"Too Often Her Head Was In the Fluffy Clouds" Canvas

Last night I felt like playing with my NeoColor (water-soluble wax pastel) crayons so I sketched out a girl on some painted book paper.  Since my extensive collection of NeoColors numbers only 7 there was a rather limited palette to work with - good thing I like shades of brown and white!!

Funny how an art project like this evolves.  With no real intention or direction when I started other than wanting to work with the crayons, I found that when the girl was finished the top of the page seemed too empty so I decided to paint in some clouds.  The caption then seemed to come naturally - "too often her head was in the fluffy clouds".

After that the thought popped up, "If a few fluffy clouds are good - MORE fluffy clouds will be better!!" The result being the two smaller canvases.  I really like how all three pieces work together to make one large composite piece.  Makes me wonder now how many of the artistic works that I really admire had lots of forethought and planning in their creation or just "kinda happened"?
Linking to Artists in Blogland - Show and Tell Saturday #17.

Nature is Art - Art Journal page

Last Friday, Roni, Laura and I got together to have a little crafty time.  We watched a couple drawing videos and then decided to draw poppies.  Roni and Laura then proceeded to draw/color/paint beautiful realistic poppies!!  Gorgeous poppies.  I took a different approach - 

Since my drawing skills are rudimentary at best I decided to make a "grid" and fill it with a variety of items in case I hated my poppy.  The paper I had was not conducive to watercoloring at all - See how crinkly it became!  In the end though I was pleased with my efforts and added my sketch to my ever growing art journal.  It won't be long before it is full.
Be sure and read this great post that Julie Fei-Fan Balzer wrote about art journaling!!   - Let Go of Expectations.
Linking to - Balzer Designs: Art Journal Every Day and Just Journals Link Party.

West Elm Inspired Art Journal page

The January Challenge for Artists in Blogland is SOUL.  I thought about the things that give me joy and top among them are beautiful flowers.

A West Elm bedspread offered my first inspiration coupled with this great quote from Eleanora Duse -

"If the sight of blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the field has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive."

Linking up to Just Journals Link Party.

Art Journal - Leaves

Decided to try my hand at drawing/watercoloring some leaves.  I've only ever watercolored on actual watercolor paper but this time I painted directly into my journal.  A thick layer of GOLDEN Absorbent Ground allows your watercolors to soak into regular or gessoed paper.  Cool!

Very different from painting on watercolor paper but was a fun experience.  The ground gave a fun texture that wouldn't have been there otherwise.
Linking up to Just Journals Link Party #9 and Art Journal Every Day.

Ballpoint pen doodle -

Currently, I am enrolled in Alisa Burke's Create Daily class.  One of the things she emphasizes is that art shouldn't have to be expensive - that we should embrace and utilize everyday materials. . .

 This doodle reflects that sentiment.  It is drawn entirely in -

ballpoint pen ink.  (BTW - This pen is from a local tanning business.  Funny cause I am one of the white-est people on the planet!!  Not sure how that pen got in this house!!)
Linking to Art Journal Every Day and The Sketchbook Challenge.

"Bird with Crown" canvas

Today was a "painty" day!!  I love a "painty" day!!  Kim and I started warming up by doing Dina Wakley calisthenics which involved painting/stamping on tags and playing with patterned paper.  We decided that our theme would be "birds" -

As a twist I decided to paint my bird on a smaller canvas (4" square) and then mount that onto a larger background canvas (8" x 10").  Funky, fun dimension -

Do you agree that crowns are a good look for birds?  Jazzes up an everyday ensemble.   I had on a gray sweater today and I think that a crown/tiara would've been the perfect finishing touch. . .
Supplies included Martha Stewart and Golden acrylic paints, old book paper, Tim Holtz Tissue tape, A Muse Washi tape, spray inks, stencils, canvases, cardstock and rub-ons.
Linking up to Artists in Blogland - Show and Tell Saturday #17.

Favorite Crafty posts of 2011 -

While stamping will continue to be one of my favorite loves, I've been discovering a love of other crafty venues in the past year.  Here are some of my favorites posts and some of my new favorite artists:

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - She is an amazing artist and is the main reason that I decided to delve into art journaling.  She is a wonder with watercolors and the cover of my journal is a tribute to her bright cheery works (btw - my art journal is made from a composition notebook - I was too intimidated to try "creating" in  something that I had paid real money for but since this was only $1 - why not?)

Tangling - I remember watching lots of tangle videos on YouTube and being amazed at how gorgeous the works are - believe it or not it is easier then you may think.  I've printed my favorite patterns and put them in clear sleeves in a binder for reference.  This is a canvas I made to showcase one of my small tangles - here is a link to the largest one I've made.

Donna Downey - Her Inspiration Wednesday videos are such a treat!!  She is comfortable in so many mediums and is at the forefront of all new trendy things like PanPastels.  My poppy page was definitely influenced by her love of this flower.

This page makes me happy because it was it was totally me - the pattern on a favorite skirt inspired a page that even turned into a card.

Amigurumi - In my younger years I crocheted a lot - made little animals, afghans, potholders, etc.  Decided to give crocheting a whirl again with an amigurumi doll for my niece.  Got the free pattern here and am wondering now how we crocheted without the magic adjustable ring??!!

Alisa Burke - Her "peek inside my sketchbook" posts are fabulous and inspired this art journal page that I had turned into a canvas for the wall.  I just won a place in her current class - Create Daily - it starts today.  WHOO HOO!

Fabric owls - My cousin, Selena, is an owl lover so when we saw one in Books a Million it inspired a parliament of owls made from supplies I had on hand.

Coptic Handbound Art Journal - Now that my composition notebook is almost full I'm ready to start work in the handmade book I made with my friend, Kim.

Christy Tomlinson - I've taken both of her SheArt classes this year and I've learned so much.  Her videos are entertaining and informative.  Because of her I can draw a person now - go figure. . .

Carla Sonheim - Her book, Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists, is a great starting point for making fun projects and inspired my watercoloring in the car.

2011 has been a pretty creative year for me - branching out and trying new things is really fun!!