In my last post, I left off by telling you that I feel like I'm wrestling a two-headed dragon. If you haven't read part one, I'd encourage you to read this first . Over the last year, I've found the card-making world to be a bit stagnating when it comes to inspiration and sparking my creativity. Authenticity, or shall I say the lack thereof, has stirred up a lot of "what if?" thoughts. I've found over the past year I'm less and less interested in what the paper crafting industry has to offer me as a maker. There are of course a few exceptions, but overall, it's a bit flooded with what I would call "copy the mold" syndrome. That is not to say there aren't great products on the market and there aren't great makers making the things that make their hearts sing, it's just not making my heart sing anymore. This is more about me and about my desire to be more authentic and original. I've outgrown the industry I've so ...

I started my watercoloring adventure with school grade pan paints. I have a vintage set from Artisan and a set of Prang, both of which have been great starter paints.  I will continue to use these sets, as I absolutely love the colors and the pigment of them. I’ve created a few projects using my Distress inks as watercolors, as they are a water-reactive medium and they blend beautifully. I also have a lovely set of Derwent Inktense pencils, and while they aren’t considered “watercolors” they're a water-reactive medium that I’ve used for watercolor projects as well. Recently I purchased three small bottles of liquid watercolor from Let’s Makes Art. While I haven’t plaid with them much yet I feel like they come with a bit of a learning curve for adjusting color intensity.  I will continue to explore this medium, but so far it's my least favorite option. Then, over the weekend I added to my watercolor collection by purchasing some Windsor & Newton ...

Drawing faces, something I enjoy but am no expert at.  I just draw them.  I'm honestly not concerned about them looking realistic or even that everything is in correct proportion. Quick pencil sketch using  Koh-I-Noor Progresso Woodless Graphite pencils. More defined pencil sketching using the same pencils. Mixed media background created with Distress Oxide inks on mixed media paper , drawn with Prismacolor Markers . Pencil sketch with shading and additional details.  More practice with pencil sketching and shading. Tim Holtz watercolor paper with Distress Ink background and over stamping.  Face drawn with the same Prismacolor markers as above. Mixed media background, Feathers created with texture paste, face painted with acrylic paints. Watercolor paper, with a watercolor background and face sketch, created using Micron pens and Dylusions Paint Pens . Maybe its time for me to draw faces again.  I hope you're ...

I started this altered book project in September of 2019, with no deadline for finishing it.  I created this space to play with my art supplies and explore mixed media.  I have a wonderful stash of art supplies because I'm mildly curious about all the things.  What better place to play with all the things than in an altered book.  I started my project by prepping the book.  This included pulling part of the pages, gluing pages together to create thicker pages and adding some pages back in as fold-outs.  As I work in my book I gesso pages and add things.  Sometimes I paint pages.  Sometimes I add texture paste.  I've added ink, washi, fabric, metal and other bits as I build the pages.  My altered book is where I go to create when I feel a little stuck in a rut or burned out.  There are no rules for this book and I enjoy the blank slate and the freedom.  Stay tuned for more posts about this book, as I have more p...

Sketching is something that comes and goes in my creative life.  This year I'm trying to sketch more often.  I'd love to say daily, but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.  I bought this small sketchbook on our trip down the west coast over Christmas break.  It's a much smaller sketchbook than I have used in the past, but I really like the size. I started sketching in the little book while on vacation, but only completed one sketch while traveling.  It's a rough sketch from a photo I took of the Redwoods we saw in our travels. Sketch two is of wheat or wild grass, whichever you see.  I often draw this kind of thing and have several versions in other sketchbooks.  Sketch three is a bit of a rendition of the winter that is laying its hand on our yard this time of year. Sketch four was created using a reference photo from Instagram.  I have no idea what the flower is, but it was a fun sketch.  Sketch five is my coffee cup th...

In 2014, I picked up my pens and started creating pen and ink art pieces.  Pen and ink drawing is a way to unwind my mind and lose myself in a bit of art.  Today I thought I'd talk about a few of the tools I use when making this type of artwork.   When I picked up pen and paper I started with the notion of getting into zentangle, but once I got the idea of it I kind of lost interest in it.  I started with a sketchbook that I grabbed at Barnes & Noble, along with a book on zentangle, and pens I already had in my stash of supplies.  This piece is sitting unfinished in my sketchbook. I was curious about using watercolor paper.  I used Canson XL Watercolor paper and my student grade watercolors to rough out a flower.  Once the watercolor was dry I added ink with a dip pen.  This piece happens to be living in a drawer currently.  Maybe I'll frame it someday.  I'm not any kind of supply snob, as I said yesterday ...

I recently decided to subscribe to the Art Journal box from Let's Make Art .  They have Watercolor and Lettering box subscriptions as well, but the Art Journal box really spoke to my current state of creativity. I got my first box on Saturday created my first page on Sunday morning.  I'll start by saying I'm quite impressed with the quality and quantity of supplies.  Let's talk about what was included in the box and what I added on with my first order. Box content: 4 - Full-size bottles of acrylic paint 1 - Sample size jar of Yes! Paste 1 - A5 mixed media art journal from Carpe Deim  1 - White Posca pen  PC-1MR, pin type 1 - Red Posca pen PC-5M, bullet shaped 2 - sheets collage paper 1 - Graphite paper 1 - Let's Make Art Postcard project 3 - Technique cards 3 - Prompt cards Added on: 1 - Butcher tray pallet 3 - Bottles of liquid watercolor I think I'm really going to enjoy this subscription box .  It will give me a chance ...

I'm in a bit of a card making drought.  No lie, haven't made a card in weeks.  Burned out, over inspired, over-stimulated, lack of inspiration, creative block.  Whatever your phase of preference is I have it.  In an effort to break the block or brick wall I've started playing with mixed media again.  I've dabbled in this a few times.  I enjoy it, but it kind of intimidates me.  I'm flipping that view on its head and letting it challenge me rather than intimidate me.  Since we had a long weekend, I took one day and did a little bit of experimenting and playing with mixed media.  I also got crazy and ordered some supplies.  Here's the art journal page I created.  I've been building pages in this watercolor notebook for quite a while.  The paper wasn't very good for watercoloring, as it was pretty low quality.  I opted to turn it into an art journal, and I dig it out once in a while to play.  I usually gesso the ...

Yesterday I watched the Youtube video - Learn to Draw Artistic Faces .  Dina Wakley does a fantastic job in this video of taking the intimidation out of drawing a face. I proceeded to draw six faces yesterday.  I drew the first one while watching this video and then it just kind of took on a life of its own. Face #1: Face #2: Face #3: Face #4: Face #5: Face #6: