New Art, and possibly a new obsession!

     It has been quite some time since my last post here, and my blog, as well as my art, have been undergoing some changes. After much thought on the matter, I have decided to change my blog name from "Primitives & Whimsies" to "Art & Whimsies". I know it's not a major change, but it feels like it to me. I have not made "primitives" for quite some time.... so I am not really sure why it took me so long to make this change.

    At the same time I am starting to feel that my art is taking on it's own individuality... finally. That, to me, is a big deal!

Here are a few newer paintings that I have been working on....

 

Keeper of the Sea (progress photo)

          Practicing painting "loose", as opposed to my usual OCD detail all the time. This one was fun, it was nice to just relax and let the paint do it's thing.

Mixed Media Collage on cardboard.

Mixed Media collage on watercolor paper

 These last three were part of a facebook challenge, led by Jane Spakowsky (GrittyJane), which was a 10 Day Painting Challenge. We were challenged to make one piece of art a day, for 10 days. It was a great challenge... but one that I did not quite finish.... I made it to day 7. Oh well! It was fun anyway =).

Now to the newest obsession... or at least it might be if all works out well ;).

For the longest time I have been admiring, and one day hoping to adopt, an adorable Blythe doll. *sigh* They are just so cute, customizable, and photogenic!!!! But the price tag gets me every time!! About a year ago I had my eye on one on Ebay that needed a lot of work, which would have been perfect because I that is exactly what I was wanting to do..... but I hesitated and missed out on a great opportunity. Since then I have gone back many times, but they just seem to be getting more and more expensive!! For my first time customizing, I just could not see spending that much.

Then I stumbled upon the adorable Tangkou dolls!!! Seemed too good to be true, a doll very much like a Blythe, but for 1/3 of the price! So I started looking online for reviews and saw some great things, and very little that was bad. So I decided to buy myself an early birthday present =). 

Here is what she looks like.

Click to go to Tangkou site

    I think I am in LOVE! I ordered her about a week ago, and have been patiently waiting for her to come in! Thankfully Hubby checked the post office this morning, and she is in, just have to wait for him to bring her home =).
    So, you can probably expect another post tomorrow with pics!!

"Upcycled" Portrait finished... and more

I have been working hard on several paintings lately... too many at once I think =). I have a couple waiting on my dear sweet hubby to build frames for, so they will look all pretty.
BUT, I did manage to finally get photos taken of the "upcycled" project that I was working on. She came out quite beautiful, I think.

My talented hubby made the frame out of scrap wood leftover from a project that he was working on, he makes beautiful Primitive birdhouses and furniture. One day I will be a good wifey and share some photos of his work too =).

I used several layers of paint and crackle on the background, along with stamping with my new favorite tools.... bubblewrap and bottle covers for circles. Then I layered on some collage elements from scrapbook papers and some printed vintage sheet music.

I recently picked up Kelly Rae Roberts' book "Taking Flight". WONDERFUL!!!! I can't put it down! It is both informative and inspiring!!! I decided to give some of her techniques a try and this is what I came up with the first time around. I have a few more that I am finishing up using many of the same ideas.

I am really having a hard time figuring out where to list my paintings! I might try these out on ebay and see what happens. Selling paintings is still very new to me. Still testing the waters a bit =).

"Upcycled" Portrait Work in Progress

You may call it "Upcycle", or "Recycle" or just makin' fun stuff out of old junk... but regardless of what you call it, for the frugal crafter/artist it's the way to go! Not to mention saving trees and keeping waste out of the landfills =).

Lately I have really been thinking about ways to make my art a little bit more "green". Finding ways to use something that may otherwise have been tossed away. Hubby and I are in the process right now of cleaning out our storage unit, and I am finding loads of treasures! Old baby books that were damaged... or chewed on. The board books will be especially fun. Books of poetry and classic stories that had been water damaged. An old dilapidated bookshelf that I have already had hubby cut into perfect canvas sizes and layered with gesso. The possibilities are endless!!

Right now I am working on a beautiful portrait.... but if you saw the "canvas" beforehand you would have thought I was crazy!

Upon going through the boy's old baby toys I came across several board puzzles with missing pieces. I was able to pry the top cutout layer off of one of them, leaving a lovely piece of sturdy thin particle board. (i'm pretty sure hubby thought I was crazy) The only problem..... it was covered with animals =).
After a layer of Gesso, this is what I had.


You can still kinda see the animals peeking out. I'v been working hard on her all day, and am really loving how she is coming out. She isn't finished yet.... but this is what I have so far. The background looks black... but it's really Burnt Umber.


I will post more photos when she is finished.
Thanks for looking!

Fairy Princess & Angel

I have been working one some new mixed media paintings over the past week, specifically for prints. They are 9x6 paintings on watercolor paper, and have been mounted on thin sturdy cardboard. I'm not sure if i will be selling the originals to be framed, or just the prints. But either way as soon as i can get the printing sizes worked out i will have them up on Etsy.

"Long Ago and Far Away" was created using collaged pages from a 40's vintage book, acrylics, watercolor pencils, printed paper, charcoal and is sealed in beeswax.

The angel is watercolor pencils, acrylic, charcoal and is also sealed with beeswax.
Look for them soon on my Etsy shop.

He loves me... He loves me not...... Art Journal Entry #1

I have finished my first art journal entry.
I did not intend for this to be a "Valentine's" theme... but i find it to be very appropriate.

I am posting photos in stages, i love to see how a painting develops from sketch to finished product.

In this first stage i have sketched, in graphite, a general idea of what i wanted the finished product to look like. I don't particularly like drawing hands, and my hands aren't very good for modeling. However my 7yo son has very nice hands... so i made him be my hand model for this sketch =)

Next i painted in her face with a mix of watercolor pencils and acrylics. Her hair is painted in acrylic, and the background is different shades of purple acrylic wash.


I just love how the finished product came out! I finished off her hair with highlights of plum, and her dress in turquoise acrylic. Her corset is silver, and i have used a piece of old lace as a kind of stamp to give it a black lace effect, which i also used down the left edge of the page. The daisy in her hair is from a gardening magazine. I finished it off with wisps of wind in silver, aswell as black and silver heart lacy stamps.

An Altered State of Mind

I have decided to dive head first into the deep end of mixed media painting and altered art. Now that I have begun, I can't stop!

I have been experimenting with different ways to create texture on canvas.

Revelation 22:2
"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding it's fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

This first painting is of a "tree of life". I started with a canvas panel, which I then decoupaged with tissue paper (recycled from Christmas of course), and then covered that with acrylic gesso.
The rest is painted with acrylics, and detailed in black ink.