flowers

Butterfly Effect has a theme that's hard to resist this week:  Flowers.  Who doesn't love to draw, photograph or write poetry about flowers?!  My little brain is going 100 mph trying to settle on ONE thing.....of course I have a million (well hundreds and hundreds anyway) photos of flowers - close up, far away, all seasons, with textures or words, plain.  That almost seems too easy, so off to the art room I took myself. Then.....

Jenn over at Just Add Water Silly has started a new weekly prompt - this week it's rainbow ...in whatever iteration or interpretation you want to explore.  So I made my flowers in a rainbow of colors....happy, bright, rainbow colors.

Starting with a watercolor loose painting, I added washi tape, tissue paper, handmade paper (not by me), oil pastels and watercolor pencils for detail.  I submit:  Summer Bouquet (feels a little presumptuous to name my efforts, but I need the practice :)

Handmade paper texture added on far right along with washi tape blooms.  Detail below.

 Decided to try some black oil pastel since I'd done other pieces and liked the contrast it offered.  Didn't like it here....too harsh, too random, too.....much.  What to do?

Add white details to balance and cover up some of the black.  I think it helped, but wish I would have left it alone.  May go back and add a little more floral detail, but I've messed experimented with it enough for now.

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Be sure to join the creative fun at both Butterfly Effect and Artist's Playroom.

butterfly effect: layers

This prompt is totally easy and fun (see Butterfly Effect for more layer fun) - I've been working through Traci Bautista's Doodling class for Strathmore (free!) and it's all about layers.  Here are a few I've made:

First one on 12x12 canvas:

I did a couple more that were started from the "leftover" paint on my stencils or brushes while creating the one above:

Traci's second set of video lessons started with a watercolor base and since I love my watercolors I thought this would be easier.  Not.

Here I tried the scribble writing with a marker but really felt like it's just a jumbled mess.  Nothing I like goin' on here so covered much of it up with green & yellow - still not lovin' it.

Covered it up even more and started in with the swirls.  I'm calling it done - there are some bits here and there that I like and will build on in a future effort.

My favorite result came here - it's on 15x20 watercolor paper - the biggest project I've done.

Started out with some vertical swatches of color and the stenciling, both of which I like - seems like a good beginning.....so I added my next layers:

Added some doodles.....

Wanted to color block it but oops - that blue - it totally obscured all the cool stenciling underneath!  BAD.....but don't give up, persevere, move forward......

Fixed the blue, more doodles, now it's ready for the addition of the black and white detailing...

This one has grown on me - there are certain parts I really love: the play of colors and shapes and the layers peeking through here and there.  If you're still with me through this long post, here are a couple quick detail shots - lovin' those layers!

Show us your layers!

butterfly effect: quote

Use a quote in your art.  Now there's a prompt I can get behind!  I love quotes and have lists of them (I love making lists) so the challenge here was choosing just one.

I had this simple background started but with no specific direction, so I decided to make my quote the direction. It's kind of like a journal page only it's not in my journal but I used it to explore some layer ideas.

Experimenting with the mixed media stuff still so it's got watercolor, acrylic, stencils, spritzed craft paint, marker and whiteout pen.  Wish I'd thought out how I was going to write the quote more completely so it didn't look so scrambled....

And how could I not include a photograph with a quote?  I love illustrating a favorite quote with a photograph and I think this first one is my fave quote of all time.....

Both of these are available in my start-up ETSY shop.

Linked to Butterfly Effect.

inspiration ave: butterflies

Butterflies - this prompt from Inspiration Ave is broad enough (or maybe too broad) that I couldn't settle on an idea.  Then as I was working on a mixed media piece, the idea for some soft abstract-ish watercolor butterflies came to me so I took a break and painted these.

Also, as I was working on my digital art contribution to PAF, digital butterflies just seemed to fit the direction that art was headed, so here's another butterfly piece - in a totally different vein.

See them all fluttering around the 'cave' opening? :)  

Linking to Inspiration Avenue.....join in?

sketching trees

Several prompts have to do with trees this week, and I always love trying my hand at trees. It's actually something I feel like I kinda can draw.  So, here's my sketchbook page of trees....

The messy blob on the bottom is an attempt at some madrona bark....couldn't figure out how to show the dimension so it just looks like squiggle lines.  Will have to try that one again.

A year or so ago when I was watercoloring more regularly, I painted these....

Tried a new brush and new technique for this black silhouette one - did about 4 versions of it with varying success of the shadows and sunset behind...

Also experimenting with sky technique here....

This is linked to Butterfly Effect for In the Woods; Draw, Sketch, Doodle for Trees, and Everyday Matters #15: trees as well as Sketchbook Challenge.  I'll also link to Creative Every Day and Artists in Blogland.....Take a few minutes to visit a link or two at each of these great sites.

butterfly effect: book pages

For the first time I'm joining in yet another prompt - I recently discovered The Butterfly Effect at whisper-to-whirlwind.blogspot.com and it looks like it has some unusual prompts.  Be sure to check it out if you like having a little external inspiration.

This week's prompt is 'book pages' - I love working with book pages and since I'm still working on holiday cards, thought I'd use this chance to experiment a bit further.  The wreath design is cut from a book about quilting that I picked up at Good Will and then added a ribbon flourish.

I was pleased to find a quilt pattern with stars that almost fit in my circle punch.  Couldn't decide whether or not to add words to the front, so left it plain for now.

The next card I used music from a book of Neil Diamond songs.

These were fun to do and super easy......be sure to visit Butterfly Effect this week to see other book paper creations.