handmade postcards for a swap

For the butterfly postcard I cut an old shirt gift box to 4x6 and lightly sanded the shiny side to give it some tooth. I then laid down some papers on it with soft gel medium and toned them down with some white gesso. I dabbed on different colors of acrylic paints with a makeup sponge until I got an effect I liked and then toned it down with a little gesso. I dripped on some pearlescent liquid acrylic and ran the empty dropper back and forth and up and down. I laid a piece of paper towel down, lightly pressed, and lifted to give a nice texture in the liquid acrylic. I waited until it was dry so that I wouldn't loose the texture before putting a butterfly cutout down and sponging on some dark blue acrylic paint over and around it. I let it dry overnight and then detailed the butterfly with a Signo silver pen. The autumn postcard is made pretty much the same way just leaving out the pearlescent liquid acrylic. I really need to get some more colors of that stuff because I love the sun-up blue that I have.

happiness

I had really nice night yesterday. I got home from work to Richie cooking dinner. Had a yummy meal with the family and Richie gave Charlotte a bath so I could glue some wings in my journal. After I put Charlotte in bed around 9pm I spent the rest of the night playing in my journal. I got out the gesso, all my metallic paints, gold signo pen, rubber stamps, brillance stamp pad, and a cute picture of Charlotte at Easter. I love dripping Pearlescent liquid acrylics and then pressing it with a paper towel for some texture. That is what I used for all the blue in the sky. The bottle says to stir but I shake it to get some bubbles that also add some more texture. I stamped the flowers using Lumiere paint. I love that stuff. The page looks so much better in person. You can't really see how metallic everything is.

and dreams are born

This quote from Van Gogh really inspires me. I'm not all that comfortable with painting but would like to be. I'm also not comfortable with faces but would like to get better at them. I really pushed myself with this picture I painted. The first night I worked on it I was really disappointed with how it looked. The second night I pushed myself to work on it some more and by the end was liking it a little better. The third night I was falling in love with it. This morning I added the "and dreams were born" and did a little more with my black pen. I'm very pleased with the outcome. I almost framed it with the quote instead of gluing it in my journal. I think I will have to push myself some more.

go with the wind

Yesterday when I took Charlotte for an afternoon walk we collected a few leaves that were on the sidewalk. I had a lot of fun making a mess last night :)

A lot of my supplies are still packed in boxes because I have no where to put them. Next month Richie is supposed to start building my cabinets and desk for our bedroom. It will be nice to be able to find all my supplies and have a place to work. I can't find all my ephemera and old books to tear up. On one hand I can't create exactly what I have in mind but on the other hand it is forcing me to use what I have and to experiment.

need my art

It's amazing what having my hands covered in paint will do to my mental state. Note to self: screw the housework and play more often :-p

:-(

I'm mentally exhausted and need a serious break. I love my family but really need some time to myself. I miss my art, making jewelry, blogging, and kayaking. I feel myself slipping into depression and need to snap out of it. I can't and won't let my mental state affect my daughter. I have to pull it together!!! I need my art therapy.