Wow...I have an art studio!

 I have a cute little 9.5x9.5 room off of my living room. When I moved here, anytime we couldn't figure out where something went, it ended up there.....so it was a heap, and I've never had it set up to use. Last night I sorted though things, and made myself a little art room.

I bought this large easel at an estate auction a few years ago. It was in a big old house that had a lot of great arty things. It's oak and extremely sturdy and on of my best ever finds! I didn't think I'd win it at the auction, but I ended up getting it for just 65 dollars. For a while I had it in the shop displaying paintings, and I've had several artists come in and make me very good offers, but I want to see if I like working large before I sell it. It would cost a lot to replace it, and I have a feeling that I just might love making large paintings.

 This is a little railroad hat/coat rack. Very cute, and it makes for good storage with the bags hanging there.

 Last summer I found the 7up box with my name on it (literally!) and it stores scraps of papers that I use in mixed media pieces. The lunch boxes hold stamp carving supplies, and stamps.

 I love this little table I bought from another dealer at Old City Hall Shoppes in Pontiac. The enamel top cleans up real well after painting.

 The top piece is by an Brandi Evans of Dowagiac, Michigan. The bottom one is by me :D

 More little drawers and cubbies picked up at flea markets.

 Canvases...some are painted up with backgrounds and ready to be transformed.

 Here's the top of my little table. Love the red! Another organizer made from part of an old tool box.

 This is a big old cupboard...taller than me, that I found on the curb. When we got it home, we realized it must be pretty old, as it's all put together with square nails. The doors were missing when we found it, so we added more shelves and I painted the inside with chalkboard paint.

I am so used to working at the dining room table, that it might take some getting used to to start working in here.  After this busy weekend, I'll be trying it out!

Documented Life ...Layers...Don't stop til you get enough.

 

 I wish I had a picture of how this page started...it was a page I'd started earlier and hated. In this photo I'd already used some gesso and paint to block out some of the ugly. The leaves on the edge were cut from magazine pages, and I just couldn't get them to work either. This week's Documented Life prompt was to use lots of layers (don't stop till you get enough!).

Added some yellow and pink...because those colors make me happy. And a bit of blue to repeat.

Here I got out the black and white pens and started doodling.

A bit more pink paint to block out some parts I didn't like, plus added some happy words. It's kind of a happy page now. Keeping going with the layers did help fix it up enough to make make me want to keep it. I think the page facing it will have a calendar. I'm missing having the calendar/journaling aspect of "documented life."

If you are interested in following along with the Documented Life Project prompts, you can  join the fun at: Documented Life Project 2015

Documented Life ....using underpaper

 What is underpaper, you say? Well, it's the paper you keep on under your journal when you are painting, to keep the table clean. I've gotten to where I will empty the brush out on that paper before I clean it out in a glass of water to change colors. You end up with a nice colorful paper that can be used in other projects. This turtle was sketched on one of those papers.

The ocean is also made from underpapers. I found some Hawaiian proverbs online, and since I love Hawaii, I decided to make a page from one of those. The theme for the week was "What lies beneath" and Hawaii has a lot "beneath" with volcanoes and the ocean all around.

Originally I had a page facing this one that included a volcano and lava underground, but it was too bold for this page, and I wanted the turtle to be the focus. So, I cut this page out and glued it to another page to stand alone. Sometimes, you just have to edit a little. When we were in Hawaii, we saw green sea turtles many times, and one swam up to us one day when we were swimming in a lagoon. It was a rather magical moment!

 Gorgeous black cliffs and the prettiest blues ever.

A fisherman and his son with their nets, while turtles sleep nearby.

This is the day the Lord has made....

This is a little project I started a while back:

I painted the bike, and then was searching for a verse that would fit, and also fit with a bike. Since riding my bike IS a way to rejoice in the day, I thought this one was perfect. It has my hand done wonky lettering, and I embrace that these days. In this day and age, most everything is computer generated, so I think it's rather refreshing to see something that is hand lettered and hand painted. As you can see, this is the same style sketch that I often do in my journals.

Color Wheel...Documented Life Project

 This prompt was "The Color Wheel" and the suggest quote by Georgia O'Keeffe. I started with a large ledger page and a stencil, and sprayed yellow, red, and blue inks through the stencil so that they overlapped to form secondary colors. Then I glued it down with some pieces of book paper, under paper, and some tissues printed with the gelli plate.

 The little flowers are pieces of napkins glued down. Then I had fun with some fun doodling with the white and black pens.

 By now, my background was so busy that my quote would have a hard time standing out, so I swiped on some pretty magenta paint.

I've also been drawing some Route 66 signs and scenes in Illinois. I'm working on some projects for the shop with these little drawings.

Words with Friends ...Documented Life Project

The prompt was "Words With Friends" and it reminded me of this Bible verse: Proverbs 16:24.

Here it is while I was working on it. I was away from home when I started these pages, so I had a limited selection of supplies. I have a great honeycomb stencil, but of course it was at home, so I tried to draw the comb. I love the verse, but I was not overly excited about this page. I like it better after doing a bit of lettering and doodling on it though.

Documented Life 2015 Week 2

 This weeks challenge was to use gesso. We were also supposed to be inspired by a Mary Shelley quote about starting today, however, I'm behind and there is also a prompt out right now with the theme of "Words with Friends." So what we have here, is a combo...gesso and words with friends.

I've never started with black gesso before, so this was an experiment...I sketched with a white colored pencil.

Then I blocked in colors with paints. I didn't  know if the color would show up on the black, or allow too much black through, but I like what happened! The pink paint is a Liquitex Basics, and the white and reds are Golden Fluid Acrylics.

I just kind of blocked in shadows and highlights, keeping it loose.

 Then I got out the Pitt pen and did some sketching details and defining edges. Added some highlights and little dots with the Sharpie water based pen.

This was a fun experiment, and I definitely want to try using a black background again.

Documented Life Week 1

The Documented Life prompt this week was to use book pages, and the theme "be your own goalkeeper." I thought about my goals being in my own hands, but luckily I don't have to go it alone, because God promises to go with me and give me strength.

I also wanted to introduce my word for the year, which is "strong." Last year I had the word "move," and it inspired me to move my body, to travel, and not be afraid to move my business along. Having the word there in front of you, really does keep it at the forefront of your mind.

The size of this large Dylusions Journal is challenging. I glued the book paper down, and WOW there was so much space left. I used a large stencil and spray inks in the sky. The hands are life size...I traced my hands on some K & Company scrapbook paper.

A little tweaking of a design

I've been playing around with this design....moving the sign and cleaning up a few things. The process to get something screen printed is new to me. I've got a lot to learn.

 Here are the muffler men again...some of my favorite subjects. I'm thinking the little checkerboard border will be on these designs. Kind of ties them together, even though the subject matter is very different.

Polk-a-Dot Drive In, Braidwood, Illinois...Route 66

 I finished my journal page for the Polk-a-Dot Drive In. I think it's fun! The juke box and all the reflections on it were a challenge, but I kind of like how it turned out very bold.
Here are some pictures from the day I drove to Braidwood and started making this page:

Vintage Camper...Home Sweet Home

I've been working on some little canvases today. I started out with some pretty greens and blues and yellows.

 I painted a vintage camper on an old map of the United States, and added some doodling. I love vintage campers, and someday I hope to have a little "canned ham" to travel with.

I like to paint the edges so they are as fun as the front. That way it doesn't have to be framed.

Je Suis Charlie

Doodling while I'm watching the news from France. Such a sad day, and such madness out there. When I started sketching my pens and such, there were already yellow splotches on the page, from a messy page before. Then after drawing I decided to add red and blue to the white paper, in reference to the French flag. I wish the yellow was not there now, but c'est la vie.

Keeping France in my prayers. The extremes of any movement is where the crazy lies.Very scary.

Documented Life, Christmas Traditions

 This prompt was to document one of my Christmas traditions. I love putting up the nativity, because it's what Christmas is all about. I have an old glass star that belonged to my great grandmother on my dad's side. They were from Germany, and the star is a German glass ornament. I hang it right over the stable that my brother-in-law made for our nativity set.

Here are a few photos from a couple of years ago:

Face Cards

No, not the joker and the queen, but the elf! I ordered some cards from MOO with my elf on the front. As usual, MOO did a great job. The paper is nice and heavy and the printing is great. I order all my business cards from this company as well.  With the post cards and business cards (and I think greeting cards too), you can order a different image on each card if you like!

If you use the link I provided above, I'll get credit for referring you, and you will get to try out their neat stuff.

Face 5/100

Here is face #5. I kind of like how she turned out, but I some how lost some of her head tilt while I was painting her. Her tilted head was so sassy in the reference photo, and I wish I'd managed to keep that, but maybe next time. What attracted me to this girl was her gorgeous hair, and I definitely had fun making her curls.

 

 I used a banking envelope with a security pattern on the inside, and then put on the polka dots using some punchanella and fingerpainting. Kind of messy, but it's all good! I sketched her, but then of course I had to use some gesso to make base for all the skin tones.

I've been painting on my dining room table...which is where I usually do. Late night painting and watching CNN. I chose purples because the documented life project had a prompt for using colors you usually don't use. I rarely use purple or lavender. There is also the second prompt from another week of polka-dots!

Beginning a face...

Here is a start to another face. This will be face number 5. She is from a photo from the internet, but as usual she doesn't actually look just like that person. I like her look though...she has spunk I think!