod Podge, then did a little detail drawing with a copper metallic Sharpie pen. It looks good in my kitchen, and reminds me to find my grace, during this frantic time of the year. Enjoy...

Dreams and Wishes Artist Trading Cards...

Today I finished my four ATCs for the Flygirls ATC Group January Swap.

  Since we are getting ready to travel, I am trying to finish up some projects, and these were at the top of my list. They will soon be winging their way to the home of our gracious hostess, and then on to their new owners.
  
   If you have never participated in an ATC swap, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to connect with other artists, from all over the world, and see what they are creating. It is also such a wonderful thing to have a collection of these little works of art to look at and share. As an artist, they are a great way to try out new techniques, without making the commitment to a huge blank canvas. They are so small, and portable, they can be worked on any where, and when you don't have a lot of time. I keep a kit, ready to go when I travel, and am never without supplies when I am hit with inspiration. The Flygirl Group is a private group, consisting of 63 talented artists that met last summer while participating in Kelly Rae Roberts online Flying Lessons course.

http://kellyraeroberts.com/flying-lessons

  But if you are interested in joining an ATC swap, check out this site;

http://www.atcsforall.com/

Enjoy...

Small projects...

   I have been working very small lately. For some reason the universe is throwing very strong hints my direction, and I am forever trying to turn them into something I can understand. Lately they have been about small. Small canvases, small art, small space. Mr. How2 and I are planning to travel this winter, this will be our first attempt at snow-birding. I am not sure how long it will last, but for now, I am trying to think small. I do not want to be away from my art for the duration of the trip, and I am the kind of person that needs a reason for doing things.        

   I am working on a set of ATCs for an online exchange with my Flygirls ATC Group. This is also turning into a learning experience for me, since I have been asked to teach a class about ATCs in the spring. So I am trying to document my process, so I can explain it to my students.
  I also recently rediscovered a interesting project on the internet called Art-o-mat; (go to this website to learn more about it);

 http://www.artomat.org/home.html 

a group that gathers small pieces of art from artists all over the world. They place the art in refurbished cigarette machines throughout the country, and make them available to the public for only $5 a piece. It looks like a fascinating program, and I am working on samples to send them now. If I am accepted, and I hope I am, they will ask me to make up 50- 2 1/8" x 3 1/4" pieces of art. Again, a great size to work on in the RV. I will keep you posted as on my progress, in the mean time, check out their website, and see if they have a machine near you...Enjoy!

Experiments with digital painting...

  I am always looking for a way to add more detail to my mixed media collage art. I recently discovered a program online that converts your digital photos to color sketches, oil pastel drawings or oil paintings with surprisingly beautiful results.

Here is a recent picture of the last of the moms in my garden...I imported it into the Fotosketcher program, (a free download online) and after a bit of trial and error, converted it to this...

I love the softening of the edges and the look of the brushstrokes. I think this will be a better element in the collage I am working on. Here is another, the line of poplar trees in my yard...

and the more painterly version...

   which I think will make a perfect background to another collage. The program has more trouble with portraits of people, you have to play with the settings a lot more. I am not sure why landscapes and objects convert so much better. Perhaps because trees and flowers can be suggested to the eye and you still see trees and flowers, where as people are more about recognizable features? 

   Part of me wonders if this is cheating, not hand drawing or painting these elements. But then perhaps not, after all, it is my own photograph, and my work in the program to convert it, and, in fact, I actually grew the trees and the mums! So how much more "mine" can it be? So I am thinking of a whole lot of wonderful pictures I have taken over the years, and how they can be revisited, and looked at in a new light. Go ahead, give it a try, you may be surprised at the result! Enjoy... 

The free Fotosketcher program can be downloaded here: 

http://fotosketcher.en.softonic.com/

Winter? Hmmm...

Now that I am in the habit of blogging almost every day, I have decided to keep at it by participating in Creative Every Day, at least for this last month of 2011. The theme for December is "winter". Lets see where this leads me as an artist...

      Well, I would be the first to admit, I am not a huge fan of winter. Too many years growing up in the frigid cold of Minnesota...so this will be more than just a creative challenge for me, lets see if I can find positive things about this season and clever ways to depict them. Here is my first, a sketch using a photo as a model and soft oil pastels...I plan to use this little sweetie in a collage, as soon as my replacement ink cartridge arrives and I can reprint her a little bit smaller. I ordered a set two weeks ago, and the color one arrived defective. The company was very gracious about the whole thing, and have sent out a new one. Enjoy...

AEDM Day 30: The End, and the Beginning...

      I have had an amazing time participating in Art Every Day Month! What a fantastic idea, to get a huge group of creative people into their studios and creating on a daily basis. The journey has been difficult, frustrating, exciting and challenging, I am sure I have only begun to see the far reaching effects this will have on my life as an artist. All I do know for sure right now is this;

I will get into my studio on a regular basis. Perhaps not daily, life just doesn't work that way, but often.

I will make the commitment to treat my art seriously, not just squeeze it in when it is convenient.

I will trust that I am right where I need to be.

I will start to show my work to other people, with the ultimate goal of gaining recognition as an artist. Validation!

Thank you all for this wonderful month and all your beautiful support! Keep flying, keep dreaming and, above all, keep creating! Enjoy...


I created this collage using Picasa 3, which is a free download, and very easy to learn. Thank you Deborah Velasquez, for the inspiration for this piece. You are right, it is hard to do, but once you learn it, you get it! 

   http://picasa.google.com/

AEDM Day 29: Experiments with Foam Stamp Making...

 I finally got a chance to go to the dollar store, and score some fun-foam shapes to try the new heat tool/rubber stamp technique that Rachel Payne so graciously shared with us last week. She posted about a tutorial by Tracy Bunkers;

 http://www.tracibunkers.com/blog/2011/11/moldable-foam-stamps-tutorial.html

and I have been wanting to try it every since... Thank you Rachel and Traci!

I found these cute little foam puzzles, which were the perfect size after trimming the nubs off. So here I tried them with a crochet doily...

a locket...

and some lace...

Here is a picture of the finished stamps, and the images they make...

I really like how they turned out, I can see a lot of uses in my art. The best part? Well there are two, actually, they are cheap, cheap, cheap to make, and when I messed one up, I just reheated it and the mistake disappeared! Now I am running around the house looking for other interesting things to copy. Give it a try, I think you will like it too. Enjoy...

Art Every Day Month Day 26: A work in progress...

 When I showed this drawing of my lady in a previous post, I was showing how you can reuse a piece of work in other projects. Well, this is the work I originally intended this sketch for. My plan has gone in a couple directions, so I have started two canvases, instead of just this one. My inspiration came around veterans day, when I was thinking and praying for all the wives, mothers, sweethearts and daughters, waiting for their soldiers to come home from war. This piece, as well as the other one I am working on, is in honor of all their love, self sufficiency and sacrifices. It is entitled, "She Waits" and incorporates vintage images from WW2 and newspaper articles from 1944, which we found under the siding of my daughters house this summer...Let's see which one comes out the closest to my vision. Enjoy...

Art Every Day Month Day 20 A page for my art journal...

Today I decided to do something just for me, so I played around in my art journal. This journal is made from a huge atlas I picked up for a song, and gives me lots of room to stretch my creative wings. This page was inspired by my fellow flier, Deborah Velasquez's recent post about her hand-carved owl stamp, and a sweet video she shared called "Lovely Owl". I remembered having these owl pictures, dug them out and played. Enjoy...

Art Every Day Month Day 18

I got a little side tracked putting out fires today, so I was very late getting into my studio. Since the background was on this piece, I went ahead and finished it up. After this first picture, I edged the main focal images with water soluble crayons, and blended them in. I use this finishing touch on all my pieces, followed by a final coat of gel medium. However, this time I decided to play with acrylic encaustic instead. I mixed a small batch using heavy gel medium, clear tar gel and a tiny drop of gold acrylic paint to mimic the color of beeswax. I had tried this on a couple of small pieces with positive results. Not this time...

As you can see, the encaustic had an adverse effect on the water-soluble crayon. I am guessing because it takes a lot longer to dry, it gave the unfixed crayon a chance to reactivate and start to smear. Yuck...Unfortunately, I did not catch this in time to scrape it off before it dried. If I had simply added a coat of gel medium, let it dry, as usual, THEN added the acrylic encaustic, I would not have ruined the canvas. Ah well, live and learn. So go ahead and try it out, it really does normally add a beautiful effect, but be cautious, seal your work, and keep an eye on it as it dries! Enjoy...

AEDM: 17 Using your printer to simplify your art...

I decided to get tricky today and try something I saw on a YouTube video recently. The artist showed a sketch she had done, and when she got it just right, she made multiple copies in different sizes to use anywhere from ATCs to full size canvases. I thought that was a very clever idea, and tried it myself. On the left is the original sketch I posted here yesterday. I then scanned and printed it onto light weight sketch paper. It worked like a charm, fed right through! I didn't use regular copy paper, since I planned to color her in with pastels, and felt the paper should be strong and have a little "tooth". I hand colored the copy, saving the original for future color experiments, and sprayed it with a fixative. The hand colored copy can be seen in the middle. Then I scanned THAT in and played with the size. The far right is at 100%, the smaller ones are 50% and 30% respectively. Both the smaller ones fit an ATC, and surprisingly enough, they look better than the original. The printer gave them a softer color, and the reduced size hid some small mistakes. BONUS! The full sized I plan to use on a canvas, which was the plan from the beginning. I am pretty happy with the way these turned out, and here is a scan of the ATC I created using the 50% copy.

I wouldn't want to use the exact same image over and over, but it is nice to get a little more mileage out of a favorite piece. I hope this gives you some ideas on different ways to use your own work. Enjoy...

AEDM: Day 16 Inspiration for a new piece and first sketch...

My hubby and I finally got away for a couple of well earned, long time in coming, nights together. We went to a VERY rustic cabin in the woods, the kind of rustic that means hauling firewood, a temperamental stove and putting on your boots and coat to go to the bathroom...it was quiet, restful and very very cold. We ended up racing a bad storm down the mountain, and are happy to be snug at home as we watch it piling up outside. I didn't have a chance to paint while I was there, but I did get an inspiration for my next piece and sketched out the focal image. Tomorrow I will begin a background canvas for her. I have a pretty good idea where this one is going (that's new for me)! :) Thanks for looking, enjoy...