Creative play

Hello All,

Today I thought I would share a process that I sometimes like to do when I am feeling uninspired. Sometimes I go through a lull and my motivation to create just isn't there. This is when I turn to what I call creative play. I delve into my art supplies and just pick some things that catch my eye..not too much or it is easy to get overwhelmed. On this last occasion I chose spray inks, modeling paste and some stencils, glass bead texture gel, iridescent medium, some ecoline watercolour inks, a few stamps and an ink pad, a few old book pages, and four tubes of craft acrylic.

I then prep some A3 plain paper with some gesso and get to work. Using only what I have picked I just let go and do whatever comes to mind. I don't think too much about it, simply just letting myself play with the colours and mediums and see what happens. Here's what came from this process at the weekend:

Sometimes I really like how they turn out and may add to them to create a finished piece. Other times I just stash them or cut them up and use them in other projects. What is important is that it gets the creative juices flowing again and straight away I feel more inspired. It is very therapeutic to just relax and play with the materials and even if I don't like the results I have spent a happy afternoon anyway.

I definitely recommend it if you have lost your motivation!

Bye for now! xxx 

New painting

Hi All,

I have tried to start the new year as I mean to go on with the start of a new mixed media abstract painting.

I started with the texture with modelling paste and glass bead texture gel both free hand and through various stencils. I then started adding colour to the smooth areas using pigment powders. I decided to use a box canvas and I am enjoying the texture spreading around the sides.

My aim is to ensure that I put aside time every week for painting and hopefully get some of them exhibited somewhere. fingers crossed.

Bye for now xxx

The Start of A New Commision

Hello All,

I am back to canvas this week and thoroughly enjoying myself. I am feeling really inspired with this latest piece which is a commission for a friend of mine. Here it is so far:

And a few details too:

I have been working with inks, acrylic and pigment powders mainly, with some mica powder and gelatos thrown in for good measure. The texture is built up using tissue paper, modelling paste and glass bead texture gel. I am really enjoying the contrast between the texture and the smooth. I already have in mind two or three other canvases combining the two again.

I have progressed really quickly with it cause I can't leave it alone and I am nearly finished, but like a good book I will be almost sorry when I do. I may have to dive straight into another!

Bye for now!

xxx

Painting From Nature

Hello All,

On Friday I handed over my latest commission and it was well received; it was lovely to see her reaction. Letting go of paintings when you have been working on them for so long is sometimes hard but when you see how much they are appreciated it makes up for it.
Lately I seem to have lost my art mojo and haven't been doing a great deal other than the odd art journaling page. With this commission completed though I am starting to feel inspired to get some more painting done. My youngest daughter goes to school in September and although I will miss her terribly I want to take the opportunity to paint a lot more, get some more commissions and possibly (if i'm lucky) a few exhibitions!

This weekend I came across a stone I picked up in an old copper mine a while back. I loved it for its colours, textures and the flecks of glitter throughout it. I have been meaning to paint it and so decided to have a go on a small A5 canvas:

Here is where I got to so far. I think I am matching the colours quite well but need to work on adding depth and texture. Back at Uni I used nature as my inspiration quite a lot and it is nice to get back to that for a bit! This might inspire a bit of a series perhaps, mounted with the stones beside them?! who knows. I will continue to work on it and see how I go.

Bye for now! xxx

Experiments

Hello all,

A weekend full of eating and dancing.... fab! I had a lovely birthday with friends and family and some lovely presents including several arty ones (which I always look forward to!) Plus a yummy raspberry cake from my lovely sister.

Nick got my a new round gelli plate which I can't wait to get my hands on but haven't yet had the time. My mate got me some ecoline inks which I have wanted for a while. I briefly got them out the other day to have a play:

I haven't had much of a go but so far I love that they are so vivid. Looking forward to experimenting more!

I also, since I had very little time for anything else, decided to experiment with some metallic paint and glass bead texture gel on an index card. I was curious if the glass would catch the shine of the metallic.

It did really well and so far I am loving it! The yellow and orangey colours are also ecoline inks which I added just to see if they were vivid enough to show up. The white is some metallic shimmer ink which I dripped on. I was expecting it to come out darker than it did but hey ho that it why experimenting is so fun, you never quite know how it will turn out.  Not sure what to do with it next though?!

While I was in a metallicly mood I worked a tiny bit on my commission, adding a touch of silver into it:

I really love the shine on it now and it goes really well with the pattern. The silver plays well with the pink especially but also brings out the hints of blue.

I will let you know how my experiments turn out next time!

Bye for now xxx

The next layer

Hello All,

Happy Mothers day for yesterday to all you wonderful mothers! I was treated to a handmade card from each of my girls and breakfast made for me by my eldest. Then later four generations went out for a meal with a free class of bubbly....lovely :)

All this wine-ing and dining meant little time for creating but I did manage a bit more on my commision:

I added further colour with pigment powders and glass bead texture gell through a stencil to create the circles. I feel that the pigment powders allow me to great depth of colour that sometimes I can't achieve with normal acrylics.

I also got a background in my altered book journal done:

I haven't done any journaling for ages so it felt good to make a start on this page. I had a load of paper towels I had used to clean up paint with saved up to use and these form most of the background with added acrylics andgold paint. The photo doesn't show that the text from the page also comes through which I feel adds nicely to it. What to do with it though?! I will have to wait and see where it takes me next.

Bye for now xxx

January Art Swap

Hello All,

Last month I took part in the art swap on Jennibelle's art community  The theme this time was to create an art journal page using a technique or medium that was new to you. I was partnered with Jackie from Denmark. I just had confirmation that she has received it so I can now show you what I sent:

I used the glass bead texture through a stencil (I only bought it in January so it is still very new to me.) then added colour over the top with inks and acrylics. Having found out Jackie loved horses I just had to add a horse and the quote seemed to represent the theme well. 

Jackie sent me:

The coloured background has been done with ecoline liquid water colours which I have been pondering about buying. Looking at this I might well do, they are lovely and vivid. The figures are done in gold leaf which I have never used myself so that might be something to look into as well! 

I have signed up for this months swap which is to make a heart from recyled or reclaimed materials.

Bye for now x x 

Finished piece

Hello All,

I have had a busy half term with the girls going here there and everywhere and so haven't had much time to be creative however I did manage to finish my latest canvas:

It is a very light pallet for me but I wanted to challenge myself in this way. I used pigment powders and mica shimmer powers to get the colour and glass bead texture gel on the circles to achieve the glistening effect. It feels quite spacey to me like a nebula or something. I loved playing with the different textures in this one.

I also did a quick 10 minute sketch this week, over an existing background as practice:

I have been doing so much abstract I felt I needed to do this quick sketch just to keep my hand in. It isn't perfect but not bad for 10 minutes :)

I have been commissioned for a set of three abstract canvasses so moving on to them now plus a commision for a journal. I also need to get a move on and arrange some workshops! Life seems quite hectic at the mo :Z

Bye for now x xx

Detail of new piece

Hello All!

I was working on my new canvas last night and using mica powders and brusho pigment powders to add depth and colour (with added shimmer) I really like these at the moment. You only need a tiny amount to create some great effects and they can be used in many different ways. They have a transparency to them which is great for layering. You can add them to different mediums such as modelling paste, gells, pva or water to get different results.

The texture is a combination of modelling paste, paper towels and glass bead texture paste.

More to follow...

Bye for now x x x

Take a closer look

Hello All,

At the weekend I had a few hours with my eldest daughter and she decided she would like to do some art work with me. We set up on the kitchen table and I taught her how to use the geli plate. Many many prints later we moved on to working in our journals. I decided to use one the prints as a starting point for a background but after adding a few layers it just wasn't working. At that point my husband and youngest arrived back and our art session was abandoned.

Last night I went back to it and after adding many more layers I am finally happy with it.

You can't see much of the geli print anymore though it still inspired the colour choices.

I love getting those moments to share creativity with my daughters and I hope they will grow up loving it as much as I do. One things for sure though, I will be getting her her own geli plate!

Bye for now! xx

Lovely Jubley Colour

Hello All,

Having a play with texture and colour this week. I do love colour :)

This is glass bead texture gel with acrylics, brushos and ink. I am enjoying playing which these three mediums at the moment. They create lovely vivid, touchy feeling backgrounds. For me they require very little else to finish them so I am trying to keep the pieces simple and not too busy.

I have also started to experiment in this way on a larger scale, creating an abstract canvas piece. I will post some pictures of my progress this week,

Bye for now! xx

Stuck or Finished?

Hello All,

This weekend I managed to do some journaling and was really enjoying my backgrounds and playing with the different mediums. The problem was I liked the backgrounds so much I didn't want to cover them or add anything which led to me feeling rather stuck. I wanted to finish the pieces off, did they need anything or was I finished? Keep them simple or carry on?!?

It took me ages to decide and in the end I added images from an old vintage annual and some simple text. So you can decide, was I right to add these or were the backgrounds strong enough to carry themselves?

Either way I enjoyed making these two and it felt good to be covered in paint and glue again. It keeps me happy anyway :)

Bye for now! xxx

From experiments to finished pieces

Hello All,

Last night I decided to take my experiments with glass bead texture gel (from the other day) and make something of them.

I didn't want to do too much to this one cause I loved the colours already so I added the text and a little wire and flat bead embellishment.

To this one I added more brushos and some irredescent ink to add depth and shine. Then I added the pom pom, a slide casing with old maps and the text.

This spread is in my altered book and I love the background so much I decided the only thing to add was the word 'simple'.

I am really pleased with them all :) loving the glass bead gel! 

Bye for now! xxx

Experiments

Hello All!,

This weekend the family and I went on a shopping trip to Manchester. This was part of my Christmas present from my lovely husband. There is a little dance shop there and since I have been learning to jive he bought me my first proper dance shoes! (can't wait to try them out)
We also found a fantastic art supply shop called Fred aldous. It was huge! I could have spent all day in there, it was heaven! I bought some new brusho colours and some glass bead texture gel, which I have wanted to have a play with for ages.

As soon as we got home I couldn't wait to start experimenting and here is a little of what I created:

For this one I spread the gel out first and let it dry, then added gesso and acrylic paint over the top. I love the texture you get from the beads but you loose some of the shine from them.

Next I tried using the gel through a stencil and leaving it to dry and then adding brusho pigment powders over the top. I like this as you get the colour and the shine.

Finally I added the gel through a stencil on to a pre painted background. The photo doesn't really do this justice, you get fantastic colour, shine and texture with this technique. 

I really like all three and am really happy with the texture gel! It will definitely be making a frequent appearence. I think I will try mixing some colours directly into the gel next and see how that turns out.

Bye for now! xx