What I've been up to

is a little of everything.

Because I know many of you love Pinterest, and I had told you not to pin my work, I've decided to start placing a copyright on them, so that you can pin them if you wish.  That way, the pictures will be traceable back to me and my ownership of them will not be lost.

The Improv Berries quilt is now pin basted and ready for me to begin quilting.  This will be a slightly new adventure, since I've decided to try Tuscany Wool Batting, and it's at least twice as thick as the cotton I've been using.  My friend Richla said many of the people she does long arm quilting are requesting she use wool, and I've heard quilts with wool batting don't crease as much as those with cotton batting when they have been folded, so it's time to try it.  There just happened to be a package of Tuscany in my batting closet that was the right size for this project, so that's how I chose this brand (I also have some other battings in there to try in the future).

Here's a little watercolor from one of my journals.  The paper is handmade that I purchased in a little packet at Daniel Smith to make the journal with.  In between the watercolor pages are card stock pages that I can use for other media or notes.

I'm also taking an online class at Joggles, called "Creating History and Mystery" which is a wonderfull learning experience for me.  My homework is on several mixed media pieces on watercolor paper and art boards that are in progress at the same time.  There are many layers of paint and other materials.

This first one is on an art board.   The left portion has a transfer on the left side, which I plan to make more visible by adding color in future layers, while the right side has a dimensional, stenciled leaf, which I have painted.

The next one may be finished, but I could still add more if I change my mind.  It is painted on watercolor paper, using leftover paint from the art board paintings.

This one is an experiment with different gels and pastes, as well as other techniques, and the paper that you see will be rubbed away to reveal the transfer once it is dry.  The circles and wheel shapes were stamped on using an empty thread cone that I had saved.

The fish will hopefully appear once the paper is rubbed off of this watercolor paper painting.  The teacher referred to the ones we make with leftovers on watercolor papers as our throw away sheets, and she is right in that they are coming out just as beautiful as my "real" painting projects, just different!

I've already rubbed the paper off this passion flower transfer and will add color once it has dried.

There are already many layers on these paintings, and yet more will be added as my journey to finish them continues!

Watercolor Pears

We had a small, but very nice pear harvest this year!  With all those pears around, they naturally became an object to paint!  We've still got a few in the fridge, but along with these paintings, I took some pictures to use for future painting sessions.  

This two page spread was painted by picking up one pear at a time, deciding which side to paint, and then sketching the shape on my pre-stamped journal page.  I continued to add pears until I was happy with the layout and felt I had enough to play with paint colors, and then began painting.  The colors were mixed on the paper, as I painted, instead of on the palette.

This page is actually the first of the group that I painted (forgive my shadow over the painting - it was a quick picture).  As I painted more pears, I think my technique improved.  If I would paint more frequently, my painting would improve faster...

The smallest (only a bit larger than a credit card) pear is my favorite!  I decided to add salt and it really brought out the speckles that are on our pears, something that is missing in the other paintings.

More Watercolor Experiments

I started another watercolor that looks like collage, but am not sure I like it's direction (although now that I'm writing this post, looking at it in a smaller form, it's not so bad, and I'll have to go back and finish it).

So, I set it aside and began another, this time working in multi-color, and was much happier!

(This one may end up getting a bit more shading when I get back to it.)

Watercolor Excercise

I've been playing with my watercolors again.  This time I'm working from a lesson in Watercolor Magazine, working in an improvisational way to make a watercolor painting that looks like it might have been a collage.  It's all free-form, adding shapes as I went and shading to create depth.  I used a screen shaped window, saved from bags of fall bulbs to stencil the grids of squares and rubber stamps to create the complex designs.