Mixed Media Hidden Treasures

Had a scare for the second time this month. Not only did we evacuate because of the possibility of a Cat 4 hurricane on 9/11 but we had to cut our vacation short because the rain waters that devastated North Carolina were coming our way. Our home was in danger of flooding and we had to get home to prepare the house.

We moved in with neighbors for 5 days and luckily our house was spared. The flood waters never even made it to my yard. While at friends I set up a temporary studio on their porch and created this 12x12 mixed media canvas.

My inspiration was a calendar I saw at a store in Temecula CA. It had pictures of "she sheds" on every page. This old cottage made me think of those sheds, so I painted it.

Here is the video on YouTube
Mixed Media Hidden Treasures 9-28-18

Product list:
Liquitex matte medium, modeling paste, gesso, glazing medium
Deco Art Acrylics
Uniball gel pen
General Charcoal Pencil
Marabu Art Crayons
Blick Soft Pastels
Dreamweaver Embossing paste
Shawn Petite stencils
Inktense Pencil

Have paints will travel

When I travel I like to bring some form of art with me. Before we left on our 2 week trip to the west coast I stamped several Christmas card stamps on watercolor paper and packed them with my handy dandy Koi paint set.

While visiting with the grand daughters we spent an afternoon painting. Then the next leg of the trip we were so busy I rarely had downtime except in the evenings. Evenings are NOT my creative time so it was a while before I took it up again.

On one of our last days we decided to just stay in. We had a beautiful Airbnb in a gated community just outside of San Diego, it was Sunday and football was on. This is a relax day so I took out my paints and got busy

I am very happy with how the water color has progressed with more and more practice. When I get home, providing my house is not flooded, I will mount the paintings and add sentiments. It will give me more Christmas cards ready for the season.

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Mixed Media - Lakeside

I love taking my bike out in the early mornings. The sunrises are so beautiful. We live next to a good size lake that crosses the main access road. It is probably one of the few bridges in the entire county. The bike path runs along this road and I often stop on the bridge to photograph the lake. On this one particular day the sunrise was pink and it reflected in the water. It was so pretty.

I printed this photo on tissue paper and used it on this 12x16 canvas. I took some liberties by adding wildflowers (instead of alligators) they are more appealing.

Here is the video on YouTube
Mixed Media Lakeside 9-9-18

Product list:
Liquitex matte medium, modeling paste, gesso, glazing medium, heavy acrylic
Deco Art Acrylics
Uniball gel pen
General Charcoal Pencil
Daler & Rowney Sepia Ink

Card Making- Spindly Birds

I often shop in the craft section at Tuesday Morning because they have some really great finds for excellent prices. This bird stamp was one. It was only 4.99 and then marked down another 20%. I rarely pass up Christmas stamps because I make about 65 Christmas cards every year I like them to be diverse.

I have not video taped many of my card making adventures. When video taping I feel I need to have my ducks lined up in row before I begin so I am not turning the camera on and off all the time and searching my studio for what I might want to use. Which is normally my mode of operando when making cards.

I decided not to stamp on a blank page but instead to create a background with distress oxides. I love the looks of the smoosh affect. The first one was a little heavy handed so I opted for the lighter one. After I stamped I wondered if I would even be able to watercolor on top of the oxides so I tested and then used some water to dilute them, luckily it worked so I used that method.

The watercolor painting is a little messy, but that is the nature of watercolor, you cannot expect to be a perfectionist. After I mounted the card I created a second card (off camera) I stamped, colored with copics and then cut out the birds and mounted on top of the heavy handed background. That worked too. It was a productive afternoon. 2 more Christmas cards are done. Bravo to that.

Watch on YouTube: Card Making - Spindly Birds 9-6-18

Product List:
Canson 140 pound watercolor paper
Versafine Ink
Ranger Archival Ink>
Judikins Clear Embossing powder
Zig Clean Color real brush
Copic ciao
Distress Oxides
KaiserKraft clear stamp
Stampendous Spindly Bird stamp
Perlen pen
Ranger Stickles
Neenah White Cardstock
Reminisce Pattern Paper

The Journey Begins Here

For me and many of my neighbors we fully understand what this means. Our home on the beach at Litchfield By the Sea is where we commenced our journey through our golden years. We found so much happiness here, so many friends, lots of activities, fabulous weather and the spectacular beach that compares to no other.

Sunrise walks on the beach are so peaceful. Such a joy to hear the waves and feel the gentle ocean breezes. My happy place indeed.

In this mixed media painting, I used a lot of different mediums to make texture. It took a couple of days start to finish because of drying time. But the result was worth it.

Here is the video: Mixed Media Journey 9-5-18 Products:
Deco Art Acrylic Paints
Liquitex Gesso, Matte Medium, Matte Super Heavy Gel, Gloss Gel, Heavy Body Acrylic, Modeling Paste and Glazing medium
Stencils by Shawn Petite
Charcoal Pencil
black and white uniball pen
Blick soft pastels
Zig Writer

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