Three Spring Chicks

Since Spring is supposed to be here where I live in the Pacific Northwest…

I created these three Spring Chicks:

Maybe you’d like to see my creative process for today’s weird Wednesday birds.

I started with a watercolor background and pulled out some of its colors with paint sample cards.  The name of the paint sample for yellow was “Forsythia” which gave me the idea of Spring flowers!  And since Easter was last Sunday… I thought of baby chicks!

 

I looked up baby chicks on the internet for a reference.  Then I tore scrapbook paper for their bodies, cut old painted maps for their beaks and used three of the paint sample cards for their Spring hats.  I drew their feet with pencils.

I added some pencil shading, black pen for their eyes with white highlights and Posca paint pens for dots on their hats.  I used music notes for patches of flowers.

As I was writing, Happy Spring… I misspelled the word, “Spring” so I just cut the word out of the background and added the word, “Day!” (No reason to fuss…)

I created a few “Spring” flowers with more paint sample cards to complete my piece.  And added a sprinkle of buttons:

HAPPY DAY to you, no matter the weather or season!

Cheers! 🙂

Be Still, Jill

I remember being told to be still, Jill when I was a child!  Oh, is that possible? Lol! 😉

Maybe if I was given a crayon and an assignment to draw!

I started a new online class this week with Lynn Whipple – hosted by Carla Sonheim, called, “The Essence of Still Life.”

Lynn brings such positive energy to her classes.  I know I will learn so much!

I hope you enjoyed these colorful drawings I did!

They were super fun with water soluble crayons!

Cheers! 🙂

YOU Can Be…

Just think of the possibilities…

If you started your day,

Being AWESOME!!  🙂

When Charlie at Doodlewash.com had an art prompt to create patterns in watercolor on March 3rd, I couldn’t resist!

So I got out my Ecoline Watercolor markers – which Charlie was giving away last summer on his blog (I won a few to try, pretty awesome I must say!) and I just started drawing:

 

Drawing colorful patterns, just makes me FEEL awesome, how about you?

Yesterday, I decided to cut out letters on the back side of my paper:

I forgot that I had to reverse the “S” but no big deal, I just cut out another one!

After I cut the letters out, I glued them into my journal and added some flowers with my hand painted papers.  Note:  You can’t see the cut into the center of the flowers or letters when you cut one continuous line into the center.

I had some text on my collage table and found this text, which made a perfect flower center:

 

I was thinking this would make a fun card for a friend by adding a special message inside a flower!

I outlined my letters and flowers with a black Micron pen and a little pencil shading to make them pop, as you can see with my photo on the right below:

 

Part of my inspiration for my lettering was the cover of Uppercase Magazine:

Be AWESOME today!

Cheers! 🙂

January’s Square Project

I decided to try a color scheme for January’s Square Project.  I used the colors from the thread and brayer technique that I shared with you here; A Daily Creative Practice

The color scheme with the threads is the left photo above.  The photo on the right is copy paper that I blotted my stencils on but I liked it so I used it too.

I decided to stencil the background paper before I added my squares.  I mixed two fluid acrylic paint colors together and used a damp sponge to apply the paint:

I connected the new paper to the December piece by overlapping them and glueing them together with Matte gel medium.  I reinforced the back with paper strips too.

Next, I glued my squares with Elmer’s extra strength glue stick:

It is looking busy so I added some circles to help focus your eyes on a random pattern:

I added stenciled flowers in pink on rice paper and a snowflake rubber stamp in blue to some of the circles.

I felt the blue snowflakes were a little bright, so glued deli paper over them to soften the image.

I also added circles of the thread pattern to the pink and white circles and finished them with a small pink circle that I stamped a circular pattern on:

I’m calling this design done! 😉

I wrote notes about about it in my square journal yesterday:

I learned a lot on this one.  I think a more solid color for the squares would have been better.  It is a little busy.  I decided that not every month is going to be a success.

Now that I have gotten one month completed, I am ready to think about February.

I hope to find some insights in this book I purchased from Amazon:

Cheers! 🙂

 

 

This Little “Star” Of Mine

I remember singing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…” As a child attending Sunday school at church.

This song surfaced in my memory when I was making this paper collage recently.  I find the process of cutting squares and circles and placing them together on a piece of paper (like a puzzle) to be very relaxing.

I created this collage with “Christmas” colors and added a star to one of the circles:

I suppose this is a way of letting my creative “light” shine!

And even with the busyness of the holidays…

I hope you will find time to shine as bright as a star!

Cheers! 🙂

P.S. I created the last photo with an app called, “Layout” on my iPad.

Save Room For Pie!

Even if you aren’t celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday…

I hope you have a slice of pie!  🙂

What is your favorite kind of pie?

Here is a list of my favorites – not in any order:

1. Chocolate cream
2. Key Lime
3. Huckleberry
4. Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake (it is kind of a pie!) 😉
5. Pumpkin
6. Cherry
7. Apple
8. Mixed Berry

I hope you “share” your favorite with me!

Cheers! 🙂

Watercolor Doodles

Lately, I have been inspired by Sharon, Make Art Magic Happens who has been creating some wonderful patterns in watercolor…

To create my colorful doodle in watercolor and watercolor pencils:

Thank you, Sharon for your daily inspiration!! 🙂

If you aren’t familiar with Sharon’s art, I do hope you check out her blog!

Happy Friday!

Cheers! 🙂

New Collage Paper Series

Paper collage is one of my FAVORITE art mediums!!

I thought it would be fun to show you how I create some of my own papers AND ways YOU can use collage in your art.

I hope you join in the fun each Thursday! 

Today’s collage paper is a random pattern I created with markers on a 9 x 12 inch sheet of 90 lb paper.  I used Uni Posca pens in this design:

Next, I copied my design on my HP All-In-One Printer that I recently purchased on sale for only $200! It is a HP 8720 – I have to say, very EASY to use AND it makes awesome color copies!

Can you tell which is the original and the copy?

I think the copy is on the right! Lol! 😉

Making color copies of my own artwork is one of my favorite ways to create collage material.  It seems so easy and it is!!

Next Thursday, I will show an example of how I used this copy of my patterned paper in my artwork.

I hope you join me!

Cheers!  🙂

 

Elbows Off The Table

I remember as a child when I was eating dinner with my family, my sister and I were constantly reminded to have proper “table manners” and keep our elbows off the table!  😉

Funny how some of these memories come back to me when I’m writing this blog…

I was thinking about this collage I created yesterday with what I had on my art table in front of me.

It was done quickly.

Probably in less than 10 minutes.

(And probably with my elbows on the table… Good thing I wasn’t eating! Lol!)

What’s on your art table?

What inspires you to create carefree without thinking?

I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

And The Materials Are…

I wanted to show you the collage materials that went into making my weird bird from yesterday:

Did you guess ALL 10 materials?  Well, if not, let me help you out!

1.  I started my bird collage with a word from this children’s dictionary for my bird’s body.  It started me thinking about a sewing theme.

2.  I altered pages from this old sewing book with acrylics before using it as part of the bird’s tail and nest materials.

3.  I color copied a doodle I did previously and cut it up for my bird’s hat.

4.  I used my gelli-printed deli papers for my bird’s head, wing and nest materials.

5.  A paint sample card for the bird’s eye but I didn’t like the yellow color so I turned it over and used the other side with the bar code!

6.  An old button was perfect for the top of the hat.

7.  A sequin for the eye.

8.  Old sheet music that I gelli-printed for the base of the nest.

9.  Swedish Tracing Paper that I had gelli-printed a feather stencil – this tracing paper feels more like a fabric.  It is a super fun material to collage with BTW!  I think I purchased it on Amazon.  It comes in a large roll.  I used it under the bird’s body for the nest.

10.  Tissue from an old dress pattern was used over the sheet music for the nest – a fun element of surprise. 😉

I usually use a glue stick to glue everything down and outline my bird with pencil to give it a little dimension.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the FUN I put into this BEST Dressed Bird!

Cheers! 🙂