Art Journaling Fun

 I sure have been a bad blogger! You wouldn't believe how many times I've written notes about what I should blog about when I get home from work, but I never got to it...ah well, we all seem to be inundated with so many distractions these days. Namely Pinterest, lol! That site is the most addictive thing on the internet! but what a great source for inspiration! I have made several boards filled with colors and art I love, it's like bulletin boards but online.

Haven't been doing too much painting, instead I took a bit of a break to play with art journaling. I'm working in 3 journals, and am mostly practicing background technique. I never thought I would love it so much!Now putting words on my pages is a bit harder, as I don't know what to say,. so instead of forcing it, I will leave them alone until I feel the need to write something. Above is one of my earlier ones, and I wrote part of a poem on it. It's not the greatest page, but it was an experiment.
Below is another, this is a simple one, but I loved the oranges.

I did manage to get an owl ACEO done in time for an Earth day challenge we have going on over at the 7 card draw blog Leave it to me to wait until the last minute, lol! He's a little tree hugger :-)

On a random note, I couldn't believe that Doctor Oz talked about the 5 Tibetan rites! I wrote about these a long time ago on my blog, where I recommended them for everyone who wanted to have more energy, and to feel and look more youthful. I thought they were too esoteric for mainstream, but this is a good sign. People are tired of being unhealthy, and are looking for new ways to improve their lives.
Here is a site that explains them:  5 Tibetan Rites

Last week I even saw recipes for green smoothies on his show, which I've been doing since last summer (which helped me lose several pounds, which I had gained over the years). 
One of the recipes he had for a breakfast idea was very simple:  just take some almond milk, add a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds,  let it sit 15 minutes, then add cinnamon and vanilla. Instant breakfast! and so nutritious.

 that's it for now, sure felt good to get this blog post done!
thanks for reading friends
betty

More rain, and art

hi friends. I hope you are having great weather where you are, because it's been crappy all weekend here. Friday was a gorgeous day, the first one where the weather was warm enough to go outside without a jacket. On my lunch break I sat under a magnolia tree. It was so filled with blossoms, that the branches looked like they couldn't hold them up. Of course I never have a camera with me when I need it! The scent of the blossoms was just heavenly. I enjoyed sitting in the sun, and letting the fragrance wash over me for a few moments. Little did I know it would start raining that evening, and hasn't stopped since.
I sure hope this is not going to be like 2 summers ago, where it rained the entire summer! 
Hey, at least it's a great day to stay inside and paint.

I managed to get a few little ACEOs done, mostly owls. There are several cards that turned out so bad, I don't think there is any way of salvaging them. Don't you hate it when you have a great idea, and it just doesn't work for you?

I am almost finished my altered book of girls and songs. Below is one of the illustrations,  and on the left side of the book are the lyrics to the song Wildfire.  My handwriting is so bad, I'm embarrassed to show it, lol!
Painting in a children's board book is wonderful! I will definitely be looking to pick up more used books to recycle, and to give new life to.  The pages are so sturdy, you can do anything to them and they won't warp.
Great way to experiment with mixed media techniques, without ruining a good art journal.

That's it for now, thanks for reading!

Just one of those days...

hi friends. Do you ever have one of those days when you plan to paint all day, but by the end of the day, you've accomplished so little? that was today for me.
I woke up looking forward to a day of painting. My goal was to create at least 5 or 6 ACEOs, and work on a portrait workshop I am behind on. Well, everything I painted came out just awful! I spent hours on a flower fairy, changing it, trying to make it better, and in the end scrapped the whole thing. My owls, which I paint regularly, were also giving me a hard time.  The above painting is the second version, the first was a disaster, so I started that again as well. I couldn't do anything right!

I'm going to blame the paper.  I know most people when using watercolor, use 140lb paper. How do you all do it?? I find it warps so easily. Am I adding too much water? Also, I find the colors are dull.
I ended up starting over again on 200lb paper, which I normally use. So what am I missing, is there some secret? The 140lb paper isn't cheap, it's Arches brand. Any of you watercolorists out there, do you have any tips for the rest of us?
In the end, I worked most of the day and have 2 lousy ACEOs to show for it...I swear time sped up! Before I knew it, the day was over.

On a happier note, on Friday I went to my nearest art shop, and picked up some Copic markers. Folks, if you haven't used them before, they are a joy! I will be going back for more. They're perfect for little details, and the colors are gorgeous! Unfortunately they are a bit pricey, so I can only pick up a few at a time.

Well, that's it for today, hope you are all enjoying the spring weather (or the fall for my friends in the South hemisphere).


I

And just like that the snow is back...

It's been sunny and mild (for this time of year) the last couple of days, so naturally you would think we were on our way to spring right? Forget it! As I was at my desk painting, suddenly it started snowing, and blowing around.  Well after a few hours, we now have a winter wonderland out there, the trees are covered with snow, and it is beautiful! Thank goodness I didn't remove my snow tires yet, you just never know what crazy weather you will get from one day to the next.
It didn't stop me from creating some new spring time art though, like the ACEO above.

This weekend was one where I mostly sat and watched movies. Yesterday I finally watched 2012, which I enjoyed. I'm probably in the minority but I've always loved disaster movies like War of the Worlds, the Day after Tomorrow, Independence Day.  Besides, I've had a crush on John Cusack for a couple of decades, lol, so that made the movie more enjoyable. He still looks great after all these years.

Next movie on the menu was The book of Eli. Fantastic movie, but it did have a bit of violence in it. Loved the premise, and would not have been able to predict the ending.

Today I watched Brothers, and boy it sure had some intense scenes in it! Another great movie which I would recommend.

The only dud of the bunch was an old one called Baker's Hawk. Sorry if anyone likes this, but I could only get through 15 minutes before I was bored, and moved on.

I'm still in that phase where I can't get too motivated to create, even though I did manage a couple of cards. Hopefully as the weather improves, I can feel like spending more time painting. For now I will just go with the flow.

New ACEO series

hi everyone. I started a new series of ACEOs (for those who don't know what they are, they are miniature artworks, the size of a baseball card).
I love painting whimsical girls, and I love adding text, so why not do it with my ACEOs?  I have two finished so far, and will see how many I end up doing. I was hoping to do a large painting this weekend, but time got away from me again, lol!
Is anyone watching American Idol this season? What an impressive group of talent they've got! Thank goodness it's not on for several hours a week,  because all I seemed to do lately is watch tv!

A couple of days ago I went to an art show in Toronto, it had quite a few artists, maybe 200? It was great to see the types of art out there, and I tell you, people are so talented! Some of the artwork really inspired me.
I wanted to come home,and paint a big abstract...except I haven't a clue how to do so, lol! it's not a matter of just throwing things on a canvas, it takes a great amount of skill to make an abstract really work. Abstract art used to be something that I just didn't understand, but I found as the years went by that I can appreciate it for what it is. I guess that's it for now, thanks for reading!

Fireworks ACEO

hi everyone, I just finished this ACEO for the ACEO Challenge blog. This month's challenge is 'fireworks'. It's fun and lighthearted, and anyone can join in. I've missed every single month, and was determined to finally get something in there, lol!
Last month's topic was the Northern Lights, which I really wanted to illustrate. I was so proud of myself after finishing my entry, then when I went to add it, I saw that it was too late and we were voting, lol!

hope you are all doing well, lots of crazy weather going on in the world. Please stay safe :-)

Work in Progress and another owl ACEO

hi friends, I thought I'd show you my latest work in progress, which has been sitting in my art room unfinished for a few weeks now. (sorry for the glare-it's evening).
Today I worked on her face, and must say, how relaxing the process is! I can blend, and layer skin colors for hours, and I don't notice the time passing.  I know exactly what the title of this one will be, and hopefully the finished painting will look as good as the one in my head, lol!

I'm winding down my Christmas themed ACEOs, since time is rapidly running out. This one was finished last night. I called it ''Can we keep him?"
They really are fun to do, and for those of you who haven't tried them, they are extremely addictive. If you don't know what an ACEO is, it is a small artwork you create, no larger than a baseball card. You can use any technique you desire. The sky is the limit, and the best thing is, they are much quicker than paintings, well, usually they are quicker. I've had many that took over 2 or 3 hours, since I love adding tiny details,and I'm quite finicky about making sure everything is perfect. Something I need to loosen up on, lol!

If you read my blog you may have heard my wishing for snow. Well, last night we did get a little, maybe a few inches, after it had rained all day,  and we were expecting the temperature to drop rapidly over night. No big deal right? So this morning I bundled up, and left a couple of minutes early to warm up my car....problem was I couldn't get into my car. The doors had frozen shut, and there was no possible way to get in...I'm one of the 2 people responsible for opening my building in the morning so it's important that I get there. I was one minute from going inside and calling my boss to say I couldn't come in, when the door finally opened. This is what happens when you have a flash freexe. I won't even tell you how long it took to scrape the ice off my windows, but will say it was quite the workout first thing in the morning, lol! So if you hear my complaining that we're not getting any snow, remind me of my not-so-fun start to the day...or send me a virtual kick in the pants, lol!

thanks for reading

New ACEO, and A glimpse of my crazy tree

hello friends. Do you see the ACEO painting above? that's what I plan on doing for the next little while, haha!
I went to 3 craft shows the past week. The one in my city had really nice, hand crafted, and more higher end items. I fell in love with a hand painted fox pendant, and thought I'd return in the evening, and point it out to my sister as something she can buy me for Christmas. Well, just my luck, he sold it, as well as many other nice pendants. So folks, when you fall in love with something, you better pick it up right away.

Yesterday we went to another couple of craft shows, and I mostly bought cute ornaments for me 'crazy tree'.
I said I would show you some photos, so I took a few, but you really can't get a good idea of how wild it is until you see it in person. It is quite the spectacle, lol! So here are some pics... I had a hard time getting the whole tree in the photo, it's pretty tall, but this will give you an idea. It is on the hall landing as you walk up the stairs. I have a more traditional tree in my living room.

 I had to photograph it in the day time so you could see some of the decorations. At night it is lit with deep blue and purple lights.

This is a close up of some of the ornaments on the tree. I've been collecting them for years.

This is one of my favorite ornament, it's a masked mouse flashing you, lol!

That's it for today, I'm working on another Christmas painting which has been giving me trouble for the past week.
Thanks for reading!

New ACEO and a Witch WIP

hi everyone, I've been busy creating lots of ACEOs. After doing my whimsical owls, I felt like drawing one of my girls, and stuck some kittens in there as well.  It seems like I have done so many of these miniature paintings, that my larger work has suffered. It's been probably months since I painted an actual canvas. I think about it, then I postpone doing it, waiting for the perfect time. I guess since these ACEOs are only the size of a playing card, they are easier to find time to do.

However enough is enough. Today I made myself get out a canvas and start a witch painting that I said I would do. Drawing the girl is no problem so far. It's deciding what to do with the background that always gets me. That was my problem with my older paintings, I just didn't know what to do. So, I will keep it simple this time. I am adding rust colors in the background for now, and see what happens. I can't believe a simple painting is causing me such stress, lol!

You would think with all the mixed media workshops I have done, this would finally get easy, but that's not the case.
I hear thunder in the distance, so I'm heading out to the grocery store and pick up some ju jubes. Maybe when I come back, I can be more clear about what to do next....
***************
ps- for those of you wondering how Henry the rescue cat is from last week's blog, he is still hanging in there. He was able to eat himself for the first time, and they will be taking more blood work to see if he is getting better.

Cat rescue

This is Henry. Henry is an 8 year old rescue cat, and he is now in an animal hospital fighting for his life.
Briefly this is his story:  he and 5 other cats belonged to a woman who got a new boyfriend. The boyfriend decided he didn't want the cats in the house so she dumped all  of them outside to fend for themselves for a couple of months, then gave them over to a cat rescue.  This is where my friend got involved. She took them to a barn, hoping to turn them into barn cats. After a few weeks, only 2 cats remained, the other 4 have moved on.

Last week I got a call from  my friend asking me to come with her to the animal hospital, sit in the back, and comfort Henry, who she found with his back legs paralized. The trip had me worried as he kept putting his head down. I thought he would die in the car. When the vet saw him, she told us he had been attacked by something. He had over 20 puncture wounds and was in bad shape.

It sounded like he was on the mend until today, I got an email saying his blood tests came back, and it looked like his kidneys were shutting down. My friend headed over there to be with him when he would be euthanized. She later sent an email  saying  that when they got there he perked up, and started purring.  I guess he only wanted to feel loved,  like every other living creature. So now we are waiting to see if this poor little guy makes it. He's had such a tough life, he doesn't deserve to go this way.
If he does survive, he will be an indoor cat once again.

I know alot of you  rescue cats or other animals, and I applaud you for your kindness and strength.
Thank goodness for people that take in unwanted animals, and try to give them a new chance at life.
Many times it works out beautifully, and you have a companion for life, but other times there is tragedy.
I sure hope this is not one of the latter.
***********

What a busy month it's been! I still haven't painted anything larger than an ACEO for a while. I've got a witch planned, it's just hard to find the time to do it. I'm one of these people that needs to work on something until it's done. Pretty soon Halloween will be upon us, and as soon as that's over, I start Christmas decorating.
Shhh, don't tell anyone but I played some Christmas music today while I was painting :-)

thanks for reading!

The above ACEO is called 'Ready to pounce'. Note the owl hiding in the pile of leaves, getting ready to scare the living daylights out of these trick r treaters.

Newest ACEOs and Free Vintage Photo for you

hello everyone. Today is Civic Holiday in Canada, so we had a nice 3 -day weekend. I can't believe it's August already, the summer seems to be flying by so quickly. The only art I seem to be doing these days are my little ACEOs. I'm just not in the mood to do anything larger. The weather has been fabulous all summer, and I'd rather be out enjoying it. Winter comes too soon here, and there will be plenty of time to stay in and create larger art once the cold temperatures arrive.

See, the little guy above is trying to stay cool during this hot summer of ours, and so is the wee mouse, lol!

Yesterday me and my friends went antiquing.  I didn't buy much, but I did pick up 2 cheap packages of various vintage ephemera to use in my art. I remembered to take my camera along, and snapped a pic of these cute monks.

Later on in the day I went with my  friend  (who googled me and discovered this blog, haha!) went to her partners farm for a wonderful barbecue.  After dinner I even got to bottle feed an orphan colt. He was so hungry he went through 5 bottles in no time. He's a cute little fellow, lol!

You know it's funny to have a friend discover your blog. I've never mentioned it to anyone since I see this as an art blog mostly, and now 2 people who know me in person have found me out.  Guess I got to be careful what I say, lol!

I'm curious about other bloggers. Do you let your friends and family know about your blog, or do you have a sort of 'secret' identity?

Last but not least, here is another free vintage photo for you to use in your art. I bought this at a store which sells vintage and antique clothes and other items. The owner figures it is from the early 1900's, before 1920.
Aren't they the cutest kids? I'd love to see what you do with this, feel free to send me a comment or link.
Don't forget when saving to your computer, click the image once to bring up the larger version. Enjoy!

My 7 card Draw prizes!

Every month I take part in an ACEO thread on Etsy, called the 7 -card draw, and last month I was the lucky winner! You get to choose 7 cards from the pool - there were I believe, 30 or 40 cards to choose from last month. Today the last of my winning cards came in, so here they are! it's not the greatest photo, since today after many days of sunshine, it decides to rain, lol!

Here are the links to the Etsy shops of each of these lovely people, starting from the top.

Lee Pierce
Art by Marlene
Tapestry316
AdventuresinArt
Journalartz
LD Photography
Mag Moment

Thank you to all those who participated, I am beyond thrilled at my new cards! and for any of you out there, any one can join in, just read the instructions on the first page of the thread, add something to the pool, and have fun!

Busy Sunday

hi friends!  this weekend is flying by so quickly. It's a good thing tomorrow is a national holiday. I spent the
morning at an antique market, it is open every Sunday during the summer, and is huge! it takes hours to get through the whole place. I normally go there looking for old books and vintage ephemera to use in my art,  or paintings I may like.  I ended up with 4 vintage children's books, and a nice horse painting.

Afterward I went with my dear friend to her boyfriend's farm and took some photos of the horses. Of course,  the weather clouded over, just like the 2 or 3 previous times I went there trying to get good pics. Once we finished, and sat down on the porch with a coffee, that's when the sun came out again. I'm starting to think I am  jinxed, lol! I know the best photos are the ones with lots of contrast, with a nice blue sky in the background but it wasn't to be this time, but I like this pic of mama and baby horse.

 Last night  I started some more whimsical owl ACEOs, including this one featuring  2 owls at a drive in, complete with popcorn and soda.  After all those angels I have been doing I felt like a change.
Thanks for reading! enjoy the rest of your day

My Newest Angel

I hope everyone had a great holiday break. Did you make any resolutions? I can't think of any to make, or at least any I may have a chance at keeping, lol! I decided a long time ago, that the best thing to do if you want to make changes in your life, is to take each day as a fresh start. If you fail today, try again tomorrow.  No guilt. Guilt is the thing that keeps us back, for it makes us feel like failures.  I like the quote : 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'. Anything can be accomplished, if you take it one step at a time.

The angel you see here is the first girl I painted in a long time. If you are a new blog follower, you may think that I only paint owl ACEOs, haha! but actually this is more typical of what I do.
I started her before Christmas, and left her until I could figure out how to proceed. Last night I decided it was time to work on it, so what you don't see  is layers of  vintage pages, tissue, stamping, and other old and new techniques I have learned. Sometimes I wonder why I bother, since I cover it all up, but I guess I know what's beneath my art. I feel it is more interesting rather than a quick and easy background.

Now I also painted  a few more ACEOs - (and for anyone who is unsure what they are, they are artwork, the size of playing cards. Very collectible, and popular on Ebay and Etsy).
I started a new series for Valentines Day featuring my owl characters..people seem to love them, and I really enjoy them as well.

thanks for reading!

Back from Montreal

Late last night we got back from our 2 day trip to Montreal. I love it there! the food, the shopping....there are malls  downtown that go on and on, you could wander all day, and not see everything.
I spent more than I should have, but we only do this once a year. I am disappointed that there was no snow. It's been a strange fall here too, nothing at all for the month of November, you would never know this was Canada.  Before I left I was working mostly on ACEOs - like the mermaid you see above.  I've done a few more of the owls, more of my whimsical Sugarbugs, including one of my favorites with her snowman too. Can you tell I have snow on my mind, lol?

 

I am still waiting for a sunny day so that I can photograph some of my Christmas decorations....
and shortly I will begin discussing Christmas movies. I'm a wee bit behind this week, so thought I'd give a quick update.
I'm feeling the urge to paint larger angels and icons, since it has been a while since I did that.  I sketched for hours on the train back, and have some interesting ideas to work on. Some interesting girls made their way onto my pages, now the trick is to see how well I can make them happen on canvas, that's the tough part!
I will leave you with this photo of an over 3 storey high Christmas tree, filled with cute little scenes like this one. I went to 3 different floors photographing different angles of it, but found most of the pics ended up blurry :-(

Time for a Sale

hi everyone, hope your Halloween was fun! I ended up dressing up as a witch and going to a restaurant with friends for a bit. Not too many kids came by our house, maybe it was due to the high winds, and fear of them blowing away, lol!

Or, perhaps the fact that we don't have front stairs at the moment :-)
Me or my sis would watch out the door for any kids coming by, and have to lean down and drop the chocolates in their bags.

Now that Halloween is over, it's time for me to think of Christmas art. Therefore, I am taking part in the Aceo Bounty Holiday Sale with some Etsy sellers. I'd like to clear out my shop a bit to make room for other art, so am offering all ACEO's for half price. If you don't know what an ACEO is, it is a miniature work of art, the size of a playing card.
Some original paintings are marked down too.
Please check out the blog for more details, you can see all other sellers participating as well.


I'm not sure what to work on next..In one week I will slowly start bringing out my Christmas decorations, which means my house will be a mess while I move non-Christmas items to the basement, and bring the decorations up. Lots of planning, and lots of headaches, I don't know why I put myself through this every year! but in the end it is always worth it. This would be a good week to work on some new ideas I have had, but as of yet, I've spent most of the day on my computer, getting caught up on my fave blogs.
I need a serious dose of motivation right about now, lol!

New ACEOs and a Giveaway

Hi folks! I finished a couple more mermaid ACEOs. Lately it seems like all I do is mixed media paintings, and it was nice to see how my work has changed from a year ago. The scan doesn't do them justice, they are very colorful and sharply detailed, and I am happy with them. For those who haven't heard of ACEOs, they measure 2.5 x 3.5" which is the size of a playing card. So in other words, itty bitty artworks, lol. What a difference a year makes, I now have to put on reading glasses to paint the details!


Now for the details of my giveaway. Since my birthday is next Tuesday, I will be offering a chance to win an original painting. Up for grabs is this shabby girl, on 6 x 12 piece of wood. I used lots of media on her, and the background is bees waxed. There is lots of texture and layering going on and she even has a necklace of Swarovski crystal beads.
She is a prim little princess on a shabby background, and if you would like a chance to win her, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Please make sure I have a way to reach you if you do win.

I will use a random number generator at approx. 9pm Sept 29th to choose a winner.
Good luck, and thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday!(shhhh, my age is a secret!)

Wicked Treasury and my lucky week

hi friends! I was pleasantly surprised to find one of my creepy kids in a wicked treasury on Etsy! The one painting I was unsure of fits perfectly in this halloween themed treasury. I'd like to thank the EBSQ Treasury Queen Christi for including me.

This was a very lucky week for me. First, I won a blog giveaway at Vintagesnapsandscrap.
Next day I found out I won a prize from Alwaysartistic
Next win was with Marlene's Musings
And if that weren't enough, Tapestry316 let me know I won on her blog as well!
This all happened in a 4 day period. How freaky is that??
I'm thinking a lottery ticket purchase may be a wise idea right now, before my luck runs out, lol!
I want to say thank you to these lovely ladies, and now I will be waiting for my goodies to arrive in the mail :-)


I'm just finishing up a couple of new mermaid ACEOs and will show them in a day or so...and my birthday blog giveaway is coming soon!

Just a quick update...

I had planned to update my blog for the last 3 days now, and something has always come up. It's been a wonderful 3 day weekend for us in Canada. I had high hopes of getting lots of art done, but unfortunately was not able to. Am I the only one who feels time slipping away??

I did manage to change the look of my blog though, the checkered pattern on the side seems to suit me better than my last background, and I updated my music player. So if you scroll down a bit and look on the right hand side, you will see my new oldies playlist (I just realized how silly new oldies sounds, haha!). I can't help it, I love older music! If you do too, click the play button, sit back and enjoy :-D

Lately I have been working more on my ACEOs - for those who don't know what they are, they are little artworks on paper no bigger than a playing card. The above painting of a momma cat and her kittens is an ACEO. I finished it yesterday. Also when looking through my Photobucket album, I found this mermaid ACEO I sold a long time ago. I thought it would be fun to show it.


As I sat down earlier to finally update my blog, I had a call from a friend who lost her sister's dog. She had just left my house with him, when a large dog, not on a leash, scared him. He bolted free of his collar and leash, and she was frantically trying to chase him. She called us, and we drove around for hours trying to locate him. He is a sweet little dog, part jack russel terrier, and is not from the city. I was praying we would find him before dark, but no luck. What a sad way to end the evening, all I can think of is this poor little dog all alone in an unfamiliar area. I am hoping for some good news tomorrow. People are basically kind , so hopefully someone will see him and call the humane society.

I guess that's it for now, the other things I wanted to blog about will have to wait. The stress of worrying about a lost pet left me too exhausted, I know you animal lovers will understand.

*****Update: I am happy to say that my friend's lost dog was found sleeping in someone's back yard, completely exhausted, but safe :-)

Here come the Sugar Bugs!

These strange looking little bugs with girls faces have been so much fun to make! I named them sugar bugs, because I thought they were too cute!
It has been a while since I painted some ACEOs -for any of you who don't know what these are, they are tiny works of art, the size of playing cards (2.5" x 3.5"). They are quite popular, and very collectible.

After working on my girls painted on wood, I needed a break, and these characters came about when I was drawing in my sketchbook. I drew the faces, and for fun, added these bug bodies. I forgot how much fun it was to work this small. If you haven't tried ACEOs, go for it! There is lots of info on the net, or just ask, I would be happy to give you more info. Be warned though, once you start, you will get addicted. I have now finished 6 of these sugar bugs, and want to get back to doing my mermaids. It never ends.... :-D