Follow Your Dreams

Hello creative people, I hope you are doing well.  If any of you have been impacted by recent or in the path of new hurricanes, please stay safe, we are thinking about you.

I worked a little more in my small art journal, the faces are a bit 'wonky' but I'll show another one today.  I'm missing my craft 'studio' but very grateful to have a spot to sit and practice a little creativity.

We are fine but I'm feeling a bit 'wonky' myself as I'm unsettled and not sleeping well.  In a few weeks we will be moving again, we are busy, so I won't be around in blog land for a while. 

Once again this page was created with pencil, pen, and coloured with a light wash using Tom bow markers.

Thanks for stopping by, take care and stay safe.
Shirley

Accepting 'Wonky'

Hello creative people, I hope you are doing well.

Thank you to everyone that shared your experiences with blog spam, it's not pleasant.

I had fun working in my journal today while it was raining.  I realize this lady is wonky here & there, I find it more difficult to draw 3/4 faces.   I won't point out what I see is off and try to improve next time. 

Again I used minimal supplies - pencil, Tom bow markers, white & black pens.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Blue and Pink Lady

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have another page to show where I used minimal supplies again.  (Tom bow markers rubbed on craft mat and then 'painted' onto pencil & ink sketch, highlighted with white and black pens). 

All is well here, we are feeling more settled in our temporary home.   

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Flower Lady

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well today.

I have another journal page to show you where I've used minimal supplies.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend,
Shirley :)

Quirky Owl

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well, it's hard to believe that we are well into August already!

As I've mentioned before, life is not 'normal' right now and I'm not feeling settled.  I'm happy that I'm able to be creative from time to time but we are also enjoying summer activities and being outside as much as possible. 

This journal page is very much inspired by Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts, in fact it's from a Lifebook 2017 lesson.  The lesson teaches a class using mixed media and collage, this is a very simple version using minimal supplies.  Most of my art supplies are packed in storage at the moment so I don't have to make any decisions about what to use.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

'Tangle' Lady

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well this weekend.

I found more time this week to 'work' again in my art journal using just pencil, pens and Tombow markers.  I added tangle (zentangle inspired) doodles in her hair.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Art Journaling with Limited Supplies

Hello everyone I hope you are doing well.

It's been a long time since I've posted at my blog.   Life has not been 'normal' these days and blogging takes energy and time that I have not had. 

We moved a couple of weeks ago into a very small temporary furnished home while we wait for a new home to be built.   We are fortunate to be able to look after the most wonderful cottage style gardens while we are here.

Most of our belongings are in storage and I could only bring minimal art supplies.  I'm looking forward to having a craft room with all my stash again this Fall :)

I brought along my box of water colour markers (Tombows), pencils, black & white pens (some acrylic), my craft mat, a water barrel brush and a small art journal that can handle light washes.   One of the earlier Lifebook 2017 lessons with Tamara Laporte focused on using minimal supplies. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and it helped me decide what I should take with me. 

Yesterday was the first day that I actually found an afternoon free and was in the mood for art.   I created this page fairly quick, I felt 'rusty' but now anxious to play some more :)

I'm sorry that I haven't been around to your blogs, I will get around to visit soon :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
Shirley

Whimsical Girl

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I created this journal page with acrylic paints and pens earlier this year when I was more relaxed and had time. I'm looking forward to getting back to mixed media art and drawing, but my craft 'studio' is packed up, I won't have much space and limited supplies for art for a few months.  We are moving to a temporary location soon while waiting for our new home to be built :) 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Blog Break

Hello creative people thanks for stopping by.

Just a note to let you know I'm fine but life is very busy right now and I haven't had much time for blogging.   Sorry that I haven't been around to visit your blogs lately.   We are still missing our sweet Archie so much, the house is not the same without him :(.

I need to take a break from blogging, when life settles down I'll be back :)  

However today I'm showing a 'dream board' journal page (mixed media with collage) that I created for one of Tamara Laporte's (of Willowing Arts)  Lifebook 2017 lessons in January.   I'm behind in Lifebook lessons, but that's OK I can go back to them later.  

You can see some of the collage layer below

Please take good care and 'see' you soon :)
Shirleyx
ps... I will be back briefly in early April with a Guest Post for Crealies :) 

Flower Girls

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great weekend.

Thank you so much for your kind words of comfort about the recent loss of our sweet cat.   We are heartbroken and miss him very much.    It will take time to heal as we know from experience.

I thought I would post  something more cheerful today.   I'm still enjoying most of the lessons with Lifebook 2017 (Willowing Arts).    A recent lesson's focus (with Tamara Laporte) was to use minimal supplies.   I enjoy mixed media and was surprised at how much I enjoyed using just 3 Tombow markers to mix colours along with one more flesh colour marker and black & white pens.

The 9x12 journal page below makes me think about sisters, I'm lucky to have three of them :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week,
Shirleyx

Whimsical Mermaids

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.   We have been enjoying unseasonable warm temperatures, the foot of snow is rapidly melting.

I recently completed two different on line classes with Tamara Laporte of Willing Arts, both featuring whimsical (or stylised) Mermaids.   These are mixed media pages that I've drawn and used collage and different mediums to paint.

A friend pointed out that the heads are large for the bodies.... yes I know that, it's intentional.   I understand that this kind of art isn't for everyone, but it sure is a lot of fun to create.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
Shirley

Something Different - An Abstract

Happy Weekend everyone, I hope all is well.

I've already shared this on Facebook which is so much easier, quicker to post and comment.    Blogging takes so much time, I sometimes think about quitting, but then maybe some of you are not on Facebook.    I apologize if I haven't been around to your blogs but life has been busy.

I'm still enjoying Life book 2017 lessons and recently completed a lesson by Wendy Brightbill on painting abstracts.  The idea was to paint your intention for 2017, but I just was simply 'going with the flow' without direction or any kind of thoughts on a watercolour journal page.   It was similar to working on backgrounds for cards but with more time spent and extra detail. 

Thanks for your visit and have a great day,
Shirley

Merry Muse

Hello creative people, I hope all is well.   It's VERY dreary here but milder than normal due to heavy cloud cover.    I'm starting to feel like a sponge as we have not seen the sun in quite a while.    Normally January brings in cold but sunny days.

I am keeping up with Lifebook 2017 lessons, but today I'm showing you a mixed media piece that I did between the weekly lessons.   This is very much inspired by Tamara Laporte of Williowing Art - the Merry Muse course, it's the same layout but my girl & dove look different.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend,
Shirley

Tell me a Story

Happy Weekend everyone I hope you are doing well.

I'm working more on Journal pages than I had in the past, some for classes, Lifebook 2017 and others just playing without following anything.  Below is one that is my own design and I think it tells a story.

Art Journal Journey's theme for January is "Tell me a Story" as most journal pages do tell a story.   I'm linking in at AJJ this month, it's been a long time.  I've met so many talented and friendly bloggers through this site.
 

 
The story here is that the girl loves her home, nature, birds, flowers and her cat and he is the king of the home :)

We had a scary week with our beautiful friendly cat who has been ill off and on for most of his life.   He is doing well on some new meds for GI issues.   Last summer we thought we would lose him after extensive dental surgery (he only has a few teeth left) when a few weeks later he became very ill and in a lot of pain.   However he 'came back' again with good meds.  Our vet bills are high but he is family, we of course love him and do our best for him.  He is probably 13 years old, but we are not sure as we adopted him as an adult from a animal shelter 11 years ago.  He had been picked up as a stray and probably has had about 25 lives.

Here he is laying under the Christmas tree last month. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Life Book 2017 - Week 1

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great start to the New Year.

My Christmas gift from my dear hubby was enrollment into Life Book 2017 - from Willowing Arts (Tamara Laporte).  Life Book is a year long, weekly on-line art journal class with Tamara and 23 other Mixed Media Artists.

Week one included a warm up page and a wonderful detailed lesson by Tamara.  I'm showing you my pages from this week.  It was so much fun with lots collage, drawing, painting, mixed media & a big mess in  my craft room, I loved every moment.  I'm using 12 x 9 inch quality mixed media pages, they will be bound into a book at the end of the year.  Tamara's lessons are awesome (I've taken several), I love her art and her teaching style.

The above whimsical 'Star Girl' is from the main lesson - Journey through the Light.   The basket is actually 3D and is holding stars on which I've written words for 2017.  

The mixed media page above was the warm up lesson and I have ideas to create similar (but smaller) backgrounds for cards :)

Thank you very much for your visit and have a great weekend,
Shirleyx

Happy New Year !

Hello and Happy New Year !  I hope you enjoyed the festive season with family and friends.   

Thank you for all your visits and comments in 2016.   I wasn't 'here' as much last year as life is busy and I'm doing my best to make time for creativity.  

I am spending enjoyable time drawing and painting stylized/whimsical faces using techniques learned from on-line classes with Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts.

Today I'm showing a mixed media lady who is ready for her wedding day.    I thought she was appropriate to show for the New Year as we think about new beginnings.  

You can see the stamped hearts under the paint on her dress in this close up.   I find stamping under layers of paint much easier than collage but am experimenting with both.

Thanks for your visit.   I hope you have a wonderful year filled with good health, happiness and lots of creativity.

Cheers
Shirleyx

Purple and Blue Lady

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well and enjoying the festive season.

I'm taking another break from Christmas designs to show you a new stylized lady that I drew and painted.  I'm still having fun practicing techniques learned from Tamara Laporte's of Willowing Arts courses.

I used mixed media for this page, mainly acrylic paints, but also pens, pencils, neocolour crayons and I collaged tissue under her top. 
 
I also used stencils in the background along with a wooden stamp and acrylic paint.  I love water based media, it's much different using acrylics, but they are great that you can paint over top when dry if you want.

The photo below shows how the newly fallen snow looked a couple of mornings ago, very beautiful.   We love snow and crisp sunny cold days but our winters are a bit long.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley x

Pink Lady

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I'm taking a break from Christmas cards today to show you another face drawing and painting.  I'm a little obsessed with sketching faces lately but I won't bore you by showing everything. 

I created this page using techniques learned in Tamara Laporte's of Willowing Arts, Fabulous faces self study course.    I wasn't following anything, just having fun practicing drawing and painting with mixed media.  I'm a gardener and love flowers and so I like to doodle draw them as well. 

This is a different colour combination for me.   The hair started out with copper acrylic paint and I didn't like how it looked.  The beauty of acrylics is that you can easily go over top when dry :)   So then I decided on Magenta hair with a few copper highlights.  I was a bit 'stumped' as to what colours should surround her, but eventually made the decision on blues and pinks.   The background has a few layers including stenciling.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
Shirleyx

More Inspiration from Tamara Laporte

Happy Weekend everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have another practice page that I drew and painted while following Tamara Laporte's of Willowing Arts self study web course called Fabulous Faces.  I'm having so much fun playing and looking forward to starting Life book 2017 (weekly art journal lessons) on January 1st.  

I hope to keep up the practice to develop my own style.   I am also sketching faces but I won't show everything.

This is a mixed media piece with a simple background with stenciling and painting.   

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend,
Shirleyx

Inspired by Tamara Laporte

Hello everyone,  I hope you are doing well. I have something completely different to show you today and not a Christmas design!

I drew and painted this page while following a self-study mixed media course by Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts.  The short course, "The Happy Traveller"  is part of her Life Book 2016.  It was up on her web site as a free sampler for a short while, but I see it's gone now.    I've signed up for several courses including the Life Book 2017 which I'm very much looking forward to.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week,
Shirley