Gnomes

Hello Readers & Paint Party Friday Folks. Welcome to the Forest of Work In Progress, meet the gnomes. I thought after my last painting I needed to do something fun and whimsical. Recently I have been inspired by gnomes and mushrooms. Thinking of visits to the forest. In my little scene my two gnomes are going to have a little gnome meal and then enjoy a fire. Of course they will have little forest dwellers visit. But we'll have to wait and see who. 

Here you can see I have sketched a table setting.

My girl gnome has just fixed strawberry tea. 

I am thinking this gnome needs a bow and arrow. We'll see. Maybe he's vegetarian.

Oh the bunny has arrived! lol We'll have to wait and see who else will be here.

In case you are interested I posted my progress on my purple girl and ending up naming the painting Spring  Garden. If you would like to see the post about her, I think I may be finished just visit yesterdays post here. 

PS. I'd like to invite you to visit another day to a craft blog I write. I like sharing crafty and sewing inspiration over there. My address is MsartistSewCrafty.blogspot. Drop by sometime if you like, the door is always open.

Do you love gnomes? or fairies?

Spring Garden "Artwork In Progress part 2"

Today I thought I would share with you where I am at with my painting of a girl with flowers in the background. If you want to see my first post about this painting you can read about it in this post - Artwork in Progress.  I am at a stopping point. Is she completed? I think she might be. She is soaking in all of springs glory. The jasmine, lilacs, exotic blooms.....

I ended up changing her eye and nose, after getting my little model to sit still for a minute. I also made a collage of some before shots next to the completed painting. So you can see the differences.

I think I need to photograph this painting outdoors to capture its true colors, but I may have taken the photo above before adding pastels making the greens and yellows pop a bit more. I'm loosing track lol, with the science fair and talent show stuff going on for Sammie.

If you close your eyes and smell spring blooms do you see them in your mind? This is how it would look to me if I could capture the word fragrance.

Before are the three photographs on the left, stacked. The purple acrylic paint had more blue and white in it. After on the right more purple added to the acrylic paint. So here she sits like a bloom waiting in the garden to see if she is done evolving and growing like a spring flower. I will share her photograph when I get a chance to get out in the sun and take a good photograph in day time sunlight.

What is your favorite spring garden's fragrances?

Mine favorites are Narcissus 

 

 

Lilac & Jasmine

I hope you are having a wonderful and creative week! 

To be overcome by fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat ~ Beverly Nichols

Photography & Color Inspiration

Hello everyone, I am sharing  a photograph I had taken and altered it into a snapshot frame then added a quote. I have been trying to play around with Photo Shop again. I am also sharing other photographs, color palettes and color inspiration. I have been doing a bit of dreaming and wishing lately. You can see why below.

Image will go to full size if you click on it.

click on image

Theresa Huse

 

Feel free to use either of my snapshots with quote on your blogs if you like but, just credit back to me and keep to the creative common terms. I also put a link to my Flickr where there is code for using too. 

Beverly & Pack

I thought I would share the image above with my color inspiration. I have flowers on my mind, my palette is called  blushing rose. I have to take a trip soon to Northern Ca. as I am doing the flowers for my oldest daughter's wedding which is coming up quicker than ever! First they announce the engagement, then it is the planning, although it seems far off..... Its kind of a hurry up and wait things, then wow it is only 1 1/2 months away!!!!

So much to do all of a sudden. We are going to a flower wholesaler to get supplies and doing some test arrangements, finding out what will be in season from a list of likes from the bride, pre-ordering things that won't be available from the grower. Then several days prior we get all the goods to prepare for the event. Thank goodness my son's lovely lady and my second youngest daughter are going to help! I hope this gives me some good blogging images! If I have time to take photographs. lol

Hand in Hand

This image I just loved due to the fact of the flying wishes! I just love wishes. When you were a kid did you gather them up, make your wish and then blow them into the air? I remember as kids saying they really had to get flying away or your wish wouldn't come true. Well, the colors, wishes and dreamy look of this image just spoke to me. Plus the title Hand In Hand. Then I created  my color palette Wishful dream which  I made over at ColourLovers.

Lastly, Sammie's science experiment was due today. So we helped her finishing up details then hauled the display and tank of  hatched brine shrimp over for set up this morning. Whew! I'll try and take a picture tonight of my little scientist with her display to share. That's what caused my Sunday post to be so late.

I hope you have time to take a look at the post where I shared two journal pages believe and a creative journey along with the prompt. The post was featured on Creating The Hive. If you are a member send over a friend invite, its just another great place to connect in a lovely online artist community.

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the  emotions. Pablo Piccaso

What is your favorite creative community? What is a color you love? 

Journal Prompt & Journal Pages "A Creative Journey" & "Believe"

Hello journalers and welcome new followers! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was on the bright and busy side. I had preplanned a post for today knowing that I was going to be busy, but then I decided to just show you two different journal pages I did recently and haven't shared with you yet.Why the about face? Well the post I created is really suited for another day and this journal page I created prior. I am trying to keep what I share in a sequential order as much as possible. I guess more for my diary than you, but I hope that makes sense. So here is this weeks journal pages and prompt;

This journal page has written at the top a creative journey with charcoal pencil. I used dictionary pages from an old dictionary. I glued down the definition of journal above her head from a dictionary page *diary: a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations. I also have on the page the definition journalist, the word success and definition of happiness, good fortune. These elements were posted on various places and painted around. I created this page to reinforce one of my focus's with art and  journaling.

The second journal  page represents taking the steps and learning from those steps on your creative journey. Finding and Listening at the top of the page represents finding your voice and listening to your heart. Inside the heart I wrote to believe in your dreams and at the bottom I wrote expand your wings. In the center of the heart I glued the dictionary word believer* to think; to feel sure of; to accept as true. I think you have to be a great believer in order to find your way. The little heart flying off the journal page with wings above this journal page represents me finding my own way flying into the unknown yet listening to my voice while I find my way being a believer.

 One thing I am learning on my creative journey is that in order to expand you wings and have your own voice with your work it involves taking chances, pushing what you are used to creating, experimenting, playing and even changing. With journaling since it is such a safe place it is a spring board for anything goes. Just opening up to your creative process and allowing yourself to let things flow is another important thing.

For this weeks journal prompt I want you to chose some words from a old book or dictionary and combine them in a journal page that helps you define you or your creative process or journey. Allow the words to come to fruition placing them into the forefront of what your goals are, your journey, your process.
Have you ever experienced positive outcomes from something you wrote down from your heart? 


Journal Prompt: To take dictionary page words you select and incorporate them into a page. * see above

Quote: In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can Michael Korda

Some things have to be believed to be seen Ralph Hodgson

Food for thought: Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to art Journaling- Basics and Beyond

Artwork in Progress

Here is a photo collage of my work in progress, if you want to see the details just click to enlarge image.Below are images that I will explain where I am at with this mixed media acrylic painting.

This image is showing the detail of the papers mixed in for layers and texture of the hair below shows hair prior to layering of papers.

From this point I felt my  painting needing spaces filled with textures. You can see in the image below that I have layered more papers onto the canvas.

Here is where I am working with charcoal  pencil to the background over layers of paint and papers.

I am being brave and showing you this. Here I am unhappy with the eye, but working on the background.

First adding elements of paint that is very wet and dripping I go on to morph it some more with inks and changing  the eye and other aspects of the painting. The third image in the photo collage at the top of the post shows you part of the end results. I will post more for you to see later. Honestly I don't know that I am in love with this painting but I can tell you there were many times I almost stopped, just not knowing where to go but then I would just say to myself. OK, what is the worst thing that could happen? You just paint over the whole canvas. So push on and experiment!

I must say I had to grab Sammie as my model for the side view of the eye and nose. Try getting an 8yr old to sit still while her friends are waiting online for her to take a turn in a magical land of games that she loves to create creatures and play in! It was short lived but helped.

I almost was going to post what some of my day looks like with photos, but I have to organize, re-size and upload so maybe in a week or so.

Do you ever find yourself just not in love with something you made? Do you keep pushing on?

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. ~ Gail Sheehy

Angel "She Gave Me Her Wings"

Hello friends and new followers! I thought I would share the angel acrylic painting that was inspired from my journal page.

 I created this angel's piece in the purple and rose color palette. On the bottom of the acrylic canvas I wrote "her voice was in my heart, she gave me wings."

 Sorry about the color on this one taken for close up and exposure isn't the best

If you look closely at the top *first angel photo you can see there is mixed media papers are all across the top of the canvas of this angel acrylic painting. Also the right angels wing in painted on paper that is glued to the canvas. On this image you can see where the paper was laid on the canvas and I placed her wing on the purple angel.

Today without loading my image to COLOURlovers  I tried to match the acrylic painting palette. I thought I might like to make some designs for fabric from the angel color palette. I will post what I come up with later. I did make one design with the three lightest colors but want to make a few with all the colors combined.

If you missed my free journal page post "She gave me wings" it is right here and you can learn the inspiration behind this angel painting. I will post the angel images in full size on my Flickr page so if you want to take a better look at the full size image hop on over when you are done, but they won't be up until later today.You'll be able to see more of the details of the angels and their wings there.

Please don't forget to post on what day you would enjoy the journal prompt if I change it. Poll is on the side bar. I am trying to figure out a better schedule as life is getting busier while I am on this journey. Sammie has a science fair, talent show and book report where I have to help her make a puppet. here is also wedding stuff going on (my oldest is getting married!), some baby showers, Easter, then the wedding! Yes, that time of year. Not to mention new things right around the corner! More to come about that later. PS.  I think the puppet part will be fun, but she wants to do life science and hatch brine shrimp. Hm-mm....That one is for hubby. I love science but not that project! lol

I must admit have been painting but, not enjoying the results. I will try and be brave and share them any way later on. Hopefully I can get creative with my acrylic painting and create something I like and don't struggle with! But when you are pushing ideas that frustration can be common right?  I hope you are finding the time to get creative! What projects are you working on right now? I would love to know~

When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings nor fell the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Author Unknown

Journal Prompt- Spring Into Action

This week I created a journal page that has a creative action plan. Spring is the perfect time to step into action and what better way than to list things you want to accomplish on your journal page. At first I had a lovely die cut paper that had lines on half the page.

If you look close you can see the cuts in the paper. I ended up painting flowers right over everything. The lines just bored me in the moment and I thought color was more important. Like a flower in spring this year I want to continue to bloom creatively. And the butterfly represents me ready to fly.

I haven't used a lot of pens lately but took out a fine tip non bleeding pen and wrote around the petals giving them definition from the rest of the page. Then to make it pop a bit more I added the white around the outside edges here and there.

I created leaves with the pen here and there and lines with hearts in a pattern running down from the top of the page to the bottom.

 The die cut paper under the paint add a lot of visual texture. I also used tissue paper here and there.

I am considering changing my free journal post day to during the week. I am interested in feed back. So I put a poll on the side bar. Do let me know what you think about that. If you want me to keep it on Sundays just tell me in the comments section.  It is gloomy, windy and rainy here right now and if you are experiencing this pre-spring weather I hope these colors brighten your day! I hope you find time to create your journal page~ 

Two questions: If I create a group to share your pages from using my journal prompts would you post your pages there? *free group
It would be great if you did poll or indicate keeping journal posts on Sundays!


Journal Prompt: Spring Into Action - create an action plan in a creative way! 

Quotes: He who has begun is half done. Horace

You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great."~ Les Brown

Food For Thought: Small Chestnut Pocket Journal with handmade paper 

Green Photography

Since it is St. Patrick's Day I thought I would do a post of some of my green photography. And also share some photography from  Ireland. What a lovely day to be seeing green all around in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Each of these photographs are different shades of green. What is not to love about the color green? Did you know that the color green has a great healing power and symbolizes growth, harmony and freshness among other things. I hope you enjoy all the green~

 Now on to seeing green from Ireland....

Source: None via Lena on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: farm3.static.flickr.com  on Pinterest

Source: find.myrecipes.com on Pinterest

I wish I could have you over for some tea or some of my family's favorite Irish coffee. But, since I can't I will leave you with a Irish blessing; May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone and brightest blessings! I have always wanted to travel to Ireland. What about you? What is your favorite shade of green?

*more artwork posting soon!

Art Goodness and Color Inspiration

Hello friends I hope your week is off to a good start! Mine sure was as I have just received a package with goodies from winning a drawing on Tara Leaver's blog Aquamarine. She is also a mixed media artist. I was so thankful when I received it as she popped in extra goodies knowing I created art. She added some art papers, a handmade sachet, lace, doilies, a ceramic heart, a mini circus tent painting and a package of her art cards! How sweet is that?! Take a peek at some of the things Tara has created. The first two included in my package.

Tara's art cards

The Sweetest Tiny-est Painting

Some of Tara's art for sale in a shop in England

Seven for sale in Tara's Etsy Shop

So if you would like to find some of Tara's lovely artwork  or cards for yourself just visit her Etsy shop, it is lovely!

And here onto Tuesdays color inspiration. Want to get creating in lovely palettes of color which I have named "Lilac Love"? I thought it matches parts of Tara's painting Seven quite well  and as another example of stretching this color palette. I had previously  pulled it together this pallet from this creative commons photography image by D.Sharon Pruitt seen below. 

Image by Pink Sherbet Photography

D Sharon Pruitt

 

Did I ever tell you that purples are some of my favorite colors? What are your favorite colors?