Merry Christmas ATC swap

On a very WET saturday, i have been having a lovely time making my ATC swap and christmas card for Helen.

I have used fibres and stamps on the angels dress,and paints , textured paper for her wings and metallic ribbon and lace for her head dress. I painted the bear using jo sonja paints and a smooshing brush.

The head folds over and the wings slide in at the back, so she fits into the ATC size.

The card is a mixture of washes and pen for outlines.

I certainly hope this weather clears up. Tomorrow we are going to a French day at Como house in Toorak, I cant wait and i am sure there might be a very french inspired painting coming along soon.

Artist Trading Cards

................Halloween is coming, so I thought a few bears dressed up as witches was very appropriate................

Artist Trading Cards............................

I have been trying out my new Inktense Blocks. WOW are they fantastic by them selves and i have also used them with washes of markers as well. They are great dry and wet.

The Jester

What better way to spend a very wet Saturday than painting a Jester.....................

I have used a combination of washes with Marvy Markers, then Black liner work with Atelier Acrylics and some white dry brushing with Jo Sonja. Then a few scribbles here and there with a very fine Micron pen...................

I am going to have a go at cutting out a frame for her when i am able to stand and lean over my desk...........

This is not an original art work, the inspiration came from the internet.

Journal Pages

Sun and Moon ..............

This has been a fun journal page to play with, once again i have used Marvy Markers as washes.
I have spent a very pleasant sunny morning in Melbourne creating this page.

I have 2 weeks to go till i see my surgeon i cant wait to be able to get out and do some retail THERAPY..........................
This first picture doesnt have the final deeper
shading around the faces...............

Four Card Swap

...............................This mermaid is painted using Atelier Interactive Acrylic paints. I have watered them down considerably and used them as washes. Added a few Crystals for a bit of bling and some liner work. Voila she is done.

I have another four card swap also in mind, then i wont know which one to send to my partner.........................

Bonjour

Once again i have been using my marvy markers as a wash of colour, I have used many layers to create the depth of colour in her eyes and hair.

Her name is BONJOUR.............

Artist Trading Cards

I have been playing with my pastel pencils again, they are the easiest thing to use when you cannot walk around properly.

This swap is for JAV an artist trading group that i help run with 2 other fellow Australian artists. Each month we have different themes and ideas that we have to create with in mind.


This month is a 4 card swap,they must be joined to work on and then cut and separated when finished. Each card is to stand alone!!!

I have just let my imagination run, always butterfly wings and ladies faces- I just love them.

Rehab/September 2011

Rehab September/ Playing with some pastel pencils

What a year 2011 has been, first my achillies and now a total hip replacement!!!!!!

2 weeks down, 1 in hospital and then 9 days in Rehab. I thought this was going to be like a nursing home and i didn't want to go but it was almost like a holiday, the room was very nice, food brilliant and all the staff-nurses, physio,ocupational therapists were fantastic.Since i have come home i am really missing my Milo and chefs special for morning and afternoon tea

I managed to have a little play with some carbothello pencils. Unfortunately with the hip,you are restricted to not being able to sit at less than 90degrees, so you cannot sit at a desk and lean forward. This makes art work very difficult.

Easter Break 2011

Over the Easter Break we had 5 days at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast on the Great Ocean Road near Lorne. It is just magnificent and we go there each year to celebrate our wedding anniversary. You can just lie back in bed and watch the waves roll in. It is my special place to relax. I had such a great time creating heaps of new ATCs and journal pages, but i hav'nt had time till now to upload them.

Zentangle...............This was so much fun to do,I started with the dog in the middle then the merfish and it just went on from there, and then a wash of colour to finish.

Rose Petal.......................I have used a very soft wash of Marvy Markers for this face and her petals.I am very pleased with the results

Dreaming Princess.............I have used pastel pencils for my princess and then a wash of water, that worked as well as watercolour pencils. I still would like to add a few sparkles to the bubbles on her head.

Journal Pages

Aggapanthus............. I love her eyes they just jump out!!!!!!!

I have used a watery Atelier paint for Aggapanthus and then watered down black for the liner work.I am really beginning to like the effects that can be achieved with these paints.Thanks Vicky for the push .......both with the paints and the journal pages it has been a long 12 weeks since my operation and all this art work has definitely helped the time go by..........

Mirror Image...............

I decided to have a little fun sketching with Graphitint pencils, they are very soft to use but don't smudge. I limited my colours to a brown and deep grey for the hair and a touch of deep burgundy for the lips etc....... I then washed a little water here and there to blend in the shading and to bring the colours out. They come alive when wet...... My journey with my foot is almost over(well the hard part) I am now in a runner for 2 hours twice a day. It is really strange to walk on it again.I have heaps of hydrotherapy and physio to return to walking properly..........

Whimsical Faces

Whimsical Faces.......................I decided to have a little fiddle with Atelier Interactive paints today. I have watered them down quite a bit and used them as washes mainly. I am pleased with the results.

random journal pages

.................Avignon............

For this scene i sketched in the main design lines first and then added washes of colour.

....................one tree hill..........

marvy markers

In Thought.............washy marvy markers.......

My Mermaid...I have used pitt pencils and black marker

Floating Circles

Floating................CirclesFor this piece I started with some texture paste and a palette knife, i randomly spread a thin layer over the page and allowed it to dry really well. This was the first time i had tried Marvy Markers over texture paste and Wow! they are fantastic really smooth and easy to blend. The large circles i coloured in with my desired colours and then blended with the blending marker, they smudged together so well. For the background i once again floated in the colours with a wet flat brush.
I have used Taupe for most of my outline work with just a little black here and there.

Mermaids

....................Mermaids...................

Today i have had some play time with my background first, i have used two co-ordinated background papers, punched jigsaw puzzle pieces, embellished with flowers and jewels.On the background i have also used one of my favourite scroll stamps in a variety of aqua and greens. this in to mimick the underwater depths where these mythological creatures live.

I have used pitt pencils to colour my mermaid and a little black liner work to finish. Her hair is some random silk fibres and her body has some sequines here and there for a little sparkle............I have made sure that my pencil work is transparent and the soft scrolls in the background show through.............

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

...................Coco Chanel....................

Coco is my all time favourite fashion icon!! For this page i started with some stamping, torn sheets of paper, a few tags, a small metal arm and hand attatched to the dress sleeve and some scribbled inspiring words down the side.

I have used one of Coco's well known quotes and a few lines about some of her firsts.

My love for everything Chanel began back in my college days when i was studying fashion design. I was picked to redesign and wear a chanel suit from 1967 for a tribute to secretaries. We had to model our creations on the tram tracks at the top of Collins Street in Melbourne.This picture was in New Idea...........

Ever since then i adore Chanel.

One of my best memories from our trip to france was standing in her original store at 31 Rue Cambon and looking at her mirrored staircase.......

Wings..............

Wings..............

I have used a piece of printed paper, added a few stamps,eiffel tower, paris and some scrolls. A couple of jigsaw pieces for clouds and a small bee.
Then I thought about my theme "wings" and started with the large bug, added an umbrella and butterfly wings. These were my main ideas, i then used a black marker to outline them, then added the bird some eyes and a wrought iron hand rail.
I used pitt pencils to gently add some colour smudging here and there with my finger.This was really relaxing to do and i found that the more i tried to clear my mind the easier it was to draw...........

More Journal Pages

The Moon........................

I love this one, just to look at the face and i smile.................

I think i had better start to make all my journal pages into a book.....

A Journal page about ..............Cassis........................

I thought i would have a play with a little picture of part of the port in Cassis in the south of france, a truely beautiful place....

journal page

Little girl.....................
For this little face i have watered down the dark Grey Marker and side loaded and softly floated in all the shading, I then used a liner brush for all the outlines, a hint of pale pink on the cheeks and eyes and soft blue for the eyes.

I gently painted a scroll stamp with watery grey and added a few scrolls on the side.

Tuesday 8th March 2011

. I am at last walking again, with the aid of my trusty boot. It is hard but i am getting better. I start Hydrotherapy on Friday that should be fun.....

......Flying Fish...........

Marvy Markers.... I seem to have had a bit of an ocean inspiration today...........

........Sea Horse........

More Marvy Markers, the watery soft backgrounds are just so easy with these markers.

I have found a new favourite medium to use..

Inktence Pencils and Ink

.............Go Away..............

This little girl was so relaxing to create, all the pen and ink work first including some shadows and then inktense pencils and a little wash of water to soften colours...

I have decided to draw an eye or pupil on each of my pieces. That will be my thing!!!!!!!!!

Roses,roses and more roses

...........Roses, roses and more roses............

I was very motivated yesterday and thought i would try some of my well known subjects!!

Pen work first and then some gentle washes of colour. and then a little more pen work and the text........

I am now down to ONE sleep before i see the surgeon. Thank Goodness I am over the whole thing.

Journalling 1st March 2011

.................Inspirations....................
My journal page for the 1st of March 2011. I started with a piece of printed paper that had soft music all over it with a beautiful sparkly boarder. I added buildings, paint tube, Butterfly wings a moon and bee............ Then some words and thoughts that came to mind................

................Self Portrait...............

I decided to give the ATC's a rest and do some more creating on journal pages, the plan is to make a book of all these pages when i can get around the studio properly.

I have limited my colours to green and blue greens with only a touch of brown for the eyes and lips. I have used faber castell Pitt pencils, or pastel pencils you can get a really soft effect when you gently smudge the colours together with a dry paint brush........................

More Jounalling

.................Eyes and More Eyes.................

This time i have started on a soft piece of scrapbooking paper and added a few eyes and faces and doodles here and there.I am down to counting sleeps now. 3 to go I hope my cast comes off on Thursday and then i might be able to walk....... And Shop.................

Artist Trading Cards

..............Flying Hearts.............

Today i have been doing some Artist Trading Cards with once again Marvy Markers and blending them with a blending stick...

Hearts......................

.................Hearts...............

..................Miss Cupcake.............

..................... Aggie.............

.................Angel Wings..........

Softly washed marvy markers and ink.