sickies

I had big plans for a tutorial post today, however this cute little boy featured is super sick (sick like having to visit urgent care and now has all kinds of medicine to take for the next few days). My super awesome tutorial (hows that for giving myself some pressure!) will be up sometime next week. Pray the baby doesnt get sick please!

cant put my finger on it

I got to work a little bit more on the "soul sisters" tonight. You will have to forgive the not so great photo, lighting was not on my side. Anywho... I feel like something is missing. I am planning to work on the background more but the girls feel like they arent finished. I cant figure out what is lacking, any thoughts???

sound of silence?

A very much Work in Progress. Dont they look sleepy and peaceful, amazing since they are living in a house with 3 kids under the age of 4.

balance

According to my stats on blogger this is my 666 post. I figured I better balance it out with Jesus. And what is a better Jesus than buddy Jesus? (And because God gave me a sense of humor I know he wont mind.)

prep work

Since fully embracing creativity in my daily life I try each day to do something creative. Some days (ok most days) I dont get to spend a lot of time on my creative time to do something quick and I have learned that I can create art in shifts that I dont HAVE to sit down from start to finish on a design and by stepping back I really can build on a painting. My favorite quick creative time is prepping my canvas. I take just a few colors at a time and go to time laying down the base colors.

I did about 8 of these in a half hour or so. I am thinking about doing a video or two about making my artwork and my tips/tricks I have learned along the way. Would anyone be interested in seeing that?

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Lovelies!

Photographer-I'm Not

Leila's 5th birthday is coming up. This is a big one in our books and we are throwing a party to celebrate. We have a pretty famous invite for her 2nd birthday in our family's circle and we were really wanting to recreate it. She looked ubber cute and innocent. Should be easy to recreate right? After all she is still an innocent and ubber cute. This is what I got:






Silly, sassy, and in her own world. Absolutely Leila, but not the route I wanted *smile* none the less I got a whole bunch of "outtakes" that I hope one day she truly treasures as much as I already do.

Support System

I have an amazing husband. He teases me to no end but I know he supports me in my art. This is exhibit A, he bought me an art easel so that I can paint while having the baby in the sling when Mr. Valen wants to be held and I want to paint *smile* Best of both worlds!

I am lucky, I know this and on those days that he drives me crazy, please feel free to send me this post to remind me how great he is and how great we are together.

Sorry for the sappy post, regular blogging will return tomorrow *smile*

Art Supply Love

Have you heard of Faber Castell's new product Gelatos? They are floating around mixed media artist hands I have noticed and when Suzi Blu posted that they were amazing for faces I knew I had to give them a whirl. I LOVE THEM!!!! I want to scream it from the roof top, I have seriously talked about them to anyone who would listen. Thank god for understanding co-workers who may not be into art but pretend to be interested just to humor me! *smile*

I dont know if there are in local stores yet I have only been able to find them online myself but they are worth the searching for, trust me!



I cant express really how much fun I am having but I can say this: I cant stop painting. And when I am not painting I am thinking about painting. I feel like I am growing leaps and bounds just by doing. If you told me even 6 months ago that I would be painting faces and I would feel comfortable with a brush in my hand and shading I would think you were crazy. Cant wait to keep showing you all what I have been up to and the new art I am creating!

happy happy

Baby bear says have a great weekend! My momma's brain is mush so this picture of me is all she's got for a blog post today, enjoy!!

Yuckies be gone

I am having a Debbie Downer kinda day today. So I am just going to stare at my pretty paint brushes and think about all the possibilities that await.

What keeps you out of your own down in the dumps funk?

sometimes you just need a reminder

I made this for a dear friend who has been led on a pretty tough journey recently. A reminder to keep faith that the path laid ahead was chosen for a reason and it gives you the opportunity to grow.

Last night was one of those moments for me between a little boy who is a Picasso on walls that I will have to paint over, a little girl who refuses to eat dinner, and a teeny baby who wants to be held at all times and when not held screams like he is in physical pain. So I have faith that tomorrow is another day, that my babies will grow up and will not always want me to hold them (and when that time comes I will be upset about NOT getting hugs) and that everything will be alright.

Some days we just need that reminder, have faith.

The process

Know what I love about artist blogs? When they show there process. Love it I am a visual learner and since I am a completely self taught artist these posts are my favorite to give me an inside tip and gives me a good idea if I am on the right track.

This weekend I had a productive painting weekend the kiddos had fun in their make believe world and gave me a little time to just focus on painting. I am super proud of this painting because it is the first time I have ever shaded with paint right from the start. My paintings originally start with color pencils and then I paste the face to my artwork and go from there. This weekend I got brave and painted straight on the canvas and I am really happy with the progress I am making from never painting less than a year ago till now!

So here is my process, I doubt that it will give some inside tips to anyone but none the less I feel compelled to share. Enjoy!




(this is the creepy stage!)





I am pretty much done on the face but I feel the background is missing something. So for now she is hanging on a wall that I see a lot during the day and I am staring at her a lot trying to figure out what is missing and I will go back to working on her. In the mean time I have a lot more painting to do, I feel the creative spark I havent for so many months!

And they shall create

I'm messy, I yell sometimes, I seem to say no all day long. Many days I go to bed telling myself that tomorrow I get to try again at this momma thing. Its tough when you want the best for your kids and you dont know if you are always giving them your best. But this weekend? This weekend I know was my best. Laundry was left undone, the dishes stayed in the sink longer than normal and vacuuming was left for Monday. And you know why? Because we were too busy spending time making art. Lots of art.

I would rather make art any day than do the laundry, just ask my husband he will back me up on that one (to his dismay!)

Its gonna be legen (wait for it) dary

I have been having this feeling lately. A feeling like something big is just beginning. Butterfly flutter stomach, know what I mean? Not sure exactly what this big thing will be but I am super excited none the less. I am excited about my art and cant wait to see where this road is going to take me. I have lots of pots stirring right now to give my dreams some legs. We are talking websites, head shots, copy-writing, marketing, advertising, all kinds of fun things. Fun stuff ahead, I'm telling you!

(like the title? Love me some Barney!)

Live Simply

My crafty friend Mindy makes these great bracelets (among a whole bunch of other cute stuff!) it was originally intended for my BFF but I kept it for myself (sorry BFF!). I wear it as a daily reminder as things get a little hectic to keep my priorities in check.

Interesting take over

I have never been a huge fan of blue. Love my greens, pinks, and yellows but blue it always just made me go eh whatever. In one weekend my entire wardrobe changed and blue now has an overly large presence in my life. Last week I found it in all my artwork, now this week in my wardrobe. Next week who knows!

Announcement Time

The random generator has spoken and JJ Sobey has won the she art giveaway. Know what is great about this, she is a She Art student already so she wants to give it to a friend, talk about paying it forward twice! WOOT.

Thank you everyone who stopped by and shared your joys with me, I really enjoyed reading every comment. And now I have a whole bunch of new blogs to discover!

Have a wonderful weekend all!