♥ God Bless America ♥
September 11, 2001 – 2010. In honor of all those who gave their lives ~ Victims, First responders, Clergy, Volunteers, Family & Friends. YOU are what makes this country so great. God Bless you and keep you and give you peace that passes understanding. I will have many moments of silence and tears in your honor today. God Bless America.
♦ Work in Progress ♦
Using scraps and recycled media I’m playing in my journal with a bird cut from a music advertisement postcard and a paper from local eateries. I plan to gesso over it lightly so it leaves the text visible. Then I’ll add layers and stamps and smudges and just let my fingers do the walking. I grabbed some metallic patina paint to use on this as well..you can see it on the right of the white paint in the background. It’s a soft effect that can be smeared on beautifully giving it a weathered appearance. I’ve had a very productive Etsy week and a very non productive painting week. I think what I need to do is buy myself an organizer and give myself daily tasks. As an artists it’s very hard to manage my time. I live to create and create to live and some of life’s musts go by the way-side. My creative mind goes 100 miles an hour and my practical mind hangs with the snails. I’d like to be better at managing my time and getting more bang for my buck so tomorrow when I grocery shop I’m picking up a daily organizer from the notebook area at Fred Meyer. I’ll task myself with daily things that need done and take a day and spend it promoting and managing my art. I STILL have so many ideas that I can’t seem to fit into my day so if I take the time and MAKE myself follow a schedule I might be able to get more done. I’m more than a bit of a news hound so I listen to news and talk radio way to much. I’m thinking I’ll try to cut down on current affairs so much and include some music in my day to soothe my soul. The Dr wants me more relaxed and I have a tendency to be a stress machine. I internalize… WAY too much! So I’ll take the wings of this bird and fly to soft clouds and relax in their pillows. It’s never to late to change! Right?
♥ Jilly Giraffe ♥
Staying with my fascination for giraffes I created a giraffe over texture, per my son’s request. He likes when I draw/paint over the textured surfaces of napkins or tissues. So I mod podge’d this down and once it was dry I retraced my giraffe in micron and went to town with chalks. This is simply done with chalks, microns, and q-tips, all over the top of part of the backing of a decorative napkin. Don’t get TOO many wrinkles when doing this effect as it will totally mess up your under-drawing and make in nearly impossible to paint. (Speaking from experience.)It’s best to “wad up” your napkin, then iron it out with your fingertips to the desired wrinkle level, lay it over your drawing and using a mister, spray it down so you you have the desired effect around your detailed drawing. I love how this giraffe turned out. I love the texture and the blending of colors. I love that chalks can be “married” with a simple q-tip. And the eyes! Who couldn’t fall in love with a giraffe with those eyes? May all your dreams be big and your glasses of Long Island Iced Tea be Tall!
