Who is Steph Curry?

I have an amazingly creative granddaughter. She is my favorite partner in art and all things crafty. She even has her own art table in my studio so that she can create whenever she's at my house. Awhile back, she asked me to create a drawing for her of Steph Curry. My response: "Who is Steph Curry?" The look on her face was priceless as she said, "Seriously, grandma?" Then she proceeded to school me on all things Steph Curry and convinced me to create this drawing for her. I was having blog issues, so I never posted it. 

This is all just simple black Sharpie. I swear, I should own stock in the company that makes Sharpies. I go through so many of them, at home and at school. At any rate, I wasn't sure if she'd like it, but she definitely did. And even though I'll probably not be drawing an athlete again any time in the near future, at least I know a little more than I did before about this particular basketball star.

Circles and Waves

Destiny and I were experimenting with stencils recently to make paintings. We started this one off with just stencils and paint sprays and didn't much care for it when it was finished. So we decided to see if we could turn it into something we did like, and this is the result--our Circles and Waves mixed media painting.

The background was mostly red, yellow-orange, and pale blue paint sprays over stencils. Then we added more stenciled shapes using acrylic paints. Then we added the stenciled waves with black paint, and also added the yellow-orange circles using round foam stamps. A cardboard tube was used to add the white rings with acrylic paint. Then I drew on this cross-hatched designs, and we stamped on the black circles with text in them and a few other small details with paint marker.

I definitely like this after adding all the extra stuff to it. Destiny wasn't thrilled with the colors in the end, but she had a good time making it, so I count that as a win.

Painting with Tissue Paper

This past week Destiny and I were experimenting with Painting with Tissue Paper. I'd seen a post on Pinterest about it and thought it was cool, and it looked like a fun project for Destiny to do. So we gave it a try. I bought some bleeding Tissue Paper from Dick Blick, because there was none to be found in the town where I live. The brand name of it is Spectra, in case you want to try it too.

The technique is simple really: cut out some shapes out of the paper, brush some water on your canvas, and then put the tissue paper on top. Let it dry, then when the tissue comes off it leaves color behind like it was painted. Destiny and I did do this first, but then we decided to add a little more stuff and make it more of a Mixed Media project. These are the results.

Rubber Stamping on Tissue Paper Painting

FLOWERS

 

SNOWFLAKES

Destiny loved this project, and I'm sure we'll be doing it again. It was really fun, and really easy to do. And may I just say, she's got her poses down pat now. :)

Fork Daisy by Destiny

When Destiny and I were painting the other day, she wanted to paint a flower after we finished our Fall Brush Trees. She totally knew what she wanted to do and told me she needed a fork. Since we painted Fork Flowers on Canvas once, I knew she would be a pro with the fork again. So I gave her a fork and she used her tempera paint and created this.

She told me she was going to use the fork to make petals in a circle to make the flower. So she did that, and then she used a paintbrush to paint the center of the flower and the stem with leaves. What I love most about this is that she thought of it all on her own and knew exactly what she wanted to do. All I did was move the paper for her as she was making a "circle" with the fork for the petals. 

I love painting with Destiny. And I see lots more painting in our future. :)

Fall Brush Trees

Destiny and I were inspired by the Fall leaves this week, so we decided that a painting of Fall Trees was in order. I thought it would be fun to use a round brush to make the tree leaves, like we did when we painted our Brush Dandelions. So I gave Destiny the brush, a canvas, some tempera paint, and a wee bit of instruction, and then she got down to painting!

This time I found a better round brush for her to use--it was much easier for her to hold this one than the one with the long handle. It made it easier to dab it on the canvas. Destiny painted the tree trunk first, then used the brush to add the leaves to to the top of the tree and to the ground. She had no help from me at all! And I know I'm biased, but I think it's quite the masterpiece. :)

Fork Flowers on Canvas

Destiny and I decided to have some painting fun today. A couple of times while surfing Pinterest I remember seeing some kids' art made by using forks dipped in paint to make flowers. So that's what Destiny and I decided to do, and we had a ball!

Now the neat part about this, other than the flowers made from forks, is that the background for this canvas was actually created by my grandson, Dylan when he was 3 or 4 years old (he's 10 now). He wasn't all that into the artsy stuff like Destiny is, but I convinced him one day to create something by just using a small foam roller to roll fluorescent paint all over this canvas. He had fun doing that, but I wasn't sure what to do with the canvas, so I just tucked it away. I pulled it out today and decided that Destiny and I would try out the fork flower technique I'd seen. She really loved it!

All you have to do is dip a plastic fork into paint--we used a combination of tempera and craft acrylic paints for this--then set the fork down on the canvas and rock it back and forth a bit to "print" the flowers. Then just add stems and leaves to finish them off. And Destiny and I decided to add some grass too. Destiny is 4 and she did most of this herself. I only did 3 of the flower prints, 2 stems, and 1 leaf--and I showed her how to make grass, but she did almost all of that herself too. :) 

I love that I have this canvas now to keep in the "kids" room. And the best part is that BOTH of my grandkids actually painted this--even if it was 6 years apart. Super fun and really easy to do too, it really was a perfect almost-summer art activity!

Fairy Princess Destiny

This is just some Fairy Digital Art I made from a photo of my granddaughter, Destiny.

She is my favorite little fairy. :)

I Do Believe in Fairies

I'm sure it's fairly clear by now that I love taking pictures of my granddaughter. I also have a thing for fairies. And it must be equally clear that I'm rather obsessed with digital photos and digital art right now. So please forgive me if I post another digital image creation of my granddaughter. Or should I say, the fairy who looks just like her...

I absolutely love how this turned out.  My husband even requested a printed version of it. Believe me, THAT is a compliment. And somehow I think there are more fairy photos in my future. ;)

It's Destiny

It's been nearly a month since I've been able to get into my studio. So unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much creating of late. I've only been doing digital art during that time, mostly of Michael Jackson, since he's pretty  much my favorite subject matter these days. :) But I did do one edit of a photo I took of my granddaughter, Destiny, on Easter. Thought I'd share that since I haven't been able to share much else lately.

I decided to make the background of the photo black and white, and leave Destiny in color to make her really pop out more. I love how it turned out. And I know I am not impartial, but doesn't she look adorable in her Easter dress? ;)

I'm quite fond of using this technique in my digital work. It's really a great way to add emphasis to almost any photo. I post all of my MJ edits and digital art on my ArtChick4MJ blog, if you have interest in seeing more of what I do there.

When I can't get into my studio, digital art is my creative outlet and refuge. Whether it's just editing digital photos or creating different types of digital collage or other digital art, it's what gets me through until I can get into my studio again.

Destiny's Onesie Dress

OK, so sewing is really not something I am good at. I don't do it very often, and when I do, it's generally only things that are either very small or involve only straight lines. Let's just be honest here: we can't all be good at everything, right? But that doesn't mean we can't venture out of our comfort zones once in awhile and try to develop our lesser-honed skills. So that's what I did when I created this Onesie Dress for my granddaughter, Destiny.

I found a Onesie Dress Tutorial at the Barefoot in the Kitchen blog, after doing some Googling to find one. Hers was the easiest I found to follow. And believe me when I say, I need EASY. I followed her directions, more and less, from start to finish. And I'm pretty proud of how the dress came out, flaws and all.

It's definitely not perfect, but it's for a perfect little girl, who makes my heart smile every single day. She is my treasure forever.