Easter Bunnies

A blessed and joyful Easter

to you all...

Don't eat too much chocolate!

Paint and Collage

Painting over book text:  permanent marker,

 gesso, and blue watercolor mounted

on scrapbook paper in an art journal

that I constructed myself.

Above and below, collages in my Smash Journal.

The blue branch on the right

came from a Kleenex box!

My own lettering and motifs

 were drawn in marker and 

painted in watercolor. I was

feeling like some geometric

Kandinsky-like designs were 

in order for the day.

Quotes and collage on scrapbook paper.

Bits of collected ephemera, stickers and fabric.

Below, a poem with drawings and 

collage. I love that little vintage

game piece with the candle...

I will have greetings for Easter

and 

April Fool's Day

so do stop by and visit again soon!

Linking to Paint Party Friday

Painting Over Text

Permanent marker and watercolor

over book text...the rose above

was drawn while looking at 

a vintage wallpaper pattern.

Just tear a page from an old book and 

draw on it with a bullet tip permanent marker.

Then paint watercolor washes over the pen drawing.

I use my hair dryer between washes to dry it 

more quickly. Add details with a fine tip marker

and white gel pen.

I've enlarged motifs from some of my

previous art journal pages, but the 

possibilities are endless!

Linking to Paint Party Friday...

where there is an art auction going on
to benefit Sandy Hook Elementary.

Mini Sampler Bag

Here is the bag I made from the mini sampler.

I am pleased with the way it turned out.

The cross stitch is 'framed' with tan fabric, as 

well as the back of the bag and the lining.

I made the handle from two separate pieces
that are tied together in a bow, and trimmed with
a few buttons and a bow from twine.

The bag will probably hang from the ladder back chair

in the living room, though it could be used for a small purse,

or a place to keep sewing supplies.  I am enjoying

the springy colors on the sampler,

especially since we are having snow and

wind and cloudy skies again today in Ohio!

Art Journal Collages

Above, Smash book pages...from our Road Trip to 

Panama City Beach, Fla., with a stop off in

Clarksville, TN.  Enjoyed our time, but it was

all too short!  The little watercolor at bottom

left was done with watercolor pencils.

Sunshine, sand and waves were just the

colors I needed to refresh my winter blahs...

When we got back from our all-too-short vacation,

I promptly got a terrible cold, but we did go out

to eat in a local restaurant, and I couldn't resist

doodling on the back of the place mat...

I took the place mat with me and used it for

these collages...used the ads and my drawings

together. Considered adding color, but

decided I liked the white, black and tan as is.

More Smash book pages using odds and ends...
the bottom is a postcard showing a still life by
Frida Kahlo. I adore the color!

Same page with postcard flipped up.
On the back of the postcard,
I wrote out an excerpt from a book about Frida,
and created a watercolor inspired by
Mexican folk art designs.

Collage on the facing page.
This is not my usual style of collage, as it is
more of a grid-type composition. I usually
overlap the elements in my collages.
The colored pencil design on the right
 is inspired by Native American beading and embroidery.
I believe I was researching the Delaware (Lenape) but
it was years ago, and I can't find my source now...
see how long my scraps can be buried in a
box, tub, book or tin?!

Any time I need inspiration, I can always
find it in ancient, classical or modern art!
What inspires you?

Linking to Paint Party Friday

Cross Stitch Mini Sampler

This is what I did this week

while I was fighting a terrible cold...a

mini cross-stitch sampler on 11 count Aida cloth.

It ended up just under 4" x 6".

I sat on the couch with my box of tissues,

decaf herbal tea--of which it felt like I drank buckets--

and stitched away while watching 

Monarch of the Glen on Netflix.  Now 

fighting a cough, but on the mend, and 

happy with the results of the stitching.

Cross stitch motifs combined from

Antique Sampler from Jeremiah Junction Designs

by Linda Coleman (light switch cover designs),

Complete book of Cross Stitch by E. Van Zandt,

and 

The Sampler Motif Book by Brenda Keyes.

Not sure how I will finish this...

I am leaning toward making a little

drawstring bag...stay tuned.

Watercolors in my Art Journals

Sketched and painted my afternoon snack,

homemade multigrain bread and a cheese stick.

Smash journal page.

Pen and watercolor bird on a scrap of

watercolor paper, some journaling, and

pen work in the borders. 

Doodling is therapeutic...

Wet in wet watercolor cattails...

added to a Smash journal page with

some other scraps. Cross-stitched birds,

buttons, a quote and a bit of fabric & ribbon.

Dream of Spring~ read seed catalogues!

Valentine Reprise

Some art postcards to 

celebrate Valentine's Day...

Made from cereal box cardboard,

watercolor doodle scraps, fabric and stitching.

 

Hope your day is full of fun

and the warmth of family and friends!

Draw Yourself.

Self-portrait 2013.

Sharpie pen on the last page of

my mixed media journal.  No pencil sketching,

just pen direct to paper.  I think the eyes are a bit

too close together, and I'm pretty sure I left out

some wrinkles!

A page in my Smash journal, above, Madonna & Flowers.
I showed the original drawing in this post.
 I've added watercolor.

The Madonna was inspired from an illustration
 in a book that I bought at our library sale:

 'Art Treasures in Russia', c. 1970.

The Madonna was drawn on a scrap
 of watercolor paper, then glued into the
Smash journal. I drew the flower (inspired

by a Picasso) and other motifs, which I used from the 

magazine clippings on the facing page.

The facing page in the Smash journal.

A profusion of flowers cut from a 

Stella McCartney advertisement. A craft paper

envelope on the bottom of the page. (I slipped an

article about one of Picasso's ex's inside-Francoise Gilot 

interviewed at 90 yrs of age) I glued magazine images of

ceramic tiles on the envelope flap. You can
see that I used those ceramic tile motifs

 on the page with the Madonna.

The bottom drawings -inspired by Art Nouveau designs

 published by Dover-were again done with the Sharpie

pen and then watercolored.

Little bits and snippets can come together

in an interesting way...

Linking to
Paint Party Friday and
Art Journal Every Day at Balzer Designs

Draw Your Food...

A pen and watercolor drawing

in the Bits and Pieces Journal...

I drew this before I chopped them up

for roasting in the oven.

Pages from my Smash Journal...

I drew and painted the illustration of the boy.

It's an 'impression' of my grandson, who

is a dedicated fan of Batman!

My illustration of my baby granddaughter.

She is now three, so this has been rattling around

for quite a while and I just had to 'smash' it into

the journal before it got damaged or lost...

do you have things in your art/craft room like that?

Another page in my Smash Journal:

the bird illustration is from a purchased journaling tag.

I drew and painted the leafy branch and foliage borders.

I really love this little Valentine poem.

The Smash Journal has been fun, but I am feeling the trend

is a bit 'scrapbooky.' Though that is what Smash books are

designed for--smashing in bits and pieces. I love drawing 

and painting little bits and motifs...but perhaps 

a change is due...?

What are you working on?