Split Ends

This is a step out for the latest flowers I have painted.  I always have people ask me how I do it.  I am such a visual person it was easier for me to photograph and put here so I could refer them to my blog.

First I took some paper I cleaned my brush off on and roughed in a picture of the placement of where I wanted everything.  I picked up this page because it already had some colors and shapes I liked.

I picked a dark.  I really like this Paynes Gray from Golden because it has a nice blue base and roughed in some basic additional shapes and shadow areas.

I then added some shapes in a a brighter yellow than the naples I used above just filling in the holes.  You can see from the color palette, I used the original colors I started with adding white and the Paynes Gray.

I then used the same colors making more defined shapes and adding the flowers in the middle.  I used a filbert to pat in some colors blending the shades in the background and added some yellow ocher and Amsterdam Olive Green Light to the leaves and flowers. I took out the yellow flower in the top right of the picture because it helped balance out the flowers.

I then added a dark orange and magenta to pull out some more shapes and make it brighter.  I just keep adding layers, letting it partially dry in between going through all these ugly stages until I get something that is more pleasing and I have dark and lights side by side.  By this time I have worked on the leaves and the vase.

I went back to the lights and the darks, added more color and some white and the base blue to the vase.  I also used the gray to make a separation in some of the petals and using it in the center of the flowers for depth.

In the final piece I felt it needed something else so I pulled out my soft pastels and went over the flowers and and dark areas with a dark purple, muting the background some more because I felt it was distracting.  This gives a basic idea of how I work. I need to go back and make everything on the left a little darker as it’s my shadow area but I kind of like it like it is so it’s ok for now because when you create for yourself you can do that!

I have kept up with all of you who I follow but I can only keep up with one and a half social media’s at a time.  I do a small prompt group on Instagram so that is where I spend most of my time.  I came to do a small tutorial for someone at IG who asked me about it.  So without further ado, here it is, such as it is.

I had a bunch of Index cards done up with the Daisy Yellow ICAD.  I didn’t want to be fussy about putting them together and had seen a girl on YouTube who just glued her stuff into the spine.  She goes by Sugar on YouTube and the one I watched was, Let’s Make a Junk Journal.  So this is on the same order.

First take all your index cards and tape them together.  You can use Washi tape or masking or whatever kind of tape that is more sticky. Even after the ICAD, I use index cards for practice, warmup, new product etc.

Do this front to back until you get all the cards taped together.  I like to use heavy cardboard for the cover, but you can use any kind of cardboard or card stock even. I like the corrigated kind because I like to tear off part of the paper to show the corrigation.

I just lay my cards down on the cardboard to determine how big I want it and mark where I want my first bend to be.  Then lay down a ruler and use a bone folder or something like that to dent  your cardboard and fold it.

I used a chopstick :D.  After you fold, lay your cards inside and turn them up so you can mark how big you need your spine to be.

Run a pencil down the length of the cards and use your ruler and whatever you are creasing with so you can fold the back up.

It should look something like this.  Now use a real sticky glue.  I used Eileen’s Tacky Glue, and lay down a lot of glue in the middle of the spine.  You could mark where the top and bottom of your cards will be so you don’t over do it but I just eyeballed this whole thing.

Next just lay the spine of your cards down on the glue and squeeze it all together.  I used a clamp to hold this all together overnight.

I ripped some of the paper off the cardboard while it was clamped just because I like the way it looks.  I will decorate it later with some acrylics and a button like my previous one.  Just sew a button through the front.  Tie a slip knot on some string or yarn or I used waxed twine and slip the knot over your button and wrap the twine or yarn around and around to close your book.  I used a charm on the other end so I could tuck it into the twine on the front of the book.

This is not fancy by any means but it is an easy way to contain anything you want to put together quick.

As calm and “Balanced” as January was, February was crazy town.

My flowers are blooming and I have already seen a mosquito!

Jill is doing the My Journal Monday, so join in if you would like!

In pictures here are some of the things that have been on my table.

Just play on index cards while we were away.

Stamps I have made.  Just a few of them.  I love making my own stamps.

The Joy piece was a painting I made, then placed it in my Corel graphics program to finish digitally to print and put on a card.

This bottom is an exploration of texture over color then more color from Daisy Yellow

I got this wonderful four sided stamp I used on the above at Michaels half price.

It’s been a couple weeks and I have been working away doing things.  Boring things.  Tax and Insurance things.

I also have been managing a little art each day but I have also been cleaning out.  Do  you ever want to just take everything outside and start over?  I wonder how much we would bring back inside.  Would you bring it all back in?

 Jill is hosting My Journal Monday where you can link up your pictures if you want.  I enjoy this because it isn’t something I feel pressured to do.  Jill is a sweetheart!

I have been playing in my calendar and have enjoyed arting it up each week.  Top right is a digital art page doodled in my graphics program and printed out as a postcard.  I also printed it on copy paper and used it on my calendar.  The little floral scribbles I did one night on some scraps left over from a sketch/watercolor book I made last week.  Going out of town Wednesday for a few days so I am getting together a travel bag of art supplies.  What to take when you want to take it all.  Just scribbling around mostly, enjoying colors.

I have been doing so much in the Daisy Yellow “Novel Approach” class that I have had my table covered up.  I wish I could find someone to pay my bills and clean house and work for me so I could just pursue my interests. Sigh…

My Journal Monday was started by Jill and jump in if you are artsy.  I like not having to come up with anything and just showing what’s on the table.

Novel Approach classwork: The art of getting messy

This just while waiting for workmen:

Following Jill’s lead for what’s in my table. More of the Daisy Yellow Novel Approach workshop. These are all exercises for me that are fun because it is different than anything I have ever done.   I did collage as a kid and this takes me back to a time when I was in the moment. Not planning or thinking. Just cutting and pasting. 

I know I showed you a page from the Daisy Yellow art class I am taking but if you are interested I would like to give you the link to her page here.  They are well worth the money and I am now taking the Novel Approach workshop.  There is a sneak peek on the page and I love taking classes from Tammy because she is very patient and kind.  She does techniques that I have never done before and I started taking a watercolor class from her to learn the difference between watercolor and gouache.

The purpose of my taking Novel Approach is to learn to be more free and messy with my work.  I want perfection and was brought up being taught to do things a certain way and it is really hard to break out of that way of thinking.  There is still a neatness in my pages that I want to overcome but I can only learn by doing.

Tammy also has this lovely way of teaching that brings other areas into your work, like poetry and amazing prompts and she also does ICAD.  Index card a day which is free.  That is why I got an Instagram Account in the first place.  If you go to her blog she has a wonderful blog and gives a lot of herself to the art community.  Go check her out!

Here are a few of my things from the class.

I’m not working in my journal right now but I have put pockets in the front and back of my planner and worked on the cover. I am always sorting and organizing as I go but I record more in my planner than a journal.

A lot of times I carry my planner instead of a purse so the pockets are for cards and documents I may need during the day.

I am taking a class with Tammy Garcia and learning some new techniques. So I will put the last page of that up as well.

My new computer is on the fritz so posting from my phone. Apologies to Jill for not linking to you right now.

Going along with Jill’s Monday posts I will snap what I have done today.  I joined Documented Life Project and finally got all my pages printed out.  It has taken for-ever!  I got that caught up though.  I about have my Christmas tree denuded and will get that down sometime tomorrow after appointment’s.  For someone that stays at home a lot I have a never ending schedule, although we do have a business and taxes and insurances are all coming due.  I have had to rent my mom’s house since 2010 we have not been able to sell it so there is everything connected to that.

We had a great holiday and just spent it doing what we wanted about three days which is something we don’t do without having to worry about other things and people.  So I am ready for this year and things are moving along nicely.

My word for the year is Balance.  I am going to continue organizing and keep some sort of balance finding time for myself.

Here is what I’ve done.  The top is the first week of my new arty planner and the bottom is the outside which I am still decorating and the words are a workshop I am taking with Daisy Yellow on altering a book(missing some letters).  Looking at this I have done a lot in just a few days, considering I squeeze the art part in!  Go me!

Between Christmas and New Years I have had a little time to finish up some things and it was the end of the Documented Life Project which I enjoyed very much.  I am getting a book ready for another year and this year the group is making more of a planner so I am looking forward to that.

I am going to show a small tutorial of how I did this last one as I have been asked about my process, such as it is.  I really do find though in doing a little art every day that I have not had a day where I haven’t been able to do some kind of art and I find I have improved quite a bit in all areas because of that.

I started out with a page that I had cleaned my brush and added some colored scraps to.  Much like this but I thought of doing this after I started

Before the second step I wrote an encapsulated version of my year and thoughts.  The prompt was about hiding your writing.  Then I decided to use parts of this beautiful botanical napkin Susana sent me.  This is where I roughed in what I wanted where and added some gesso and pinks here and there and the strip of type in an old corny poem book I found on the right that says “Toss my heart to you to autograph-Or tuck inside your own on love’s behalf”, because in the end my hubs makes me laugh and is my saving grace some days.

Third thing I did was add some stamps just to distribute some more black in the top.  Fourth picture I added some color in the stems.  I used a blue and a drab green to get the color and began to add some color in specific places and blend the colors in the flowers.

It is always about this point I think, what a damn mess!  But I have found if I just keep going I can pull it out so I added some more leaves from the napkin and the writing and some little postal looking spots, also from the napkin.  I added another large bloom on top of the large flower because I had lost some of my definition and with napkin there is no tearing off.  In the sixth step I added another dotted stamp from the center of some big foam flowers I had that I cut the petals away and just use the center.  It has become one of my favorite stamp.  I added some more dabs of pink and white in the petals and swiped some aqua with gesso on areas here and there because I thought there was an over abundance of pink.  I also began outlining and adding depth with my white pen which is the point I know I will begin to like it.  I used colored pencil to fill in the leaves and pen to extend and fill in the flowers where the petals were missing.  I just kept adding small marks with the black pen and filling in leaves and marks in stems, adding some dabs of gesso until I finished here.

I have also been making faces for show your face and doing My Journal Monday but I never seem to get them up in the blog.

Happiest of New Years to everyone!