Princess Stripey Nose

"Doesn't everyone paint their nose to match their crowns?" asked the self-conscious princess. . .

This girl was inspired by a pic by Brad Huck that I've had on my Pinterest for quite a while - I'm a big fan of the quirky girls!!  Check out the fun old book quote and picture I found to go with it!! 

Three things to note about this pic - 1) Bill's stripey socks match her nose, 2) What's up with that weird key hole shirt on a boy??!! and 3) Is it just me or has the doctor tied him to the chair?  Can't say that a doctor has never looked up my proboscis but he hasn't done it with some weird kinda probe!

Started with a pencil sketch. . . 

Commenced layering color with Neocolor crayons. . .

Finished by layering onto National Geographic pages that had been treated with Citra-Solv (you can read more about that adventure here) and then gluing into the old ledger art journal.

Linking to Sunday Sketches, 

Creative Every Day, 

Mandarin Orange Monday, and

Glue It Tuesday

Summer of Color (Week 3) - Lime Green and Purple

Last minute entry to the Week 3 of Summer of Color - Lime Green and Purple.

Busy, BUSY week means no time for drawing!  I had plans to do LOTS of crazy green/purple dots but gave it up about 5 minutes in - taking TOO long!   

Look at the fabulous prize pack that I won the very first week of Summer of Color!

Isn't it awesome how Kristin's little business card was the exact same colors?! 

Linking to Paint Party Friday and

Art Journal Every Day

Illustration Friday - SURVEILLANCE

My last post had no eyes - apparently I decided to make up for it with this post!  The Illustration Friday topic is SURVEILLANCE and nothing implies that more (to me) like EYES and lots of them!

Linking to Creative Every Day,

Illustration Friday, and 

Glue It Tuesday

SOC2 - Hot Pink and Orange

I am not a huge fan of pink - however, I do have an affinity for orange.  This week's color combo for the Summer of Color 3 (Week 2) is Orange and Hot Pink.  Therefore, there are several shades of orange in her hair but only one shade of pink - I only have one Magenta NeoColor crayon.  

There have been several times lately that a soft pretty pink would've come in handy - guess I will have to break down and get more colors!  Quirky book quotes and Washi tape (no, I did not buy pink Washi tape - it was part of the supplies I was given for a design commission some time back) finish up this girl that is eye-less for no particular reason.

Does it mean something creepy if you leave the eyes out?  I hope not. . .  Here are links to  a couple of my favorite cards that were made with this color combo - Bling-y Butterfly

and Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger.

Linking to Art Journal Every Day and

Paint Party Friday,

Paper Saturdays, and

Mandarin Orange Monday

PDCC186 - Touch of Nectarine

This girl was inspired by the colors from the current Play Date Cafe Challenge of - Black, White and Nectarine.

I'm particularly proud of her since she is painted directly into my ledger journal - I've only ever painted a girl directly into my journal one other time.   

I'm not a confident drawer (a person who draws - not part of a dresser) so I invariably draw/sketch on another piece of paper and then glue it in - I'm trying to be a bit braver!

A quick wash of gesso helped to keep the ledger writing in the background while not completely whiting it out. 

The splash of color was added with a pastel. 

Linking to Creative Every Day

Summer of Color (Week 1) - Citron Green and Turquoise

The Summer of Color is here!  This is my first summer playing and a favorite color combo is featured this first week - Citron Green and Turquoise.

Kristin of Twinkle, Twinkle sponsors this challenge and there are gobs of people playing along.  You can create whatever you like as long as you feature the weekly color combo.

I tried something new with this page - cut a girl from a advertisement. 

Cut her into three manageable parts and then used spray gesso on all three parts.  Painted each piece with a different color and reassembled and glued into my ledger journal. 

Painted on some long hair, added a headband and then added texture to the underskirt by stamping curving teardrops with a small handcarved stamp.   

Linking to Art Journal Every Day and

Paint Party Friday

Taking the Leap. . .

"I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday."

           - Eleanor Roosevelt

Started with a pencil sketch on a piece of 6" x 18" balsa wood that had been primed with clear gesso and sanded smooth.

Love using Adirondack paint (I rarely use the dabbers on top - just paint right from the jar) because of the great matte finish it leaves.

Started the hair with India Ink blown all over the place with a straw.

Added a background of flowers and vines to finish her up and then attached the balsa wood to a 10" x 30" canvas.  This is one long, skinny piece!

The graphic effect of adding solid stripes of paint at the bottom helps to ground the girl and looks modern and clean to me - 

Linking to Sunday Sketches and

Creative Every Day

Illustration Friday - SWEET

"Are you old enough to go off and take a nap without being told?"

                                          - 1940 HEALTHY GROWING

What is sweet to you?  A cookie? A flower from your child? A chance to spend a few minutes alone in blissful sleep?  SWEET = NAP in my world.  She looks a tad embarrassed - probably she has been caught sleeping by a "non-napper".   "Non-nappers" are the killjoys in the napping world - the wet blankets at my slumber party!

This girl is the first girl that I've ever painted on an easel.  Too bad I only have two long paintbrushes - I had a couple more but I cut them off because, "Why would I need long paintbrushes??!!  It isn't like I paint pictures on an easel."  Perhaps that helps to explain her abundance of blusher - either that or she has a healthy glow from just waking up from a refreshing nap. 

She started on a piece of hot press watercolor paper and had a bad haircut - maybe it would have helped to paint hair on the other side but I had grown weary of mixing paint so I cut her head out and pasted her in my ledger art journal. The background colors come from Panpastels.

Misty Mawn uses these four colors for her "go to" palette - I felt like a grown-up buying tubes of heavy body paint and mixing my own skintones.

Linking to Illustration Friday - SWEET,

Art Journal Every Day, 

Paper Saturdays, 

Artists in Blogland, and

Paint Party Friday

Why Wendy wears a sponge on her head. . .

Wendy found it to be less stressful to wear a sponge on her head than to worry about the number of towels she was using. . .

Sometimes these girls seem to take on a life of their own.

Intended for this girl to be blonde from the beginning and in my mind painting her hair light yellow on top would look like highlights. . .

Decided to add texture with some squiggles that ended up being strange little holes - or some kind of weird brain material.

Found a couple of fun book quotes after Caleb commented that it looked like a sponge on her head. . .  BTW - These Stabilo pencils are a favorite of mine to add details at the end of my pictures - they write on paper, glass, etc. and are water-soluble. Have every color but the green one - not sure how that one got overlooked.

Made four girls with the same stenciled background (Crafters Workshop ECHOES stencil designed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer).  Definitely got my money's worth even if I never use it again but really - what are the chances of that? 

Linking to Sunday Sketches,

Creative Every Day, 

Mandarin Orange Monday, and

Artsyville's Glue it Tuesday