On top is a mixed-media piece on canvas that I made last night. I used paper and acrylics for the background, blending several washes over the fibrous paper that I had glued on.

The little "yo-yo" flowers are made from origami paper and some card stock. And of course I used my favorite Royal Coat decoupage medium to throw it all together. I love that stuff.

The canvas is one of those little post-card size ones. I always have a bunch of these on hand. It was the perfect size for me last night after along day of work. Sometimes a huge, looming blank canvas can be a little intimidating, especially when you're tired.

Since fall is here, I decided to color the background in some darker muted colors while the flowers are still pretty vibrant, with the exception of the deep burgundys that also give them an autumn feel.

The image on the bottom is an altered version of my original piece using the hot wax coating effect on my graphics program. I love the dimension and texture this feature adds.

Exotic Flower Linocut

Here's another linocut that I made recently. I had been carrying around the original drawing in my sketch book for weeks, and finally decided that it was fit to print. I transferred it, carved it, slapped some ink on it, and Voila! Some of the prints I left black and white, but the one shown here is filled in with a little watercolor. I like showing the original pink carving slab along with the finished print. It gives you a better sense of process.

Hello Kitty Tarot

Being that it's the end of September, it's time to start thinking of all things Halloween. This Hello Kitty Tarot deck isn't too spooky, but it sure is cute. I've never seen a more adorable "8 Of Swords" in my life! You can peep this deck and more over at Aeclectic Tarot. They have hundreds of beautiful and obscure decks, plus links on where to buy them if you feel the need.

MirrorMask

Last night when I was checking in some items at the library I came across a DVD called "MirrorMask." I rarely have time to actually sit down and watch TV or a movie (I probably sit in front of the television a maximum of 3 hours a week), but I gave this one a chance and took it home to watch. The story is about a fifteen-year-old girl named Helena who works for a circus. Her creative and artistic mind keeps her busy from day to day until her mother falls ill and has to go to the hospital. Blaming it on herself for an argument she had with her mother, Helena "escapes" into dreamland... or does she? The movie has been compared to Alice in Wonderland and one of my all time favorites, Labyrinth (and justly so.) It is a two-hour dreamscape which left me totally enchanted. The CGI effects, animation, painting, set design, and saturated colors were put together with an original style that is hard to find in today's over-hyped blockbusters. "MirrorMask" is definitely one of my new favorites and I encourage you to check it out.

~ Oooh-La-La! ~

Awhile age, Sandra Evertson posted this little Parisian lady on her blog to be re-printed by her readers and made into their own interpretations. I printed her out onto cardstock and had her sitting on my craft table for weeks. I had a total block as to what I was going to do with her until a few days ago...

Ta-Daa! Here she is...a little punk-rock Parisian witch. That's right, I'm thinkin' Halloween already. Her name is Nathalie and she's a little bit naughty and a little bit nice. Thanks again Sandra!

~ ~ Paper Mosaic #3 ~ ~

My latest paper mosaic. This one's small, about post-card size. It was quick and fun. Underneath is the mosaic revamped using a curlicue technique through my paint shop. Making these mosaics is a great way to teach yourself a little more about color theory and even a little composition too. I don't know why, but there's something about glitter glue that makes me perfectly contented each and every time I use it. Just one of those little reasons why I love to create.

~ ~ A Find From The Far East ~ ~

I was in a thrift store the other day and I came across a double-deck set of playing cards in a small black box. The box stated "Far East Playing Cards: 54 cards with typical costumes from China, Indonesia, Japan and India."

I'm not sure when they were made; from the looks of the graphics on the box, I'd say maybe sometime in the '70's. Here's a look at the backs and some of the fronts of the cards.

Some of them are incredibly beautiful, with deep reds and scintillating golds (go ahead and click on the images for some more details).

And at two bucks, they were quite the bargain! This is why I love thrift stores so much. Whenever I leave one with a find like this, my day is made.

Color Palette Generator

Check out the Color Palette Generator; upload a photograph and this application will generate a color palette for you. You can use it to match colors in your home decor or generate some color inspiration for your next art project or craft!

Paper Mosaic #2

Here's another paper mosaic that I've finished. This one was a lot of fun. Click on the image for further detail.

And here's the kaleidoscope image of my second paper mosaic. I so need to make a poster out of this. Again, click on it for more detail.

Alphonse Mucha

I know that I'm really more of a craft blogger than an art blogger, but Alphonse Mucha just rocks and I've been coming across a lot of his work lately so I just needed to post on him. My mother got me a calendar of his images last year. At first I just thought it was a calendar of different random Art Nouveau images; I didn't realize until after a few months that it was the same artist (Mucha). Then yesterday I was going through a pile of inter-library loans at work, and saw a couple of books on Mucha that someone had ordered. Great stuff. His posters and prints are just so gorgeous. I especially love the halos of hair and flowers he uses when painting his women. Here's some more info on Alphonse Mucha (Wiki): "By the time of his death, Mucha's style was considered outdated and old-fashioned. However, his son, author Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his art. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival in the 1960s (with a general interest in Art Nouveau) and is particularly evident in the psychedelic posters of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the collective name for two British artists, Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, who designed posters for groups such as Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band. It has continued to experience periodic revivals of interest for illustrators and artists. It is a strong acknowledged influence for Stuckist painter Paul Harvey whose subjects have included Madonna and whose work was used to promote The Stuckists Punk Victorian show at the Walker Art Gallery during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial."

Paper Mosaic Project

Here is that project that I was having so much trouble with. It's finished and I'm just amazed by the end result. Click on the image to see some incredible details and textures. Here's what I did:

* Cut up three different green-hued collage papers into squares and rectangles of ranging sizes.

* Glued them onto a painted canvas in a mosaic-like pattern (at this point I got frustrated at how boring it looked-it was way too much green and looked excessively kitschy).

* Decided the Hell with it, and went to town with the glitter glue, lining the "seams" of the papers with it.

* Using watered down acrylic paints, I painted in the different blocks of the mosaic with different colors; a lot of reds, purples and gold. I also rubbed some additional glitter glue into some of the blocks.

That's it!

I plan on making more, but using different shapes of paper cut-outs. Maybe triangles or even overlapping circles would be nice.

Anatomy Of A Block

I've been going through a little creative block within the past week or so, and today it really came to a head. What causes a creative block? I've been trying to figure that out all day. So I've decided to analyze the specifics of my personal block and see if I can figure it out in order to avoid it in the future. It started like this: * I had what I thought was a brilliant new idea for a project. * The next day I began said project with an ample amount of gusto and energy. * Everything was going well until I finished the project. For some reason the way the finished project looked in my mind was something completely different than what sat in front of me. * I began to question my taste and originality. * I started to compare all of my past and present artwork to the works of other artists and crafters I admire, and thinking to myself how inferior my projects seemed in their light. And the block began. The unfinished piece sat on my desk. I could neither approach it to finish it, nor could I bring myself to start something new. I felt guilty abandoning the piece, yet at the same time was so completely frustrated with it that I kept contemplating the trash can as its new home. Since then I have been re-working my piece, and it's coming out pretty damn good. I just had to attack it with some paint and glitter glue to get things rolling again. Re-reading this post, I think I've got it figured out. I got way too excited before I started the project. I assumed it was going to come out perfect so of course I was going to let myself down. However, the worst thing I did was to start to compare myself to others. Doing this is just generally unhealthy and speaking from personal experience, has never gotten my anywhere except stuck in one spot. So, I think I've exorcised the little demons of my creative block. Now bring on the freakin' glitter glue!!

Wellcome Images

Need a dose of inspiration? Check out the Henry Wellcome Collection of Images:

"Wellcome Images is one of the world's richest and most unique collections, with themes ranging from medical and social history to contemporary healthcare and biomedical science. All our images are available on demand in digital form. Search online or use the expertise of our professional scientific and historical researchers. Whether it's medicine or magic, the sacred or the profane, science or satire - you'll find more than you expect. This unrivalled collection contains historical images from the Wellcome Library collections, Tibetan Buddhist paintings, ancient Sanskrit manuscripts written on palm leaves, beautifully illuminated Persian books and much more."

Here's a cute lil' witch holding a flower in one hand and a fan in the other. There's a whole section dedicated to witches alone!

Listography

Ha! I've created my first list using the oh-so awesome site, Listography! Oh, don't act so horrified-you pick your nose too. If you didn't, it'd be a mess. Anyway, "What is Listography," you might ask? It's a website where you can go to organize and create lists for pretty much anything you can possibly think of. You can also be a total voyeur and look at other people's lists. Some broader topics include books, music, family, wish lists and many more. You can also make your own subtopics and add a little descriptive blurb to the beginning of the list. It's just completely fun and addicting. Go, go, go and make your lists dammit!