FEELIN' FISHY

Art Journal

Mixed Media

Feelin' Fishy

In the home stretch in this journal, so I've been going through it and tweaking things here and there.  The above page had some stencil paint remnant on it.  I took a different stencil, the one I call fish scales, and added spray ink to the page.  Shades of blue...my favorite.  I then took a piece of "delicious" paper, aka deli paper, that my sister and I probably created on a vacation a couple of years ago using the Gelli plate.  I have a nice stash of papers from that time...but I could always use more.  I cut fish shapes out of it.  The paper has wonderful colors and lots of metallic paint and it's semi-transparent.  The fish came out great.  The crab is a Maryland Blue Crab (is there any other kind???) and it was in my stash.  I carefully cut it out and added some paint to it.  So that's another page done...and I like it...

Here's another fish page I did today...I'm into fish...what can I say?

Water soluble crayons

Water Colors - Ink

Weathervane Fish

Back during Memorial Day, I had painted a beach house scene and posted it here and the page opposite that was blank.  Today I painted this weathervane fish.  My mind is actually spinning with some kind of fish painting in mind...whether on watercolor paper or canvas...I just don't know yet.  Fish are a great subject that come in myriads of color....endless options...maybe too many, which is why I'm still pondering the fish...

There's Always A Song In My Heart

Art Journal

Mixed Media

"There's Always A Song In My Heart"

I'm coming close to finishing this art journal.  I don't always totally finish them...here is what it looks like...

I love all of the colors you can see when it's standing like this.  What amazes me most about it, is how heavy it is, and that's due to all of the materials glued and painted and pasted on the pages.  The gesso alone is responsible for a lot of it!  This is a Dylusions large journal and the first time I've worked in a journal of this size which I think is about 9 x 11. 

Some of the materials I've used here: stencils, ink, rubber stamps, collage materials and Lindy's Stamp Gang powdered paint from her Hawaiian Islands collection with colors named Aloha Avocado and Magical Mai Tai and Plumeria Pink.....You just mix the powder with water and the colors are beautiful.  This page has a lot of pink which isn't generally one of my colors...The brightest pink is an ink spray...so pink it almost hurts my back molars!  Sweet!

When I first sat down to do this page, my intention was to do a paper mosaic, but things kind of went in another direction.  The one thing I didn't change, is the theme...There's Always A Song In My Heart.  I love music, all kinds of music and it is often a song that will inspire a journal page. 

My Re-Imagine Journal is almost complete!

Graveyard Sketch

Christ Church Parish Graveyard

In the sketchbook

After I sketched my garden shed, I took a drive over to my church to see what I might sketch in the graveyard.  The graves are very old, from the Revolutionary War, and many are broken or you can  no longer read the engravings.  It's a very interesting place. I chose the stone above because I could still read the words and....it had an American flag on it to indicate that a veteran was buried there.  I took photos while I was there as there is potential for more sketches but I might just pay another visit.  There's nothing like natural light.  The two locations I chose to sketch yesterday...my driveway and the graveyard...there were no people around.  I'm trying to gain confidence so that I can sketch in a public place where there are people around and not feel self-conscious.  Haven't tried that yet....I'm a work in progress!

The Garden Shed - in the sketchbook

Sketchbook

The Garden Shed

It was a gorgeous day here yesterday, so I plunked myself down in my driveway and decided to sketch the garden shed.  Not the first time I've painted it, but this is in keeping with "sketching" vs doing a painting.   Working in pen, I sketched going from left to right, trying to keep in mind the perspective.  I wasn't going to include the house on the right which is my neighbor's.  I actually didn't think I  would be able to place it correctly, but because it's a sketch...the vagueness of the drawing works and the house is in the distance.  There are so many different "greens"...from the pachysandra to the grass to the holly to all of the woodsy stuff in the background.  I draw it all with a vague sense of noting that there is a green "something" growing here and there.  The trees in the back become a wash of green with some pen strokes.  But you don't want them to look like they're lined up behind the shed.  I probably have more detail here than necessary for a sketch, but you can go as far as you want with it.  What I love is getting lost in the moment of the creation of the drawing and actually hate when it's done!

I Don't Follow Directions.....

Art Journal

"I Don't Follow Directions"

Acrylics, Stencils, Mask

I could have titled this page...."I just don't listen".  That's kind of the way I fly.  It's the way I'm wired.  Sometimes the learning process just takes too long.  I want to know how to do things RIGHT NOW.  I'm certainly not a millennial, but I do like instant gratification.  I think this silhouette looks like that of an independent person.  I started painting a background, first used my fingers to smoosh color around the page.  Then I started using some stencils and spray acrylics. 

I had thought about leaving this as is....just a colorful painted page.  But not.  I decided to add a figure.  I took a piece of cardstock and cut a shape and then I took black paint and using a small sponge, wiped the paint around the mask.  That was scary....I could have ruined the above page!.   But not.

One more close-up before the mask.  I decided to glue the mask to the opposite page, where I had wiped all of my excess paint. 

Just listen to your heart and you won't need direction(s)

YESTERDAY'S LUNCH

Yesterday's Lunch

Tuna Salad, Tomatoes and Grapes

on a glass plate

In my sketchbook

5 x 7

 

Working directly with a pen...no erasing, I see the errors of my ways.  I learned from my sister, that when sketching....to include every line so to speak, around the perimeter of the drawing.  In other words, I shouldn't have drawn the entire circle (plate) without including that one grape hanging over the plate at the top.  So, unfortunately, it has a line through it.  Secondly, because I wasn't drawing "live" from the plate, but used a photo of the lunch...when I finished the drawing, I realized that I didn't have the entire fork....and that's because it wasn't in the photo!  The drawing looked funny with the fork cut off.   So I cheated a bit and added a longer fork after I had written the words on the page.  It worked OK. The fork looks like its seen better days!  I did not include the dark wood of the table underneath the glass plate...not sure how that would have turned out. 

The food itself....how do you paint tuna salad??  Below is a close-up...you can't see my mistakes here!  Next time I should sketch the lunch before I eat it....note to self. 

GINKO...a memory

Art Journal

Ginko...A memory

Water color, Acrylics, Ink, Stencil

Haven't done what I call a "true" journal page recently, but I consider this page one.  I did enjoy creating it.

The opposite page is just...what it is.

Journaling...

Ginko....

Remembering....

Too Much Fun...

In My Sketchbook

Water Colors!

These are the water colors that Tom gave me for Christmas.  There's actually a whole other row of colors under the ones I drew here.  Then I went outside...

Backyard

This sketch is an area of my backyard...I know it's hard to see; below you see it in color.

The Pink Shop

I was at a local hardware on Rt. 7 earlier today, and directly across the street from where I parked, was this little pink shop.  It's empty now but it's been many shops over the years and not always pink.   It sits in a precarious place with a river right behind it....almost under it.  So I snapped a photo and came home to sketch it and add a little bit of water color.  Here's the photo of it...

How could I not try to capture it?  It's sweet.  I love the "looseness" of sketching!

SKETCH - Berry Crumble

Sketchbook

Berry Crumble

Pen and Water Color

This is the 2nd sketch in my new sketchbook.  I like the way the basket turned out, but the dishes should have been more dominant in the drawing because they are the main subject of the sketch.  I did not draw the subject in pencil first; I went right with the pen because then I feel I'm committed to the drawing and can't erase what I've done.  Sketching really makes you look at whatever it is you are sketching and if I want to do more drawing in my paintings, this is a great skill to work at.  And the Berry Crumbles...they were scrumptious!

IT'S FISHY

Art Journal

Acrylics

Just a quick post.  This didn't start out as a "fish" post.  Originally, it was a vertical painting of colors and shapes.  The more I looked at it, I decided to isolate the fish from all of the shapes going on and it became a horizontal painting.  This is what I ended up with.

 This is a seed of an idea of something I'd look to do on a canvas with lots of pattern and color. 

Flowers from Tom

Art Journal

Pen and Ink

Flowers from Tom

Left hand pages is scrapbook paper

This is my 2nd floral sketch today.  Tom sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I am happy enough with the sketch and have decided not to add color to it.  Instead, I've attached information from the florist which has a pretty water color pattern on it.  I used my sewing machine to stitch the card on to the page ...that was a challenge as this journal is cumbersome and I'm not adept on the machine!  I used washi tape to attach the art to the journal page. (the corners)

  I didn't want to glue the card on top of the drawing and thus lose some of it so this way you can lift the card and look at the rest of the drawing underneath.  

When you open the card, it has Tom's message.  And below is the bouquet itself.

Tori's Gift

Sketchbook

Water color and ink

This is a sketch of a birthday gift I received this week from my young, former colleague at work...a beautiful Gerbera daisy.  I started a book just for sketches this morning and selected her flower as my first entry.  Below is the ink sketch I started with....

and then I went over it with my water color pencils...

and this is the photo of the original flowers!

Now I'll always have Tori's gift, saved in my sketchbook!

Memorial Day Weekend

Art Journal

Water colors and pen

By The Sea

Memorial Day Weekend kicks off tomorrow.  To me, this is one of the most important holidays on our calendar.  I have to say, I always feel odd saying to someone..."have a Happy Memorial Day"...what is really happy about Memorial Day?  Yes, it's what we think of as the start of the summer season...but it's really about those who have served our country...those who died serving our country.  God bless them.  

My art incorporates the beginning of the season...and pays homage to those who have served.  

A closer look...

Playing with Colors...more

Art Journal

Water colors

This is the page opposite the one I posted yesterday, studying colors.  Plates are from Pottery Barn catalog.  I love these colors....to me, art has to have color.

Playing with Colors

Art Journal

Water soluble crayons, water colors, pen

I'm not inspired by any particular "thing" today, not feeling the frenzy of a thought that I have to get in my journal.  So I pulled out a couple of pages I tore out of a Pottery Barn catalog as well as House Beautiful to play with color.  I only went with colors from the left photo for this exercise.

I started with my crayons and put down shapes on the page

Looks like my kindergarten self coming to life.  I say to myself, there's no pressure here because I'm not trying to replicate a face or animal, etc. (Seriously, I'm always thinking about how something is going to turn out, but I shouldn't...this is a journal)....play!

Once I start moving the crayon around with water, the colors to me become luscious.  At this point, I also added some water colors to the background.  I suppose I could have ended it here.  But as you see in the top photo, I started using my black pen and my Bic white pen.  

I will say that doing this exercise....is meditative.  It's quiet time.  I think a lot as I'm going through the motions.   I might not be done with this page.....I see more opportunity for adding color.  I knew a woman once who was a rug hooker and she was quite good at hooking and even dyed some of her own wool.  Unfortunately, she didn't have a really great sense of color.  I would look at her work and think about how much time it took to create it...but only if the color choices were just a bit better.  The important thing though...it was her work and she got such pleasure from it.  What we see in magazines and catalogs is not random...a lot of thought goes into the colors that have been chosen.  I know I can learn (continue to learn) a lot from studying them.

Room Service

Sketchbook

Pen and Water Soluble Crayons

In Boston last weekend for my son's graduation from grad school, I had a yummy breakfast in my hotel room.  This art is in a 4 x 6 journal that has craft paper pages.  Craft paper isn't the best for wet media, but I didn't need to use that much water with the crayons.  I love the "sketch" look of art and it's something I'd like to continue working on.  I did a couple of more quick drawings....

The Fairmont at Copley Plaza

This could use a few more tweaks....practice, practice, practice!

Another quick sketch, the focus is the street sign where Tom lives.  We walked for two hours around Boston and had a great visit.  

Nostalgia...

Art Journal

This is the time of year when many graduations are taking place.  Tomorrow, I'm headed to Boston for my son's graduation from grad school.  This particular page in my art journal takes me way back to my high school days, back in the '60's.  High school...an important time in our lives.  The Beatles were going strong and I love their song...."In My Life".  The art above takes me back to a neighborhood I lived in back then.  That's me with my little black poodle, Sachet.  I'm not going to go into the details of the importance of that time or that place....suffice to say I have wonderful memories.  When I was writing the lyrics to the song on this page, and had almost completed the page....I realized I had left a line out and had to paint over all of the words and start over.  The words are important, so I couldn't let it go.  I had to fix it.  If only all of life's issues could be fixed so easily.  Memories...scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind...aah....but that's a different song, isn't it.....?