First Painting of the New Year

I started this painting in December, but it's finally finished! The original intention was to come up with something that would go with my living room decor (I'm really enjoying green apple and terracotta orange together) but now it may serve a new purpose. I work at a store on the east side of Milwaukee, and we're putting together a silent art auction. All the money will go to charity, and the art will be on display for about a month. The problem is, the art I wanted to donate is nowhere to be found. I blame my hasty moves from one apartment to the next. Somewhere along the way I lost two pieces of artwork. In any case, this new painting may be coming up for auction at our local store soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Halloween Project

This Halloween I dressed as the IRMA (Inventory Replenishment Merchandising Application) icon at work. Yes, I am a nerd. No, I don't have a picture of the full costume or the icon it was based on, but I do have the glasses!

I cut out the shape of the glasses I needed out of purple craft paper. Then I discovered that the eye holes were too big, and my real glasses were showing through. I added another layer of paper inside the first so I wouldn't have to start over, and I think the result is more interesting. The dots on either side are made from glue and glitter, and in the center you can see where I had to cut the glasses apart and reposition them. More than a few people at work asked me if they were real. I call that a success!

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 6

I'm finally done!

I was so excited I couldn't even wait for the glue to dry before snapping a picture. I think this is the first project I've actually finished in a long time.

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 5

It's been a while since I last worked on this project. Mostly I've just had trouble staying motivated. I feel guilty about not finishing it in time for Christmas of 2011, and now it's March and still unfinished. So today I finally dusted off my art supplies and got to work.

In step 5 I've added a layer of ochre over the background. I got a set of six shades of ochre as a gift from my sister a few years ago, and when I combine it with clear acrylic paste I get a nice golden shade of paint.

Valentine's Day

While we're waiting for inspiration to strike (in regards to the flower painting) I thought I would share another project on here. Tonight I spent at least 3 hours making a Valentine, and I snapped pictures along the way!

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 4

Step 4 was the long and tedious task of cutting and gluing each fabric piece in place. Let me just mention that having the shapes sketched out on the canvas was not helpful at all. The fabrics weren't sheer enough to lay them out and use the canvas as a template. What I ended up doing instead was guess, cut, check, cut some more, check, trim, check, glue. At least it worked!

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 3

Well, here is how the fabric trip went down. I took Sam (the painting's recipient) with me for support. We went to JoAnn's and headed straight for the remainder bolts.

We found one that we loved, but not much else to go with it, so we kept looking. Then, oh wow, we found a field of colors!

After about 20 minutes of waffling on color choices we ended up with a nice little collection for less than 8 dollars.

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 2

Since patchwork pieces for the flower petals might get a little complicated, I decided to add some more detail. I put some rough color on the canvas to help me visualize the end product, and also to help determine how much fabric is needed. Next step is to stock up at JoAnn's!

Fabric Flower Painting: Step 1

So here's the story: We got a great painting in at work about a month ago. It's a bunch of tulips made out of fabric and beads on canvas. I will be trying to make my own version of this as a gift to a friend of mine for her new apartment.


Step one here was to sketch out the overall design on the canvas using charcoal.

Giving it Another Try

Well I think it's time to give blogging another go. I'm taking a year off of school to get re-motivated and figure things out, so now's as good a time as any. I'll be trying to get caught up with my artwork for the next couple posts putting up photos of my recent projects on here. Hopefully it will also help me get back into sketching too.

Results

I think my mom really liked her mother's day gift. We got to spend the morning together at IHOP with my sister (back from college). Next up: Father's Day! I'm not sure I have any ideas yet. We'll see.

Mother's Day and End of Semester

So clearly I have not been keeping up my blog this semester, but now school is almost over! This week is the last week of classes, and tomorrow is Mother's Day. The picture proves it. I love you Mom!

Back to School

Well, classes start today. I'm taking a management class, an art class, a web design class, and two multimedia classes. This should be a fun semester!

New Sketch

Well I've been a bit busy with work, but I did finally get some more art done. Last month I bought a book Botany for the Artist by Sarah Simblet, and now I've started sketching from it. I also just posted some new ornament cards for the holidays on Etsy here.

Another Blog

So here is one of the blogs I follow: Color Collective. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, so in Lauren's own words, "I created Color Collective as a designers' resource for color. The color palettes are pulled from the work of various designers, artists, and photographers . . . ."

The One-Month Gap

Well I haven't posted since my move. My art supplies are all in boxes, but I hope to be starting up some new projects soon. Just hang tight.

Amazing Paper Artist

Recently I've been dabbling in the art of paper cutting and card making as you know, but I was amazed to find this Artist, Peter Callesen, who makes me look like a kindergartener. I would love to know how he comes up with these feats of paper genius because they just blow my mind. He has a US exhibition February 3rd of next year and I am seriously tempted.

For an Old Friend

This is a card I just made for an elderly friend of the family. I took care of her a couple winters ago and she and I had a great time. She and her late husband were quite influential in the starting of Milwaukee's art scene back in the day. Our art styles were very different (she worked with glass) but we had lot to talk about. Now I've found out she's in the hospital and not doing very well, so I'll be bringing her this card.

The Whole Picture

Well, here is the final product that I hinted at a couple posts ago. This painting was a gift for my boyfriend's brand new nephew, and a surprise for his parents. I hope this brings little Parker many years of enjoyment.

Birthday Gifts

Here is my belated birthday gift for seven year old Sophiah. I used the paper "S" as an excuse to play around with embroidery thread. Let me tell you . . . it's not easy to sew through two layers of card stock. I actually snapped one needle in half!