A while back I announced I was having an ATC swap… now that everyone has received theirs, I would like to share the amazing cards I received in the mail! Although it only turned out to be three of us in the swap, there was a wide range of beautiful cards. It was so hard for me to choose which ones to keep! ;0) A big thanks to Teresa and Jen for making this so fun, and helping me start my collection!
Last night I finally finished up my elephant collage for my daughter’s room. Yay! I love the way it came out, it looks great in her room… but now that its hung it looks so small! lol
I’m happy that its finished… I was starting to get sick of working on it! Now I can start with some experimenting in my art journal. I’m excited to start on something new.
I started playing with eyes a few days ago; and was happy to find that I at least still have some talent to work with! he he
I think I’ll be playing around with faces some more… I really need to practice on the nose. I’ve been watching some videos on you-tube; and I also can’t wait to try out some of the technique’s I’ve watched people do in their art journals. It feels so great to be getting back in drawing and painting again!!
My mother in law invited me to join the town’s art league on Tuesday nights… of course I readily agreed! I haven’t done much drawing or painting since college, so I am so excited to have a set time to do some art. Over the past couple years I’ve been researching and enjoying collage art on the internet; I’ve even collected my share of books. But, I’ve never really had the time, patience, or motivation to actually dip myself into the world of collage. I’ve taken this opportunity to get myself into it and just do it!
My first project… although now that I’m into it, I think I should have started out with a more experimental piece… is a collage piece of elephants to go in my baby’s room. I’ve been wanting to do a piece for her room since she was born, but never had the time for it. I’m glad at least now I know it will be finished before she graduates from her crib! lol It was so great to just work on it for hours at a time with no distractions. I meant to take photos along the way, but kep forgetting; sorry! But here’s a photo how it looks now… this is with four hours of work. It’s taking me a lot longer than I imagined it would!
I think next time, I will just do the whole background, then put my image on top. It’s hard to work around the elephant shapes! I can’t wait until its finished… I can’t wait even more to see what else I can come up with when I’m just playing around with no set ideas in my head! ;0)
So, I was browsing blogs the other day, and came across a wonderful post by an artist named Martha Brown. I have always been intrigued by collages; have even bought dozens of books and magazines.. and have also tried many techniques and failed. But, as I sat there reading her post about a collage in progress, it all came clear to me. The technique was so simple; and yet I struggled for years to understand it.
At first, I was just excited to learn a new technique that I could someday use… but, as I started thinking of Create a Prim again and how I will be updating it; an idea popped into my head. I could recreate my house graphics in collage art! You see, a few days ago I had decided that I will be changing the business name “Create a Prim” to “Crafty Avenue”; so that it would appeal to a broader audience. Looking at all the prim colors and graphics, I knew that will have to be updated too. So, then I got really excited! I set up my easel, taped down some bristol board and dragged out my paints. I was itching all day to get the kids to bed so I could get to work!
Finally the time came to play, and I had a blast! I tried to take photos along the way, but I was too excited, so I kept forgetting! lol First I drew up a sketch on paper the houses I needed to create. Then, I sketched them out on my bristol board. I pasted down some black and white scraps of paper that I got from newspapers, and images I made on the computer then printed.
Next, I did a very light gesso wash over the papers so it wasn’t so dark. Then painted color washes over the houses. I forgot to not color over where I wanted the doors and windows! uh oh! Good thing I know how to edit photos in PhotoShop. I’ll take care of that later..
I added finishing touches with colored paper, some text from newspapers, and my favorite part: charcoal pencil! I love how the charcoal pencil finishes it all up.
It was a really messy first try; but I think over all it was a success! I have some major cleaning up to do in PhotoShop. Here’s a sample of what I’ve done on the computer so far:
As you can see, I’ve cut the houses out from the original messy background; then added in a drop shadow. I’ve also enlarged the text on the houses so you can read it at this small size (still need to do the shop one!). I also changed the color of the windows and doors a bit so they stand out more. A little more work, and we have new graphics for Create a Prim… I mean Crafty Avenue! ;0)
This has been so much fun; I can’t wait to start on some collage art that I can actually hang on the wall! My easel will not be put away until I give it another try. But first I have some cleaning up to do around it! lol
My little girls keep me busy, but I always find time to sneak away to the craft room. I am dabbling in many mediums to find my true calling (but I have an inkling it will always include fabric). I'll share with you my ups and downs on juggling my family life and finding my true self.
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