Pink is Not My Favorite Color

Pink as in pink eye, that is.... I seem to have gotten conjunctivitis (pink eye) from my darling little girls this weekend. It is quite annoying, but not serious. Yesterday I woke up with my right eye stuck shut and it oozed and burned all day. By last evening both eyes were stinging and running. I don't think I will have to be seen for this (I hope), but I should be able to get a prescription for the eye drops called in.

Meanwhile, I have some art to show you today, and not just mine. I had a "guest" artist in my studio over the weekend and she produced some lovely things as well. Here she is hard at work on a butterfly she is making:

She also produced the following on an 8 x 10 canvas panel. Here is her background that we left to dry for a couple of hours.

And then here is the second step:

As a final step she added a variety of upbeat words using varying colors of Pitt brush pens. The words included fantastic, fun, art, happy.... She has taken it home with her, so I am unable to get a final picture of it, but I think you can see there is an artist blossoming here.

Now on to the art I produced this weekend - I am afraid it is not nearly so colorful, but I am after all just a beginner. My young artist friend featured above has all the confidence of the very young and I am trying to recapture that feeling.

Here is my background:

 And here is the second step:

I probably should have stopped here, but I thought he was too one dimensional so I added more layers of color, made his tail a tad longer and the white of his eye a tad smaller. I don't think he is done yet, but I am not sure.

I like the breast area better and the eye, but the underside of the tail needs work and I think he is too blue now. Of course, he doesn't have to be a real bird does he? I do think that before I decide he is done I would like to add a bit of greenery to the branch/tree in which he is perched.

I have also started another page in my art journal. I forgot to take pictures of the process, but I began with color and paper scraps (including a dove chocolate wrapper) and then began to write words and smear white paint with a credit card. I have no idea where this is going, but my hands are itching to paint a face over this - sometimes I am not sure whether my head or my hands are in charge of this art.

 I actually think I see a piano player on the left with funky hair that is trying to get out.

I have the backgrounds of two 6 x 6 book pages I am making for a Yahoo! group exchange done and will work on the main art work today. I will not be sharing these at this time in case the intended recipients should be reading my blog. Suffice it to say I am pleased with the beginnings and have a ton of ideas that would suit the desired theme.

I am also working (only in my head so far) on 9 black and white themed inchies that are due in February and am continuing to practice the alphabet with my left hand. My young artist friend (the oldest of my grandgirls featured above) thinks it is silly, but cool and compliments my on my attempts.

My Mom arrives for a week's stay on Friday. My cupboards are bare, my house is filthy, ACK! I am planning a trip into town to do the grocery shopping later this morning. The house cleaning will get done a room at a time beginning some time this afternoon. It is a treadmill day (I have been walking at 3 mph at varying inclines for an hour every other day) and I am looking forward to that.

The hubster is leaving for a funeral in the thumb area tomorrow morning early, my car needs to go in for 100,000 mile servicing, I need a haircut, I need to make my daughter's favorite chicken soup, I need to strip beds and do laundry. I think I'd better get started!

xoxo

Another Lovely Mail Package

I can't believe it! I had another personal item of mail today. There is nothing like it - so much nicer than ads or bills.

This one was the four cards that I traded in an arttechniques swap entitled "All Things Books". Here is what I received:


These cards are from (from the left and reading horizontally) Sherre Hulbert, Susan Sager Brown, Rozsi Moser, and Lisa Cousineau. Thank you so much ladies. They are exceptionally lovely.

I am planning to spend some time today working on Lesson 2 of my Faces class in which I am to prepare a textured background on which to draw/transfer a face as a focal point.

The hubster is still sick, so I have been making him tea, scrambling him eggs, and just trying to be quiet so that he can rest/sleep.

I'll post my background when it is finished.

'Til then.....

As the World Turns

Catchy title, huh? I can't help but be reminded how the earth tilts on its axis this time of year to get us closer to the sun. The sun actually has a lot of warmth in it as it shines through the car window, and if you can find a spot out of the wind, it feels heavenly to feel the sun on your bare skin - skin that hasn't seen the light of day without cover in a long, long time.

I am feeling hopeful that this long, snowy period may actually come to an end sometime within the next 6 or 8 weeks and am so looking forward to spending time in the open air. My body craves the warmth and fresh air after being cooped up indoors for far too long.

I began my day today by sitting on a stool in front of the mirrors in the bathroom and drawing a blind contour self portrait. I had read that these were usually simian in appearance and mine certainly fits that description. I am going to have to spend time with lots of different objects doing both blind contour and regular contour drawings until I begin to 'see' better.



I finally began to develop my background to be cut into 4 x 4 pieces for my whimsical cats. I have sprayed it with a dark green and a medium yellow so far. I think I need to add something darker and am thinking of a wine color - not much - maybe just filling a paintbrush and spattering it randomly.




I have an art friend coming over this morning and we are going to make a trip to Hobby Lobby and other points as yet undetermined. We will have lunch out and talk about art and other things. We were trying to get together a couple of times a month, but family health and holiday seasons got in the way. I am looking forward to a lovely day. Although it is only 23 degrees right now, the sun is shining and the predicted high for today is 48 degrees. YAY!

Don't forget to enjoy this time and live in the moment!

Current Art

I am currently working on several projects on canvas and am working on several ATC swaps. I find that I work best in large blocks of time. I generally forget to eat or do any of life's "necessities" when I am working.

These two are my first two canvases from my online class with Paulette Insall. The focus is on making organic backgrounds - layer, layer, layer. I am loving the class. If you are thinking about taking a class, this woman is really good at what she does. The class was very reasonably priced and has good quality videos weekly. There is also a chat once a week. The people in the class are friendly and supportive. I have found it to be a wonderful experience.

My "studio" is in serious need of cleaning and rearranging in order that I can find things easily and be more productive. It never stays ordered for long. By its very nature mixed media art is messy and the more you have at hand the more creative you can become. My pet peeve is thinking of just the perfect thing to use at a given moment when working on a project and not being able to put my hands on it quickly.


I am trying to keep an art journal, too. I find it difficult to keep up with it because I am so involved in my daily "written" journal that I started on the first of January. I have not missed a day yet and am determined to get through December 31. I think next year, I will incorporate art into my daily journal so that it is a log and an artistic journey.