Texture Tuesday - Orange

Yay, I made it this week for Kim's texture tuesday challenge! lol This image I shot at the NY Botanical Gardens this past spring. And it is the only image that I have with orange which is the requirement for this weeks challenge. In processing I used Kim's "cracker jack" texture in soft light and multiply, then I added a layer of "serious magic" in screen mode which she recommends. That is a really cool texture as it is black when you first put it on and then in screen mode it gives all this white scratchy texture! Lastly I took down the saturation alot but was able to figure out how to erase that layer so the orange in my flower remained! Its the first time I tried that and was successful! lol

Here is the original image . . .

Don't forget to hop over to Kim's blog for all the great work being shared this week!

Click HERE!

xo

Using My Photography For Fashion :)

Happy Paint Party Friday!! I almost didn't have anything to share this week. Have not been motivated or feeling creative the past few days. But this morning I worked on this new 'she art' girl and my it was fun! This time I wanted to try creating a background with just acrylics and stamping. I have to say I think I miss the paper collage! Maybe its the texture I miss. Anyways, while I was working on the background I was looking through my collage paper and really couldn't find anything I wanted to use for clothes. And then I spotted (in a pile . . . cause I am so cluttered in the studio! ) an 8x10 print of one of my textured photos. I grabbed it and thought it would be cool to use it for an outfit!

I really had so much fun putting her outfit together with pieces of my photo!! Then I thought, why did I not think of this before?! My only regret was not changing the black and white to a sepia tone because of the brown in the background. But I think it all works.

Here is the textured photo I used for her clothes. . . it is a shot of the front gates to the Bronx Zoo. . .

I mostly used the right side of the image because I liked the words. :)

I am debating about adding text to her as I have some words in the stamping I used.

I am sharing this for PPF and if you want to see all the great work being shared follow me over HERE!!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! And to everyone on the east coast . . . stay safe as Irene flys through town! She is due here in NY tomorrow evening! ;)

xo

Wordless Wednesday . . .

Tilly Foster Farm, Brewster, NY

Vintage 'She Art' Girl

mixed media on 8x10 gallery wrapped canvas

Today was supposed to be my Sunday Sketches post but alas, I don't have a new sketch to share. However I did do some painting this week in the form of "she art"! I had so much fun creating this new girl! If you haven't taken Christy Tomlinson's "She Art" class I highly recommend it! So much fun and she shares tons of mixed media techniques as well.

I created this background in a vintage style using a layer of papers that I tried not to cover up too much. I used raw umber and payne's gray cause I just love them together but I like the distressed look the raw umber gives this piece. I had so much fun with her outfit! I was trying to create a look that wasn't too modern and how cute are the shoes! lol

I have yet to add a phrase. And I am never at a loss for words. But just this morning I found a tag I saved from a new shirt I bought that says "life is beautiful, dress accordingly" and I think that will fit perfectly with this girl! I may just cut up the words and collage them on! What do you think??

PS . . . thanks for all the amazing comments on my pink Paint Party Friday post!!

xo

Paint Party Friday . . . Pink Love

"love is falling all around us"

mixed media on 8x10 canvas board

available on etsy

This week I got back to one of my favorite sketches. I finally got this pretty girl on a canvas. I love hearts and as you can see love pink! I used my pink caran d'ache neocolor II crayons with white acrylics and my graphite pencil for the details on this piece. Typically I don't use just one color for my palette but I do like how this came out.

I did a layer of collage paper and stamping first and then collaged the girl image onto the board. I had fun sketching out the tree again and coloring it in. I had debated in my mind for a bit when it came to the hearts. Originally I wanted to color them but with all the pink I was afraid they would get lost and I needed them to stand out so I went with the graphite.

Here is the original sketch I worked from. . .

Hope you all have a great Friday!! You can see all of the amazing work being shared this week HERE!! Come and have a look!

And for those of you who commented on my last PPF post. . . here is the link to the blog post where I shared the finished version of my collage piece I shared last week in its beginning stages! click HERE!

Be A Star . . . New Sketch!

"be the star you already are. . ."

Good morning friends! Well, its the second week in a row that I have slacked on Texture Tuesday. lol But I have been doing some sketching in its place!

I think I was inspired to do the side bun from my last 'she art' girl. I really went overboard on her eyes but I like them! As you know it is my favorite part to sketch. Sometimes I want to put eye makeup on my girls. And I obviously tried to on this girl! lol

The stars came to me after I had finished her and looked at her face. It almost feels as though she told me what she wanted. (weird, I know!) So I listened. I want to try and paint her. If I do I am seeing lots of blue. I would like to use a palette of only blues, even her hair.

Sometimes I jump all over the place. Who knows when I will get to painting her but I am trying not to worry about it and just create what speaks to me at the time. (I will let you know how that works out! lol)

Wishing you all a creative day!

xo

Beyond The Trees - New Photo Collage Finished!

For those of you who missed yesterday's post I shared the beginnings to this piece. I decided to go with the blue and raw umber color palette and I am very happy I did! I love how this piece turned out. It looks better in person as I still don't take good photos of my work and this 11x14 was too big to scan. lol

Here is the photo of how it began that I shared yesterday. And I did love what the black background did for my painting process.

I really was able to get in a zone for a bit and smear some paint around trying not to worry about what was happening. Here is part of the process below. I liked it at this point and debated going any farther. This is always the point where I fear ruining it! This canvas had 2 other 'paintings gone bad' on it but that gave great texture to the new painting!

That payne's gray is my fav. I love the shade of blue it becomes when mixed with titanium white! And the raw umber goes so nicely with it. And then there is stamping . . . my dogwood once again (love) and butterflies!

Beyond The Trees

mixed media on 11x14 wrapped canvas

available on etsy

Thanks to those who left a comment on yesterday's PPF post!! I so appreciated all the encouragement at the beginning stage of this piece!

Wishing you all a great day!!

xo

Paint Party Friday

I know I say this every week but really . . . its Friday again?! lol This week I continued with my she art class and also started a new abstract collage piece using my photography. The above canvas was a painting gone bad that I decided to use for a new piece. It had already been covered with black gesso and has soft gel medium which now is giving some texture to the canvas. The other night I just started throwing on some papers I had laying around, one of them is a tree photo of mine. I kept going till I liked the layout and yesterday I glued them all down with mod podge. ( I am in love with this stuff! lol)

I am a little antsy about having put the collage down on a black background but figure that I will probably cover it all up with paint anyway! Not sure yet of the color palette but I have it narrowed down to raw umber, titan buff, and some lightened payne's gray. Or black, white and a splash of red. What do you guys think?

Here is a photo collage painting I shared earlier in the week that inspired me to do a similar piece!

If you would like to see the progress of this painting click HERE!

So that is what I am up to lately! Can't wait to stop by and see what you are all sharing this week! And if you want to join us click HERE!

xo

More She Art And A Winner!!!

Good morning sweet friends!! Hope you have found some creative time in your days. I am enjoying my she art class and wanted to share a new girl with you! I think I may like her more than the first one I did! I really had fun creating this landscape scene and love her dress. And of course as you can see I am still addicted to stamping! lol The words for this one "simply adored" are from a stamp I found in the $1 bin at Michaels! (gotta love that!) I already found a home for her. She will be going to a little girl down in NC! And that always makes my heart happy! :)

Now for what else makes me happy . . . giveaways!! I am excited to announce the winner of my giveaway is

KRISTINE

Congrats Kristine!!!

Thanks again to everyone who entered my giveaway and for all the amazing blog anniversary wishes!!
xo

My Snoring Pug

Didn't get much art done this weekend. Lack of sleep may have been the culprit in dampening my creativity. Why didn't I sleep? Well, you see this cute little pug in the picture . . . it was all his fault! lol This little guy is becoming quite the snoring machine! He will be 8 years old in October and the past couple of weeks is the first time in his life he has snored. And I know that is a pug thing, but for all these years it wasn't my pug.

He had been sleeping in our room curled up in his pet bed on the floor next to me. The other night the snoring got so bad that it was either him or me. I had to move him back to the living room so the snoring sounds would be muffled. Last night I slept better because he was out in the other room. That may be where he will have to stay. Its hard when he runs in to see us after we go to bed. I feel bad but I know that if I don't get sleep I will be a really grumpy girl come morning! lol

On a brighter note my photography was featured in 2 etsy treasuries! My textured horse photo and my NYC lamp post. . . .two of my favs! Here are the links if you want to check them out!

on a picnic with you by mygiantstrawberry on Etsy

It's raining outside..take my hand and let's go for a long walk, my love. by PacoandLupe on Etsy

And a big thanks to all of you who commented on my last post!! So happy to hear you all loved the new painting!! I do too! Eventually it will end up in my etsy shop. But for now I am enjoying looking at it! :)

There are two days left to enter my blogversary giveaway. Here is the link to that post if you missed it!

Artsy Butterfly: A Giveaway!!! Celebrating My First Year of Blogging!!

Today I am hoping to get a new "she art" girl done! This time it will be a landscape scene!

Wishing you all a great day! xo

New Photo Collage Painting . . .

"Seek Truth"

mixed media on 12x12 gallery wrapped canvas

available on etsy

I was pretty excited to share this painting and had to post it today! It felt really good getting back to combining my photography with mixed media. I used my tree photo that I shared for texture tuesday last week as well as its inverted image. Thought you would like to see how this came alive so here are a couple of photos showing its first stages. . .

This is how I laid down the collage. I really didn't know where it would go at this point but it took me a few minutes to find placement I was happy with. I printed out the photos on regular printer paper in black and white. And I used mod podge to glue all of them down. I am loving mod podge for collage!

This next photo is not great but I am still trying to figure out how to take good shots of my artwork! Typically I scan them but the size of this canvas prevented me from doing so. At this point I have added washes of burnt sienna and quinacridone nickel azo gold fluid acrylics. I also added some stamping as an attempt to incorporate my images into the background.

This was at the point I was scared to ruin the painting. The ugly stage almost stalled me out. But next I added payne's gray in different areas as you can see from the completed piece. I really love that color with the orange and yellow tones of the other colors. I also added more stamping with my favorite dogwood tree stamp and stenciled the butterflies on with the payne's gray. Lastly I used my caran d'ache crayons for shading. I like to use them dry and just scrub them out with a dry brush. The trees I extended down the canvas using a black pitt pen.

I feel very connected to this piece. The colors look dark yet dreamy and when I incorporate my photography it feels like there is more of me in there.

Hope you guys like it too!

xo

My First She Art Girl !

"you bring joy"

mixed media on 8x10 gallery wrapped canvas

Happy Paint Party Friday! Is it really Friday again already?! :)

This week I thought I would share this sweet girl I created for Christy Tomlinson's She Art class. Can I just say how much fun I had creating her! I am loving this class! You know how I love my girls and this just makes it even more fun creating them!

Christy uses mod podge to glue her collage and I gave it a try. Typically I uses more expensive gel mediums. Well, I was shocked to find out that I LOVE mod podge! lol I had a much easier time gluing down my papers and I really like the texture it creates on the painting. I think I am hooked! I am wondering why it took me so long to try it. I also find that although the paper can bubble up it happens less so for me and then after it dries the paper just flattens back out. So much more fun to rip paper and glue it down.

The butterflies were created with an all over paper punch that I just bought.

Anyone else taking Christy's class? She is so full of energy it is infectious!

Oh, and I am having a giveaway to celebrate my 1 year blog anniversary! If you missed that post just click HERE! Hope to see you enter!

Happy PPF once again! Stop by the blog to see what others are sharing this week!

Click HERE!

xo

A Giveaway!!! Celebrating My First Year of Blogging!!

"Grungy Love"

Today is my first blogging anniversary!! YAY!!

And to celebrate I am hosting a giveaway!! So excited!! Its hard to believe it was one year ago that I started this blog with my very first post! I will never forget what a warm welcome I received!

This past year of creating and making new friends has changed my life in so many ways. I have loved every minute of it! It has opened up a whole new world for me full of inspiration and bliss. I have learned so much not just from my many online classes (can u say addiction? lol) but from all of the talented artists I have met through my little corner of the blogging world!

Now for the giveaway! I am giving away one print of my favorite mixed media painting "Grungy Love" (shown above) AND one print of your choice from this album of my textured photography . . . Textured Photos - a set on Flickr. The size of "Grungy Love" is 6x8 and the textured photo will be 8x10, each centered on 8.5 x 11 inch matte photo paper.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post! I will be announcing the winner next Wednesday August 10th!!

Thank you all for coming along this journey with me!! I look forward to another year of creating, sharing and fun!

Good Luck!!

xo

Texture Tuesday

I am still loving Kim's new "dream" texture so I wanted to use it again on this tree photo. And since the challenge for this week was "anything goes" I was excited to share another image with this texture!

I shot this image at a walk trail near my house. I used my point and shoot. I looked up and loved what I saw so I couldn't help but capture it.

Here is the original image (wish I could figure out that mouse over technique!) . . .

Come on over to Kim's blog and check out all the lovelies being shared this week!

Click HERE!