Teasing and Pimping :D

Although I am known for being a calm and rational person, when it comes to art I loose all sense of timing.

Once I get an idea in my head I just have to run with it, or I become just a teensy bit tetchy...so you get to have a sneaky peek at 2 projects I am working on at the moment :D

This is the under-painting for my entry for this years Celebrate Oz with Oma Linda.

The challenge date isn't until March 15th....but I got a bit excited...and the painting is complete and pre-scheduled lol

The second piece is a portrait I am working on for next months Artful Readers Challenge post.

She is one of the characters from the book I will be reviewing.

Again, this piece isn't due until February 22nd...and I have already done another piece to join it when I post lol

Hello. My name is Gina...and I is a Artoholic!!!

Enjoy :D XXX

Year of the Rabbit...

I really struggled to get a clear picture of this fidgety little bunny :D Spring is in the air, and she just wants to jump and dance :D

For my "A Piece a Week" entry, I got round to re-cycling a Chinese Take-away calender I'd saved :D

It took a coating of gesso quite happily...

and Celtic stencils seemed some how appropriate for this project, which I then covered with a thin layer of cerulean blue.

 I was born in the year of the Rabbit...in March...and have a tattoo of a spiral Hare on my leg...so the image chose itself :D

I outlined the stylised dancing Rabbit and knocked back the background with another thin coat of white gesso.

Spring green leaves seemed suitable for the background...

a,d a carpet of white flowers to dance upon...

I used a Martha Stewart stencil for the flowers, before defining their shape with a black pen.

I then used black paint to "throw the figure forward, while adding gold to the leaves and flower centres.

The shimmer of the gold and the "slatted" surface made photographing difficult, and the colour of the finished piece is much richer than it appears here.

Why not get yourself one of these calenders and decorate it with your designated animal?

Enjoy :D XXX

entering this weeks Inspiration Avenue Challenge...Chinese New Year

Growing Mushrooms...

As promised, step by step pics of how I grew my mushrooms :D

I got some chalky spritzy things for Christmas and used them to create a background sheet, which I then glued onto greyboard and cut into 4 pieces.

Next I up-cycled a piece of laminated paper by drawing a mushroom...

and then cutting it out to create my own stencil :D

I taped the stencil over each piece of board...

and added paint with a sponge.

Voilà!

repeat in different colours Andy Warhol stylie :D

Then build up the detail using paint...

and define outline

Extra layer of yellow paint, splodged through mesh bag.

Inspired by the "magic mushroom" in the Alice in Wonderland story :D

Enjoy :D XXX

A journey through Wonderland

Well what can I say....as my first book for the Artful Readers Club challenge, I chose an old battered copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. 

I bought it from a church jumble sale many years ago for 2 reasons, firstly , it was printed in 1963(my birth year) and secondly, because the previous owner had added their own art to the pages.

I believe this to be a representation of the Queen and King of Hearts playing Flamingo Crochet...

This would appear to be Alice and the other creatures listening to stories to dry off after their long swim in the lake of tears...

and I think this is a representation of the Lobster Quadrille (it is the only reference with fish lol, but this is only a guess)

I am sure you are all familiar with the story of Alice's adventures, but I was always certain that the film makers had exaggerated the chaotic/hyperactive elements to the story...I was wrong.

As the parent of a child assessed with Asperger's syndrome(part of the autistic spectrum) I was left totally agog at the similarities in the speech patterns used by Carroll, with those of my son. Right from the beginning of the story, it was like listening to my son. Especially the parts where Alice is arguing with herself "to the point of making herself cry" from telling herself off for cheating herself whilst playing crochet alone. The constant disapproving of her own behaviour, and second guessing her own decisions, and especially the inability to accept her own ability to learn, are all hurdles I see my son struggle over on a daily basis. How many times a day do I say to him..."enough now...your talking nonsense..." 

And that is what this novel is most famous for, the nonsense. Unfathomable riddles and totally surreal characters. I now suspect Carroll's endeavours may have been an attempt to show how he actually saw the world around him. Full of confusion and contradiction or maybe he had met a child like mine, who on the outside appears like any other, while on the inside they live in turmoil. constantly seeking approval and trying to do the right thing.

Reading the novel has lead me to embark on further adventures into Lewis Carroll's life, to see if my suspicions are correct.

My art is inspired by the "magic mushroom" that the Caterpillar is sitting on. I will blog the process tomorrow as this is already a long post :D

I seriously suggest any parent or friend or teacher of children in the Autistic Spectrum read this short novel with new eyes. I believe it is so much more than "nonsense".

Enjoy :D XXX

 

Naked in the Garden

Acrylic paint on 5 x 5 recycled box cavas

After working on another large canvas last week, I decided to recycle another mini canvas that the kids had started years ago...

and mashed it up with some bright acrylics through stencils. I am really enjoying this technique as it gives instant depth to your background.

It drew me back to the garden of Eden inspiration of last week, and I spotted a rather timid lady in the undergrowth...

obviously embarrassed by her nudity she is hiding in the shadows.

She seems to be aware that she may have offended someone...

and stares out, awaiting her fate.

Adding the white dots pushed her further into the background, but I am not the one she fears...so I gave her a little gold, as befits any lady brave enough to scramble in the bushes naked :D

(tilted to show shimmer)

This is my "Piece a Week" for Rita's challenge :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Snake in the grass....

or rather "Serpent in the Tree"

I have always been fascinated by depictions of this particular ancient story, so when I "acquired"(from my boys bedroom) a 22" x 10" box canvas, that was begging to be up-cycled lol, it was perfect for this project :D

I also "found" a pack of decorating stencils I bought from a home decor shop years ago, and new they too would be perfect for this canvas...

A coat of white gesso removed the offending street sign...and layers of stencilling ensued...

until the serpent was ready to show itself :D

White gesso on the background highlighted the image, and black acrylic defined the edges. Greenery was added with a stipple brush(stiff bristled stencil brush)...

then a deep blue stencilled over gave depth to the tree.

A deep yellow and rich red added fiery primal heat to the background, while white highlighting gave "form" to the serpent's body.

Final touches included iridescent paint to the body, gold paint on areas of the background/fruit/tree trunk and  brown paint rubbed around edges to add ageing.

The "white" areas are where the iridescent paint reflected the light

I would like to credit Tee Thompson and Jeanette House for showing me some of the techniques I used in this piece. I really love it, and it would not have happened without their inspiration :D

Enjoy :D XXX