E Makes Art

The Brewery Art Walk

2012-05-08T01:03:00.002-07:00

Hi there.

I know... it's been a while. Sorry, I've been caught up in life. The good, the bad, and everything in between...but this post is about the good ... art and artists! Yay!

I mentioned in the last post that I went to an art walk in Los Angeles at a kick ass place called The Brewery. This place is oozing with creativity and inspiration. It was once a brewery, but it's now a huge artist community where artists can work and/or live in these great industrial buildings. I love walking around there with my camera, there's so much to capture. One of my favorite photos that I took there is the one above. I love the cloud that happened to be above the smokestack so it looks like smoke is coming out!

Ok, moving on... I'd like to share some of the artists who I met and really liked (them and their art), so here's a few of them in no particular order...

Artist's name: Jill Sykes

Website: www.jillsykes.com

Why I like her art: It's beautiful, peaceful and delicate. I love her color choices and the subtle depth and movement in her art.

Why I like her: She was the biggest darn sweetheart!

Artist's name: Joshua Elias

Website: www.joshuaelias.com

Why I like his art: It speaks to me on many levels. I love how he uses color, form, and texture to tell his stories. I could stare at his art for hours.

Why I like him: I don't. Ha ha! Only kidding. He's a fantastic guy, who has been sweet enough to open up his studio to teach 5 of us oil painting (more on that later, but if you're in the area his next round of classes start soon!)

Artist's name: Robert Morgan

Website: www.robertmorganart.com

Why I like his art: There's a great range from beautiful photo-realistic paintings of old signs, like the first one above...to more sculptural rusty pieces like the long thin "Riverbend" pieces behind us here. He uses real rust and tons of texture. Enough said.

Why I like him: Because he was incredibly sweet and allowed us to come in after his place was closed and the art walk was over. Someone said I needed to see his art because I'd love it, and they were right.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour around The Brewery. I do have even more artists and photos to share with you from this art walk, but you'll have to wait for another post... this one is long enough!

I'd like to thank all of these amazing artists for being so nice and letting me photograph them and their wonderful art. Keep doing what you're doing, including inspiring the rest of us. THANK YOU!!

Quick update with photos!

2012-04-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

Self-portrait with paint palette

Hi there.

Just a quick post to let you know what I've been up to. Lots of painting happening here. Of course I'll show you when I have something done, but right now I have at least three paintings in various stages.

Fun with gold leafing!

Painting in progress

Taking tons of photos. Always fun!

I also have several posts that I'm working on right now. One (or possibly two!) of them are about a fantastic art walk we went to last week at The Brewery in LA. I have tons of photos and amazing artists to share with you. I came home SO darn inspired!

Okay, that's all for now. Hope everyone is well and finding time to squeeze in some creative time in your busy schedules.

See you soon.

Be Daring Journal Pages

2012-03-30T00:53:00.001-07:00

...and now for something a bit different than you usually see from me. What? Is there actually a person...err...bird....err... woman who's very fond of birds, in some art of mine? You betcha.

I started this art journal spread several years ago, but it never felt finished, so I doodled on it a bit more. Still not done. I added the words "Be daring. Be unique. Just be you".

It still wasn't quite done.

Finally I gave in to the idea that was wanting to be manifest every time I'd look at her... she wanted a feathered collar so very badly but I kept ignoring her thinking ... yeah right... but finally after hearing her plea with me over the past few years (!!) I gave in.

And she was right. It was just what she needed to complete her statement.

I admire her style... her confidence... her passion.

Her bird

She's definitely daring and unique.

She's not afraid of being herself. Not afraid of what others might think.

I want to be just like her when I grow up ;-)

Textured Painting: Just Be

2012-03-25T22:07:00.001-07:00

Just Be. Just be what? Well... let's brainstorm a bit shall we?

Just be_____________. (Fill in the blank)

still, silly, interesting, silent, loud, motivated, unique, artsy, spontaneous, strong, vibrant, juicy, magic, constantly growing and evolving, comfortable in your skin, bold, daring, humble, childlike, fearless, free, a bit of a loon, etc...

Just be... whatever you want to be. Even if you have to pretend.... even if just for a few minutes here and there. Example #1. If, when I said Just Be ________, you thought "The Queen of England", then go ahead and get or make your self a crown and pretend to be the Queen. Grab a chair/throne, announce to anyone in the room (your royal subjects) that you are the Queen and you are not to be bothered, unless they are going to tend to you or entertain you...etc... Go with it. "Pardon me, Rick, but would you please spit shine my shoes and bring me a spot of tea?". Now I'm not saying your royal subjects will be as entertained with this as you are, but they'll probably get over it. Eventually.

Example #2. If you thought "A real artist", then go and get your art supplies (if you don't have any then go buy some, or a pencil and paper can work just fine) and pretend that you know exactly what you're doing and just have fun.

Oh, by the way, you are a real artist.

We all are. Everyone is born as such and just needs to find their confidence and particular medium that helps them to express themselves and get back to the childlike sense of wonder they had at the beginning stages of their life. But that's a whole different post in itself.

So once again, just be. Just be what?

Just be...

YOU

Paris On My Mind (Another Petite Eiffel Tower)

2012-03-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

I've had Paris on my mind lately.

I can't escape it. I want to go back so bad! Last time I was there was 12 years ago for our honeymoon. It's calling me back. So is Italy. So since I won't be going anytime soon, I'll let my dreams of travel spill out onto my canvases instead.

I've been wanting to work on a Europe series, inspired by my photos from my travels, for a while now. I think now's the time to get started on it. I still have other non-Europe pieces to finish up first...or during.. but I'm excited to see what comes from this inspiration. It's been brewing in my brain for a long time and now it's time to take action!

Speaking of... here's a sweet little textured Eiffel Tower piece that I just finished. I started it for the Petite Valentine art show at Zinnia, but it didn't get finished at the time so I pushed it aside for a bit.

This is done on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch piece of wood. I copied one of my personal photos of the Eiffel and glued it down onto the wood. The heart and the 'ribbon" across the bottom are both made from plaster cloth. I used Heavy Gel Medium to create raised stenciling and the rest of the texture, then painted over it all with acrylic paints and glazes. I also drew over my photo with a Pitt Artist Pen to bring out some details.

So I know making these pieces is not the same as traveling there, but it still inspires me. Maybe if I make enough art inspired by Europe, and sell them, I'll be able to go there again sooner than I think?

Maybe?

A girl could dream right?

And while I'm dreaming, I'll continue to create these pieces so you can enjoy them and dream along with me.

Deal?

Au revoir!

L'Artiste Texture Painting (For The Love Of Art)

2012-03-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hello there.

I have a new textured painting to share. Well, ok, it was finished a month or two ago but it's new to you because you haven't seen it yet... unless you've been sneaking around my studio ;-)

This painting came about because I wanted to use one of my paint palette hearts. I use paper palettes often to squeeze and/or mix my paint onto, and quite a while ago I really liked the way one of my paint palette papers (say that fast 5xs) looked, so I didn't want to throw it out. It was loaded with globs of dried paint on both sides. I remembered seeing some birds done by Robert Burridge in which he used dried paint globs that were peeled up from plastic (or something like that). Very cool. So, inspired, I cut the paint-loaded paper into a big heart shape, knowing that I'd use it sometime later in my art.

And that's just what I did. I glued the heart onto a canvas with heavy gel medium, then proceeded to add texture all over the canvas with the medium.

I also glued down some lace, dried flower pods from the tree in our front yard, a very old square nail, and a bit of mesh.

I was struggling with the colors on this for a bit. There were so many colors on the heart that I wasn't sure which color(s) to bring out. In the very bad photo below you can see what it looked like for a bit, kind of a terra-cota color. I ended up painting it mostly red after that (no photo) and hated it, so I painted most of it out with an off-white.

I love how it looks with the red peeking through, not as the main focus. To make it all blend together better I went over the heart with the white also. I'm really loving the red/cream combo!

This piece to me is about my love of being an artist.

There's nothing like it.

I love being able to paint and play, and to know that it's what I am meant to do.

It is truly a blessing!

You Are Strong And You Matter

2012-03-06T23:48:00.001-08:00

Hi there.

I wanted to share some photos of a few healing art journal pages I made recently. There's been a lot going on around here, so I had to get some paint on my hands for a bit of therapy! There have been many days when I needed a reminder like this, and I knew I wasn't alone, so I did the page above for many people I love who are going through hard times. You are stronger than you think!

The above page was done in all acrylic paints, with my hands, then stencils and brushes. I added a touch of charcoal to create shadows.

Here's another reminder for anyone who needs it, because yes, you really do matter!

This page was done with acrylics for the background. I used my hands again to smear the paint (good therapy!) then I stamped on paint to create the swirls. I used oil pastels to draw out the lettering.

The page on the left isn't done yet. Sometimes I like to leave pages in various stages, so when I have time I can jump in at whatever stage I want.. start a background, work on the middle stage, or finish a page. So far it has acrylic paint, parts of a magazine page and the image is part of a plastic bag that pasta comes in from Trader Joes. I love to use unusual things! Hey, why not... it's my journal!

My mom has not been well for a while and it's been weighing on me heavily. Then two weeks ago she wound up in the hospital. They let her go home that night after tons of tests, but while I was waiting for news about her that night, I started this journal page below. I drew the images with a charcoal pencil. The page next to it says "Do you ever feel like you are carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders.... and then some?"

I still have to finish it, but I really like it so far. It's a bit different for me, but it's an image that I had to get out and on the page to help me feel better. There's that art therapy again!

Things are looking up over here though. My mom is finally getting better and now we KNOW she's going to be OK... even if it takes a while.

So with that said, I have a lot to be thankful for! And speaking of... yesterday was our anniversary! My husband and I got married 12 years ago!! That seems so crazy that it's been that long, but it has! Happy Anniversary Honey! One of my dear friends (Hi Manya!) watched our kiddo Sunday so we could get out for a bit. We went out to Newport Beach and had such a nice time. Thanks Manya, we love you!

So with that I'm signing off. Just remember, you ARE stronger than you think!

And so am I....

I think.

Photos From The Petite Valentin Art Show

2012-02-19T01:27:00.000-08:00

Fantastic chandelier at Zinnia. Illuminating Inspiration!

Hi there.

I would like to share some photos with you of the Petite Valentin art opening that was at Zinnia last weekend.

It was a great night!
I got to meet other artists, look at all kinds of art, and even sell a painting..... or THREE!!! Yahoo! That's right, I sold my very first paintings (to non- family or friends that is)!! When I showed up two were already sold! See those beautiful red dots next to two of my art pieces below, that means "back off buddy, these are sold!" Let me tell you, I was thrilled!! I have my first non-family member collector. Right? If this woman (of impeccable taste you know) bought TWO of mine, doesn't that make her a collector?

Wow, I sound like such a novice. Don't make fun, this is a whole different world than painting Trompe L'oeil on people's walls. The art world can be a bit of a mystery.

Reva (left) and me

As I was cruising around I started talking to an artist/creative life coach (how cool is that?), Reva Solomon, who submitted some work also, and she asked which were my pieces. When I showed her mine, this dear woman, also of impeccable taste, and a funky edge :-) pointed to one of mine and said "I'm going to buy this one". I wasn't sure she was serious, but next thing I knew, she took "Pinned" down and bought it right in front of me. I was unsure what to do with myself. Three sold out of six before the first hour was even up? Yahoo!!

"Pinned" is already sold and gone! It was above "Be Gentle"

For most, if not all, of us artists, each art piece we create is very special to us, a piece of ourselves. Our babies. So to see someone appreciate your art is a good feeling. It's as if you yourself are understood in a way. I've been wanting to release my "babies" into the world for a while, so to sell three the first time participating in a show gives me a much needed boost to get out there and release more for others to enjoy. I create art because I have to, I'm driven to, but I don't create just for myself. I create because I want to share what I have to offer, what I've been given, with the world. To find others that connect with my art, that "get it" is a true blessing, and it lets me know that I'm on the right path (even though really, I DO know this. Heck you couldn't shove me off the path if you tried, but it's just nice to get a little extra confirmation, you know?)

Reva (left), one of my very first buyers! and me (right)

So here's a big huge THANK YOU to my buyers, and also to you, my blog followers who keep supporting and cheering for me from Blogland!

The art wall that my pieces are on. Can you spot them?

Another wall of Petite Valentine art

Zinnia is jam packed with creative goodness!

Their displays always amaze me!

Notice the saw blade Valentine"wind chime". I love it! (sorry these were from my cell phone so it's kind of hard to see)

I love the figurative painting that's on the wall above. I stare at it every time I go in there. It's by Joe Carrion, a darn talented artist, who works and teaches at Zinnia. If you look to the left of Reva in the photos at the top, you can spot Joe in the background looking busy in the green shirt. Hi Joe!

Another brilliant display. It's a rusty bedspring that has hundreds of hearts tied to it!

I fell in love with an art piece at the show titled "Heart Seat" by Connie Freedman, so I made my husband buy it for me. It's so pretty. I can't wait to frame it. I love encaustic art!

As we were walking to our car we saw this below... they were playing a classic Charlie Chaplin film on the side of a building! Wonderful! We'll be sure to be at South Pasadena's next art crawl, and maybe even be a part of it again!

**side note. My brain is not what I need it to be right now, tough day, so I had by husband proof-read this post. I learned something that I thought I'd share with you because it MUST be true. After finding not one, but three apostrophes where they need not be, to make me feel better he stated, "It's a proven fact that being on your period causes unnecessary apostrophe usage". Of course. I should've kno'wn.

A Little Valentine's Day Fun

2012-02-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I had a bit of fun today creating a Valentine's Day photo shoot. I was going to post about the Zinnia art show, but I really wanted to take some photos today just for the fun of it instead. I hope you enjoyed them. I had fun getting my creative photography wheels spinning! I can't wait to tell you about the art show in my next post!

Happy Valentine's Day! xoE

A Close Look At Amour...And Two Other Mixed Media Art Pieces

2012-02-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

Hi There.

Here are the close-ups of the other three art pieces that'll be for sale (only $35!!) in the Petite Valentin art show at Zinnia, starting tomorrow. Stop by and say "Hi"! The opening is Sat, the 11th from 6-9pm, but the show will continue for the rest of the month, ... what doesn't sell right away that is!! They're going to be selling the art right off the wall so you can take yours home right away! Zinnia is an amazing little art store in South Pasadena. I'm planning on hanging out at Zinnia for a while, then cruising around the area. The opening is part of the South Pasadena Arts Crawl, so I want to check out some of the other galleries too. I can't wait! There's going to be lots of art, live music, and food in the area! Yahoo!

Ok, speaking of art...

This is "Amour".

It's made on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 piece of wood. I started it off by glueing down vintage French book pages, then layered some heavy gel medium over them. I used a stencil and the gel medium to create the word "amour", then when it dried, I painted over the whole thing. I drew the Eiffel Tower with graphite and glued down a piece of black lace across the bottom. I added copper tacks, a tiny crocheted circle, and a heart I cut out from plaster cloth and painted red. Then, as with all six pieces, I sealed it to protect it and keep things from smudging.

Next up is "Be Gentle".

I love this one. OK, I love them all, (each one is a favorite!?), but this one doesn't look as great in photo as it does in person..the subtle colors and textures, etc.. It's done on a 4 3/8" x 5" piece of wood. I also started this by gluing down the vintage French book pages and covering them with heavy gel medium and paint...

I cut a piece of plaster cloth, wet it, folded it in half and layed it to dry on a piece of wax paper. When it was dry, I used an exacto knife to cut out a heart (I used the inside heart shape on "Be Still") and glued down the "heart window" over the base. I painted and antiqued it, and added copper tacks and twine. I filled in the center of the heart with clear crackle paint (to show how fragile the heart is) and when dry, I antiqued it to show the cracks then used paint to stamp the message, "Be Gentle", on it.

The last piece below is titled "Treasured".

It's on a 4 3/8" x 4 3/8" piece of wood. I wet a piece of plaster cloth and wrapped it around the wood, smoothed it a bit then left it to dry on wax paper. I painted over it all and scratched into it with a sharp tool, then antiqued it...

I glued down a stamped strip of paper across the bottom with heavy gel medium, and added a small crocheted circle. I made the heart years ago by stamping the heart image then I covered it with glue and tiny clear beads. I love that some had fallen off. I added a few more touches with paint to finish it off.

So there you have it, the rest of the six art pieces that I made for the Petite Valentin art show. To see my other three pieces that will be in the show and get more info (if you missed my last post) click here or just scroll down one post.

Hopefully all will go well and you'll see me and my (not-so-Petite) Valentine David cruising the art scene. Oh, and happy birthday Honey!! I love you!! You're the best husband ever! xoxo

Hope to see you all here!!

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday. To join in or check it out click here.

My Petite Valentine Art

2012-02-09T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I mentioned in the last post that I was painting like a mad woman trying to finish my art pieces to submit for Zinnia's Petit Valentin art show, so here they are. The show goes up this Saturday the 11th with the opening from 6-9:00 pm. I'm planning on being there so if you are in the South Pasadena area Saturday stop by and say "hi" and maybe even go home with a fantastic piece of art! My pieces are priced to sell at only $35 each! There will be tons of other PetiteValentine (all had to be under 5") art pieces there from other artists too, with varying price ranges. Zinnia has around 250 pieces for the show so there'll be plenty to choose from, but since they have so many they won't be able to put them all out at once. They said as the art sells off the wall they'll keep replacing it with more, so if you like a piece of mine but don't see it there just ask them... it might not be sold, it might just be in the back. I'm so excited to go check it out Saturday evening, and I can't wait to see what everyone else did. Lot's of hearts, hearts, hearts, I'm sure!

Click on the flyer to be able to read it better.

Today I'm only going to share close-ups of three of the six pieces. I'll post the close-ups of the three plaster pieces (from the top row above) in the next day or two.

First up is titled "Be Still". It's on a 5" x 3 1/2" piece of wood.

Love all that texture! The crinkly background was made from painted tinfoil. You can see it in the top right in the photo below while the foil was only partially covered with paint. The soft green swirls are from a cool cut-out scrapbook paper that I painted and made all thick and crusty with heavy gel medium. The heart was cut out from plaster cloth and painted.

This photo below was an in progress shot taken with my phone.

Next piece is titled "Pinned". It's on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 piece of wood.

For "Pinned" I used heavy gel medium for the main texture and glass bead gel inside the heart. I added copper tacks, wire, around the heart. I then used the heavy gel medium to glue a small piece of copper sheet that I had previously stamped, to the side of the piece. A foam stamp was dabbed in paint then used to stamp the pattern on.

The final piece for today is titled "Fulfill". It's done on a 4" x 4" canvas.

The olive green is paper that I smudged with red paint, then I drew a heart and smudges with graphite. The long screw and bolt were from an old glass drawer knob from our house. I used silver leaf along the sides and edges, then antiqued and sealed the whole thing. Actually all pieces were sealed for protection.

I'll be back soon with the close-ups of the other three and any info I might have forgotten.

See you soon!

Gingko Leaf Texture Painting and an Update

2012-02-05T00:16:00.000-08:00

Hi there. I know I've been missing (warning: long post). Busy, busy, busy, then at night I'm too darn tired to post! Lots of catching up to do. Today I want to share ONE of MANY paintings that I've finished this past month, but first a little update on some of the happenings around the Orloff household...

1. A couple of you asked how my foot is doing. It's really good now. Finally! For those of you who don't know, I hurt my foot bad back at the end of October. I didn't break it but had some major tissue damage and had to stay off of it, and was on crutches for a LONG 7 1/2 weeks!! I was finally told I could walk the week of Christmas and haven't slowed down since then! I missed painting so bad that it's hard to keep me out of the studio now! Dinner? What dinner? Give me paint!!

2. While I was stuck elevating my foot on the couch I noticed how grungy our den walls were. Yuck. So now the walls are painted a pretty grey-green, and the ceiling is now light grey. Ahh.. much better! But with the painting of the walls and the ceiling came a big mess. Our den is THE room that we are in most of the day. It's the playroom, TV room, office, etc... so when it was a mess for the last few weeks... so was I...but it's all good now.

I just had to share my husbands fancy light stand that he used while painting. Yup, that's a clamp light on a drill gun. Cracks me up!!

3. My baby boy turned three last week! Wow, time moves fast! Warp speed lately (except when I'm waiting for my next Netflix movie to come), so we had a tiny little birthday party for him today.

4. I was submitting some art pieces for a Petit Valentine art show that's coming up next weekend and the art had to be in by Tuesday, so I was painting like a mad woman! I got six pieces finished and turned in!! Yahoo! I'll share them with you this week along with details of the show, but for now, here's a photo of my workspace when I was in the middle of working on them.

OK, there's more but I'm done sharing for now, and this post is long enough! So now here's the rest of the photos of a new finished texture painting.

The color of the gingko leaves was a bit of a happy accident. I meant for the color to be deeper and more copper but they ended up more of a peach color. I liked it so I only added accents with copper. I really like how it turned out. Ok, see you soon. Bye now.

New Year, New Art: Make it Count

2012-01-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

It's already time for another Paint Party Friday!

Man... a week can go by very quickly! Well, weird thing is it seemed to fly by, yet it took forever for Friday to get here. Hmmm... anybody know what I mean, or am I the only crazy one around here? Wait.. what am I saying? You're a bunch of artists too so enough said! ;-)

I've had several art pieces done for a while, just waiting to be shared but I just haven't had the time post them. I was going to explain all this in an Orloff household update, but decided to make that a separate post so as not to bore all you PPF peeps! So today I'll just share this one painting and bore the rest of you later!

I started this piece on New Years Eve as inspiration for 2012. Last year was an interesting one, so I'm rather happy for a fresh new year all full of possibilities.

To start this piece, I printed out one of my photos and glued it down onto a 7"x9" mat board. I added texture with heavy gel medium by Golden, and once dry I used a pen to draw over parts of the photo to pop some details out. I then used Golden fluid acrylics to blend with the colors in the photo.

I used paint to stamp out the words "A fresh start, shiny and new. Make it count", and glued them to the canvas using the heavy gel medium. I added a bit of the same colors around the words to blend them in a bit... and voila! Done!

This piece came together rather easily for me. I love when that happens! I hope it inspires and reminds you (and me!) to really take advantage of this new year and "make it count"!

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone! To join in with your own painted projects or see the list of links for who else is painting along, click here.

Turquoise Crackle Bird Collage

2012-01-13T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hi there. I've got a fun little collage to show you. It has tons of texture, turquoise, AND a bird. How could you go wrong with that combo?!

It was a gift for my blog friend Mandy. She won a drawing I had a little while back and I was so happy that she won. She was with me from the very beginning of my blog and ever since then she's been one of my biggest cheerleaders. I wanted to reward her with more than just the 4 greeting cards that she won, so I made this little birdie collage especially for her.

I had enlarged and then printed out parts of my "Branching Out" painting onto watercolor paper for another project and had some left over. I thought that it would be the perfect base to start a collage. I glued down a small strip of a vintage dictionary page across the background. I then drew out the bird silhouette onto paper and cut it out, then brushed Distress crackle paint onto it and set it aside to dry.

What is that pretty strip of scalloped goodness going across the center you ask? Sometimes I wipe excess paint from brush onto an index card, and if I like how it looks when it's all covered in paint I keep it to use in a collage. Quite a while back after one was all covered and gritty with dark metallic grey and turquoise paint I used it to test out a new border punch that I bought. I loved how it looked with the paint splotches so I put it aside in my scrap box to use later on a project. I knew it would be perfect for this.

After that was glued down, I tinted heavy gel medium a dark metallic grey, then I troweled it through a stencil. The photo below was taken with my iphone while the gel was still wet to see where to place the bird. It was a bit too busy so I wiped some of the stenciled gel away before it dried. Then I glued down the bird, added a bit of paint here and there over the back ground bits and outlined the bird to make it stand out more. Phew. Done!

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday for the first time!! I've been wanting to join in the fun but haven't been able to until now. Whatever shall I wear? ;-) If you'd like to join in with your own paint projects or just see what everyone's doing what click on the link above. See you there!

New Textured Metallic Painting

2012-01-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

I've got a new mixed media painting to show you. It's textured. It's metallic. It's got lots of layers.

What does all that mean? It means it's one of the world's hardest paintings to photograph and get the colors accurate. No... seriously. The metallic pewter color (and a bit of copper) on this has such a pretty luminous glow to it, not the harsh shiny metallic,... but is a PAIN to photograph! Trust me on this. I had the same problem with my "Chemistry of Copper" painting (same products). Metallics are tough to photograph. You want a bit of a glare to show the lustery goodness, but too much of a glare makes all the pretty colors go away... so it tends to either look too dark, or too washed out. And because I'm Anal Annie when it comes to getting things right... I photographed this piece FIVE times over the last week. Yup.

Wow. Big tangent.

Anywho... here's my latest painting...The first photo at the top of this post seems to reflect more copper in the top right corner than it has in person, but the rest of it is pretty accurate... maybe.

Because I know you're like me (scary), I know you'd like to see this painting's ugly beginning. It started as a scrap canvas... used to scrape leftover paint products onto so I didn't waste any. Talk about yucky, but a nice way to start building texture for a future painting!

Oh boy, I just realized something. I have about six paintings going right now... and half of them are done with these metallics... so I'm either going to...

1. get really frustrated photographing them and give up metallics

2. strangle myself

3. get really good at photographing metallics

4. loosen up my perfectionist nature and adopt a "eh... close enough" type attitude (HA!).

Stay tuned to see what happens... I'm a bit curious myself ;-)

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

Hi there!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Thank you all for making this past year a good one. I can't wait to see what treasures this next year holds for all of us! Whatever it does bring, make sure to give it all you've got and don't forget to live your life with heART!! xoxo

Love Bird Journal Page

2011-12-30T00:32:00.000-08:00

I finished a whimsical little journal page and wanted to share it with you.

I started it last month but I didn't get around to finishing it until today. I wanted to work on some other art pieces but felt a bit rusty since I haven't been able to do art regularly these past couple of months, so I decided to work in my art journal and finish this fun page instead.

She's my sweet little Love Bird and she's got a special delivery for you!

Glitter and Warmth

2011-12-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hi there. I just wanted to share some photos from a walk around Pasadena at Christmastime. I love how festive and glittery everything looks this time of year.

Light-projected snowflakes going up walls (above)...

And on sidewalks (below)...

A huge Christmas tree in a courtyard...

But best of all... a nice warm fire to share with loved ones at home...

No matter what or if you celebrate anything this time of year, I hope you get to enjoy some time with loved ones and share a good belly laugh or two.

Vintage Barber Card

2011-12-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

What's this? Yup, I made a man card. I don't make cards for men often, so I was nervous about this one.

I had to make a thank you card for a cool guy named Frank who went out of his way to do something nice. Oh, and in case you couldn't already tell (really?!) he works with hair. He's a hair stylist or more accurately a hair artiste at Casa De Bellini.

I started the card by gluing down vintage dictionary pages, then painted over them with cream paint. I found this vintage photo of a man with a fantastic mustache, and glued it down along with a scrap of striped paper. I also painted over those a bit to blend them in. I googled vintage barber scissors and drew them out and added some extra doodles around the edges of the card. Oh and inside I wrote something like "Frank knew a thing or two about hair", which I originally wanted to be the caption on the front of the card, but ended up liking it without it.

So there it is... a man card! And Frank? He loved it! Yay!

Greeting Cards and a Winner!

2011-12-14T01:14:00.000-08:00

Hi there.
My greeting cards, along with my business cards, etc from Moo.com came in!! Yahoo! The printing on them is so clear and sharp. I'm in love!

In my last post I bribed you gals with some free cards if you helped me pick some of my art to make into prints. Thank you to all who took the time to help a girl out!! You're the best!! Now I just need to figure out WHERE to get them printed, but first things first...let's announce the winner! I used good ol' Random.org, and the winner is .......... Mandy!! Congrats girl!! You get to pick out FOUR of my greeting cards!

Here above are the cards to choose from. Your choices are (top row, left to right): The Healing Tree, Paris, Bridge of Sighs, umm no name for this yet.. we'll temporarily call this photograph "Painting Girl" hee hee. (bottom row): Remember Flowers, Bird Journal Collage, and Celebrate. The last one on bottom right shows what the back of the cards look like.

So Mandy, pick which four you would like, then email me your choices along with your address :-)

Now that I know how great they look I will be ordering more of these greeting cards, along with other designs too. I only ordered a set of 25 cards to start with and I can already tell that's not enough! I will be selling these when I finally open my Etsy store (not sure when that'll be).. but if you can't wait just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

I know that I was supposed to announce the winner on Monday night, but I had to wait until I could get photos of the cards to show the winner what she won! First things first, right? And with that I'm off to bed...

Prints Anyone?

2011-12-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I need input from all you creative, smart, lovely people out there. Yes, that means YOU!!

I've been doing some thinking and planning. I've finally ordered business cards, postcards, and even some greeting cards with some of my art on them. They were all ordered from Moo.com, an amazing company, and I can't wait to get them and share them with you!! It's a long needed step towards opening my Etsy shop.

So here's where I need your help. My next step is ordering art prints of some of my art, so I was wondering if you had any favorites that you might like to see or buy prints of. NO obligations to buy, of course, I just want your input. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link that says "artwork" or just click here, it'll take you to a page with my art, journal pages, and even cards that I've made. Jot down the ones that you think would make good prints, and let me know in the comments. I'll be so gratful!

Here's an example of a few I'm thinking of making prints of...

"Ahh...Paris"

Who would't love a bit or Paris in their home?

Since I no longer have the original, I think I want one of these prints for myself too!

"The Healing Tree"

I already have an order for an 11" x 14" of this so this ones a definite

"Bridge of Sighs monoprint"

Love this one!

"Puddles of Inspiration"

I think this might make a fun print for a studio or even kids room, but what do you think?

I really would love your input! What do you think? Like any of these for a print? Or any others? "Unleashed"? "Don't Lose Heart"? I am totally open to any suggestions! Don't be shy! And like I said... no obligations, just tell me your favorites, there's no wrong answer here! And what sizes 8 x 10 or 11 x 14? Smaller? 5x7? Too many questions? ;-)

As a little incentive I'll pick one of you commenters to win a set of postcards or greeting cards (when they come in, lol!) I'll pick the winner on Monday night, Dec 12th.

Thank you!

Puddles of Inspiration

2011-11-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I have a new journal page to show you.

It rained here in Southern California all day on Sunday, which inspired me to paint the rain.

First I painted the clouds and added the rain and puddles with my white Sakura Souffle pen that I think I'm now re-addicted to! I love the sheen of it against the matte background. I wanted to add a quote about rain, but I couldn't find one that I liked, so as I was adding more rain and puddles I came up with this phrase...

"Fresh ideas

Pour down like rain

Leaving behind

Puddles of Inspiration"

But what good are puddles if you don't have galoshes?

Don't worry, I added some fun red ones that you can use!

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead... put these on and jump on into your own "puddles of inspiration"!

Journal Pages : Doodles and Inspiring Things

2011-11-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hi there. It's me again.

I have a couple more art journal pages to show you. We'll start with the left side.

This is how it started out (below). I really liked it and I thought "Oh, I'll just doodle a bit more and be done with the page after a few washes of color, but...

Turns out my trusty, water-proof Micron pen isn't so trusty or water-proof like it says!! Grrrr!!

So after it turned into a muddy, faded mess (below) I held back a few choice words and instead decided to try to turn it into a happy accident...

I'm gonna be stuck on the couch for a while longer until my foot heals and I'm going stir crazy right now! In an effort to try to make the best of it, I figured I might as well take an online art class so I can enjoy myself a bit. So I signed up for the awesome Sketchbook Delight class by Alisa Burke. I already have the supplies on hand and I can work on most of the class "homework"on the couch. Yay!

So.... in one of the class videos I had just watched she used a white pen to pop out some highlights...

Oh yeah!!! I have EIGHT (I just counted) different white pens! I forgot all about them and how I love them for taking a boring journal page and bringing life to it. Out came one of my favs, "Souffle" by Sakura. It goes on clear but dries opaque, shiny, and kinda puffy. I tried to take a photo at an angle so you can kinda see it in the light (below). It's a great effect against the muddy background!! I love happy accidents!

So that's how Alisa Burke and my trusty white Souffle pen saved the day.

And my journal.

And kept me from saying bad words.

Moving on... one of the things Alisa said to do is identify the things that inspire you to draw. I hadn't really thought about this too much lately so I decided to write them down in my art journal as a "go to" for when I need inspiration.

My new favorite journal page!

I wanted to just draw out a few of the items on the list to spice up the page...

but then I got a wee bit carried away and drew out everything on the list... and then some!! Turns out everything on the list is there for a reason. You know... because they inspire me to draw. Yup. So as I tried to choose a few of them to draw I kept wanting to draw the next one, and the next one, and... you get it.

I learned a lot by doing this page. First, I do still enjoy drawing after all. I thought I hated it and would suddenly suck since I've been concentrating on painting... but hey, if I could draw a tiny Taj Majal then I guess I'm not doing too bad.

Second thing I learned is architecture is a HUGE inspiration for me... especially if it's old and involves stonework. Yup, it's good stuff. Many of the things on my list are a form of it. Hmm... do I have a secret desire to be an architect? Nah... too much work. I'll just admire it and hopefully make some cool art inspired by it. And I'm so glad that I now have this page to remind me of this. Thanks Alisa Burke! Can't wait to do more "class stuff" and see what else comes of it!

I'm just wondering... how many picture are too many pictures? Is this too many?

What about now? Too many? I like a lot of photos. Just wondering if you're feeling it. Or not.

How about now?

Breathe Journal Pages

2011-11-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

Ok, so last time I posted I was on an art making roll and had no intention of slowing down... but then what happened? Yup...life got in the way... as it usually does. This time the result was a badly hurt foot, last Sunday... my right heel. Argh! Not sure exactly what's wrong yet, but it might be a partially torn achilles... or something.

Yeah...ouch.

And what this means is NO walking on it... no pole vaulting....no swashbuckling... and definitely no chorus line high kicking. What this also means is no getting into my studio for who knows how long?! At least a few more weeks. After a week of frustration I finally realized that I could work in my art journal while I'm stuck on the couch.

Ahh... that's better.

I already have a bag full of art journal supplies that I keep at the ready, in case I get the chance to run off to a coffee shop and work on some art on the go (hasn't happened in quite a while, but darn it, I'm gonna be ready if the opportunity presents itself!).

In this bag I have:

my art journals,

glues,

pens/pencils,

a few brushes,

a small bottle of titan buff fluid acrylic by Golden,

a few random papers (vintage dictionary and scrapbook),

and my water-soluable crayons.

I like working only out of this bag... limited supplies are always a nice challenge.

First I glued the dictionary pages down, then added some scrapbook papers over the top... oh and this cool bird label I got from a booklet thing (?) full of tons of amazing collagy bits, which I bought from Anahata/Papaya years ago (sold out and discontinued as far as I know). After gluing all that stuff down the pages got a nice sloppy, uneven coat of Titan Buff paint to tone it all down and blend it in. Then I drew out the design with a water-soluable pencil and painted it in with the water-soluable crayons.

I wrote "And... breathe" as a reminder to myself to....uh..... breathe...and just relax and go with the flow. A reminder I very much need lately while I'm stuck on the couch.

The other page is all ready to go whenever I get the desire to write.

I mentioned in the last post that as soon as I finished a certain painting I would have a give away and one of you lucky peeps would win it. Well, I was completely serious, it will still happen, but is temporarily on hold. I need to finish the painting first and it's SO darn close, but until I can work in my studio it has to wait. Sorry....so maybe if you pray for quicker healing, you can win the painting sooner ;-)

But until then I'll try to continue working in my art journal ...

and just try to remember to breathe.

New Painting : The Chemistry of Copper

2011-10-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

So what happens when I get into my studio regularly?

1. I'm way happier, calmer, and happier (yes, I know)

2. The house stays a mess

3. I don't care about the mess

and most importantly...

4. ART GETS MADE!!

We need more of my art in our house, so I decided to do a painting for our den. I grabbed this 12 x 36 inch canvas and went to town!

I wish the photos would show the colors better. It's mostly this gorgeous grey/green with copper and verdigris blue accents. It has a soft metallic luster that's not too shimmery... it's just right. And of course it has... what?.... LOTS of texture!

So just for fun... because I love seeing other artist's processes... here are photos I took with my phone during the process.

Just ignore my feet ;-)

I started by gluing a bunch of papers down. The main paper I used is from a vintage CHEMISTRY book.

I don't remember what my original plan was, but I thought the paper would still show through. Hmmm... maybe next time.

I added layers of paint and stamping and liked it, but I started covering it anyway... that's just how I roll ;-)

I recently found a bunch of my old faux finish products hiding out in our garage and decided to start using them before they go bad. They are BEAUTIFUL (and expensive) products by a company called Faux Effects. I started by troweling their product Lusterstone (the light color in the photo above) through a stencil, then onto the rest of the canvas.

Then I started adding a darker color (made by mixing Metallic Silver Palette Deco with a few darker colors to make this gorgeous metallic grey/green), and troweled it through a honeycomb stencil. I then troweled more of this mix onto the rest of the canvas. I dipped a wet rag into this mix and rubbed a thin coat of it over the whole canvas to tone down the contrast (below). I also added touches of a verdigris blue color.

The final touch was adding the copper stenciling (Lusterstone mixed with copper).

Voila! A great art piece for our den made with products I had just laying around.

While I was working on this I started another small canvas using these products... and guess what? When it's done I'm going to have a lil' giveaway. Just sayin ;-)

So stick around!