Painting trees and mountains is something new for me. I got a card in the mail with a beautiful sunset painting on it and thought it would be fun to create it in my Linden Art 5.5×8.5 inch watercolor journal.
It was certainly a learning experience. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, some of which I was able to fix while other stayed. Overall it turned out pretty good. I’m not totally thrilled with it but I do love the sunset background and this color combination. Plus I had lots of practicing to paint trees 😊
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!!
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“As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
I hope your weekend is off to a good start! This is the 16×20 inch abstract painting I’ve been working on in the studio. It’s easy to overwork a painting, always thinking it needs more but I’m calling this one finished.
This painting is a stunning piece with lots of texture plus fun splashes and drips of colors. There are a lot of layers which peek through in different places making it all the more interesting. It has a very happy and uplifting vibe to it.
Now the real fun begins, I need a name for it but I’m coming up empty handed. Would love to know what you see and/or feel when you look at this painting so I can give it a title😊
Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to hearing from you!!
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“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” ~Salvador Dali
While on my holiday break I enjoyed working on inchies for my art journal stash. I love taking these on trips because everything fits inside a small ziploc bag. All you need to bring are the tiles and 2-3 different sized Sakura Micron pens.
I do a little prep work before the trip like cutting the watercolor paper into varying sizes. Then I’ll splash paint on a handful of tiles while leaving the rest plain. That’s it! When you have a little spare time, you can create some really interesting and fun pieces of art. There’s no mess and it all easily fits into your purse or bag. I love bringing minimal supplies and creating on trips because it helps to keep the creativity flowing😊 Plus this would also be a great idea for kids to use their creativity on trips!
Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!!
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“A true artist is not one who is inspired but one who inspires others.” ~Salvador Dali
Pyrography also known as wood burning is a beautiful form of art. I made this piece a while ago but love it because it’s unique and very different from my other art. I initially thought it would’ve been easy to create so when I made this I just dove right in.
I played with a scrap piece of wood trying to get the hang of it before starting on this piece and quickly learned there’s more to it! After doing a bit of research I found books on this art form and learned that not all wood is the same. I also learned that how you use the different tips in your pyrography set will greatly affect the outcome. Very important: Do this in a well ventilated area and wear a mask because there will be smoke from burning the wood.
There are some very talented artists who make super detailed pyrography art pieces that are just stunning. This is a simple piece which I loved plain, but as most of you know, I’m a bit of a color nut. So I ended up adding watercolor paints to the wood. Since wood is porous, it absorbs the paint giving it a softer look and allows the grain to show through. I finished it off with a few embellishments for more interest and bling✨
If you’re interested in trying pyrography, I highly recommend getting a book or watching a few tutorials online so you can decide if it’s something you’d enjoy.
Hope this inspires you to create art, thanks for stopping by!!
Music has a way of calming the mind and soothing the soul. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. He became a world wide sensation influencing musicians with his bold trumpet style and unique vocals at the beginning of his career in the 1920’s.
Louis had a charismatic stage presence and was highly respected by musicians from all types of music and not just jazz. He recorded many popular songs throughout his 50 year career including “Hello Dolly, La Vie En Rose, Star Dust” and my personal favorite “What a Wonderful World.”
I created this watercolor mixed media artwork as a tribute to Louis Armstrong and his beautiful, moving song. You can see the lyrics to “What a Wonderful World” in the background of this piece which he recorded in 1967. This recording was different from his others because it did not feature trumpet. It became a #1 Hit around the world including in England and South Africa but wasn’t really promoted here in the US. However, it was used in Robin Williams film, “Good Morning, Vietnam” and as a result became one of Louis Armstrong’s most-beloved songs.
The lyrics are quite beautiful and moving:
Louis stopped performing in 1969 due to health issues and passed away in his sleep July 6, 1971, at his home in Queens, New York. He was a phenomenal bandleader, jazz trumpeter and singer. I love listening to his songs especially “What a Wonderful World” which can be found on YouTube, just click the live link and it will take you right to it. He saw beauty in the simplest things and that’s what I love most about this song; I find it so comforting. Do you have a favorite Louis Armstrong song?
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You may have heard the term “encaustic art.” It gained a lot of popularity in recent years but this is actually a 2,000 year old technique which had been lost over time. Encaustic art is a process of painting with heated wax that has been colored with pigment and as a result produces luminous and transparent works.
The word “encaustic” originated from an Ancient Greek word that means “burning in or to burn.” The earliest encaustic paintings came from Ancient Egypt where they created detailed portraits to cover the clothed faces of mummified bodies during the burial ceremony (100-300 AD). The photo below of Fayum is one of those burial paintings. But it was also a common technique used in ancient Greek and Roman paintings.
However, during the 18th century encaustic art lost it’s popularity because it became too costly and was basically replaced with tempera paint. I was very interested in this technique and created the encaustic artwork below as a tribute to my parents which included bits of sheet music composed by my father.
To create this artwork I collaged my background pieces in place and then added beeswax pellets on the canvas which I carefully melted with a small mini quilting iron (available on amazon). I added bits of color and small pieces of heart confetti in between the layers of wax and mixed it in as I went. I finished it off with sheer flowers and a drawer pull at the top. As you can see the end result is a very soft and delicate, dreamy affect.
There are plenty of books available online and in the bookstore on how to create encaustic art. It was a fun learning experience creating my first piece and I plan on making a more of it. There are so many things fun ways you can incorporate this medium into your art.
I hope you enjoyed this post today, thanks for stopping by!!
I had an absolute blast creating the inchies for Amy Maricle’s Inchie Challenge at Mindful Art Studio. I made this 4 inch square journal for the inchies. I painted each page with coordinating watercolor paint and decorated the outside covers with pens and doodles.
This is a short video of my journal hope it inspires you to create something fun this Labor Day Weekend!
I can’t believe yesterday was Day 12 and the last day of Amy Maricle’s Inchie Challenge at Mindful Art Studio.
I had such fun creating these inchies in varying sizes. I guess what I liked the most is that you’re given a starting point on what to create with the prompts given. You don’t have to burn a fuse trying to decide on “what” you’re going to create. You only need to think about the “how” part of the creation process.
Plus I love seeing everyone’s creative muse at play. There were so many wonderful designs, loved them all! Now I have to make a mini journal to put these into 😊
Hope you enjoyed this adventure in art with me, thanks for stopping by!!!
Amy Maricle at Mindful Art Studio is hosting another Inchie Challenge. I participated last year and had so much fun I couldn’t resist joining again.
The idea is to create a small piece of art based on a prompt provided by Amy, every day, for 12 days. You should use 2×2 inch squares of paper but I already have varying sizes cut so I’m using what I have in my stash.
You’ve seen art that you fell in love with but didn’t buy it because where would you hang it? Do you need a frame or no frame? What style of frame? Should it be a frame with glass or without?
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all these questions? I know I have. Buying art to decorate and hang in your home can be a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be. So here are a few things to consider:
When buying a work of art, photo or print think about where you’d like to hang it in your home and make sure the size you pick will fit in your space. If it’s a small piece you may want to group several together, otherwise your are will be lost on the overwhelming wall..
Choose a frame style that goes with your decor. Whether it’s modern, traditional, gallery, floating or anything in between pick a frame that fits your taste. Most artists however, will create paintings on canvases that don’t require a frame. But if you want to make more of a statement or increase the size of the art, then a frame (without glass) is recommended plus it’s a nice finishing touch.
Photos and Giclee prints or paintings created on paper will need a frame with glass. You may want to consider getting a frame with UV glass to protect your art from fading and becoming discolored over time.
The depth of your frame will depend on your art. Canvas paintings will need a deeper frame to hang flush on the wall so make sure you measure the depth and buy the frame that will properly fit. A print or painting on paper won’t need anything that deep since it’s flat.
Matting is another option which will increase the size of your finished piece. In general, canvases should not be matted. But prints and paintings on paper can be matted. When selecting a mat choose a color, texture and thickness that complements your art.
You want to create an eye catching display with your art that enhances the harmony of your home. Remember, if you change the style of your living space nothing is set in stone. You can easily change the style of the frame and give an old painting a new look.
One last thing, Jane Seymour wrote in one of her books that she changes the art in her home frequently depending time of the year and her taste. The extra paintings are simply stored until she’s ready to switch them out. I like this idea because you can buy several paintings for one room and change them whenever you feel like a refresh!
Hope you found these tips useful, thanks for stopping by!!
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“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” ~Oscar Wilde
Flowing Waters Art 