Paint Party Friday... Gettin' Gritty Wit It!

"Girl In A Feather Hat"   12x12   mixed media on canvas

You may recognize this painting from last week's work in progress.  I am having so much fun with Gritty Jane's workshop, I started a couple more paintings (works in progress)...

I'm still adjusting to using Paynes Gray instead of Burnt Umber.

This one had a face painted in full color until the perfectionist that lives in my head took a closer look at her (and decided I needed to start from scratch)!  Now it kind of reminds me of a Rene Magritte painting.  Well, if my second attempt doesn't work out, I can always replace her face with an apple!

Speaking of apples...

While packing Tyler's lunch, I discovered this heart... Sweet, sweet apple love!

Sharing Some Inspiration...

Obvious to you. Amazing to others. from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.


Wishing you an obviously amazing day!

Sunday Sketches... Girls In Hats

For this week's Sunday Sketches I am sharing some mechanical pencil drawings from my sketchbook.  They are preliminary sketches for a series of paintings I am currently working on.  (You may recognize the girl at the top from Friday's post.)

Please be sure to stop by Sophia's blog to see what my Sunday Sketching friends have been up to this week!

Paint Party Friday... Work In Progress

For this week's Paint Party Friday I am sharing a work in progress.

On Sunday I mentioned that I am taking Gritty Jane's Portraits and Papers class and this week was spent working on my lessons.  I started by prepping six 12x12 canvases...

Then I started my underpainting...

It's so much fun to learn how other artists work!  Gritty Jane works with Paynes Gray for her underpaintings and I normally use Burnt (or sometimes Raw) Umber as a base, so it feels a bit strange to be working with such cool tones.  

You may also notice the beginnings of peacock feathers popping up around this portrait...  After creating last week's painting I decided I wanted to play with plumage a little bit more! 

Trying Out A Totally Terrific Tape Tutorial

(I am a big fan of alliteration!)

I am also a fan of finding alternatives for pricey art supplies...

I have been fascinated by the washi tape craze, but have been discouraged by the cost.  Lately I have seen "create your own tape" posts and videos popping up around the internet and I've been meaning to give it a try.  When I saw that my friend Harmony (remember the coloring pages post?) had created a DIY artsy tape tutorial, it was the final push I needed!  Yesterday, while waiting for another project to dry, I created a rainbow of decorative tape!

If you haven't visited the Feed Your Soul Art blog yet...

What are you waiting for?!? 

hee hee

Seriously though, Harmony's site is jam packed with loads of inspiration and lots of step by step project ideas...

Enjoy!

The Latest Edition of Somerset Studio Magazine...

September/October 2011

Has 2 of my (Hitchcock inspired) mixed media paintings in it!

pages 113 and 117

Thank you to the crew at Stampington & Company for including me in your beautiful magazine!

And a great big thanks to my friend, Roc, for the congratulatory email that let me know my paintings had been published!

Sunday Sketches... Blind Contour Portraits! Hooray!

When I was in college, my favorite warm-up exercises were always the blind contour drawings.  For my birthday (September 10th), I signed up for Gritty Jane's Portraits and Papers class and our first lesson included blind contour portraits!  I forgot how much I love doing them!  Wheee!!!

Don't forget to stop by Sophia's blog to see some serious Sunday Sketching sweetness!

Paint Party Friday... Playing with Someone Else's Paper!

Last Friday, I am Rushmore shared a downloadable version of her painting in progress and invited us to play with it.  I thought it was such a cool idea - How could I resist?!?

The image on the left is I am Rushmore's original background and the image on the right is what I "saw"... A peacock!

If you would like to play too, you can download I am Rushmore's background here.

(Don't forget to stop by the Paint Party Friday blog for more fun and inspiration!)

Collage Papers + Coloring Pages = Fun Fun Fun!

Last week I mentioned my month long creative partnership with Harmony over at the Feed Your Soul Art blog.  In addition to sharing lots of mixed media goodness and providing endless inspiration, Harmony has generously created some very fun (and free!) coloring pages for her readers to download and play with!  I couldn't resist...

And in the spirit of artistic collaboration, I printed her coloring pages on top of my (free) collage papers before I added paint and colored pencil!

Do you want to play too?

To see all of Harmony's FREE coloring pages click here.

To view the full list of my FREE collage papers click here.

Have Fun!

The Best Note Ever!

(Tyler loves you)

Yesterday, as I sat scanning my dove drawings into the computer, I listened to the joyful sounds of Tyler playing in the other room.  After awhile the playful noises stopped, which made me curious 

(and admittedly a little nervous)...

"T-man?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Writing you a note."

The next sound I heard was the sound of five year old footsteps fast approaching.  Tyler appeared in the doorway with a smile on his face and an index card in his hand.  I cried great big fat happy tears at his pure and simple goodness.

My sweet sweet boy,

Mama loves you too!

Sunday Sketches... 10 Years Remembered.

This week's Sunday Sketches were inspired by September 11th 2001, the need for more freedom in my drawings, and the belief that art can be therapeutic.

Using Pablo Picasso's "Dove of Peace" drawings as further inspiration, I set a challenge for myself.  I grabbed a stack of index cards and allowing myself only 10 - 15 seconds per drawing, I created my own doves of peace...

10 years, 10 doves of peace.

Sending out tender thoughts of love, peace, and healing to all those affected by 9/11.

Paint Party Friday... Lots of Leftovers

In an attempt to loosen up a bit, I drew these flowers with my non-dominant hand... Fun, fun, fun!

This week I've been playing with the leftovers from the CareFREE Fridays! collage papers...

My messy work table and works in progress.

(The collaged circle is on the old cupboard door I mentioned last week.)

Lots and lots of leftovers!

Please be sure to stop by the Paint Party Friday blog to see what my friends have been up to this week.

5 Years Passes In The Blink Of An Eye

Yesterday was Tyler's first day of kindergarten... He was ready!

(Mama on the other hand... Not so much.)

Enjoy each and every day, 

because time passes in the blink of an eye!

Sponsor Love... Feed Your Soul Art

In an effort to spread some serious creative love, this month I am partnering with the very cool and always inspiring Feed Your Soul Art blog to boost the blogging goodness.

To kick off this month of fun and shared creativity, please let me introduce the very talented artist and generous soul behind Feed Your Soul Art...

Hello, I am Harmony, a mixed media artist, mom, and creator of the blog Feed Your Soul Art.  I try to live each day as creatively as I possibly can, which usually involves a lot of playful messiness.  My blog is a place where you can come and visit each day to get your daily dose of color, inspiration, and childlike play with all kinds of art mediums.  I believe that creating from your heart should be a daily practice, and I try to share as much of my own process with you.   I offer DIYs, techniques, inspiration, and share lots of fun stories about what it's like to try to run a business from my art while rocking this motherhood thing.  Its a tricky balance, but I love everything about it.  I'd adore to meet you, so please stop by and say hello. 

Today is the final day of Harmony's Labor Day Sale in her etsy shop!  She has lots of amazing handmade creations to choose from including original artwork, prints, journals and jewelry... Something for everyone!

(To be the first to find out about more Feed Your Soul Art fun you can also find her on facebook or follow her on twitter!)

Sunday Sketches... I'm Back!

Well, it's been a roller coaster summer for me...  I've had my share of fun, but I've also experienced some serious scares.  Between CareFREE Fridays, Playing with Papers, and multiple family medical emergencies, my sketchbook has been feeling pretty neglected!  

I am happy to say that I have picked up my pencils and pens and am ready to start sketching, doodling and drawing again.  While creating this self-portrait, I realized just how rusty and out of practice I feel... Drawing is just like a muscle, and mine could definitely use a good stretch! 

One of the things I have missed the most during my sketchless summer?  My friends at Sunday Sketches!  Please be sure to head over to Sophia's blog to see what they've been up to!

p.s.  My sketchbook from the Sketchbook Project 2011 has been digitized - You can view it here!

Paint Party Friday... CareFREE Fridays! (and Playing with Papers) Wrap-Up

For the past 9 Fridays I have offered FREE downloadable collage papers on my blog (no strings attached).  In total I painted 48 (yep, 4 dozen!) papers for you to use in your art!  If you missed any of the papers you can find them here.

In addition to the papers I created tutorials to go with each set of papers...

*You can see what I did with last weeks FREE collage papers here.*

(You can find the full list of past projects here.)

I have had lots of fun painting and playing with papers this summer, but now it's time to get back to my regular drawing and painting (I am ready, ready, ready)!

I already have an old cupboard door sanded and gessoed just waiting for a mixed media painting using the scraps from the papers I printed for my projects this summer... Stay tuned to see the results!

Please don't forget to stop by Paint Party Friday to see what sorts of painting goodness my friends have going on this week!