I've Got Color!

I was going to wait to share this, but I can't I'm so thrilled! I just have to share my illustrated caricature that Rick Green drew for me. He did such a wonderful job capturing me and my house!! What a nice and very talented person Rick is! You can check out the blip he wrote about my drawing and see the pictures I sent him here:
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/2007/11/aileen-in-color.html

I received high resolution scans from Rick as well as the original which came in the mail today and let me just say that the illustration is even better in person, even more vibrant then I expected!

**On a side note Rick included a note not to get the illustration wet because the ink would run so just to be safe I sealed it with my trusty can of PYMII.

Thanks again Rick!!

12 Days of Christmas Swap

Sneak Peek!

Boy I don't know where time is going but it seems to be flying out the door at lightening speed! I just finished wrapping my giftees for the 12 days of Christmas swap I'm in with my Altered Diva buds and thought I'd give a little sneak peek...sorry that's all you get to see! I'll post the before pictures later when people have opened theirs.

CRUSADE No. 14 ~ Imaginary Friends

Michelle from GPP has another crusade and she wants to know if you have a Muse? Is there someone who inspires you and your art? What is a Muse? The definition says it's a guiding genius who motivates you. Do you have imaginary friends who visit you in your studio space? You can visit Michelle's crusade here: http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/2007/11/crusade-no-14-i.html#comments

My art muse Aletta which means winged one in Spanish inspires me as she sits in my art room:

Wings and hats as over used as they are now, still inspire me, and I can't not use them they are a part of me regardless of how popular they've become!They bring out the fun and whimsical side of me in my art (see below for a few examples from past art pieces): http://www.outsidethemargins.com/miscart2.html

Color Inspires me! My brightly colored kitchen inspires me each and every day! http://www.outsidethemargins.com/alteredhm.html

A just a few artists that I feel inspired by their art:

Joseph Cornell

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/cornell_joseph.html

John Waterhouse

http://www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.com/
Fernando Botero

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Botero

and last but not least my art friends online inspire me with the wonderful sharing of their art!

Faux Enamel Technique

Supplies Used:

• Fired and Buffed Silver Clay Pieces
• Sakura Glaze and/or Souffle Pens
• Crystal Lacquer
• White Gesso
• Small Paint Brush
• Sewing Needle
• PYMII

1. Paint center of cut out with white gesso and small brush this enables the colors to reflect back and stand out.


2. Once gesso dries color areas with the Glaze pens and allow to dry

3. Add Crystal Lacquer (2 part epoxy or Resin may be used as well) and use sewing needle to work it into the corners.

*After everything has cured seal with PYMII to keep your pieces from tarnishing
Finished Pieces

Top 3 Pieces are the Faux Enameled bottom 3 are pieces that were fired and liver of sulfur used on them to give them an aged look.

Chunky Shrine Canvas

Below is a shrine I had been working on I'm at the point where I feel it needs something more, but I'm not sure what but knowing my muse an idea will eventually come to mind. Scroll down to see my creative process.

10. Here's the front view, the hand is from a bird feeder that broke, I had been saving the hand for awhile now...I dry brushed the hand lightly with bronze acrylic paint. Then I added the nesting at the bottom and eggs and feathers. As I said I don't feel like the piece is done yet I'll post another picture when I finalize it.

9. Here's a side view where I've added more wire and then white washed it with white acrylic paint and gesso.

8. Here you can see I began forming a bird cage out of the wire I added.

7. After that I wrapped blackened wire around the nail at the top.

6. Here's the Front side of the Canvas you can see I've hammered a wide head short based nail into the top.

5. Here's a side view before glazing.

4. Then I glazed over the entire piece and stamped with some gesso and Krylon's gold leafing paint and then another layer of glaze.

3. This is the backside I stamped with some stazon ink and added pieces of torn decorative paper and then some molding paste around the edges of the paper, once it was dry I sanded it lightly.

2. Here I first painted it with acyclic paints and then added Modern Options Patina and a bit more acrylic paints.

1. I started with a chunky 8"x8" canvas.

PMC Class

Wow has it been that long since I posted?! It's been a busy few weeks for me, sometimes RL has a way of getting in the way of things like art for instance, what nerve it has!

I've had no art time this past week or so and I'm having serious withdrawals!! I did create some pieces last weekend while teaching my Precious Metal Class, it was full of laughter and good company Here's a picture of them hard at work creating!:

After we were serenaded by Denise

with a few bagpipe tunes!

Art Revisited & Flopportunities

I revisited this piece "Cherish The Heart" that I started about a year ago--see previous post to view my creative process:
http://aileensmusings.blogspot.com/2007/02/processes-of-heart.html .

I thought I had finished it but the more I kept looking at it the more I wasn't happy with it until I added added some heating and air conditioner aluminium foil tape around the edge of the canvas and then antiqued it with some black acrylic paint and then wiped it off it gave it a soldered look. I also added another heart and some wings.

A Flopportunity is Born!

Below is a Shrine I made from a 6x6 chunky canvas. I originally had the canvas sitting on a shelf partially done....I had cut out the center and folded back the canvas and glued it with some gel medium. I first had envisioned a window but wasn't sure what to put in it so there it sat on my shelf. I also had the tin shrine a friend gave me sitting on my work table but I was stuck with what to do to it then I realized that the back of the shrine might just fit perfectly in the opening of the canvas I had cut, sure enough it was a perfect fit! I antiqued it using my Color Mists by repeatedly adding layers and drying them with the heat gun then I lightly went over it with some glaze and acrylic paints. I used layers of the following Golden's acrylic colors: Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold , Quinacridone Magenta , and Dioxazine Purple. I also used those colors on the tin, chain , crown and key to give them an aged look.

Does Size Matter...?

This was a question posed on a group I'm on...Does size matter to you when your creating? I started out painting miniatures and the thought of painting something larger then a fingernail seemed well, impossible to me at the time! Then I progressed on to doing collages which were 5x7 from there I slowly moved to no larger then 11x14 and that seemed big...during that time I also discovered ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) which are 2.5"x 3.5" and that was difficult for me to go back smaller, but I did and found it a challenge but I enjoyed it. Each time I changed to a different size then what I'd gotten use to I found it stretched me as an artist, and this was a good thing. Some mediums seem harder for me to create with then other mediums, depending on the size. Painting small was easy for me, painting big seemed impossible...collaging medium is easier to me collaging small is more of a challenge as is large. For some time now I've found myself longing to try painting on larger size canvases so last week I took the plunge and began my first one an 18"x36" canvas using acrylics. Yikes! how was I going to do this I thought...I was both nervous and excited and so I begin. My first of hopefully several in a series. I'll be honest with you I have a hard time believing I painted it. Below are pictures I posted as the painting progressed:

The finished painting!

Sirène Mystique

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I couldn't resist sharing a picture of my son dressed up for Halloween, I thought he was pretty clever to come up with this all on his own just so he could wear his white suit again....chicken anyone?