ArtyFartyAnnie

 Week Five of Wanderlust 2021, the start of another month, with a new theme - "Ephemera". The first lesson of each new month is always an art journal page with Kasia, to add to this year's Wanderlust Book. This time, we started by creating a background with neutral ephemera, white and clear gesso. Then we chose more ephemera to add some colour and a focal image, more white and then clear gesso to seal and give a good base for mark-making with graphite, water-soluble pencil and pastels.  Here's how mine turned out ... Kasia finished with some cut-out words. I couldn't decide on wordage for mine at the time, but now I'm looking at it again, I think it reflects my feelings about the art challenge I've set myself this year - to be open to experiment, learn and have a go at everything. I'll find or type the words "Bring It ON!" and add them right in the centre. I pulled out so much ephemera and was enjoying the collage process so much that I did a...

 For Week for of Let's Face It 2021, we had a class with Natalie Eslick, who demonstrated how she creates a portrait *including hands* which are always tricky. Her style is very distinctive; realistic but with a touch of the fantastical which I love. We started by sketching from a reference photo, then added some watercolours as a base, and finished with coloured pencils, building up the layers slowly to create depth and contrast. Natalie showed us how you can use whatever colours you like, as long as you get the tonal values right. She used a limited palette of blues and reds and went with blues for the hair in her portrait. I really loved the model's bright red hair, so I chose to use red, magenta and orange along with indigo and a bright blue - but still only a very limited palette. Here's how mine turned out ... I really enjoyed the watercolour effect for the hair and although the hands were a challenge, I got there in the end so I'm glad I didn't decide to hide...

 Hello Bloggy Friends and Deskers,  It's another Wednesday, time to take a pic of What's On Your Workdesk this week and pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground to link up, grab a coffee and have a wander around some other creative spaces to see what everyone else has been up to.  Here's mine, as I left it last night ... I'm in the throes of starting this week's Let's Face It class with Natalie Eslick. You can see the reference photo to the left. We're starting with a sketch, then some watercolours (I got a bit carried away with mine), then we're going in with coloured pencils, which I can't wait to get stuck into this afternoon. It did seem a bit greedy to treat myself to not just one but three, yes THREE, online art workshops to celebrate my 60th birthday this year, but I'm having a ball with them so far and learning such a lot, even from the "failures" and what a way to kick off my retirement as I mean to go on :o) So that's me f...

 Week Two of Paint Your Heart and Soul was a class with Fran Schlosser, who demonstrated the "grisaille" technique using oil paints. This was really inspiring but very challenging and initially I put it off, but I got back to it over the weekend and what an eye opener it was - I'm so glad I decided to give it a go after all.  I've never been drawn to try oil painting, but I do have just a handful of water-soluble paints which I've never used (they came in a ScrawlrBox). Fran used Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna, but I didn't have those colours, so I used Payne's Grey and Titanium White. The water-soluble oils are less daunting that traditional oils because you don't have to use turps or linseed and so on - but they do have the same working properties and they do still take several days to dry.  With the grisaille technique, you paint in monochrome (typically shades of grey or other neutral colour), concentrating on the tones. I used a reference photo...

For week 3 of Paint Your Heart and Soul we had a class with Pat Rios, who showed us how to use charcoals, erasers and ink to create a portrait.  The reference photo we were working from was stunning, showing a beautiful girl in very striking light. I very much enjoyed the process of playing with lights and darks, exploring the different qualities of the different types of charcoal, erasing to find the highlights and creating even darker darks with deep black ink. Charcoal is fast becoming one of my favourite media. Here's how mine ended up ... I'm relishing every minute of my arty-farty journey so far this year and can't wait to see what's next. I have week two of PYHaS to go back to (chickened out at the time), then the next one on the list is week four of Wanderlust. In between the art classes I have several other projects on the go and ideas in the pipeline - and I do feel very lucky to have the time and space and supplies to play with :o)

 This week we had a lesson with Jerney Marisha, who showed how she prepares an old book to use as an art journal. She mixed paint with clear gesso to create a translucent colour for the background, then showed us how to build a profile portrait by layering acrylic paints and playing back and forth between the areas of light and dark. I loved how she used quite a dry brush to give an interesting texture and allow the previous layers to show through and also a fan brush to give the effect of flowing hair. Here's my version - I felt I wanted to go bigger, so worked on a sheet of paper instead of my AJ ... Can't decide on a title - maybe "She's got the Power" .... hmmmm ....

The theme for this first month of Wanderlust 2021 is Reflections. For week three, we had a class with Kasia Avery, who encouraged us to make a self-portrait, either from a photo or by looking at our reflection in the mirror.  Kasia gave lots of tips on making portraits and showed how she sets up her palette with dark, medium and light tones, using heavy body acrylics this time. She started her portrait with collage, then after painting the portrait, she showed how to mix new colours from the same palette to add to the background along with some white here and there - I love how this brought everything together into a cohesive whole. Kasia finished her picture with a word of intention for this year.   Of course, although I started off in the same way, I ended up following my own path as usual. Here's how mine turned out ... Somehow, my self-portrait morphed into my much younger self, probably because some of the stuff I was reflecting on goes waaaaaaaaaay back into my chil...

 Week Two of Wanderlust was a class with Laly Mille, who showed how to create a beautiful garden where the flowers represent our wishes for the coming year.  We started with a splash of colour on the background, then did some writing over that, then added a collage layer using neutral-toned ephemera, colourful papers and floral images from magazines. We added lots of white paint/ink/gesso to blend the images and bring some cohesion and light and then threw in lots of colour and contrast with various media - I used alcohol inks, acrylic inks, gouache, coloured pencils and water-soluble crayons on mine. I dripped, splattered, scraped and sprayed, used brushes, palette knife and fingers and generally had a fun and messy time ... The most important thing was to enjoying playing with all those colourful supplies and focus on positive thoughts for the year ahead. It certainly lifted my spirits and I enjoyed how the different floral images blended into the whole.  I'm on a bit o...

 The theme for this month is to be inspired by a novel, book or story. Angela Kennedy took a reference photo from a book of vintage pictures and showed us how to create a portrait, starting with a charcoal drawing, then using acrylic inks to add a wash of colour and shading, finishing with black and white charcoal or pastel to add more shading, details and highlights. My first attempt ended up in the bin, so I had another go today and I'm much happier with the result. I have been listening to Mansfield Park by Jane Austen this week and this is how I imagine Fanny, the main character in the book ... I really enjoyed using acrylic inks almost like watercolours over the charcoal sketch and then just picking up highlights and shadow with the pastel pencils. Sprinkling salt on the wet ink to add texture to her dress was fun as well. 

 Let's Face It 2021 started last week and the first lesson was with Jenny Manno, who created a portrait inspired by a story from her childhood. Jenny's piece was playful, expressive and spontaneous - mine started off that way but ended up becoming a bit fussy and overworked I think, but still I did enjoy the process and getting my hands messy, using mostly acrylic ink, charcoal and pastels. My picture was more about a memory than an actual story ... So far, I'm having a wonderful time keeping up with all three of the classes I've signed up for this year, can't wait to see what's next! 

 Hello all you deskers, Hope you're having a fabulous week and staying safe and well. Is it REALLY Wednesday again?!  Time to show you my desk and then pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground to hook up and have a nosey around some other crafty desks. Here's mine then ... This is the beginnings of my latest nooknook project - it's going to be an Eastern Bazaar ... kind of. I was inspired by the lovely Shoshi's miniature carpet designs - I had thought I'd make some to go in my miniature rooms, but then I thought it would be fun to have a carpet shop and the idea just snowballed from there. I've never been to Morocco or Egypt or Turkey or anywhere like that where they have the kind of place I want to create, so it will probably be a bit far-fetched, but that's ok - it's my little world so I can make my Bazaar as bizarre as I like :o) The base is made from chipboard, then I glued on a layer of tissue before adding acryic paint. Here's a closer look ......

 Wanderlust 2021 started on Friday 1st Jan. Our first monthly theme is "Reflections" and Kasia kicked us off with an AJ page for our Wanderlust Book, reflecting on our experience of 2020 and what impact we can have on how we will experience 2021. Here's my take on the class ... I had a great time building up layers of scribbles and collage and paints and used these lovely ladies from the front of a vintage sewing pattern as my focal point.  Last year was full of challenges and changes - as well as the global pandemic situation, we moved house and retired during the course of 2020. It will be my 60th birthday in 2021 and I aim to take better care of my physical and mental health and enjoy lots even more creative time. I feel very lucky to have the time and space to "play"and plan to make the very most of every minute! I wanted this page to capture that feeling of optimism and a sense of looking forward to brighter times ahead.  This page went into my new home-mad...

 The very first lesson of Paint Your Heart and Soul 2021 was with Joan Martin, who showed how to make your own liquid charcoal and then use erasers to "draw" into it. She also gave lots of tips about drawing portraits in profile, which was really helpful.  The liquid charcoal technique was really enjoyable and I will definitely be trying it again. I'm also inspired to have another go with the liquid graphites I got in a recent Scrawlrbox too. For this piece, I added detail and highlights with black and white charcoal pencils and a touch of colour with soft chalky pastels. I used a fixative spray at the end, which darkened it a little, but I don't mind that.  I need to practice profile portraits more - not sure why they are so much more challenging than front-facing, but they definitely are - also 3/4 profiles, and faces looking up or down.  This year I have signed up for THREE online courses as a gift to myself for my 60th birthday - PYHaS 2021, Wanderlust 2021 and L...

 Forgot to post my finished textile self portrait, which I made back in November for the Knitting and Stitching Show Self Portrait Competition . Entries had to be self portraits, within a certain size range and using any kind of textile medium. Wow! Check out all the wonderful entries, such a lot of talent out there, it was very impressive and inspiring. My little effort didn't stand a chance of winning, but it was something I'd never tried before, so it was fun and I was very happy with the final result. I was bowled over by the amount of support from friends and family all jumping in and wading through hundreds of entries to find mine and vote for me, that was so heartwarming :o) So here is my Raggedy Annie in all her glory ... Firstly, I sketched an outline onto cartridge paper, then applied scraps of fabric and added layers of fine tulle. Hardest part was stitching through all the layers to anchor them and add detail and shading (very sore fingers!). I think the best bit is...

 Thought I'd have a go at another pet portrait - not something I'd ever tried before this year's PYH&S, which included several classes showing how to make animal portraits in very different styles and media. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to.  Here's my latest effort, inspired by a cute photo my niece Bex posted on FB, showing her dog called "Pig". I've never met Pig, but I'm told she's a bit manic :) I hope I've caught her likeness and a bit of her crazy personality in this picture, using gouache and coloured pencils ... I found it interesting that, although she is a black dog, I used only the tiniest touches of actual black - mostly it was indigo, burnt umber and white with some ochre and red.