The July Challenge Continues!

I'm still on track with my July challenge of making one of these cute, little characters each day. This past week and the coming week will prove to be a real challenge because of busy schedules, but I'm determined. Here are the girls that I've created since I last blogged. 

The first one is an older, closer to realistic, girl. I really enjoyed creating her. I will do more of these types of girls on the days I have more time. Like maybe next month? The rest are the young, round faced cuties.

I saved this poor girl for last because she's a bit of an ugly duckling. I must not have been paying attention or wearing my glasses when I created her. Poor thing! I'm sure she'll grow up to be a swan, though. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! 

xoxo,

Ri

Stiff Neck

Sunday morning I woke up with what I thought was a stiff neck. It gradually became more painful to the point I considered the hospital by Sunday night. First thing Monday, after a long, sleepless night, Joel took me to the doctor. She seems to think it's an RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) flare up. I've had many of those, but never in my neck. Anyway, long story short, I've been taking muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories all week. They're helping, but I've mostly just slept. Which means less creative time. I have managed to do at least a tiny bit each day. And I do mean tiny.



Hopefully I'll be back at it soon and will be able to show you something finished.

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Mixed Media Portrait WIP

Mixed Media Portrait Work In Progress - Golden & Liquitex acrylic paint, graphite, gel pen (so far)

Joel and I visited a great new art supply store in Eustis called Drawn To Art. It's in a beautiful new building downtown.



Across the brick paved street is a new park where the old hospital used to be. I snapped a photo of a sign that leads me to believe this could be a fun place to play!



Once we went into the store we met the owner, who was extremely friendly and down to earth. He didn't have an item I was looking for, so he offered me a few things to try instead. I left there with 6 4x4 canvas boards, a white gel pen, and some titanium white gouache paint, free of charge! I did offer to pay for everything, but he insisted. I plan to go back and offer to pay again. I'm one of those odd people that doesn't feel right about taking free stuff. I love bargaining, but free feels like stealing. I do love local service like that, though. He knows how to make a lifelong customer. Anyway, so as you can see I gave the wood blocks a bit of a break today in favor of one of those mini canvases, courtesy of Drawn To Art. Right now she looks like she's sucking in her cheeks. She'll get an anti-duckface surgery tomorrow.

PS. I'm still on my September creative streak!

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Mixed Media Art Block Painting

Art block girl number 2 is done and ready to be scanned and sealed....I think. I'm never quite sure. I love creating these quirky girls! I will enjoy having them around my home, too. Any name suggestions for her?



My creative streak continues! Every day in September means 12 straight days so far. I know that may not seem like much to some, but to me it's huge. Maybe soon I'll make a more personal blog post and talk about my creative struggles, but for now...pass the Cobalt Teal, please?

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In The Works

I didn't have a large block of time to paint today, but I managed to get a bit further along on the orange/red block.




I colored her hair and hated it, so I went back to white and will decide what to do with it tomorrow.



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Miscellaneous Going Ons

This work in progress is what's on my work bench at the moment. I'll try to finish her details (hair, lips, eyes, clothing, etc...) tomorrow.

I did decide to paint the edges of the last girl.



I did a a few other details, too, even though I THOUGHT I was done.



I've continued my streak of creativity. I've been in my studio working on paintings, however short the time might have been some days, every day this month so far. I hope to continue this streak. Wish me luck!

In a totally separate subject, check out this visitor to our yard today.



He isn't a stranger. We see him, and his larger friend, a lot in our trees. It makes me nervous since we have two little dogs. He sure is beautiful, though.



This photo is from the back and may be harder to see, but his back feathers are so pretty!

I hope you all have had a nice weekend!

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Strong

I'm not quite finished, but I'm pretty close. Here's the progress for today.



...and a texture shot.



One more just for kicks.



I don't know if I'll paint the sides or leave the wood grain. I will more than likely separate her and the word from the background a bit with a dry brushed white halo. We'll see where she goes tomorrow. :)

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W-I-P Wednesday

Here's the progress on the greenish blue block. I had hoped to be posting a finished painting by today, but a doctors appointment yesterday didn't allow for a lot of creative time. I did sketch in the shape of her face yesterday, so I have kept up my streak of having creative time every day. Maybe I'll be able to finish her tomorrow.


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Caribbean Ladies & Blog Decision

First let's talk about the blog decision. I have decided to close my personal blog and just consolidate the Art and Personal blogs into one. This one. So get ready to start seeing both on this blog. It's a way to simplify and a way to save money. My Typepad blog was costing me around $70-80 a year. Why pay for that when Blogger is free and easier to use? I haven't decided whether I'll keep it the same name or come up with something new. I'll probably stick with the same as I like it and have graphics already made and in use for it. I'm sad to see the other one go. It was my first one and I kept it for 6 years or so. I like the look of it and have more posts there than any of my other blogs. Other blogs being this one, my Tumblr one (which I never update) and The Doxie Blog. I update the Doxie one the most as I tend to take millions of photos of my fur children and it's easy to just upload a pic and be done with it.

I know I haven't been showing off any art recently. I think the last thing

I showed was my Sketchbook Project back in mid January. I haven't been making art daily, but I do still create. I play in my art journal, do exercises in books, doodle while I'm in bed, and constantly keep it on my mind. I just haven't felt especially chatty about it. I've also been using my big girl camera a lot more, so check out my Flickr link on the sidebar if you're interested.

I came across a local artist at an Art Stroll in downtown Mt Dora

recently. Her name is Jane Slivka. I googled her and found a web site where she sells an instructional DVD. So this past week I've been working on that. I've made a few Caribbean Ladies in her style so far. Next I plan to try her way of painting flowers. So here are the ladies.

These ladies were painted in my new Mixed Media Strathmore Visual Journal. I think it's my new favorite journal. This one's around 5x8". I'd like to get the larger sized one next time.

I've been doing a little shopping recently, too. I bought lots of new paints and painting stuff. Here's one of the things I picked up. It's called a Masterson Sta-Wet Pallet.

I found it in the clearance bin at Michaels for $4. It's pretty nice not to have to worry about paint drying out. I also learned recently if you put pennies in the bottom of it that will keep it from getting moldy. Neat trick, right?

x's & o's,

Rischa

Free Art Class by Willowing - The Heart of Art

I've mentioned Willowing here on my blog in the past. I've also taken, and enjoyed, a class from her called, "World of Whimsy". So now I'm here telling you about her FREE new Art Course! Yay! How can you beat FREE? You can't! She's really a fantastic teacher. Her way of teaching is gentle, but effective, and her art is whimsical, fun, and inspiring. Since she's being generous enough to offer a class for FREE I thought it was only fair for me to try and spread the word about it.

Click HERE to join "The Heart of Art".

My ATCs

For some reason it keeps slipping my mind to show the Artist Trading Cards that I've made and traded. Thank you for reminding me on Facebook, Candice! Sometimes I need a little push. It's funny, I seem to have surrounded myself with people that are willing to motivate me. Just this past week Christa got me all fired up to make some Frida Kahlo inspired ATCs for our next trade. We also trade art sites via email almost daily and talk about art even more than that! I call my friend, Sharon, my "Fairy Art Mother" because she's always prompting me to create. Which is EXACTLY what I need! Mom is right there with them, as well, with her motivational prompts. Thanks ladies! I really don't know what I'd do without you all!

Okay, so the first 3 ATCs that I made all looked pretty much like this:

I made the first one, the one above, to keep for myself. Call me sentimental, but I had never made an ATC and thought I should keep the first one. Plus, it was great practice at painting so small before I went on to make the two I made for Christa and Sharon. I'd rather mess up on mine than theirs.

For this one I basically just used Golden Acrylic paint and Matte Gel Medium to seal. For the back I simply adhered a pretty piece of scrapbook paper.

Here are a couple of Work In Progress Shots I took with my Cell of the Chickies being made. Sorry, the Blackberry didn't take very good photos.

After these I decided to try a Collaged ATC like Sharon did for the ones she sent me.

For this one I started with torn white tissue paper and pasted it using gel medium. Then I used watered down Golden Liquid Acrylic paint on top of the tissue paper in spots. I found the image shared on one of my Ning networks, I resized, printed, cut out, and pasted with more gel medium. I used clear embossing ink and powder to apply the letters D A N C E. I then realized it didn't show up very well, so I outlined it in waterproof ink. Then I wrote the words underneath and made a border with the same pen. I then sealed it and started working on the back. For the back of this one I just painted with a matching paint color and used gel medium again to adhere my biz card. Sharon said she wanted to see it, so I just stuck it right on there. I sealed it all with Golden Matte Medium.

I have a few more in the works. I'll show those when someone prompts me to do so. LOL I'm just kidding. I'll try to get them up as soon as they're done.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,
Rischa

PS. Did you notice my new snaggable badges? Grab one for your blog, why don'tcha? They have a transparent background, so your blog's background will show around the scalloped edges. Just copy the code underneath and paste it into the sidebar. For Blogger blogs you'll just add a gadget, choose the HTML option, and paste my code into the large empty field. Save and you're done!

ATC Swap With Sharon (SkiesArt)

My friend Sharon and I have started an ATC swap. We've completed our first round. I'm so glad we decided to do this because it's been SO much fun. You should've seen the look on my face as I was opening the package she sent to me. She ALWAYS makes it so fun to receive her packages as she's so creative with every little detail. Here, see for yourself:

After I opened the big, yellow, plastic envelope I see this:


Isn't that sweet? I don't know where she found a Mary Engelbreit folder, but I love it!

I then opened the folder to find...


...a beautifully wrapped gift and a decorated card envelope complete with small felt bedazzled flowers and her pretty handwriting.

Inside was the card and the ATC's. I'm saving the ATC's for last as they're the big finish. Here's the neato burrito card...


I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but it's wire and stands up off the paper. So cute, right? The writing on the inside is personal, so I'm keeping that to myself. Sorry. ;)

Now for the gift! You probably won't believe me when I tell you that I had plans to buy this next time I went to Books-A-Million, but I really did! I've been wanting this book ever sense I got interested in ATCs and just never decided to make the purchase. But now that I'm actually making them I had planned to get it. Sharon MUST be a mind reader! I was so happy to get....


I've already started reading it and I'm half way through. It's so inspirational! I should be writing down all of the ideas I've got from this book, because I'll never remember them all!

And last, but certainly not least, the ATCs themselves!
Here's one titled, "Caged In Ropes"...


It's great, isn't it? I love that she made it 3D with the rope. She knew I loved birds, too. Very cool looking background, as well!

Here's the back:


The second one is adorable and humorous at the same time. She did a little snagging off of my blog or Twitter for this one. LOL I love it!


That's Sharon on the left and Me on the right. She with her pooch and I with mine. She even dressed me as I was originally wearing a swim suit in that photo. LOL

...and the back....


Isn't she the coolest package sender EVER?
She's a very talented artist and happens to also be a great friend.
Stop by her blog or web site to check out her creations and tell her Rischa sent ya.

If you've ever thought you might be interested in swapping or making ATCs you should go for it. It's so much fun and it's great practice for your imagination and artistic skills.

I've already posted my ATC on Twitter, but I will also make up separate post for that. This one's all dedicated to Sharon and her package....*snicker* You know what I mean.

...and yes, I said "neato burrito". I'm a dork! What of it?

xoxo
Rischa

Online Art Courses - How To Decide?

I'm one of those "hard to shop for" people. My birthday was last Sunday, Jan. 17th. I told Joel not to worry about a gift, that I'd choose one for myself. That's what he had done for his Birthday two weeks prior, so I figured what was good for him was good for me. I'm trying to keep the pricing about the same, of course. He bought about $65-70 worth of goodies for himself. So, I'm thinking an art class would be just perfect. That's what I wanted anyway, and there happens to be a few new ones about to start that I think I'd enjoy. One is Willowing's Fabulous Faces and the other is Color: Beyond the Basics w/Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen.

I've taken one course from each of them previously and enjoyed them both very much. Well, I've never taken a course from Julie's new co-star, Chris Cozen, but I do have her book, Altered Surfaces.

I'm having a hard time deciding which of these courses is best for me right now. I'd love to just purchase them both, but alas....I can't afford to be spending every dollar on art courses & supplies no matter how much I'd like to do just that. That wouldn't be very frugal of me, now would it? I doubt Joel would appreciate me spending upward of $150 on all of this, either. That is what both would cost if I included the supplies list. I believe the supplies list for both courses are more like suggestions than necessities, however, I have found that it sure does help to have exactly what the instructor is using to get the results you're after.

So, I thought I would compare the two. This will be a comparison based on MY needs. This is not me trying to decide what course is best for everyone, as I think both would be beneficial and fun to anyone interested in art or learning new techniques.

• Both are interesting and would be useful to me.


• Willowing's classes are downloadable. Julie's are not.


• Julie's class is $23 less than Willowing's. (Give or take. Had to use GBP to USD conversion)


• I have all of the course materials for Willowing's class already.


• Both instructors provided contests, however Willowing's contest is over. If I sign up today I could still win something if I choose Julie and Chris's class. (I never win anything...who am I kidding)


• Willowing has a course outline pdf for downloading before the class so you'll know exactly what you'll be doing week by week. Unless I missed it, Julie's course doesn't have this.


• I've taken several face classes from different instructors in the past, but never a Colors class.


• All instructors will be available for questions during the course.


• Both classes are taught on Ning.

Okay, enough of that. It's not helping me make my decision. I still can't choose. There's one other thing that I'm wondering, but not sure about. Just how much are they planning to focus on color and how to mix colors together for a cohesive outcome in Julie's class? I really wish there was a course outline for this class. I don't want to ask all these questions and then decide on the other course. Rude, right? Also, how much of what will be taught in the Colors class is also in Chris Cozen's book? I have her book, as mentioned before. It's a great book and quite inspiring. Then again, so is Willowing, so that isn't a separating factor.

In case you're interested in taking the courses, here are the YouTube video ads for both:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15PueQ_I12o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-UBRQo7WvI&feature=player_embedded

Here's another option; Go to Books-A-Million or Amazon.com and buy books on exactly what I want! That doesn't seem like as much fun as someone walking you through the process, but I could get a taste of both Color and Faces and save a little cash in the process.

A Painting & Excuses

First the excuses.... I know I've been gone a while from this blog. I haven't had a lot of time to be creative for various reasons. Sick, busy, new feathered additions to the family, doc appointments, shopping, & etc...

With the excuses behind me I'll go ahead and post the fun stuff. Here's one thing I did manage to finish.

The Blue Guitar:

The colors didn't turn out as pretty as they are in real life, but that's what I get for taking quicky shots with a point and shoot. No light box, no outside light, no nothing to help my photos look pretty. You get the idea, though.

FYI The guitar string is actually sewing thread dipped in Mod Podge. The musical notes are from a Ukrainian Hymnal and have a color wash of antique yellow over the top. The yellow color you see in the painting is really more of an antique yellow, as well, but the colors turned out kind of mustard-esk. This will be in my shop very soon. Opening is coming up! Yay!

More photos of my work

....time for more photos.

Here's something I'm working on now.

That's what she looked like about an hour ago before I applied the Crackle Medium. I typed the words in Photoshop and printed them. Then cut them out and applied with Mod Podge Matte. The background I painted with "mud" colored paint and blotted with an old T-shirt. This is what she looks like right now as she's drying and waiting to be finished.

This is what I use for crackling.

Here is something I forgot to post that has been done for a while now. It's Andrew's matching painting that goes with the one I showed a couple of weeks ago.

Here's what they look like together.

And now that you're good and tired of seeing photos.....that's all folks! Thanks for stopping by!

A WIP and Play Time

I worked on that WIP from yesterday's post today. I decided to take Katie's suggestion of blue hair. I love the hair! I think from now on my girls will have CRAZY hair like this. Who says only old ladies and goth princess' have blue hair?

....and here is the result of some play time with Water Soluble Oil Pastels:

Okay, so it's not stunningly gorgeous, but it was fun. It was my first time using WSO Pastels. I enjoyed playing with them. I highly recommend you pick some up. I got them at an office supply store per Suzi Blu's suggestion to use them on our Mixed Media pieces for her class. SOOOOO fun! They look like crayons, but act more like watercolor pencils. You can use them wet or dry. You can also smudge them just like regular oil pastels. The brand name that I got is Portfolio. They're in a green package and cost about $10. If any of you happen to go buy them and use them I'd love to see what you create! Link to your image in my comments! I plan to use them in the background of the Blue Girl Birdie Love painting.