A Bevy of Beetles. . .

The bugs are done!!  A bounteous bevy of beautiful beetles - - - (do you like my alliteration?)

Finished up with a red bug for dad - it is his favorite color. . .

All that is left now is to frame them up and deliver them. . .

Linking to Creative Every Day and
The Art is a Way Project

Beetle #5 - Orange/Olive

Bugs/beetles were getting drawn and painted around here pretty often until I started thinking about how mom wanted to hang them in the new office and then I kinda freaked out about how I wanted them to be really good and then froze up completely. . . Didn't draw a bug for over a month. . .

Hate when that happens!!  Finally, tonight I just sat myself down, had a little pep-talk with myself and drew a new bug.  This one is courtesy of Vintage Printable (lots of dowloadable vintage images - be sure and check this site out) and is labeled on the page "Orange Bugs with Spots" - obviously this one is sans spots but perhaps it is a female?? 

In a completely different direction, here is my first attempt at a 3/4 face.  Needs work but is a step toward making more difficult faces.  

Linking to Art Journal Every Day,
Artists in Blogland and

Paint Party Friday.

My attempt at Jane Davenport's style

Earlier this year mom generously gifted me the funds to take the Jane Davenport Supplies Me! class.  Never having taken art in school, this class has been invaluable in teaching so many different supplies and how to use them.  Jane is a hoot and her laughter and methods of teaching are great!

This girl came after watching one of the 15 (yes, 15!) videos in Marvelous Markers week.  Her face is totally colored with Copic Markers -

While she has serious proportion issues (hello?  what is up with that nose?) I was happy that I had not used a pencil sketch to start - just drew right onto the paper like Jane does. . .

Used one of my new paints from Blick for the blue background and then a wash of watercolor for her hair.  BTW - that entire mess has been neatly put away. . . It may be 4:30pm and I may still be sitting in my jammies but I did make the bed and I did clear up - a girl must have some principles!

One of my favorite tips I've picked up from this class is how Jane colors/shades with purples and violets - not grey.   Makes a huge difference - BTW Jane is one of the teachers for Life Book 2013!!

Do you have the newest issue (January/February 2013) of Cloth Paper Scissors yet?

Here are two amazing reason to buy it. . .

The Sweet Silhouette Reader's challenge has my little paint splat bird in it!!  So thrilled to see something of mine in my favorite magazine!

Plus - Not only do I love Donna Downey (I once had a dream where I was in NYC visiting with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and we both decided to to go NC and visit Donna Downey) but look who the others members of the conversation are. . . See it??  My good friend - Kimberly Jones!!

YUP - not everyday that Kim and I have our names together in a magazine!

Graphite Girl -

Do you plan on taking Life Book 2013?  So many of my favorite instructors plus others that I am excited to learn more about.  When I signed up I purchased Tamara Laporte's Fabulous Faces class and this is my first drawing.

Started with a basic face shape and a bit of shading. . . 

One eye done and one to go. . . 

I thought she's appreciate a bit of color around her once I was finished but part of me wishes I'd just left her in grayscale.  Obviously, her hair could use a bit of attention but since my attention span is short her hair color is "white"?

We are under a blizzard warning tonight - could get several inches of snow - we'll see what happens. . .

Illustration Friday - GLOW (Deli Paper Girl)

 "When we recall the past we usually find that it is the simplest things not the great occasions that in retrospect give off the greatest GLOW of happiness."

 - Bob Hope

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is GLOW - which immediately brought the colors of a sunset to mind.

 Want an easy way to add texture?  You don't have to use the expensive mediums - just use a bit of spackle with your palette knife and a favorite stencil.

 Don't you love all the delicious texture that the spackling compound leaves behind?!

 My girl is painted on deli paper (a recent gift from Kim - love it!!) - It was surprisingly easy to paint on and is such a fun medium layered into the art journal since it basically melts into the background and almost disappears!

 Look at my new toys!  My in-laws gifted me with some $$ to use on art supplies and this is what I got. . .

Dumped them all out into a box and am tickled to have so many colors to play with - this way I have ALL the colors at one time - the ones that I use up first can be replaced with full sized tubes.

Linking to Creative Every Day.

Face Value Girl

In the absence of evidence to the contrary,

people are inclined to take you at your face value.

A conversation between me and myself:

ME - I love making squiggly lines with India Ink!

MYSELF - Of course you do - it is loads of fun!

ME - I think I will make squiggly lines directly on her face and not just her hair and the background.

MYSELF - Maybe you should rethink that idea - may be a bit too much squiggly for this girl. . .

ME - Nope!  There is no such thing as too much squiggly!

Time passes while too much squiggly is added to picture. . .

ME - Maybe I will listen to MYSELF next time!! 

Linking to Paint Party Friday and
Art Journal Every Day

She was "a badly cared-for cut flower"

"to his taste she was much too thin, though pretty in an aggressive yet tired way, like a badly cared-for cut flower"

Love these book quotes - I'd tell you which book I cut it from but I'm not sure anymore - I've gathered lots of fun passages to adorn my girls - a bit of vintage wallpaper adds  some oomph as well. . .

Linking to Creative Every Day

Illustration Friday - SNOW

 the snow began to fall again, drifting against the windows

politely begging entrance and then

falling with disappointment to the ground

 - julie maguire

 LOOK - my "new" vintage ledger - chock full of farm life in the early 1950's. . . getting a new life as an art journal - This week's Illustration Friday topic is SNOW.

It has been an especially warm winter here so far - no signs of snow yet. . .

BTW - when I first painted this page the only contrasting color was the orange was on the roof of the house - I felt as though something was missing - adding the dabs of orange to the left of the page made for a visual triangle of color that I find more visually appealing. . .

Linking to Paint Party Friday, 

Art Journal Every Day, and

Artists in Blogland

OLW118 - Snowflakes

Haven't done a One Layer Wednesday in so very long but couldn't resist the theme of SNOWFLAKES.  This very clean and simple card features one of my oldest stamps from PSX and a retired A Muse sentiment.  Gradient color has been really popular in paper crafting the past several months and it is a look easily achieved with Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers.  

Use painters tape to block off an area for your paint.  Applying the darkest color on the bottom and the lightest color on top first makes it easy to blend in your middle color for a gradual change of hue without obvious "color blocks".  I love these paint dabbers cause there is nothing to clean up!!

Heat embossing the snowflake adds a bit of shimmer to this very simple card.  This stamp is special to me since it was used on the very first card I ever had published.

Back in 2007 this card appeared in The Stamper's Sample Catch-Up issue.  Such a thrill to see my name in print

Illustration Friday - EXPLORE

Quote from Georgia O'Keefe

This has been a BUSY week - haven't had a chance to draw/paint in many days!!  Hate when that happens. . .

The Illustration Friday prompt this week is EXPLORE - my girl looks as though she could use a bit of rhinoplasty. . .

Linking to Art Journal Every Day,

Sunday Sketches,

Mandarin Orange Monday, and

Creative Every Day

Illustration Friday - STRETCH

 This week's theme for Illustration Friday is STRETCH.  This girl has a stretched neck and a cool quote too - 

"Reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind; it forces you to STRETCH your own."

Stamped the quote onto her hat - stamping backwards is the technique that seems to work the best for me to get the words to fit in correctly.

 Got these stamps way back in the day at Hobby Lobby and this is my favorite ink - a true black.  So often black ink seems to be more like a dark purple.  One word of warning - if you stamp on top of paint it can take some time for this ink to dry.  I usually hit it with my heatgun to avoid smearing. 

Linking to Creative Every Day.