All NorahS Art - Face 2

Face 2
Originally uploaded by rgrdesigns

This winter I signed up for an on-line workshop taught by Sharon Tomlinson. I've been playing with drawing faces for a while now and have wanted to learn how to paint them better.
This is a work in progress. It's amazing how many things I see in the photo that I didn't notice before ... should I even be posting this?

You can still sign up for this class. Sharon's style is not as tight as mine is and is very charming. So is she!

This is painted on a 4 x 4 canvas that was prepped with old sheet music, paint and an acrylic transfer. The church is from one of my photos taken in Hannover, Germany.

I will add a little more to this before calling it finished. I just wanted to let you know about this wonderful class before more time passed on.

Susan Tuttle Book Give Away

Susan Tuttle, a talented and sweet mixed-media artist, is giving away one copy of her new book,
Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements.
You might be able to find it in your local bookstore. Since I didn't, I ordered it from Amazon. {Can you believe this is my first order with that giant! I believe in supporting the local guys as much as possible... which I do. ;-) }
I have been using PS Elements for several years and have enjoyed it. But I'd like to kick up my know-how a few notches. I've been following Susan's blog for as long as I've been blogging. She has some tricks to teach me, that's for sure. If you click on her name at the beginning of this post, you'll be directed to her blog. The Amazon link will take you to her book.
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy. I know it's on it's way...

GPP Crusade No. 39 -Pulling Prints, Part 2

What happens when inspiration strikes, you have a stack of cardstock and palette of paint?
This is just a portion of the prints I pulled following some of the steps outlined by Michelle Ward at the GPP Street Team Crusade blog.

Michelle says you can use tyvek to make a mask. I bought packs of plastic masks for pennies in the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby a few months ago. They work great for this technique. I like the results so much that I would even spend the time to cut my own. ;-)

Following are some of my favorite results....




Better go over to the crusade blog and learn more. You have to try this!

GPP Crusade No. 39: Pulling Prints

Today I decided to prepare a spread in my GPP journal in anticipation of creating monoprints for this crusade. I ended up making my first print for the challenge. Go to the link to read more about pulling prints.
This post features a variation on the technique that Michelle Ward describes.
I decided to create a journal featuring GPP crusades this year. I used Fabriano cold pressed watercolor paper which is very textured and will make a sturdy journal when I bind it.

But back to the monoprint. Instead of putting paint on a hard surface, I used a palette knife to smear the paint around one half of my journal spread. Then I folded the spread in half so the "clean" side would press against the wet paint. I used a cloth to rub on the paper and press the pages together.

The next step was to lay three plastic canvas circles on the painted half after giving the page a light misting of water. I folded the pages together again and rubbed the paper firmly. I was very pleased with the results. My original intention was to use this as a background that I would adhere pulled prints on. I don't want to cover up all this delicious color and texture. Plan B will be executed when I have a bit of time... Enjoy these lovely close-ups from my spread.

Only Liquitex acrylic paint colors were used: Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red Light, Acra Gold Deep & maybe a bit of Titanium White.
Paint applied thinly on the textured surface creates wonderful abstract designs.
You can see the mark the plastic canvas circle formed when I pressed the wet layers of paint and paper together.
More yumminess!

GPP Crusade No. 38: Grab a Tissue

I'm late posting for this challenge. There was one thing after the other and I didn't get this post written.
Ironically, the current crusade has us pulling prints. I could combine both crusades because most of my tissue paper was painted by making monoprints!

You can link to the Green Pepper Street Team Crusade to read what Michelle Ward shared about painting on tissue paper. I have kept a stash of tissue paper at my art station for years. I often use it to blot excess painting from a painting. It's perfect for collaging.

While working on painting ideas for Unforgettable Art, I purposefully used paint from my palette to prepare some tissue paper for the crusade. I used a large brush and painted a heart on waxed paper. Then I printed the heart onto tissue paper. Painting on waxed paper and transferring that will make great brush stroke effects.

The following mono prints on tissue paper were made when I was prepping an altered book. I had WAY too much paint on the page, so out came the tissue paper. You can see I was going for one of my favorite motifs, the X & O.
I pulled a 2nd print since there was still so much on the board book spread. Last week I prepped a spread for my GPP Crusade journal. It's made from Fabriano cold pressed watercolor paper. The paint was taken from the left-overs on my palette from Unforgettable Art. Next I applied the printed tissue with matte medium.

How about a hug? .... or a kiss?
I have a small stash of monoprints on tissue paper. Just be sure to work fast since the tissue paper is delicate and will pull apart when wet. Also work on a non-stick surface like waxed paper.
Come back soon and see what I did today getting ready for the current crusade.

Gingko Leaf Trio

One of the advantages of using a Stay-Wet palette for acrylics is that it cuts down on wasted paint.

I'm using left-over paint from last weekend's adventure at Unforgettable Art. This is painted on a 5 x 7 gallery wrapped canvas.

There's a lot more paint on the palette. I should use it soon. The paints draws up moisture from the sponge below the special palette paper and the paint becomes a bit watery.


The other reason to use it soon is that the paint can go bad. A neglected palette can grow mold.

The sponge and palette paper will get stained from many pigments, but that doesn't hurt it.

You don't have to buy a special palette to keep your paint moist. A sealed container with a wet sponge in it will keep the paint moist. The advantage of working on the moist palette is that you can have several colors out in small quantities. They stay workable instead of drying.

Well, I better get back to painting!

Unforgettable ART -Signing the Painting

Signing the Painting
Originally uploaded by rgrdesigns

I created a slide show on flickr with some pictures from last Saturday. I'll be adding more soon and more details.

If you click on the pictures on the right side bar, you will be taken to my flickr page where you can see larger images and read notes I wrote.

Purple Cone Flowers Acrylic Painting

Untitled painting featuring cone flowers. Painting is 24 x 36 inches on stretched canvas. It was inspired by photos I took in my backyard garden. These are not the usual wild echinacea, but a cultivated variety that a friend shared with me. I love their glorious texture!

This is what I will be painting at the fundraiser, "Unforgettable Art: An Affair for Alzheimer's!" in Rockford, IL.
It's exciting to share my art and help a cause that is so important to my family. I am also very happy to be meeting Janet Nelson, a fellow blogger, who introduced me to this event. Watch out Rockford!

I will be thinking of my late dad and grandmother while I paint. There are others in my husband's and my life who are also suffering because of this disease. They will be in my heart as well. Then there are the caretakers... Mom and my brother were steadfast in caring for Dad before he had to live at a care facility.

I look forward to the day when no one will suffer any more. Today I read these words:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 96: 11-13 ESV

Earlier this week I was inspire by the following quote by Mary Todd Beam:

"Our goal as artists may be to live with the fact of death. What we gain along the way is not necessarily an accumulation of beautiful paintings, but a greater awareness of what it means to be alive."

As I paint this Saturday, I will be very aware of the fragility of our lives, but my prayer is that I will express my hope and appreciation for the life given me by creating a beautiful painting.