Treasure Hunters

This is inspired by my son Mike who was a pirate for about half of the Halloweens while growing up. When he was in about 1st grade he and his friend Billy used to take turns being the keeper of a treasure map they had created. When I found it in his backpack, he took it from me, handling it carefully, and solemnly told me that when he and Billy turned 13 they were going to go find this treasure. Mike and Billy are still friends (Bill recently stood up for Mike at his wedding) and they have, I know, done plenty of adventuring together.....and I think I'm kind of glad that, as his mother, I don't know all the details :D

If you'd like to see some really great paper mache sailing ships visit Ann Wood's site and click on ships over in the catagories section....they are beautiful!

Cardinal Couple

I saw this handsome couple on Judy's blog this morning and decided to sketch them on the back cover of the "Boys and Girls" sketchbook.

He and She at the Mall

Now don't get all crazy on me if you are a woman and this does not apply to you...I'm not much of a mall shopper either. I have to be in just the right mood and probably have a girlfriend with  me. But I know plenty of couples like this one. The woman shops for sport and entertainment, and sometimes it just takes a lot of time to track down the bargains when you are on a budget. Most men I know are more like this guy...get in, get your item and get out.

The purple around the edge is cut from a shopping bag :D

This is the inside back cover of the "Boys and Girls" sketchbook.

Oh Baby...

Dressing the little boys and girls is fun...such sweet little clothes! I was glad I had both boys and a girl so I could have the fun of each one. I loved dressing Colleen in little dresses like this one...smocked and embroidered....and many of them were gorgeous little Polly Flinders dresses I found at the resale shop. It's amazing what you can find in those places! Mike lived in overalls and sneaks. Here's a little pic of them...David, Michael and Colleen:

Adam and Eve

How could I do the theme "Boys and Girls" with out getting the first boy and girl in there? As anyone who comes here often knows, I avoid drawing the human figure...I have trouble with proportions and all, but I decided to give it a go. So here you have Adam and Eve, as best as I could make them for today. If I had it to do over, I'd give him a little muscle...maybe they have not started working the land yet?

Play Time...Toys!

Nature or nurture? I don't know, but I know my son had dolls, but didn't play with them. He was into trucks and toy guns. My  daughter was crazy about dolls and dress-up. Of course, they were watching Joe and I, and I was taking care of babies and he was going off to work at construction sites everyday, so nurture might have had something to do with it!

This is another one for the Sketchbook Project.

Vive La Difference!

another from the Sketchbook Project book...Boys and Girls is my theme. I see things I would like to change in this little sketch, but that happens a lot in my sketchbooks and this one is no exception. It was a fun one to do!

Vintage Stamp Set

I found this vintage stamp set at an auction, and I'm soooo hoping that it will clean up well and I can use it!

You can see how dirty they are. I have a lot of stamps to scrub up!

I cleaned up those two, and as long as I stamp them on paper with some more paper beneath (to kind of cushion it) I get a decent image.  Re-inking my ink pad might help too. I definitely think I can make use of these in my journals and such! Oh, and I got this for a dollar...no one else wanted it, but I'm pretty thrilled!

Boys and Girls

 

When I signed up, I chose the theme "Boys and Girls." It sounded great at the time, but when it came right down to it, I was having trouble thinking of something to draw. Especially since I have trouble drawing people. I ended up with pages that sometimes have to do with little boys and girls, and sometimes grown boys and girls. I first painted the cover but didn't like how it turned out, so I collaged some dictionary pages on and tried again. I didn't purposely choose the words in the background, but the junior higher in me finds it amusing that a bolt and nut, and the word "booby" still ended up showing.

In some of the pages I've attempted sketching people, and some I have used other boys and girls...like the snowman and woman above. This is the inside cover and first page. The inside of the cover will have a pocket glued in for the artist's bio and such.

I like how this one turned out. I had white stars in the sky, but I must not have waited long enough for the paint pen to cure, because when I applied the wax to seal the page, they came right off. This is why I work with watercolors and acrylics...I would not have the patience for oils to dry. Apparently, I don't even have the patience for acrylics! So, I found these little star shaped brads and put the stars back in my sky.

The Sketchbook Project

I signed up for The Sketchbook Project a while back. When I received the little sketchbook, things were kind of crazy around here, so I tucked it away for later. Last month I pulled it back out and got started. 

The paper in this little Moleskine book they sent is very thin and will not stand up to all the paint and glue I'll be putting on them. The rules say you can rebind your book with any paper you like. I've never done any book making, so I'm totally flying by the seat of my pants here! I picked out the stitches, and used the pages as a template to cut new pages from bristol board.

I stitched them in using some waxed linen thread.

On the trip back down the spine I added some beads.

I like the look, and it still fits in the dimensions specified in the project rules.

The paper is so thick, that this is going to be more like a little board book when it's done, but it's the thicker paper I had on hand. If I'd been thinking, I would have probably snatched some pages from one of my Moleskine sketchbooks. It would have been the perfect size and shape and it also would have been the weight I prefer.

In my little studio...

I set up a little studio at work and I'm enjoying staying late or working in the slow moments of the day. If I had running water in that room, it would be the berries. Apparently I need lots and lots of paper towels!

Fear vs Curiosity

Have you all checked out Pinterest? You know as you surf the web, you come across all kinds of images you'd like to save? Pinterest lets you save them to pinboards that you create around a certain subject. I have one for "journal prompts" and one for "inspiring interiors"  and one for "things that make me smile" and several more. It's easy and the images you collect link right back to where you find them....very handy! This page was made from one of the journal prompts I saved. You can check out my pinboards by clicking on the Pinterest link in the sidebar.

New Moleskine Ad...

A new stop-motion ad by Rogier Weiland...pretty brilliant.

MINI PLANNERS from Moleskine ® on Vimeo.

Wise Old Dr. Seuss...and what to do about sticky journal pages

It probably seems to you all as if I have been doing no artwork, but actually I have been doing some almost every day. I've been working in my art journal, but most of it is pretty personal, so I just keep it to myself. However....I've been experimenting and learning a ton!

I normally draw with india ink and paint with watercolors in my journal. Lately, in addition to those favorites, I've been using acrylic paints, paint pens, and acrylic medium to collage elements onto the page. It's been fun, but I found that later when I closed my book, all that acrylic sticks together....and peels off when you try to open the page...UGH!

Some journalers put a nonstick paper between the pages, but I like to do double page spreads, and it kind of ruins the experience of flipping through the book if I have to move a paper every time. 

I went searching for answers and found that you can seal the page with wax when you are done. I did not have the wax recommended, but they described it as "kind of like clear shoe polish" on the website I was reading. Sooooo....I used clear shoe polish and it worked great! It created a wonderful finish and the pages no longer stick together....but they smell terrible! So I broke down and ordered some Dorland's Wax Medium, which is what many journalers use to seal their pages and prevent sticking.

Dorland's Wax works great. You just apply with a soft cloth, wait for it to harden up a little, and then give it a good buffing. I actually prefer the way the finish from the clear shoe polish looks, but Dorland's is good and does not smell...and is supposed to be archival, so I'm sure it's probably the better choice. Unless of course you really love the scent of shoe polish.

Just doing a little journaling....

and enjoying the autumn morning light.

It's Yours, Take It at Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI

Fun to see who picked up my artwork!

Folks picking out something to keep.

Upside down peace tag :)