Ink Drawing

I've been a little out of sorts lately.

My husband and I are empty nesters for

the first time in 26 years. 

Some days have been great and other days

I feel like a lost puppy. 

Yesterday was a really good day.

Today I'm a lost puppy.

I think it's because I moved

my "office" into my 

daughters old room.

The finality of the whole

thing has been getting to me. 

One chapter is ending and a new one

is beginning for all of us. 

I have to remind myself to give it some time.

After all, it's only been 17 days, 14 hours, and 32 seconds.

I'm going to move on to another subject now. 

After all, art is the real focus of this blog.

I thought I'd share a drawing I made

using all sorts of pens and colored pencils.

I really like the way the flower, her eyes, and her lips turned out.

I'm still working on the mirror

and the tambourine, or should I say not

working on them. 

That's why I don't have

a picture to show you yet. 

I'm doing some organizing and deep cleaning

first, but promise to get back to them soon. 

Quick Ink Drawing

I usually take several days

to work on a drawing.

This one took an hour or so. 

I needed shift focus

for a bit from some of my other projects. 

This was also a switch for

me because I worked in a  much more

free flowing and unbridled

manner than I normally work.

I'd call it a nice diversion, experiment and exercise. 

Happy Weekend!

Wood Plaque Art

 My community has a neighborhood newsletter

that's delivered every morning to my inbox. 

It's filled with trivia about the particular day, or 

something special about our town, 

or it's residents, past and present.

 Neighbors may post things they are selling, giving away, 

services they want to recommend, or are in search of. 

One of my kind neighbors was offering dozens

of bare wood plaques along with some wood boxes.

Although I wasn't the first to respond, 

I was the only one that showed up. 

That's a metaphor for life isn't it?

The people most likely to succeed are the people that show up!

I need to remind myself of this incident and be ready to 

show up when opportunity arises. 

Fortunately for me, she gave me everything 

she had. She said she was going to throw it all in 

the green barrel (plant recycle) but decided 

to see if anyone could use it first.

I was truly grateful and expressed my appreciation to her. 

There were about 50-60 wood plaques like this!

I only spent about an hour on the following

piece. It was an early Christmas present for me. 

I was so excited to make something, . . . anything!

I decided to make the subject one 

of my "life verses". 

I'll probably go back in and do some more 

work on it (after the holidays), but here it is so far. 

Fabric Collage

While sorting through my fabric stash,

I was inspired to make a fabric collage.

This is my first and only so far,

but I must say it was a lot of fun.

I kind of wish I would've looked up advice or

techniques before I started so I wouldn't have 

had to make things up as I went along.

Fabric is not the easiest thing to work

with in this manner.

  I knew I wanted the subject to be an eccentric older lady. 

I didn't have a picture or photo for inspiration. 

Her face began to develop as I went along.

You may be able to see that I've got it set up on a 

piece of plexiglass to make it easier for myself to move around. 

I lightly tacked the pieces together

with white glue when I felt confident with their placement. 

I added a pop of blue color for the background and then

sandwiched the whole thing between 2 pieces of plexiglass.

Before doing that, I drilled 2 holes in the
back and added a plastic coated wire
for hanging. 

Then I "framed" it by wrapping the whole thing

with bright red duct tape. 

While duct tape is not the most professional finish,
it kind of fits with the organic composition

of the piece as a whole.

Overall, I'm pleased with the

way it turned out and look forward

to doing another one.

Although I may do something similar

with assorted paper instead of fabric.

Oak Stool Upcycle

I found this oak stool

at the thrift store for seven dollars.

I saw some potential and couldn't pass it up. 

It wasn't wobbly, or in need of repair

which is an extra bonus for me. 

All it needed was some paint and a little TLC. 

Pieces don't have to be cosmetically perfect for 

me to work on. I don't do much

sanding and patching, unless it's really bad. 

A really good full coverage primer

to start will usually takes care of things to my liking. 

After priming, I started with a bright green acrylic base. 

I usually pick out my colors in advance,

but the design is created as I go. 

For no rhyme or reason, I typically choose an odd 

number of colors (usually 3, 5, or 7), and it 

always seems to balance nicely.

Here's where I drew out a rough pattern

on the seat and started filling it in. 

Now I'm starting to get somewhere.

Here's the finished piece after

I gave it a couple coats of polyurethane. 

This is a close up of the seat. 

This project took me about a week to complete. 

Turning trash into treasure

is one of my favorite things.

Sharpie Art Portrait

This is the beginning of my drawing. 

I've got an idea to start, but

I don't have the whole thing planned out. 

It starts to take on a path of it's own. 

She took about 3 days to finish. 

Pretty crazy I know, but this is the path it took. 

Now, you're not going to believe what I did. 

Why do I do things impulsively, like getting my 

haircut on a whim or cutting up my artwork? 

Yes, I "trimmed" it. 

No, not my hair.

Not only that, but I trimmed too much,

and unlike my hair it won't grow back. 

Grrrr. 

Another lesson learned the hard way. 

Note to self;

Keep your artwork away from the paper cutter.

Praise The Lord

 

This is a picture of a tiny little

Artist Trading Card

that I drew.

 

I see so many flaws when

it's blown up like this.

 

It'll be back to the drawing board

for some touch ups and to

finish the back.

 

I hope you find very few flaws,

and lots of "Hallelujah"

 moments today.

 

Nehi Grape

I thought I'd post a picture of a piece

 that I'd started a while ago and set aside.

 

I don't normally work that way.

 

I usually start something and see it to completion.

 

Keep in mind, I'm referring to my artwork

and not my laundry.

 

I thought maybe by seeing her here

I'd be inspired to finish her.

 

She has a long way to go.

 

I'll let you know if I set her back

to rest in a cozy file, or I attack her

with more pens and markers.

 

 

 

Pitt Pens on Bristol

Someone will see this and

know I didn't get much

housework done today. 

No surprise, the housework

is still waiting for me. 

Time to get started on that.

Hope your day is blessed!

Glamour Gal Art Piece

We've been working so much the

past several months, there hasn't been

much time for artwork. 

I've really been missing my

artsy "therapy". 

Enough was enough. 

I had to do something creative!

This piece was inspired by the

thought of creating a 1920's glamour girl

and putting my own spin on her. 

I love drawing female faces

(in case you haven't noticed).

I'm at the point where I have

to spend some time looking at

her to know if I'm going to

be tweaking her or not.

Hope your day is blessed!

My Artsy Bathroom Tour

 I picked up one of these letters from Hobby Lobby.
 I think I paid a dollar for it.
The surface is a collage is compiled from some old
art magazines. There's a simple folk art
design on the sides. It's sealed with a couple coats
of polyurethane. ~Cute and colorful!
The "P" is for Petersen (in case you were wondering). 

My husband and I can be a wee bit

germaphobic. I guess that comes from 

being in food service for so many years.

Fastidious sanitation habits are second nature. 

This is a commercial paper towel holder that 

I doodle designed and had him hang in 

our guest bathroom. I found the quote

years ago in an old Victoria magazine and saved it, knowing

at some point I'd find a use for it. 

This is the last piece I'll show you today.

It's a little mixed media creation made from a scrap

of wood I had laying around. I've always

loved this Irish blessing and had to have it

hanging in the house somewhere. 

Blessings~

Sugar Skull from Sissy

I received a message from my brother

 politely asking me to make him a sugar skull. 

He knows I have an affection

 for Mexican EVERYTHING

(people, art, food, decor. . . ).

I have an appreciation for cultural traditions

 and history even if I don't share in,

 or adhere to the beliefs behind them. 

For this piece, I found a basic skull outline

 online and took it from there. 

Using assorted pens, pencils and markers, it

took me a few days to

finish this piece. 

This was the first of two skulls drawn for him. 

The second one was my favorite, 

but I forgot to get a picture 

before I sent it out.

~So not like me! 

Maybe he'll be so kind as to send me a picture

of the other one and I'll post that as well. 

He was very happy when he got them,

 which makes me very happy.