Folk Art Flowers

 I was finally able to get in the studio to finish my latest flower painting. Since I'm working on a move from teaching elementary art & technology to High School Art, I've been rather busy working on plans for that. So it was nice to take some studio days to just paint!

I'm calling this Folk Art Flowers. It's a similar style to a painting I did a couple of years ago that I just called Happy Flowers. I really enjoyed painting that one, so I thought it would be fun to paint another one in a similar style. I wanted to have a yellow rose as the focal point for this one though...and make it a little less busy in the background. This is done all in acrylics.

I'm always happy when I'm painting flowers. :)

Highland Cow

 Ok, so I may be just a wee bit obsessed with all things Scotland. It's my dream to go to Scotland one day. And I absolutely adore Highland Cows, also known as Highland Coos. So, I decided that it was high time I painted one. 

This is all done in acrylics. I hadn't painted an animal in such a long time, so I wasn't sure I'd like how my coo turned out. But I actually love it. And since I don't think I'll be getting to Scotland anytime soon, at least I have this gal to look at for awhile. 

Roses in Vases Painting

 I've seen so many artists doing still life paintings of flowers in vases--particularly in vases with stripes or other decorative patterns. So I was inspired to create a couple of my own. 

These are meant to be a pair, and both are painted using acrylics. They are on 12x12 canvas that was primed black. The background color is more minty green than it looks in these photos. And the bee was a suggestion by some of my followers on Facebook. The color combination is something I'm always drawn to...pinks, teals, mint greens. The black really makes everything pop, in my opinion.

I really loved painting these and love how they've turned out. Now I kind of understand the appeal of these types of still life paintings. So, I think I'll be doing more of this style in the future. I love flowers anyway!

Spattered Elephant Painting

 I created this painting for a dear friend for Christmas. I found the idea on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a go. My friend loves elephants, so I knew I wanted to paint her an elephant. But I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to paint it. 

It's not everyday I use the spattering technique on a painting, least of all 2/3 of a painting. So this was pretty fun and different for me. It was rather messy, even though I covered my work area well. I still managed to get paint all over my arms and on my desk. But it was worth every stray drop to make this for my friend.

Pretty Pink Owl

At school each year, my school does a 'Mystery Friend' thing where we draw a staff member's name and become their Mystery Friend for the year. We each fill out surveys about things we like (favorite colors, foods, places to go, etc.) so that we'll know what kinds of things our recipient friends like. Then once a month, we buy little fun gifts to brighten their day. I always have such fun doing this. This year, I was so happy to be able to create something special for my teacher friend, who absolutely loves owls.

I had never painted an owl before this one. All I knew was that I wanted to do something cute and a little whimsical. So this Pretty Pink Owl was the result. I painted it on a wood canvas that I found at Walmart. It's fun to paint on different surfaces sometimes and I really enjoyed doing this. 

On the last day of school I was finally able to give my teacher friend this gift. The end of the school year was beyond strange and sad and maddening at times, thanks to the pandemic. But it was so nice to be able to give this to my friend and see her smile upon receiving it. We couldn't hug, because social distancing. But I felt her hug regardless. I absolutely love creating art for other people. It gives me so much joy, and this gift was no exception.

3 Poppies Mixed Media

I've been working on this painting of 3 Poppies for awhile. I'm still doing school work as needed, but it's nice to have some extra time for painting while I'm not at school teaching everyday. Still miss my kiddos though, even the ornery ones!

Anyhoodle, thought I'd share a couple of photos of the acrylic painting in process before I share the finished project. I did some underpainting of the poppies before painting on the red color. That always seems to help cover the white of the canvas easier.

And this is the finished painting. I used primarily acrylics, but also used Prismacolor colored pencils for some details and shading, which is what makes this mixed media. 

I really love how this turned out. I don't know what it is about poppies, but they seem to find their way into my paintings every now and again. I think I'm going to hang this one in the studio. I love the bright color of the poppies. It just makes me happy, and every studio needs a little spot of happy.

Mermaid Shimmer

I was in the mood to paint some Mermaids the other day. My granddaughter had just finished an underwater silhouette painting with a turtle and some other sea-life in it, so that must be what inspired me to create this.

A good portion of the background of this watercolor painting was created with Metallic Accents watercolors by Prima. I love those watercolors because they have a neat shimmer to them--as you'd expect from something metallic. I like the idea of having the background sparkle a bit, but that also makes it challenging to photograph it well. So, you can't see all of the background fish; and one of the darker fish is cut off too since I wasn't paying good enough attention as I snapped the pic. Oh well. The darker parts of the painting are all done with acrylics. 

I'm still not actually sure I'm finished with this. It looks unfinished to me. So for now, we'll call this a work in progress. I do like it so far, but sometimes I don't know exactly how I want to finish a painting. So I have to step away from it for awhile and then (hopefully) come back to it at a later time. Do you ever do that?

Happy Flowers in Mixed Media

Last weekend I was able to get into my studio for the first time since school got finished. It was so nice to finally be able to get in there and get creative. My mind is 100% focused on school during the school year (OK well, 99.9% anyway), so I seldom make it into my studio until summer. So, I cherish the time when I can get in there!

My first creation of the summer is what I'm calling my Happy Flowers. You all just know I'm a fan of Flowers by now, right? This is a Mixed Media piece that just feels happy to me, since it's filled with bright colors.

I started by covering a canvas with black gesso. Then I used a white colored pencil to draw my flowers. After that, I watered down some white acrylic to paint into the shapes--because it's easier to paint bright colors on a light-colored background, rather than the black. I used acrylic to paint all of the flowers, leaves, butterflies, and bees. I added some details with colored pencil, and then added even more details with a white Posca Paint Pen.

I really love how the colors pop off the black canvas. I have a feeling I'll be using more black backgrounds in the future. 

Mermaid on Wood

Finally made it into the studio for just a couple of hours over the weekend. I wanted to create something for a teacher at school. We do a "Mystery Friend" thing all year long, and at the end of the year we do a special gift for them. Since my recipient loves beachy things and the ocean, I did a beach-themed gift basket. It had a beach towel, a mermaid figurine, some tropical-themed plastic glasses and a couple of other odds and ends. So I decided to paint something too when I found a cool, rustic, whitewashed board at Walmart a couple of weeks ago. This Mermaid was the result.

The colors look prettier in person, and you can't really see the touches of sparkle that I added to the tail too. But you get the idea. It was fun to paint--I've never done a mermaid painting before this. I love when I get to try something I've never done before. :)

Sunny Flower Mixed Media Painting

Well, it's been a SUPER long time since I've been able to get into my studio and do some painting. Teaching full time again takes so much time outside of school that I never seem to have any big blocks of time to get in there and get creative. But now that school is out for the summer I can finally get in there when I want to. I was in such a good, sunny mood on Sunday when I went in there that I decided to do a mixed media painting of a very sunny-looking flower! This is the result of my day's painting frenzy. 

I primarily used acrylics for this, but I also added a little bit of Prismacolors colored pencils here and there, along with some paint pen accents. This is 11x14. I tend to work smaller when I'm not doing oils, because I work on my counter, which isn't very deep. So I try to make sure I work on a canvas that fits onto my counter space. I generally gravitate toward square canvases, but the 11x14 was calling to me yesterday.

Not sure what I'll paint next, but I was just thrilled to be able to get into my studio again!

Big Red Flower Mixed Media

I've been so busy teaching that I literally was not able to get into my studio between June and October. It's been torture! But I finally was able to get in there the last two weekends and get creating again. I was in the mood for flowers. The result was this Mixed Media painting of a stylized big red flower.

I really loved creating this. It was a combination of acrylic paints, acrylic paint pens, and colored pencils. I was inspired by a picture of a marigold, believe it or not. I love the bright, warm colors. It just feels cheerful to me. What do you think?

7 Red Poppies

I finally had a chance to get back into the studio to complete my painting of Poppies that I began a couple of months ago. It's so difficult to find time for the studio when I'm working and taking graduate classes! But since I'm home for winter break I finally managed to get some creative time. And I finished my 7 Red Poppies painting!

This painting began with a black acrylic gesso background. Then I drew on my flowers and butterflies with white colored pencil, and then outlined those lines with a white paint marker. 

Next, I colored the poppy stems with colored pencils. I used some gray acrylic paint where the poppies would be, because gray makes it easier to get a brighter red paint color (this is especially true if you are painting with red on top of a white canvas or background!). Then I painted the poppies with a combination of watercolors and acrylics, and a touch of colored pencils too. The butterflies are also a combination of acrylics and colored pencils.

The next step was to paint over the black background. It looks light blue in the photo, but it's really more of a blue green (called Sea Foam, I believe). I left a little bit of the black around all of the imagery, then added a bit of teal colored pencil next to the black. I also re-outlined the white lines with my white paint marker, because they can get a bit dirty after all of the coloring and painting. 

The final step was to add some stenciled designs over the background, and I added some white dots over the stenciled areas for contrast and texture--and to help tie into the white outlines.

I really love how this turned out. I want to hang it in my home somewhere. I just need to figure out where!

Poppies and More Poppies

I started a new painting last month of one of my favorite flowers, Poppies. Life has been hectic and full of unexpected and not-so-fun surprises of late, so I haven't had a chance to finish it. But I wanted to share at least a peek of that work in progress.

This so far is a combination of acrylics and colored pencils. The background won't remain black, so this will look a lot different once it's completed. But I like the look of it so far! I'm hoping to get back in the studio soon to get it finished. 

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful Mixed Media

After about a month of being so busy with school work that I couldn't manage to find creative time in my studio, I finally got a little bit of a break and spent my entire Sunday painting away. It was wonderful. And I felt like making a Mixed Media Girl, since I haven't painted one in quite awhile. I'd hope to do a page in my art journal as well. I got the page all gesso'd and prepped but didn't have enough time for a journal page. So I'll try to do that next time. But this painting--Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful--is the result of my studio time yesterday.

Hopefully I'll be back in the studio next weekend. I hate it when I can't get in there. My muse gets a little feisty when I can't let her out to play. ;)

Red Poppies Redux

Last year I did a painting of a Red Poppy. I liked it, but I didn't love it. So I decided to work a little digital magic and try to turn it into something that I love. Guess what? It worked. Behold, my Red Poppy Redux.

So now instead of this just being an acrylic painting, it's become a mixed media painting: a mixture of acrylics and digital art. I truly do love it now. There's just something about poppies I have always loved. :)

Dragonfly Stained Glass Painting

I watched another tutorial recently by Brandi Dayton where she did a painting to sort of look like stained glass. Since I like to create actual stained glass from time to time, I thought it would be fun to try a painting that looked like it. This is the result. 

This was fun to do and rather relaxing too. I will probably do more stained glass-style paintings in the future. I chose a dragonfly because my mom really loved dragonflies. I think she would have liked this one. :)

You Are Loved Mixed Media

I got a few projects going in the studio over the weekend, but this is the only one I managed to get finished. Another mixed media project with a heart theme. I couldn't help myself. 

I collaged a few types of scrapbook paper in the background, then added a few colors of acrylic paints...added some stenciling and stamping and the heart, then more stenciling and embellishing until it was complete. 

Next week I'll have a painting to share that isn't mixed media. Can't wait to share it once it's finished!

Tulips and Flutterbys

I've been so busy with school work this week that I keep running out of time to finish the painting that I finally completed in the studio last weekend. It's similar in style to my Whimsical Birds and Flowers painting that I did a couple of weeks ago. I am really enjoying the techniques I learned from the fabulous Brandi Dayton that I've used in these last couple of paintings! This one I'm just calling Tulips and Flutterbys. :)

Apparently I'm in the mood for Spring, no? I love tulips. I used to have so many of them in my yard. I need to plant some more. But I digress. This is a mixed media painting. I used acrylics, colored pencils, Neocolor II crayons, paint markers, and some ink to stencil the swirly in the background. I love how the little butterflies turned out--again, just a little touch of fun and whimsy.

I think I need to hang this in my kitchen so that something warm and cheery always greets me there in the morning. I may need to hang my other flower painting in this style in the kitchen too!

Whimsical Birds and Flowers

The second painting that I created in the studio this week is the result of an online workshop created by artist, Brandi Dayton. I've followed Brandi for awhile, and I absolutely love her style of painting. It's just so warm and colorful and happy. So I was thrilled to see her offer this workshop, even though her generosity to make this workshop free was born out of a personal tragedy, which was the loss of her son. You can read about this workshop, and this first lesson here:

Birds and the Bees Workshop by Brandi Dayton

The first lesson involves whimsical birds and flowers, which is what I've created. I can't even tell you how much fun I had creating this painting. And Brandi's videos were very well done and easy to follow. I loved seeing her process, and it was great to use colored pencils in a mixed media painting, which I'd never really done before. So this is the result of the first lesson in Brandi's workshop.

This mixed media painting is a combination of acrylics (the background), colored pencils (the flower stems and leaves, and the birds), Neocolor II Crayons (the flower petals), and paint markers (white outlines and white dots). I loved the whole process of this painting and I definitely want to use the techniques I learned from Brandi in other paintings. That is what I love about watching other artists work: it inspires me to try new things and approach things in brand new ways. And that always helps me to grow as an artist, which is always one of my primary goals.

Follow Your Heart Mixed Media

I finally had a chance to finish my recent mixed media painting that I started a couple of weeks ago. I got sidetracked with making party goodies for my granddaughter, Destiny's recent 6th birthday party. She had a Descendants themed party and that was lots of fun! But I was in the studio all day yesterday, and not not only did I finish this Follow Your Heart Mixed Media painting, I also did another one (I'll post about that later).

I started with a collage of various scrapbook papers. Then I added some acrylic paints. Then it was time to start layering and adding textures. So I used several different stencils and a few different rubber stamps as well to do that. After doing that I added the heart, and embellished it with a stencil and some markers, and I added the wings with a stencil as well. Then I added a few more rubber stamps, and the lettering.

I really like how it turned out. These pinks and aquas are favorite colors of mine anymore. I seem to just gravitate toward them a lot in the studio. What are your favorite colors to paint with?