Happy Halloween!!!!

I didn't have time to make art or dress up this year, but I was determined to make a post for Natasha's Linky Party :D

So here is a pic of Chunky dressed for his friends party Saturday night......

and here are a couple of pics of my private alter space(don't normally show these so feel honoured :D)
The centre piece is a wonderful three sided photo frame hubby spotted one day and brought home for me. I drew my Lady in her 3 guises, maiden/mother/old one, and placed them into the frame. Now as the seasons turn, so does she :) Today she has changed from the mother to the old/wise one, often referred to as the Crone.
The close up is to show this fabulous little calendar I found at a car boot for 50p. It's an old tin tea caddie, cool!!

And this is the fantastic portrait Donna did of me on Saturday. I love this new colourful me :D

And she filled a bag with stuff for me as I was leaving....brilliant day!!!

So this is my "Dorian Gray" look for Halloween :D

May the Wise One watch over you this winter,

May the New Year bring you hope and happiness,

May all lost souls be found

Blessed Be xxx

Andrea's Interview :D

Andrea of Falling Ladies, so enjoyed Amy's interview earlier this month that she decided to set a few questions of her own, and is giving away some of her art to encourage us to "fess up!"

So here goes......

1. WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF SITTING ON THE COMPUTER?

I am supposed to be tidying this lot back onto the selves we have just moved..again!!!
2. WHAT IS THE MESSIEST AREA OF YOUR HOUSE?....AND DARE YOU TO SHOW US...!

This is Chunky Monkey's bedroom. Admittedly it was a bit tidier yesterday, but he had a friend sleeping over last night, and yes that is his new laptop in the middle of his bed/nest. He has Aspergers(part of the autistic spectrum), and doesn't like things being thrown away!! Hence the sad looking balloons on the door from his grans 80th in august)
3. FIVE SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY RIGHT NOW, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE OBVIOUS LIKE YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR HEALTH...

Watching the little birds feeding outside my window,

Listening to Chunky and friend playing together,and laughing!!!

Hubby just phoned to ask if we wanted Mc D's for lunch....oooow.....burger......!

Re-arranging furniture....I don't get out much...can you tell?

Mega excited about going to visit a blogging buddy for the 1st time on saturday :D

4. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?

The episode of Downtown Abbey, where Daisy is pushed into marrying William on his death bed....such a whirlpool of confusion and emotion, beautifully done, sniff...sniff...

5. FAVOURITE BOOK?

The Two Babylons, by Rev. Ed Bishop (historical religious discussion)

6. HOW MANY PETS?

Just the one, 11 year old border collie called Meg (the attitude is because I've had the vac on the go all morning and she doesn't like it mwahahaha...)

7. TWO GOALS....ONE HUGE AND UNREALISTIC,AND ONE ACHIEVABLE ONE....

I want to be able to fly(no cheating with planes and stuff) so I can swim in clouds :D and more realistically...just to get fit again, working on muscle tone and posture type stuff.

8. FIVE THINGS IN YOUR PURSE BESIDES MONEY AND CELL PHONE.....

Which one??? These are my 3 main purses/handbags, that I rotate stuff in and out of...

so 5 "always carry" would be;

Diaries past and present(can't be bothered to copy out all the numbers)

Pen

Gloves(might have to pick up something nasty)

Tweezers(splinter removal)

Wind-up torch (not risking flat batteries on a dark stormy night)

9. THE EMOTION OR FEELING YOU HATE THE MOST...

You know that feeling you get when your talking to a doctor, and they say things like "it's probably just your age" or "well as a woman of a certain age, you have to expect these things"....

could throw some seriously damaging curses over that kind of stuff....!

but mostly I hate HATE! It makes me feel physically sick if I find myself HATING someone.

10.IF YOU COULD HAVE 50 POUNDS OF ANYTHING EXCEPT MONEY OR GOLD, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT?

A chunk of stone that I could stand in my garden, just because I luuuuurve chunks of stone :D

So, revealing enough???

Why not have ago yourself, after all, confession is supposed to be good for the soul :D XXX

Rush job :D

I am so behind with my art journal pages for Darcy, but managed to grab some time today and did 3 :)

The 1st is page 30: SMILE

Perhaps not the right time of year for this one?!?

The legend reads "Beware the welcome in his grin...!" (and there are lime green highlights and eyes but they haven't shown up on this pic??)

The 2nd is page 33:Bargain.

This week I went to the Stamp Fair at Doncaster, and got these 3 wood mounted stamps for 50p each....now that's a bargain! My favourite is the heart shaped earth(I drew one of these in my sketchbook, and now I have a proper stamp....spooky!) The motto reads "Love your Mother" over the planet so very appropriate to me :D I also consider the backing paper a total bargain, as it is made from the scraps of paper I clean/test my stamps on.

The 3rd is page 39:Crayon

Having read Amy's post about encaustic art, I thought "I wonder how wax crayons feel about being ironed?" It seems they quite like it :) They didn't melt and smudge about like the proper wax does, but the heat seem to have "fixed" the surface and made the pic chalky looking.(Do not iron directly onto wax, put a layer of paper over it first. I now have a cool bit of backing paper from where the excess wax transferred onto the other paper)

Stay tuned....only 10 pages to catch up.....!!

Would you Adam and Eve it!!!

This week at The Butterfly Effect the suggested theme is "Surrealism"

Not a style I've ever tried before, so I experimented in my "Try it out" book.

(yes I had been watching Strictly Come Dancing :D)
Having found my main characters, I changed to working on a canvas board...

decided they were called Adam and Eve, and a tree of snakes was born. I thought they needed some background music, and added a strip of sheet music(from my Treasure Lucky Bag found at Dezinaworld), re-drew the characters over the top, and gave Eve roller-skates (makes a change from an apple)

Started adding colour, using the line of music section the piece.

The main thing I associate with surrealism is Monty Python, so had to have the flying moustacheode man :D

The gentleman and the beady dress front were also from the Treasure Lucky Bag, while the flowers are made with blobs of stickles

And lets face it, one of the most surreal programmes on tv is "Strictly Come Dancing" or "Dancing with the Stars" as it's know in the U.S. (my guilty pleasure :D)XXX

Zac-a-lantern!

This week Haunted Design House are having a Movie Madness "Pumpkinhead" challenge. I haven't seen the movie, but have been inspired by the DT's work .

I was supposed to be using this to do a "Surreal" piece for The Butterfly Effect this week, but reached one of those points where I felt I would spoil the piece if I did anything else to it, so I am going to try something else later :D

When doing a "pose" secret snaps of family members make a great starting point ;D (rubish photo but great for positioning and light source)

Print off onto copy paper so you can trace the body lines, and alter to suit your needs

I traced mine onto thin tissue, drew over with indian ink (sprayed with fixative) then glued to canvas.

Start adding colour(acrylic paints)

Build darker areas to accentuate the light, using original photo as a guide

Try and keep a continuation of colour throughout the piece to balance your picture

A few simple lines act to "ground " your image(so it isn't floating in mid air)
You can't see from the photos, but the highlights are done with metallic paints, which give a lovely warmth to the piece, like he is sitting by a roaring fire :D

I enjoyed keeping the brushwork quite loose and sketchy, Hope you enjoy it too :D XXX

Allsorts Challenge Blog #126 Halloween

HDH Mac Mondays#112 Movie Madness "Pumpkinhead"

Creavil-Challenge Blog#17 Halloween

Totem Animals

Or..way too many photo's!!! :D

I recently mentioned that my new tattoo contained the image of my "Totem Animal" and was asked for more detail as to what I meant, so here goes...

Now I am no expert so these are purely my own thoughts on the subject.

Rule 1: if it feels right it probably is!

I said my totem animal is the she-wolf, but I actual consider myself to have 3 totems(by which I mean animal spirit guides) Wolf/ Hare/ Bee

To work out your totems, start by making a list of your personalty traits and needs, then try and match them up with creatures from nature.

For me the wolf represents my "loner" nature, strength of purpose, pack leader and protector.

The Hare is my link to the Earth spirit(mother nature) being a creature of the fields, secretive, playful, yet ever watchful.

And the Bee, a hard worker, busy busy busy, surrounded by flowers, contented to provide food for others(not to mention defying science by it's ability to perform the impossible...flying)

The Hare also represents my desire to be part of the wilderness. I made this cross-stitch a few years ago, I sketched the image straight onto the aida(copyright free image from a school resource book). It shows a mother Hare with her 2 leverets(me and my boys)
Take your time, and your totems will seek you out. Sit quietly in a place you consider safe and peaceful and call them. You may already have an obvious spirit guide, I have always had bees around me. Whenever I move house my first visitor is always a bee(you'll have to take my word for that :D). You may naturally be drawn to a certain kind of animal, people are often referred to as "cat" or "dog" or "horsey" people. I'm a "dog" person hence the wolf!(I'm to untrusting to be a domestic dog). Whatever animals come into your mind while you are in a relaxed state are probably the right ones for you.

I have decided to make a canvas depicting my totem animals. Was going to do a Totem pole but it didn't feel right for me.
The sunflower is a Moon Daisy, as I am totally ruled by the moon(wolf! Hare!), but I wanted a flower for my Bee :D
working with blendable pastels, which is new for me.....
and loads of colour, though I had to fight my darker side over this one as she wanted to work in greys mwahahaha....

I actually really enjoyed the strong colours

When I'd covered the whole canvas I thought I better seal it, so I covered it with clear gesso.

Wasn't sure if it would smudge or bleed, so I put it on thick and hoped for the best
YAY !!!! It worked :D Phew!!

Added a bit of detail with indian ink pen....

and done.

Chunky Monkey thinks his totem might be a Gorilla, strong, shy, avoiding confrontation, yet dangerous when provoked :D Can't disagree with that haha!

When you find your totem animals, why not make a representation for yourselves, it will bring them just that bit closer, and help them guide you through life's trials :D XXX

MASKerade part 2

So, as promised, another post for The Butterfly Effect's "Mask" theme :D

Decided to try a painting, with lots of paint!! and powerful colours!!

I'm usually quite reserved where colour is concerned, but having seen such stunningly colourful pieces from other participants I think it's well past time I had a go!

I started by pasting a base portrait onto a piece of watercolour card, which I later coated with white gesso. (lots of waiting for stuff to dry....)

When those 2 layers had dried, I squooshed acrylic paints (red /yellow/blue) straight onto the board, and smooshed it around with a dry brush.(like the techno speak??)
and waited for it to dry....got bored...thought out of the box.....make another kind of mask while waiting :D

This is luuuurvely, sparkley, lavender flavoured(not edible), purpley-pink, face mask stuff from a tube !!

Waiting for more stuff to dry....groan!

but awesomely funny to peel off hahaha! :D

Freaky or what?!?! Suppose Mabel could make use of this :D

After everything dried, I added layers of paint to face.....

dry brushing thinner layers so it dried quicker :)

cut out a mask and added feathers to trim, before gluing onto portrait.

I raised the mask on silicone glue to give a 3d effect.

Enjoy :D XXX

Linking to The Butterfly Effect#Masks

For Fun Challenges# BOO!

Creavil Challenge#17 Halloween(well I think it's scary)