This new piece was done in the same grunge style with string. The paints I used were acrylics, many of them watered down to a very thin consistency. The colors are unbleached titanium, raw umber, a bit of titanium white and mars black, and hooker's green. I really like the final result of this piece, and was less challenging than the last one, now that I have gotten used to the steps.
I watched the syfy show faceoff last night, and got in a creepy monster type of mood. I decided I should start drawing monsters again, so here is the beginning of my first one. Drawn with a 4B graphite pencil, I will color her in in a little while.
This marbled paper was done with acrylics and shaving cream. The shaving cream was laid down in a thick layer onto wax paper, and the paints were drawn into it in a random design. I then dipped different papers and a canvas board into the mixture. I am planning on using all three surfaces in one final piece. This technique can also be used when painting pottery.
I decided to shade and color the sketch I did earlier. I used water to activate the sketch and wash pencil, and colored the piece with colored pencils. I has a nice organic feel, with that touch of creepy I have come to love so much.
I am going to try to remember to set aside half an hour a day to sketch something, for some drawing and shading practice. This drawing is of oozing spores, and took about 15 minutes. I like the look of it, despite the roughness. I will probably take my favorite sketches once I get a few done, and turn some into paintings. This was done with a sketch and wash pencil, which blends with water. I just used my fingers, which were a little damp, to blend.
I just got some new stamps on the mail with my alcohol inks, which I have been stamping with all night. Pretty soon everything in my studio will be covered in stamped butterflies and eye chart letters! I love these steampunk stamps; which makes up for the letter stamp set I had to cut apart myself, ruining half in the process.
This is the results of my newest batch of eggshell pendants. These were also painting with alcohol inks, ones I just got in the mail. I am excited for the next two upcoming shows, starting in less than two weeks, for which I will have a lot of new material.
These new stamped pendants were just made today, they are now waiting to be colored with alcohol inks. I got the new stamps in the mail today, and I am super excited with how great they turned out. Which one(s) do you like best?
These new alcohol inks came in the mail today, and these are the pendant I made, each with a pack(besides the individual purple). I love the new colors, and I am ready to start on some new eggshell pendants.
This grunge style painting was done with string. I used acrylic paints to color it, burnt and raw umber, as well as burnt sienna, mars black, and yellow ochre. I love this style of abstract painting, and the string really adds a unique dimensionality to each piece.
I just created what I believe is one of my favorite pieces to date, next to the wraith in a city painting, and the abstract needles one. This painting was done on a framed piece of wood that was given to me by a friend. It saved me the trouble of having to frame it myself. I was online, looking at string wall installations, and artists using sting in their art, when I thought I would give it a try myself. This is my first try using string in a painting, and I think it turned out pretty successful.
This is the first time I have painted a piece that extends onto more than one canvas, and so far, I am pleased with the results. I am actually not sure how to finish this piece, however. I had and idea to add some darker colored tissue paper running in a curved line across the two boards, or to color some heavily textured medium, like glass bead gel, or resin sand. I am asking for anyone who has an opinion on how to finish this, any of my ideas or your own. What would you like to see?
I have been working on a new batch of domino pendants, these were created with handmade stamps. They were colored with black acrylic paint and alcohol inks.
This domino pendant shows the new direction I am taking with these pendants. This bird was stamped with black acrylic paint, to add some texture. I ordered some new stamps, and I am going to stamp them on the dominos, and then color the background with alcohol inks. This bird stamp I made myself, and I will probably be making some more as well. It is fun to be able to make your own stamps, and know they are truly one of a kind.
This collage was done made up of pieces of different maps I got from an old atlas, including the hot air balloon, which was then dyed blue. The birds were created with a stamp I created, and the frame was painted black to match the collage. I just found an awesome old antique shop that had really great deals on their frames. These are great shops to find deals on vintage broaches and jewelry too. I have been making mold from some awesome pieces I found along with the old frames.
Here is another batch of eggshell pendants I just finished. They are a bit more tricky than I thought they would be, with the removal of the membrane and the gluing/inking processes.
These pendents are made from recycled dominos and eggshells. The domino gives the pendant its shape, and the eggshells add texture. They were also colored with alcohol inks.
These pendants were formed with variations of the same shape. Two were formed from a mold of a piece of jewelry I made the other day, the third was molded directly from the jewelry itself. Two were colored with alcohol inks, one with the mixatives, and one was made from the makume gane block.
I tried I new technique I had read about today, makume gane. There are tutorials all over the internet, and tons of ways to do this. It is a special marbeling that is done to clay to achieve this many layers look in one piece. It is really hard to get the lighting right for this picture, but the colors are purples, blues and silver. These are all different pendants that I made with the same makume gane block.
These pendants were made from dominos, with a hole drilled into the top of each one for the chain to go through. I think I am going to make some with polymer clay attached on the back to add a hook to the non drilled ones for hanging. They were colored on all sides with alcohol inks and the little blender stamp that I got with the inks. They are really beautiful, due to the white and high gloss background of the dominos.
This was my first try at mold making. I bought some cool pins today at an antique shop to make the mold with. I used some white polymer clay and pressed the pins into it, then freezed it to make it pull off cleaner. Polymer clay is so versatile, and now I can use them to make pendants even after the pins have been used.
Just pulled this pendants out of the oven and finished them with a matte spray. These pendants were all colored with alcohol inks and mica powders. The top 5 were cut with a round cutter, the rest were freeformed. I like the variety, as I have found that some people prefer perfectly round pendants, and other like theirs to have a little more character. I am excited for the next upcoming shows, I already have 3 lined up, two of which are next month. I am hoping to participate in more local art shows this year, and have more pieces available at them.
These pendants are currently drying. I am trying a new technique with alcohol inks on polymer clay, the trick is to paint a layer of liquid polymer over the piece, then drop the inks over it. There is also some effects achieved with alcohol ink mixatives, mica powders and hand colored clay. Thus is a really fun way to make abstract pendants, and if you buy a large amount of white clay like I did, it saves money too.
This jewelry piece was made with laid silver chain. It has three chains in the front, a clasp in the back, and one chain on each side for shoulder embellishments. I think this style of jewelry is really beautiful, and I have not seen many people do it before, so it will be nice to offer something new at my art shows. It would look beautiful with a simple outfit, maybe a black tshirt, jeans and high heels, or a simple dress.
This pendant was made with polymer clay and metal. The face was done with clay and antiqued with black acrylic paint after baking. The metal back part was taken from a disassembled broach.
This pendant was also made out of polymer clay. This clay making is such a nice break from painting, though I imagine I will start up painting again soon. Next month is the start of art shows, and I will definitely be ready for them.
This face was made with polymer clay. The face has a fly on the forehead. The eyes are made with black brads and the mouth has been opened to make it scream.
Along with this face theme I have been working on, I have also been on a creepy kick lately. This pendant was made with black polymer clay and copper needles made for earrings. The leftover pieces of the copper were turned into into rings to look like piercings on the face. I hope other people like this creepy style jewelry as much as I do.
This pendant was made with two colors of polymer clay, a face with found metal parts pressed into the head, and dangling copper chains. Though it was impossible to show in the picture, the four chains are different lengths, the two inside chains are longer than the outside ones.
This pendant has a blue sparkly polymer clay face, with and non symmetrical black background. Some of the sparkles from the blue clay got worked into the black clay to give the whole piece a uniform appearance. All of these pendants will be put into my next art show.
These earrings are made with copper backs, copper dangling chains, and natural, square cut stones.
This pendant is within the current face theme that I have been working on. These old style clock pieces were attached to the polymer clay face with a little liquid polymer clay.
This pendant was made with different parts of a mold cut up and formed together. The head is free formed to look like brains, with a swirled coloring in the polymer clay.
This necklace was made with two different silver chains, a metal cog and a little vial filled with rose colored stones.
This little guy was made with a silver polymer clay mixed with glow in the dark polymer clay, then colored with mica powder. He glows in the dark and shimmers in the light.
This leaf pendant was made with polymer clay, colored with copper mica powder, and a metal cog.
I have started making jewelry again and this is the first piece I have finished. The chain and dangling chains are silver, inside the wire cage is a silver lock and hanging in the metal circle is a silver key. I really like combining different metals, making dangling parts and bold jewelry.
This painting was done with with a crackle medium. The cracks were filled in with acrylic ink, then they were sealed over with matte medium. The top layers were glazes of thinned acrylic inks.
This abstract flower painting was done for my mother's birthday. The texture is done with tissue paper. The flowers are made with cut up paper towel rolls.
This piece was done with several layers of bubble wrap to build up the drama of the piece. The earlier layers are done in grayscale, the final layer is with prussian blue. The other color used in the rings is naples yellow, which I felt added a contrast without overwhelming the painting. The texture adds enough excitement, which allows the colors to be a bit more subdued.
I did this painting by pouring different consistences of fluid acrylics. This took many layers, and a lot more paint than I though it would, but I am happy with how it turned out. These two pictures show the contrast and color, as it was hard to show both in one picture. What made the colors really stand out, was the neutral I created by mixing complementary colors. This gives more life to the neutral gray, instead of the flat color that you get by buying neutrals pre mixed.
The texture of this painting was achieved with gesso. The coloring is done with layers of acrylic ink, and alcohol. The drips are done by tilting the canvas while the ink is still wet.
