A little bird house

A fun little bird house I painted and collaged, one of the monthly assignments with my local art group.

She Has Loved Him Forever - Mixed Media Canvas

Close-ups:

(click to enlarge)

This canvas is very special to me, as I made it for a dear friend who just announced she is pregnant with her first son. She said to me, "I love him already."

I know exactly how she feels. My own son was born 4 1/2 years ago and when I saw him for the first time, my immediate response was that I'd known him forever. I had been waiting my whole life to meet him! I tried to capture that connection between a mother and her child with this painting.

Included in the collage is an original music page called "A Valentine for Mother," from a children's music primer published in 1932.

Mixed media woman on canvas No. 2

Mixed media woman on canvas.

Acrylics, vintage and patterned papers.

Mixed media woman on canvas No. 1

The finished piece.

Altering a mini dress form

This sweet little dress form came in a blank heavy-stock set of 10 or so matching pieces, linked by a chain. My art friend handed them out at a recent meeting and asked us to embellish them however we chose. I love layering acrylics and other mediums, so this is my end result. I liked the idea so much, I found my own blank set and passed them out!

More mixed-media puzzle pieces

Tags Tags Tags

Some tag art I did this weekend with a bunch of my art friends. I had 10 pieces but ended up swapping some tags. Really enjoyed just "letting go" and letting these tags take on a life of their own.

These are mixed media pieces using shimmer sprays, watercolor sprays, stamps and waterproof ink, stencils, papers, pen, correction ink pen and a pink paint pen.

My finished piece from Traci Bautista's workshop

Stepped outside my "comfort zone" with this piece inspired by Traci Bautista's workshop through Stathmore. I enjoyed this and it has inspired me to be more free and less uptight when creating backgrounds and journal pages in other pieces.

FYI, Strathmore is holding three free online workshops. Traci's started Jan. 1 and is currently ongoing but you can join anytime. The videos will be available through August. The other two workshops start in March and June and cover drawing and watercolor techniques with other renowned artist instructors. Check it all out here at Stathmore's Online Workshop Series.

One interesting thing I wanted to mention about this piece is the surprising number and kinds of mixed media used, which I found interesting and helpful.

This piece includes, in order of appearance: fluid acrylics, oil pastels, India ink, art markers, Sharpie paint pens, and a correction fluid pen from an office supply store.

My Little Mad Scientist

More digital art.

Quintessential Larry

Digital scrapbook-style art is so fun. And the only way I'd "scrapbook" LOL.

More digital art.

Mr. Fix It

Digital scrapbook-style art. I eventually will print this off and bind the pages into a special album for the children, showing off their special moments throughout a particular year or grade.

Silly Moments

Fun with digital art.

Americana - an altered book page

A page I painted over the weekend in a friend's altered book with the theme "Americana." I was going for a Warren Kimble-esque feel to this, as he is one that pops into my mind whenever I think of Americana. Everything is hand-drawn and painted with acrylics except for the "Home Sweet Home" collaged sign and some chalk ink accents.

More themed Puzzle Pieces

Chunky Pages: Letters C/D

A set of chunky pages for my art group. Combintation digital art and hand embellished.

Words to Live By: Embrace

Day 11 from the Big Idea Festival
A page a day for 12 days.
Digital art embellishments with my own hand-writing.

Capturing my boy's first day of school

He's not a baby anymore...