Faith

Faith - Mixed media painting

Prints available for sale at Society 6

29 Faces Day 13 - 21

I can't believe that the month went by so fast, I managed to complete the faces for the 29 faces challenge but will have to split it up and post some today and the rest tomorrow. I have mixed it up a bit and tried to vary the mediums that I have used, with the aim of trying to stretch, use new mediums and add a few new techniques along the way.

Day 21
I am getting the hang of the pen and ink

Day 20
Playing with effects, this is what you get when you use promarkers and the image bleeds through the other side, the image is totally different from the one drawn on Day 17 below.

Day 19
Re-purposed image then added additional images such as the bird and heart which were made from handmade stamps, you can see how I made them HERE

Day 18
Big hair day, pen and ink sketch with promarkers, I think I prefer using the two combined.

Day 17
Playing more with the promarkers to start of an image, and trying to work with tones.

Day 16
Playing in the journal - re-purposing old images

Day 15
Using different profile poses, which is great to practice. This young lady was also in my 'I Love you today posts.

Day 14
Thought I would try drawing some more men, was interesting to see how difficult I found it, but it was great to stretch a bit, also used promarker pens, getting use to using them in sketches which I have enjoyed

Pen and Ink with promarkers

Day 13
This is one that I also used for the I love you today series on my other blog and you can see my reflections HERE.

Pen and Ink Sketch

New Art Work - A-Z challenge 2013

I am taking part in the A-Z April challenge on my Realityarts blog and I decided to make it a time of celebration, where I look at all the encouraging words that I could think of from A-Z and celebrate my life.  I have also tried to make sure that April is a time for completing new work and so have been busy getting the art work finished.  I am glad I made the committement to do it as I feel that when we push ourselves there will definitely be some growth (which is my mondays word for the challenge!).  Here are some of the work that I have completed so far and a link to the post that I have written, (click on each word).  Hope you enjoy!

F is for Fruitful

E is for Encouraging

 D is for Dream

 C isfor Creative 

 B is for Brave

 

A is for Admire

Looking back at April

I wrote about my reflections on the A-Z challenge on my other blog Realityarts and thought it would be great to bring some closure on this blog as well (even though it is the second week of May!). My posts here were more art related and gave examples of some of the products, techniques that I had been using and a range of other topics.  It's been great to meet so many creative individuals.  A big thank you goes out Arlee Bird and team for hosting the challenge, and to Elizabeth who gave me a blog award.

Next steps....Looking forward to taking part in more challenges and will be taking part in the Sketch Book Challenge. It started in January and there seems to be a really great gathering of creative souls.  Also working on a few paintings, and some smaller pieces.  Will be revisiting some of the sketches I did in March and doing more work on the images. Are there any challenges that you've decided to sink your teeth in?

Zink, Melissa

I thought I would end the challenge with art.  I am so glad that I participated and have met some really inspiring artists and writers in the course of the journey.  Many thanks goes out to Arlee Bird and the team.   I will still be trying to get to all those who I didn't get to visit during the challenge.  On Monday there will be a reflective post.  For my Z post  I came across Melissa Zink, who's hometown is Taos, New Mexico.  She is an artist that I admire who makes mixed media wall art and bronze sculpture.

Youth

As a creative exercise on Art, Heart and Healing course by Tamara Laporte we had to do an altered book celebrating our lives.  One of the pages expressed what we would say to our 5 year old selves. Between the ages of 5 and 11 I was bullied at school feeling powerless and unable to speak up for myself, in those days I don't remember any campaigns about anti bullying or even childline.  I didn't tell anyone at the time and just hoped it would go away.

I don't remember anyone telling me how bright or gorgeous I was or how maybe some day I could speak words of encouragement into someones life. It took years of reflecting, reading, and faith to come out the other end, though the inner work is a continuous thing. 

This was a really good exercise - all the things I would say to a young child now to encourage and support I said to my inner child.  Words definitely have power and you can encourage or tear down someone by the words that come out of your mouth.

Ephesians 5:19 encourages us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit....

Xylophone 'Forest'

I have always liked the sound of music played on a xylophones. As a child me and my brother would go for adventures in the forests of Hampsted Heath, spending hours pretending we were explorers, the sweets in our pockets would be our energy supplies and we had the power to become invisible to other alien life forces that would also roam the heath, many great memories were made.

This is video set in the tranquil setting of the forest, using a giant xylophone...It's amazing the lengths companies go to advertise their products.  See if you can guess the product before the video ends.

Watersoluable Ink Pencils - Inktense

I got a 12 set of these Derwent Inktense watersoluable pencils for Christmas.  They are vibrant as a pencil and when you add water to a drawing don't loose their colour or brilliance.  Once you've added water and they dry they become permanent which makes them ideal to use with other mediums.  They can also be used on fabric, and I'm playing about on a few other surfaces to see the effects. They come in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and I've seen a 72 pack set, (these are on my wish list!) If there ever was a pencil to recommend it would be these.

Variation on a Theme - Reusing Journal Pages

Following on from the online course I did from Strathmore I decided to rework another journal page, this time using photoshop.  This piece was done using water soluable crayons in one of my journals. 

I decided to use photoshop (elements) to smooth out some of the lines down the centre of the page and try making the piece a bit more vibrant.  I'm by no means an expert on photoshop and am learning as I go on.  I brought a copy of Susan Tuttle's Digital Expressions to learn a bit more about using photoshop creatively.  I haven't finished this piece but wanted to share progress so far.

Unique

We all have some hidden unknown talent waiting within us to be expressed.  Some find out what this unique gift is at an early age, others later on in life and some feel  that they never get close.

Sometimes we meet people who inspire us to want to go futher than we've ever done before and we take a step of faith and find that we really shine, we connect with our uniqueness and are able to share it with the world.  Identifying your unique gifts takes time, you need to be nurtured, supported and loved, so that they can develop, but you are worth the time.

You are unique, one of a kind,

never been seen before, developing your gifts an inspiration,

that sparkles more and more

The apple of Gods eye, breathtakingly beautiful,

insightful and humble too. 

Take a step out of the box,

break down those walls and step into your rightful shoes

Take time to shine today!

Tara Frey - Blogging for Bliss

 

Blogging for Bliss  This is a lovely book, lots of beautiful images and filled with step by step instructions on how to get started in the world of blogging from the very basics of why blog, learning the ropes on how to improve your blogs, increasing traffic and more. All the way through the book you are given examples and links to other artists blog sites and information on how they developed their style.

Its definitely a great place to start if your just starting out in the blogging journey and if your more seasoned it's equally great to get some ideas to improve your blog, with some really helpful hints along the way.  It's definitely worth getting yourself a copy.

Strathmore Workshops

Strathmore Artist Studios have a series of free courses. 

I have already taken the first one which was run by Pam Carriker and this looked at how we use our journal pages, breathing new life into them.  I learnt new ways of bringing a new look to pages and images that I had done.  The great thing about these courses is that you can take them in your own time and most importantly they are free.  There is always someone new starting so feedback is always available.  I have since looked at ways to incorporate more journal images or pages into new work and its brought new life to pages that were forgotton. 

The current workshop will be starting on 1st May 2011 and is run by Roz Stendahl, she encourages you to create mixed media journal pages from the background up using a range of material to discover your journal voice.  If you've never kept an art journal perhaps it's time to start, you'll learn some interesting tips and connect with other supportive creatives!

Recycling

I love the idea of taking something that would normally be thrown away and creating something else.  These journals started their journey as cereal boxes, junk mail and used envelopes, which we all seem to have so much of.....

 with a bit of paint, creativity and imagination they now will tell

many different stories,  I can try out techniques before

committing to larger pieces and basically have fun!

I've just got to be mindful that the collecting

doesn't turn into hoarding!

Quotes for the Day

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what

you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in;

forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day;

begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be

cumbered with your old nonsense.

This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, 

with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays

Ralph Waldo Emerson

*****

If a man is to be called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets

even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music,

or Shakespeare wrote poetry.

He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts

of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street

sweeper who did his job well

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Promarker Pens

I recently brought these Promarker Pens by Letraset.  I wanted to find a permanent pen that I could use in my journals and write over painted pages.  Coming in sets of five twin tip pens they are grouped by popular tones, they go on very smoothly, and you can blend colours.  Being permanent they can go on a variety of surfaces, including glass, wood, ceramic and plastic.  I did a couple of drawings and used the promarker to add colour.  

These were taken from journal pages so the colour bleeds through, but you can get specially treated paper to prevent ink bleed.  I have found them to be a great accompaniment to my supplies will be doing more over time and incorporating them into my mixed media and ATC work. 

Outside...

Whats outside your front door?

 When we take a moment to really look we can sometimes see some amazing things in unusual places.

 This sculpture was placed on a roof top of the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm.  It's by the Artist Antony Gormley, and is part of a collection of sculptures dotted around London.  Next time you go out take time to really see what is around you, you may be in for an unexpected surprise!  It reminded me of the Vigeland sculpture park that I went to in Oslo last year which charted the different stages of life.

The park contains 192 sculptures with more than 600 figures, all modeled in full size by Gustav Vigeland who also designed the architectural setting and the layout of the grounds. If you ever get a chance to visit Oslo put it on your list of must sees!


  

New Supplies - Neocolour Water Soluable Wax Pastels

I love getting new supplies, from ordering to the anticipation waiting for them to be delivered, carrying the package in and opening up in eagerness for what’s inside, or the feeling of going into an art shop and selecting new equipment and rushing home to try them out, I love all of that.

One of my favourite purchases were my Neocolour water soluble wax pastels, by Caran D’ache. They are gorgeous to use. I managed to save up for a 30 pack and it was one of the best purchases I made. They are so vibrant in colour, the range of colours is great. They go a long way, you can use them directly on your surface or use a wet brush applying it to the colour then to your work.

There is 126 colours available in the range and can be brought individually. I’ve been using them for at least a year now and as you can see they are still near enough their original size. I would definitely recommend them if you were thinking about it. Love to hear about any supplies that you can recommend.

Mixed Media

My love for mixed media has grown over the past 3 years. I just didn’t know it existed for some reason and through a series of events I’ve learnt new techniques, met amazing artists and taken some really inspiring courses along the way. I have given myself the space to experiment and grow as an artist determined to find out what my style was, or what mediums to specialise in.

I often worried about finding my place in the mixed media world and was encouraged by other artists who say there is a place for all of us to co-exist. Which is right, there is room and there are different styles of work out there waiting for licensing deals, books, exhibitions and much more. You’ve just got to believe in your work and with passion make inroads for yourself and along the way you will learn a variety of useful tools, tips that you can choose to apply and make your own or ignore.

Laminator/Light box

A couple of useful tools I have that have many uses. The light box and the laminator.

Laminator, taking something flimsy and after the application of heat and plastic film enabling it to become stronger, these then have many uses your art or craft projects.

The light box provides back light to projects - from embossing, tracing and a host of other things. At the moment they have to be kept in their boxes on a shelf because of space. Once I get my studio (speaking things as if they were:) ...) I shall be able to leave them out and use them more regularly! Can you think of any equipment that you have that doesn’t get as much use due to space?

Knives

I love texture in my work and when using paint I often bring out the pallet knives, they are so flexible and easy to use. Unassuming yet contribute to creating something of beauty