What I Did This Month :)

I've been taking a painting class called Paint Free with Wyanne. It's a wonderful class and I'm learning to stop being such a perfectionist......I think...maybe! Anyway it's been such a great learning experience and I recommend it to anyone looking to grow creatively. Wyanne is a wonderful teacher and very patient :) Anyway here's a look at my 30 minute quick painting above and my collage piece below.

Believe it or not this painting above turned into this collage piece below! I've really enjoyed this process. I was surprised to find that I like this Kitty very much, even after my struggle to create him and he sits above my art table to make me smile.

MMM The Dance

This is my layered piece for Mixed Media Monday. It is 9" x 11" and I did it on a piece of chipboard. I painted the dress used torn paper strips, foaam stamped images and glazed it with a gesso wash. All in all a good time was had by me! Wonderful theme!

Moments Of Silence

My entry for Mind Wide Open.....I really enjoy doing the monthly challenge on MWO. The image this month was very pastel and light so it was a challenge not to overpower it with the other elements. I played with some techniques after reading Kelly Ray Roberts book and taking some journaling classes from Pam Carriker, Nancy Lefko and Dina Wakley. I used a piece of chipboard, some gel medium to collage the torn glimmer misted book pages on the background. I sprayed a fixative on that then gessoed over everything but the heart and used some Palette gold ink and Jo Sonjas gold paint over a stencil. The hot glue spirals are dusted with Pearl Ex. This doesn't feel quite finished to me. I'd like to continue to work on this and maybe post another photo when I get it done to my liking. I started very late on the challenge and couldn't decide whether to enter or not. Then I realized it's all a learning experience and I want to be a part of it. I had a busy week and didn't make enough time to spend on creating.....like I said in an earlier post "it's all about balance" :)

I saw the best quote this week, it said "the most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do"....so true.....I have said more than I wanted to in some conversations this week and think I need to learn to edit a bit. I am sensitive myself by nature and you would think I would be more cautious when speaking but sometimes I am not. The girl seems to be sitting in a quiet moment of reflection. So this is what I was thinking about when I put started putting this piece together... Moments of silence......

Polka Dot Rain Boots

OK...crazy month! I have been in renovate, clean up and organize mode since January and getting weary of it. I tend to work past my limits. When I do that my body fights me...I get sick..."the bug everyone has had" , my muscles get tired, I get clumsy and I do things like trip and put my hand through the metal front of our old pie safe (yes, I did this) ....yikes! Very lucky..no cuts! However did receive a mild but very annoying sprained right wrist.


So not much creativity going on in March...just putting finishing touches on projects I've started but had left 90% complete. But I took a week away from our renovations to rest up a bit and voile I now have some creative energy again! Lesson? It's all about balance in every area of my life. A lesson I intend to take seriously. I need art as much as a finished house!



So when I saw the challenge on Saturday Surprise I thought it was perfect. The prompt was childhood and I had been working on a painting of polka dot rain boots which make me think of summer days when my mom would let us go outside and play in the afternoon rain showers we seemed to have every day in Florida.....what a great mom! We had to be so messy when we came back in!


I started this painting when I got my new Webster's papers. Love the leafy scroll paper and the subtle yellow flower in the corner and wanted to paint right on top of the paper. Definitely needed some gesso for that. I broke out my new red Claudine Hellmuth paint (gorgeous red by the way) and last night I just put a soft wash of Golden's Nickel Azo over it. Tah dah!

Here's the pie safe that broke my fall......geez! Guess I'll be learning how to do punched tin panels now....LOL!

Little Birds joUrNaL 102 cLaSS

I am taking a new class and really enjoying it. It is with Dina Wakely at Debbie Hodge's Get It Scrapped online class site. Our first lesson was in using a motif....mine was birds and doing silhouettes with spray inks and water based oil crayons. It was a lot of fun and got me doing some original artwork again. I am looking forward to the next few weeks worth of lessons!

Here is Little Birds Calm and Night Birds Observing