A Little Quiet Time

A Little Quiet Time...

Where have the last several weeks gone? I can't believe my last post was over a month ago! The last month has been filled with half marathon training, overcoming some health issues, keeping up with the never-ending "to do" list, and squeezing in moments of art here and there. This afternoon, I'm thankful to have a few minutes of quiet time to get back on track. Well, mostly quiet, except for Abbey's cute snoring.

It's the perfect afternoon for napping....I think I should join her!

I was able to spend some time last night creating some cute Easter cards for my mom, dad, and sister. I used the ideas I learned from one of the Life Book 2014 lessons to create two "Quirky Animals" cards....a bunny and an elephant.

My sister chose to keep the pink bunny, while my mom and dad wanted
the purple elephant.

The Quirky Animals lesson..it turned out very cute!

Well, my quiet time is coming to an end. I need to get some house work done, make some body lotion bars as gifts, finish some laundry, get lunches ready for tomorrow, and sneak in an hour run at some point. Too bad the weekends can't be 3 days long! 

I hope each of you had a blessed time with family over the holiday weekend! Have a great week!

Posca Pens

I love getting new art supplies. After hearing so many wonderful things about Posca Paint Pens, I decided to give them try. They aren't easy to find, so I was happy to see them on Amazon. I ordered a set of 8 fine tip pens and received them within a few days.

The pens are amazing. They easily glide over a variety of surfaces such as wood, canvas, paper, and glass. So far I have only used them on watercolor paper and canvas. The colors are vibrant and the ink flow is smooth. Even though they are "fine" tipped, I think I would also like to have the extra fine tip for writing words....adding them to my wish list now!

Here are a few of the mixed media journal pages I've completed using the pens....

Posca Pens used for outlining flowers and drawing symbols. I
used a Sharpie pen to do the writing at the lower left corner.

On this page I primarily used the white posca pen for highlighting
and details. 

Both pages were created based on lessons from the Life Book 2014 class (lessons by Alena Hennessy and Tamara Laporte). Since I am still working on the 29 Faces Challenge (even though it is finished!), I am counting the girl on the swing as face #10.

Work in progress on canvas...posca pens used for outlining and adding
shapes...I'll post the final pic when it is completed. 

I can definitely say that if you are thinking about purchasing Posca Pens, they are well worth the investment. I love mine!

A Few Sketches

Last weekend I completed a few sketches for the 29 Faces Challenge and I'm finally getting them posted! The challenge is over and I am no where near finishing the faces....not even halfway. Still, I plan on completing the challenge, even if it takes me a little longer.

It's tough to post these faces without color. At some point, I'm looking forward to adding paint, collage, and watercolor to each of them!

DAYS 6-9

More faces are on the way....along with some fun with my new Posca Pens!

Faces, Faces, Faces!

It's an understatement to say that I'm a little behind on creating faces for the 29 Faces Challenge. I had hoped to complete at least a sketch each day, but feel a little obsessed about giving each page color, which takes quite a bit of time!

So, I 'm sharing a few faces that are finished and some that are still works in progress. I wish I had more time to create, but my time has been limited to maybe an hour or so on the weekends. Boo!

DAY 3

Manga style face using Neo colors and acrylics

DAY 4

A work in progress..I'd like to add a background and a
few other things. Created using Neocolor II watercolors.

DAY 5

This was a completed lesson from Life Book 2014 by Tamara Laporte!
I learned some fun techniques.  Created using Dylusions
ink spray, stencils, and acrylics.

I'm not meeting my goal of a face a day....even just a sketch, but I've still completed many more faces that I would have done before the challenge! I'm off to work on another face!

29 Faces

It's that time again.....The 29 Faces Challenge! I'm excited to participate in this challenge for the FIRST time! The challenge:  Create a face each day for 29 days. I am going to do my best to complete a face each day that is at least a pencil sketch. If time allows, I will make sure my faces are spiced up with color!

My goals for this challenge: Be creative...try new things...HAVE FUN!

While I was getting started, I did have some inspiration from other artists. My first page was a limited color face I created after watching Tamora Laporte's video on You Tube. You can see it here. It's a fast forward view of her creating a journal page using limited colors. 

Day 1

The second page I created was my own version of a lesson that we had with Marieke Blokland on Life Book 2014. I changed the face and hair to make it my own style. I really love how she turned out! While I was creating this journal page, I was having so much fun that time got away from me. When I looked at the clock it was 1:00 AM!! I finally went to bed and finished the page after breakfast this morning. 

Day 2

Sugar Sugar journal page from LB 2014, week 4. 

I have many ideas for upcoming faces....I should probably jot them down somewhere so I don't forget. It's all I could think about last night, which made falling asleep a little difficult! I am looking forward to seeing everyone's faces during this challenge! I've already seen some amazing works!

If you would like to join the challenge there's still time. Go on over to the 29 FACES CHALLENGE blog page and get started!

Inner Artist Guardian

Life Book 2014 classes are underway and I've just completed my first lesson! The lesson was taught by Tamara Laporte and included a warm up page, a meditation, and the creation of our Inner Artist Guardian.

The warm up lesson...paint dripping, splattering, collage, stenciling, and doodling!
I used the quote, "And the day came when the
risk to remain in a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to
blossom." Anais Nin

Beginning sketch...with many, many attempts at the eyes! 

Next, a little color to the face...I love her already!

Adding collage papers at random places on the page...I used an old book and
old hymnal for the papers.

More color...Neocolor II (my favorites!) I learned
about them in LB 2013.

The completed journal page.

Part of the lesson involved choosing a word for the year. I really thought about this, as several words came to mind. I kept coming back to the word, "peace." I often struggle with worry and anxiety and realize this is something I'd like to overcome. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my mixed media journey! While I've been playing around with mixed media techniques a little over a year now, I thought it would be an exciting adventure to journal my experiences throughout 2014. The purpose of this blog is to share what I learn with you...techniques, products/tools and of course mixed media ART!

I'll also be sharing some of the journal pages that I create while participating in Tamara Laporte's amazing art class, Life Book 2014. It's an excellent class that I took last year and had a blast! If you are interested head on over to Tam's page and sign up!

I encourage you to share your experiences, favorite products/tools, and artwork.  Please feel free to leave your blog in the comments below!