Mixed-Media: Black Birds on Quilts

Another Mixed-Media: 20" x 16" canvas using acrylic paints, scrapbook paper scraps, ink and pen. This is a painting lift from Debbi Hubb. I love her whimsy and replicated one of her pieces on a canvas that had 2 previous paintings on it that did not work out -- this one did. I'm going to do another and change it a bit going horizontal in red, white and blues with 3 quilts and chickens topping the spread. A fun exercise to do. 

Thanks for looking.......

Mixed-Media: Howdy Neighbor!

Another mixed-media canvas (12"x24"). Pulling from my stash of scrapbook paper, I created a flower garden of whimsy flowers. This was fun to do.

Thanks for looking.

Mixed-Media Flower Canvas

I may include this piece in my mixed-media series -- but then again, maybe not. The photo really doesn't do this piece justice (if I do say so myself).  It is a 12"x24" canvas with paper, paint, inks, baker's string and pen work. I love doing these flowers and I have enough left-over scrapbooking paper to make hundreds (I won't -- but I could). 

Thanks for looking!

Mixed-Media Series: 3 of 5

I wanted simple but bold for this canvas. The quote: Dripsy, dropsy, pitter, patter falling to the ground. Fast then slow until it stops. Oh what a wonderful sound. I like the NW canvas.

Thanks for looking at my work in progress.

Mixed-Media Series: 2 of 5

The second mixed-media painting in my series: Hope. This canvas fought me for a little while, until I said, "Okay, you win, I'll start over". The birds were simple and the Emily Dickinson words just hopped on the page. Wa-La Done and Done.

Thanks for looking at my work in progress.......

MIxed-Media Series: 1 of 5

I was given 5 11" x 14" canvases for Christmas and although they are canvases, not my favorite size (sorry, but I did send a list). I prefer square 16" or 10" or "16 by 8" long spaces to paint, craft on and get messy with. So, I decided to use these in a series of whimsy. Here is #1 in the series: Tea Party.

Thanks for playing along with me. Sam

Recent paintings --- Mixed Media

I painted this piece for my own home --- IF I did it over, I'd change a few things, but for now it handsomely hangs on one of my walls (I'm running out of walls - but not out of ideas to paint).

I did this piece for my son, Scott (www.scottmansfield.com). He is a fantastic photographer and I borrowed one of his photos and painted it my style. It is a scene from South Dakota and a road trip we (both sons and mom) took a few years back. We were visiting Wounded Knee and took a road north towards the Badlands. We drove and drove through fields of golden grasslands, blue skies and emptiness surrounding us until we came to a lonely tree in the distance. Of course with a photographer in the car and the picture perfect scene at our side, we stopped. I love the photograph and wanted to give back to the photographer that has shown me how to see the beauty around me.

 
This piece was for my other son, Bruce. I started out with a drawn, wind-blown tree to the right of the canvas and the more I worked it the more I hated it. So a do over was called for. The raised center circle that encapsulates the tree made for a great centerpiece and showcases the tree of life that I wanted to give my son. This is a mixed media piece using dictionary pages (under the brown bottom section), a hand-cut tree from cardstock and shadowed with ink pens and paint. I only used sponges to paint this piece and I like how it all turned out.

Calla Lilies - mixed media

~ Three stems of Calla Lilies ~

I did this piece for my daughter-in-law's birthday. She is all about calla lilies. This is an 8"x16" canvas with acrylics, paper and pen shading. I learned a new technique for this painting - how to shade with Faber-Castell PITT artist pens. These are ink pens (in fabulous colors) and you have about 20 seconds to smudge with your finger tip to get a blurry shadow. AHA - I discovered you can also use a wet brush and softly blend and shadow. I love shadowing and now have a new love for these indispensable pens.

Happy Birthday, Yana!

A couple more mixed-media canvas creations

My daughter is a life coach and journal instructor (www.andrealeda.com) and asked for a large canvas of her craft for her new office. Acrylics, paper, stamps, ink and lots of cut-outs. I started with postcard paper and added vintage postcards from around Oregon (where Andrea calls home) and painted the canvas with the side of an old credit card. I used a die cut for the basic butterfly and layered underneath with dotted paper, dictionary page paper and white that I attached with medium gel so the butterflies are 3D.

This is a canvas I did for my daughter-in-law, Chris. Chris is our families jig-saw puzzle champ and I started the background using a puzzle die-cut and scrapbook paper -- each puzzle piece is a different paper (yes, this took days to match, contrast and attach). It was very bright and I toned it down with a white/ivory wash and bits of green and distressed the edges. The lotus is paper edged in ink and shadowed around the edge. I love shadowing and learned a new technique AFTER this piece was done. Always the way while exploring techniques, challenges and trying to figure out "how do they do that?" Next time I post, I show you the technique I did learn -- I love it.

For the Grandkids - Mixed-Media

I did these for my granddaughter - Abigail. When she was a little tyke (still is but growing daily and now 2 years & 3 months) she was fascinated with birds - birds - birds. So I had to create a couple of canvas bird panels. These are 8"x16" with acrylic paints, paper, pens and the like.
(claimer: The bird on the left was inspired by an Australian mixed-media artist.)

My grandson (step-grandson and we love him to bits) is into everything lacrosse -- he plays, eats, talks, is passionate, sleeps and dreams lacrosse -- he's 13. Of course, I had to do a canvas to show my support (besides going to each home game -- usually in the rain with a chill that goes right through ya). This is a 10'x10" canvas with a 2" profile - acrylics, paper, pens and well, you get the picture (as it were).

Gerber Daisies - mixed media

My latest mixed-media attempt -- I followed an artist (Sara Barnes) instruction technique using paper, and pen work to create a pot of Gerber daisies (adding my own take on the work). This one will hang next to the flower panel I did last week on the wall in my craft/computer/painting/journaling/play room. More to come ----

On To Something New (for me)

Every 5 years or so I find something to get excited about and with retirement time on my hands -- that's a good thing (keeps me out of trouble). First it was scrapbooking 40 years of photos (that had been dumped in a box). I started with cut-n-paste techniques and graduated to doing digital scrapbooking pages. I have a bookcase filled with all but the last 2 years of photos. My kids (and grandaughter) all have scrapbooked albums of weddings, first grandchild and major events. I won awards for my pages, was published in a few books and magazines and then started looking for something new to do.

Next it was writing -- I always wanted to write, just never sure what, when or how. But when I found some discarded vintage photos, I started writing and I wrote and wrote and re-wrote their history into a manuscript called Lost and Found and a web site: Attic Whispers. It is out and about in the publishing world just waiting for an agent to get excited (a few have) enough to take on the project to get it published. It's a waiting game (game being the optimal word). Wait-Wait-Wait.....

Then a couple of weeks ago my daughter and daughter-in-law and I stopped at an artist's studio during the Bellingham Artist Tour (she just happened to live on my street). Maren Larson is a mixed media artist with a studio/home filled with her amazing creations. We ou-eed and ah-eed over her talent, picked up a couple of pieces -- and I had an "Ah-Ha" moment. I could do that! So with my knowledge of scrapbooking supplies, being an art major in collage (no biggy - everyone was) and needing another exciting thing for an excuse to get messy -- I started doing some mixed-media art. And like all my previous endeavors - I can't get enough. So, I've invested in some canvases, paints, medium gels, gesso, brushes and the tools to make magic and went to town (as it were).

Here are a few of my first attempts --- next week I can display a few I did that I really love (but they are going to someone special and I don't want to spoil the surprise of opening a box off the FedEx truck) and one that was I was commissioned to do.

This 8" x 16" (my favorite format) is now hanging in my studio -- as most scrapbookers do when they stare at a blank page (or canvas as the case may be) we scraplift an idea from another artist. I found something like this one on the web and put my mark (and papers) to the sample I scraplifted.

It took me weeks to figure out what to use for shading (and lots of bucks spent experimenting) but finally found some wonderful Faber-Castell PITT pens that are fantastic over and under gel medium.

These 2 canvases will hang in my kitchen (I couldn't wait to hang them to get photos) on our red kitchen wall. I wanted something powerful with very white backgrounds to pop-off the red wall.  The white background is textured and the flower petals are all shaded (just hard to tell in these photos).

I'll separate them by a couple of inches when I stack them on the wall -- photos of placement to follow.

I also tried my hand at some colleges -- This 8" x 8" canvas was for my daughter

 

Another one I did for my daughter-in-law (they were with me for my "Ah-Ha" moment and got the first of my new adventure. (again, an 8" x 8" canvas).

So there you have --- I'm painting with paints, paper, vintage post cards and photos and using up my huge stash of scrapbooking supplies in my new found love -- mixed media.

 

Andrea has a new site -- get the scoop on journaling
and learn just how it can be done easily, effectively and rewarding.
Check it out: http://andrealeda.com/

SCOTT MANSFIELD
PHOTOGRAPHY

If you want to experience the beauty of this country -- check out Scott's new web site.
www.scottmansfield.com

I LOVE DIY

My niece, MiMi, posted on Facebook a site that has some wonderfully simple DIY suggestions. Here is the site: http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/2013/08/50-insanely-clever-organizing-ideas.html 

And here are a few cool ideas that followed me home.

Pegged to the inside of the cabinet door -- This one I did right away and love how simple it is

 

Shower baskets for the kiddy car stuff we all carry

Empty baby wipe containers -- great storage boxes

 This one is for the journalers out there --- glue a closeable envelope to the inside of your journal. Keeps the extras organized and in one place.