Instagram

Are you on Instagram? If not why not!? It's a great way to share your art and get inspired by other people's work. I generally search on the tags #art #artjournal #mixedmedia and #paint #painting #illustration and I always find something (or many things) I like. I'm not there to copy, but to see how other people are exploring the world they live in.

This piece, in my new winter journal, called Grumpy Cat in a Blanket, has received a heap of likes in the last few days. My husband says that's what the internet is for... videos/photos of cats and dogs. :-)

Baby, it's cold outside

Played around with a stencil, some Brilliance stamp pads, white Dylusions spray, a pretty acrylic & Prismacolor pencil face and some distress stains today. When my mojo is on holiday they're my go to supplies/basics and I usually end up liking the process of creating.

First I used the stamp pads (the tear drop shaped ones) to go roughly over the stencil. I wasn't looking for perfection, just some shiny colour. Then I drew a face & hair shape and painted the face in with flesh tone acrylic. Next I shaded and played with the face using Prismacolor pencil. I really enjoy watching it appear from the flatness.

Finally I painted the hair & the background with Ranger's Distress Stains.

Nothing new or revolutionary here. Just something I enjoyed putting together while my mojo packed her holiday bags and got on the next flight home.

Before You Art...

...find a place to lie very still for 5 minutes. Listen, see, smell, breathe, feel your skin. Do not judge.

Now go and make art.

My Favourite Doodlers

I really like doodles. Zentangles. Curly swirls. Industrial stuff. Anything that looks detailed and complex but is made from 3 simple things. Ink, substrate & imagination. Amazing complexity from simplicity. Just like life.

You can find my favourite doodler on YouTube here. And I also like this doodler.

I'm not very good at it myself and, in particular, find it difficult to start. Zentangle is very good if you feel the same way. The other thing I've discovered is that I just need to keep going. Past where I think it's done and add more. That's what the two doodlers I've linked to above do really well.

Here's a zentangle of mine from a few months ago. And a more recent free form doodle.

Do you have a favourite doodler or doodle style to share with me?

Winter Journal

It's winter here in the Southern Hemisphere so I thought my new journal should reflect the theme. The first piece I completed was an ice princess and today I painted a penguin.

The ice princess is acrylic on thin canvas with prismacolor pencil for detail, shadow & highlights. I really like the texture coming through. She was quick and easy, not least because I didn't have to match her eyes!

I drew my penguin from memory on some scrapbooking paper. When I wasn't sure of things like colouring and how their feet looked I checked online. Once the penguin was painted using acrylics I added rub ons and washi tape and stamps and stencils to the background but allowed them to leak onto the penguin to help integrate it into the page. The words took a long time to do as it was hard to make them stand out from all the busy background. I wrote them with a blue glitter sharpie, then shadowed them with tombow markers, then added snow on the top, then went over them with a yellow glitter sharpie (to tie in with the penguin's yellow), then wrote them again in very fine black pen. Phew! Last of all I went round the penguin with some grey watercolour to give set him off from the background a little.

I'm looking forward to more winter themed work in my new journal and plan to tie it in with woodland creature theme for this month. Owls in the snow anyone?

Hand Made Journal Love

A lovely art friend recently gave me a hand made art journal and now I've got the making bug too. I scour local op shops for hard backed books I can remove the covers or pages from to give them a new lease of life.

Favourite finds so far include books of old black & white photos, books about artists and some old atlases.

I'll show you how to make a simple journal from old hardback book covers, any papers & duct tape later this month but in the mean time here's some iPhone shots of one I made earlier.

Deer Girl

Look who I found in the forest.

Her face, ears & antlers are an acrylic base with prismacolor pencil for detail, shadows & highlights. The background is pencil & distress stain, as is her hair. Last of all I added some gesso through a stencil for some texture.

The colours are paler & more muted than I usually use but I like it. She has a winter feel about her that works well.

Have you been exploring the woodland/forest theme this month? If you'd like your work to be featured in our monthly round up please post a link to your piece in the comments below.