Mixed Media Monday - Art

This week I chose "art" as the challenge on Mixed Media Monday. There are so many different artists that I love but Vincent Van Gogh would have to be very high on my list of favourites. I love his art, so decided to paint a little tribute to him this week. It is painted on to a stretched canvas 14x18 inches or 35 x 45 cms. Peeping through are three of his more famous paintings, and I also added some of the lyrics of the Don McLean song, Starry Starry Night, since the song kept playing in my head while I was painting (that seems to be happening to me a lot lately). It was basically created with acrylic paints, modelling paste for texture and stencils, rubber stamps etc. for some visual texture and depth as well.

Mixed Media Monday - Buttons

I chose buttons off the top of my head for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge. I decided I felt like continuing to play with polymer clay - so the idea of my little jack in the box (or should I say jacqueline in the box) was born. Her head and arms are made from polymer clay and her facial features are painted with acrylic paints. Her little dress is fabric and lightly stuffed. Apart from the obvious buttons on her dress, I used tiny buttons to attach the arms like a lot of vintage dolls and bears and also used a flower button and tiny button for the embellishment on the box.

I have been wanting to......

I chose "I have been wanting to...." as the theme for Mixed Media Monday this week to give people the little push they might need to try something they have been wanting to try for some time, but haven't. I have been wanting to try a steam punk pendant for ages, so this was my opportunity to actually do it. The pendant looks a lot bigger than it actually is, because the bust isn't all that big. It is made from gold, silver and copper metallic polymer clay, and is also dusted with some mica powders to give it a lovely metallic look. I used some watch parts and other bits and pieces to finish it off.

Mixed Media Monday - Warm It Up

I usually love working with warm colours, much more so than with cool colours. That's why I was happy to have "warm it up" as a challenge on Mixed Media Monday this week. But then my muse worked out the door and didn't return - probably in protest that my studio is still not set up and everything is in boxes. So left to my own devices I was struggling. The song "It's too darn hot", sung by Ella Fitzgerald of course, kept running through my mind - so maybe my muse was sending tiny hints from afar, but I needed more help than that! This piece was done on a canvas board using computer generated lyrics and image, oil pastels and acrylic paint, tissue for texture and some chipboard - oh and a paint pen for those dots.

Mixed Media Monday - Cool It Down

After I chose this challenge for Mixed Media Monday I wondered why. Cool colours are not something I work with easily - I tend to gravitate to warm colours much more in my art. Then I remembered this gorgeous blue bottle that my daughter commandeered from her boyfriend for me. I think it had chilli wine in it. So the idea for an art doll developed. I used a silvery blue fabric paper (I'm not sure what it is called), some laces, a pair of feathery wings, an old plastic doll's head and a few other bits and pieces to create her.

Mixed Media Monday - Seeing Red

It was great having the luxury of Beth hosting over at Mixed Media Monday this week - it took the pressure off me having to produce a sample piece :-) So I took advantage of the opportunity and did a journal page about becoming an empty nester this week. My three children are all depicted by the birds flying the nest - but I do actually know where they've gone, LOL! This was done in a water colour journal using mainly water colour paints and Pitt brush markers.

Mixed Media Monday - Embellish It

I have to admit to a little self indulgence when I chose the theme for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge. I wanted an opportunity to use some of the beautiful laces painted by my daughter Danni - they are just so beautiful. My piece is worked on a sweet little 15x15 cm or 6x6 in canvas with different fabrics and silks. The image is an image transfer onto fabric and it looks better in real life - it didn't photograph all that well. Then of course the gorgeous laces give it a rich, delicious finishing touch - well, actually, they are what makes the piece! The good news is that Danni has given me some of the dyes - so I'm going to have a go at dyeing some myself one day soon :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Memories

This week I chose "memories" for the challenge on Mixed Media Monday and I had the song from Cats in the back of my mind. When I googled the lyrics to use in my collage, I was suprised to see that the song is called "Memory", when I always thought it was "Memories"! Oops! Oh well. My collage consists of computer generated images of the moon and Grizabella as well as the lyrics and sheet music of the song. I used lots of tissue paper for texture and the colouring was done with water soluble crayons (without the use of water).

Mixed Media Monday - Past Loves

This week on Mixed Media Monday I have chosen the theme "past loves" to give everyone the chance to revisit something they have enjoyed doing in the past. I only use stamps in my art for backgrounds etc., these days, but I used to love to stamp, especially in an Oriental style. So that's what I did for this challenge. I really love the lush Yuzen papers and all the gorgeous embellishments, so I covered the box with the paper and added LOTS of embellishments. It was nice to revisit these - but I won't be staying long :-) Sorry my photos aren't very straight.

Mixed Media Monday - A few of my favourite things

I often joke that I'm an "art tart" because I love some many different mediums, techniques and styles, so it wasn't difficult to find a few favourite things for this week's challenge. I chose a stretched canvas, vintage papers, texture, tissue paper, a chipboard house and key and water soluble oil pastels as my favourites for this piece. The texture was achieved by spreading texture paste over the canvas, so that everything on top had some texture. I rubber stamped on the tissue paper so that it had a pattern but still let the texture shine through. The piece is 25x20 cm or 10x8 in.

Mixed Media Monday - Play Things

I've chosen "play things" as the challenge prompt on Mixed Media Monday this week. My play thing is the gorgeous little vintage bisque dollhouse doll from my stash that was dug up from a doll factory in Germany. She was made around the early 1900's. The piece is made from a cigar box, and the inserts were cut from balsa wood, which I painted. I also used different papers, lace and German scrap, a little shell, a minature bottle filled with beads, a minature wooden spool which I wound with gold metallic thread, and a rusty old vintage key.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Blue

Here we are at my fourth and final "wedding saying" themes on Mixed Media Monday - something blue. When I was thinking about what I could do for this challenge, two things kept coming into my mind - the blue bird of happiness and Neil Diamond's song - "Song Sung Blue". So I decided to use them both as my inspiration for this piece. The painting is done on a stretched canvas 20x25 cm or 8x10 in approximately. It is done in acrylics and some charcoal, and the words were printed from my computer and then glazed with acrylics.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Borrowed

It's "something borrowed" this week on Mixed Media Monday but I still wanted to play with my new Pan Pastels. I decided to "borrow" the quote from my favourite Quietfire rubber stamp, which I made bigger on the computer then printed it out and separated the words. The rest of the piece is done on pastel paper in my pan pastels and charcoal. The piece is mounted onto a stretched canvas, which was painted with acrylic paint and is approximately 20x25 cm or 8x10 in. I really LOVE working with the pan pastels!

Mixed Media Monday - Something New

On Mixed Media Monday this week I chose the theme "something new" to follow on from last week. My piece is done on a stretched canvas which is about 20x40 cm (8x16 ins). The new part for me is the pan pastels that I used to colour the face and hands, plus this is a very different style of collage for me. Apart from the pan pastels and pastel paper, I used tissue paper, acrylic paint, printed paper and plain, some ribbon and different pieces of German scrap and a some artificial flowers. This piece was inspired by a couple of pieces done by Deirdra Doan in the latest issue of Somerset Studios, and by the artist Gustav Klimt, who also inspired Deirdra's pieces - during his "gold" period he liked to use gold leaf.

Mixed Media Monday - Something Old

It's my turn to host a challenge again on Mixed Media Monday, and since it's my birthday today, I have chosen "something old" as the challenge :-) For this piece I used the back of a stretched canvas and glued some canvas around the sides to cover the staples etc., to make a neater surface to work on. After I painted the canvas with acrylic paint I added some gold star tissue paper with encaustic medium. I love how the wax made the tissue transparent - much more so than gel medium. I used a Victorian scrap butterfly for the wings and the stars and bird are chipboard painted with gold metallic paint. The something old is the adorable little bisque doll - she was dug up from the ruins of a doll factory in Germany, and is over 100 years old. I was amazed when I was going through my doll stash to find her - she looks just like my gorgeous little granddaughter, Lucy! So I think this piece will be going to hang on Lucy's wall.

Mixed Media Monday - Vintage Ads/Labels

Rosie is generously hosting yet another challenge on Mixed Media Monday. This time she has challenged us to use vintage ads or labels in our art. I'm hoping a label printed onto it's vintage tin will count :-) It was a golden opportunity to make another fun Dada style doll. My daughters tell me she's a little scary, but I still love her, grin! Apart from the vintage tin, I used parts from an old plastic doll, a gorgeous little light that my daughter grabbed for me when her boyfriend was fixing her car and silver charm hands. The "arms" were modelled out of a resin clay and painted to resemble the cherries on the tin. Just a bit of a fun play this week :-)

Mixed Media Monday - Floral Tributes

When I was pondering Rosie's challenge of "floral tributes" on Mixed Media Monday this week, my mind kept going to my mother and her love of yellow roses. When she passed away, it was not the season for roses so they weren't part of the wreaths arranged for the funeral. I really felt terrible that I wasn't able to give her yellow roses one last time. I found a florist who could rustle up a few and made a tiny arrangement with them. Although they were overshadowed by all the large wreaths, I was content to know they were there. This is a shrine I made from a nicho - the photo of my beautiful mother was taken on my wedding day. I have used lots of symbolism on this piece to represent happy memories. The book page represents how, when I wanted a biscuit, I would wait until my mother was reading, because she always said yes then, grin! Some sewing pattern paper because she was a wonderful seamstress, and of course the yellow roses. The charms represent, among other things, the pride I felt when she learned to drive in her 50's, the way she went in to bat for me with my father to allow me to have a kitten, and the camera reminds me of how much she hated to have her photo taken and the funny faces she pulled when she tried to look "natural". Thanks for the challenge, Rosie - and the happy time I had creating my very personal piece!

Mixed Media Monday - Personal Symbols and Myths

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back as our guest host with another very imaginative challenge - personal myths and symbols. Wings appear in my art all the time, whether it's birds, butterflies or winged people! Like a lot of artists, for me wings symbolise freedom. That's my aim with my art, to try to loosen up, lighten up and be a lot "freer" with what I do. This pendant was made with a gold tone tray, into which I put a tiny collage, featuring a vintage child. The bird is a gorgeous little gold charm attached with some wire wrapping. Another fun challenge, thanks Beth!

Mixed Media Monday - Marie Antoinette

This week on Mixed Media Monday the wonderful Rosie is guest hosting again and has issued a lovely challenge - Marie Antoinette. I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go with this challenge, but as I looked at images of her, I decided I wanted to work in fabric. I had a gorgeous old cigar box that I wanted to alter, so this was my golden opportunity. I used some big wooden beads that I've had in my stash for more then 20 years (yes I never thrown anything out - and this is why) so I attached them to the box and then painted it all blue. I printed the image on fabric and layered it with fabric, silks and laces. The whole thing was finished off with some beaded fringing, braid and an antique style butterfly brooch!

Mixed Media Monday - Child's Play

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back with a really fun challenge. She wants to take us back to our childhood and the joy and freedom we had while being creative. One of the things that I loved best was making dolls from dolly pegs and pipe cleaners, so that is the direction I decided to take. These days I have lots more art supplies to play with than back then, when I would have used a dolly peg, a pipe cleaner, some scrap fabric and some pencils for the face. Of course, I used a dolly peg - but these days you can get them with little stands so they stand unaided - and although I wouldn't usually use a pipe cleaner for the arms, I did this time for old times sake :-) I wanted to experiment with my resin clay to make the face and head and I dug out some dolls hair that I had left from another project. I used silver charms for the hands and finished her off with German scrap wings and crown. What fun this was - mixing the old (me as a child) with the new (what I love doing now).