Fiona's Heart

2010-02-21T21:22:00.008Z

I bought a nice Japanese paper parasol recently. I've had a hankering for one for along time and when I realised "hey, that could be useful in photo back drops", the deal was done. It plopped through the letterbox in time for the latest batch of snow. You know when you get a picture in your head and you have to try to realise it? Well, I had an image of a parasol in the snow. I once read that in old Japanese prints when you see a couple under a parasol, it means true love. I have a nice old print of a Japanese couple under a parasol in the snow and the image stuck. So on the way home last week I went on a snow hunt, and found a nice bit of quiet road, well out of the way, with some interesting trees and a vista of snowy fields. I figured that if I was going to prance around in a snow storm with the ttv camera in a black sock and a Japanese parasol, I would prefer it if no one saw me. So naturally one of our work volunteers drives past and stops for a chat. Well, that's my cover blown...............

2010-01-30T09:37:00.002Z

Playing with the viewfinder again

I am besotted by the effect of photographing something through an old viewfinder. it changes how you like at things. And best of all you get a wonderful soft, vintage feel without Photoshoping them. Apart from cropping and resizing, these are straight out of the camera.

2010-01-22T16:36:00.003Z

Needing blue skies

It seems that for the past two weeks it has been nothing but dull, grey and overcast. Whatever you think about the big freeze, atleast the snow was bright and the skies were generally blue! I'm needing something brighter to look at, so I dug back through my photo files. This is one of my favourites from last summer. Who doesn't love poppies?
This one is from last autumn taken in a field just beside a tiny medieval chapel at Elephant ~rock and give it a bit more time, it will fall into the sea! It was warm and sunny, and we had the place to ourselves. Rather nice. It definitely still hibernation time for me. All I do at present is sit on the sofa with a sketchbook, or laptop, and a cup of cofee, watching the Australian Open tennis (or even ice skating this week)
I'm hoping for sunny skies tomorrow to play at back yard photography - fingers crossed. X

2010-01-09T15:57:00.005Z

Red angel, purple angel

Suzi Blu does some great painting classes on her ning network. This is one of the angels I painted for the December angels workshop. There. is ton of texture on her which was great fun to apply and color. Loads of layers, attacked with sandpaper. I took her outside into the snow to take the photo.Almost immediately, it started to snow again and extinguished the candles. The one below is more of a goth angel.

2010-01-08T20:48:00.003Z

Tulips again and another experiment

A friend of mine showed me the wonderful photos she had taken of flowers using a light box. I had a try with a small borrowed box and played with my tulips. Then I tried a little tweaking of them in Picasa until I got something I liked. Tulips are such beautiful flowers.

Tomorrow I will be trying to do something with the carnations I froze tonight (oh, the joys of sub zero temperatures). I was trying to make ice lanterns such as Benita of Chez Larsson made, so I wondered what else I could freeze! And I had some carnations on the window sill in front of me, so into a jug of water they went and then outside the front door to join the bucket-and-pot-lantern-making contraption. The postie will be perplexed at all of the odd things by the door but then he is the same postie who has delivered a rubber duck with a stamp on it to this house and a plastic apple (oh, the joys of mail art experiments!)

2010-01-07T19:27:00.005Z

More snow photos....well, if it snows, make art!

Work yesterday - lunchtime camera session

And then I discovered that my Lumix FZ28 has some nifty scene settings. I'm loving the pinhole setting at the moment. Can't wait for my "new" vintage Duaflex to arrive so I can try some ttv (through the viewfinder ) photos. Kelly Rae did a great post on ttv's which includes links to other great articles on the subject. Wouldn't this view blow look fabulous as a ttv = scatches and all (that's what I love best about them!)

2010-01-04T19:48:00.003Z

Take a bunch of tulips

add some snow (note to self - borrow water proof trousers before lying down in the snow to get the right angle)

Retreat indoors, warm up, and play with a black fleece as a backdrop instead.
Place flowers in a vase and admire.

2010-01-03T20:26:00.007Z

Stone circle outing........................
Today's outing involved both the ancient and the modern. First off, we took a tiny little detour off the dual carriage way to visit a stone circle. I received a Fuji Instax camera for my birthday and I wanted to play with it. It doesn't do too well developing in the sub zero temperatures! Luckily I also had the Lumix too.
The modern bit was trip to Asda where I discovered they do pseudo-Moleskine journals. Naturally, I had to try the 2 different sizes, for scientific purposes of course. The paper quality is pretty good considering its not the real thing. But way cheaper and a good place to play!

2010-01-01T16:58:00.004Z

2010 already?I'm still trying to get the concept that another year has moved on. Each one is going around faster. Anyway, I don't bother with the New Year's Eve thing - standing outside in the cold watching a clock move just doesn't do it for me. Instead, I choose to get up this morning and play. I typed out a 2010 (way too small it turned out) and then took it and the boy's vintage typewriter into the garden. Earlier I had found a wonderful mcguffin to get photos of him (he's 9 and elusive). Having shown him the snowcils I made yesterday, he wanted to have a go. See below, with some green added.

He did a bit of spraying and then got bored with the delicacy. Instead, after a few trips into the kitchen to acquire different food colouring and only one change of clothes later, he produced a wonderful abstract piece of art which happened to include an accidental green girl in a frock. If you look, you can see it! Once again, the streak of red looks like a vampire visited but it has all faded nicely a few hours later. Is there a better way to spend your birthday morning - making art and getting photos of an elusive child?Apparently, we are doing more tomorrow............

2009-12-31T16:56:00.003Z

Happy Hogmanay (no, I have no idea what it means either!)

If you are not from Scotland, then let me translate - happy new year's eve!

There has been a great deal of snow about, which is rare for this part of the Scottish coast, atleast for it to lie for so long. It has offered a great opportunity to stock up on some snow art. Inspired by Katie's multicolured snowballs in this post, I mixed up a bottle of red food colouring and got out a doily. I'm calling it a snowcil - you heard it here first!

Maybe if I had picked a different colour, the globs might not look quite so like a vampire added to the scene! Perhaps if it is still snowy tomorrow, I'll give the blue colouring a go.

And then of course, there is my favourite loch, still frozen over and still as photogenic as ever. I may even have finally worked out how to do bokeh style photos (where you intend to blurr the background as to accidentally doing it!)

And to keep us all going through the dark depths of January, Sharon over at Allnorah'sart is setting up an online portrait class. Wathc out from registration details.

2009-12-08T17:59:00.002Z

Suzi Blu angel painting class

I just suzi's classes. Really, I could watch her paint all day. We were encouraged to use texture on the wings and to give the dresses some detail too, even to add hands. hands? Seriously? I don't do hands - never been able no matter how much I've tried. I enjoyed painting this lady and want to get to more this weekend. Shabby, shabby, pretty, pretty.

2009-08-23T16:38:00.006Z

More goddesses from Suzi Blu's fab workshop

snowflakes for the soul

The moon behind her is full of spakly microbeads. I think she comes over all christmassy?
I think need to stop watching Desperate Romantics! Atleast it makes you hit the art reference books all over again to see what was really going on!and this one is to be a present for my biggest baby - 14 years old on Tuesday and an amazon who towers over, and terrifies, her mother! Happy birthday sweetheart!

More goddess faces, courtesy of Suzi blu's great workshop

2009-08-05T19:21:00.004Z

Busy, busy, busy

I've become a bit of a drawing machine these past few weeks. It's the fault of Suzi Blu and her wonderful online class The Goddess and the Poet. It's basically a drawing class with knobs on. I needed a refresher as somewhere along the line I had forgotten how to do it properly. I mean I can, but I had forgotten. So this is a small sampler of a few of the pages in my journal, some with paint and colured pencil, and others still just plain drawings.

2009-05-26T18:26:00.004Z

Why - no.2?

Why, why? What did the poor pizza ever do to deserve this? I have no idea, but it must just have been the wrong pizza, in the wrong kitchen at the wrong time.

2009-05-26T18:19:00.005Z

Why - no.1?

Why did I lend him the camera and show him sports mode? 175 photos in an afternoon!!!! He sat in the back of the car and documented our trip to Dundee and back home. The joys of digital. And you know, I think the boy has an eye for reportage photographs.

2009-05-09T10:43:00.004Z

Recent journal pages

2009-05-09T10:30:00.008Z

While man goes sailing.........
a sensible woman enjoys home baking in the clubhouse and wanders about with her camera in one hand and a coffee mug in the other, looking for a few interesting things to snap. What a great tree.

It's slippery on the rocks, glad I didn't fall in!

Poor wee abandoned boat......and look, I made the grass purple! Why? Because I could........

I'm window shopping for a new camera. That's almost as much fun as actually buying it.

Oh the possbilities

2009-05-09T10:15:00.003Z

GPP Crusade - I finally completed one after long gap!!

I seem to have unintetnionally taken a bit of a blog break. Work was just too demanding on my poor little brain cells, and on the fading strength of my right arm. Both needed resting, so I had to cut back on the surfing and the arting. Plus, I'm still looking for the ejector seat button for the teenage girl on the big pc, which houses all my images.

I enjoyed the april GPP challenge, which was to add text, and I was trying to make it an integral part of the piece. In the first one I was inspired by an add which had a model's face as the canvas for graffitti.

This second journal page was inspired by a Suzi Blu video in which she was painting something inspired in turn by a book, which I think was In the Night Garden and had to do with a person who had an entire book written under their eyes. This technique allows you to write over lines of text and make shapes, thus obliterating the distinct text from being read. Pretty sure I didn't write anything profund or revelatory under my eyes!

2009-05-09T09:45:00.008Z

I love car boot sales!

May marks the start of the car boot sale season in my area. I love them to bits. Yes, I'm a thrifty blogger - there should be a button for that! Last year, I hardly got to go to any, so I was raring to go. The first one was fun and yielded lots of things off my list. Yes, I make a boot sale list. I find it helps to focus me, and stops me buying too much of stuff that I really don't have use for. The best bit, apart from the Yu-gi-oh cards for D S which kept him happy and quiet, was the big brown Victorian charger. It was the last purchase of the day, found while idly glancing at a stall while the others chose home baking. It had a ton of stuff on top of it, but there it was in perfect condition. Now it it one of my fruit dishes on the dresser, and looking good with the oranges. I always prefer to use stuff like this rather than put it in the cupboard. The blue plates are going to be my pudding dishes. Can you imagine eating apple crumble and custard from these on a cold winter night? I can! These came from the most amazing place a couple of miles away. It started as a sideline to the farm and has taken over. There is a huge barn piled high with furniture, and not for the faint hearted. The words health and safety have never been heard in this establishment. Tons of stuff lie on the ground, in old shopping trollies etc in the open air, getting wet and green with mould. These beautiful blue and white plates were lurking in shopping basket on the ground, an interesting shade of green. I pretty much fell in love with them at first sight. The guy said he bought them at a big country house sale, once the home of a famous Victorian prime minister. Perhaps Gladstone ate his pudding off them? Or maybe it was just a story. But they were made in Kirkcaldy and are early Victorian, so I'm happy with them. The colour makes me smile.

And so does this colour................................

2009-02-15T16:03:00.003Z

Monica at Hands and Heart is celebrating her first blogiversary and is hosting a lovely giveaway. If you like painted ladies check it out!

2009-01-19T19:09:00.004Z

Inaugural bears!

My Colourbox teddy bears are gathered together to join in the inauguration celebrations. Yes, they are inaugurating a new home in the printer's tray in the conservatory after years in a dusty box. They've even had a bath! They were happy to be reunited with their American fimo friend, sent as an ambassador many years ago by our American cousins, well mother in law actually. Much cake and ice cream, and no doubt much giggling will ensue.

Oh yeah, isn't there some kind of huge inaugural party going on somewhere else as well?!? Hope they have fun too!

2009-01-19T19:01:00.006Z

The story of the yellow dress

Oh dear, should have used the scanner for this page! I was wondering what to do for yellow. Not a colour I use much. On Sunday my little boy was asking about my rings. I have a ring from my mother, grandmother and great grandmother which gets him interested in family history. We looked at some photos of the women in question and answered his questions. Sadly he never met any of them. He also divied up the rings between him and his sister! In his dreams....

But in the same box as the photos were 2 old jotters from P4 (3rd grade in the USA) which I had written. That year we had to write a diary entry every day. My spelling was dreadful and little was usually written but I loved to draw even then and drew loads. Every now and then I got quite enthused about an event. The last page has an entry about a play that was staged in the gym hall called "The ring and the rose" in which, apparently, a lady wore a yellow dress at the end! This is what I would put her in today.

2009-01-19T18:57:00.003Z

More January journaling catch up ---orange, white, and green

Phew, getting caught up on the scanning and uploading. I've enjoyed the colour part of the challenge, even the yellow. Although orange proved to be my least favourite thing I've painted but hey, we can't all produce masterpieces (!/) each time we lift up a paintbrush.

White was fun. I used lots of yellow and gold under the white.

Green was loads of fun and I used lots of layers many of which I sandpapered away to reveal the colour underneath. Just can't resist the white dots....

But I really hate this profile and think I'll paint over it later and try again. Oh well.

2009-01-15T20:03:00.004Z

Blue.........
Colour challenge week is certainly interesting. I found blue to be more interesting than I thought while orange turned out most unsatisfactorily. Green is going well but I need some daylight to do the skin tones. Ah, the joys of layering paint and then applying sandpaper! A revelation!

The blue page above is mainly ocean blue graphitint pencil with some paint washed through and into some doily masks. The whole feel and imagery was inspired by a wonderful Glasgow Girl artist called Jessie M King, a contemporary of Charles Rennie MacIntosh. Google her and check out her wonderful detailed fairy tale romantic illustrations - much to enjoy and inspire. I used some of her elements and cunningly avoided drawing her hand. As my bloggy friend Rhomany says, life is too short to draw hands. Excellent philosophy in life, one I apply to ironing too.

Off to paint more. White is next I believe - exciting!

2009-01-11T14:06:00.006Z

January journalling catch up

During the week I have been pleased that I have managed to pretty much keep with the challenge. OK, so I have dodged the self portrait challenge as I will need to work up to that one. I am trying some new things for me such as remembering how to do bodies. When I was much younger and last drew every day, I would make detailed drawings of Elizabethan portraits and draw all the dress details. Twenty years later, I've kind of forgotten how I did that. So I've started on a new learning curve - to show more than the neck and shoulders. Well, atleast occasionally! Here they are, including the flowery page awaiting a photo.

Hands - what are they? I don't do and never have done hands. I'm going for stylistic not realistic!

Happy birthday SIL- she really is a magician. This one is for Amye.

Fun with masks! It was intended for a photo but I'm enjoying the minimimalist look at present.

She's not quite doen but I have to grab scanner time when I can get it. She needs some more detail and some words. Later this afternoon or tonight while we watch tv, I can doodle away and finish her. She's also my offering for the Embrace the Face challenge. The challenge was Grow, so this lady is GRO, the name of one of DH's Norwegian ancestors.

Take care

Fiona

2009-01-04T12:31:00.003Z

Misty's January Journalling challenge days 1-3

I think my challenge to myself within Misty's journal every day challenge will be to only use my own images or photos on the pages.

Sometimes the scanner doesn't pick up the subtle detail of the backgrounds but what can you do?
This one is a bit of a cheat as I started it on Hogmanay but the first was my birthday as I knew I wouldn't have too much time. Let's hope I can keep it up when I start work again tomorrow.

2008-12-31T10:58:00.002Z

OOps, nearly forgot.................

to add my image for the Embrace the Face challenge blog. I've only recently found it and it looks very interesting!

2008-12-31T10:40:00.004Z

Wrapping up 2008

It's nearly time for a change of calender, a time to decide to make a fresh start and leave the old behind. So for those of us who love paper and paint, that sounds like a good reason to start another art journal. I've changed over to a larger vintage atlas and am enjoying the extra space. Didn't count on no longer being able to get a full double page spread on the scanner, but that's a minor issue!

I've played alittle in the new book and this is one side of a snowy spread from earlier in the month. I kept it all very icy, in complete contrast to the next page in the book.........

which was done on the evening of the winter solstice. Oddly enough, there is a bit of old paper on the bottom left, but out of the scan, which I slapped on without much thought. I noticed later how apt it was as it is a renewal of a fire policy - exactly what our ancestors were desperate for on the winter solstice!

This lady is not fully dressed up for the New Year yet. I'll be playing with this drawing tonight evening, and adding in goals and hopes for 2009.

So what are you looking forward to next year (we'll take all the big wishes about prosperity, world peace etc as a given) Me? For now I'm going to look at the small picture such as Misty Mawn doing a month full of art journalling prompts an encouragements. Crikey, I had a list of things but my mind has gone blank. Well, I'm sure I'll remember it before this evening. Atleast by that time 3 of the 5 children currently sleeping over will be in their houses again!! I think I need more coffee.........

2008-12-09T20:20:00.001Z

Some seasonal art
I had fun using a table runner as a stencil on this background. She's not quite done but I wanted to look at her from another perspective. It must be the season making me think of icons and angels as I have definitely got a thing about halos at present.

Stay warm.

Fiona

2008-12-09T19:44:00.003Z

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........

Tree up - check
School Christmas concert - check
Presents organised - check
Lot's of candles in the house - check
Any need to go to a big city to do any more shopping? No
Holiday reading sorted - check

Good! It really is beginning to look a lot like christmas now.

But it is still a bit scary.....

or am I just a wuss????

Hoping for lots of photo opportunities this weekend - wish me luck the dear daughter will let me take pics of her in her school dance dress................

2008-12-09T19:42:00.001Z

Let there be light......

and we certainly need it on a very dull, wet day today. Miserable is the word. Time to stay in and do some of the following:

watch a good movie
do some sketching
root for the right person to win the X Factor tonight
wrap some presents
make cookies(well, DH will)
read a book
play war games with son
persuade teenager to wear her dance dress so I can take some nice photos of her in it.
listen to music on my new toy, the Viewbox

ah, the joy of rainy days - you don't feel guilty not about not going out.

2008-12-02T18:52:00.005Z

Winter wonderland or scary place???

On my drive to work and at lunchtime I was thinking snow was pretty with every where looking like the domain of the Snow Queen. The drive home was much more hairy, especially when I was sliding out of control over the centre line and twirling in semi circles with ice under the snow. Earlier in the day I had been taking pretty pictures of snowy things by my office. Have I ever mentioned I work in a very pretty place? No? Take a peek below.

2008-11-25T19:08:00.003Z

He turned 8 last week, such a handsome, funny little guy!

I had to bribe him for a mini photo shoot adn this was my favourite of the batch. Can you tell why?????????

And winter came..........and then went quite quickly over the weekend! Just enough for sledging but not enough to be slushly and icky, which was pretty much how I was feeling most of last week. That's winter for you I suppose. Not much proper art going on, but lots of gesso applied to journal pages ready for later use.

Stay warm. American relatives, have a good Thanksgiving!

2008-11-07T14:45:00.005Z

Art Every Day Month - day 2 picture catch up
This winter journal is made up of gessoed postcards ready for writing or decoration, old christmas cards in wintery themes, scrapbook papers, reused art proects and journalling blocks. All the pages are different sizes and widths.I'll stick with book rings until the New Year when I''ll finish it off with a proper ring binding. That way I can add stuff or re-arrange as needed. The Bind it All has already been put to use cutting the wholes, all ready to be assembled.

Work in progress

Rather than doing something different every day for Art Every Day Month, I've been working on one thing only this week. This is where the sketch posted below has got to by today and she may even get finished! She would look less spooky with a proper face.

I've been trying to draw Suzi Blu style petite dolls. These are doodles from my journal. They are fun to do.

Ahh, cute little pumpkins.......

2008-11-03T20:07:00.003Z

Art Every Day Month - day 3

The above is a sketch I plan to paint over the next day or two. I'm thinking rich winter colours and sparkly bits which probably means she will turn out to be pale and flowery! We'll see...

AEDM day 2 doesn't fit on the scanner and my only memory card for my camera is caput, so sadly no picture at present. Yesterday's project was making a junk journal from old christmas cards, scrapbook paper, gessoed postcards etc all ready to be arted up into a winter journal. My trusty little Bind It All worked hard yesterday which may explain my sore shoulder today!

Time to watch Spooks (aka MI5 to those of you in the US) Isn't there something happening there ie the USA tomorrow???

Go, vote....

2008-10-24T16:19:00.002Z

Pumpkin love..............

seriously!

Faery artist Jessica Galbreth put a link to this pumpkin in her newsletter. It's based on her painting called Dark Queen. Can you believe it is carved?

I'm a bit sad that I missed Artdymama's autumn gathering on the day but migraine intervened. I'll play catch up over the weekend instead.

2008-10-18T17:05:00.002Z

She's on her way, winging it across the ~Atlantic....

2008-10-18T16:59:00.005Z

It's dark now so it's time to go to the party.

Here's my fluffy witch hat and my mask. I thought I'd go incognito.

My little witchy friend will accompany me on my travels this evening. My broomstick lost too many twigs and we're broom-pooling. She likes the White Witch Ale from Witchwood Brewery a little too much if you know what I mean........

Look what I found under the japanese Maple Pumpkin people! They have volunteered to arrange the catering - pumpkin pie, pumkin soup, candy corn and the like.

Then they wanted to pose for a formal portait for their scrapbook. Cool eh?

Have a great party everyone!

2008-10-18T14:52:00.001Z

Party!

I'm getting ready and listening to an old favourite - Monster mash by Bobby Pickett and the Cryptkickers (gotta love that name). Scrool down the sidebar - I've made you a copy to enjoy.

Back later!

2008-10-15T17:55:00.007Z

Getting ready for the Halloween party
This Saturday (the 18th) hop on over to Vanessa at A FancifulTwist for a fun, early Halloween gathering. Scroll down a bit to find all the fabulous Halloween cake designs! Loads of eye candy and inspiration.

Then later in the week the wonderful Kari at Artsymama is hosting her Fall Gathering. She is a lady who LOVES this time of year. I'm with her on that one. She too has loads of wonderful autmn and Halloween themed inspiration.

Don't you just love blog parties? Oddly enough, in real life I am not a party person at all. Nor have I the shape for the kind of dresses I love to design. But in cyberspace anything is possible. And let's face it, with the news being all doom and gloom, we need some cyber glam to cheer us up. So now I have the frocks sorted - witchy dress for Saturday, etheral faery dress for the Fall Gathering I think, I'd better go and tidy and find the Halloween decorations.

Must get ready.......

back later

Fiona

2008-10-13T09:14:00.002Z

Check this out...

The world economy might be in crisis but as always, the arty community does it's bit to offer some light relief and encouragement. The good news is that the fabulous painter Misty Mawn is doing painting videos on Youtube! Check out the link in the sidebar. Suziblu and now Misty...oh my!

2008-10-13T09:07:00.002Z

Did you know.........

the fabulous Misty Mawn is now uploading painting videos to YouTube! Check her out at http://uk.youtube.com/user/mistylmawn

2008-09-19T19:06:00.009Z

For Sarah, a welcome thought from Jake... see you on Monday

(It's a tennis court, Jake style, that's why they are playing with weapons instead of rackets. check out the crowd. Sadly, he relocated the umpire chair to another set up before I could get a shot of it. We could have a blog solely dedicated to his Lego creations. Maybe we should but I'd never be able to keep up with him.)

2008-09-19T19:06:00.005Z

A proud moment.......

From 1,000 Artists Journal Pages, here is my contribution of 3 pages - the 2 on the bottom of the left hand page and the top right one called Waiting. It is very strange as they look like a blast from the past, representing my style of almost 2 years ago.

Just to show that I have managed a little low key art, I've posted a couple of pages from my current art journal. The Celtic lady was done using paint rather than watercolour crayons, a departure for me.

Well, its been a strange, worrying week more so than usual what with Meltdown Monday, contaminated baby milk, the loss of identity of one of only 2 remaining Scottish banks and so many other things.Can you believe a train driver texting while driving a passenger or people contaminating baby milk. We all know its a strange old world but sometimes we need a little respite from the gloom of the world. Hoping this weekend end we all find something that makes us feel a little more positive about the world and the future.

2008-09-10T16:50:00.004Z

Oh my, its September and my accidental blog break just keeps getting longer. I didn't quite intend that. It just sort of happened.Same as the lack of art activity just kind of happened too. There I was painting up a storm when all of a sudden- nothing, nada, blank, empty, rock bottom. Who'd have guessed. Personally, I blame the Minnesota heat and the overlong school holidays. Since getting back to work, its been manic and almost non-stop. I madly agreed to teach a family history course. I'm just a little stressed about, not much, just alot.......

Also, I now have a teenager in the house with all the joys that entails. She managed to break the family pc with all the images on it. Arghhhh.......

So why is there a picture of the rather fabulous 1,ooo Artist Journal Pages at the top of my post? Well, the big thrill of the summer was seeing my 3 pages used in this publication!!!!!! The level of disbelief about included rose when I saw the other work included. Buy this book now. Seriously.

Oh, by the way, Artsy Mama aka the wonderful Kari is hosting a blog party to celebrate autumn on the 21 September, the autumn equinox. Decorate your house or anything else you fancy and be there. It should be fun!

Now that I've got my act together, I hope to be back around b logland, reading, commenting and participating again.

See you around!

Fi
x

2008-07-26T15:59:00.002Z

Melting in Minnesota or I've away for a while but sometimes I wondered which country I was visiting?

Ah, it is nice to be back in a country where it isn't 96 plus degrees and too humid, where food is simple, and they drive on the correct side of the road. In the past few weeks we have sat in airplanes for excessive numbers of hours, bought too much Lego in a Mall that was too big, both too few art supplies, and caught up with "old "relatives and met new friends. We spent an afternoon watching 2 Russian bears have a water fight. We also discovered that Wisconsin is a long way from the suburbs of Minneapolis and that I still prefer St Paul. My sister -in-law tried to cut off her brother's head but all in the name of good clean magical fun. (Don't copy her at home - she is a professional magician). And I played with paper and paint along with a group of like minded ladies in rural Wisconsin while staying in a great converted schoolhouse -without the children in tow - yippee! Peace! Most importantly, my children got to meet their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandfather properly.

Now it is time to let it all settle a little, post some photos and longer posts and look ahead. I'm looking forward to doing a guest spot for Kari's Sweet and Sinister Halloween extravaganza. Suzi Blu is doing a painting course. And best of all, the kids go back to school in 3 weeks time and with that a welcome return to normality!

Need to cook dinner for little boys who are currently out dragon hunting............back later.

2008-07-06T16:26:00.004Z

I've been so quiet lately.

I've been very quiet lately, hardly visiting any blogs, playing with a new work camera and no posts to my neglected blog. There has been art but only of the sketchbook doodling variety which is always fun. It must be the rare event of sunshine around here!It will be quiet for a couple more weeks as we are off to visit the Minnesota relatives and will be spending the US out of recession all by ourselves. Just how much Lego, clothes and art pens and penicils can we bring home? A few, a few.......

Waiting for me will be this book - 1 ooo artist journal pages by Dawn Sokol. I'm in it and very very thrilled! Can't wait to see the whole thing - I'll be showing it off to everyone!

2008-06-06T09:04:00.004Z

A recent art journal page.....

For a good while I was painting up storm and then the physio got to work on my arm. Ouch but in a good cause. So I've really been doing very little art lately. It must be the upcoming summer months - they are not very productive for a number of people. Too many other distractions. Today's distraction will be the boy agonising over whether Amazon has delivered the Lego Indiana Jones game today! If you haven't seen the Lego short Raiders of the Lost Brick, check it out on You Tube - it's a hoot. It should be on the sidebar, way down at the bottom. I also added Tristania 's Mercyside as a response to a question on JournalGirl's art journal workshop about what music do you journal to - loud, Gothic metal is my preference - Within Temptation, Tristania, Delain, Xandria, Lacuna Coil (ok, so they're not Goth) amongst others. Pick the top one rather using footage from The 3oo rahter than the live ones, it has the orignal fabulous vocalist. Enjoy.

Off to watch my favoured player loose his semi final in the French Open tennis championship. It's a given, if I root for them, they loose. Did I mention I get obssesed wtih tennis at this time of year and that's one of the reasons I get little else done? It is possible to potter about in the art journal while watching a match and that's what I'll be doing. I've been that way since I was about 11 so it's not going to change now! Roll on Wimbledon.........

2008-05-29T13:06:00.005Z

Yeah. I've finally got on my own pooter!

My daughter has to be surgically removed from this machine I think. I never seem to get on it anymore! So I've got about half an hour to do a bit of surfing, commenting and uploading.

This month's challenge from the GPP Street Team was paper casting, something I keep meaning to try but just hadn't got around to doing so. Pretty followed Michell's method.

I made some casts the day the challenge went up but am only just uploading it. I used a favourite Celtic stamp and highlighted it with paint and stamp pads. I thought I'd add it to my latest painting for some dimension.

The cast........

Cast on painting......
Detail of the face

Other than that, I'm working and getting physio on my arm, playing in my art journal a little and sketching for Norah inspired sisters type paintings..........

2008-05-16T12:23:00.004Z

One for the girl....

My daughter asked me to paint her a picure for her bedroom. So I did one, with the hair and eye colours as requested. Then when it was done, she asked for 2 more to make a triptych. Here's the last one. This is a repeat of the girl in the Green Eyed Sisters but smoothed out a little. I really enjoyed painting this one. Hope she likes it.

2008-05-10T08:23:00.004Z

Bugged..............

I've definitely caught the painting bug. Who would have thought? It may have something to do with moving my creative space right into the heart of the house. Previously I always had to share a space that was shared with another person or function. I've finally found a spot that is all mine, atleast for now. So I plank myself down at the big table, put on my Ipod and paint. Kids and hubby are doing their thing, and sometimes I even respond to what they are saying! Depends how loud I have the music............

Have a great weekend!

2008-05-04T17:05:00.004Z

Neglect ......

but in a good cause! I've been doing an online portrait class so I've not been on the pc much. I need all the arm strength for painting.

I have some arm issues and one thing I have learned in the last fortnight.......paint BEFORE you do the assigned exercises from the physio, not after! Not unless you want wobbly lines.

So below are a few of my arty adventures with paint. And to think I hated painting with a passion at school.

A blue icy fairy....

Norah inspired sisters using loads of lovely Byzantia paint colours

My first BIG canvas thanks to Lidl's canvas on a roll! Yet more Byznatia paint with excessive use of a Celtic stamp and copper embossing powder. She was supposed to be a dignified lady but the stamps-flowery things make her a bit like a gypsy.

And the finished article from just before the class started by way of comparison. I may not be a great painter but I am beginning to really enjoy the process!

It's a holiday weekend here so tomorrow is another day of staying in with the kids looking at the rain. Atleast we got toa boot sale today. I really lucked out when I found the car selling 1904 fashion plates (mini) and an 18th century pocket book with a French calender inside it -----from 1770!Round here, that is not normal!!!!
Dinner then a bit more painting I think. Then I must do the physio exercises and that will be that for the night.

Take care

Fiona

2008-04-18T09:30:00.004Z

Something different.....atleast for me!

My, my, what a week or two it has been at work. It's been pretty much flat out with meetings, group visits and (oh this was so hard) a day trip to Perth for a conference! It has a really good art shop! So this is the first Friday off with no kids at home for holidays for a few weeks. Peace, glorious peace - except for being able to sing out louds to my itunes library selections without anyone complaining. I've been pottering away at art and getting organised for a serious art play today. I'm continuing with my online portrait class but I'm finding that mixing skins tones does take some practice. Now yet happy with the colour mixes. That's what I am going to be working on today.

I'm only showing my face WIP to share with other class members. I'm also going to be "doing" the eyes, right after this blog update. Long way to go yet.

The little house started as a doodle with paint and watercolour pencils. My son wants me to do one for him! Perhaps I'll substitute a castle tower for him. Fun anyway.

Right, time to go and play with paint instead of talking about it.

Hope you all have an arty, happy, sunny weekend.

Fiona

2008-04-07T09:21:00.006Z

Work in Progress to share

I always enjoy looking and learning from other blogger's work in progress so I thought I would share a painting in progress. I'm really a novice painter. While I have always enjoyed the precision of drawing, paint has been a bit of a mystery. How do people achieve those wonderful shadings and layers? Last year my arty goal was to remind my hands and brain how to draw faces. This year's goal is to get to grips with paint. To this end I'm currently taking Paulette Insall's online portrait class. She has such a great laid back teaching style!

So here is the initial rough sketch (with the perspective skewed by the angled of the camera) and the sketch then transferred onto the canvas but rotated.
This is the plain sketch on the canvas before I started mucking about with it.
This weekend I took over the dining table and spread all my stuff about. However, I'm now appreciating why people do like a painting easel. My hubby rigged me up one using an upturned stool and 2 heavy catalgoues! Not pretty, but oddly effective!
So after many layers, and subtle stamping using my favourite Celtic stamps, some embossed in copper for extra visual interest. Now I'm getting down to the detailing. The right hand side will have the words of a Celtic blessings.
And the face will need some more work too.

But that's for later today, after we do things with the kids. Afterall it is the Spring holiday, so that explains why it has been snowing here. Typical.

Thanks for looking

2008-03-15T17:32:00.005Z

Don't you love Flickr for virtual journeys??

The sprogs were all happy doing other things so I got to ahve an indulgent afternoon. I watched Becoming Jane and then wasted a half hour playing on Flickr. Oh to go back to the Netherlands with a camera.....

1. Sunflowers, 2. Tulips, 3. Cafe Quibus, 4. winter in Amsterdam, 5. Two Faces of Amsterdam, 6. Beginhof reflections, 7. Sunset in Amsterdam, 8. i heart amsterdam, dutch dreamland, 9. Amsterdam, 10. Amsterdam building DSC_0913, 11. Amsterdam - Prinsengracht, 12. Damrak - Amsterdam, 13. Amsterdam Canal, 14. Crooked buildings in Amsterdam, 15. Crooked buildings in Amsterdam, 16. Amsterdam Buildings

2008-03-14T12:09:00.007Z

Oh my, 200th post!So here are some beautiful tulips celebrate this milestone.

Since I've been off the boil with drawing faces, last weekend I decide to paint over some early canvases that I didn't like anymore. Instead I did these. What do you think? The goal was to play with textures and layers so there is embossing, stamping, paper, paint and a great little "admit one" ticket. The lonely heart was using Stewart Gill Byzantia paints. The other also used SG paints but the lighter Alchemy series. Have a great weekend!

2008-03-14T10:15:00.004Z

Good grief but time does fly!

So what have I been doing? Honestly? I have no idea. I've been having hand and back bothers so I've been trying to limit my pootering time. And the kids are still hogging the pc. But we came up with a cunning plan........we bought them a Wii!!! Now they just fight over the big tv instead of the pc!

As the weather has improved my art mojo seems to have evaporated. I was going great guns with drawing and painting since the autumn. Then come January - nothing, nada, squat......a blank new sketchbook. So I've started to play in my inspiration book. I've got a house one too and that is just stuff I like slapped on the page, no thought, just glue it. For the arty inspiration book I've taken a slightly more thematic approach eg colours, contrasts, textures etc Here are the red and white collections. Other pages are unfinished as I haven't yet found images that I want to use, so it will be an evolving place to play. I simply don't buy enough magazines to cut up for a large stash of images!

Back later - I have the pc to myself this morning and I've done my fairy chores.

2008-02-14T22:02:00.002Z

OWOH. And the winner is........

mum to DD: pick a number between 1 and 96
DD: Why?
Mum: [insert OWOH explanation here..] because......
DD: 27

So the winner is comment number 27 - Nici at Art Shaped World blog! Congratulations!

2008-02-09T12:55:00.001Z

Eb's Polar Festival ......

on a sunny, warm day with flowers budding all over, atleast on the east coast of Scotland.Elizabeth, host of the fab bloglandia Ball, is now hosting the Polar Festival. Join in -it will be great! I will be enjoying all the wintery, snowy images, with candles in the ice etc. All the more so as we haven't yet had snow (seriously, it could snow anytime upto and beyond Easter...). Today it is gloriously sunny and warm. The snow drops and aconites are already budding and my overwintering fuschia is in full bloom. Confused or what?

I'm just about to leave my wintery icy colours behind and adopt warmer spring colours. These 2 ladies are very wintery. The lady above looks like she is wearing a bikini top in the scan but the snowflake embossed onto her bodice is just not showing up! Same with the details on the face below. Shame but what can you do?

I'll be off visiting - hope to see you!

2008-02-08T10:26:00.001Z

Heart in hand......

Hands must interest me more than I realise as I use them freqently. I like to record the kids hands as they show how much they grow. A yearly hand is added to their written journals and the occasional one to my art journals too. Thought it was about time I did something with my own hand silhouette. My pink and blue phase reverted back to red once again. I left space to journal as I usually decorate pages and add words later.

2008-02-03T16:58:00.001Z

I love Michelle Ward's GPP Team challenges. This month she has challenged us to put together a journalling on the go kit. This was on my mind anyway, so I put one together using a lunchbox that I had decorated a year or so ago with Basic Grey papers. If I did it now it would be in a different style. It might yet change. Probably will. I'm defintely planning on putting a collage of favourite images into the inside lid for moving inspirations. It should fit in carry on luggage, right?

Lid

Open - the fancy baggie contains ephemera etc to use. Double sided tape, some stamps, water pen, a Sharpie or 2, glue stick. I'll be adding a small tin of caran d'ache crayons because theya re essential!

2008-02-02T09:58:00.001Z

I'm participating in this year's One World One Heart giveaway blog fest. Its a great idea by Lisa OceanDreamer. Here's how she desciribes the event:

It is a blog-wide giveaway event. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it......friendships that are still going strong.

I'll be giving away a unique junkque journal. Here's a glimpse of the cover.

The journal is 6 x 4 and has a variety of old and new papers, postcards and other odd surfaces, including microfiche, bound together in a flowery handpainted cover. It's handbag sized and perfect for jottings on the go.

Stop by and visit!

2008-02-01T11:46:00.001Z

A little day time music to create by.....

Some new music for you on the sidebar. Try the 3 rd one down - its the "right" video for Nightwish's Kiss while your lips are still red. They are from Finland and go in for a BIG metal goth sound but this is gentle and builds up beautifully. I love being able to add music directly to blogs.

2008-02-01T11:24:00.001Z

Busy making art.....

It's the first day of February and we are waiting for the tail end of the storm to do its stuff. Will we or won't we get snow?The klids haven't been sledging for a couple of years now andn they would love just once chance this winter. Think it's going to be sleet and high winds. Perfect day to stay in, keep cosy and crank up the volume of the stereo as there is no one around to complain about my singing! I've noticed that the images in my head the last couple of weeks seem to be all pinks, blues and flowers so I'm guessing I'm looking forward to spring! I'm certainly ahead of myself with May Queen . She is a simple drawing over torn strips of book pages, coated in gesso. I find the Tesco flower catalogue and invaluable aid to art. It was sitting beside her and cried out to made into a May crown. She needs some final defintion around the mouth etc but she's done. I've been watching Paulette Insall's You Tube painting videos. Brilliant stuff. Learning lots from that. I never knew that cotton buds (Q tips to some of you) were so useful. Serious. I've a bunch in my pocket ready for when I need them. The background on the lady below was painted following on from Paulette. Then I painted the face over it. Usually I draw in the face and paint around it which can be a bit constricting. I've paid much more attention to some of the details than I normally do and have got some subtle shadings going on that may not be too obvious from the scan. What do you think?
More later. I've got one more W I P to share but I need to add a bit more first. Back later. And I must post my One Heart contribution too!

2008-02-01T11:11:00.001Z

Orange Bionicle

needs his 5 fruit and veggies a day or else he gets cranky. My house is littered with Transformers, Lego and Bionicles, and lots of little Matchbox cars. How about yours?

Lego just celebrated its 50th anniversary this past week. You may have noticed the Google banner went all brick like? Apparently, according to a blog read by my DH, there is sufficient Lego in the world to make a bridge to the moon about 7 times. And that there is enough Lego for everyone on the planet to have 63 pieces each. I think my son must be hogging the supply for a small country.

Father and son created their own chess set from all the many little figures the boy posses. Stormtroopers and wizards verus soldiers and City workers, I think. Mad I tell you, mad. But sweet!

2008-01-21T19:42:00.000Z

Norah's paper doll party - a work in progress

Doesn't look like much yet but I am working on some paper dolls. Norah's been having a doll partyI'm going for the traditional paper doll rather than an arty doll. When I was a child paper dolls were amongst my most favourite toy. I had a book of dolls that had the uniforms of the various world airlines and their national costumes - little girl heaven, atleast for me! My girlies are not getting any dull old uniforms. It's extravagant frocks all the way with tight bodices. Yeah, like the stuff I wear all the time!!!

It's the middle of January but at this time of year I start to think about the approaching spring. This tends to manifest itself in bulb buying. So far I've bought ranunculas, anemones, peonies and cornflowers. There will be more I'm sure. Our garden is very green haven for wildlife with lots of foliage and some super cherry trees. It tends to lack colour in the summer. I'm so not a gardener - more of an anti-gardener but I keep trying. Lavenders and fuschias seem to thrive with me but little else does. Wish them luck - the poor wee plants need it with me. In my mind I want a riot of colour a bit like this........my own field of flowers....

2008-01-18T13:25:00.000Z

Michelle's lastest crusade is about journalling your blog. I took this literally as I'd been inspired by people who had blog slurped and got their blog archives into glossy books. Great idea to keep a record of what we blog, after all it is our diary and there is no guarantee how long anything electronic will be around. Paper lasts. So I plunged in, with the simplest of approaches, got out an A4 sized book and started printing out blog entries, cutting and pasting. The white paper was too tempting and I just could not leave white paper. It seemd a good time to get out those underused stamps and ink pads and just play a bit while sitting nattering to the boy. Or more likely he was talking Lego and/or Star Wars to me. I loved the little blog evidence tags Michelle made available. But can we have some for 2008........please?

2008-01-17T14:40:00.001Z

January storms....

In Scotland it it traditional that there are severe gales at this time of year. Trees are blown down, roofs come off schools etc True to form, it's raining hard and blowing hard too. Last Wednesday was particularly bad with atleast one tragic outcome not too far from here. One of the lesser casualties was my wee guy. He was hit on the head when a fence panel blew onto him about 10 feet from the school gate. In his own words, he's not pretty at present (he is, but with healing cuts). Oddly enough this is the journal page about it. This date label from 1969 was only 1 day out so it was put to use. I'm rathered pleased with the dreamy effect. Not quite sure how it came about..

2008-01-14T20:21:00.000Z

Celtic queen

I spent a contented afternoon yesterday playing with paint and paper while sprogs went swimming or off to the teen gym. This is what happened - a rich coloured Celtic queen with copper hair. The background frame is a recycled page from a Christmas journal that didn't get very far. I liked the stamp and the colours so I saved it until it asked to be reused again. She is painted onto a gessoed book page which is not so obvious on this scan. There are rough edges where the page was torn out of the book. I like that. It's like life - full of layers and rough edges. Remember - reduce, reuse, recycle!

2008-01-11T19:54:00.000Z

Minnesota, here we come!

Ok, so we have finally done it! We are invading Minnesota in July! So the state had better watch out. If anyone was planning to purchase any Lego at the Lego shop in Mall of America, better get there before my son does. He swooned when he learned how big the MOA shop was - it's over 4 floors and you can buy individual bricks. Like he needs more than he already has!! But like me with caran d'ache watercolour crayons adn the like, the word enoguh does not come into it. We'll never get him out of there! We're also off to Wisconsin to visit relatives and to do some art. I've just booked a workshop at Valley Ridge Art Studio. Now the reluctant traveller in me is worried that this is really tempting fate, while a very little voice says well done, keep up the good work, you're being brave. (Did I mention I am pretty unadventurous but I'm working on it?) I checked the supply list -what is freezer paper? Since I can't bring it all from the UK, I'll just HAVE to go art supply shopping. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it! Go on, make me! Now what's this I hear about coupons for Joann's and Archivers etc????

2008-01-11T19:30:00.000Z

Tagged!

I was tagged by Patti at My Treasure Barn so here are 5 random things about me:

I am a reluctant traveller, preferring the armchair and a good travel/history documentary
I adore sci fi but work with historic documents and photographs all day
I was the oldest person in the metal section of HMV music store a couple of weeks ago!
I am rather round
I've had a short play performed

So who am I tagging? Joy and Nita

2008-01-01T19:10:00.001Z

happy new year!

Oh, the possbilities!

It is traditional to start a new year post by reflecting on the past year and making resolutions. I'm skipping past that and moving straight on to the confession of a guilty pleasure - blank books! I love them! They are full of such possibilities -you can write lists, stories, draw, doodle whatever. Above are diaries, art journals to be and altered books in the process of being altered for use this year.

One of my favourite things is to take an old hardback novel, preferably with thick absorbant pages, smoother them in gesso and cover with a nice handmade paper or a sheet of funky Decopatch. I was lucky enough to receive a Bind It All as a Christmas gift so the possbility of making junk journals is taking shape too. The spiral bound journal on the top right (pictured below) is one I made earlier , in best Blue Peter tradition, using a friend's BIA. I should resolve to stick with one book until it is done but I know me - it will never happen. So that's one resolution I don't need to make!

Today was my birthday and my hubby gave me this book by my favourite faery artist Jessica Galbreth. No more trying to see the details on a pc screen - I have it in luscious , large colour!Off to have another trawl through it. She is so inpiring.

Best wishes to all for a good 2008 - may it be full of positive things!

2007-12-31T19:45:00.002Z

The faces of 2007 - quite literally!

These are my girls!

1. Bosk, 2. Seven Stars, 3. Winte rQueen, 4. Fairy Queen, 5. Moongazer, 6. Black Haired Woman atc, 7. Faery Ulla, 8. Purple Spring Fairy, 9. BillieSketch copy, 10. Vera, 11. PumpkinPrincess, 12. HalloweenBall, 13. HeartofEverything, 14. Simple, 15. CelticRose, 16. JessicasApprentice copy, 17. SpringLady, 18. RedLady, 19. LizieLady, 20. FloweryLady, 21. ChristmasAngelBold, 22. Etheral angel, 23. WinterLady, 24. HalloweenGirl

I have spent alot of time this year doodling faces in my sketchbook, in my art journal, some even made it onto canvas. It sums up my year in terms of art. I wonder what 2008's theme will be ? I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I do know that I will continue to be inspired and amazed at all the fabulous art and inspiration available to us all in Blogland. Thanks to all for sharing!

Happy 2008!

2007-12-24T20:44:00.000Z

Season's greetings from me to you.

Did you know that Santa is currently delivering in Angola? Track him with Norad at http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm - seriously. And its even more fun if you have or download Google Earth. We've been tracking him since Georgia ie the ex-Soviet one.

A Christmas song to finish this brief post: Winter Wonderland by Darlene Love and Phil Spector - should be on the right in the sidebar.

Have a good one!

2007-12-15T15:28:00.001Z

A glimpse of where I live.......probably part one!

The latest Green Pepper Press street team challenge is to tell a little about where you live. So here goes........

I live in a biggish sized town on the east coast of Scotland filled with many very old houses, some of them gable ended in the Dutch tradition. It is light, fres, characterful and very close to the sea. It has almost everything you need (except a cinema) and is only 1 hour away from 2 major cities. People are friendly (except in the supermarket car park where dog eat dog rules apply) and bus drivers get offended if you don't day cheerio as you get off the bus. All in all rather a nice place to live.This is the entrance to a delightful shop, once a rural schoolhouse, and now filled with Scandanavian style decorations, candles, lanterns, dangly heart shaped wreaths and many other lovelies. it is eye candy of the highest order, coupled with a fab cafe selling Danish apple dumplings and pastries. Note the big weathered crowns with candles in the big pots by the front door. Now if I buy a crown, what else will I need......

This is our wonderful wide High Street on the first night the Christmas lights were turned on. There has been a church on that site for atleast 800 years.

This is adjacent to where I work. This ruined church stands on an ancient Celtic site , and probably religiously significant site even before that. A church has stood here since the 8th century ( yes c. 769AD) . This arch may even be from that time. It is certainly nearly 1,000 years old. This is my lunchtime walk.
And this is a view of a bit of the magnificent sweep of beach. Miles of it. Great for sitting and drawing while the kids paddle. And right beside a great playpark too.

My little bit of the world suits me just fine. I can't imagine living anywhere else. It has the beach, the country, the glens, ancient and the modern towns, all in fairly useful proportions. But seriously, if we only had a multiplex cinema........

Now I've been bad posting this as I am on a pc withdrawal programme due to a very, very sore wrist. So that's my mini quota for the day used up.

TTFN

2007-12-08T10:46:00.001Z

Seasonal art play

I've been quietly working away at just a few small projects lately. It gets too hectic to do too much but I cannot resist the temptation to put gesso on something, anything! I'm making a little Christmas book with atc's for use as note cards and space from some phots.How do people manage to get lots of lovely seasonal pics of their kids? I never do. However, I am a bad enough mum to make them pose once a year wearing the Santa hat!! Heehhee!

The journal then grew a big sister that is now attached to a sparkly purple canvas. Perhaps I like snowflakes this year? Maybe I'm hust hoping for some snow?

Have a good day whatever you are up to. Hoping to see some big city Chistmas lights and start on the Gingerbread house. We've never made one of these before but it will be fun and messy.
Back later

2007-11-19T20:31:00.001Z

A few odds and bods

This one is for Nita

This one is for my little guy (what a poser!) just turned 7 at the weekend.

And this one is to add to the wintery mood prevading blogland. I wonder if someone will host a Winter Bloglandia Ball? Hope so ...I can just picture the frock in my mind's eye!

And lastly, pop over to Dawn's blog for a head's up on a book every art journaller will want!

Back later.

2007-11-16T12:00:00.000Z

More musings on a sunny but cold Friday morning.......

More musings on a sunny but cold Friday morning which follow on from Michelle's street team challenge, by way of the fabulous muse that is Sharon aka Norah's. Sharon makes the most fabulous altered books with glorious lady covers. The above, slightly textured mini altered board book, is my take inspired by her various weekend art adventures that she generously shares. Sadly, the delicate platinum snowflake stamoing is not showing up too well. The book was a scaled down version of the big lady sketch which in turn was taken from a small angel in a large medieval Flemish painting. I'm not sure where the book is going from here as my DS is adamant that the cute penguin page inside should not be covered up!

The other muse I cannot not mention is fantasy artist Jessica Galbreth. I discovered her art through a participating in a circle journal. It was one of those Aha! moments (no, not the Norwegian band.....) when I realised that that was how I wanted to draw, and indeed I had used to do something in the same vain (but not in the same league). Permission was granted to do my own thing. And I'm having fun doing it. Stops me mugging grannies on a dark night......... This older image was my homage to Jessica's inspiration.

2007-11-09T11:48:00.000Z

What's you muse? (Part one)

Some people have very clear ideas of their muse and even have names and personalities for them. I'm a little less clear if there is one identity for mine...atleast that I can name right at present. Instead, I can name a variety of muses, some old and some newer. This is Crusade no.14 from Michelle Ward and I've been enjoying mulling it over. So here goes......

I've long loved anything medieval, from the history of the era to the art and the colours. The art is rather stylised but I love that about it. The gorgeous blues, reds, green and golds are wonderful rich colours that I use time and again. Stewart Gill's Byzantia range of paints fills the perfectly. They come in small but perfectly formed little pots all the way from down the road in Dumfermline, Scotland - the ancient burial place of the early medieval kings of Scotland so very appropriate.

If anyone has been to Paris and been to Saint Chapelle you'll know what I mean about the colours.

What next - Egypt! Same again, wonderful rich colours in the same pallette with fabulous stylised body forms. I used to sit and draw Egyptian figures time and again as a child. Never having been to Egypt except through books and the Hisotry Channel, I have nevertheless seen both Tutankhamun and Nefertiti up close in London and Berlin.

Some older atc's that illustrate some of the muses mentioned......

The Pre-Raphealite painters and their models are also on my list of muses. These faces are just spellbinding. Some of them lived pretty difficult lives but their legacy is amazing. I collected as many copies of a particular brochure as I could to get multiple copies of this image. I've used it on a few things -this one is a tryptich atc from a couple of years ago. The 3 part panel - another mediveal influence! With a quote from Dante Gabriel Rosetti --- "between the sun and the moon, a mystery".

I also adore copper embossing powder with celtic stamps. I live in the middle of the celtic heartland of Scotland - there are loads of one thousand year old carved stones on the doorstep.

Thanks for reading.

Back later.

2007-10-30T20:31:00.001Z

Halloween art.......

2007-10-30T19:43:00.001Z

Some skelly love for Halloween!

These are some skeleton details from local gravestones. All of them are from the 18th century. The botton skeleton skull is my favourite. Very beautifully carved and quiet scary! At this period the use of skulls was an emblem of death. On the other side of the stone would be emblems of immortality such as angels and flowers. I'm a huge fan of 18th century stones and go around"collecting" angels. Some have punk hair styles while others are just cute! My kids think I'm mad........

2007-10-27T19:32:00.000Z

Blogger trick or treating.........BOO!

Tonight is Nita's Trick or Treating for big people.....I'm off to visit around. Here's my little calling card. See you soon!

2007-10-27T07:02:00.001Z

It's finally beginning to feel more like autumn around here

The strange warmer weather is finally being overtaken by more typical dull and drippy days. It definitely feels more like a Scottish autumn now. A good day to stay home, be cosy and do some art and some fairy chores, preferably in that order and with not too much emphasis on the latter. Except I've just remembered that yesterday's batch of laundry is still in the machine....oops...too busy making little treat atc's for Nita's trick or treating.

2007-10-26T08:53:00.001Z

Trying to be Goth

Michelle Ward's Green Pepper Press Street Team challenge this month was to get Goth. I don't have naything much in the way of adult Halloween decorations so I went looking for some things I could use. Have you any idea how hard it is to get anything much beyond plastic pumpkins in the UK? It's that annoying little blip before the big commercial fest of chrismas. If we have anything like Halloween and Vine type craft shows, they are no where near me!! I had hoped my Art Erratica halloween danglies would arrive in time but the Post Office strikes look like putting an end to that. Shame. Crump over. So I've been improvising with black Christmas decorations and a furry scarf. TK Maxx did have a very nice bits so now we have a skelly nutcracker! Cool. It still looks a bit sparse. Next year I will be stalking Etsy in good time.

Tomorrow we will be decorating the conservatory for the kids Spooky Tea - ripped up bins sacks, cardboard skellies, paper lanterns and too many little boys running around being hyper. It will be fun. Remind me I said that...................................

2007-10-19T13:56:00.001Z

Friday!

I love Fridays. It is usually my arty catch up day. For the last 2 weeks I've been a bit under the weather so it is nice to be back to normal now! There hasn't been much art going on lately. For over a week I carried my art journal and watercolour crayons around for security but they weren't acutally used. Now I'm back to scribbling in the sketch books and journals, so here is a little visual montage of some earlier creations. The little faces were sent off into the wide world as part of a fantasy fat book swap, the larger faces are just that - larger!

Back later.

2007-10-03T11:12:00.001Z

The Heart of everything

this was my contribution to last week's Altered Pencil Lines.
I used mainly caran d'ache crayons and a sprinkling of Stewart Gill Byzantia paint. The title is shamelessly nicked from a Within Temptation song which seemed appropriate as I was inspired by a sketch that used half a heart with stringy wings. Check out the other DT work - it's rather good!

2007-10-01T18:02:00.001Z

More {21} Challenge photo catch up

I borrowed Rhonna's lovely digi design and painted it instead.
On this one I used bits from a goody bag I was lucky enough to win on the Green Pepper Press Street Team.
Back to the caran d'ache crayons......

More later..........

2007-09-26T18:18:00.000Z

Bloglandia Ball
Oh there are so many fabulous events in Blogworld. Tonight is the Bloglandia Ball. I've designed my autumn themed dress, all diaphranous and long. I'm off to change. Any handsome princes out there? Grab your best frock and party on over (and you know how much I love a nice long frock!)

2007-09-21T12:35:00.001Z

The 21 challenge catch up post
A choice of journal is always important. My first choice didn't work so I settled on altering a paperback pamphlet. The paper is IKEA gift warp and is delicious. My only consistent thing in the project will be using the round journalling spots to record the day.
Day 1 - my goal -to see the glass half full, not half empty. Believe me this is abig challenge for me!
Day 2 - watercolour crayons and Rhonna's prompt. Day3 -I used my oil pastels as inspired by Suzi Blu, in the post below.
Day 4 - more oil pastels on the left, while the green art card on the right is by my friend Helen Campling and as it so fit Rhonna's quote of the day, I'll be adding it into my journal too.

More later...I have to see if Andrew Murray can win his Davis Cup match (tennis)- at the moment it's not looking likely!

2007-09-19T19:40:00.000Z

Happy Wednesday!I had intended to share some images from my 21 challenge journal but we are, literally,between scanners and I 'll wait until it is installed. Instead I want to share a fabulous link posted by iHanna about some creativity videos on You Tube posted by Suziblutube. They are also on her blog.
Go and watch them now! She's fabulous! Her art and her philosophy are both refreshing and enabling. Her current series is on how to keep an art journal and there also has some where she is painting and talking. Seriously, go watch adn enjoy!

PS the picture has nothing to do with this post, but a post without an image? Shock, horror, no!

2007-09-16T09:02:00.000Z

Michelle has a new crusade running.

What do you have crush on? Mmmm, hard to answer. Taking it literally, we'll start with literary characters. Mr Darcy is more than OK, but he doesn't compare to John Thornton of the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth's Gaskell's North and South 9NOT the US civil war drama of the same name!) . If you haven't read the book, I recommend you don't bother. Watch the BBC drama series instead. It is superb. How can it fail when it uses the classical capital of Scotland ie Edinburgh as the "dirty, smokey place" that is Milton!!! That part, Thornton is a wonderful character and I defy you not to be completely taken with him by half way through the series. For your delectation I have added the YouTube link of the Look Back scene. (I've been having trouble getting the YT insert gizmo to work today, so here is the direct link Taken out of context it may mean little but after many subltle references to Margaret looking back at Thornton, she is on the point leaving Milton for ever......seriously, you'll be shouting at her to look back .

I share with Michelle a passion for the colours of Venice, and for Amsterdam's gable ended buildings and flowers.

Venice mosiacs. Please click - these Flickr images are gorgeous!

Add to that Pre-Rapaelite and medieval paintings - the rich colours and the pouty faces, lots of angels.....what's not to love.

Frocks. Now I am short and round but I would adore to wear a long, full skirt, tight bodice evening frock. Look at any frock worn by Sharon from Within Temptation -pretty much my dream wardrobe, with only a few exceptions. Or indeed think Eowen from Lord of the Rings - medieval is cool too. Not too frou -frou, with a bit of an edge. And a tiara. And celtic tatooes. Now I'll be be back in while as I am off to hunt for images of frocks I love..........I could be quite a while.

2007-09-14T15:05:00.001Z

Another round of the {21} Challenge!

Rhonna Farrer is doing another {21} Challenge! Pop on over to her website under News or Journal and read about her challenge to journal for 21 days to change or create a new habit. I think it is the first round since she stopped blogging. It's great fun. She provides lovely quotes and prompts to get the arty juices flowing. Come on over and join in. I'm going to play. Anyone else?

2007-09-12T18:08:00.000Z

A Work in Progress....

Over the Labour Day weekend the fabulous Norah had an art party and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the progress of her Cloth, Papers, Scissors inspired galzed paint journal. I started one too. I got an old receipt book, glued pages together, added patterned paper, gessoed over them adn then got stuck. Lucily a trip to the big craft shop brought forth a tube of glaze and I was off!I love 17th century gravestone winged souls and take loads of photos of them. My new little journal will be on the theme of angels......

with a few SCARY exceptions.

All the painting are based on real local stones!!!!! Even this one!

Thanks Norah's aka Sharon - it was fun watching and playing along!I "got" some new angels today so I feel more pages coming on.

2007-09-12T18:00:00.001Z

A cautionary tale............ before stepping in the paddling pool to get a better angle of a cute child playing:

a. check the depth
b. roll up the trousers higher.....

oh well, the sunshine addled my poor wee brain. After all it had been a bad week.....

2007-08-26T13:29:00.001Z

Mum........why did you put petals on my shoulders?

because, darling daughter, it was your birthday yesterday! Why do babies get so big so quickly? She is taller than me already. I liked this photo of her straddling 2 haystacks but I couldn't leave it alone, could I? The background was sanded and painted over. Then I added some silver stamping with the word love, a layer of Alchemy paint in purple for some shimmering, bling added to the dots and a gold painted crown as she is the Queen of Everything (or thinks she is...!). And darling, they are wings, not petals!

2007-08-25T18:46:00.001Z

Colours of Venice Flickr Mosiac

After watching an old Katherine Hepburn movie called Summertime adn set in Venice, I am in love - with the city. One day, can I go? Please? In the meantime I think Flickr was invented for virtual traveling.

http://bighugelabs.com/photos/d8e32dc67597a6a174cf7dfdd4d15402/mosaic8868183

[url=http://bighugelabs.com/photos/d8e32dc67597a6a174cf7dfdd4d15402/mosaic8868183][img]http://bighugelabs.com/thumbs/d8e32dc67597a6a174cf7dfdd4d15402/mosaic8868183.jpg[/img][/url]
Why is my code showing????? I'll worry about that later. I'm off to have a curry while pretending 6 girls aren't running wild all over my house at a sleepover. Later..........

2007-08-24T15:26:00.001Z

Just because it's sunny....................................................................................Seriously, I've been getting into autumn mode lately as it has been so wet, cold and dreary. I have bought a lovely red crochet scarf. I'm thinking of wearing my fav suede coat again. Now we are having a heat wave. Will it last more than a day? Doubt it so we had better head to the beach while we can. Here is my DD shadow dancing.......it's her birthday tomorrow. Where does the time go? That means my recent mini-crafting sessions have been done in secret. She will hate what I have done with her photo! Am I bovvered? Err, no.

2007-08-11T19:21:00.000Z

Donna!!!

Yes, Donna Layton is the lucky winner of my little Artful Blogging Party giveaway. It was great party adn I've still got more visits to make and enjoy. There were so many techniques and art shared that it was hard to take it all in a one go. A huge thanks to all who visited here and who left comments.Maybe I am shallow but it so nice when people say hi!

Holy Island of Lindisfarne -upturned boat shed - literally! The island is a little paradise for the camera.

Sarah McLachlan - Building A Mystery

2007-08-08T19:11:00.001Z

Love this woman's voice. And this was the song that made me realise how good she is. All you Crusaders out there - enjoy!

Within Temptation - Ice Queen

2007-08-08T19:09:00.001Z

Another one from Dutch Goth rock band Within Temptation