My True Love Gave To Me: A Vacuum????

My Dad has wised up.

I remember seeing big wrapped boxes for my mom under the tree.

 Having Major Kid Wonder.

A Treasure had to be in a box that big, right? Well, sadly, inside that box with so much
Kid Potential was usually 

An Appliance.

A toaster oven, an iron, a cooking pot,

or a vacuum.

This all too frequent phenomenon is experienced every Christmas by all too many women.

And this must be stopped.

My Christmas card this year was inspired by this horrible trend.
I started with an image from
a wonderful book:
"Men's Adventure Magazines in Post War America".
I used Bernie Berlin's Never-Dull technique,
from my favorite how-to book
"Artist Trading Card Workshop."
That book is the shiznitz.
I neglected to scan the original image.my bad.
 I followed Bernie's instructions and got this:


Too Cool and Way Too Much Fun.
Next the search was on for the perfect vintage image...

This one is good....but not exactly what I had in my mind....too 70's...not old enuf..

Ah...now this is more like it....but maybe not perfect...

Eureka!! This one is perfect! OOPS!

I meant Hoover!!

This one has great text!

KATHY: SPOILER ALERT!!!

 STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!

The next steps involve

really FOUL language and

an over indulgence of alcohol.

Trying to teach yourself Photoshop

 is like being on a blind date.

 So many layers to learn, each one more frightening than the last...

This is not exactly what I pictured in my mind. But it can only go up from here.

teehee.

In Conclusion, this card is dedicated to all women all over the world who

have suffered the agony of opening

a wrapped appliance on Christmas Morn.

And my Mom?

Well, since my Dad wised up

she is sporting her favorite appliance of all!

Diamond Jewelry.

xoSusan

PS. Robin, from A Robin's Nest: I lost your address. Email me! I would like to send you a tardy card!!

Marsha: Thank you for your loverly card! I lost your address also and was having hives and shortness of breath over it. Thank God, you sent me your card, or I do believe I would be hospitalized right now.

Can't Wait To Catch Up.

You are my favorite Maker of Magic.

Kathy:

I told you to stop looking. You never listen to me. I don't know where your card is. It said some REALLY funny stuff in it. I mean like stand up comedian worthy. I hope you get it some day.

Cuz I think I peaked on that card.Love You.

teehee.

xoS

Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Dick Blick is having a SALE!!!

Discounts and Free Shipping!!

 Boy did I make out!

I have wanted an easel for a very long time.

 My table top one was fine in the beginning, but this is the middle now.....if you get my meaning.....teehee

My dear parents gave me dough for my Bday.

So I got this:

Blick Easel/Collapsible/Wheels

$76.49 after discount!!!

And I had to get these

to tape watercolor paper to:

These are Masonite Panels.

 I got 11x14 and 20x24.

I hope they last a while.

However they were only $3 for both so

 Who Cares!!

And I've been wanting to try these foreva:

Pan Pastel/Painting Color Set

$28.89 after discount!!!

I had such a good time shopping

 and trying

to stay under my $100 budget.

I stayed very close!!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!!

Love You Lots!!

xoS

Christmas Card Play 2010

I am a Struggling Photoshop Beginner.

But oooooh the Potential!!!

Here is my Family Christmas Card 2010.

I usually try and be funny every year.

The emphasis here is on the word Try.

teehee

The attempt above was probably #125.

I hate that Magic Wand.

I think it is Evil. A Necessary Evil, tho.

You can see the sucky gaps above.

This is The Card I settled on.

Around me you see that section of the photo that Evil Magic Wand missed.

Or maybe I just wanted to be the center of attention.

Again.

teehee

 I learned how to lighten the background so the Font is actually visible.

But I won't Remember How tomorrow.

I'm Hand Delivering these tomorrow so No Spoiler Post.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am Grateful.

xoS

BELIEVE

Lovely Teri DeAngelis

No This is Not Her

It's Actually a Rose

But it Could Be Her

Teri is A Master of Hair Artistry and My Friend

She asked me to make a piece of Art

To Be Auctioned Off To Help Raise Funds

For her Beloved Mother, Clara's,

Cancer Care

I was Honored

And Delighted

And I was Inspired by Teri's Devotion and Big Love

So I started with The Rose

Who In It's Similiarity With Life

Offers Us Both Beauty and Thorns

Vintage Postcard, Layers and Layers of Various papers, Vintage and HomeMade by Moi

Acrylic Paint

Inspiration and Technique From

Angela Cartwright's Book

Mixed Emulsions

Broken but Beautiful

Stamped Deli Paper Composition Play

Believe.

xoSusan

TYPEWHITER- Vintage Book Page Art

New Beginnings!! I've started an etsy site featuring altered Vintage Book Page Art. I have been flirting with these creations for a short while now and am in love with making them. There is something so peaceful about isolating most of the text with paint and leaving just a word or a phrase to interpret in my twisted point of view. Not all of them will be twisted tho. I have seen my sweet side lately and I think I like her.


Please do me the honor of clicking over to etsy and viewing my new creations. There is a link in the sidebar. If you feel compelled to, and I do hope you are compelled, click back over and comment me what you think or convo me on etsy. I would really appreciate any input from YOU, my supportive community of art friends.  I am a virgin when it comes to selling/marketing my work. I am straddling that terrified/excited line. If you have any etsy ideas, or advice, I welcome it whole heartedly. Thank you in advance. You are a bunch of classy dames.


xoTypeWhiter aka xoSusan


PS. For more colorful purchase options, my Broknheart Art is also for sale from the sidebar of this blog.

For the Love Of Layers

Heello Dare.....working on Layer Love Lesson 4 with Julie Prichard. I am having a good ole time. Learning so much. Pretty soon I'm gonna have to stop saying I'm self taught, thanks to Julie, and Misty and Albie and Claudine and Fred and Leighanna and Anne and Dan and many more that I just can't remember due to menopause. teehee.
So here is my palette:

And here is where I deviated from instruction. Before adding the crackle paste, I thought it would be cool to have some sparkle and black flakes showing thru here and there.

Here it is wet.

Here it is dry.

Crackle paste.

Adding Paint.

Yummy crackle detail #1. "Vanity" crackle shot if you will. I couldn't resist, cuz I'm lovin it!!

Another Vanity crackle shot.

And WaLa, the finished background. I ended up flipping it upside down. For details join us over at The Land of Lost Luggage and get your Layer Learn On!!

I think there is just enuf sparkle, don't you?? xoSusan

PS oh crap now that I'm looking at it, do you think I need to get rid of that thick black line in the lower corner??? I like that it's darker and I don't want to loose definition but it does look like a line doesn't it?? comments?? hand holding?? talking me off the ledge???

Layer Love Lesson 3

I'm up to Lesson 3 of Julie Prichard's online workshop, Layer Love. I believe this workshop is closed, but Julie has many others to offer. Check em out! I'm going to show the steps by photo. If you want more detail, see Julie!!!

Collage images taken from a Well's Fargo catalogue reproduction and postage stamps mounted on paper:

Lots and Lots of Layers of paint, even some crayons, texture tools and all kinds of mediums added, yum.

Background Finished. Can't wait to add some collage and transfers. oh yeah, it's ON.

Now go paint. Thanks for lookin. xoSusan

GPP Crusade #42 Strip Ease

Okay, for this Crusade I'ma gonna be ona time-a!!! I am on a roll with this and the last Crusade. I really love both assignments. And I ADORE visiting all the Artist's sites and seeing how each player "translates" the Crusade. If you are a Crusader and come to visit here, please leave a comment, I would love to meet you!! As Michelle says "How Cool Is That???"

So, I turn the page in my new journal and start stripping, eeeek, God Forbid, I mean ripping.

Playing with Color:

Dag, that Yes glue is WAY STICKY. I don't usually create at my coffee table, but I was in the mood to watch some TV. Ripping is sooooo fun and low stress that I could multi-task. Most of the time I'm in my studio with the tunes cranked and couldn't follow a TV show if my life depended on it. I'm addicted to TrueBlood on HBO. Anyone else??? It's my guilty little secret. Oh, well, it was anyway!
I read ALL the books before it came out on TV. They are excellent but very different from the show. Jusy sayin.


Here is the spread, without journalling, scanned:
I let the pictures do the talking in my last journal spread, this time I need to purge some thoughts in writing. In order to not cover up the spread, which I love, especially the paint palette pieces I ripped with dried clumps of paint on them, I fashioned 2 pages with transparencies. I certainly have enough mistakes laying around, and transparencies are too expensive to waste. These are goofs from BroknHearted Venus, which I haven't completed yet. I'm bouncing around project wise these days. I used Sharpie for the journalling. I left one side blank to fill in after the results of my tests. I have to swallow a camera and the camera will take pics of my small intestine. It's a lot cleaner test than the colonoscopy. teehee. I left a transparency tab on the page for labeling at a later date. If I labelled it now it would be highly terrified and negative, like I'm Fucked, or something to that effect. teehee. I like the faint shell images with this spread, adds to the earthy, basic, natury feel to the colors and subject. Which I guess, is fear about our natural bodies, or states of being. I didn't start out with this subject in mind, it just came out. Which is the whole point of Art Journalling, no? Okay, I'm starting to sound like an ass, I'm shutting up now:




Thanks, Michelle for the inspiration and learnin. And I'm searching for a Venue so you can teach in NJ. I guess my little townhouse won't cut it!!! teehee. xoSusan

GPP Crusade #41 Grid Lock

What better way to launch a new journal than with one of Michelle Ward's Crusades?? I went shopping in my studio and found this journal again. teehee. I love the size, smaller than my other journal, I will flip back and forth depending on what I'm feeling each Crusade needs creatively.

I love paper. Paper is my crack. I was in fits of joy when I refound this journal. The feel, smell and taste of the page. HA! caught you. You weren't paying attention. teehee. No, I don't eat or smoke paper.

When I read Michelle's guidelines, my mind immediately went to Inchies. I can't work a ruler well and I am a solid D student in geometry so I just went with the inchies as a grid. I try and cut inchies from left over homemade paste paper as I go along, so I had a sandwich bag full ready to create with. Love that. So here I am playing with the inchie layout:

Designing the Inchies:

And the finished spread, scanned:
And the truth is that this Crusade was due last month, so I am very, very tardy. But it's summer and I think Michelle will forgive me. There were vacations and colonoscopies involved. (1 polyp, precancerous, removed and damned to hell, and Sea Isle City. In case you were wondering, I had more fun at the beach, teehee.) Hope all is well with you. xoSusan

BroknHearted Venus

That last background was pretty but kinda bored me. I've put it aside until Broknhearted inspiration hits.
So instead I embarked on 3 collages at once! I pulled out my stash of favorite commercial and self made paper and ripped and glued my way to happiness! The collage that most captured my interest started out like this:
Here the canvas is completely covered with paper and in the process of being drybrushed with gesso:
Used Caran D'Ache crayons to add some hair and have taped images around to figure out the composition I like most. The images are Apollo 7039 transparencies printed with an inkjet Epson C88 printer which uses Durabrite inks:

Wouldn't this be an awesome Blog Header? The collage sheet with Venus' image and the words is courtesy/property of Misty Mawn. You'll have to ask her for permission to use it as a header!! I did my part!! I used crayons and made it my own!! Thanks Misty!

Here are the tools for a caulk transfer ready to go:

The first transfer. You can see I used yellow crayon to outline the cut out image. This was done so I could see where to lay down the caulk with the least waste. I am still VERY new to this technique. In this photo, I am holding the now devoid of ink transparency.

Here is the wet transfer: I blended the edges into the canvas with the palette knife. You can see there are some areas where the ink did not transfer. Its ok. Distressed, I believe is the au currant term. I f'd up is what I would say. teehee.

Here is what Buddy Guy was doing while I was creating. He thinks he is a dog. He loves to chew. My paper towel rolls are fair game.

I had some extra caulk on my palette, so I used it up in my practice book pages. The manuscript and chess piece are good, the arches not so good, I used too much caulk in that spot. The girl and corner post thingy were both soft get medium transfer. Caulk beats that for clarity, IMHO.

Here comes the Tricky Part: adding the caulk to the face for the shell transfer. I think I used a little too much. I can't wait until Trial and Error becomes Experience. Feel me?? If I mess up the face, I've wasted Time, Effort, Supplies and My Sanity. Sweatin It Big Time:

48 Hours later. Caulk still not set well enough for me to do a couple more glazes and some detail work with pencils/crayons. I may even add a few more small transfers. My wheels are still turning.

This collage has a title I will add to the canvas. I think it's perfect. You'll see it when it's all done. Thanks for joining me for this Work In Progress! Now, whatcha think???? Good or Bad Give It To Me Straight. xoSusan