Working on a mixed media painting with lots of texture.  

Sometimes when working on a painting, I have to let it go for awhile to get some clarity about how I want to further proceed. So I thought I would share what I have done with this piece that I am going to title Lady in Blue.  She is not done yet, but again-- it is a process.

Here is the an early beginning shot.  The hair is done with  black fibers and the head scarf is done with cheesecloth overlaid on blue paint.

The next step was to add small blue glass chips to the head scarf and use a stencil with modeling paste to define the borders a bit.
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More painting of the face and blue added to the background.

Now I'm at a standstill because I am not sure what direction I want to go in for the next step so I'm going to set this aside for awhile until I get some inspirtion on completing the piece.

Sometimes for me the best thing to do is to know when to walk away for awhile.

UPDATE:

Finished Piece

To finish her off I added more texture using paint, stamping and modeling paste.

Like using texture in your artwork?  In  Altered Book Month, you will see several examples of the way texture can be easily added to a different type of projects.  

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Okay in my last post I shared some altered journals I created in a block of time- well time's up on that project and moving right along, jumped into the next.  

Alcohol Ink Painting!

I really love the effects that you can achieve using this medium...you have to give up control- at least I do, becasue I can't figure out how to control the flow of the ink so it is about pure playing and experimenting. Adding layers.  Allowing drying time. Going back and see what else you can add and what the results are.

So just wanted to share some of the larger pieces I did- which are much harder to control than the smaller pieces.

I photographed them before framing, which I didn't do with the smaller ones and it is tough to get a got photo because of the glare from the glass.

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I just dropped them off for framing at Joann'e Gallery & Frame Shop.  Joanne does an amazing job and her prices are so affordable. Check her out!

I can't wait to see them framed.  

Below are just 3 of the 10 part series I did- the photos are not great, you really can't dee the true color or detail because I don't know how to photograph with a glass frame to leave out the glare and reflection...so I stood really far away but it definately loses something.

​But in person they are just beautiful!


UPDATE:

Six of these smaller alcohol ink paintings were at Joanne's Frame Shop and Gallery in Quakertown, PA and I am happy to say that 4 of them sold this month!

Check out some of the pics of my show at Joanne's 

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​The great thing about being a mixed media artist and jewelry designer is that I don't get boxed in
and can jump around doing all kinds of different projects.

What started out as an attempt to straighten up my studio, quickly trangressed into avoidance.  As I went to put a journal that laid on the table away, it jumped out at me saying " Make Me Into Something Else!"  What could I do? Avoid the request?

NO!  And so the process began.

The thing about altering books, is that they often require several layers, which required a wait time in between.  SO what do you do?  Clean up?

Hell NO!  You start another book.  So here are some of the lovely transformations that took place going from plain old book to altered art.  Hope you enjoy and get some inspiration!

                                                                       Artist Journal
This is a sketch book that I covered with an original mixed media painting on the front cover that says Creative Dreams.  Using modeling paste, great texture was created in the hair and spirals.

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                                                                 Altered Notebook

This is a very textured journal cover, hard to see all the details but the texture was created with fibers and micro beads.  It feels really cool to run your fingers over.

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                                                                Altered Journal

This one was created from a vintage red leather journal.  It was covered using several layers of paper.  An 8 panel grid was placed on the left side, on the right is the wording
Creative Adventures. It can be used as a journal, art journal, or for scrapbooking.

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                                                   Family History Keepsake

This journal is for recording family history and geneology.  I took a vintage book that has pages to record your family's record and altered the cover.

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                                                                Nature Journal

The cover of this journal was created from an alcohol ink painting I did and then adhered it to the front. The rest of the journal was covered with layers of pattern paper.  The words Nature Journal was placed on the front.  A saying was placed on the back.

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                                                    Another Nature Journal

                                                                    Baby Journal
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Using a baby journal book for a little girl, I altered the front cover to make it a keepsake gift as well as a piece of art.  It is very textured and the outfit appearing on the front is actually doll's clothing. 

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I have done a few more, but this post is getting somewhat longer than I had anticipated.

I would love to hear what you think, so leave a comment!

PS:  The studio is still one big mess!  Wonder what adventures my next attempt at straightening up will lead to?

Be sure to stop by my tutorial page for additional project ideas and inspiration!