Dina

One last face for tonight…

I've been on a face kick all day…spent some time "copying" faces made by the artists I admire. Very useful, I learned a lot. Then I printed out a picture of me & sketched it onto a background I had previously done. Next I painted it, trying to make it more "me"…if that makes sense. I like painterly brushstrokes, contrasting colors…texture and contour. So here's the result…it sort of looks like I overpainted a photo, but I didn't, I started from scratch w/ just the sketch on the canvas. The eyes are wonky, but hey, I'm still learning. If you're worried about painting faces, I highly recommend overpainting photos first…it's great practice for the real thing!

My first attempt at painting faces from a sketch…

I've always admired journal artists who paint faces–Paulette Insall, Katie Kendrick, DJ Pettit, among others–but I've never tried doing it. Too intimidated, even though I love to paint over photographs. For me, painting on a photograph is easy because the photograph tells you where to put your colors.

Recently I signed up for an online class (which is SOOO unlike me…I rarely take classes). It's "Of Towers and Turrets" by Sharon Tomlinson and Deryn Mentock. Both these artists were new to me & I am so glad I discovered them…their work is very inspiring! Part of the class requires small faces painted onto the collaged towers…and I thought, no way am I doing that. But then I watched the video and realized that painting a face isn't a whole lot different than painting over a photograph…so I tried it. My results are amateurish, I realize that, but my faces turned out much better than I expected. 

Then I tried a large face…just started painting it right over a background that I'd done previously. It's far from perfect, but I had fun…and hope to keep practicing.

I'll share the pages when they're done…I'm still waiting for my eraser-carving supplies from Dick Blick.

I’ve got paint up to my elbows…

but, I am having a blast. I am still stuck on blue & orange, apparently.

This is a work in progress…a background for a future collage, perhaps. Or a journal page. Who knows?

A bit o’ JBS in the mornin’…

Did you see the galleries over at JBS this month? So much inspiration!

A bit of Creative Therapy…

Check out all the art here! 🙂

September Classes at The Creative Quest in Glendale, AZ…

Here's my Sept. class lineup at The Creative Quest…the awesome bookbinding & stamp store in downtown Glendale, AZ. Call them directly to sign up, 623.847.2215.

Tuesday, September 14
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
$35–Introduction to Art Journaling–back by popular demand!

There are many ways to art journal. This class is an introduction to how I create a basic page. We'll be making a background, adding a silhouetted or masked image, and top texture. The best thing about art journaling is that you simply cannot do it wrong! 🙂 Come and have fun with us!
Supply List (what students need)
–Acrylic paint…bring an assortment of your favorite colors
–Gesso
–Gel medium or adhesive
–Paintbrushes in various sizes…I prefer a 3/4" or 1" flat, but you can use your favorite
–A pen that will write on dried paint (regular Sharpie, poster pen Sharpie, Faber-Castell Pitt, etc.).
 –I will provide watercolor paper to work on. If you'd prefer to work in your personal art journal, please do!

Friday, September 17
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
$35–Funky Accordion Envelope book with the Gel Medium Resist Technique

Together we'll play with the gel medium resist technique! It's fun and you can use it to get a faux batik look. It's great for adding visual interest to your art journaling. We'll try out the technique on a sheet of canvas, and then we'll also make a little accordion envelope book with the technique and all kinds of funky colors and stamps.

–Acrylic paint…bring an assortment of your favorite colors
–Gesso
–Gel medium (a requirement for this class! Any formulation is fine)
–Paintbrushes in various sizes…be sure to bring a small one in addition to larger ones.
–A pen that will write on dried paint (regular Sharpie, poster pen Sharpie, Faber-Castell Pitt, etc.).
–Permanent black ink pad for stamping
–Good scissors for cutting out stamped images.
–Any fun & funky stamps you want to use in your book. I will bring the ones I used (and more), but if you want something special, please bring it. 

Who doesn’t love a good dose of Hambly?

Ah, Hambly. There's just something about that vanilla smell & the fantastic prints. You wanna know my tip for using Hambly (or any other bold patterned paper)? Design your layout so the paper doesn't compete with too many other elements. You don't need to add lots and lots of other embellishments. Make sense? Let the paper do the work for you. And, bold papers often require good, strong photographs, too.

A couple of Kitschy Digitals layouts…

I always love using Danielle's Kitschy Digitals stuff…her new Calico kit is way cute. I think I have orange & blue on the brain!

A little Jenni Bowlin canvas…

I talk a bit about this canvas over on the JBS Inspiration blog today. 🙂

Tim Holtz Design Team projects…

My first projects for Tim's DT…I had a blast making these. They're quirky and a bit weird, but quintessentially me. I have to say, my obsession with beeswax continues…and I have a burn on my arm to prove it (darn encaustic iron…lol).

First project: set of 3 large tags, done with stamping & beeswax (with acrylic paint and ink thrown in for good measure in the background). Tim's supplies that I used: several different stamps, distress ink.

 
 
 Second project: 5×7 canvas board. Tim's supplies used: metal numbers, patterned paper (the boy is cut from the sheet with all the old portraits). I cut out the boy & decided to invent some of his character traits…lol. I did the treatment around the metal letters with molding paste and acrylic paint & glaze. No wax on this one.

Third project: 5×7 canvas board, done with ink and stamping and beeswax. Tim's supplies used: various stamps, distress inks, grey crackle paint, clock is from Tim's patterned paper. The whole colored background is distress ink.