Collage, Decos & Serious Dislike of the NEVERENDING Snow

I have been really busy the past couple of weeks and haven't had a great deal of time to draw extra fun things. I didn't even come close to finishing the 29 Faces Challenge this time but I gave it a good shot. Hopefully in March I'll have more time to create fun art for my blog and for swaps.

One thing I did do is a Steampunk collage. It's part of the workshop I'm doing with Ann D'Angelo at Wonderstrange. I loved making this collage canvas. I just love collage! It's so much fun to take funny little pieces of photos or magazine clips and make them into something entirely different and new.

I also spent some time making new coloring books. These aren't typical coloring books. They're aimed at adults and are more like little collector mini zines than actual coloring books but I love making them. Lots of fun. I sell them in my Etsy store.

I'm still on a Deco making kick (that's my androgyny deco cover at left) and have been sending tons of the little books out and around the world and creating pages for my art friends. I haven't had any return home yet but I'm excited for the day when the first one arrives! I normally participate at Discover Decos (a Yahoo group) and also at illustratedATCs.com. There are a lot of deco makers on that trading site too.

And finally, to catch up on life, I am really really tired of the snow! Each year, I wait excitedly for it to arrive and take lots of photos and like clockwork around the end of February, I wait very impatiently for nice warm weather. We have snowbanks taller than me and the city had to come round with snow cutters and dump trucks to take half of the piles from the road since the streets were getting so narrow. I've had enough. Yay for March tomorrow! I can almost start my seeds and garden. Almost.
 

What happens when artists sit down to make art?

I made a couple of comic panels for a swap on IllustratedATCs with the theme of "What happens when artists sit down to make art." Lots of fun with this swap and I wish I could have made many more panels! You can click the panels so they're large enough to read.

I have to make some faces this weekend to catch up on my 29 faces challenge! I'm only at #12. I was ahead there for a few days. Ah well! I have to catch up on blog commenting too. I haven't had much free time to go on a blog roll and see what everyone else is doing with the challenge.

I've been spending much of my free time working on my Etsy store graphics. During life drawing yesterday (I host a weekly session at the art centre), I spent my time drawing pirates, zombie heads and robots instead of the lovely model.  These are the things I love and gross though they may be (zombie heads I mean), they're fun! I've scanned the sketches and will turn them into nice lineart over the next day or two.

I painted the image below before, it's not new. But it's Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's to everyone!

Faces 7 - 12

I started the above face yesterday and didn't have time to finish it the way I wanted so I just added some colorful bits and voila. I'll call her done and dusted in the most ridiculous way. The faces below are for my art friend's moleskine with the theme of DMV license photos. I went with a cartoony Supernatural theme  in markers and ink. It's an awesome show and she likes it! This takes me to face 12 so I'm actually ahead for a change! Woo!

Faces 4, 5 and 6!

Woo! I'm almost all caught up now. Instead of working all afternoon (oops), I painted some faces so now I'm done Face 4, 5 and 6. The one below is a digital painting. The above portraits are pencil with some drippy watercolor paints over top. They were just supposed to be colorful splotches but one mistaken drip later, I decided to go with it. I attempted another portrait with some old watercolor pencils I had laying around but it was truly horrific and I crushed it, then tore it up. That's what you do with embarrassing art. Don't let it live.

Creating with Intention

I'm currently working on a very fun and interesting online workshop with Ann D'Angelo of Wonderstrange! Our program is called, "Creating with Intention:Making Mixed Media Journal Spreads, Cards, and Canvases that Delight the Eyesand Feed the Soul" and will start on March 1, 2014 over at the  Wonderstrange website. The program focuses on collage and mixed media art and helps artists to create with intent rather than whimsically slapping on layers and images willy-nilly. Finding a focus and planning the canvas from the get go will help keep art from going off track which is one of the most upsetting issues in a mixed media spread. One moment you have a brilliant piece and a few added images or splashes of the paintbrush later, and things are falling apart. Ouch. Been there. The program is meant to help you avoid these sorts of art mistakes and also to fix them if and when they do happen. Registration starts tomorrow! There are lots of fun videos to go with this program and some super workbooks too.

Artwork included here will all be part of the new program.

On the 29 Faces front, I'll be posting a few new portraits tomorrow or Saturday and will soon be caught up. It's been a busy work week so I haven't had time to participate daily. I'll be posting soon and catching up with all of the viewing and commenting too.

29 Faces: Face 3

I actually made a dark queen as face #3 today but I disliked her hair style so she's back on the art table for more work. Instead, here's a silly laughing face with lots of bright, happy colors. Makes me feel better about the crappy queen with the really bad hair.

29 Faces: Face 2

Here's face two for the 29 Faces Challenge - a pretty steampunk lady. I think she solves mysteries or something. She has that steely, inquisitive look. I had to draw her tonight as I'm out all day Sunday and won't have time to make a face. She's a quickie sketch since I've had one too many beers (big family dinner!) to do much more than doodle but I'll make her into lineart sometime next week.

For the next geek fest (aka FanExpo), I plan on making and wearing a steampunk costume. So many cool little pieces go into the costume and it would be great fun to design and create. Either that or I'll go as a weeping angel from Doctor Who.  I can't decide which one would be more fun though I think the angel has the edge for freaking people out.

29 Faces: Day 1!

Woohoo! So glad to take part in 29 Faces again since it's such a fun challenge. I'm doing mostly sketches this time and turning those sketches into lineart. I might color a few here and there too,depending on time. Here's my first face, a pretty Calavera Girl for Day of the Dead. Quick sketch in Photoshop and lineart after. If I have a chance this afternoon, I'll add some color.