Gaucho

Gaucho

I love making backgrounds and when they are finally done I have the problem of finding something to make the whole thing pop.  Sometimes that takes quite a long time.  In this case, the gaucho had been motivation for another piece in the Orly workshop.  I just happened to lay him on top of the background and voila, it was what was needed.  The striations on the gaucho's portrait come from the uneven background.  I sanded the face and got the lines.

Innocence?

Innocence?

What dog would not steal your heart with this look?  But actually he is trouble!  Careful don't turn your back on your dinner or it will be gone before you can blink!

This piece is the third in a journal created in the Orly Avineri workshop I took last week.  I love how we used gesso, distress ink, and matte varnish to achieve a unifying effect.

Eye of the Forest

Eye on the Forest

This was another piece created in the Orly Avineri workshop on Whidbey Island.  In this piece we wrote in our journals, added color using spray inks and matte varnish.  Then we added torn masking tape to make the trees. We painted the whole piece with black gesso.  Once the journal spread dried we removed the masking tape.

Earlier in the week we had collected items from the forest to add to our collage.  Here you see parts of leaves and moss and bird egg shell.  Later in the week I cut a small hole in the journal and increased its size by burning it with a candle.  Hence the eye from another journal page comes through to create the piece Eye on the Forest.

Lotus

Lotus

This past week I took a class at the Pacific NW Art School in Coupeville, Washington, A Luxuriant Nature Journaling Adventure instructed by Orly Avineri.  It was truly an amazing five days of art journaling, camaraderie, amazing instruction, and just plain fun!

Lotus was one of six journal spreads completed during the class.  I will post the others and/or parts of all the others in the next few days.

Supernatural Barns

Supernatural Barns

So where did this piece come from.  I have never been that interested in the supernatural or spirits or the occult.  So maybe I was channeled to do this piece!!!!  Anyway, I found most of these barns in May when I was taking a Seth Apter art journaling class on Whidbey Island.  This piece is part of my barn journal project that I am doing with my friend Ingrid.  My favorite part of the piece is the lit candle overlaying the numeral 7.

Connected Collage

While I was in Minnesota at my friend Terry Garrett's ( http://whisperwoodartworks.blogspot.com/ )   house last month we were deciding on what our project of the day would be.  I noticed a piece of art on one of his inspiration boards.  It was from an art friend of his, Shirley End-Saxe.  I loved her piece and loved the way she had connected the separate pieces to create the whole of the piece.  Terry and I decided to create our own works in the style presented by Shirley.  Terry got out a wealth of ephemera and we began having a grand old time.  You can see Terry's product on his blog.

Round Robin Journal Entries

Seattle March 2013 - will return to me in October or so.

 

Seattle April 2013 - will reside near Minneapolis

lead in for Seattle May 2013

Seattle May 2013 - will reside in Lancaster, Ohio

 

 

June 2013 MIA.....will make its debut soon hopefully

 

 

July 2013 lead in

 

Seattle July 2013 - will end up in Hawaii

Seattle by day

Seattle by night

 

September 2013 will complete the Round Robin Traveling Journal.  When we started out there were seven participants.  Now there are six.  The Seahawks  and the Starbuck's flip cards open up to Seattle by day and Seattle by night.