Crusade #5 - Evidence

This is a journal page I did in response to Crusade #5 on Michelle Ward's Street Team. The mission was to document evidence from your everyday life. My life is quite boring LOL -- So I am documenting some of the trends with my art currently. I am discovering that some of the techniques and images I'm using are really symbols and with that knowledge my art feels more expressive and soulful to me now.

I'm not sure if my writing is readable, so here is a list of what I came up with ...

Sheer Overlays -- symbolic for veiling my emotions

Speckling & Spattering -- another form of veiling of my emotions

Wire-Wrapping -- Symbolic for the knots I feel all tied up in

Trumpet -- This is a symbol for my voice ... the only voice I had at one time

Hearts --- This symbol is the one I found most shocking, as I never perceived myself to be a heart person. It represents life force and the spirit.

Celestial Light

Yippeee! I got this AB spread done fast! I actually worked on the moon and stars last week. They were painted a dull gold, which I did not like. I had hoped to sand off the paint and apply patina to bare metal, but it was not something that would patina.

Plan B was to glop on various mediums for texture and add some of that Statuary Green Bronze paint by Modern Options followed by blue patina solution. I never realized what a difference in color the patina can have depending on which type of bronze you use with it. Last time I used the blonde bronze and got a bluer blue. Against the green bronze it takes on more of a teal or turqouise blue.

I have so many cool crumpled tissue paper backgroudns in this RR. Every time I try that technique I over-saturate and overwork the tissue (I used pattern paper tissue) and it ends up being nearly flat. This time I didn't worry about whether all the tissue was strongly glued. Some of the scrunched up areas didn't feel real solid, but I assumed the gesso would hold things in place. When I started applying the gesso I was getting a dry-brush look that was looking very cool. I decided to leave it with spaces of ungessoed tissue. When I glazed, it helped add color variation, as the gessoed areas ended up lighter. This is the best tissue paper background I've ever done ... wooo hooo!

Soulful Expression

I've been naming most of my posts after the art work title, but this one is named after the journey. My intention was to do something neat in Karen O's calendar journal in honor of St Valentine's Day ... but this piece seemed to take on a life if it's own. It always starts with a bad choice LOL The background was bleeeecccckk! Our journal prompt this month was "I am Blue" ... so I went with blue as my second choice.

And please everyone ...

do not faint or be alarmed ...

I used wings, which I rarely ever do, but it seemd fitting this time. Never did I imagine in a million years that the heart would be a symbol for me and yet everytime I use it, something extraordinary comes out when I get the paint out.

Oh I wish this piece would have been in my stay at home journal; it has special meaning to me ... but who am I to argue with my muse?

B is for Breathe

Breath makes me think of all the breathing exercises I did in drum corps, so naturally I thought about my trumpet playing days. You never really appreciate air until you don't have it. I seemed to have developed a light case of asthma in the past year or two, so I have a new found appreciation of breathing.

And when I get stressed out the first thing I must remind myself is to breathe ... what a fresh perspective a little oxygen to the brain will get you LOL

Make a Snowman

Well the doll I tried to draw was a disaster ... but my snowman turned out pretty decent. I seem to do better with the more simple lines. and personally ... I am hoping to not see more snow for a while LOL

Trumpet Drawing

I'm not sure I got all my lines and proportions right here, but it is at least recognizable LOL

Moonbeam Needs a Makeover

Well I took another stab at drawing my cat, Moonbeam. This was an easier position to draw ... but I still cannot figure out that hair LOL I tried to allude to some markings, but not sure it is evident. I need to study my books. I want to learn the pen and ink style, but can never figure out when to do parallel lines ... when to do cross-hatching. This is what happens when I get in a hurry ... hee hee

Bird Envy

I had a bad case of bird envy! The Amazing Karen O! has been doing these cool bird pieces that get my feathers all ruffled 'cause I want one so bad LOL -- So I caved and did my own bird piece -- hee hee




I waxed some fresh yellow roses from my birthday bouquet for this ... and then waxed a couple dried roses from my Valentine's Day gift 3 year ago. As you can see the flowers survived longer than the relationship LOL I'm not sure whay kind of lifespan I will get out of the waxed fresh roses, but I guess we'll find out!

Sea Glass Charms

Boo hooo ... my programming buddy Paul's contract at work was up on Thursday ... right before my birthday and I'm a little depressed. His last words of advice was for me to spend less time at work and more time doing art, so I will do my best to take his advice.

Jewelry making really is not my thing ... but I just love all these charms everyone is doing ... so here is what I came up with for a charm swap. My spirals got much better by the end, but I didn't get my wires wrapped around the sea glass as tightly as I should have ... but they do feel good and solid.