You Are Strong And You Matter

 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.

Lovely Lavender

Last week's color (yes I'm behind!) for The Summer of Color was purple.   I needed to make a thank you card.  So what do you think happened?  Yup, I made a purple thank you card.  Actually we'll call it lavender, since that's the shade that I used and the plant that was part of my inspiration. 

I took this photo (below) last year up in Oregon in my sister's front yard.  I love the image and have been wanting to use it for something, so this was the perfect time.

I started by collaging pieces of paper onto a card, then painted over them to make a nice background.  I transferred the image onto the card by experimenting with Transfer Artist Paper (TAP).   I then layered on more paint and added a few embellishments.  

There's just something soothing about lavender, isn't there?  Even when you can't smell it.  Hmm.. maybe I should scent the card.

Nah...probably not.

With each of my Summer of Color posts I've tried to add a few extra photos that feature the color of the week .

So... here's a couple more photos that were also taken up in Oregon.

I love anything "thistle-y"

Lavender field against a white barn... heavenly.

And while digging through my photos I came across this painting that I had in an old post, that I did for another color challenge.  This was the first time I used the color lavender in my art and loved it. 

 That's why I love doing these challenges.  It makes you step out of your box and try out a new color or technique that you might not normally use.  So a big THANK YOU goes out to my friend Kristin for taking the time and energy to do this for us!!  There's still time to join us and maybe even win a prize from Kristin!  This weeks color is Orange... I'm excited about this one!!

So...what are you doing to challenge yourself?

A Card and an Award

First I just want to share a little collaged card I made for a loved one.  To make it, I layered scrapbook papers for the background, then tore papers into flower, leaf, and stem shapes and glued them all down.  Then I added a light cream paint to soften the colors a bit, and once dry I outlined everything with a water-soluble crayon (make sure to spray it with a sealer).

Next, I won an award!!!  Yay!! 

 It was given to me by the wonderful, super talented, and fun Sada over at Dressology HQ (who just happens to be my aunt who seriously rocks at everything she does!).  Go check out her fashion blog, it's so much fun and there's lots of eye candy (who doesn't love pretty dresses ladies?!).   

OK, so I have to share some lil' tidbits about myself.  Hmm....

1. I actually won an award (different one) at the end of September from the lovely and talented Kristin at Twinkle Twinkle but I never posted it because 1. I couldn't decide who to pass it on to 2. I seriously couldn't think of anything interesting to share about myself,  and 3. I ended up forgetting about it after a while!  Sad, I know... Sorry Kristin!
2. I LOVE to travel and have been to:  Austria - Salzburg & Vienna.  Australia - all over 3x.    France - Paris 2x & Giverny.  Germany - Munich.  Italy- Florence 2x, Rome, Venice 2x, Pisa, & Cinque Terra.  Spain -Barcelona 2x, Madrid, Toledo, Grenada, Cordoba, & Sevilla.  Switzerland - Interlaken.  I've also been to Arizona, Oregon, Mexico, Nevada...and probably a few more that I've forgotten about.
3. If someone would've told me, when I was younger,  that I would be married to an English teacher, I probably would've fallen on the floor in hysterical laughter (a common occurrence back then even past my teens, much to the dismay of my mom) ... seriously. 
4. This one's for you Kristin... my English-Teaching husband is 5 years younger than me.
5. Pretend there's something interesting written here.  oooh!  wow!!
6. Even though I painted faux finishes and murals for my business, there's sadly none of that going on in our house except for ONE room, our bedroom.  In there I glazed the walls and stenciled the ceiling (ouch!).  I also painted all trim and doors to look like mahogany wood.  
7. I've been wanting to share a few photos of our beautiful bedroom with you.  But that would mean I'd have to dust.  Nope.

                                       

So now I have to pass on the award to a few deserving people.  

First one goes to miss Manya over at Manya K Photography.  She takes the most beautiful photos and her blog showcases her specialty which is portraits in beautiful environments.  Go check it out.  Oh yeah, and she's one of my closest friends : )  Hi Nya!

The next one goes to Michele of  Pipi La La.  I love visiting her blog.  Not only is she real, and HILARIOUS, but the girl is a wonderful artist.  I am the happy owner of several of her paintings.  LOVE them!

OK, that's all I've got.  I've been TRYING to narrow my list down to share others, but I'm going to cut it off there.    I started this post days ago and I'm afraid if I don't post it now it'll never get done.  

 Bye now.

Mixed-Media Painting: Lavender and Blossoms

I've had some ideas for paintings like this swimming around in my head for a while, and for some reason I haven't made one until now.  But when I've thought of doing such paintings, the color purple or lavender was definitely NOT on my mind.

 I wanted to make something for the final week of Louise Gale's Creative Color Challenge, but I was intimidated when I learned that the color was lavender.  I love lavender plants, I think they are beautiful and smell fantastic,  but it is not a color that I normally use in my artwork.  I guess that's why it's called a challenge : )

I started by plastering the top 2/3's of a 6 1/4" x 11 1/4" wood board with Golden' light molding paste, using an old credit card as my "trowel".   I used the same technique to smear Golden's crackle paste (love!) to the bottom 1/3.  While still wet I drew the design into it with a pencil, and used the credit card to create the straight lines.

When dry I painted the lavender background.  Originally this piece was only going to be lavender and white, but I remembered that for this week's challenge we could add any of the past challenge colors, so I added a soft sea green and some raspberry red.

On the bottom right corner I added a small square of silver leaf torn from a Japanese washi paper.  Once it dried overnight, I sealed it with a matt sealer and then antiqued it lightly with a raw umber glaze.  I did this to bring out the cracks and grooves a bit more, and make the colors not quite as "bubble gum".  The camera (or photographer ;) ), was having trouble capturing the true colors, but this is close enough.  They are a bit more "dirty" in person.

So what I thought was going to be a project that I would want to give to the nearest passerby once done, ended up being one of my favorites!  Now I love the color lavender and am already planning on using it in more of my work.  Thank you Louise for that!  What I realize is that I could probably use any color in my work, as long as I learn how to make it "Esther".

 I also am realizing that plaster or molding paste is one of my favorite things to use.  I've used it many times like on this piece here, and on my sister's 3 other pieces (which I still have to share with you), and I really feel like that's the way my artwork is going to keep heading.  I had a blast creating this piece and want to make many more like it.  And using plaster takes me back to my favorite finishes from my faux-finishing days, so whenever I miss it, I could just whip out a very large canvas and get plastering!