Be Daring Journal Pages

...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

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

Turquoise Crackle Bird Collage

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!

Love Bird Journal Page

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!

Breathe Journal Pages

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.

Finished Furniture Piece

Here are photos of a large armoire that I painted this summer for a client.  I showed you a peek of the bird that's painted on it in the last post, which also showed a wee bit of the house that it now belongs in.  

Here (below) is a photo of what the armoire looked like before.

Just a slight difference  ;-)

The armoire wasn't too bad to start with, but it just didn't go with their gorgeous beach house... too much Country French, not enough Tommy Bahama.  So I hired a painter to sand, prime and base coat it for me... you know I don't do that... I'm an artiste! 

 I started by painting the turquoise details, then glazed the whole thing with a nice neutral tan color.  I sanded back some of the edges to rough it up a bit and make it more casual to go with the more beachy, yet elegant feel they have in their house.

 

The wonderful interior designer had suggested painting a tree branch with a bird sitting on it, and I LOVED the idea!

After I painted the branch and cockatoo, I antiqued the whole thing with a dark brown and wiped most of it back, leaving it a little heavier in the grooves.  Then, when it dried, I put several coats of sealer to protect it.

The hardware that was originally on it went beautifully with the new look. 

So what do you think?  I haven't done this type of work for at least 5 years.  Do I still have "it" or have I lost my touch?

I also did a few more small, very simple pieces to go in another of the client's homes, but I'll share those with you another time.

One year Blog-o-versary Post and Giveaway!!

Lots of reasons to celebrate around here... even though I'm a bit behind.... OK...WAY behind.
 Last month, April 14th was my one year blog-o-versary!!!  WOOHOO!!    And April 15th was my 39th birthday... (eek...I'm almost 40!).   Kind of funny that I started my blog the day before my birthday last year.   I don't remember if there was a reason for the timing, but it doesn't matter....I'm just so darn happy that I did!  I had been reading and lurking around beautiful artist's blogs for a while, and kept thinking "one day I'll do this too...."  I wanted to share my art with others outside my small little circle and I wanted to inspire others the way that I felt inspired when looking at all the lovely blogs out there.

 I finally started E Makes Art so I could join a group that was forming online called The Artistic Mother's Group, which would go through the projects in the book The Artistic Mother by the amazing Shona Cole.  The group is hosted by Trudy Callan who was SO sweet and helped me get this blog started, so I really owe this to her!  Thank you sweet Trudy!

Here's a link to my very first post called "Blank Canvas", I'm still proud of it.  I think it was a good start.    Blogland was so new and scary, yet SO full of possibilities.  And now?  Still SO full of possibilities, but not so scary.

A lot has happened since then...

• I learned that computers have more than just an "ON/OFF" button
• I took my first online class and am now addicted to them
• I've met so many amazing people from around the world while sitting in the comfort of my home
• I now have my art represented in a gallery.  

WOW!  What a year.  I wonder what magic and wonders the next year will bring...

I made this mixed media cake on my birthday as a gift to myself to cheer me up! No calories and it never goes bad : )  The cake was formed from light molding paste, then painted once dry.  On the rest I used various papers, a clip art flamingo (love!) and a painted crocheted flower.  I also wrote and doodled details with a graphite pencil.  But no, this is NOT what I'm giving away!

To celebrate my blog turning one I would like to giveaway one of my all time favorite books, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  I love this book, and I know many of you have read it, but I also know there's so many more of you who haven't.  You need to.  It is such a phenomenal book.  It's a must read for anyone... not just artist's or writers... anyone!  So to win, leave a comment on this post and make sure to leave your email if you don't have a blog.  If you're having trouble commenting then I'll also accept emails as an entry.  My email's in my profile.  You have until June 9th 8pm PST (California time) to enter.

OH... and don't worry... I'll be sending you a brand spankin new book, NOT my very used and loved book shown here.  The new pretty one is on it's way here from Amazon as I type.  (and sorry you can't have my pen or journal either... don't be greedy!  Sheesh!  ha ha!) 

 Good luck to you!  And here's to many more happy, magical years with E Makes Art!

Edit :  Giveaway is now over!

Heart On A String

Here is a card I made recently.  This is the one I was supposed to be working on when I "accidentally" made this collage instead using the same materials.  

I first glued down some papers from my new vintage books (oxymoron anyone?)  onto the background to create a nice base and texture.  I painted over it with off white, then added some soft washes of color.   I tore the bird's shapes out of various scrapbook papers,  glued it all down, then added some crochet bits to add additional texture.  I drew in some details with a pencil.     I wanted a bit more depth on the heart so I put 2 layers of heavy gel medium on it.  The stars/dots on the red are a raised silver pattern that was part of the paper.

I've had the image of a heart tied on a string and hanging from a bird or a tree in my head for quite a while (a few years actually!), so I decided to do one with a tree too.  I made a quick 5x7 inch collage on watercolor paper with vintage book pages glued down as a base, and then painted over with fluid acrylics.   I added some details with a pencil and scraps of paper.  

  It's a bit different from what I've been doing lately, but that's part of the fun of art. Experimenting and having fun and following your inspiration .  I'm not done using the heart on a string image, I think it'll continue to pop up here and there.  I'm not even sure exactly what it means to me yet, but that's ok. I do know it has to do with sharing your heart and being open, but I think there's more to it than that.  I'm not too worried about it right now though. 

 I know these things usually reveal themselves in time.     

Art Journal : Coffee Shop Challenge

I really wanted to post some art today and have several paintings in the works, but since none are ready to be shown, I decided to dig up some older work.  These two pages were done in my art journal several years ago as part of a fun little self-challenge. 

 I took my journal and a few favorite supplies ; gel medium, an old brush, scissors, and pens to Starbucks and challenged myself to make a spread using only these supplies and whatever I could find in the coffee shop.  I tore up some of their pamphlets and glued them as the backgrounds then collaged over them with their napkins to soften it. I also cut up a paper coffee cup, coffee sleeve, stirrer, straw and a gift card to create both collages, along with the straw wrapper and tea tag for the second page. 

Most of my time was spent on the bird page and I never really liked this second page.  It just seemed incomplete, with too much going on and like things were just floating around, disconnected.  I loved the simplicity of the bird page but didn't know how to fix this page.  I didn't touch it once home, because my challenge was to finish it at the coffee shop using only those supplies. 

 Finally when I looked at it again last week, I decided heck with my challenge, I wanted to fix it so I liked both pages in the spread.  

I needed to simplify the page so I got out my gesso and lightly covered most of the background, to get rid of unnecessary elements.  I then grabbed a pen and scratched lines all over to unify it even more, and added a few more doodles.

 There.  That's better. 

 Now I can finally look at this spread without feeling torn for loving one side and hating the other.  But now I look at the bird page and think...hmmm...just a touch of paint would really make this even better...

  No, no, no...not part of the plan!  Walk away!  It's done!

I remember having a blast working on it in the coffee shop.  It can be very freeing to use limited supplies... and fun!  And I'm not sorry for "cheating" a bit on my little challenge.  I learned a lot from it then, and now, and I think it might be time for another little challenge soon.

Have you done anything fun lately to challenge yourself?

Do YOUR Thing (Raven Piece)

OK, so here's the art piece I teased you with a few days ago.  I made this a few years ago for my husband, David, who likes crows and ravens.  I found a wood plank and painted and glazed over it until it had the look I wanted.  I collaged on torn bits of dictionary pages and other scraps, along with some cheesecloth, then lightly painted over them.

On a Home Depot trip I had bought a few metal brackets that I called "label holders".  My husband laughed and told me what they really were, but I forgot what their "real" name and purpose is...and I really don't care ; )  To me they are perfect to pound into wood, then slather with paint, to become a nice base for a pretty label with a handwritten message on it....don't you agree? (below)















My husband is a writer (and High School English teacher), so I wrote "Write that which ONLY YOU can write".  I also wrote "The Raven" lightly on the background above the label, because David loves that poem by Edgar Allen Poe, so I wanted him to think of it for inspiration...only Poe could write The Raven as he did.  I really believe that we are ALL unique and have a "special something" that only we can do, in our own little way.  We just need to find it and refine it, whether it be art, writing, dancing, teaching, etc..  Martha Graham said it wonderfully.......


"You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost." 
— Martha Graham

I drew out the bird onto black construction paper with a white charcoal pencil, and cut it out and glued it on.  The eye is a small rusty washer.  I drew swirls and other doodles all over the background with both white and black charcoal pencils then sprayed it with a sealer.

I found a small twig and I wrapped the ends with little strips of dictionary pages to create little "buds of inspiration", just waiting to bloom (and I thought the dictionary pages were perfect for this since David loves words ...and dictionaries).   I wrapped the base with a bit of cheesecloth and copper wire.

I pounded in three copper tacks and used the top on to hang the "quill", which is just a crow feather wrapped with a bit of cheesecloth and copper wire.

So just a reminder...don't forget to water YOUR inspiration buds, and watch them grow and bloom!

Bird Journal Collage

Here's a collage I did in my journal a while back.  There is a quote on a teabag tag that says "Live from your heart, you will be absolutely effective".

Hope and Prayer

Ok, so I decided that since my blog name is "E Makes Art", maybe it's time for me to, oh I don't know, maybe post some art. Hmmm.... there's an idea. I started this piece a couple of years ago when I bought this fantastic little brass bird stencil. I immediately wanted to use it when I got home, so I got out a little 5x5 canvas and troweled thru the stencil with plaster.

Then it sat.

I found it a while later and did a wash of color over it.

Then it sat.

I found it months later and added another wash over it. I realized that I didn't really notice the birds, so I added red to make them pop. I also added a lime green wash over the leaves. I liked where it was heading, but I didn't know where to go from there. I couldn't figure out what to put in the blank area where there was no texture.

So it sat.

I decided that it needed a word there, but what? I tried several but wasn't happy, so they got erased (good ol' watercolor pencils!). I kept on going back to it, but I was stuck. Then a few weeks ago my husband mentioned a woman at his work had breast cancer. The word hope was brought up. That's it! That's what this piece was waiting for: HOPE. I wrote it out, but something was still missing. I stared at it a while, then the word "pray" pretty much wrote itself.

What goes better with hope than prayer?