Mixed Media Place.....Creative Gym No.5

Time to get creative with Mixed Media Place again........the challenge this time is to work on a black background using all the colours of the rainbow. Simple, yes ? Well, for me, I didn't find it that simple. I wanted to add colour using media like mists, inks, and paints, but found that black swallows up colour ; and unless the colour is thick and opaque or has a white ground under it or mixed in with it, the colour won't show up. Of course you could use lots of coloured papers, flowers and embellishments on top of your black background, a more straight forward option.

I have ended up using a mixture of white and gold embossing, coloured sequins and threads and distress stains mixed into Finnabair's art basics Modeling Paste.

My background is a piece of chipboard gessoed with art basics Heavy Black Gesso. Onto this I splattered several colours of Distress Stains, which disappeared almost instantly into the back, I could see where it was wet but not what colour it was. Before the Distress Stains dried completely I pulled Modeling Paste through a Prima Elementals "Harlequin" Stencil and the paste picked up the colours beautifully.

Thanks for visiting, have a creative week and hope you can play along with this Black + Colours challenge. All the details are HERE at Mixed Media Place .

paperDVIZHNIK...............Challenge No.58 "LEGS"

I love Instagram. Along with Instagram came "selfies" and as well as selfies, a million photos of "feet" in a million different locations !  Here's a chance to create with your feet, legs, shoes, tracks, or footprint photos. Play along with our 'LEGS' challenge this month. Find all the details HERE at paperDVIZHNIK.

Living in Australia we're often without shoes....at best it's thongs and sandals, so having prettily coloured, pedicured toe nails is a must. My daughter and I go together, have them done at the same time and have a good old girly catch up.

I started with some washi tape, a pretty stencil and then went a little crazy with Finnabair's art basics Modeling Paste.....this would be my favourite product at the moment. I love it's smoothness ( not gritty like some ), love how easily it spreads, love how quickly it dries and love how it soaks up colour.

Thanks for visiting, have a creative week.

Mixed Media Place.........Tags

Hello ! February already ! What is it with getting older and time going faster ? I don't get it but I know I don't like it !   (haha, 3 exclamations and a question in the opening sentence, probably not a good way to start ). My turn at Mixed Media Place today. Do you recall our current Creative Gym Challenge, "Intuitive Painting" ? We would love for you to play along, and you can find the details HERE. Any way, I made some tags for this challenge. Very quickly, without thought or planning, just applied paint, using 3 very different techniques and just let it "happen". Here's the result.

I love how they turned out, and I guess this is more by "random accident" than "intuitive", with the paint pretty much doing it's own thing. But, for me, it was still an exercise in "letting go". These little rectangles of colour sat on my desk, for a week or so, until I could leave them naked no longer ! The control freak in me took over. I had to fuss over them and dress them up.

When you have some Finnabair art basics Gel Medium, Modelling Paste, and Texture Paste, Stencils, Mechanicals, Resist Canvas, Glitter and Glass Beads, along with 7 Dots Studio Stamps and Stickers, also sitting on your desk, it's very easy to play "dress ups" All I've added are fibres, string, cotton, fabric, washi tape and wire. Some flowers, tissue images and a few bits of ephemera.

Finnabair Mechanicals, Glass Beads and Glass Glitter

Finnabair Sun Rise Sun Set Stencil with art basics Modelling Paste and 7 Dots Studio Nature Walk Stamp

Finnabair Checkered Stencil used with art extravagance Texture Paste in Copper Crackle and Finnabair Mechanicals A complete list of materials can be found HERE at Mixed Media Place blog and can be bought from HERE at the Mixed Media Place Store.
Thank you for visiting today, I hope you have a great week, and whether you work intuitively or with precise planning and intent, may it bring you joy and happiness.

paperDVIZHNIK.......New Challenge

Hello again. I say 'again' because I'm back here with another post; two in one week! I know that's pretty normal for most people but not for my 'sleepy' little blog that just happily plods along at a slow and steady pace. Anyway I'm excited to share the next challenge at paperDVIZHNIK. This month, it's a sketch. I guiltily have to confess that I'm not usually 'into' sketches; I tend to just do my own thing, BUT, when a sketch is simple and allows a lot of scope for interpretation, it makes the BEST starting point.

I think I must still be in New Year, festive mode because my page is all pearls and sparkle.

Layers of texture paste, gauze, more texture paste, water colour, Inka Gold, Foil Flakes, pearls and sequins.

Of course, I can't do anything without fussy cut flowers and tissue.

If you would like to join our 'sketch' challenge the details are HERE at paperDVIZHNIK.
I would like to say I hope your new year has gotten off to a bright and sparkly beginning: but sadly the events in Paris this past week have thrown a dark and evil veil over the beginning of 2015.  Sadly Paris, and indeed all of our beautiful world, has again been smeared with extreme hatred and intolerance. Freedom of speech ? Of course ! The right to offend race or religion ? No ! Nothing positive EVER comes out of insults.   Just my view.

Mixed Media Place.....Inside my Box Book

Hello friends ! My turn at Mixed Media Place has rolled around, so thought it might be time to show  some more of my little box book....it has pages now! Front cover is HERE and inside front cover HERE.  Here is page No.1

There are 20 pages all up ( 5 pieces of card, each divided down the middle, so two pages on each side, front and back ) The pages vary in size, so some can peek out from underneath, also makes it a bit more interesting to work on.

 I've used two beautiful Finnabair stamps, some washi tape and collaged tissue paper birds. Art basics Soft Matte Gel works beautifully for all collage work, even for very light and fragile paper like tissue.

Hand sketched  my saying in pencil first then went over it with a waterproof black pen, then added colour with watered down acrylic paint in a mini-mister.

The pretty birds were begging to be coloured in, so used some water soluble colour pencils. The ones I have are Derwent Inktense but any are perfect for adding soft colour. Lastly highlighted the page edges with some Distress Ink.

Page No.1 complete ! You can see there are a couple more finished pages peeking out from underneath.......................for later. All materials used for this project can be seen over HERE at Mixed Media Place and purchased from HERE at the Mixed Media Place shop.
Thank you for visiting :)

A New Year

Well hello ! Hope you have all had a nice Christmas and New Year break. I spent Christmas this year in beautiful Byron Bay.........never been there before.........can not wait to return. My studio desk is clean and tidy; just waiting for me, but I have to admit, inspiration has been a little hard to muster....I have been enjoying lots of walks, reading, family and social time and my "creative" brain has been dormant; it needs to be fed some inspiration, I need to wake it up ! I feel like the "sleepy, laid back vibe" of Byron Bay has cast a spell on me and I need to shake it off.  I do have some up coming projects that I'm looking forward to starting and I do also, have some news to share that is very exciting........ my very favourite Mixed Media Place is having a Design Team call. If you would like to work with the loveliest of people, have complete freedom with what you create and have access to the absolute best art / mixed media materials then come on, apply !

Looking back at the body of work I've created this year has surprised me. A couple of years ago, I never imagined I would be a part of any design team, but I have been! And they have been amazing! Hey, I have even been published in a book ! I have definitely grown as an artist, I have learnt so much and even tho there is always more to learn and I love to still explore and experiment with different mediums; I feel (most of the time ) huge satisfaction and joy from what I create......and all this, in part is due to working on design teams. Knowing that others have confidence in you, gives you the confidence to create the way you want to, to express yourself and your ideas your way, in your "style". Plus you are, at times, pushed out of your comfort zone....you have to educate yourself, experiment and take risks and this is how you grow as an artist. I would like to thank every single one of you who have taken the time to leave your beautiful comments for me over the past year. Compliments, reassurance and encouragement are always welcome, no matter who you are. If you doubt yourself; if you feel your work is too different, that it doesn't fit in to a popular or "current" style......don't. New and different is what inspires people, well it's what inspires me anyway. If you would like to be part of Mixed Media Place design team, have a crack. 
Talking of the past year, and looking back, here are some of my favourites from 2014 created for Mixed Media Place and paperDVIZHNIK.

Thanks for dropping by.

Mixed Media Place......Creative Gym #3

The theme for the December Mixed Media Place Creative Gym is .......Wings. So many opportunities for imaginative creativity.  I, personally have kept this one very simple, just a tag. For me, butterfly wings are the most beautiful.....fragile and delicate as well as being full of pattern and colour.

Water colour paper coloured with Distress Stains. Stencilled poppies, stamped, art basics Light Paste dabbed on then sprinkled with art ingredients Zinc Glass Beads.

Paste and beads coloured with Primary Elements and Silks Acrylic Glaze.

Tag made from 7 Dots paper and coloured with Distress Stains.

Poppies, patterned paper, embossed "mesh" stamp, all layered on top of tag.

All papers, beads, gels, pastes, inks and paints used are available from Mixed Media Place.

Thanks for visiting. 

Wishing you all happy holidays and a wonderful New Year.

paperDVIZHNIK Christmas New Year Challenge

Challenge No. 55 at paperDVIZHNIK is a seasonal one: anything to do with Christmas or the New Year, so, lots of scope to create, and it can be pages, cards, tags, home deco, any thing that expresses the season.

A  simple Christmas tag.

Some dots for snow flakes, a sparkly twig, a significant date and a bird for peace.

"Kindness"

Give without remembering and take without forgetting.

Have a safe and very happy Christmas.

Mixed Media Place......."The Guard"

For this months project at Mixed Media Place I have worked on a 12cm x 28cm x 5cm solid wooden block. I love the solidity of this as my base. It can be hung on a wall or it can sit securely on a bench or table. It can support heavy embellishments, it can be nailed into and it is a fantastic supportive base to paint and collage over. I also love that it's not just the front that is worked on, but also the sides need to be considered and should relate to what is happening on the front; it makes me think, it gives me more opportunity to "tell a story".

Finnabair's art basics gel mediums are perfect for working with wooden blocks and collage.....art basics Soft Matte Gel and 3D Matte Gel have been used through out this project. Apart from their "adhesive" ability, they dry quickly. I've created an imaginary character, "The Guard" He has a head- dress of metal locks, clocks and the hands of time, and a paper "cape" adorned with keys, crosses and pearls, all symbolic of our personal dreams, desires, fears and insecurities.

I could go on about how all art should have some significant "deeper" meaning, but I also believe art can just be pretty, aesthetically pleasing or interesting. It can also be fun........do you like his "earwings"?

Sides collaged with patterned and textural paper and chicken wire chipboard coloured with Distress Paint and aged copper embossing enamel.

Paper, metal, and chipboard. Coloured with either Distress Paint or Ranger Patina and then embossed with Stampendous aged copper embossing enamel.

Paper "cape" made from 7Dots Wonderland "Follow the Rabbit" paper.

A full product list is HERE at Mixed Media Place and all products can be purchased HERE at Mixed Media Place Store.
Here's a quick 5min photo video, not a step by step how to, but just some images of how this project evolved. 

Thanks for visiting, wishing you a productive and creative weekend.