Don’t Settle (Collage)

I’ve gotta say… I am lovin’ the bricks on this collage.  They turned out really well (*pats self on back*) and just seemed to fit with the rest of the design.  The pantsuit (isn’t it fabulous?) came from a vintage seventies pattern I found in an op-shop.  I picked up a few for 50c each – I love old dressmaking patterns and their gorgeous illustrations.  And then I cut them up ha ha.

This Deer Lady went through several changes before I settled on this head for her – she was almost a camel at one stage.  I toyed with the idea of her being a rabbit and an ostrich momentarily too, but the deer head seemed most appropriate and ladylike.

It’s one of the first times I’ve used my own quotes, rather than stealing a well-known one from someone much wiser than myself.  But it also seemed to fit.  Sometimes you’ve just gotta go with what feels right, right?

Thank you for stopping by.  Hope your day is amazing 🙂

Just Be You (That’s Enough)

Howdy, folks!  Here’s another little canvas I’ve been working on.  It’s only small – about 6″ x 6″ – but I packed a lot in to it 🙂  The background is a little bit too busy but I tried to use colours I would normally not be drawn to and add a bit more texture.  My faces still leave a lot to be desired, but I figure the more I practice, the better they will become (hopefully).

The butterfly at the top right hand corner is actually brighter than it appears in the photo, so it does stand out a bit more.  It’s more like the colour of the wings on the girl.

The text – sigh – gave me problems, because half way through I realised I didn’t have all the letters I needed (I was using rub-ons).  So I had to make a couple up by cutting into different letters to form new ones.  It worked well enough, I think.  The smaller font is done with little rubber alphabet stamps.

I used a scrap piece of bubble wrap, as a stamp, to make the splotchy white detail in the background, and a piece of vintage dictionary for her crown.  Otherwise, just paint, paint and more paint.  I probably painted over the whole thing about four times.  I’m kinda enjoying that process though – keeping going until it’s right.  There’s less room for error when you’re making cards, so these painted canvases are a nice change.  I’m going to be brave and do some larger ones soon.  I have a tendency to always go small.  My eyes, if nothing else, are starting to complain about that particular trait of mine, even if I have been good and do remember to wear my specs (some of the time).

This canvas is dedicated to the little voice in all of us that says “I’m not good enough.  I need to be like everyone else…”  Don’t listen to that voice – it’s a bully.  You’re ok the way you are and your uniqueness is important.  Don’t try to be like anyone but yourself.  You are more than enough (and anyone who says otherwise is just a big meany head!).

Thank you for dropping by.  Take care of yourselves x

Being Yourself

Belated Happy Easter to you all 🙂  Did you indulge in a huge chocolate-fest, or were you restrained and just had a few little treats?  Did you spend time with family and friends, or take part in religious events?  Whatever you got up to, I hope you enjoyed yourselves and had a nice break.

I spent a lot of time with family and friends over the weekend, cleaned my house so it was fit for my Mum to visit and stay in for a couple of nights, and did some crafting.  I am still loving the Kelly Rae Roberts Unscripted series I have subscribed to.  It’s just makes me want to craft and create and DO STUFF.  I am nowhere near her standard of creativity and art, but it is very enjoyable just mucking about with paints and paper and having a go.  I am still rubbish at faces, but I keep trying and hope that some day I will get them just right!  If only people didn’t have eyes!  It would make everything so much simpler for me, at least in terms of drawing and painting (maybe not so much in real life though…) and I wouldn’t end up having tantrums, or just drawing a lot of people with closed eyes (which is my default position these days).

I had this little communion plaque (bought on a recent op-shopping trip for 50c) and I thought it would be perfect to paint over and repurpose.  It’s quite small – a little bigger than an iPhone – so perfect for me to do some crafting on!  Plus it had the little hanger on it so I didn’t need to worry about adding one myself.

I removed the picture that was already on it ( a communion poem and prayer) and sanded the wood back, then slapped on a layer of white Gesso, just to seal and give it a good working surface.  I then added paint in various colours to create a distressed, rubbed back look.  I used a soft green, some burgundy and a little bit of yellow – just dabbing and rubbing it on with my fingers.  When I was happy with the effect, I let it dry whilst figuring out what I was going to put on it.

I decided to draw my little lady on a separate piece of paper, paint her main features and then cut her out, to be glued and finished on the plaque itself.  I didn’t trust my drawing/painting skills to just add her straight to the wooden surface.  I adhered her with gel medium and then added flowers and wings cut from scrapbooking paper and vintage books.  The words were cut from old books or stamped (when I couldn’t find the word I wanted!) and I’m not quite satisfied with them, but they’re stuck on there now!  I might go over them with a bit of colour, just to make them look less “new” and pale.  I outlined here and there with black and white pencils to give some definition.

I was a bit heavy-handed with the lady’s features – I was using a very fine black marker, but it was still too heavy.  I will do better next time! I’m happy with her top though – it came out very rustic looking and picks up the red colour in the background – and I’m glad I added the “me” heart as it needed an extra little something.

So, all in all, I was pretty happy with my little lady.  I am trying to be myself and be ok with who that is.  Even if it means I am not the world’s greatest artist 🙂  I am still trying to find my “niche”, artistically speaking, so this is another part of the journey.  I will keep practicing faces and different techniques with paint and drawing and, in the meantime have a lot of messy fun doing it 🙂

Thanks for stopping by – may you enjoy the freedom of being yourself,
whoever that is, today and always x