Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Princess Pea

This is Princess Pea. She's done with pencil and chalk pastels. I did her lips and eyes with Gelly Roll Glaze pens. I like her but I haven't learned to get the pencil shading looking the way it should.

I'm slowly starting to understand that as long as what I'm doing makes me happy and brings me many moments of delight and joy, then it truly doesn't matter what other people think of it. I'm not referring to people who art journal, because I know you/they get what it's all about and enjoy checking out other people's work, for reference and ideas, as well as comparison (though we should NEVER compare).
If you've ever shown your art journaling/sketches, etc to family/friends who don't "get" what you're doing....well, all I can say is it's pretty disheartening. The last time I showed some of my art to a family member, the response was "Is this what you spend your time doing?" That was it....no comment on the subject. BUT...the joy of creating is not something I'm about to give up.
From now on, anything I create, I'll keep in my tribe... people who love art journaling and all that goes with it. I'll keep posting it here on my blog....no one sees it anyway, and anyone who does would probably be an art journaler. Luckily my sister "gets" it, and she's also my best friend, so we have the pleasure of sharing our learning experiences with each other and online. Thank God for all the art journaling groups on Facebook and all the wonderful artists online who teach us!


Friday, 6 February 2015

February is Jumpstart Art Month

Well, it seems like February has a perk this year. Usually it's just the harshest winter month, but this year along with the storms and the deep freeze, it seems to have jumpstarted my butt into my studio to do what I love instead of just thinking about it.

I can't say that I've been prolific in my production of art, but I can say that no day goes by without at least a sketch or a tangle, or putting together a handmade journal.  I'm back at my table doing some of the classes that I've been downloading and saving for a "rainy day" for the past 2+ years.  It seems snowy days work just fine, too.

I started with Tamara Laporte's Bookworm Girl, which I've loved since I first laid eyes on her. I tackled her with great enthusiasm and am actually happy with the results. She turned out better than I expected and gave me the confidence to keep on truckin'. Here she is from beginning to end:




I've done a bunch of sketches as well, and am currently working on "Summer Girls", another of Tam's classes.  I'll post her when I finish, hopefully on Monday.