I Will Exalt Thee Ink Version Finished

I've been working pretty hard on this doodle, I Will Exalt Thee (ink version) and just finished it last night.  Check out my original doodle here to see the humble origins of this drawing.  This is the first in a series I am calling "Art as Worship."  If you like this doodle and want to print it out for yourself, click the image below for a link to download a PDF copy for printing.   

I'll be working on a watercolor version of this next.  

For You!! Free Sugar Skull and Sparrows PDF file

I learned today how to add PDFs to my blog, so I thought I would share this one with you.  Feel free to print it out for your own personal use (please do not sell prints).  Hope you enjoy, and let me know if you like this kind of thing and wish to see more.  Just click on the image for a link to the PDF file.

Published in Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES 2012

Last year when the premiere issue of Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES I was thrilled to find out my mini books would be included in the publication.  I have come a bit further this year with a full length article featuring my paintbrush books featured in the 2012 edition of PAGES.  I can't tell you how excited I am!  This has been a goal of mine for a few years now, something I have been working hard toward.  I received my copies of the magazine from the Interweave staff a few weeks ago and seeing my work in print is a dream come true.  I hope you guys will check this out, PAGES is a wonderful magazine and I am so blessed to be part of it.

Go here for more details or to check out the table of contents.

New Necklaces - Bright Flowers on Brass Tags

Here are some necklaces I have been working on. I hand dyed the flowers myself and added them to hammered brass tags.

Each is on a strand on colorful seed beads.

And I added some colorful beads to the extender chains.

I don't plan on listing any of these. Instead they will be sold locally at a jewelry party. But if you are interested just post a comment or send me an email.

Eye Mandala Finished!!!!!

Finally got it done, now it's time to work on packaging.  Here's the completed illustration.

And here's a half crop that I will use for packaging.

So, what do you think?  I am so glad to have it finished!!!!

If you want a copy, I am selling digital JPEG downloads in my Etsy shop for $5.



Eye Mandala Inking

So I have been working a lot on my eye mandala drawing, and I thought I would share the progress.  I love working on these mandalas because they take time to finish, so the final reveal is something special to me.  I am about a week away from that mainly because I have to work on it after my two-year-old Lula goes to bed - she wants me to hold her every time I pick this drawing up. 

Here are a couple pictures of the outline work completed.

Outlining is probably the most tedious part.  Once done I get to go on auto pilot and color everything in.  This inking process is very relaxing and satisfying to me.  I just love working on a drawing at this stage.  I have a bit of the inking done, as you can see in the following picture.

I am very happy with the way it is looking so far.  What do you think?

Be sure to stop by this evening...I will be posting a giveaway for a $25 shopping spree in my I Spy Jewelry Shop at 6 PM.

Eye Mandala - Work in Progress

I am working on a new illustration for my I Spy Jewelry shop.  It will be printed on my packaging some time in the near future.  I am in desperate need of new packaging, and I thought I would make something special that I can use for a while. 

Here is a detail shot of the pencil work.

And a picture of the drawing in progress on my Light Tracer II.

A picture of the pencil work done.

And one of my rough draft (in two pieces) on top of the finished pencil drawing.

It takes me a few hours to get my mandalas to this point.  And I still have hours of inking left to do.  Can't wait to get my Rapidograph pens out and get started.  

Shop Revamp and Update - New Jewelry Listed

I have made a decision to turn my Etsy shop into a jewelry shop and list my art items on my blog.  I revamped my shop and have several items listed as of right now, and am currently working on more to list.  Here is a sample of what I am offering in my I Spy Jewelry shop.

I plan on adding a page to my blog next week to sell my art books and other crafty items, so keep and eye out for that. 

Until then, check out my shop and let me know what you think.  

Sugar Skull Flower Finished

So last night I took a few moments and finished an illustration project.  It was intended for our house, but my friend Julie likes it a bunch and she talked me into selling it to her.  I will end up making another copy for hubby (he says I never keep his favorites, including this one).

 This is the first big project I finished with my Koh-i-noor 7 pen set.  I am so happy with the performance of these pens compared to the Staedtler Pigment Liners I am used to.  And so far these pens have not been quite as high maintenance as I expected.  I get a greater variety of line width with the 7 pen set than the four pen set of Staedtlers, and since these are refillable I will end up saving a ton in the long run.  If you invest in these and have a Hobby Lobby nearby, consider buying them there.  I paid about $70 for mine after the 40% off coupon I printed off.  And I didn't have to worry about them being damaged during shipping. 

Here is the completed drawing.  It was done on a 14x17" piece of Strathmore bristol board, and the image itself is almost 12" across.

I am selling PDF downloads in my Etsy shop for $4, and hope soon to offer prints.

New Brooches - and a Giveaway!!!!!

I made some new brooches the other day and thought I would make a couple extra for my lovely bloggy friends.  I had to make 8 for a lady my husband works with, and I made two extra for a giveaway. 

Here they are in progress, just before I added the backs and pins to them.  I made two of each of the solid colors you see below.

The material for the solid colored roses is repurposed prom dress material.  Very nice and thick.  For the multi colored roses I used material I salvaged from a couple of shirts that originally belonged to a family member that I found in the attic in the 90s.  I used to wear them a lot, but there is a lot more of Shayna than there used to be, lol, so they no longer fit me. 

Here's another WIP shot, and a picture of the back of one of the brooches.  The material is hand cut and the edges melted with a candle.  Then I sew little beads in the center by hand.  Next I glue a piece of recycled leather (from old jackets) to the back and glue a pin on top.  I finish it off by gluing a little piece of leather over part of the pin to make sure it stays.

Now for the giveaway.  To enter you must leave a comment below. For extra chances to win, you can do one or all of the following...

1.   Follow my blog and leave me a note in your comment that you have done so (if you already follow just let me know in your comment that you are a follower and you too will get an extra chance). 

2.  You can also post a comment on my Flickr here for another chance to win.

3.  Post a link to this on your own blog and leave me a link to your post in your comment.

International players are welcome.  I will draw a winner on Monday, December 19th.  Keep an eye out for the post, I will give the winner three days to respond with an email containing their address.

If your name is drawn, you will recieve both flowers shown below.

Thanks everyone!

Skull Flower/Mandala - WIP

Here's a new project I am working on.  It is very similar to my owl flower - it is made the same way.  I start out with a drawing and estimate how many times I want to repeat it.  I then size and photocopy the drawing, create a flower center, and make a mock up with lots of tape and cut out photocopies.   Then I place it on my Lighttracer II light box to trace the final drawing.  Here is a photo of this step with the skull flower.

The next step is to trace the outline of the flower with a pencil.  I also add on to the drawing if I feel it is necessary.  I added a little heart tip to the petals of the center flower and some tiny flowers on the outside to make the drawing a little more full, and to tie the skull nose design in with the center flower.

When I am done with the pencil drawing I start to ink the entire illustration, starting with the outlines then filling everything in.  Before I would use a Staedtler pen set to do this, and I would burn through a set with every drawing.  Now I have my Koh-i-noor 7 pen Rapidograph set and I get more even lines, better details, and I don't have to worry about buying a $15 pen set for each drawing.  The pens were expensive ($70 at Hobby Lobby after a 40% off coupon), but they will pay for themselves after 5 drawings, and I really prefer them.   Here are a few pictures of the inking process. 





I am not quite done with this one, but when I get done I will post a picture for you to see.   I was hoping to have this one displayed in my house, but my good friend Julie has already spoken for it.  I do plan to make another one for our home, especially since hubby really likes it.

Cloth Paper Scissors Pages - My Art Published!!!!!!

So excited to share with you guys that my art has been published in the premiere issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Pages!  I just received my complimentary copy of the magazine today!

I have been reading Cloth Paper Scissors since the first issue in 2004.  I love the magazine and it has been a dream of mine to have my art featured in it.  These books were originally sent in for the Mini Book challenge that was published in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue.  I was sorta bummed to find I was not published with the challenge until I found out that my books might be published in Pages.



The magazine is awesome!  It is so bright and colorful and features tons of books and art!  My favorite article so far is "Vintage Inspiration" by Renee Rogers.  I can't wait to get some of my vintage papers and books out and give it a try.  If you need inspiration, Pages is packed with 144 exciting pages of it.  You can order it from the Interweave store here, or check out your local bookstore to see if they carry it.  I know the Books-A-Million in our county does.  

Skull and Sparrows - New Painting

A friend of mine requested an original painting.  She wanted a Day of the Dead inspired painting that combined a sugar skull, sparrows, daisies, swirls, and rainbow colors.  I did a bit of research and here is the thumbnail sketch I came up with.

This painting took me forever to do.  I experimented with a few different techniques, and they took me a long time to figure out.  First I worked on my backgound layers, a step that I had previously not put much effort into.  I was inspired by a video by Regina Lord of Creative Kismet.  You can view the video here.  I collaged layers of sketchbook paper with gel medium, coated them with a light brushing of gesso, then added some yellow with watercolor crayon.  I wish I had taken of photo of this step, but I did not.

Next I did an underpainting in white.  I have never done this, but after seeing this underpainting by David Lozeau I decided to give it a try.  You'll notice his is much, much, much more detailed than mine.   It was more work, but I like how it brightened all of the colors in my final layer.  Here's the underpainting.

Next I did a sketch in pencil over the underpainting to use as a guide.  This is usually where I start, then I do detail work, then try to paint the background in.  You can imagine that this really limited the amount of detail I was able to include in my background.  I much prefer this newer method.

Once the sketch was down, I began painting.  I also had two lovely birdies to paint.  These were thrifted vintage, and I believe they were from Homco circa 1970-something.  They were golden, so I added layer of gesso and painted the the same colors as the sparrows in the painting.  Here's the end result.

I learned a lot with this piece, but most of all I learned that acrylic is a labor of love.  I think my next project may be watercolor, or maybe just a simple ink drawing.  I need a break!  Hey, let me whine just a little bit.  I am 11 weeks pregnant and exhausted.

New Project!!!!! Owl Flower

I am currently working on another owl project.  I just finished a couple of commissioned pieces for a friend and that got me in the mood to try something a little more tedious and time consuming - and ultimately more rewarding.  So I got out an original sketch and my light projector and went to work.  Here are a few pictures of the progress I have made.

It's an owl flower, or mandala, or whatever.  Hubby says I draw a lot of circles.  I guess it's true.  I love to make these flower drawings, they look to me like figures gathering, dancing, around one center, one goal, one fire, one story.  Maybe they are getting ready to sing their heart songs. 

I will update when I have made more progress.  I plan on loading a few extra photos onto my Flickr photostream, so check it out if you wanto to see more.