It's Saturday - Time to Showoff! - October 22, 2016

It's #ShowOffSaturday over at one of my favorite Facebook groups, The Artist Entrepreneur hosted by the lovely Catherine Orer, Coach Extraordinaire.

Again this week I am sharing one of my paintings from my October series where I am celebrating autumn with abstracts - this is abstract 10.4 


You can see my process in the photos below -

                    Step 1                            Step 2                             Step 3       

(1) I started with a 20" x 20" canvas and applied a base of black gesso. I then sketched an abstract design with chalk. (2) Using white acrylic I began my layers. I started with a round brush and painted small haphazard strokes. (3) For the next layer I mixed the paint with acrylic glaze.

(4) Next I added color. (5) Once it dried I began pulling off some of the top layer of paint off using alcohol and elbow grease. This created a distressed look.

Lastly I applied thin layers of translucent colors - Golden's Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Green Gold. Using baby wipes I removed some of this paint too. I worked some Paynes Gray on top to give it some more depth.



The final piece -

20 x 20 Acrylic on canvas

Donated to the

Rome Rescue Mission Fundraiser

Here are a few close ups photos which allow you to see the texture and layers of color.

Shhhh - if you've read this far, thank you! Your reward? Leave a comment below and be entered to win a set of note cards with close up images taken from this painting.Winner selected on October 28, 2016.

Congratulations to last week's winner, Kathy E.

Leaves & Trees - Mix It Monthly Challenge with Pia Rom

Each month artist Pia Rom of Germany hosts an art challenge. She calls it "Mix It Monthly Challenge". In September the theme was leaves and trees.

Pia suggested that we use texture in our work. I love leaves and I love texture. I really enjoying using my different art supplies to create layers of texture.

Here is a slideshow with few photos of my finished art piece - a 6x6 mixed media on canvas.

   (SLIDESHOW)

Wonder what's next?

WHAT are you working on right now?!

An Abstract Challenge with Lindy Stamps!

Yesterday I started a painting. As usually happens, I began with an idea and ended up with something totally different.

I tend to paint in fifteen minute sessions with breaks in between. During one of my breaks I went online to check my e-mail. I saw an e-mail regarding the August Challenge over at Lindy's Stamps. Normally I don't do these but when I saw their graphic, I was HOOKED - here, look for yourself.

Yeah, COLOR!

You know me - I LOVVVVE me some color!

As I said I had already begun painting but I didn't like the colors I was using - too dark for my taste. So, I went into my supplies and took out my Lindy sprays. I just happen to have some of those colors!  What a yummy palette to work with. It just took a bit of gesso and I was able to switch over to these colors.

I had already added my signature circles so while the gesso was wet I worked in a bit of  Jazzy Jivin Purple to each one. While they were drying I mixed Lucious Lime (one of my very favorites!)  with white acrylic paint and filled in a large rectangular shape.

After it was completely dry I laid my canvas down on my table and sprayed it with Delphinium Turquoise  - letting the spray pool up. This spray is from  Lindy's Starburst spray line,  they are two-toned colors with shimmer added. I love the way it looked against the matte background of the light lime.

After staring at the painting for a bit I thought it still needed something. Texture. It needed texture!  So I tore up some deli paper which I had tinted with a light spray of Tears on My Pillow Tangerine. Once that dried I put on a base color of white acrylic paint mixed with Hottie Patottie Hot Pink. I followed it up with a mix of the same color spray mixed with a hot pink acrylic paint. I worked this blend into the nooks and crannies, gave it a minute and then wiped it back with a wet baby wipe. When it dried I added a coat of gloss medium to the hot pink background. 

After adding just a few marks with neon paint markers, lastly I used white acrylic paint to make large brush strokes across the whole canvas. I DO like my ABSTRACTs!

Here's the finished painting and a few close-ups too.

"Temper Tantrum"
20 x 20 Mixed Media on Canvas

It took some time, and many changes, but I love this painting!





CREATE.SHARE.INSPIRE. :: Winter Challenge - Week Three

Here's the next link-up party in my challenge series, CREATE.SHARE.INSPIRE.  

Every Thursday I will post a prompt which my party guests use to get creative - in ANY medium, in any form, whatever your skill level. JUST CREATE! On the following Tuesday we share our creations. CLICK HERE for more information


This is week three of the WINTER CHALLENGE.
This week's prompt:

Visit our party guests.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tune in again next Tuesday for another link-up party!  Do you want to attend? Just join the facebook group, FABRIC OF MY LIFE!

CREATE.SHARE.INSPIRE. :: Winter Challenge - Week One

This is the first link-up party in my challenge series, CREATE.SHARE.INSPIRE.  

Every Thursday I will post a prompt which my party guests use to get creative - in ANY medium, in any form, whatever your skill level. JUST CREATE! On the following Tuesday we share our creations. CLICK HERE for more information


This is week one of the WINTER CHALLENGE.
This week's prompt:

Visit our party guests.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tune in again next Tuesday for another link-up party!  Do you want to attend? Just join the facebook group, FABRIC OF MY LIFE!

Coming in January: CREATE. SHARE. INSPIRE.

 I'm issuing a challenge to you - JOIN Me!

CREATE. 
      SHARE. 
         INSPIRE.

It's what we do - whether you call yourself an artist, crafter or artisan. 


Isn't that why we blog, post our videos to YouTube and chat on Facebook? We join online groups to find like-minded folks. In doing so we end up building our own little art community.

I belong to a couple groups (I use the term 'couple' but in fact it's quite a few!) I have found that many of my friends, like me, play in more than one creative field. We like working in many different mediums.  Some of my friends are on Facebook, others blog, and still others hangout on Youtube. I wanted to find a way to get all my friends together. That's when I came up with the idea of throwing a little on-line party - a challenge of sorts.

I am sending out this invitation to you -

Here's how it will work:

•  Beginning on January 1st, and every Thursday in January, I will post a winter-themed prompt. (might be a photo, quote or just a color palette)

• Based on that week's prompt, you will CREATE something in your choice of creative field or medium. You can even change up from week to week (this week mixed media, next week jewelry design..you get the idea).

•  The following Tuesday (and every Tuesday thereafter) you will SHARE your creation by linking up on my blog (more on that later). You can link up to your photo, blog post or video. Whichever - it's totally your choice.
• Stop by my blog, click on the other links and meet new friends. I have no doubt your work will INSPIRE others and who knows, you might even be inspired to try your hand at something new! (Oh, AND you might gain another follower or subscriber too!)

Here is how you sign up:

1. Leave a comment below.

2. Request to join my new Facebook group,  CLICK HERE.

I created this group for you! A place to bring together all my creative friends and followers. Think of it as our own art cafe, a place where we can get to know one another, share our work, ask questions, or just shoot the breeze. So join in, introduce yourself and let us know about your creative journey.

If you are not on Facebook then email me with your name and the best place to connect with you.  I don't want you to miss future updates or instructions.

So, are you up for this wintery challenge? Come along, join me and let's start the New Year off right!

  

(ps: more news to tell but can't spill the beans just yet. YOU will be the first to know. LOL)

Mixing It Up for a Holiday Swap!

My ornaments - Photo by Jill Bradley

I belong to an online bead community called Bead Swap - USA. For the last couple years I have taken part in their annual "Christmas Ornament Swap". My partner this year was my good friend, Jill Bradley.

Jill sent me the most beautiful ornaments (and other goodies!) She had sent me a set of four ornaments so I was able to share with my three daughters. I love the idea of us having the very same ornament on each of our trees!

Goodies: Holiday towels and Tupperware

   

 Isn't it beauiful! 

I love the mix of the red crystal with the bright silver star!

Now it was my turn to create for Jill.

Over the past year I have moved away from my jewelry making to mixed media art. I needed to find a way to incorporate both of these into my ornaments. I went to my go-to for ideas - Pinterest!

I found a great ornament made by one of my favorite mixed media artists, Roberta Laliberte.

The design and the instructions are ALL Roberta's but I am presenting it by showing photos from my process. With that said - 

Here is the first ornament - 

First thing I did was make some of my pretty painted paper. I started with acrylic paint in a pretty palette of purples, yellow, blues, orange and lime green.

Next step is to cut out an outline of the bird from cardboard (2 per bird). Using masking tape I taped the cut-outs back to back.

Next, I stuffed the bird with crumbled paper. More masking tape, making sure to seal around the whole perimeter, closing up every opening.

I put together a small

string of beads (on wire). Added a loop on each end of the wire and then fed it through the body of the bird. I taped around the openings made by the wire. 

Next step was to coat the bird with some black gesso.

Now to dress the bird. I had cut out the painted papers and then I decoupaged them to the bird shape. Added a few more details using rubber and foam stamps, and some of my penwork.

Glued on some seam binding and a little metal doo-dad and done!

I also made up a couple extra ornaments. In my stash I had a few store-bought paper mache pieces from Michael's.

                                    

  
 I decoupaged on some torn pieces of my leftover deli paper. Stamped some more deli paper with the words "Merry" and "Joy" to give them festive messages.

I hope Jill loves them as much as I do hers! 

Happy Holidays everyone.

xxoOh! Shelley

My First JUNK JOURNAL!

Some time ago I joined a new Facebook group called Junk Journal Junkies. I decided to join after viewing a few Youtube videos. There were two artists I really enjoyed viewing. 

The first is Thrifty Lou! Louise is from the U.K. and she is a "hoot"! That is the perfect word to describe her as watching her shenanigans will have you hooting AND hollering with laughter. She has the cutest daughter, named Lottie and together they can make a simple giveaway drawing entertaining as any sitcom on the tellie! LOL. Besides being great fun to watch, Thrifty Lou is a very talented journal maker. Her projects are packed with cool items and she puts a load of love and thought into each one she creates!

Here's one of the very first video I viewed of her's...she had me after this! 

The second artist, Shannon Green, is the total opposite! LOL!  Watching her gave me so many ideas on what to include and where to find goodies, for FREE!

I went right out the next day and began to "gather". I hit up the tourist and info rack at the public library, went to a local hotel for loads of restaurant take-out menus and a few local maps. I also visited the Post Office to grab some free forms and the like. In addition I made a few swaps with other JJJ's and received some REALLY cool items. I have great package Karma (loads of happy mail comes in!!) But I got my most favorite JJ items from two special friends, Lea Avroch (LA Jewelry Designs) - she sent me huge, glossy magazines from NYC and the Hamptons area, AND Solange Collin (Ahowin) - she sent me magazines and newspapers from France! 


Well, I JUST finished creating my first junk journal (JJ). JJ's mean different things to different people. I wanted to incorporate junk mail and other cast off items in mine.  This one I made for the swap called "Use Your Stash Junk Journal"  on FB:Junk Journal Junkies.  
I am swapping internationally so I tried to incorporate items which were local to where I live and/or from the USA.  I used loads of my own painted papers too. My partner loves purple and green (my favs too!) so I threw those in wherever I could. I loved the process and wanted to keep this one but I let it go! (after arguing with myself a bit. LOL)

Here is a summary of my process:

The gatherings...

This is the color palette - she likes the green and purple combo that I love!

And here is the guts - ads, menus, local attractions and news, plus some U.S. goverment issued forms I had laying around.








Here is the front cover - I took a used US Priority flat-rate box and cut it open, lightly sprayed the inside with water, waited for it to soak in and then removed the top layer to reveal the corrugated inner layer. 

I painted on some white gesso, when it dried I used acrylic paint in aqua to stamp some shapes and applied a little purple Gelato to the edges. To the reverse side I used circle daubers in several shades of purple.

These are a few of the pages - 

Leftover W-2 forms from my old job... and a bag we used at the Alzheimer's Assoc. fundraiser we held last week (more on that soon!)












Here's transfer iron-on tissue paper which was included in a old pattern I picked up at a thrift shop.

 


Leftover paint I applied to a page from an old dictionary..also applied some Heidi Swapp epoxy stickers to jazz it up a bit. On the right is a security envelope I got with one bill or another.

An application for a Passport I picked up from the Post Office but didn't use.












A page from a French magazine and a mail flyer from a ministry.

  



Here's a glance at the outer back cover.

I tucked in several goodies (they will remain a surprise) but one other item I tucked in was this tag. I keep a couple of these blanks close to my work area at ALL times. I wipe off my excess paint and inks onto it, wet stencils too! Then I embellish it and add some cool seam binder or other fibers and textiles to give it life.  I ALWAYS love the results. I REALLY, REALLY had to force myself to part with this particular one. The photos are not doing it justice!

 

Want to learn more about the process I used? 

http://youtu.be/1R8vzVyLsLA?list=UUFV7RVT8x5Or8L9F16zlRFA

CLICK HERE to visit my Youtube channel and see many more projects, don't forget to subscribe!

Thanks for stopping by!

ICAD#031: The FINALE! ..."Live your life..."

It's day 31 of my personal ICAD* challenge. YES, I made it!

Today's card was made for my new friend Kim Matschell, who I met on the MixedMedia Jenn & Friends Facebook group. You can view her ICAD videos on her Youtube channel, MatschMomma.

  * Index Card-A-Day

Here's the video of the making of ICAD #031:

ICAD#031 http://youtu.be/6MS8Rc1JoXA


Supplies Used: Gesso, Acrylic paints,  Liquitex Gel Medium, Mod Podge, Sizzix Texture Boutique Tool, Sizzix Embossing folder, lots of circle shapes (caps, bottles, etc), Stamp, painter's tape,printout on paper towel (words), $1 store hairspray, and Molotow Paint Pen.