Joyous Gift Giving...:D

I was contacted recently by a friend who asked if I would paint her one of my "bubble people" couples...to represent the love she and her hubby share :D

And now she has it I can share it with you...

"Joyous Union"

16 x 20 inch canvas board

I started with a collage and stencil layer...

then gessoed over the background...

before adding more layers of colourful acrylics.

She said she was redecorating and hadn't decided between red and plum...so I mixed a colour between the two for the background glaze :D

Next I chose colours to glaze the figures. My friend is a very spiritual soul so I chose purple for her, and viridian green for her hubby(I see green as a colour for strength and loyalty)

Then it was just a case of adding a few finishing touches..

.including some gold shimmeriness...

a few close-ups to show the depth of colour.

 And if you look really closely...you can just read the words "Joyous Union" written on the base layer across his chest :D

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

 She did want to pay me ...but I just get such pleasure from giving it to them :D XXX

The Pride of Innocence

So first of all....YAY!!! I was not going nuts... I found my missing stencils!!!!! Well truth be told they found me. I was grabbing stuff from my stash to make a last minute Bday card on Saturday when they just fell on me, but I'm happy all the same :D

so obviously I just had to attack a piece of paper and used them to make a random background to work on later.

And now it is Tuesday and time to post for "A Piece a Week"...and I didn't do anything for Paper Saturdays either...and then there is a new Inspiration Avenue challenge "Sad girl with flowers in her hair"!!!

So I grabbed the random background and went for it :D

The cogs make a wonderful base for flowers...

and the mixture of clock faces and cogs turning and love letter script lent a truly melancholy air to the piece. 

Building layers of hope and wishful thinking...

and a coating of stubborn refusal to accept the obvious...

and we are left with a single tear for the "Pride of Innocence"

Hope you enjoyed the process :D XXX

Natures paintings

I'm not a photographer...and I only have the camera on my cheap mobile phone, but I take loads of pics, store them on my puter...and never use them!!!

This week Inspiration Avenue asked us to share some pics of "Sunrise and Sunset"

My sunsets always give fabulous silhouettes... 

especially from the giant Poplars at the bottom of my garden...

and then my Bro walks the moors just beyond my horizon...

and gets fabulous visions like these!

I can't see the sunrise as I am on the wrong side of the hill...but I do get to see some amazing "effects" in the sky above me....

and the pastels after a storm passes can be so soft and subtle...

but after a sunny day(even in January) the sky here has the deepest blue as the sun settles down for the night.

And just sometimes.....we get a magical moment of shimmery suspense as a storm moves in.

People often ask how a yokel like me copes living in a huge city like Sheffield...

I bought a house where I could see the sky :D

(I really must use these for paintings one day)

Enjoy :D XXX

Silent Tears...

For this weeks "A Piece a Week", I decided to try out a "runny paint" technique that was pointed out to me by my friend  Carmen Wing.

Carmen shared a video tutorial by Raeart, which makes the technique look so much fun I just had to try it :D

Acrylic on 8x10 stretch canvas

I didn't want to work on a blank canvas, so I covered mine with a piece of home made pattern paper before starting...

I struggled a bit getting the paint runny enough to drip...

but I really enjoyed the speed painting it involves...

and just love the "ethereal" feel to the finished piece(top pic).

Why not watch the vid and give it a try?

Enjoy :D XXX

Just a little bit of fun...

While taking a break from the garden I decided to do my page for Dawn's Journal Journey's, and here challenge this moth was to incorporate Birds in your page :D

At the same time I was drawn to So Artful Challenges theme this month which is "Night Skies"...use dark blue/white/silver etc...

couldn't resist a bit of sparkle..Stardust Stickles...

and some metallic gold and silver acrylic :D

I guess this guy is a bit of a dreamer...but we all need a dream to aspire too don't we?

The journalling reads

"I'm wishing on a star....and I don't give two hoots how silly you think I am..."

I would also like to enter this page for Manon's Paper Saturdays challenge

Enjoy :D XXX

A little Pixie Magic!

Haven't painted one of my "bubble people" for a while...and I did promise Pixie one of her very own :D

I got a great bargain at the Works this weekend, can you believe this pack of little canvases only cost £1.99!!! (I bought 2 packs lol) They are wonderfully sturdy and a great size for posting art to friends(5x7) :D

 covered the canvas with a piece of home painted paper(made for collage work), and drew in the figure...

and started adding colour.

When I think of Pixie, I think of purple and gold...bright and smiley and magical :D...and full of energy :D

...a layer of yellow glaze added a warm fuzzy feeling ...as making things for friends should :D

Absolutely had to be shimmery and shiny....

...very shiny in the sun!

Hope she likes it lol

I would like to enter this as my "Piece a Week" over at Rita's blog, and in my friend Manon's Paper Saturdays Challenge (home made paper base layer)

I am now feeling all happy and smiley after spending so much time thinking about how many friends I have since joining the online community :D

Enjoy :D

How "Family" colours our lives.

This month, for ARC, I am reviewing "A Portrait in Sepia" by Isabel Allende

I was a bit nervous starting this book, as it was a gift from a dear friend who thought it sounded like the kind of book I would enjoy. What if I didn't like it? How would I word the review without offending someone I love?

It is an historical novel set between 1862 and 1910, and is written as a memoir of Aurora Del Valle, an independent young women living in Chile.

The book is written in three parts...

Part 1 covers the years before her birth, and is written in quite a confused manner(for which Aurora apologizes at the beginning). I struggled with this section until I realised that the format was more that of the kind of conversation you overhear at a large family gathering, where everyone is adding to the stories, no one person ever having all the pertinent information. At certain points the story get's passed to Aunty so-and-so and then to uncle whatsit and so on. We get details and information through the eyes of each character, some only brief mentions, others seeming much more relevant.  I could see how this section would be quite frustrating for some, but being a keen genealogist it is how I see my ancestral past, little snippets and delicacies of information, that later prove a clue to the next important link.

Part 2 covers Aurora's childhood and events in the world that effect her upbringing. The story again jumps in and out of other people's lives, but in a more organized way, as more information is readily available through her own observations.

Part 3 is written in what I consider a more conventional style and pulls all the facts and loose ends together beautifully.

Underlying the "memoir" is a fabulous "shout out" to the strength and character of the women of Chile during the building of a great nation. It is not coloured by feminism, but instead shows us the formidable patience of women working "behind the scenes" in the shadow of their husbands. It is also filled with the most wonderful stories of love and devotion (and several beautifully written scenes of a sexual nature). This is in no way a classic "Mills and Boons" type romantic novel...the emotions evoked are much deeper(I cried 4 times).

All in all I have to thank Magaly for gifting me this book....I found so many moments within it's pages that reflected things in my own life, not least my desire to keep memories alive for my children and their children, and their children's children. And I hope to live in their memories as vividly as Aurora's amazing ancestors are now engraved in mine.

My art piece is a 20"x20" stretch canvas, painted in the style of a Victorian family portrait with muted and faded colours. Battered and faded, it shows tantalising glimpses of Aurora's history :D

Enjoy :D XXX