Feeling a little inadequate

Its blowing a gale outside.  A little bit chilly so I'm holed up in the old Studio, on the computer cruising around blogland.  Gosh there's some talent out there.  Makes me feel a little inadequate.  I decided to pull out some old canvases that I never finished. Those of you who know me well, know I've had these hanging around for ages.  But I've got to admit I still like them!  So here goes.....Here's where I'm up to.  Lets see what can be achieved!  Anything is POSSIBLE!  CREATE! LET YOURSELF GO!  Blah Blah Blah!

Happy Valentine's Day

Just a little Canvas I knocked up for the occasion.

Not sure about the top part though, it looks a little bare don't you think?



Canvas for Shari

Hi friends!
Sorry I've neglected you!
You know the old cliche` "where did January go??? I have been doin' stuff, really.....
Just to prove it here's a little pictorial.  I was on a roll.  Loved how it turned out and Shari, my son's girlfriend loved it too.

 It started out like this.  A bit of paper here, a bit of glimmer mist there.

 Add some masks and texture paste.  Crackle the scroll and spray with Tattered Angels Chalkboard Spray.

 Sand the whole thing back vigorously.

 Placement of the photo's.  The heart was painted first and then covered with fusible film.

 Highlights and shadows were added where needed.

 Matisse Iridescent was painted here and there and then blasted with the old heat gun to get that gorgeous bubbly look.

 The photos were added with texture paste and glue.  Note to self, don't get glimmer mist on photo, it doesn't like it.

  Add stamped serviettes here and there.  This was a technique I learn't at a Nathalie Kalbach's class.  Notice the little clear envelope in the corner.  It contains little inspirational quotes for Shari.  Looking at it in the photo it looks a little busy, but overall I was very happy with the result.  Thanks for checking it out.

ATC Swap...anyone up for it???

True to being the slacker that  I am, I am only just getting round to posting about an ATC swap that I was supposed to organize on behalf of our decorative artists association.  I thought it would be a good idea to expose some of our members to the joys of ATC's and what better way than to announce it to the world. 

Our small group of artists have been swapping ATC's for a little while now but sad to say, we are getting a little bogged down and would like some inspiration.  The theme for the swap is A Splash of Turquoise and the usual rules apply.  Just do 9 of the same and add them to a folder and send to me.  If you would like to participate just let me know and I will send you my address.  I think a month to do them is pretty feasible.  To those girls whose have already given me their ATC's don't despair!  I'm sure we'll get some interesting submissions (please don't let me down blog friends!) LOL! 

A little inspiration

We all need a little outside inspiration don't we?  A couple of weeks ago I went over to Pages2Scrap my local (aren't I lucky) papercraft store and did a workshop with the amazing Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door.  Here is the finished product:

The canvas measures 20cm x 20cm or 8 x 8 inches and the individual tile measure 5 x 5cm or 2 x 2 inches.  Each tile was treated with a different technique using Viva Decor texture mediums called Terra, Ferro and Croco and Viva Decor Precious Metal Colours.  Here is a close up:

I really enjoyed this workshop and it certainly helped getting the creative juices flowing.  Thanks Rachel!

I had the best time

My friend Lynn and I had the privilege to participate in a workshop held at Pages2scrap
I'm sure I speak for Lynn when I say that we had a great time and learnt so much. Nathalie was a lovely teacher and what an awesome job she has! Try travelling around the world teaching your stuff to eager aspiring artists! Yes please! In the top photo is me and Nathalie and my creation. If you can (not sure if it will work) click on the picture to enlarge and check the awesome saying that is written on the wall. Now I've got to say also that this piece is a work in progress and as I have been known to say, "One doesn't really do one's best work in a workshop", but really I was quite happy with the results.
In the top photo is myself and Nathalie. I am the one in black holding the picture but what I think is cool is the saying behind us, it reads, "To think creatively we must be able to LOOK afresh at what we normally take for granted".

Artists United!

Every month a small group of girls get together for our Decorative Artists Association meetings. For the last year or so we have been swapping Friendship pages which we display in an album. Its just a way of giving each other a little piece of our art and hopefully inspiration or technique to use in the future. So..... over the next few posts I'll treat you to some of the beautiful pieces I have received and some of my own as well. Firstly we decorated the cover of our albums. Here is a picture of my album cover. I have to admit, I haven't painted the back cover yet.

Look What I Got!

For the last two Christmas's the girls in our Decorative Artist Association have come together and painted a quilt. Each person paints a blank piece of calico dedicated to a theme and give them over to be made into a quilt. We then recieve a ticket in the draw to win that quilt. I was thrilled to recieve this years quilt, the theme which was either the sea or the Central Coast and the girls out did themselves. I don't know if the photos do it justice but each panel was a work of art (LOL). Thanks goes to the lady who made the quilt up. As an added bonus, the panel that I painted was made into a cushion.

November Challenge for Inkurable

Whew made it.......! My submission for November is finally done. I think the hardest part was getting the wire to fit snugly between the back to back twinchies. I had to carve out a groove in the MDF so the wire would allow the two pieces to fit snugly together. I love how it turned out and I'm sure this will be a lovely christmas tree decoration for one of the kids. If you want to read how it was done go to the Inkurable blog. Thanks for checking it out.

Down by the Sea

Here it is!! My very first entry into Inkurable's Down by the Sea Challenge. I really enjoyed doing this as I really stepped outside my square and tried some new techniques. The background sky was sprayed with a Starburst Spray in the colour of Tibetan Poppy Teal, Sea Mint Green and an aqua spray that I mixed myself using Matisse paints and Matisse Iridescent liquid. Then I taped off the sky with masking tape and used some of the same colours for the sea. I then painted the rest of it with my favourite Matisse Paints. I painted in the clouds and used a sealer to paste the word dream onto the canvas. The scroll stamp underneath is a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous from the Reindeer Flight collection. I stamped it in Versamark and embossed it with a light blue embossing powder. All in all, apart from the chair looking like its about to fall over I am quite happy with it.

Seahorse second time round

Grrrrh... As you know I'm just new at this so after just accidently deleting and reposting all the photo's of the lovely Cedric the Seahorse I have decided to add the photos (fingers crossed!) in a new post. So here goes........

Seahorse

Well I have to admit I have had this little guy hanging around ever since Linda Baldock came to visit us. I hadn't quite finished him and wasn't sure what he needed. I came up with the idea of stamping around the edges. Sort of works don't you think?

I downloaded the design from the internet and used a palette knife and Matisse impasto medium to get the skeleton look. Painted inside the skeleton with Matisse paints and then went to work with the Moonglow sprays. Not really sure what colours were used as I borrowed them from Linda. I added different colours of fusible film for the seaweed and finally stamped around the edges with Stampin'Up Ocean Commotions stamp and Stazon.

Cedric as he is now known, is done on a piece of hard board and measures approx. 30cm x 48cm