Saturday 20 October 2018

Creature Comforts and an apology

Hello

For Linda from 'heartfully inspired' theme   Creature Comforts at AJJ I made a digital piece created using one of my paintings of girls face with additional digital elements used from a few kits by Serif.
Digital art/scrapping is what I'd consider to me, a creature comfort as besides being fun, its easy to produce something quick if I am short of time or need to stay tidy for some reaosn and not get all my all my real art stuff out.


Sorry - I really meant to post last month and say that I probably wouldn't be joining in with any challenges or blogging much for a while as I am busy trying to catch up with jobs not done during the hot weather and also I am busy de-cluttering.

Thursday 13 September 2018

A World of Fantasy

Hello

I have a digital page made using various digital kits and an added quote for the
  AJJ theme 'A world of fantasy' hosted this month by the lovely   Yvonne from Meggy's way   


Sorry I've been missing in September - I'm just getting over an ear thing that made me feel disorientated and not hear properly.  I will try and catch up with you asap :)


Thanks for stopping by
Gill x

Thursday 30 August 2018

Count your blessings 4

Last minute dash to get this in, in time for this months 'Count your blessings' theme over at AJJ chosen by Elizabeth and Bleubeard.
I feel blessed to be able blog and meet such wonderful people :)
 
This last page was created digitally using various parts from my journals and loose pages - but creating digitally means that although I cut out bits, the original art remains intact.


All for today..
Thanks for stopping by..
Gill x



Sunday 26 August 2018

Count your blessings 3

Hello

August is almost over now and seems to have flown by in a bit of a blurr... It's been another hot month, with an odd cooler day here and there, feeling lethargic with brain fog and not being able to make much art.

I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking when I made this page on one of those brain foggy days
for AJJ   'Count your blessings'  theme chosen by the lovely  Elizabeth and Bleubeard



And talking of things flying by...on Thursday and Friday we had our 2 day annual airshow event.  
We didn't go down to the sea front this year but just stayed home to see what we could see from there. One of the amazing 'Red Arrows' team flew really low over our garden but I couldn't get the photo as it was so quick... Photos weren't a great success this time but I did find one happy accident of a seagull with the 'Spitfire' :)


Fortunately 'my personal chef' manages to carry on working and doesn't moan like me in the hot weather. He has been busy baking focaccia, apricot and fudge chip biscuits and a large cheese and onion pastie - as well as the usual varied bread etc ..thanks Dave!





And I meant to say what happened about the Nispero/Loquats when we got to eat them. 
These are not native to the UK and from my research we are lucky to have had any fruit at all. 
Last year for the first time we saw one fruit on each of the two trees and only noticed them when the were shrivelled up. This year there were a few more... but hopefully with the exceptional weather this year, maybe next year we will do even better.


They don't look all that impressive when cut open but oh my - what a flavour - it was even better than I remembered. Hard to describe - tropical - sort of apricot/peach/mango/citrus - it's heaven on a tree!


We haven't wasted the seeds either -  they've been planted and two little shoots showing already.

That's all for today..
thanks for stopping by.
Happy Sunday......
Gill x

 

Friday 17 August 2018

Count your blessings 2


I wanted to make a page to go opposite the one with the hand - so it just had to be feet :)
Back in 2004 I had a fairly serious ankle/foot injury and was on crutches for 6 months. I spent a lot of time up stairs in my bedroom because gripping the crutches made my carpel tunnel in my right hand bad so that I couldn't use crutches. Dave of course waited on me hand and foot (no pun intended ha ha) and I (and I'm sure he also) was so very grateful and happy when I could finally walk again, get out and about and do things for myself :)

Linking to Elizabeth and Bleubeards theme at AJJ 'Count your blessings' 
I again used the Derwent Aquatone sticks, black Stabilo all pencil, white Posca pens and a few coloured pencilsand added quote digitally.


 Many thanks for stopping by.
hope you have a wonderful day...
Gill x

Monday 13 August 2018

Count your blessings

Phew! at last last we have had a few days of cooler weather here for me to get some better sleep, re-boot my brain and suffering hot PC and finish making some art started at beginning of month ... 
oh and had some much needed rain.  
Housework? (oh no!) that's on my list to do next before it gets hot again :)

Linking my artwork to the 'Count my blessings' theme hosted this month by  Bleubeard and Elizabeth  over at AJJ


 I quickly drew around my hand not worrying too much if it was wobbly or accurate. Used Derwent Aquatone sticks plus Stabilo all pencil and white Posca pens. Words added digitally.

If you've had/having it hot and humid too - I sympathise
 and hope you're doing OK and managing to keep cool :)
 Wishing you a Happy, Safe & Cool, Creative week...
Thanks for stopping by..
Gill x
 

Tuesday 31 July 2018

Art for Arts sake 4

Last page for the  Art for Arts sake theme at AJJ this month chosen by Chris from Pearshapedcrafting

I made this a week ago on one of the sweltering hot days we had here in the UK but not had the chance to post until now :(
 

I saw a fab page Susi had made recently using some LaBlanche stamps  and as I hadn't used mine for a while thought I would take the opportunity of using them on a project.
 My mixed media A4 piece started with some left over scraps as well as a LaBlanche stamp of a lady (top right) - but because of the heat/humidity I struggled with getting a good clear image  - these are highly detailed stamps and I often struggle with them without the heat making it even harder... 


Doodling and marks using Derwent Aquatone sticks and black Posca pens and I used some  flourish and fleur de lys LaBlanche stamps and mini alpha stamps for words.

Short and sweet this time as I need to catch up with comments etc plus some much needed housework before the temperatures go back to being hot again this week.
 
Thanks so much for stopping by
Gill x

Sunday 22 July 2018

Art for Arts sake 3

Art for Arts sake is the theme at AJJ this month chosen by Chris from Pearshapedcrafting
and because I had so much fun with the previous page I made using gouache and stencils wiping over top with a baby wipe I decided to make another. I did a double page spread this time to make up for not doing so much art this month.


Starting point was some Gouache


I used several stencils and wiped over them with a baby wipe which moved 
 and blended the water based paint and removed some colour completely.


I dipped one of those rubber ended shaper tools into water
 to remove some colour and make some squiggly patterns.



Sorry if you've been melting in the heat lately :(
We desperately need some rain here but I guess the continued heat
 for weeks on end has been good for some things. 

We have are getting a nice amount of French Beans....


 The weather girl on our weather machine got her prediction of rain wrong (see she has her umbrella ready) I think she had it out to use to keep the sun off and not rain:)
40c is not accurate as the outside probe was probably in direct sun  - but it was well over 30c as the downstairs of our home really was 29c

 
And for the second year there is fruit (albeit just a few) on our two Nisperos trees (also known as Loquat) I can't wait to try them and see if they taste as good as I remember back in the 1990s - something like a mix of peach/apricot/tropical fruit.


Last year there we saw one fruit on each tree but they were small and shrivelled. 
We hadn't seen any flowers so wasn't expecting to see fruit but apparently insignificant flowers appear in the autumn.
The prolonged heat may have made a difference this year for a bit more fruit - or maybe next year it will be even better as the trees mature. My late parents grew them from seeds from the fruit around 1997/8 and then donated the small potted trees to us when they moved in 2004.





And we are growing Tromboncino again. 
They are a squash and very long - they taste a bit like a courgette but much, much better.
 

This Tromboncino fell off as it wasn't supported properly and it weighed 1.2kg and about 25 inches in length - a mere baby to the ones we grew last year. 


That's for all this time - thanks so much for stopping by.
And for all those suffering with the heat, wherever you are - I sympathise and hope you can keep cool.
Happy Sunday and have a great, creative week.
Gill x

Monday 16 July 2018

Art for arts sake again and some fans and windchimes

Phew! - this hot weather in the UK is too much now - it's been none stop (here on Essex coast) for several weeks - and some nights I haven't slept ...arghh! -  how  people survive hot weather regulary I just don't know. My PC is overheating and very slow just like me ha ha  - so expect garbled blogging and weird art as my mind is frazzled ( I think I mean that) - I can't think straight.

First thing Saturday I thought, I just must make some art... so this is for AJJ 'Art for art sake' hosted by Chris from Pearshaped crafting.

I started by making a background with Gouache paints. 


Then I saw my box of stencils and then I thought of using a baby wipe to wipe the paint off with. I've seen it done with inks and stencils and this Gouache was water based so could be reactivated again when moist to remove the pattern. I then used another arty stencil with a hand on and lightly sponged some white gesso on. Coloured pencils and Stabilo all black to highlight hand. 
Then I looked at a TH sticker book with words which I've only used once - but what should I add.... well the wiping over the stencils is really easy and effective so it just had to be 'Ridiculously simple' 

If it stays hot I shall have to do some more of the stencil baby wipe thing as that was so much fun and fairly quick too.
 


I don't think the temperature was really 34.5c as the probe for the weather station may have been in sun however the real temperature inside (downstairs)  was 27c and upstairs the thermometer in Fahrenheit been fluctuating between 81 - 85 even at night :(
I promise I will never moan about winter and the cold again as its much easier to get warm than cool down :)


While I was in an arty mode I remembered some plain fans I bought last year which would come in handy right now.... but what to decorate them with quickly?  I know - alcohol inks - so I randomly just dripped them over the surface open and closed.





And I have finished the wind chimes I started last summer. I had to wait for the stems of the plant that we pruned to dry and change from green to a bamboo looking cane.


Bean tin lid for the top and punched some holes to thread everything together to hang. The sound they make is a very gentle noise and I think I need to add a bigger dangley bit to the end of the middle cane to catch the wind more.
 
 And I drizzled alcohol inks over the canes to decorate them.


Himalayan Honeysuckle - the plant that the canes came from.

OK that's all for today,
probably going to need to let my PC cool now
before trying to catch up with your posts
but I will get there eventually :) 

thanks so much for stopping by
Gill x









Monday 2 July 2018

Art for Art's sake and a 'thing with wings'

July looks like being a fun month as Chris from Pearshapedcrafting has chosen "Art for Art's sake" as this months theme at AJJ and it's about having fun with arty techniques and our art supplies.

I was wearing a brand new white T-shirt and apron when making this and managed to get to the end without splashing any paint or ink on me (as far as I can see) phew!!!!

 I will be glad when that song stops playing in my head too... so I had to add the words to the page of course.

I started with some blue card and used some cheap gouache paint that I need to use up before it dries and painted a bit of an abstract design. ( dear hubby got me some better quality paint and of course the cheap stuff gets overlooked). 


Then I dribbled some inks down the page - the black one is in a spray bottle and hardly used and for some reason I seem to just dab it on things as sprays always seem to clog.
After drying the drips I added some white acrylic ink and for the first time made use of those little credit card looking things shops give out and used that to swipe the ink.
After writing the words with a black Posca pen I found a stamp I never use to add some fine dots.. the stamp is pear shaped (made by Stampscapes) and called a toner applicator.


 And I have a whimsical page using Neocolor 2's and a little coloured pencils and gouache which I shall link to TIOT   for 'Things with wings' and MOO Mania    for 'Your favourite colours'.
I'm not sure what my favourite colour is - I love all colours, but I think it depends on the shade and what else they are with.


thats all today..
thanks for stopping by.
Gill x

Friday 29 June 2018

Inspired by a song

Many years ago, after dinosaurs roamed the earth and before the age of the Internet, I dabbled in songwriting. I would often try and think of different scenarios and see it in my head like a mini film and then write a song. My page today is inspired by one of those songs called 'Lonely People' (its about being alone in a cocktail bar in the early hours) ...and be thankful I never uploaded the actual recording of it :)
I have added some of the lyrics below so you can (hopefully) imagine the scene too.
 
This will be my last page for my 'Inspired by' theme at AJJ this month. It's a watercolour and a little different for me as I like adding words but didn't as I thought it made it seem more empty and lonely and also I deliberately didn't paint all of the wine bottle.




I staged the scene that I wanted to paint.
Please note that the glass had just a little drop of Marsala in, and the whisky is my husbands although I confess I used the empty bottle of wine from lunch. And the 'Whisky and Wine' in the song lyrics was just artistic license from a rhyming point of view - of course! 



I wasn't sure that I was capable of painting this though - so I decided to take a photo on my tablet to help.


I used a grid I found in the photo editing app and drew a pencil grid in my journal and this definitely helped me to draw more accurate.



For fun I made a digital version as well... 
however she doesn't look very lonely to me



I have had a wonderful fun month with hosting the 'Inspired by' challenge at AJJ (thanks Susi and Elizabeth for having me) and now looking forward to seeing what the July theme is :)

On the first day of June Yvonne's page used a beautiful Gustav Klimt image and I realised I didn't know much about him so I made a note to find out more. But day by day I kept being inspired by other things people mentioned or showed and my list has grown quite long with the last one noted yesterday to investigate Colour theory as mentioned by Susi...  :)

Thank you so much to everybody that joined in with us at AJJ and sharing your amazing pages and what inspired you... and thank you for all your lovely comments left on my blog also.



That's all for now....
Thanks for stopping by,
Have a great day!
Gill x

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Inspired again.....

Another piece for 'Art Journal Journey 'Inspired by' challenge.
and as I had so much fun with the Modigliani style painting  I did last week, I really wanted to create another piece inspired by him again. Its mixed media with some collage and a digital quote by Marcel Proust.


I had fun with patterns and mark-making on this and it was a bit of a journey which started with blue card -  a friend gave me a stack of A4 blue and pale yellow card that she didn't want so I am making good use of it :)

I used torn bits from books, dabbing on white paint with no real plan at this point



I used acrylic paint. gouache & Neocolour 2's


The stamped bubbles were using an old wooden stamp made by 'Anitas'


Its sort of looking a bit better - sort of :)



Added lots more colour and defining the lady more

I traced (on tracing paper) over the shape of hair to make a template for her hair which I then cut out of patterned paper and then made a template also for her dress and did the same. 
The beads for the necklace and earrings were done using a shiny red paint used for Pergamano.
The digital quote is by Marcel Proust and the font is called Cheddar Salad BTN Cameo'.
I wanted a quote that fitted with the lack of eyes which are often seen in Modigliani paintings.

The quote says:
 The real voyage of discovery
consists not in seeking
 new landscapes,
 but in having new eyes.  


Thats all for today... have a great day
and thanks for stopping by
Gill x