I Don't Mean to Brag But

I thought I'd start the new year with an art meme so that all of us artsy folks can start the new year with a giggle. If you're like me, you buy art supplies as easily as you buy toilet paper. I mean, you gotta have it! After all, there's really no such thing as too many art supplies. Am I right? 

Considering that I have a $100 gift card to Hobby Lobby (a gift from Santa), I'd say this is quite the accomplishment...even if we are only on the second day of the new year. I know all you artists and crafters can definitely relate.

Happy New Year!

Geometric Portrait

Well, I was in the mood to try something different in one of my art journals over the weekend. So, since I'd been working on Cubist-inspired Fall Trees with some of students the last few weeks, I decided to take a cue from Picasso and do a sort of Cubist take on a portrait.

I started with a general sketch of a face. Then I grabbed an ultra fine Sharpie and started drawing triangle shapes in areas around the face. I just drew a few triangles at a time, and then I free-handed the the repeating lines inside each triangle. I found this whole process to be very relaxing. It's not a style of drawing that I'd really done before, but I really enjoyed doing it. So you may find me doing this type of drawing again in the future.

Paper Poppy

Today at school I was working on some sample projects for some upcoming Veterans Day projects. While I was at it I created a Paper Poppy. I volunteered to help with decorations for our Veterans Day program, so I thought paper poppies would be a great touch. 

Since I'm finally an art teacher again, I have great supplies on hand for doing stuff like this. So, I created a template that included 4 petals. I cut out two of those and glued them together. I used a circle with fringed edges as the center, and a little hint of colored pencil in the center. I love how this turned out. I will be making several more to use for decor in the gym for our program. 

I'm so thrilled to be teaching art again, and getting to use my creative inspiration for things like this!! And I'm very proud to be able to help pay tribute to our nation's veterans in some way.

Frida Kahlo - Wings to Fly Mixed Media

Soon I'll be back at school with little time for fun in the studio, so I've been trying to get in there as much as possible before school starts again. I was in there all day yesterday, inspired to paint Frida Kahlo.

There were a couple of times I almost gave up on this painting. It just wasn't going well at the beginning. But I persevered and, even though it's not perfect, I am very pleased with how she came out. I used mostly acrylic paints, but also scrapbook paper, stencils, colored pencils, and paint pens. Viva la Frida!

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

~Frida Kahlo

Mermaids Digital Art

I was in the mood once again to create some digital art. And I decided I want to grow a collection of mermaid creations. So, to that end, I created two mermaid themed digital art pieces that I want to share.

I love going into my studio, but sometimes getting creative digitally is just as fun. And I'm really beginning to enjoy mermaids as my muse. I definitely need to create more with them!

Everything Has Beauty Mixed Media

Sometimes I create something and I just don't love it. That was the case with this particular mixed media painting. She just didn't turn out how I pictured her in my head. But I decided to share her anyway.

I think that even though as artists we may not like something we've created, there is still beauty in it--even if we don't love it as much as other creations. And if we learn something in the process of creating, then it was worth the journey.

Frida Kahlo Digital Watercolor - Frida Friday

Time for another spotlight on Frida Friday...artwork featuring the one and only Frida Kahlo. I follow the #fridafriday hashtag on Instagram, and it's inspired me to try to do as much Frida art on Fridays as I can while I'm off school for the summer. This one is a combination of drawing and digital art. 

I really like how she came out. And I love celebrating Frida!!

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone,

because I am the person I know best."

~Frida Kahlo

Gilded Turtle Watercolor

I'll start this post by saying that turtles are absolutely not my jam. I've never drawn nor painted one before. Generally, if I'm going to paint some sort of animal, it will be a bird. But my mom loved turtles, and I was thinking of my mom yesterday, so I decided to try a turtle.

I had just purchased some Metallic Accents Watercolors (Prima Marketing) that I wanted to try. I also had just gotten a black Van Gogh Watercolor Paper Pad that I wanted to try the new watercolors on. Metallics always seem to look good on black, so I gave it a go. I don't use watercolors often; I tend to like acrylics or oils more. But I love these metallic watercolors and how they react with the paper. They were really fun to paint with. They really look pretty on this paper too--even though it's difficult for you to see just how pretty from this photo. 

Overall, even though this may not be my most favorite thing I've ever painted, I love how it turned out. And I think Mom would have loved it too. 

Frida Kahlo Angel - Frida Friday

I follow quite a few art-related hashtags on Instagram, and there is one that I so love: #FridaFriday. With this Frida Friday hashtag, you will get to see lots of art--of all kinds (painted, drawn, digital, etc.) that features the one and only Frida Kahlo. I decided I wanted to start contributing to that hashtag once in awhile, so this week I created a Digital Art piece for Frida Friday. 

One of these days I'm going to do a painting of her. She was so beautiful. In the meantime, I'll keep following that hashtag to find lots of inspiration.