My April Square Project…

My April Square Project is running into May…

Yet, I’m OK with it – don’t sweat the small stuff, right?! 😉

I finally got my watercolor painting completed that I showed you the other day; you can find its beginnings here:  Art As Meditation

Last night I cut it up!  Don’t worry, it was intentional:

This time I cut larger squares and circles to add variety to my monthly project.  (See A Square Project under my categories on the right of this screen).

Next week, I hope to show you my completed collaged piece.

Until then, I’m going to have fun taking photos of these shapes… they are like a puzzle!

And if they don’t all make it into a collage, perhaps they will become part of something else?!

What would YOU do with them?

Happy Friday!

Cheers! 🙂

Art As Meditation

I find creating art can be a form of meditation, especially watercolor.

I started this experiment drawing random circles and squares using Stabilo water-soluble pencils and Faber-Castel watercolor pencils.  I then drew a circular pattern with a number 2 pencil to add interest.  I’m using 140 lb cold press watercolor paper.

Next, I started filling in the outlined shapes with watercolor.

I find this is a good exercise to learn how to control my brush, experiment with color mixing and the ratio of water to paint.

Progress is slow yet steady…

Taking photos of my progress, helps me to create balance, rhythm and interest.  In the two photos above, I discovered after viewing the photo on the left, I needed to add brighter red and yellow in some areas to make them pop, as shown in the photo on the right.

This is still a work in progress, but I’m enjoying the journey of discovery…

Happy Art Making!  Cheers! 🙂

 

A March Square Project

Rather than cutting circles and squares for March’s Square Project, I decided to use my own gelli-printed paper with a circle pattern printed on it (bubble wrap).

I chose the paper weaving design that I showed you in this previous post from Helen Hiebert:  Washi Papers

And for the squares, I cut a pattern into the gelli-paper using an exacto knife to reveal more of the decorative paper.  I think it is more complicated to explain than it is to do! 😉

I like the colors in both of my papers for March…blues, greens, golds, browns and a touch of white and black.  Not my usual color combos…

Yet, they seem to play well with the other colors from December.

I wonder what colors and patterns April’s project will bring!

Cheers! 🙂

Note:  If you want to see my previous square projects, please look under the art category; A Square Project in the drop down on the right.  Thanks!

February’s Square Project

Perhaps you remember, January’s Square Project?  I am adding a section of paper collaged squares and circles each month to complete a challenge I made for myself.

Well, I had to add a little stitching to January’s section with my sewing machine, not sure that it helps but it was super fun to stitch on paper:

February’s section is less busy… phew! 😉

I used two methods I learned from Carla Sonheim’s 365 class, the scraping paint technique and text collage.  I like to take her instructions as a starting point and then take them a step further to make them my own.

Below are my notes in my art journal (please excuse the chicken scratch and word misspellings):

My completed section for February:

I think it looks so pretty, how about you?

What I liked about February’s experiments:

I haven’t had much time to pursue creating fabrics with my designs… life has been busy.  I still want to do this but looks like it will be later in the year.

I am excited to see what ideas will inspire me for March.

Cheers! 🙂

Know How To Fold ‘Em…

For some strange reason, Kenny Roger’s song, The Gambler was running through my  mind as I was preparing for today’s post.

Yes, I am aware that I changed my title a little different than the song’s lyrics. 🙂

I wanted to show you how I created the tie-dye affect with tissue paper in Tuesday’s post that you can find here, if you missed it: Swedish Tracing Paper

Below is a photo of the supplies I used:

 

I used Dr. Ph. Martin’s colored india inks, rubber bands, a water spritzer, a plastic palette and plastic gloves.

*The papers I used for today’s experiment were white tissue paper, Swedish Tracing Paper (sewn on my sewing machine) and deli paper.

First, I sprayed the tissue paper with water and folded it.  I used an accordion fold, then folded the paper in half and quarters.

 

Lastly, I wrapped a rubber band tightly around the tissue paper and added colored ink.  The plastic palette gives a place for the ink bundle to dry.

Below are my 3 bundles of the different *papers I used for this experiment:

The rubberband acts as a resist to the ink but also how the paper is folded.  I let them dry but sped up the process with a hair dryer so I could show you the results.

The tissue paper reveals a pattern of a Bleeding Heart flower to me:

The Swedish Tracing paper held more ink so I got an extra print on tissue paper:

 

Lastly, the deli paper experiment:

What I learned:

• The deli paper dries the fastest so don’t let it dry too long or I won’t be able to unfold it.
• Tissue paper is difficult to unfold wearing plastic gloves. 😉
• I like the results best when I add more than one color of ink.
• Make sure my rubber bands aren’t too old.  If they break, ink can splatter everywhere…
• Protect my surface with a piece of paper and my hands with gloves since India ink is permanent.
• Be open to the unexpected!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the results of my experiments today!  I look forward to hearing what you think.

Cheers! 🙂

P.S. Next week I will show you examples of how I used these experiments in my art.

Opposites Attract…

Opposites attract…

You say blue and I say orange,

Love is color blind…

When I was creating my hearts yesterday, I noticed how cool to match two different heart “halves” to create a whole.

It reminded me of my hubby and I… he says, “Blue,” and I say, “Orange!”  So true!! Lol! ☺️

And yet we will be married 34 years in May!  😮 Seems like just yesterday that we said, “I do!”

If you were to combine two different hearts together, what would it look like?!

Cheers! ❤️

100 Tropical Hearts

I was experimenting with acrylic paint and India ink yesterday….

And I created this tropical Flamingo by drawing with an ink dropper and then scraping acrylic paint over it:

Isn’t it wild?! 😉

I next experimented with some drips:

Then I cut this paper into strips and 100 tropical hearts:

 

I plan to use them in my art journals… what would you do with them?

I hope you have a LOVEly Monday!

Cheers! 🙂

Your Handwriting As Art – Part 1

Last weekend, I had fun using my handwriting to create collage papers.  I learned this technique from Carla Sonheim in her online class:  365 Daily Creative Practice.  

I enjoyed taking the lesson a step further and make it my own.  I started by using watercolor paper that I had previously painted.  The colors reminded me of the beach so I started writing about my memories of the ocean and the lake:

I used a black Micron .01 pen, a Uniball white and blue gel pen and a pencil.  I like the texture it created.

Next, I started with a white piece of 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  I started writing my thoughts with an orange and blue gel pen, added watercolor on top in stripes, added more writing with a black Pentel pen, added Tombow markers, more watercolor, then a blue and a green Posca pen.  I just love how the layers give it a pattern:

My next one, I used a similar process as above, except I added a gold metallic pen and I started writing messier… Super fun to write MESSY!!

In both of these, I kept turning my paper a quarter turn as I wrote.

My last experiment, I used an old advertisement in a magazine for a girdle and wrote over it with a white gel pen and a Sharpie fine black pen:

For the above piece, I wrote about my memories of girdles… thank goodness we don’t wear these anymore!! 😉

I discovered that part of the fun in creating these papers for collage is the writing.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, I will show you ideas that may inspire you to use your own handwriting in your art.

Cheers! 🙂

The Unexpected

I think one of the things I enjoy about creating collage art is the element of surprise or the unexpected like this one:

The assignment in The Collage Workbook By Randel Plowman for week four is Color Charge.  He says; “Experiment with adding color to a collage that is primarily black and white.  A few subtle strokes and bright marks can make a subdued collage really pop.”

In the above 6×6 inch collage, the postage stamp gives a pop of color as does the gelli-prints.  It also helps direct the eye throughout the piece.

In my next one on a 4×6 inch index card, I tried to add pink to make you think of lipstick shades.  The large pink circle is from a paper napkin.  I think it adds balance to the collage.

My last 6×6 inch collage is more simple and yet the red paint circles make you look at the whole collage and find something hidden:

Collage is a lot like a puzzle for me.  How can I help you look further and discover the unexpected?

I’d love to hear what you think!

Cheers! 🙂

A Donkey-Pig

I was went to target practice yesterday… with a paint brush and acrylic paint!

It was an experiment in mixing and layering opaque acrylic paints.  I started with a base of yellow, red and blue.  I mixed variations with white, gray and black paint.

Below is a sample of each one on one page:

I’m not real excited about the colors and found the exercise a bit tedious.  Yet, it was good practice with learning to use a paint brush in small spaces.

I created this donkey-pig with overlapping circles:

I learned this technique in Carla Sonheim’s 365 – Creating Art Everyday online class.

I hope you are on target for a fabulous day!

Cheers! 🙂