Wordless Wednesday . . .

iphoneography,  olloclip lens macro,  filtered with snap seed

Scratching A Portrait . . .

I tried another sgraffito portrait.  This time I painted a layer of yellow acrylic and added black oil pastel over top.  Oddly enough I had a hard time with this one.  It kept ending up looking like the negative of a photo.  I was thinking too much.  And then all of a sudden it clicked and I was able to wipe away the lights to bring her face alive.  

Creepy as she is there is something about her I like.  There is some kind of mystery to her.  I added some scribbles and stamps to this one.  I really like the scratching and wiping away.  Its good to get some angst out!  Maybe that is what shows in her face . . . my angst!  

Sharing her today for Sunday Sketches.

xo

Hearts . . . New Painting

"Love Inspired"

mixed media on 11x14 canvas

I had a canvas with an unfinished painting.  I no longer felt connected to it so I decided to create something totally different.  And I am so glad I did.  It is pretty liberating to cover over an old idea with something new.  

My new favorite colors are magenta and blue as you can see.  I was surprised I had the patience to layer!  I am slowly learning that if I can add more layers the painting has lots more depth.  I really enjoyed creating this one.  

Here is the first layer.  I used phalto blue and phalto green.  I applied the paint with my hands and a sponge brush which I have never used but love the feathery effects you can get with it .

 I fell in love with the first layer but knew I had to keep going.  

I love to add letters so I sprayed through my alphabet stencil and also added some white circles.  

In the background of this image you can see a larger painting.  That is something I am working on for Flora Bowley's "Bloom True" online course which I am in the middle of.  (more on that to come!)

I knew I wanted to incorporate hearts so I added that next.  

I also used the magenta which is transparent to cover some of the blue.  That was pretty scary for me.  Silly but true.  I get so attached to my layers that I really struggle to let go and cover stuff up.  

Once I did I liked that I could see the white peeking through from underneath.  

Initially I was upset I covered over the letters on the right side so I brought them back.  I also added a stamp on the heart which reads "when I want to see love defined I look at you".  I felt like it was a nice finishing touch to this piece.

I will be adding it to my etsy shop soon! 

Linking up today with Paint Party Friday.  If you haven't joined us yet be sure to check it out!  Lots of great art to be seen!

xo

Rocky's Favorite Toy

Thought you would enjoy this little snippet in the life of Rocky the pug.  My mom sent him this tennis ball for christmas and it has become his most favorite.  Its funny because Bosco would never play with any ball, couldn't even pick it up.  Just like people, the same in many ways and oh so different.  That is what makes us unique 

:)

Faces And Sgraffito

We are successfully dug out of the snowstorm here in NY.  It was a doosey!  And it could have been worse.  I am grateful that we are all safe.  I am hoping all of my artist friends here in the northeast faired as well with all the snow!

I have been getting back to some face sketching as I am in the midst of a love affair with abstract painting.  Misty Mawn has a new online course going on right now called "Face To Face".  If you have never taken a class with Misty I recommend it!  You will not be disappointed!  I took her class last year and it was great as is this one!  She packs so much in the class it is hard to keep up!  

I created this girl using a sgraffito technique.   Scratching is something I am loving these days, making marks in paint and now marks in oil pastel.  I had a pack of portfolio pastels that I had not yet used so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to break them out.  This was done on white pastel over black acrylic.  I am trying to continue to let go of wanting to be perfect.  So I do like this girl's face imperfections and all.  

Sharing with Sunday Sketches .

Resting On Love . . .

Today I head to the city for my annual oncologist appointment.  One would think that when you get to be 11 years out it would be a cake walk.  Sadly not for me.  Truth is that it feels like a big 'ol associated reaction.  I woke up with a headache this morning, feel crappy, and just want to go back to bed.  Actually I would prefer to hide under the covers for the day.  

I always tell myself this is the "easy" appointment.  I go for my mammo at the end of this month.  That will be the doosy.  The super stressful one.  Who am I kidding, each appointment is stressful.  

Last night I couldn't sleep.  It was anxiety for today.  So I created this digital collage using one of my recent paintings and a sketch.  She looks so calm.  She looks as though she is resting her head on love.  

That is what I wish I was going to do today . . . 

Finding The Face . . .

I am discovering a style of painting that I think is becoming my own.  I really love being free with paint, picking a couple of colors, adding some white and using my hands to smear the paint around.  I also use a scraper sometimes.  Then I stand back and look to see who or what shows up.  I love it when I find a face.  

I am hoping you too can see the face I discovered in the top left side of this piece.  It almost looks like a mask and it is only half of a face.  I am sure there are other discoveries to be made!

So now I would like to ask you . . . 

What do you see??

Sharing today at Paint Party Friday :)