Gathering Knowledge at the Art & Soul

I just returned from a long trip to Virginia and North Carolina. Here's a tip: Don't take a late flight on the night of the time change. It's really messed with my sleep rhythms!

The purpose of the trip was to attend the 2012 Art & Soul Retreat in Virginia Beach. I went with my friend and fellow artist, Phoebe Ford Reid. We took different classes, meeting for lunch and taking peeks in on each other to see what each was learning. Since I am so far behind on my blog, I'm just posting a snippet of what I learned from two of my favorite classes.

I had so much fun in Wabi-Sabi Wax taught by Serena Barton. She was a great teacher and the class was full of really fun personalities. We learned how to paint with Encaustic medium...beeswax mixed with oil paint:

 Memoirs of Japan

Mixed media on wood

Preservation of Nature

Mixed media with natural elements on wood

Another class I enjoyed and totally fell in love with was Cathy Taylor's class "Finding Your Creative Spirits" where we learned to make our own background papers using the pages of old National Geographic magazines. Once dry, we could then paint on top of them with FW Acrylic Inks (love these inks!) or collage them onto mixed media pieces. Here are some of my results, taken into Photoshop and enhanced with additional elements:

 Forest Tree in Winter

 Left Afloat

Seabed

And a mixed media piece I did after I returned home using one of my big-eyed dolly drawings:

Promise
Mixed media on paper

Of course, there was plenty of time for Phoebe and I to enjoy photography as well! We went to Colonial Williamsburg and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I've posted all my pictures on Storie which you can see here:
 
I've come back completely exhausted but excited about having the whole Spring and Summer ahead to indulge in all my crafty and artsy pursuits! I'm ready to tackle it all: Digital Painting, Photography, Mixed Media, Watercolors, Sewing, Gardening and even getting back to working on my miniatures.  The whole world of art awaits and I've got my wings on ready to fly!

Wordless Wednesday: Carry Your Childhood With You

If you carry your childhood with you,

you never become older.

~Tom Stoddard, British Playwright

Creating Textures

Using texture in your photography, photo manipulation, digital art or Traditional Art can add dimension, depth and color to your work. Textures can be found every day in the world around us. Here are some examples of three of my own favorite textures; Rust, Peeling Paint and a Stucco Wall:

 From an old painted metal chair on my mom's front porch

Fading and peeling Fresco taken in Pompeii, Italy

Stucco Wall taken at DisneyWorld

Besides collecting images of texture you can also make your own texture. Using basic supplies that can be purchased at any craft store, you can create your very own texture in any color desired! Here's how:

All you need are a few supplies!

Take some cheap watercolor paper and cut it in half. Grab a paper plate and pour out two small piles of Acrylic Gesso. Tint the Gesso with Acrylic Craft Paint with two colors of your choice. I chose Lavender and Pale Yellow. Mix the paint in with the Gesso and using a 1" flat paintbrush, paint each piece of your watercolor paper. While the paint is wet lay the two colors on top of each other and then pull off. Viola! Two sheets of texture with light and dark areas.

In just a few minutes we created great texture that can be used as a background or overlay in our art!
You can find these textures and more available for your use in my DeviantArt Textures and Backgrounds gallery

Here are a few more shots of everyday images that have been enhanced and given an otherworldly quality by using textures:

Have an artful weekend!