More art journal pages

hi friends. Well, I'd hoped to update my blog more frequently, but looks like I failed again, lol!
I guess we all go through phases where you feel like you have nothing interesting to say.  Since my last post, I continued working on journal pages. The above is more my 'style', and I attempted to paint a fox with the fairy girl. He didn't turn out too great, haha! but if you don't practice, you will never learn. So far I've been adding lyrics from songs I love with these pages, and I wasn't sure what to write with this one. I had some oldies music playing in the background and when this song by Marvin Gaye came in, I knew it was the perfect song to add. Funny how it's still appropriate today, in fact, even more so.

Now this girl gave me lots of trouble, I was trying for an innocent look but I think she looks more irritated than anything, haha!
I can't tell you how much fun I have had working in a recycled children's book.  There is no pressure to make anything look perfect, and it's a great way to experiment, and find your style. There are a couple more pages to go before I finish, then I need to paint something on the front and back, and maybe embellish it with ribbons, or lace. The entire book is simply girls, with lyrics to various songs on the other side.  I'm not happy with the 2 pages I showed  in my last post, and will go back and add more 'stuff' to them, just to fill up the pages. Do you know that there are dozens of art journaling videos on Youtube?? You could spend hours getting ideas, and being inspired! If only there were more hours in a day to fit in everything. I could never be bored :-)
thanks for reading, stay inspired ♥

Deep Freeze

It's been so cold the last few days! This morning when I left for work, the temperature was -24 C (-11F). By the time I got to my building my fingers were so frozen it was difficult getting my keys out. lol! Seems a lot of you bloggers are in the midst of the same weather pattern from what I've read :-)

 This past week I've been in a rut. With Valentine's Day coming I was hoping to make more ACEOs of my whimsical owls to sell, but everything I touched  turned to crap! What do you do when you just can't get it right? I've done hundreds of owl ACEOs, but nothing was working last week. At least 6 or 7 were thrown out, after spending so much time to get them right. That's not including the many drawings that just weren't working.  It's frustrating, I feel like a beginner, lol!

So I got out my sketchbook and worked on my faces.  I've neglected my girls, and it's time to bring them to life again. The above was drawn on good quality paper, she is not done yet, but once I finish,, she may find her way into my Etsy shop.

 I finally got out my Pan Pastels to try on the background. They are fabulous! They are a nice creamy pastel, which you add with an applicator that looks like a makeup sponge, and I can't believe they'd been sitting on my shelf for months before I finally opened one up. You can't see it well in the picture above, but they truly give such wonderful, soft color. Remember, this is the year to pull out all your good supplies, and stop saving them for when you are a 'better' artist.

I have a question for anyone who draws on paper with pencil, do you spray your finished work? I know pencil smudges, but spraying it makes me nervous. I've gotten spotted results before...there must be a better way.

thanks for reading, and stay warm :-D

A bit of this, a bit of that...

I thought I'd start by showing you some of the art supplies I picked up. They had a back to school sale at my nearest art store so how could I resist? Those round things you see are Pan Pastels, I had seen a Youtube video about them a while ago, but until now, they weren't available anywhere here. Haven't had a chance to use them yet.
The Amsterdam acrylics were picked up to use in some background experiments, and they are wonderful! Very inexpensive, but the quality and covereage are very impressive! I won't be buying anymore folk art paints after that.
 
Artwise, I have been trying to work on  portraits. If you've been reading my blog long enough you've seen lots of ACEOs and illustrations on vintage pages that I like to do. I'm feeling the need to work on a painting after a long absense.
This has been such a wonderful summer, that it was hard to stay indoors and work, that's why I have mainly been creating smaller art. I'm one of the few people that looks forward to winter coming, and the days getting shorter. My favorite time is when it is dark at 5pm, lol! That's when you want to hibernate, and that's when I am most productive.  Anyone else  looking forward to the change in seasons? Isn't it exciting when it gets darker and darker? and when the cold winds blow, and the first snow falls? Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself, lol!

Last but not least, I was sent this very inspirational Youtube video. My favorite part is when he is talking to the high school kids. He is an amazing man, and it puts our little problems into perspective.
I wish more people would take the time to talk to kids, and tell them that they are perfect as they are. A lot of them feel alone, and not good enough. They need to be told that anything is possible in this world, and to hold fast to their dreams.



Come to think of it, many of us adults could use some inspiration as well. So let me end by saying you are all beautiful, and worthy, exactly as you are. The fact that you are alive is a blessing, and every day, you have a chance to throw away the disappointments of the past, and  start fresh. Every day we are given a gift of 24 sparkling new hours, to use  as we desire. Let's keep our mind focused on the wonderful blessings we have, and try to limit the negative thoughts that tend to creep in.
Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!

Hot and Lazy Sunday afternoon

hello everyone! It is gorgeous out these days, yet I've managed to get some new illustrations done. These are a bit different from my  last, but they are still on vintage pages. I was very lucky to salvage some old books heading for the dumpster, so I don't feel bad tearing them apart. One is from 1898, I haven't used the pages yet but I will.
These may have to be listed in my regular Etsy shop, since I haven't opened the second one yet, depends on how much time I have. It's been fun playing around with art, and being a bit more carefree.

The above piece was done on watercolor paper, and I added lots of various vintage text on top. I didn't have a plan, just let it go where it wanted to go. Sorry about the poor photos!

Today I took a drive to the Antique market that runs every Sunday, and I scored some wonderful paper to use in my art. I found 2 very old books filled with vintage wallpaper samples, and I got them for $5, for both!
Now it's a matter of figuring out how best to use them, the papers really are beautiful!
I also picked up these cute little Japanese made dolls. I know nothing about them, other than that they are story book characters.

It was a good trip. I went alone since everyone I know wanted to watch the World Cup final. Congratulations to Spain, and to the Netherlands for what I hear was a wonderful game.

I thought I'd mention a funny thing that happened to me this morning. I have a sweet little canary which I adore, named Lucas.  I took his feed dish to fill it up with seeds, and he flew out. I heard fluttering and when I looked around, he was on the floor looking at me, so I let him stay out for a bit and stretch his wings. When I went to catch him, naturally he tries to fly away. He flew into the bathroom, and I figured, no problem, this will be easy since the bathroom is so small. Before I had a chance to even walk towards him he flew right into the toilet! I quickly pulled him out, poor little guy! His belly and wings were wet so I dabbed him with a paper towel and placed him in his cage. He was perfectly fine, he's such a little trooper.

Last but not least, I mentioned buying lots of new plants in my last post and someone asked for a photo, so here is one that shows some of them. This is the stand by my kitchen window, and yes, that is a cat on top, lol! It's my sister's persian/himalayan cat.
I have to put 2 plants on the floor because she likes to lie on the shelf and watch the birds outside. The plants are throughout my home, but this is where most are.

hope you are all having a wonderful weekend
thanks for reading!

Sunday Sketch and a page from my Sketchbook

I can't believe I haven't blogged anything since last Sunday! Time sure got away from me.  Here is my Sunday Sketch,  which I did last night in bed. It's a bit rough, but I was working out a face I will be putting on canvas soon.  The other two are just folk art girls that showed up to fill the page, lol! 
If you would like to see more Sunday Sketches by other participating artists, check out Sophia's blog
Blue Chair Diary.  It's nice to see this weekly group growing.

A Page from my Sketchbook

Time for my weekly peek into my sketchbook. Except this time, it's not in my sketchbook but on a loose sheet of graph paper. I have a little secret...my favorite way of sketching is to use pen on graph paper. I'm obsessed with it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I had several hundred loose sheets lying around with sketches, and handwritten ideas on them.  Folders are filled with these loose sheets, and I keep weeding through them, trying to get the freshest ideas at the front, but they are soon buried with dozens more pages. I swear I am out of control!
One benefit to using graph paper is that you can easily line up eyes, and other features quickly. If you are a beginner to drawing faces, I would highly recommend you buy yourself some graph paper, and draw out your lines for your face. It's easy to see when you have mistakes, and easy to correct (use pencil for this).
Once you get a perfect sketch that you are happy with, take some carbon paper, and trace it onto a good sheet of drawing paper.  It sure beats measuring with a ruler, and trying to get things lined up.

 The page you see above shows some of my folk art ideas for mother's day. The one on the left with the boy and girl is one I am painting right now.  It's also one of the sketches I showed last week,  with a bit more detail.  Hopefully it will be done by tonight and I will show it here. There is nothing glamorous about these pages, it's simply a matter of getting ideas out of your head and onto paper, where you can have a permanent record.

Thanks for reading!

Flowers in the Desert

 I thought I'd show my latest illustration on a vintage book page. I'm enjoying working on these wonderful old, distressed pages.  I will post a more gothic style girl soon....

I picked up some canvas a few days ago but haven't had a chance to work on a smaller folk art girl. It's about time I get back to  original whimsical paintings. There aren't many left in my Etsy shop, and my goal is to refill it with new work. It's feeling a bit stale at the moment.
Do you ever get bored with the art you produce?

Today I plan to stay in  and work on a couple of my online classes.  I am in Mystele's Gut Art class  which I missed the first time it was offered. Unlike most classes I take, this one has a finish date, which is fast approaching, and I am getting through the first week now, behind as always, lol!  I admire her folk art style, and would love to learn to loosen up. Lots of videos to get through, and I would recommend this class to anyone who loves her work.

That's it for now, I spent the morning reading my favorite blogs, so now it's time for coffee and a video. What a perfect way to spend a rainy day :-)

Sunday Sketch and a page from my sketchbook

hi everyone. Two weeks in a row I have a Sunday Sketch, yay for me!! I've never had trouble sketching, in fact when I watch a movie, I keep a sketchbook beside my in case an idea comes up.  My problem has been sticking to a schedule. Joining Blue Chair Diary's Sunday sketches is forcing me to stick to it.  The above sketch is what I worked on this afternoon. I wanted a whimsical kind of fairy girl face, which I may turn into a painting at some point.  Too many projects!

A Page from my Sketchbook
Last week I enjoyed sharing one of my sketchbook pages, and thought I would do it again. This is one I did last night when I went to bed. I had some ideas for my little owl ACEO series, and wanted to get them down before I forgot. Today I am working on the bunny and owl one, and I swear, sometimes (lots of times actually!) my rough sketches are better than the finished drawing. I get them down on good paper, then make so many bad decisions with color. I signed up for a color workshop a month or so ago and have yet to do the first lesson!! In fact, I won't even tell you how many workshops I have signed up for, it's embarassing, lol!
This page isn't by any means pretty, in fact it's quite sloppy, no shading or details, but this is how I work. I'm curious as to how other artist sketchbooks look.   Feel free to share one of your pages if you like....

Sunday Sketches

I'm joining Sophia at Blue Chair Dairy in her Sunday Sketches. I'm not always able to stick with something, but sketching doesn't take too much time, so hopefully I can keep it up. Here is my first one, a simple sketch of a face.  The eyes are a bit funny which I didn't notice until now. Take a look at Sophia's blog to see her sketch, as well as other artists who are joining in.

If you were to look through my sketch books, you would see mostly rough ideas. Pages and pages of them. I rarely take the time to create a decent sketch, mostly getting them down for later.  I hate to admit this, but I almost feel like since time is so valuable, that I can't afford to take an hour on a sketch that no one will see but me.


Below is a sample page from one of my sketch books, as you can see, all I draw is whimsical faces.  Although lately, I have been working on ACEOs because they are more popular. I would love to get back to my larger paintings, but have been finding it hard to get motivated. They take so many hours to do, and it feels like time is speeding up. Whenever I have a free day, it seems to fly by and before you know it, it's too late to begin. 
One thing I do know, is that you can change things in a moment. Any day now, I know I will just pull out a canvas, and begin.  Isn't that an encouraging thought?