Monday, October 29, 2012

An Artsy Collaboration. . .

My friend Kim and I LOVE to have a crafty good time together.  She and I can spend an endless amount of time talking "artsy/craftsy" to the point of completely boring anyone nearby.  Here's an excerpt from a conversation from about four years ago.
KIM - Washi Tape is so "dreamy" - I just love it and can't wait to get my hands on some.
ME - What in the world are you talking about?  How exciting can tape be?  I think you may be a bit loony.
We all know who the loony one was!  Tape is some of the hottest crafting materials around!  Anyway - it came to us that collaborating on an art journal together would be great fun!  Kim got the above journal through Donna Downey.  Don't you just love her Inspiration Wednesday videos?  
We hemmed and hawed for some time trying to decide who would be the brave one and start the journal but then I found this great quote and I jumped in and took the plunge.  The leaf print was a good choice to start our journal since we did those together.
Partnership is another word for collaboration and it wasn't until I was sticking the letters down that I realized that ART is right in the middle.  How cool is that?! - I emphasized that word by peeling off the top layer of sticker.  I don't know how long it will take us to fill this journal but I do know that we will have fun doing it!!
Linking to Creative Every Day

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Artists in Blogland interview -

Go figure - guess who is Creatively Featured this week at Artists in Blogland?!!  Come check it out!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Mermaid Girl -

Look - a mermaid!  I realize now in retrospect that her tail should have been further down towards the bottom of the page.  Since this was my first mermaid I will chalk it up to lack of experience with having a tail.  This is what the husband had to say:
COREY - "Looks like she just got assaulted by a tuna." 
The colors were inspired by the current Play Date Cafe Challenge.
ME (matter of factly) - "She sure is green."
COREY (patiently) - "That's because she is young."
I do love all the shimmer the gold paint adds to her hair - what, though, if you want to seal her face to prevent another mishap of her falling into some water on the kitchen table and smearing all the black (that was NOT a good experience)!
 VOILA - Just make a paper mask and seal her face - leaving all the shimmery details intact!
Quote by Daniel J. Boorstin
Linking to Paint Party Friday,

Thursday, October 25, 2012

2nd Floor Challenge - White Cardstock

This gal is the latest resident in my art journal.  She is sketched with NeoColor Crayons - straight up - no water used to dilute the color and has washi tape and torn corrugated cardboard accents.
My favorite touch, however, comes from the glass beads - can you see how luminescent they are?  Love the texture they add. . .
 I applied with a palette knife directly onto the paper but an old credit card or even a scrap of cardboard would do the same thing.  
The current 2nd floor challenge is to use white cardstock which isn't that much of a stretch for me but the addition of two types of texture and not adding any other shading was a bit out of my comfort zone.  She has a rather unfinished look to her that I find pleasing . . .

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Illustration Friday - SKY

This week's Illustration Friday theme is SKY.  I found a great quote by Frederick L. Knowles: 
The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.
Night Girl was sketched with pencil and colored with Neo-Color crayons.  Look closely at the moon - see how sparkly it is.  A Gelli Roll Sparkle Pen added that fabulous shimmer.  
The sky was painted directly into my art journal with a few pieces of painters tape blocking off a border.  I've started collecting Adirondack Acrylic Paint in the Dabbers which made really fast work of painting the blue (Denim) without any mess or paintbrushes.  The dabber also left the fun textural look of the sky.  Stars were added with flicks of white paint.
Linking to Creative Every Day.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

An ode to Autumn. . .

Autumn is here!!  This is my favorite season - the hues are so rich/vibrant and the air is crisp.
 This art journal layout is a my ode to fall.
The page started with random strips of washi and masking tape covered with a light layer of gesso.  
Stabilo pencil, acrylic paint and Neocolor crayons form the trees.
Linking to Paint Party Friday,

Monday, October 15, 2012

FTL212, LIM89, Embellish Magazine Paint Challenge

Looky!  I made a card!!  Go figure. . .
Sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping (FTL212).  Colors and use of paint from Embellish magazine.  The theme of WINGS comes from Less is More.
FROGTAPE leaves a clean edge for painting.  A bit of Smash tape along the bottom adds fun polka-dots.
Sentiment and embossed butterfly were made with supplies from A Muse.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Illustration Friday - WATER

 This week's Illustration Friday inspiration word is WATER.
This inspiring quote is from Edwin Louis Cole.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Call the Midwife -

I understand that the name of this post may be a bit misleading - never fear - there is no need for a midwife for the Mathey family.  "Call the Midwife" is the name of the BBC series I started watching recently on PBS. I have a love of all things "baby" and a love of all things "British" so it makes for smashing viewing!
 
This girl is my sad attempt at one of the main characters from the show - it is also my first attempt to draw someone who is real and not just straight from my imagination.  
Me - "Corey, Do you think this looks like Jenny Lee
 from Call the Midwife?"
Corey - "I guess so. . . (long dramatic pause)
 What is Call the Midwife?"
Started with the basic silhouette and her lips - they always seem easier than the eyes! 
 I was trying to add some shadowing around the top of her nose but it made her look like she had a shadowy "unibrow" - not the look I was going for but in the end I was happy with how she turned out.
I will leave you with the angle I always love the most - upside down.  My girls always seem to look better from this vantage point.
Linking to Art Journal Every Day and

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Illustration Friday - MIRROR

Life is like a mirror
We get the best results when we smile at it
The Illustration Friday topic for this week is MIRROR.  
Took a big step in my art journal and painted directly into it - I'm usually pretty chicken about that - at least 90% of the time I draw/sketch/paint on another piece of paper and collage it into my journal. Started with a funky background then
started in on the girl - I've painted enough that this stage doesn't faze me anymore - I know that it will eventually get better. . .
Pretty fun that the background paint resulted in two different colored eyes.
Linking to Creative Every Day.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Napkin Girl

Girl with "anaconda neck" (per Caleb) sketched on a McDonald's napkin with a ballpoint pen.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

PDCC152 - Splash of Purple

"He loved her for her gallantry and her calm composure in the face of the dangerous uproar."
 Now you know why this girl has such a serious expression - it isn't everyday that you have to deal with a dangerous uproar!
 Colors are courtesy of the Play Date Cafe - Black, White with a splash of Purple.
Linking to Paint Party Friday and

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Illustration Friday - BOOK

This week's theme at Illustration Friday is BOOK.  I love books - love to read them, love to create with them.  When I was young it was rare to see me without a book in my hand - I was even in the Nancy Drew book club and it was a happy, happy mail day when my book would arrive!!  Therefore, BOOK seemed like a simple concept until I sat down to make something and was stumped - gave it a few days and came up with the idea to make a literal book in my art journal - from book paper!
When you open the book you see a great quote from C. S. Lewis and a girl who may be a character from within the book or perhaps she is the reader of the book - your choice!
She is colored with Copics and has fun hair or is it a turban - once again, your choice!!