Flight of fancy...

During yet another "fly by" blog assault last week I saw a fabulous project on my friend Rita's blog.

A lady/artist in Canada is collecting feathers(made ones lol) to add to a collaborative project she is working on

Well you know I can't resist joining in :D, so here are 2 feathers I have made to send her.

Following her suggestion, I used a real feather to get my outline and cut a thin card template...

 I used the template to draw and cut out 2 feathers from slightly thicker greyboard...

 added a thin coat of white gesso, and stated "blobbing" (yes that is a technical term) small ammounts of acrylic paint on them. 

 And "smooshing"...I like "smooshing"...

 before adding a little definition with a black inktense pencil.

 Next I applied a thin green glaze to the main background, and some rich yellow to the tips.

 Couldn't resist a thin sheen of gold metallic...

 so the feathers will shimmer as they move.

 The quill part is highlighted with white acrylic topped with clear iridescent medium. 

After adding ribbons (as requested), I couldn't send them in a boring envelope, so I used some of the left over paint and a PaperArtsy mini feather stamp to add a bit of glamour :D

If you want to help, Avoxtar needs the feathers in by 27th of this month.

I am using theses feathers for Paper Saturdays Challenge, and (since she started me off) Rita's A Piece a Week challenge

Enjoy :D XXX

I have been arting...honest!!!

Actually, I've been a tad obsessed with an image that formed in my head after reading another of Magaly's short stories about two sister's who got more than they bargained for after being rude and nasty to someone.

This is a pen and marker version I made...

but it lacked texture.

So I took a canvas, and used a drop sheet that I'd tested a couple of stencils on (perfect for the base layer lol)

and started growing my grumpy shrub.

For this I used tissue paper and matt medium.

Once dry I started adding paint in thin layers so as not to smother the texture.

*oooow...nummy texture*

To add the faces, I scanned my original drawings, and printed them onto tissue paper in the required size...

cut them out, and applied carefully with more matt medium. Using tissue paper for this means the image can be pushed back into the texture of the layers below.

I then added a bit of depth and detail with thin washes of acrylic and inktense pencils, as well as punching out and painting some small flowers....

before a final coat of gloss medium to bring out the colours and bind the layers.

This final image is scanned, and shows the true depth of colour used.

Well you didn't expect me to be working on anything cute this time of year did you...mwahahahahaha!

Enjoy :D XXX

I would like to enter this as my "Piece a Week", for "Paper Saturdays Challenge" and Country View Challenge "Something Spooky"

Pieces of Heart

I was in pieces trying to decide what to do with Darcy's FANTABULOUS new stamp designs I bought recently( Electrica  Darcy 01 from Paper Artsy).

I had started a different project, but got carried away with the yellow...it went BLAH!!!! so is now in rehab.

Then I spotted a pack of 2 blank jigsaw puzzles in a kiddy craft section of a large store and knew they would do nicely :D

 I started by building a base layer of colour using TH distress ink pads

 adding colours til satisfied...(no yellow)

 Next I simply stamped Darcy's images over the background using black Archival ink.

 Even on this irregular surface the images stamped amazingly crisply.

Then I added touches of deeper colours using promarkers (very carefully as I wasn't sure how the different layers of ink would react on the coated card surface)

 I used a gold metallic gel pen on the zippers. 

 I love the warm colours that formed, and hope Darcy likes how it turned out :D

This could be a great project for children during the wet days to come, using any stamps you have laying around lol.

I am entering this for Manon's Paper Saturdays challenge, and counting it as my Piece a Week

Enjoy :D XXX

Tangled Mermaids

Everywhere I look lately I am seeing mermaids and Zentangles, so for my 18th "29 Faces for September" I decided to combine the two.

I drew a very simple face and gave her pointy ears and "floaty hair". These strips of hair gave me the areas to "tangle" in...

 I took a fine nibbed pen and doodled like a maniac.

I have to say I was in awe of the people who practice this skill before I started...I am TOTALLY impressed now!!!

I chose a simple colour palette, 2 greens and 2 blues for her hair...

and combined them to colour the background.

After 2 weeks of quick sketching, this was an amazingly intense experience(though staring at black on white for 2 hours made me feel a little ill)

I am counting this piece for my "A Piece a Week" and my "Weekly Face on Wednesday"

Enjoy :D XXX

Working with others IS awesome!

Yesterday I told you I had been playing with my friend Jeanette to create original art pieces for each other.

Well this is the piece I sent back to her :D

We each worked on a background for the other to work onto(without telling each other anything about what we were using). We only knew what size piece we agreed to use...

and this is the scrummy, textured and painted background she gave me.

The scary part is making the first marks on someone else's work....but we both intended leaving parts of the background showing through, so I went for it lol

 Pencil lines sealed with medium to stop it blending, then a thin layer of white gesso to unify the background...

 and now it was just a case of picking colours from the base and building up layers.

 She just looked such a "bubbly" party girl :D

 I just couldn't bring myself to "lose" the bee on her nose lol.

 Every party girls needs bunny ears right, and a big butterfly bow ...

 I wanted to add something "behind" her to add a bit of perspective...

 so I picked out a big blousey flower...

 deepened the tone of the background with a thin glaze...

 and added highlights of white and gold

I just love this bubbly bunny girl, and am thrilled that Jeanette loves her too :D

I am counting her as my "Piece a Week" as though I painted her a couple of weeks ago I couldn't blog til we'd swapped.

And I am entering her in Manon's Paper Saturday Challenge

Enjoy :D XXX