Experiments

Hello!

Well I realise it's been a while so first let me apologise for that. It has been a busy few weeks! I have been feeling very inspired lately to experiment and play with new things and go back and try my hand again at old things that I haven't done for years!

One reason for this is that recently I applied to go on 'The Big Painting Challenge' on the TV (this is a series that has a different challenge every week and one artist gets knocked out each week) Don't get too excited, it doesn't look like I have got through but by just applying got me experimenting with different types of paintings and with different mediums that I haven't reached for in ages.

Here are a few of the experiments!

This is my cat Biscuit! This was done on watercolour paper with brushos. I use brushos all the time, love them for adding colour to my paintings and mixed media projects but I have never tried to paint an image with them alone. I was really pleased with how this came out!

This one I did in only 10 minutes and with pen and brushos again. I wanted to it to be a bit freer and more expressive. It's simple but effective I think.

This one (again on watercolour paper) is done with brushos, pen and watercolours. I love how this one came out, it is definitely my favorite of the three. I really enjoyed using watercolours, they are not usually my 'go to' paint but this has led me into a bit of a watercolour phase at the mo. I am doing loads of experiments with them. I have never been taught to use them and never had the inclination to try until now. I will keep you posted with my progress!

I have many other projects on the go at the mo, including a new mixed media canvas and an art journaling workshop that I am running this week with a new group, which fingers crossed will lead to lots of workshops in the future! 

I will try and post again this week to show you more recent work. Until then bye for now! xxx

Some Recent Art Journaling

Hello All!

Sorry it has been a while! I kept meaning to blog but life has been busy lately, and I have been distracted with various things. That all said I didn't mean to put it off for so long! I will hopefully make that up over the next few days as I have loads to show you. Today I am going to start off with some recent art journaling:

This first one was an experiment of bold colours and lines. For the lady I used a magazine cutting which I then painted over and I tried to keep to black and white to match the boldness of the page. The whole thing I felt had a confidence about it and so I found the text from a magazine which was in keeping with this. 

This page is in my altered book journal and you may see some of the original text coming through on the right. I have been playing around lately with a lot of portraiture and this is one is a self portrait. Again I stuck to black and white and I think it works well here. This again has an air of confidence and is all about being self assured. 

For this one I really enjoyed playing with layering stamps, ink, pigment powders and tissue paper. I loved the yellow streak running through the page and this is what gave the inspiration for the text. To me the page has a warmth and feels quite happy and relaxed.

Finally this one, done in my small journal, is a bright warm very happy page about my recent family holiday to Crete. It was the best holiday we have ever had, we all had such a good time. The holiday was to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary (we went to Crete for our honeymoon) and it couldn't have been better. It was a memory I had to journal about! The colours have a warm glow to them and the image is my youngest daughter paddling in the sea.

I hope you enjoyed these pages, I will be back with more very soon!

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

Finished Painting

Hello All,

Just a quick post to share with you my completed 'painting from nature'

I am really pleased with how it has turned out and I think I have managed to capture the texture, patterns and colours of the stone. I think the painting and stone work best together so I will be getting them framed  side by side. This has inspired to make a series of these with different textures from nature, perhaps all stones or I could include leaves, tree bark etc.

Anyway I hope you like it. This week I am back to my altered book journal....more on this to follow.

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

Starting my new commission.

Hello All,

This weekend I managed to get quite a bit done. I finished the journal a friend had asked me to make for mothers day. And made a heart shaped journal as part of February's art swap (I will post photos at a later date) I also started on the first of three commissioned abstract mixed media canvasses:

This is the first layer of one of the two small canvasses and has been done with modelling paste, pigment powders and silver acrylic. 

Can't wait to get back to it and keep adding those layers!!

Bye for now! xxx

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

Finished piece and straight into a new one!

Hello All,

I finished my canvas! After much deliberation I decided to keep it abstract. I have decided I am obviously into an abstract phase. I am loving playing with colour and texture and seeing where it takes me and when browsing instagram/google etc. it is definitely abstract that has been inspiring me recently.

Here is the finished piece:

I have enjoyed getting my teeth into this one so much and was quite sad when I decided it was finished.... so I immediately started another!

I am really enjoying this one and especially like the glass bead texture gel I have added to the circles, which look fantastic with the light bouncing off them. Like a good book I can't wait to get back to it and see where it takes me next!

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

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

Christmas pom poms and stencil play.

Hello All,

I love Christmas crafts and always try and make something new with my girls each year. This year we went a bit pom pom mad. We made ones to hang on the tree plus enough little ones to make this:

Which is now hanging on my wall :) I wrapped a picture frame and stuck the pom poms on the top. 

My eldest who is 6 has obviously inherited my love for all things creative and loves to draw all the time. She decided this year to draw me pictures to go in my advent calendar. Here a few of them:

It has been fab to find out what she has drawn each day and she has even written little notes on the back for me too! :)

Apart from all things Christmassy I have had time to play with one of my new stencils and created this background:

I used modelling paste, acrylic paint, brusho pigment powers and irridescent ink on this so far. I don't know where it is going to take me next. I felt I had to leave it a while to see where I wanted to go with it. I love the stencil though which was made for me in the last art swap. It may well become one of my favourites! 

If I don't get chance to blog before Christmas now I hope you all have a fantastic one! I for one am really looking forward to it all!

Bye for now! xxx

Quick Index Card

Hello All,

It has been busy week so far and doesn't look like it will calm down any time soon! I have only managed to do this quick mixed media index card:

The text went a bit wrong but other than that I like it. The three figures look like they mean business and so to me gave the card an impatient sort of feel, like they are chomping at the bit to get started with something. I enjoyed playing around with the background, using inks, brushos and tissue paper.

Anyway hope I get some more time this weekend to do a bit more!

Bye for now! xx

Play

Hello All!

I just got some new Daler Rowney shimmering colour inks and pigment powders and so had a quick hour having a play on the back of and old cardboard box.

I really like the vivid colours and the shimmer in both the inks and powders is really nice. You have to give the inks a good stir each time because the pigment settles at the bottom but they are lovely colours. The pigment powders are really versatile as you can mix them into paints or mediums or add water to make shimmer sprays. Definitely a good buy!

I also managed to finally make a start on the background of one of my commissions, here is what I have done so far.

Detail

It will be a portrait of a guy who is a musician, hence the music and instruments. Adding loads of texture and lots of yummy colour, can't wait to get back to it now!

Bye for now, x