inspiration monday

i have always been inspired by carla sonheim's artwork.  as the queen-of-silly, she has the most wonderful ability to find whimsical little creatures hidden just about anywhere, even in sidewalk cracks!  but if you're like me and don't have too many sidewalks in your area, i've come up with another way you can go about creating an "inspiration splotch" with some watercolor paper, watercolor, paintbrushes, waxed paper, your favorite pens and markers, pencils, and a jug of water.
(i'm using some turquoise watercolor and a yellow watercolor crayon in my moleskine journal)

first,  lay down some clean water onto your paper and then add your watercolor.....
you want your color(s) to be fairly wet.

now lay a piece of waxed paper on top of your watercolor.....
rub your hand across it to smoosh the color around.

lift the waxed paper to reveal the splotch underneath.  if you have any droplets of watercolor left on the waxed paper, you can tap them back onto your watercolor splotch for some added texture!

now take a good look at your watercolor splotch.
see anything hidden in there?

if you don't see much the first time,  you might have more luck
by turning your paper around another way.

once you've spied something, start adding some details using your favorite markers....
(i've used pitt artist pens)

once you get started, it's hard to stop......

but before you know it, you've revealed your very own
imaginary inspiration monster!  have fun!


{this creature-from-the-art-lagoon was created in my moleskine journal using cotman watercolor, lyra watercolor crayon, paintbrush, pitt artist pens, uniball signo white gel pen, waxed paper, 3B and 8B pencils}

duck chuckle

i recently stopped by the duck pond
and found my little friends......

                      

practicing their synchronized swimming!

{i get such a kick out of these crazy ducks! 

have a wonderfully whimsical weekend!! :)) }

batfun

i'm a real scaredy cat when it comes to halloween, and i've always enjoyed the more playful side of the holiday.  so as i was cutting out this martha stewart bat template, i started wondering if bats are scaredy cats like me.......and just how do bats go about having some fun?!

do they all meet in the belfry at twilight on saturday nights for a super fang-tastic boo-bash?

or maybe they get into the spirit of things by playing several rounds of batty-cake, batty-cake.

of course, it would be positively de-fright-ful to then head out to their favorite java house for a quick coffin-break......although too much caffeine could have them all going batty.
well, whatever they decide to do, i'm sure they all have a hair-raising, howling good time!

:))

sending you bugs and hisses, and many good witches
for a spook-tacular weekend!!
(okay, since i'm so bats about you, i'll stop with the bad puns now!  heeheehee)

{i had a frightfully good time creating these batty-bats using
martha stewart's bat template, scissors, black card stock, scrapbook papers,
micron pens, metallic pens, charcoal chalk ink pad, uni posca paint marker,
uniball signo white gel pen}

card party

it looks like all of the gals in pollyanna's garden got together for a little party!  well, sometimes i do wonder what goes on in my studio when i'm not there...but, actually, these are just some notecards that i made recently using my flower images.  setting up the template in photoshop was the most time consuming part, but, in the end, i'm happy with the result.  they look great printed on linen card stock and i placed a piece of speckled bond paper inside to make a smooth writing surface.   

bug in a rug

i have memories of my mom saying this to us when my brothers and i were growing up.  so, i figure if my mom said it, it surely falls into the "so true" category...which makes this the second in my new series.  i was curious to see what it would look like framed, and, unfortunately, i didn't have the correct size frame.  my preference for this piece would be a black frame and i'm sure that we must own a 5x7 black frame, but i don't know where it's hiding.  these small 2.5 x 3.5" pieces of art are fun to do, but i'm learning that simplicity is definitely the key!

live, laugh, love...repeat

this is the first in my new series, "so true".  all of the artwork in this series will measure the ACEO size of 2.5 x 3.5" and focus on a short quote, quip or truism.  this piece was written on canson paper using dr. martin's bleedproof white (which is like gouache and used by photographers and graphic designers to do touch-ups).  while i like to work on a smaller scale, i think that this will prove to be a fun challenge!   we'll see how it goes!

 

kindred spirits

i still have some "pollyanna's garden" ideas floating around in my head, and i've been wondering what these little gals would look like in a grouping, so i had to satisfy my curiosity.  it looks like check-mate and swirly girly have been friends for a while...and pollyanna couldn't be gladder about it.

meet molly

allow me to introduce you to my studio mascot, molly.  this photo was taken of her when she was a puppy, but she still looks the same, except her ears are a little longer now.  as far as studio mascots go, she's the best.  she's great at keeping secrets, and even turns a deaf ear when my work isn't going well and i say bad words.  she cheers me on at just the right time and her demands are few, so it's very easy to spoil her...and believe me, i do!

love grows here

here is another ACEO (art cards, editions and originals) that i worked on this afternoon.  i'm still enjoying working on these happy pollyanna flowers, but i've noticed the past few days that i've had a nasty little itch to get back to bookmaking, which has been a passion of mine for a long time.  if you have some time to browse on etsy, there are some beautiful handmade books offered by talented artisans at a very reasonable price.  anyway, i think that pollyanna likes to read, so maybe i can come up with a way incorporate her garden with my books!  i'll have to think on that...

oh happy day

after all of this moving and getting settled in, it felt good to hold a watercolor pencil in my hand and do something creative.  today i decided to do a small original, an ACEO (art cards, editions and originals).  these pieces measure 2.5" x 3.5" and are highly collectible by many artists. i've certainly done better lettering in the past, so it just goes to show how important daily practice is!  of course, this piece is meant to be whimsical and a little off-beat, so i guess it turned out just the way it was supposed to turn out.  so, good ol' pollyanna strikes again, just when i needed her...makes me kinda glad, you know?

swirly girly

pollyanna's garden continues to grow....here is flower number six in the series.  with all of this horrible weather from tropical storm fay over the past couple of days, it was wonderful to be able to hide in my studio for a while and paint something happy and colorful.  i can still hear the wind howling outside, and the rain continues to beat on the windows, but this swirly girly reminds me that better days are ahead.

harley-kin

i didn't realize that pollyanna had such a green thumb!  harley-kin is the fifth in my pollyanna's garden series, and if i had to choose favorites, she would be towards the top of my list.  i really love her quirky nature, and i've always been partial to blue-purple flowers in the garden.  and, i'm still having fun painting these little darlins...

heart-2-heart

finally, here is the first flower in my pollyanna's garden series. you may have seen this flower in a previous blog post, titled "joie de vivre".  that original watercolor was actually created for walther's sweet aunt nellie, who recently turned 85 years old.  i enjoyed working on her gift so much that i decided to paint another one...and, well, the seeds for pollyanna's garden were planted!  thank you for indulging me in posting all of these happy little paintings...they put a smile on my face, and i'm hoping that the same is true for you!

moving ahead

all of my blog posts up to this point have been highlighted with an image, usually of a recent piece of artwork.  today, i would like to showcase the artwork that you see above...my elvie studio banner.  i created this in photoshop, using a piece of scrapbook paper and an image of my lettering that i scanned into the computer.  while this banner is new to my blog, i actually created this banner for my new shop at etsy.  i've been working on all of the specifics for the shop, as well as creating the artwork that i plan to begin selling as prints. admittedly, i've been dragging my feet a little, as life has a habit of interfering with my best-laid plans.  but, i hope to have my "doors" open soon, so stay tuned....

rosey o'dottle

all of the rain that we've had recently has been good for pollyanna's garden! rosey o'dottle is a cheerful, colorful flower, which makes her a perfect pick for this happy flower series (plus, i'm having fun naming them, too!).  my challenge in painting this was that i wanted to use lots of bright color...and when i did, it looked awful. i finally realized that the design of the flower is too complicated with the swirl and dots, so i had to keep the color somewhat monochromatic. in the end, i like the results and i think that rosey will be happy in the garden!

crazy daisy

here is part three in my "pollyanna's garden" series. not too wild or too crazy for our standards, but perfect for this little garden bed.  my time in the studio has been somewhat sporadic lately, so when i catch a moment of creative time, i like to do something fun, colorful and not too serious. have i hit the mark? 

check mate

this is part two in a series that i'm calling "pollyanna's garden". i just love this little flower and i am also loving these colors together. in my pollyanna world, i can just imagine several rows of these check mates lining the flower beds, ready to invite new friends (mates) to come and join them. i absolutely love doing this type of artwork...it's happy, colorful and very feel-good. life has been a little complicated lately, so this garden is a perfect place for me to be. 

gone fishin'

my dad is a fountain of knowledge and wisdom, and one day he said this to me as encouragement to take a risk with my artwork and put myself "out there". and, of course, as most dad's wisdom goes, he's right. so as a daily reminder, i wrote it out on paper and glued it to one of those cute 3" canvases and then finished the sides with ribbon. it sits proudly on a small easel in my kitchen where i see it every morning. and one day i hope to catch the "big one", or at least talk about the "one that got away"...but for now, i'm happy for a little nibble on the bait! 

puppy love

this is a fun little book that i made a while ago. it has an accordion spine and the pages are held in each accordion fold with an elastic thread. each page has a triangular fold to create a pocket...perfect for holding photos or quotes about your favorite pooch. i especially love the fun, playful colors...the stickers are cute, too! this book takes some time to make, but definitely worth the effort.