Bringing Words of Healing

So here was the plan. Each month I was going to pick a theme and then just go to town with it, creating as many variations of that theme as I could in/on as many different things that I could, i.e. painted canvases, mixed-media collages, journal pages, altered items, etc.
So my theme for December was angels. It seemed like it fit.
Well call me crazy, and I know some of you already do, but really, fitting in art time in December turned out to be near impossible. So here's what I accomplished: I started, but did not finish, 1 small canvas of an angel painting.
I finished it this month. And no...I didn't even choose a theme for January!!
So I ended up turning my angel into a bit of a mixed-media piece. I cut out a lot of tiny words from pages, and glued them into her halo. I then painted over them with a transparent metallic gold. The metallic gold is also combined with white for her wings.
But in the scan, the metallic gold doesn't look so metallic. So use your imagination. I think this canvas looks much better in real life.
I still don't know what to name the piece. It's sitting on my mantle, and it occurred to me that this angel is bringing words of healing. I like that. But it's not a very catchy title. Any ideas?

The Documented Life Project...week 4!

The challenge for this week at the Documented Life Project is to write...in secret. Once you've finished writing, you cover it with paint, only leaving 1 word exposed. My exposed word: power!! So I guess that's my word for 2014. I sure could use it, so why not?
After covering my words with paint, I drew and stenciled on some flowers and dots and then colored them in with various markers.
What's your word for 2014???

The Documented Life Project...Caught Up!

Today I completed the week three of the 2014 Documented Life Project, so tada, I'm caught up.
The challenge for this week was to use an envelope that you received in the mail.
Well, I had just the one. A while back my friend Roc Nicholas sent some mail art to me, and the envelope was delightfully decorated with one of her own rubber stamps--Roc's Angel. I adored the envelope and just had to hang onto it. I'm so glad I did, and I am really glad I'm able to incorporate and preserve it in this project.
Since the envelope was horizontal and my project is vertical, I actually had to deconstruct it to make it work. For the background, I used the inside of a card another art friend had sent to me. I liked the idea of making the page from the works and words of art friends. It just seems right!

The Documented Life Project

When I first heard of the Documented Life Project (DLP), it appealed to me, but the level of involvement was a lot more than I wanted to commit to. I have a lot of art friends who are participating, so I couldn't avoid it. In other words, it kept calling my name.
And then it came to me, instead of trying to fit myself into the project, why not tweak the project to fit me?
That was all I needed. The fire was lit. The game was on. (oops...mixed metaphors? oh well, you get the gist!)
I decided that my approach would be to create each week's theme/challenge on a 4x6 card, which I'll eventually join together with these hoop thingys (please forgive the technical jargon), which will lastly be embellished with fibers and embellishments. But I am getting ahead of myself here.
At this point, I'm creating the 4x6 cards with the theme on 1 side, and then I'm just journaling and documenting the week on the reverse side. Should I ever need more space, no problem. There are plenty of tricks to make that happen!
So I need to just catch up. I'm not that far behind. The theme for week 3 was just announced, and I was able to create week 1 + 2 over the past weekend.

So week 1 you were supposed to create your front door. I was never sure if you were to try to replicate your real life front door, or just create a front door for your journal. I exercised (which is good, I need to exercise!) artistic license and just created a front door. Here it is, closed, and then open:

Week two's theme is to work with a selfie. As if! Here's my zettified (a term used in reference to an art form promoted by Teesha Moore) self(ie).

And there you go: My Documented Life so far this year!!

Invincible!

Sometime in the middle of autumn, I started seeing elephants. No, not of the pink variety!! It just seemed that everytime I entered a web site, visited social media, picked up a magazine, etc., etc. I would see an elephant.
So as you can see, I felt divinely driven: I had to paint an elephant.
Well, just like the tree I featured a few posts ago, I normally don't paint animals. In fact, this is my first.
Once I painted it, I completed the journey by looking up the prophetic meaning of elephants:
Invincible. Thick-skinned. Not easily offended. Having powerful potential in life. Royalty. Enormous prosperity. Family oriented. Keen Memory.
Well, once I read that, I thought, everyone should have an elephant represented in their home. ...Maybe even one in every room!
I hope you like my elephant.  It's a 14x22 acrylic painting on canvas, titled Promised Provision.

Going Green

This week's theme at Sunday Postcard Art is monochromatic. It's a bit funny that I ended up going green, because green is not one of my favorite colors! However, the end result of this postcard feels very peaceful to me. I used decorative paper, handdrawn leaves, various markers and watercolor crayons, and featured the Little Church stamp designed by Roc Nicholas.
I also used a strip of a painted page that i had on hand, and I placed it on the ground behind the church. I selected it just because the color worked, and I wanted to add some visual interest.
When I neared the end of the creative process, I started adding in shading with pan pastels. And it was then that I noticed that the text right near the Little Church says "great cathedral." I love when an art project comes together like that, especially when it's not intentional. I take it as it's meant to be.

Transition

As a rule I don't paint landscapes. In fact, this is my first. The inspiration came from a photograph of The Famous Maple - Japanese Gardens, Portland, Oregon.
It's a 14x20 acrylic painting on canvas.

 

the photo:

 

 

In My Dreams...Almost!

I am most creatively inspired...right before I fall asleep! Truly, my head rapidly fills with amazing images, and I think, oh I have to remember that so I can paint it. Well, of course, I don't remember them! The timing is horrible! And it makes me giggle. I mean, go figure!
So I just had to create this page for my "It's All About Me," journal, the place where I record all those facts about me, such as "If I were a Color, I'd be Blue," and other such fascinating stuff!

This mixed-media page features two rubber stamps designed by Roc Nicholas: Roc's Angel and Squiqqly Arms. Aren't they just dreamy?

 

 

Click here to see what others are creating using Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamps!

Featuring...Me

As a design team member for Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamps, I'm featured today on Roc Nicholas' blog. Check it out to learn a bit about my art journey.
And have a fabulous Friday!

Throwback Thursday

Hope everyone is having a wonderful 2014 so far!!
This is a canvas I created a few years ago. Simple in design, bright in color, and full of texture. Enjoy!