Wednesday, August 31, 2016

End of the Month - More Fairy Tales

"Seven Ravens"
12" x 16"
watercolor, watercolor pencil, marker, acrylic paint, Caran d'Ache 
watercolor crayon
on Arches watercolor block

You can find the story, HERE.
I have been working on this for a couple of days, honestly the first
one didn't make it off the easel.  I figured that my human
image need to be large and the first one I tried, didn't 
come out that way and it had too many things details in it.
I feel the need to stick to more 'design' rather
than a detailed painting.

I loved the colors in this one, I originally had
her top as a WRONG color, but was
able to correct that one with acrylic paint.

I am enjoying this sooo much.
I can't seem to stop.  It has got
me in it's grips..and I don't think it
will let go for awhile.




Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sunday and the Girl with the Golden Goose

"The Girl with the Golden Goose"
8" x 10"
on Canson illustration board

~ at least my rendition of it.  I decided that I wanted my goose to
look real, so I didn't make it golden.  I used an 'inspiration' gathering exercise, where
I looked around my surroundings for items to use in my painting.
I love birds, hence the bird in the sky and I love my Pampas grass
that grows outside my studio window...so I included
a plant of that.
I used a couple of layers of different mediums in this one.
I used collage and some gesso ground for the second layer and then
more paint and pencil on the top layer.
This is done in mixed media, marker, gesso, collage, paint, watercolor and watercolor 
pencils.  

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Leader of the Pack


At the end of the last post, I was trying out some faces for a future piece
to go with the story Little Red Riding Hood that has been done in the online course
I am taking "Ever After".  I envisioned Red as being a great wildlife enthusiast, calming and catching the wolf to lead him off down a different path.  I know, one shouldn't mess with Mother Nature, but 
think of all the Grandma's that were saved!!?

This one measures 11" x 14" and is done on Canson bristol (my first time trying this product).  I was surprised as with all the layers of marker, paint and pencil, it did not buckle.  Yay!
  

  

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Where Have I Been?

You may have checked in and wondered, what is she doing?  Well, it has not been my intention to let my blog LAG like this..sorry.  I signed up for and am taking an online class called “Ever After” from July through October.  It is a mixed media art and style development course with a fairy tale theme hosted by Tamara Laporte and 12 other popular mixed media art teachers from all over the globe.  So spending most of my time, watching, learning, trying, failing, trying again, and planning and drawing and painting and painting - along with petting and combing and playing with studio cats and organizing and cleaning studio...oy!

And~~~along with that, DH and I continue to work on things around our 112 year old farmstead that need attention.  Home maintenance, car and appliance repair are all things we tackle on our own.  Why?  Because we can.  

Here are several of the finished pieces and some of the sketches from the class and what I am attempting to make my OWN..at this point, we are encouraged to copy the content and use the same methods and supplies for the learning part, about 3 complete pieces per month.  Then tackle our own piece using what we have gleaned from the month long attempts. studying, and videos along with journaling and sketching.  It's fun!  It's refreshing!  It's full of camaraderie and interest.  

The Little Mermaid
(almost exact copy)
Tam Laporte instructor

Beauty and the Beast
(a little change on the Beast - the one to copy looked too friendly)
Andrea Gomoll, instructor

Snow White
(used my daughter Jessica as a model for this one)
Annie Hamman, instructor

Just a sketch - trying out design elements - you get the idea

Jack and the Beanstalk, (my own creation)

Some Beauty and Maleficent sketching on my own


Sleeping Beauty
(not quite exact copy)
Jane Davenport, instructor

The Handless Maiden (my OWN maiden - 
and I hadn't heard this one either, google it)
Galia Alena, instructor

Little Red and Wolfie
(almost exact copy)
Micki Wilde, instructor

working on my own sketches - modeling the faces for my own version
of Little Red...

Now comes the good part for me - leave me a comment on
which is your favorite.  I want you to know, this is really
pushing me, and it's quite a struggle - but in a good way because
I am having a really good time learning to develop a new style
in this genre.






Adventures in Pyrography

 Last year about this time, I purchased a cheapo woodburning set and some little wood pieces and tried my hand at woodburning.  I made a few...