Art is good for the Soul

Hello everyone!

Numerous studies prove that art and creativity have a positive impact on health and can help process experiences that are too difficult to put into words. Making art is comforting, and  like many others I feel it's more about the process than the result. These past few weeks I've spent lots of time in my studio making a variety of art. As I've mentioned previously, I'm not set on one specific style. The card at the top of this post is made with bits of leftover paper scraps, white gesso and a focal image.

The loose portraits above are done with gouache and colored pencils. I painted the flowers with aqua markers and fine liners.

I used distress inks to create the soft background in the art journal page above. Then layered with a few stamps and a stamped butterfly image.

And I've finally uploaded a video tutorial! The artwork below has lots of yummy layers and cool effects done with stencil paste and inks.

You can watch the full video on YouTube here:

Thank you for visiting. Wishing you a great day!

Sketching with Crayons and Blogger Issues

Hello everyone!

A small rant before I get to my current favorite subject - Art 🎨

I've been publishing this blog since 2008, but I find that I've never experienced as many blogger issues as currently. Everything from not being able to comment on either my own or other Blogger blogs (thankfully, that's been resolved) to changes made within my blogposts not updating and pictures not uploading. Separate to that I've recently been informed by Google, that my domain, which I've had since 2013 has been migrated to a host outside Google/Blogger, so now I have to deal with that as well. It's so annoying! Ok, rant over.

I've really taken to sketching with crayons lately. I've written about sketching/drawing with NeoColor I crayons in a previous post. These crayons have a lot of pigment and a little goes a long way. I find that starting with a light application and adding layers works best. The images look a bit "fuzzy". This is because I am working on lightly grained paper, not smooth. I like a bit of texture in my drawings. Here are a few examples of my bird sketches - and a cat! 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Postcard Art Exhibit 2026

Hi everyone!

I failed to post about the Postcard Art Exhibit at the time the exhibit was held, due to it coinciding with me falling ill and subsequently being hospitalized. In fact, I made the deadline just in time and there is a fun instragram reel where my entry happens to be the 600th one 😄

The Postcard Art Exhibit is an annual, international showcase of hundreds of postcard-sized original artworks created by artists around the world. The event sponsors a different charity each year. This year's exhibit was held in the Netherlands in support of people living with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. 

The showcase was curated by Dutch artist Tessa Maagdenberg. My contribution is called "Spring Awakening", a mixed media piece in my signature style with lots of layers and featuring a cute bird. The artwork at the top of this post is my official catalog entry. In the picture below my postcard is displayed amongst many others on one of the exhibition walls.

Can you spot it?

 Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a lovely Friday!

Important: I can't seem to comment on other blogs??