Emergency Room

Hello lovely blog friends,

You may have noticed my long absence in the blogosphere. A couple of weeks ago I wasn't feeling well. I didn't think too much of it. I went to bed with an Ibuprofen and hoped I would sleep it off, whatever it was. However, around midnight I woke up with chest pains, shortness of breath and I felt feverish. Those who have been following me for a while know that I despise hospitals and I usually avoid those places like the plague, but a niggling voice in the back of my head told me to call an ambulance...which promptly whisked me off to the dreaded hospital where I spent around 5 hours hooked up to machines, given scans and had my bloodwork taken. They immediately pushed intravenous medications. It turns out I narrowly avoided a heart attack. A heart attack omg. Retrospectively, I'm glad I did listen to that voice in my head! I spent a week in ICU and then was transfered to a specialized hospital where I spent another two weeks. All the while I was thinking of my blog family, and hopefully you can forgive me for not responding to any of your lovely comments or checking in on your blogs. In my weakened state it was simply impossible.

I have been released home and in a week I will start rehabilitation. Frankly, this very stressful experience has left me completely exhausted. It is just going to take time to recover from this. Please bear with me. Thank you all! Take good care of yourselves ~

Trying out the Studio Light Brush Markers

Hello lovelies,

It's important for an artist to grow. While I mostly paint with acrylics and gouache, every now and then I step outside my comfort zone and try a different medium. If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know about my love/hate relationship with watercolors!

But I actually want to feel at ease with them. The other day I came across a relatively new product from Studio Light. I think I've mentioned this Dutch company on my blog before. I have a couple of stamps and stencils which I enjoy using, as they have a unique design. 

Recently, they have expanded their product range to include water-based brush markers, called Aqua Markers. These markers come in sets of six in pre-made color schemes. The four sets I have are Disco, Sunset, Foliage and Sea & Sky, which I have swatched in my journal. Alltogether there are 14 sets available, however, I chose the above as these colors are ones I would likely use for my flower sketches, stamped images and background washes. All of the sets can be mixed and matched allowing for a customized color palette.

I stamped a flower image in my journal on 200 gsm hot-pressed watercolor paper. The markers are designed for drawing, coloring and hand lettering. They have two brush tips, one regular and one large to create varying widths. The larger tip is more flexible than the smaller one, in my opinion. The application is smooth and darks layer fairly well on the lights. I used a size 4 round brush to create the typical watercolor look, but I found it's best to use a brush with stiffer bristles, perhaps a watertank brush. Since these markers are water-based, they are odorless - an important issue for me.

These markers are quite "juicy", especially the green and blue ones. Another way to apply color, is to add pigment to a palette, spray lightly with water and either pick up the paint with a brush or place the substrate directly on the wet paint to create an expressive background, like I did here. The colors mix on the paper which gives interesting effects.

I am going to continue to experiment with them a bit more. My verdict: These brush markers come in a wide color range and are an affordable option for coloring stamped images or using them in coloring books. As mentioned, it's best to use a stiffer brush to pull out color to create the desired watercolor effect. They are best stored laying flat in their original box. I may yet warm up to watercolor painting after all :)

This is not a sponsored post. I simply like and frequently use different products from Studio Light in my mixed media artwork.

Thank you for reading along. Have a beautiful day!

Modern Abstracts

Hi everyone!

Every so often I feel this creative urge to paint wildly abstract. Abstract art has always been the style that I'm most drawn to, even as a teenager! You wouldn't have found any posters of TV stars on my bedroom walls at that time - instead I hung pictures with bold, abstracted images! I like that modern abstracts leave room for imagination and evoke an emotional response. When I paint abstract I try to capture a feeling and use color to tell a story. 

Below I'm sharing my recent practice pieces I painted in my journal. This is a useful exercise for when I decide to go large. This artwork was inspired by both nature and urban environments.

 

I've already heard some interesting interpretations of my artwork from people on another platform. I would love to know what you see when observing these paintings. Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for visiting and have a lovely day!

Monday Moodboard

Hello lovelies,

Who else loves journaling? I've kept a journal or notebook my entire life! Back in the day they were pretty standard, usually lined, and I remember giving mine an upgrade with stickers. Nowadays the choices are endless. Plus there's a whole array of journal essentials, such as washi tapes, sticker sheets, binder clips and writing tools. I've curated some lovely picks in my journal-themed board below. Have a great week!

Click on links below for more info.

1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4

p.s. this might be my last "mood board", as lately these posts get flagged. I remember times when small businesses used to thank me for a spot on one of my boards, as it's free promotion. I guess that's no longer the case! 

Drawing with Crayons [NeoColor I]

Hello everyone!

Who remembers coloring with crayons as a child? I remember the joy of receiving a box of crayons and discovering all the yummy colors in it. Crayon art is not just for kids these days. If you look online you'll discover some pretty amazing artworks done with this simple yet familiar tool! 

I believe that changing things up in my art practice revives that creative spark so needed for coming up with new ideas for my art journal and YouTube channel, and having seen some crayon drawings by other creatives, I decided to treat myself to a new box of crayons. I bought the NeoColor I from Caran d'Ache. These are hard wax pastels, which are water-resistant - not to be confused with NeoColor II from the same company, which are water-soluble. 

The box came with a cardboard sleeve that contained a convenient swatch card on the reverse side. I swatched the crayons with varying pressure, as I wanted to see the level of saturation. This will serve as a guide for shading. There's a good range of blues, greens and earthy tones - great for sketching landscapes and a decent couple of purples, reds, and pinks. I would have loved to see a light magenta in there instead of the orangy-red, though.

I like crayons as a medium, because they are so colorful and not intimidating to work with. They are also economical, as you can use up the entire crayon.

I started with something simple like a green apple. I selected Nr. 521, Nr. 240, Nr. 245, Nr. 249, Nr. 049 and Nr. 035 plus white. Blending takes some practice. I used cotton swabs as well as paper blending stumps. The paper I worked on happened to be lightly textured, and I like the "fuzzy" effect, but if you prefer working on smooth paper, that works too - in fact, it's probably easier to blend. You can sharpen these crayons using the larger hole of a two-hole manual pencil sharpener. You can draw as detailed as you like, but I quite like my expressive style. In these first examples I decided on a fruit theme. 

These crayons are pricey, but they are highly pigmented and I expect them to last a long time. I have sketched several pages of fruit and I have not worn down the tips yet. They don't have a smell, like some cheaper ones do. I believe I got my money's worth with these ones. Plus Caran d'Ache offer them individually, so if you are just starting out and want to try out this medium you can simply buy a couple of your favorite colors. I would recommend to always purchase the white, as you'll need this for blending.

Crayons don't erase well, so consider the colors for your drawings carefully and test them on a separate piece of paper. They are not a fast drawing tool It takes time (and patience) to fill a surface. I like that these don't leave a waxy residue or crumbly bits on the page. They are permanent and do not require a fixative, although some creatives give their work a light spray.

These are just a few of my very first sketches done with crayons. Obviously, I'll need to practice a lot more, but these fruit drawings have already taught me so much about shading, blending, hatching and crosshatching. Most importantly, they are tremendous fun!

Thank you for visiting and Happy Sunday!

Colorful Art Journal Page with Flower

Hi everyone!

Maybe I had summer on my mind when I created this page, as I was automatically reaching for the oranges and yellows!

In this beginner-friendly art journal page I have utilized simple techniques that resulted in a cheerful page with some pretty amazing effects.  

I used mainly acrylic inks for this piece plus color pencils to color in my stamped image.

You can watch the process in my short video here:

By the way, if you have any questions about the techniques shown or tools and paints used, don't hesitate to reach out to me via the comments below or on my YouTube channel. Speaking of...I have a new YT banner! What do you think?

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week where ever in the world you may be!

A fun mix of Artworks [Part 2]

Hello everyone!

I'm glad I decided to participate in this year's Mastering Mixed Media event. Two amazing weeks of learning, creating, painting, drawing and paper crafting! I appreciate the tips and advice that the individual teachers/artists offered in their respective classes. It was also nice to be part of a global community, sharing artworks and receiving lovely feedback. 

Here are my works from Day 6 through Day 14. As mentioned, there were too many to complete them all. However, I am still working on the final one. I kept this for last, as it is a bit more time consuming. I have linked to the teacher below each photo.

Lesson: Messenger of Joy by Ida Andersen Lang

Lesson: Layers of Play by Jenny Grant

Lesson: Playing with gouache & oil pastel by Tamara Luc

I do not have oil pastels, but hard crayons work also. Those marks on the pit of the avocado are supposed to by highlights, but I did not have the appropriate white color.

Lesson: Mixed Media Pattern Play by Jessica Swift

Lesson: Enjoy the Process by Susanne Rose

I hesitated when this lesson came up, as watercolors aren't my favorite, but I wanted to try the flowy style of painting reminiscent of underwater environments.

 This is the best I could do!

Lesson: I can see clearly now by Kerstin Svensson

The original class called for an abstract portrait on a large size paper. In hindsight my small art journal was probably not the best surface to work on, as very bold brushstrokes with acrylic paint were required. Also, the original had a lot of squiggly marks across the face. I wasn't comfortable with that, so I just did some on her hair and clothing. This was by far the most difficult (for me) even though I work with acrylics daily! 

Doing the work actually helped me get back into my "flow" as I had been feeling uninspired lately. It was good to try out different styles and mediums. I hope to join again next year :)

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog.! Have a great day!

Monday Moodboard

Hello lovelies,

The month of May is when our peonies usually start blooming and I love to photograph them, but this year they are late. Instead, I have curated a peony-themed mood board. I do love this flower in all variations, but most of all in pink. I hope you enjoy my picks from around the world. Happy Monday!

Click on the links for more info.

1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4

A fun mix of Artworks

Hello lovelies!

As I mentioned here I'm taking part in this year's Mastering Mixed Media event. Below are a few more artworks I completed. I like that these lessons leave room to experiment on your own and encourage you to add your own personal touches! These are from Day 2 through Day 5. If you're interested to learn more about each artist/teacher - click the links.

Lesson: impressionistic garden by Michelle Nyberg

Lesson: whimsical fantasy spirit animal by Andrea Gomoll

Lesson: Frolicking through the flowers by Tracy Verdugo

Lesson: Sketch, Collage & Create by Andrea Garvey

Lesson: Paper & Play by Holly Mclaughlin

As I am writing this I am about half way through the event and I'm excited to watch the remaining lessons! Once I complete another set of artworks, I will share those in a future blog post.

Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful week ahead!

Mixed Media ATCs with Collage Layers & Stencils

Hello lovelies,

My youtube channel turns two years old this month and I'm quite pleased with the way it's going, although this year I've only been able to manage one video tutorial a month. Apart from the daily errands, I've been busy with preparing for an art exhibition in June (more on that in a future post), as well as re-branding my channel to align with my blog. 

I did manage to squeeze in this fun and easy tutorial. Creating Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) is very satisfying. The surface is small enough to complete several cards quickly, and just like standard trading cards you can exchange them with fellow artists. Who doesn't love to receive happy mail?! 

To fill the background easily I used stencils with a variety of patterns. Create eyecatching effects by using three harmonizing paint colors together. 

In this video tutorial I use tiny paper scraps from my leftovers basket. I tend to keep those scraps that are the negative image that have been punched out with a punching tool or a shape that I cut out by hand. By layering other bits underneath you can create interesting collage art. 

Watch the short art tutorial from start to finish here:

Chunky acrylic paint pens are a playful way to add mark making. I have several colors, some with a round tip and some with a chisel tip. Tiny bits of washi tapes add texture.

This is a beginner-friendly project and very forgiving should you ever glue down a paper scrap in the wrong place (as I did 😉) due to the many layers! 

Thanks for visiting my blog and reading along. Have a great day!

Mastering Mixed Media ~ Learning new techniques

Hello everyone!

If you've been reading along for a while you've probably guessed that I'm passionate about all things "mixed media." The other day I came across this free online event called Mastering Mixed Media. It runs from May 1st until May 14th with daily art sessions presented by artists from around the world. Apart from being loads of fun, each session is in  a different style using a variety of mediums.

Even though I know I won't be able to do them all (40 lessons!), I endeavor to at least watch them. There's always useful information and valuable advice to glean from these types of videos. Here's what I have created so far.

This art session was presented by artist Laura Horn. It combined transparent watercolors with mark making in pen and pencil. While I find working with watercolors challenging and I rarely work with them, I did find this loose, abstract way of painting enjoyable! 

This lesson by artist Toni Burt was closer to my style. It incorporated quirky face sketching with graphite pencils - which I love - and bits of collage, which I often use in my art practice.

This lesson was taught by French artist Laly Mille. I was immediately drawn to this playful, colorful style with collage layers and whimsical elements. I added some butterflies that I had punched out from my gelli prints and I also drew a little wonky house. This took some time due to the many collage layers and drying time of the paint. 

This Mixed Media event is free while it's running. Once it closes there is the option to purchase the classes with life-time access. While we're on Day 4, it's not too late to join! You can still access the sessions from the previous days. Click here for more information and to register.

 

Have a great week!