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!

Bunny Girls and Sketches

hi everyone. In my last post I mentioned needing to work on lots more original folk art girls, so here is the first one, called Bunny Love. I used the sketch I created on my Easter post, and had fun with the background. This took many hours to complete. Originally I used blues, especially on the border, and I felt it just didn't look right, so I scraped on some gesso for texture, and re-did it. I'm much happier with the pink and creme as the main colors.  She is now in my Etsy shop.
Tonight I will be working on something for mother's day.

For this weeks Sunday Sketch, I drew another big-eyed girl, are you all surprised, lol? This is my 5th week doing these sketches, thanks to Blue Chair Diary. Since I committed to join in, it has kept me on track.

A Page from My Sketchbook

Continuing my own little show and tell, here is a page from my sketchbook.  

It's nice to see other artists starting to show pages from their sketchbook. Feel free to join it, it would be fun to see the sketches behind the art.

Sunday Sketch and a page from my Sketchbook

 hi everyone. I am a bit late with my sketch today.  I did three other sketches but didn't like any of them, so I finally did one of my big-eyed girls faces.
I glued a butterfly on her hair for fun.
Please check out Blue Chair Diary's blog for details about Sunday sketches as well as other participating artists.


A Page from my Sketchbook

I enjoy showing a random page from my sketchbook weekly. A lot of them are in pencil and faded so it's sometimes tough to pick one out.  Here I was trying to create new characters for small folk art paintings. A lot of my pages are filled with written ideas, color ideas, titles, and lots of random stuff. They wouldn't make much sense to anyone else.
Coming soon (hopefully) is a painting of my bunny girl which I drew  last week....
Are any of you artists interested in sharing one of your sketchbook pages? I'd love to see how you  work.