Not So Sweet

I could not let this time of the year pass without sharing with you one of my Halloween favourites "Not So Sweet" from 2012. It was created as part of a Halloween challenge. 

I drew the girl on paper, scanned her into photoshop, where I added elements and finished it with some digital painting.

Have a Spooktacular Halloween!

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Spring is in the Air

"Spring is the time of plans and projects" (Leo Tolstoy). It is Spring season here in Australia, and that quote is so true. Spring for me is a time for getting organised, ticking off the tasks on my "To Do List", and cleaning out the cobwebs so to speak.

One big project I have just finished is the recording and editing of my main videos for Life Book 2014. I am delighted with the response to my previous lesson and look forward to seeing what everyone creates for this one. It was a pleasure to share my art, methods and techniques with such a gorgeous bunch of people.

Well folks, I have gone big with my painting; not on paper or canvas, but on walls!! Are you thinking murals? Nothing so exciting I'm afraid. I was roped into the project of painting our daughter's bedroom because of my skill with a brush and eye for detail; more specifically, doing the cutting in to paint areas that are too tight for the paint rollers, such as the ceiling line, corners, along with the baseboards and trim. The finished result was well worth the effort, the walls are now white with one feature wall in pistachio green, lending a bright and airy feel to the room.

I put a post up a while ago "Frida with Roses" where I said I am in danger of becoming an art supply junkie. I think I can add paper hoarder to that as well! Really! My art supplies are getting out of hand and they need some serious organisation!

I don't have the room to fit all the supplies into my little art nook, so instead they are piled on top of each other in the garage. The trouble with that is I forget what I have in stock, and more often than not, the items I want to use are typically those buried at the bottom of the pile! What's a girl gotta do? Well apparently the answer when you are searching for inspiration is to join Pinterest! 

Pinterest is a virtual "board" like a real-life bulletin board where you can pin and share ideas. I discovered it is a fantastic place to dream and visualise how your idyllic life would look. Before I knew it, hours had slept away, pinning and repinning wonderful ideas and images. By this stage, I was creating all sorts of cool boards, when suddenly I realised the reason I joined in the first place! You can check out what I got up to on my Pinterest page link: www.pinterest.com/serenabridgeman or click on the Pinterest pink button on the sidebar of my blog. So now I can add "Pinterest Fanatic" to my list of personal traits!

On the subject of dreaming, I have listed "Dream" print and "If the Shoe Fits", in my Etsy shop, They were created in Life Book in 2012 and 2013. These two glamorous girls can be purchased with or without the quotes. Watch out for more listings over the coming weeks.

Ok, It was time to take action with my plan to organise my art materials! A trip down to the hardware store and then a few hours of assembling shelving for the new plastic storage containers felt like a great achievement...until I realised that was the easy part! The thought of removing all the art supplies from their boxes, sorting them, labelling them into their new containers, not to mention the time, still seemed like a mammoth task! I think I will have to tackle it one bit at a time, eventually I will get it all done, right?

I could definitely use your help! What are your tips for staying motivated and focused when organising your art supplies? What have you found actually works?

All comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Creative Projects

How are you all keeping? It's a little while since I last blogged and I promise you I have not been slacking! I have been super busy with lots of different projects. I was asked to help out with a birthday scrapbook album, decorate a birthday cake with a make-up/beauty theme and create a make-up inspired graphic print. To add to that list, I also worked an over painting on canvas and did some intuitive art... Phew!! Each project required a completely different technique but they were equally enjoyable and satisfying even though they stretched me in different directions.

I can't upload any of the scrapbook pages as they are very personal to the birthday girl but I can show you her cake and graphic art print. It was a double celebration as she has just graduated as a make-up artist.

I have to give a big shout out to my good friend Mish who lent her creative skills in helping me with the cake. Thanks Mish, a great team effort!

I mentioned an over painting on canvas in the opening paragraph. I had ordered a canvas print of my "Fairy Watching Fireflies" for Mish's birthday but I was so disappointed when it arrived in the post. I saw the lightest spaces were very blown out, meaning these areas had very little colour or definition. I figured I could either throw my hands up in the air and put the canvas in the bin, or I could try painting over the areas on the face, arms, hair and flower. I went with the latter option. I have to tell you I was so relieved when it was finished as everything turned out beautifully. I even put on lots of glitter paint on the wings to give them that extra fairy dust magic. After a few coats of picture varnish spray, I can now giver her over to her new home.


Starting to rework the fairy.

Putting the finishing touches of glitter paint to the wings.

For anyone familiar with my art, I normally work with an idea in my head first, or from a sketch. The lovely Tamara Laporte from Life Book gave a lesson in week 36 on intuitive painting. She says this does not come easily to her; I find myself saying the same thing. However, I thought why not get out of my comfort zone and give it another try? There was no planning this time, just layer upon layer of acrylic paint and watercolour pencils, going with my gut feeling putting marks and strokes on the paper. I have no idea what this painting is about but I love these cute red birds.

The last few weeks have kept me on my toes and it certainly was a mixed bag of creativity. What I have come to realise is I enjoy variety and that carries across the board. After all, they do say "Variety is the Spice of Life". I am looking forward to this weekend to recharge my batteries and spend time with my family. I hope you all have a great weekend also.

I would like to hear what makes you tick and gets your creative juices flowing? Comments are encouraged and welcomed.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Matilda and Specs

I hope that you are all keeping well and looking forward to the weekend.

Unfortunately, I have been feeling very blah for the last few weeks due to a bad dose of the flu and bronchitis which has left me with very little energy. Thankfully, I am starting to get back on my feet again. This mixed media piece reflects that along with a bad case of bed hair!! I blame the flannelette winter sheets!

Matilda has evolved from a girl I created in 2013 in an artwork called "Daydream". This latest version of her still has the deadpan look but this time with a little bit of an attitude taken from the stereotypical moody teenager. I also enjoyed creating the polar opposite of her personality in Specs the dog, her happy go lucky companion.

I have had hit and misses with image transfer techniques in the past but I thought I would give it another go for the background. I believe there are other ways of doing image transfer techniques but in this instance, I used an ink jet printer and Golden soft gel matte medium. I am delighted with the result and how it has the feel of faded wallpaper.

Acrylics, watersoluble crayons and watercolour pencils were the art supplies used for the main figures and elements. The reverse of Matilda in the mirror was achieved using a pencil and tracing paper.

This finished piece makes me smile and who knows maybe these two might make an appearance again some time.

Comments are encouraged and welcomed.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Ladybird Fairy

What do you do when a ladybird fairy lands in your flower garden? Invite her in for tea of course!

I did a digital version of this cutie a couple of years ago and what with a special little granddaughter's 1st birthday coming up I wanted to see what she would look like as a mixed media collage piece. My original inspiration was a little wooden doll I made in the first year of Life Book with red boots, striped black and white stockings in a black tutu! Also I have been making ladybird embellishments for my scrapbook pages. I have always considered myself to be an art and craft gal at heart. I really want to complete a couple of my albums, so that has taken up my time recently. A couple of new gadgets have made it really fun.

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Once the image of the fairy and flower were drawn onto the 140lb hot pressed watercolour paper, I masked the four sides of the image with low tack tape to give a nice crisp edge. I applied shades of teal acrylic paint to block in the background colour in a soft gradient. I could have included lots of texture here but my vision for this piece was a clean cut look with the two main elements as the focal points.

After carefully peeling off the low tack tape, the petals of the flower were cut out from old dictionary pages and glued down. 

Thin washes of gesso and detail colour gave the flower added depth with the print of the pages still coming through for added interest. Undiluted Gesso was applied to the fairy's hair, wings and wand as a good clean base before painting.

Layer by layer acrylic paint and watersoluble crayons bring the ladybird fairy to life. At this point I reassess everything and correct some tones and highlights in the areas that need it.

After a delightful tea and chat, it was time to wave the ladybird fairy on her way.I love how this mixed media version turned out and hope you do too.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Flora

"Flora" the goddess of plants and flowers, also known as the goddess of spring tends lovingly to all the glorious blooms bursting forth, many attracting the butterflies and busy bees that work in perfect unity to collect life's sweet nectar.

The inspiration behind this artwork is nurturing, growth and transformation. I started "Flora" the ancient Roman goddess of plants and flowers after a trip home to Ireland to meet our first granddaughter. For some reason I decided not to go any further than the base colours. As part of my commitment to myself this year, I promised to revisit unfinished pieces of my artwork and breathe new life back into them.

I chose the bright colours of the hibiscus flowers for their symbolism of joy, happiness and welcoming life into the world. I took artistic licence with the look of the bees, however they still represent family, hard work and coming together. The butterfly, one of my favourites stand for change and new possibilities. 

Acrylics, caran d'ache and watercolour pencils were used.

This piece is a reminder that no matter where I am, the beauty and miracle of nature is never far away. With our ever growing world, we all have a part to play to protect our natural planet for future generations to enjoy.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Enjoy the Little Things

"Enjoy the Little Things in Life" reminds me to be grateful for even the smallest surprises, delights and rituals that occur on a day-to-day basis. I did this original artwork as part of the May/June Giveaway on Life Book 2014. Congratulations to Jacqueline on winning! This prize will be winging its way to her very soon.

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I loved using this flower stencil as soft texture in the background, I even turned it over and patted the glimmer mist ink lying on the surface to darken and add extra texture. I sketched the teacups, fairies and cupcake and then it was straight to painting with acrylics, watersoluble crayons and watercolour pencils. 

After transferring the quote I went over it with green and purple glitter pens, it is hard for the camera to pick up the sparkle. 

Glitter paint adds a bit more bling to the fairies wings and wand, I adore how it twinkles in the light. Do you have any daily rituals that put a little bit of joy or happiness in your day?

Comments are encouraged and welcomed.

Until next time, Happy Creating and have a great week!

Fairy Watching Fireflies

As night time falls, the sweet scent of jasmine fills the air. Lotti the fairy's most favourite thing to do is watching fireflies light up the flowers like flickering lamps, then follow them as they dance and twinkle their way through the forest.

I am delighted to share with you this digital painting that I have been working on and off for some time. I love the fairy's sweet face as she gazes up at the fireflies. It took many layers to build up this fairy scene, just as if I were working with traditional art materials.

The inspiration for this piece comes from a once a year event from mid November and December called "Firefly Magic" at the Forest of Tranquility on the Central Coast of NSW. Where you can see all the fireflies and who knows maybe some fairies too?

There are endless possibilities and a great sense of freedom when working in digital; I think that is the attraction for me. I normally start with a sketch, scan it and then bring it into Photoshop. My approach with this piece was different in that I was playing around with a face in Photoshop first. The whole scene started to evolve as I went along.

The last few weeks I have been kept very busy over on Life Book 2014. I feel so overjoyed to see all the wonderful art in response to my bonus lesson. They are such a warm friendly creative bunch! I am also taking a couple of workshops for myself, it seems my enthusiasm for learning and mixing with like-minded people never ceases.

Just to let you know, this cute little fairy and her firefly friends are listed in my shop. You can click on my Etsy link or on the side bar under Shop.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

Shop Open!

As the graceful Geisha moves softly through the palace gardens, a rare golden butterfly catches her eye. While in quiet contemplation, she admires the wonders of nature and beauty surrounding her.

"Geisha with Golden Butterfly" still holds a special place in my heart as she is my first mixed media on canvas, painted about three years ago. Acrylics, caran d'ache watersoluble crayons and scrapbook papers were used. It was a course with the gorgeous Tamara Laporte, with Klimt as the inspiration for that week.   

Also I finally opened a Shop!! I have a few of my favourites to start with including "Geisha with Golden Butterfly" I will be adding more in the following days and weeks. At the moment the prints are A4 size, I hope to offer a smaller A5 size soon. You can check them out with this Link or on the sidebar under Shop.

Until next time, Happy Creating!

The Little Painter

For this piece, I was inspired by the theatre. The little master painter seeing to all the details and translating the director's vision into this whimsy dream set. Of course she needs help bringing this together with her assistant who diligently works away under her supervision.

They have to work quickly if the set is going to be ready in time for the opening night! After all, those extra details bring the story to life creating mood and atmosphere.

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Layers of black, white and grey acrylic paint were applied onto the acrylic texture paper with a palette knife. Even though I love this look, I felt it was a bit overpowering for what I had in mind. 

I softened the background and then added textural elements in the form of the stencilled writing, paint spraying and splattering.

Scrapbook paper was glued down for the moon. A couple of kiss curls appeared giving her a 1920's feel! I might have overworked her, as I would have liked the text to be more pronounced.

This cute mouse assistant took on a little dramatic pose as he paints the star.

A combination of art materials were used; colour and watercolour pencils to pick up the grain of the paper along with carn d'ache watersoluble crayons and acrylic paint for the most part. A fine pointed paintbrush is ideal when working on details.

I am happy to say the little painter and her trusty assistant finished everything on time and are now working on an elaborate fairytale scene. 

Comments are welcomed and encouraged. Have a lovely weekend. 

Until next time, Happy Creating!