"Sneak Peek" at a new project!!

I am having to put "Frida" aside for now as I need to focus on my Art Show coming up Oct 2nd. This is a sneak Peek at a new project I'm working on. These "daisydolls" are being designed especially for a new product I will be carrying in my Etsy Shop. These new products will also be displayed in my tent next month in the "Historic Norcross Art's Festival". I still have to figure out how I'm going to hang my paintings. I'm thinking maybe lattice? Any who......I am off to finish these designs, stay tuned to see what I do with them(O:

"Frida" page 2 complete!

I was pleased with the way she came out. I gained some self control and kept her black and white and then to sooth my soul I added some color in the background with collage papers.

Sunday Sketches & progress on Frida

This is my Sunday Sketch for this week. I thought I'd keep the Frida theme going here on my blog since I'm in Frida mode. For more Sunday Sketches visit Sophia!!
I also wanted to post a few photos of the progress I've made with Frida on Page 2 of my "Frida Study"!

Thank you Kelly!!

I would like to thank Kelly for giving me a blog award. Kelly continues to inspire me every day. I am honored to have such a wonderful blog friend! She is an inspiration and we really enjoy sharing our Art Journal techniques with each other. You must check out her blog as she is a wealth of information and always introducing other artists to blogworld.

(the image above is an Art Doll I created out of a tea cup last year "Clementine")

Page 2 "Art Journal Study of Frida"

I have decided to continue on and do a full portrait study of Frida. It may not take up the whole journal but I plan to do a collection of Frida Portraits from some amazing photographs I found of her.
This is a beginning of page 2 in my "Art Journal Study of Frida". I decided to add some text about here inside a few of her facial features.

"Frida Kahlo" finished!

Here she is in the first page of my HUGE new moleskin journal "Frida Kahlo" complete!

"Frida Kahlo" Stage 2

I have added some color and a few patterns are beginning to form. I too like the black and white as it was and may do my next one just black and white. I just can't seem to help myself here with the colors and details. It just seems unfinished until I go to town on my pieces. I know I go overboard most of the time but I guess that's what makes it mine. I look at artists that can create the most simple and beautiful images and sometimes I really wish I could do that every now and then. If I were to put it on my wall as a black and white piece it would at least have to have zentangles inside the white areas or it would bother me. I'm just a crazy woman who's all about detail(O:

Thank you so much for all the feedback on my Stage 1 post!!!! My blog friends are the BEST!!!

"Frida Kahlo" Stage 1

I spent the morning yesterday searching for photos of Frida Kahlo. There are so many of the most beautiful photos of her, it almost makes me want to fill this entire journal with paintings of Frida Kahlo. I will start with this one and see where it goes.

Once I chose the photo I began by sketching out the image with pencil. Once I got the general image I then I blocked off all the possible shadows in the photo with black ink. So I have here a mosaic-like drawing of Frida. Now that the shapes are there I will begin using color and patterns to fill in the shadows.

Frida & First Day of School

Wow, is it quiet around here!! I've been up since 5:15 making lunches, toasting bagels and braiding hair. I cannot believe my girls are off to school!! We live in GA but I am originally from Boston and we never used to go back to school until after Labor Day. This always seems so soon but they have been out since the end of May and were ready to go back! They were so excited this morning and popped right out of bed. I remember that feeling, it's always nice to start a fresh year of school with new shoes and school supplies. We had a wonderful summer but now it's time to get back into a routine again.
On another note I finished my Frida Sketch. This was a fun piece to work on and while I was doing it I realized what my new project is going to be. A few weeks ago I ordered an enormous Moleskin 12" X 16" that arrived over the weekend. These pages are huge... especially if I use both pages in a two page spread that would make it 24" X 32". It's incredible! It will definitely take me longer to do each page now that I will be working on a bigger scale.
What I'm planning to do is to transform some of the Master's famous Paintings or even photographic portraits of them and turning them into new pieces of art using my daisydolls technique of creating shadows with patterns. I plan to do this by combining collage and hand drawn patterns. After doing this quick sketch/doodle of Frida it's really made me want to dive in and do my first piece in my new HUGE Moleskin Art Journal of one of Frida Kahlo's amazing photographic portraits. Stay tuned, I will photograph as I work and keep the progress reports coming. I'm excited and cannot wait to start!!

"Sunday Sketches" Frida

Hello!!

I'm a little pressed for time but I wanted to make sure I submitted my Sunday Sketches for today. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!

I Will Be Away For A Few Days

I would first like to thank all my friends and followers for all you wonderful comments!! It warms my heart to have such a network of friends in the art world(O:

I will be away from blog world for a few days. My girls go back to school on Monday and we have all kinds of things we need to have ready for their first day. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

I will catch up with you all soon(O:

"Rediculously Exotic Diva"

Here she is......my R E D lady.

Ridiculously
Exotic
Diva

I've always liked Red & Black together and this was another way for me to doodle within the features of a lady's face. This is definitely one of my favorite things to do!

New Journal Page & Rectangular Trays in Progress

I finished this journal page and thought it would make a wonderful bottom to a tray. I found these small rectangular plastic trays and began by covering them with Gesso. Then I painted some pretty colors around the edges and glued a copy of my journal page on the the bottom. Lastly I took some of those glass nuggets and embellished the outer edges of the trays with a tile adhesive. I still have a few more steps. Today I will be spray painting the back side with a bronze colored spray paint and then I will fill the bottom of the trays with a two art resin to protect the image and secure the glass nuggets. The resin and the glass nuggets add weight and richness to a plain old plastic tray. I think they will be a nice addition to my display for the Art Festival in October. I will post more photos of each individual tray once they are finished. they have the same image on the floor of the tray but each one has been painted and embellished a little differently.
Have a great day everyone!!

"Peace Maker"

As I was creating this journal page I had nothing in particular in mind. All I knew was that my friend Terri gave away a freebie image the other day that struck me. This image has so many possibilities and I may even have another go with her. She turned out to be posing as a woman who grew up being the middle child. It's funny when ever I have spoken to someone who also grew up being a middle child there have always been so many similarities. Personally I loved being the middle child and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm not sure I'm the person I am today because that is simply my personality or because of the middle child duties of keeping the peace between siblings, friends etc... that molded me that way. Anyway, I love this image and I thank Terri for giving it away, I really had a lot of fun with this piece!!

"Zentangles On Faces"

I can get lost in my own world when I am doing Zentangles. This is a magazine image that I distressed before creating the Zentangles. The open gaps of green to the right will eventually be filled in with text. They are waiting for the moment when I have the perfect thing to write. I am trying to offer a variety of projects where we will be using magazine images so my student will always have this option if the drawing part makes them nervous. I believe that Art Journals should be full of freedom and if someone is nervous about being able to draw a certain image it's nice for them to know that clipped images are just as acceptable. This should be a stress free & fun way for them to express themselves creatively! It's fun to see how you can transform an image as well, who knows what can come of a simple face.

Amazing Art from an Inspirational Friend!!

I received the most beautiful piece of art from Diane last week. I am seriously in love with this piece. It's so me it's not funny. Here it is in it's new home. Thank you Diane!! To see more of Diane's work click here!

"Sunday Sketches" Henna Patterns

For more Sunday Sketches visit Sophia!

I also wanted to share with you my 8 year old daughters blog. Her name is Emma Grace and she loves Art like I do. She has been so dedicated to her blog all summer long and has just done her 100th post. In celebration of this she is having her first Give Away!! To visit Emma Graces blog click here!