Sunday, August 10, 2014

Junk Mail Art and a little more

So, one of the girls that I am in a group with, posted a video using junk mail for art...painting over the irritating ads that clutter up our mailboxes day after day, week after week.  Well, I gave it a try, but my first attempt I was clearly thinking WAY too much...but after a deep breath, I tried again....with much better results...
This was my 2nd attempt...and I gotta say, I really like it!  Well, of course, that just spurred me on, and I went hunting more junk mail!  Our apartment complex keeps trash cans next to the mailboxes for residents to chunk their junk mail into...they are the ONLY trashcans on the property where people DON'T throw other stuff that doesn't belong...so I went digging...and got LOTS of junk mail to paint on....I figure about the time I run out, a new batch will have arrived, and I can re-stock...lol.

But junk mail art isn't the only thing I've been up to this week...
I did this one for the youngest daughter....Her school's colors are red, black and white, so this one is for her...it will get put in her room....maybe in a frame if she really likes it.
And then I did this....










These started as a simple painted background using a brayer...smoosh the paint around until it doesn't move anymore...if your colors blend well, feel free to put them on the paper together then smoosh them around....if they will turn to mud, then you need to apply them individually.  We want color...not mud.  Then I took a #1 paint brush, watered down the colors I used, and began painting swirls...I watered the paint down so that there wouldn't be a lot of texture....I wanted to keep the paper as smooth as possible.  Here's another I did...but the colors in this one were TOTALLY conducive to blending, so I smooshed away








I used various oranges, reds and a deep pink on this one...then did the swirls with the deep pink, copper and a blend of the deep pink and bronze metallic.  I really do love how they came out, and the process was so relaxing for me.
Inspired by my success, I grabbed my art journal, and tried it in there, too...








I will definitely be using this again in my journal, and even my backgrounds that I send out in happy mail...the only thing that bums me out about this, is that I can't scan it to reuse it....the scan loses the shimmer of the metallic paint and the depth and "texture" that show up on the original.

So that's my artful journey this week...what's yours?

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Regrouping

Things around here have been in a transitional phase for me...I've been trying to find my way through a haze of frustration and rage....like, blinding rage.  And the worst part is, there's no real explanation for the rage.  None!  It's beyond frustrating and at times is enough to make me want to cry...a lot.

But I have my art...and that is one of the few things that keeps me going....here's some of what I've been working on lately.
These were some tags I made for a swap...flowers, with a little quote about flowers, too.
A bookmark swap...I love reading, so bookmarks are uber important!
This is a mixed media piece I did back in April...the theme of the art swap was "April Showers".  I REALLY didn't want to let this one go.



These page spreads are in my daily "art" journal.  I put art in quotes because I don't go all out in here...this is more journal than art, in that I write in it....a lot.  I decorate the pages because I have found that I like writing on pretty paper, and this journal holds EVERYTHING...from tips, tricks, suggestions, organizing and cleaning stuff, tangles and doodles, pictures from magazines that I like, recipes that I want to move into my recipe binder, and more.  
This piece I just finished last week...the theme of the swap was "pretty in pink".  This is another one I hated to send off.
And finally, this is this morning's creation...I found some of those plain wood cutouts at Wal-Mart on Friday.  Well, after working on some backgrounds, I grabbed the bird and laid it on my splatter paper to trace.  This morning I cut out one of the birds and glued it down in my mixed media notebook and began doodling on her with a Scarlet Lime pen, a white Uni-ball Signo and some Sharpie paint pens.   Then I cut out a wing and doodled it up too.   Once I was satisfied with it all, I drew some "stitching" to make it look like it had been sewn onto the paper.  Personally, I think I outdid myself...lol.

Now, on my art table (read dining room table) is more paper, glue, paint and fun...That's it for now....

Happy Arting, y'all!!!!!!







Welcome!!!!

So, this is me....I am who I am, and I refuse to apologize for it....

Not to be a bitch, but I'd like to get this out in the open now, before I go any further....I REFUSE to censor myself for your comfort.  If you don't like the F-bomb, random rants about shit that pisses another person off and just general "tell it like it is" blogging, then this is NOT the blog for you to read.  Nothing personal, I'm sure you're a great person!  However, I won't shut up because someone doesn't like it.  I've been quiet, "polite" for most of my life....letting other people walk all over me, and tell me that I shouldn't express my opinion because it might upset or offend someone....and yet, I have had the opinions of others forced on me without others caring for my feelings...so, not to long ago, I said fuck it, I am done taking the feeling of others into consideration if they refuse to take my feelings into consideration.  So there you go...you've been warned...read at your own risk.  If you don't like something, feel free to voice your opinion in a respectful manner, but don't be shocked if it gets deleted...if you come at me, guns blazing, soap box in hand, I will climb up on my high horse, unload on your ass, then delete and block you.  It's a free country, but just remember...just as you're entitled to your opinion and thoughts, so am I, and I am free to post whatever I damned well please....and you?  Well, if you don't like what I post, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.