I gotta new 'do.

And I've been having a good time

in the studio.

First I re-worked an older canvas.

 This is how far I got with this canvas originally. 
It hung on the wall

basically ignored for over a year.

I didn't consider it finished

but I wasn't inspired to 

pull it all together. 

Unil now! 

Here is the finished piece:

I added oil pastels,
more drips, stabilo pencil,
collage papers
and laid a thin glossy layer
of polymer medium on top. 
I'm calling it done! 






I was on a roll! 
On the easel is yet another
canvas,
 "Can a man love two women"  
that I'm reworking.
This one started out as a black and white collage. 

(let me just mention here that I am so over this subject. I am in a healthy place right now getting healthier all the time. I don't care if men can do that. 
I'm not interested.
oh and the answer to the question is no.
 A man with two women can only love 
one person-himself.)

 The technique I began here was
cover a canvas with collage,
paint over it,
become an archeologist and go
back into the layers to reveal the images using q-tips and alcohol.
I also sprayed alcohol on and 
scrubbed with a sponge.
I also ended up doing some sanding.
This painting sat for a long time
until inspiration hit.
I wanted to use the blocking 
method and create a bunch of 
little focal points inside
of the big canvas.
Here are a bunch of
 gratuitous close-ups:

 What I learned is when
you are doing a block
pattern, you need to use a 
damn ruler so the lines are straight.
Here is the final canvas,
 I still have to pour some polymer gloss on it:

What is that saying, 
"The whole is greater than
the sum of its parts"-
Aristotle.
Well, in this case,
I like the parts alot
 more than the whole!! 
So take my advice,
when doing a grid pattern,
use a damn ruler!!
Thanks for visiting!
xoS

A few more

work in progress

journal pages,

I may be on a roll,

inspired by some 

deep thoughts, LOL

and really, really 

inspiring junk mail.

I'm addressing some old and worn out ways of thinking.

I'm confronting all the 

myths I have about myself.

It's fuckin awesome.

Exhausting but awesome.

As the pages fill up 

I'll share with you all the

fun embellishments.

This is basically my 

"glue book". 

I won't be using any liquid 

mediums in it. I don't want 

the pages to buckle.

I am finally genuinely 

understanding how 

art journaling works.

It's all about purging!!

I'm using papers left over 

from scrap booking 

Sam's childhood.

It is such a great feeling

to use what you have. 

Just to give you an idea of how old some of the papers are, 

here is Samantha now:

And Wednesday night she

graduates from high school!

I don't have the words to 

describe this milestone

so I won't even try.

The silver bird flies

over the autumn lake.

When the silver bird has past,

The lake does not try

and hold onto the

reflection of the bird.

Fly on Samantha.

xoS

I think I'm starting to get this

Art Journaling thing.

Lately, I've had 

no muse

to speak of

and

have been rethinking 

why I am doing "this".

"This" means art related

marketing, etc.

My wheels are really turning

these days as I approach 50.

Thanks to an incredible therapist

and the timing just being right

to receive, hear, whatever

you want to call it,

I am figuring things out.

Love.

The short is answer is 

I make art

because I love it.

End of story.

No going into the studio 

if I'm not feeling the love.

Do something else I love that day.

Here are several 

art journal pages in process.

NOW

I am finding the process

cathartic and highly valuable.

I'm using random stuff 

that's laying all

over my floor and table.

The page is driven by my emotion,

not by technique or 

trying to be pretty.

Altho, as I become 

more practised 

at collage composition,

they can't help but

be pretty 

every once in awhile.

teehee.

This one has some added

pen work.

Not quite finished yet.

 Using random shizz

laying everywhere.

I am such a slob in here.

I sanded the game card.

There's a few rub ons there,

a cut up stamp,

handmade papers

and a Blues Guitar!!

I had so much fun!!!

I will leave you with

my new mantra:

I Love You

I'm sorry

Please Forgive Me

Thank you.

Because I deserve it.

Because I deserve to be happy.

And so do you.

 xoS

Art Journal day

I tried.

But for various reasons

I have not continued to follow 

Book Of Days 

art journaling fb group.

I got startled by comments.

I get lazy.

I am re-evaluating everything.

I have menopause.

ok, that last one is 

definitely the culprit for just

about everything right now. 

Anyhoo

I was compelled to journal today.

I am using this journal:

 I still love the journal I was 

up-cycling for BOD.

But that journal is gesso'd and painty and embellished.

This journal is going to be one of those quickie 

paper and glue

only ones 

that get the real dirt

of my feelings 

when they need 

to go down fast and ugly 

not slow and arty.

Feel me?

I knew that you could. 

This is the first spread.

OK maybe it is a little arty, 

you will recognize the cover photo for my fb page is taken from this spread. I needed a place to

 gather and ponder 

on my inchies 

and this is the perfect size 

page spread.

 The second spread is mostly

ripped up paint palette paper, random papers and junk mail, Philadelphia art museum was

advertising a Frida exhibit, yes, I went.

This page has a transparent insert I journaled on but removed from the photo here.

I was going thru a health scare.

I puked my emotions all over Frida.

She would approve.

 Which brings me to today.

I am using junk mail

that I thought was quite ironic

given my state of mind.

 I sanded the shiny a little and cut and glued 

and picked up random paper to glue down as journal block.

I went to the library today and picked up a $1 book. 

It was meant to be because I found that quote in it that pertained exactly to my feelings today.

The last photo has tissue on top of the specifics.

In general, I've written about

Living Now In The Present Moment

Mindfully.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

You know you have it bad 

when you even keep junk mail. 

Hoarding is the next step.

teehee.

xoS

Spray Play

I had the best time playing 

in my studio last week. 

Altho I was inspired by the mono-print workshop I attended last month, it got me to thinking about where my strengths and skills are, 

and what exactly do

 I Love to create. 

Along those always present lines of "what is my style, do I have one, what am I trying to say, why do I do this etc" .

Scroll back to re-visit my post about the workshop and

the soul searching comment I received from Stewart Gill Paints

on facebook. 

So, I've gone back to LOVE. 

What do I love to do?

Make Backgrounds.

Messy painty textury Backgrounds.

What else do I Love to do?

Collage on wood. 

And most of all?

I Love to make 

 Artist Trading Cards.

Every one of my prints that I have for sale on etsy, began with 

the humble ATC beginning.

So maybe all my soul searching

is a no-brainer.

I Love to make messy backgrounds 

and turn them into collages on wood or ATC's.

Done. 

The technique:

I began with some vintage 

ladies crafts/recipe/ magazines

called The Workbasket.

I started with dripping some

alcohol ink randomly.

I like the intensity of the ink.

It does not get diluted with

water or paint that is added next.

Keep that in mind, cuz, it aint goin nowhere!!!

I then added some Glimmer sprays, home made sprays, Ranger sprays.

I am not thrilled with any of the commercial sprays due to the nozzles clogging.I adore the colors but the clogging is 

frustrating. I use cheap body sprays I get at Walmart.I just dump the "perfume" gag, down the sink and add my ink with water, 

or paint with glazing medium and water. 

I love the look of the oxidized copper and think I got it good this time. I also scored some cross stitch patterns in the magazine and decided to cover some baseball cards to turn into ATC's at a future date. 

By the way, I lightly dry brushed the vintage papers with gesso before spraying. To toughen up the delicate papers and push some of the writing to the back.

I used some scrapbook paper as stencils for spraying and then glued the actual papers down on some of the vintage papers.I love the texture!

I only stamp occasionally now, but I wanted to add some curvy fonts and organic shapes, thus the Italian font and the thorns.

I gesso'd thru scrapbook paper onto some old calendar pages.I also laid a light layer of gesso down and wrote into it with a stick. 

Then after drying, I cut and glued the papers onto illustration board for ATC's and adhered the calendar page onto a wooden shadow box.

So there you have it!

Spray Studio Play! This week I had the mother lode of all hauls!!

Work was getting rid of over 100 solid wood 5x7 plaques.

I was able to take them!!! 

I am sooooo tired of paying $$$

for wooden shadow boxes!

This is the perfect size for me.

So maybe it was a good thing I figured out 

what I LOVE.

teehee. 

Thanks for visiting!!

xoS