Day 4 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I'm having to blog in the evenings due to work.  Today's painting is an abstract on 5 x 7 inch canvas board.  I had some odd paint in my collection I think it may be fabric paint but I'm not sure as they are those little pots which come as a group and I seem to have mislaid the cover.  The reason I'm thinking they are fabric paint is because they are tacky to when touched.  Anyway I'll probably paint over it again at some point but for now I'll leave it to see if it "untacks" itself.

I could actually try an acrylic sealant to see if that helps.  I also wanted to add some black to make parts stand out.  Pop over to Leslie Saeta's blog for more eye candy.

Catch you tomorrow.

Anita

FITW - Face In The World Collaboration

Starting another FITW (face in the world) collaboration with 4 other artists. This is how I have started mine. This will travel to each of the other 3 artists who will add to the face and when it come back to me it will be a complete face. Looking forward to the journey as we all work on each others faces.

100 Happy Days Challenge Day 4

Who needs chocolate when you have cheese?  I love cheese and would choose it over any sweet dessert.  I bought this goats cheese from one of the regular stall holders at Altrincham market.  I also bought a creamy cheese wrapped in thistle leaves but I'll post that on another day.  In the meantime here is my plate of rather gooey goats cheese and poppy seed crackers.  #100happydays 

What is 100 Happy Days Challenge? You can find all the details here.

What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday #285

Goodness I can't believe I haven't blogged since last week - time flies when you're busy having fun creating new items to sell.   Time for WOYWW again and this week on my desk is the finished painting I've made for Flood the Streets with Art  and the usual mish mash of coloured pencils, acrylic paints, brushes and a very dirty jar of water.

Want to know what WOYWW is all about then pop on over to the Stamping Ground where the lovely Julia will explain all.

The finished painting

This is how it would look framed  I'll be leaving it unmounted/framed and let the finder decide what or how they want to display it.

Well I'm off to visit some desks and see what other artists are sharing.

Thank you to everyone who visits mine and takes the time to leave a comment it really is appreciated.

Anita

What's On Your Work Desk? Wednesday 284

Here we go again with another look at WOYWW - want to know more and how to participate?  Then pop over to the Stamping Ground where Julia will explain all.

My desk this morning consists of a painting I'm trying to finish for the Flood the Street with Art project - find out more about that and how you can take part on the face book page.  This is how I left it last night after adding black outlines around the flowers and painting the cogs green in the center of each flower - they were stenciled in using texture paste.  To the left there is a female figure cut out and painted in black which is now made up into an altered clothes pin (made this morning while my computer had a hissy fit).  Sitting on the handle of the pots at the back you can see the two dress altered clothes pins I made yesterday.

The finished clothes pin "Don't forget me"

That's it from me I'm off to see what everyone has on their desks

Anita

What's On Your Work Desk? Wednesday - Gelli Art Prints

It's time for some WOYWW - What's on your work desk Wednesday.  You can read all about it here on Julia's blog the Stamping Ground.

This photograph was taken yesterday (Tuesday) and it's still that way now.  I had an afternoon of painting and pulling prints with my gelli plate.  I only have the one size and it just fits neatly into the space where I make stuff hehehe sounds very techie doesn't it?  But you know what I mean.  I have a large desk but only a small space to create in - nice and cosy.  

Anyway what you can see on my desk are the prints I made using the Gelli art plate.  I'm finding it very addictive and have to be strict with the time I spend with it - it's like having a creative relationship haha.  I've used some of the new goodies I bought from hobby craft on Sunday (I'd only popped in for some white envelopes).  

These prints will be used as part of a Christmas card project I am involved in for a company in London and will be part of a blog post - the 12 days of Christmas.  I'm really drawn towards the print on the right hand side of the photograph.  You can just see the colours on the first print and I've purposely hidden the rest of the image as it was the first one I pulled and I really love how it's turned out and will feature in my little project.

Gelli art prints

My goodies from Sundays visit to Hobby Craft

(the envelopes were on the other table).

Right I'm off to grab a cup of tea and heading over to the Stamping Ground to have a nosey around what everyone else has on their work desks.

Anita

Create Art Every Day November Day 2

So it's day 2 of the create art every day challenge hosted by Leah over at Creative Every Day .  

I've worked a little bit more on the painting I started yesterday for Flood the Street with Art project.  I'm at the messy untidy stage where everything looks flat and has no texture or interesting sections.  I haven't planned this one in how it should look when finished I'm going to let it develop on it's own.  

The messy untidy stage day 2

From Day 1 the start of the painting

Anita

Another Gelli Print- Dark over Light

Yesterday Gelli Arts released a tutorial for printing dark over light and it involved letting the paint dry before adding the final layer of black.  I'm loving playing with the gelli plate but I don't like rushing and pulling the print while the paint is still wet as I find you can't control the design as much as I'd like to.  The other thing I like about this new technique is that you can really build the design in stages and maybe a little bit more refined - maybe I just like being in control.

Anyway here is what I did this evening.  It's not very detailed as I didn't have much time but I did enjoy the process and next time I'll give myself more time to plan out the design.

Ha yes I do have a messy desk and not so much space to work in but I like it like that.  

Anita 

#blogtoberfest14 day 17

Diwali Festival of Lights

#blogtoberfest14  day 16 - This time next week most Hindus all over the world will be celebrating Diwali - The Festival of Lights - I say most as not all Hindus celebrate Diwali as I found out when I was working out there a few years ago and depending on which part of India you are from Diwali is celebrated for different reasons.  

In the Gujarat where my family are from, the festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth - new businesses are also started at this auspicious time.  Diya's or lamps are lit in every household so that the Goddess Lakshmi will find her way to each house to give her blessings.  Another reason to celebrate is the return of Lord Ram and his wife Sita from an exile of 14 years.  You can read more about Diwali here.  

I haven't made any specific cards this year but I think my Gelli print OM designs can be made into cards and are suitable for the occasion.  I know many of the commercial cards depict images of the gods and goddesses and some of my family have mentioned that they would prefer to get something a little bit different.  

These are the original Gelli prints and below are the 2 cards I made by printing onto mat photo paper.

Anita

Gelli Prints

Day #13 of #blogtoberfest14 

Gelli printing is the rage at the moment with the endless possibilities of creating unique one off background prints.  You can cut them up, to use in your art work, journaling pages, bookmarks, gift tags the list is endless. I used a mix of rubber stamps, cut out stencil block shapes, the owl greeting card which I bought from Paperchase and a cocktail stick. My paint of choice was Liquitex acrylic paints.

The top 2 prints are made on glossy photo paper and the larger pieces below are made on copy paper.

More about #blogtoberfest14 can be found over on Shells in the Bush

Anita

Travelling Journal

Phew what a busy week it's been.  I've had a day out just for me then a day out with some ladies for a networking lunch, Saturday I went to the Stitch and Craft Fair in Manchester and today I added my page to a travelling journal.  

What is a travelling journal?  We are a group of ladies from all corners of the world (UK, USA, Germany) who are collaborating in each others journal.  The idea is to make a piece of art in each others journals by posting them to each other over a course of a couple of weeks - in an ideal world this would work perfectly but as we are reliant on our postal system to get the journals safely to their next destination it we have had a few hiccups along the way but this has added to the experience.

Our journals measure 5 x 7 inches everyone has sent a page to be worked on by each member of the group.  Some have made specific requests, some have given an idea of what they would like to have for example their favourite colours.  But the main focus is to put our own mark on the journal.

Here are some of the pages I've worked on.

Anita

I'm linking up with Handmade Monday and Creative Mondays  I hope you'll pop over to these lovely blogs and see what other crafters are getting up to.

Last Week Of The Summer Of Colour 4 Challenge

The last 6 weeks have been great fun and definitely challenging - for me last weeks colours were most certainly difficult but I managed to make something with the colour palette.  

This weeks colours were one of my favourites Raspberry, Tangerine and a dash/splash or yellow.  I decided to go with another heart theme again this week as I've been working on some heart art for my trip to Rochester NYC in August.  It's not very big - approx 3 inches.  I'd just like to thank Kristin from Twinkle, Twinkle Like A Star for hosting a fabulous challenge and I'm sad that it's ended but will look forward to the next one. 

Oh and before I sign off a quick yay to me for winning last weeks prize from the challenge.  I didn't even realise until a couple of the girls pointed it out to me.  I'm having it sent to a friend in California who will then bring it to Rochester with her in August.  I can't wait to play with them.  Thank you again Kristin.

This weeks colours - Raspberry, Tangerine and Yellow

My heart art - Only a question of time.

The goodies I won 

Here all 6 together

Pink, Apple Green and Dark Green

This post brings me up to date with the Summer of Colour 4 challenge which is being run by Kristin over on Twinkle Twinkle Like A Star 

The colours for this week is Pink, Apple Green and a splash, splosh dash or Dark Green.  I really like this colour combination and is one of my favourites.  The image I used was from Paint My Photo.  I really liked the shape of the fallen palm leaf.  I hadn't started this as an abstract but that is exactly what it has turned into if a little bit alien.  I have it sitting on my wall as I write this and I keep looking at it wondering where and how my mind was working whilst I worked this painting.  I guess sometimes you just have to let the unconscious mind take over.

Colours for week 4 Pink, Apple Green and Dark Green

This is the image I used a Fallen Palm Leaf by Andrea Muller 

 

Here is my version of the fallen palm leaf.

Abstract Art From Photographs

I'm a week behind with the Summer of Colour 4 a colour challenge at Twinkle Twinkle Like a Star.  This post is for week 3. 

The colours for week 3 were Lavender, Grey and a dash of Plum.  For a change I thought I would try water colour pencils on a 6 x 6 inch wrapped canvas a change to my usual mixed media paper.  I found it interesting to work with not sure I'd use water colour pencils again but it was a good experience.  The image I've used is from Paint My Photo a site which allows you to use the photographs as reference for your artwork without worrying about copyright issues if you want to sell your work.  The image I used was of a Halgon lamp and laminator which had been photographed and adjusted - you can see the details here of how this was done.

This is the image I used by Barbara Tester 

and this is my interpretation.

Catching Up - Photo Heavy

It's been a busy week with lots of new artwork made for trade, to sell and collaborations.  Those of you who have been following me for some time will know my passion for challenges especially if they are art related.  Why do I join these challenges and put myself through the stress of coming up with something that would be acceptable?  Well it's mostly to stretch myself and see if I can make something outside of my comfort zone.

So my latest challenge started last week on Twinkle Twinkle Like A Star (also see my previous post) called Summer of Colour 4.  I came across this on facebook (as you do) and I knew I had to join.  The colour challenge last week was Aqua, Yellow with a dash of Pink.  

The first photograph shows what I did initially but I wasn't happy with it as it just needed 'something'.  The second photograph is the finished piece.  I'm much happier with that version.  I can't wait to see what this weeks colours are going to be. 

  

1st Version

Finished piece

Finished piece but upside down - I like it this way up or should that be down :)

The other items I made are some Artist Trading Cards for trading in a swap I am hosting at a gallery in Altrincham Manchester UK.  I'm a volunteer there and have been given the grand title of ATC coordinator.  I've found that ATC's are not so widely known in the UK and not something that is known in the art industry - the concept of "trading" art is not understood and 'artists' don't seem to be able to grab the concept.  I think it's a great way of owning an original piece of artwork and the best thing is it is open to everyone and doesn't require lots of expensive tools.

Here are a couple of the ATC's I made this weekend.  The one in the middle I made into a Father's Day card for my dad as they are the perfect size to put onto a card.

And finally I'll leave you with a picture of a canvas I finished this week.  It's not very big and the colour is more minty green than blue/green.  The hearts and 'follow your heart' are both made with air drying clay.

Apologies for the long post but I wanted to do a catch up.  I promise my next post won't be as long.  Hope you've all had a good weekend.

I'm linking this post to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour and Creative Monday's it's been a while since I participated in any blog hops.

Aqua Blue, Yellow And A Splash Of Hot Pink

Here it is the first colour combinations for the Summer of Colour 4 Challenge.  Aqua Blue, yellow and Pink.  The 2 main colours are aqua blue and yellow with the 3rd being an accent as either a splodge, splash or as in my piece drawing the eye to the centre of the picture.

This is still a work in progress as there's just a little too much of the yellow for my liking.  Not quite sure where I'm going with it yet but it will be interesting to see the end result.

Aqua Blue, Yellow. Pink

My work in progress. 

If you'd like to join in the fun why not pop over to Twinkle Twinkle Like A Star 

3 Eyed Green Monster

Since the 29 Faces Challenge finished I've had a bit of a withdrawal week or 2.  However I've joined in with a daily drawing thread over on ATCsForAll and this weeks challenge is to draw Halloween monsters or Autumn scenery.  The challenge starts on a Thursday so we have the weekend to draw something.  There are no prizes and you don't have to draw everyday.  It's a group of people who want to practice their drawing skills, get feedback and generally get support and encouragement and most importantly have FUN.

For my card I drew (or attempted to) a monster but I think it's more of a cute monster than a scary monster.  Its painted with Polychromo pencils with a hint of white acrylic paint.  The background was coloured using Pro-markers.

Here's my monster with her 3 Eyes.

Have a great weekend

Anita

Working With Fimo Air Dry Clay

I've been playing with Fimo air dry clay today I've not used this before and found it to be quite 'wet'.  I used a Teflon sheet to roll it out but it still stuck it.  I think I need to either add some oil or corn flour onto the surface before rolling.  

I found it too wet for using with the molds as well - they didn't lift out as easily as other clays I've used in the past (elephant and key) - maybe if I left it out to 'dry' for half hour it would work better.

I did however like to mold it in my hands (hearts).  I found it malleable and easy to use.  

These will be painted with acrylic paint once they are dry and if I like the final result I will be making some more of the hearts to take to Arizona in January for ARTzona where a group of talented artists will gather for a weekend of art, art and more art. 

Oh and I used a cookie cutter for the gingermen - they are a trial run for a swap over on ATCsforAll called 'twisted Christmas .  Not sure I'll be using these as I have another idea using felt to make them with.

I'm linking these to Handmade Monday over on the Handmade Harbour blog. 

Have a great week.

Anita

Accordion Card

I've been wanting to make one of these cards for some time now and finally I had the the time today to sit down and play.  The idea and design isn't new to me it's just that I've not made one in a long time.  Don't you think it would make a lovely Valentines gift?  

I made this lovely lady again as she always proves popular when I make her.

Purple Butterflies

I love butterflies!!!  They are so pretty and delicate.I made this card with two of my favourite rubber stamps.  I have many butterfly stamps but I keep going back to these two.  I've embossed the cluster of butterflies directly onto the base card -you can just about see them.  The tag has the same cluster of butterflies and the larger single butterfly has been stamped, cut out, glittered and wired.