Tag Archives: Pen

Studio Update – Online Class

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This week I’ve been busy working on a new abstract plus I’m enrolled in an online course called Birdsong & Blossom by Lindsay Green a very talented floral artist in Northern Ireland.

These birds were a warm up exercise for the class and I wasn’t crazy about them at first but I kept my faith and found it amusing how one by one, each bird took on it’s own unique personality. By the time I finished I was in love with them and thought they turned out pretty cute 😊 So stay tuned as I’ll be posting the finished painting shortly.

I recommend hopping over to Lindsay Green’s website and browsing her art and online classes. You can also find her on Instagram at @lynsaygreenart.

Hope you’re having a fantastic weekend, thanks for stopping by!!

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“Every artist dips his brush into his soul and paints his own nature into his paintings.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Little Girl with Valentine Balloons

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Creating in this 6×12″ Strathmore Watercolor Journal can be challenging due to it’s size and shape. But I’m down to my last couple of pages in this journal and wanted to create a little whimsical Valentine painting and this is what I came up with.

I did a sketch first and then painted everything but wasn’t happy with it because it looked too plain. So I ended up adding splashes of color. I finished it off with a little shading using a colored pencil and pen plus glitter for sparkly magic.

Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!!

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Studio Update Yello’s BIG Solo

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This is a new 4×12 inch canvas I finished over the weekend. It’s an adorable painting with a textured background and 5 beautiful little birds. Instead of painting flowers I thought it would be fun to add more interest and accent this piece by using paper flowers and leaves. I also added a quote “Sing your song.”

Since this is painted on a 1.5 inch thick canvas, this artwork is ideal as a shelf sitter making it the perfect décor for a desk, shelf or counter but can also be hung on the wall.

‘Yello’s BIG Solo’ is available in my Etsy Shop, if interested.

Hope this inspires you today, thanks for stopping by!!

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Studio Update – New Abstract

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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

Mixed Media Inspiration Angel

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I’ve been waffling different ideas of how to combine my love of inspiring quotes and phrases with my art. I love painting angels because they give so much peace and serenity. Then I remembered an old book I had in my library by Kelly Rae Roberts, “Taking Flight.” There was a project in the book that inspired me.

I looked to my past angel paintings in my journals for more inspiration and created a sketch on a 9×12 inch piece of watercolor paper. After I painted her, I added the phrases to her dress that I thought went well with the main motif of believing in yourself.

In the creation process, I experimented with new techniques; some worked out great while others were a complete blunder. But I just rolled with it and ended up having lots of fun. It was quite an adventure to say the least! Below are images for my finished art.

Would love to know your thoughts, thanks for stopping by!!

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Whimsical Bird Painting

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Sometimes I like to do a practice run in my journal before painting on a canvas. Because I do a pencil sketch first, it allows me to easily change the design before I start adding the color.

This is “Marvelous Martha,” and she was created in my Strathmore 6×12 inch watercolor journal with watercolor paints, colored pencils and pen. I’ll have to make some adjustments when I paint her with acrylics on the canvas but the overall design will be the same.

So stay tuned, more to come with Marvelous Martha…

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!!

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Studio Update – Expressions of Love

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I’ve been working on creating a new design for the Expressions of Love Collection and this is what I came up with. It’s an organic design with beautiful hearts, outlined in glistening gold. I collaged a paper doily to the background for a bit of romance and it can be seen on each heart.

These 3 paintings were created on 1.5 inch thick canvases making them ideal as a shelf sitter and the perfect décor for a desk, shelf or counter. Plus they can also be hung on the wall. They will all be up in my Etsy Shop by the end of this weekend.

Below is a time lapse process video of me painting a layer on the Rose Pink Heart. I’m working on getting over my camera shyness 😅

Thanks for stopping by, have a fantastic weekend!!

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“My goal as an artist is to create art that makes people look at the world in a different way.” ~Autumn de Forest

Studio Update

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I’m starting a new practice this year. I’m playing with different color combinations and various mediums on 9×12″ watercolor paper. After the painting is done I’ll add notes on the back of what I did, the colors and mediums I used and what I discovered about the process.

This abstract was made with watercolors, acrylic paints and inks, alcohol inks and pen. I was very happy with this color combination, it turned out pretty nice. What’s making me laugh though, is how everyone sees something totally different.

What do you see in this painting?

Have an amazing day!!

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“Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.” ~Oscar Wilde

Travel Art Journaling

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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

Simplest Things Journal

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I added a few new pages to my Simplest Things Journal before taking my break. I had 4 similar tiles and wanted to make them a home in my journal. These first two were quite interesting. I kept waffling the idea of merging the two designs, I twirled and flipped and flipped and twirled the tiles until I came up with this layout.

I ended up extending the patterns from the tiles into the journal to make them look like they merged into one. I thought it turned out pretty cool looking. So I did a similar design with the next two tiles shown below. Although these two weren’t merging I extended the design from the tiles into the journal. Plus I didn’t want to cover up all the sparkly glitter ✨

Well I’m off taking and taking a much needed break but I’ll be back after the holidays.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the Best for the coming New Year!!! Thank you so much for your love support, it means the world to me!!!

Lots of hugs,

Maria

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