A Source of Inspiration.

Hi.

An artist that was a great influence to me when I was first interested in

 painting portraits was Amedeo Modigliani.

This was one of my early attempts at a portrait in his style.

Over at Artsy.net they have a designated Modigliani page 

which features a biography and over 25 of his works.

To celebrate an up and coming exhibition of his work at Tate Modern 

which runs from 23rd November 2017 - 2nd April 2018 

I thought I would do another small portrait in his style.

I hope you will go check out the links and possibly gain some inspiration of your own.

Thanks for stopping by.

XXX

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Untitled

Hi

Just stopped by to share the finished piece I've been working on in

 collaboration with my blog friend Robin.

Robin and I have been working on each others backgrounds 

and in this piece I have also used cut outs from Robin's pdf's  of facial features.

You can see progress pics in my last post here.

Hope you like her.

XXX

In Collaboration

Hi

Lately I have been working on a little collaboration with my blog

friend Robin Cox Walsh.

 You can read a bit about it and find a link to her blog in my last post here.


I can now reveal one of the finished projects as they have now arrived safely over in the USA.

Girl by Carol. Background by Robin.


Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the other project but it was a little

sketchbook containing some Khadi paper for the pages and

Robin's background paper was used to make the cover and a paper bead.


However I can share with you what I am working on at the moment.

Here are some progress shots. Once again the background was supplied by Robin and

I have used some of her drawings of facial features cut from some

 pdf files downloaded from her blog.

I added some random stamping and a bit more paint to the background.

I have used acrylics, coloured pencil, and oil pastels on her face and some

 collage papers for her dress.

There is still more work to do but I love her eyes and her mouth.

 A different style to what I would usually do and that's what makes

 collaborating lots of fun.

Thanks Robin.

XXX

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Backgrounds

Hi

My blog friend Robin suggested that we swap background papers

and see what we can do with them.

I have already worked on a couple of projects which are now winging their way

back to the USA so I can't share them as I want them to be a surprise.

.

After reading Robin's last post I had the idea of using one of her

backgrounds and some facial features from her pdf downloads to create

a little character.

Something a little different for me but might be fun.

XXX

Making an X Book

Hi

In this post I wanted to show how I made this little book using one

 folded sheet of paper.

This was made from one of my painted papers.

 I am working on the inside at the moment and will share it another time.

This little book is called an X Book.

I'm sure you can find instructions for making these little folded books 

 on-line, however, I found this technique in a book called

'Making Handmade Books' by Alisa Golden.

Begin by taking a piece of paper (this one measured  23cm x    )

Fold in half lengthwise

.

Again into quarters.

Make sure to make the folds sharp using something like a bone folder.

Then fold the edges back on themselves to make a concertina shape.

.

Open it up and cut along the crease I have highlighted here with a black pencil line.

Now it should look like this.

Folding back over to look like this.

Then squeeze the two ends together and fold around to form the cover
.

Once folded you can leave as is but I prefer to apply Matt medium

 to the back side and re-fold and adhere the pages in place.

I hope you will give it a try. Its a good way to use those painted papers.

Thanks for visiting.

XXX

New Goodies

Hi

Joining in again this week with Paint Party Friday.

I have two small works to share this week.

The first is a small watercolour on handmade cotton rag paper.

I also used water based Crayola FineTtip markers for finishing touches.

The second is just a little sketch in coloured pencils 

which was done in a bad light while I was watching the television last night.

I may use this as inspiration for a larger mixed media painting.

This last weekend we paid a visit to The Lake District and called

into the Derwent Pencil Museum where I took the opportunity to

 pick up one of these from their shop.

(pencils not inc.)

When I am using my coloured pencils I have a habit of accumulating a stock pile

 of pencils on my table which sometimes end up rolling off onto the floor.

This is something that you don't want as you can end up damaging your pencils

 by breaking the core inside the wood casing.

This Pencil Buddy is a quick and easy way to store your pencils while you work and

 you can see how it's unusual design works over on The Art Gear Guide. 

 A great place to check out great reviews on lots of art products.

I also picked up this 'retro' pencil case. The pencil was your ticket into the museum.

As a bonus, when you made a purchase you also got a complimentary box

 containing two  Derwent Graphik pens.

I was so pleased as I was in need of a fine liner pen and the 

Graphik Line Painter is a great discovery. They come in lots of colours

 and are now on my long list of must haves.

Another thing on my list now is a circle punch after using this circle cutter

 to make some circles from some of my painted papers

.

I particularly like these cut from baking parchment.

 Thanks for stopping by.

XXX

  

Paint Party Friday.

Hi

Just stopped by to share a quick post for Paint Party Friday.

This post is photo rich so hope you like what I've been up to since last time.

I have completed another page in my Coloriage Wild colouring book

 by Emmanuelle Colin.

I love this book!! 

I have also finished a couple more tags.

and I have playing around with some paint and handmade stamps

 to create some painted papers.

Thanks for stopping by.

XXX

Untitled

Hi

Linking up to Paint Party Friday again this week.

Since last time I have finished my Twin Angels double page spread in my journal.

I did a bit more on the background, the wings and the dresses.

 I think it is finished although looking at it here I may do more work on the dresses.

I also worked on a couple of tags.

 I had forgotten how much fun it is to use tags as a substrate.

 It is a quick and easy way to make a little bit of art.

Thanks for stopping by.

XXX

Untitled

Hi

Thanks to all who stopped by last week.

I am linking up again this week with Paint Party Friday.

A place where artists can come together and share what they have been working on.

It's fun to come together with like minded people

and to see their work and hear their comments.

I started working on a double page spread in my

'Permission to Play' Journal.

  I've just a little more to do to it before it's finished.

I have also completed colouring my first page in the beautiful

 colouring book Coloriage Wild by Emmanuelle Colin.

It's a great way to practice my coloured pencil skills and I can't wait to start my next page.

XXX

Untitled

Hi

This week I have been playing with different mediums.

Firstly coloured pencil in my new colouring book Coloriage Wild by Emmanuelle Colin

I will share my first completed page in a future post.

Secondly acrylics on a little cardboard painting for my box project.

This one went through many changes until I was happy with her.

Lastly a little watercolour.

Thank you to all who visited last week for Paint Party Friday.

 I really appreciate you stopping by and I love to hear your comments.

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

WIP and New Goodies

Hi

I have just been doing a little on a painting I started a while ago and put aside.

It started with a mono-print background.

I used acrylics and then coloured pencil on the hair, face and bodice's

More work is needed on the skirts and I think I will do some more to the

 background before I can call it finished.

I wrote in an earlier post about my new found interest in colouring books.

Its a great way to practice my watercolour and coloured pencil techniques.

the book mentioned in my post was Linda Ravenscroft's Fairy & Fantasy Art.

I have been watching Dede Willingham's videos over on You Tube where she shares

all her colouring techniques and Art Journaling ideas.

I am hooked now on books featuring artists illustrations and have just bought a new one

that I am very excited about and can't wait to get started on.

    

It has beautiful illustrations by Emmanuelle Colin.

Although I will work primarily in watercolour and coloured pencil for

small areas and finishing touchesI have come across these water based markers

by non other than crayola.

They have an amazing array of colours for what is notably known as a brand for children.

 Although some look very alike they are subtly different.

 I was AMAZED!


And here is another way that I found that you can use them.

Apply some to a palette

and apply with a brush.

Happy Days!!

XXX

Linking to Paint Party Friday.