Inspiration Ave Challenge

Inspiration Avenue's Team Challenge this week is Faces  

and the timing couldn't be any better!

Just over a month ago I rediscovered

the satisfaction one can get from creating faces

when I participated in the 29 Faces Challenge Sept 2013.

From my first awkward drawings to 

modern stylized digital faces, 

it was a terrific growing experience.

One face, that at first I thought was too depressing, grew on me

to such an extent that I have just made it my new profile pic.

It began like this

Then I played around with it

(I think this is really cool)

and becausse I love color, played around some more

and more

I see so many possibilities with this face that I

made a rubber stamp of it to use in my mixed media work.

 My lino block skills are quite rusty and

 the image isn't as perfect as I wanted.

Note: technically this isn't a "lino block" as I did this in rubber;
However when I am able to get more supplies
I will attempt another go at it.

Thank you to Maggie  
& Inspiration Avenue for this weeks challenge!

JOY Inspiration Avenue Challenge

Inspiration Avenue Challenge for this week is 

JOY!

rather 60's - 70's retro & happy

don't you think?

 

It's been far too long since i last participated 

in an IA Challenge, but I'm sure I'll be back for more.

Why don't you check out their challenges 

& join in the fun?! 

Tags and Bookmarks

Shel and Kim are co-hosting

 Inspiration Avenue's challenge for this week

the theme... Tags & Bookmarks.

This week's challenge got off to a

fabulous start when I

received this wonderfully delightful

tag by Kim in the mail!!
I LOVE it & thank Kim enthusiastically!

You can find more of her work

at her shop IMGIRL

~
These are the tags I made for the challenge

Speaking of tags and bookmarks
IA is having a tag swap!
Check it out & join in!!
http://inspiration-avenue-team.blogspot.com/

angels and acceptance

The theme for Inspiration Avenue's art challenge of this past week was angels. I had fully intended to create an angel, however this week i had been stretched to my max, struggling with several things, one of which were painting angel ornaments for the grand children.


What has been bothering me most of late is my increasing lack of motor skills. My shaking hands were the main reason i closed my little jewelry shop over a year ago.  Two weeks ago i made a necklace as a little surprise gift for my sister in law, and  noticed how much more my hands shake and also the lack of strength they now have.  I went looking at the pictures of jewelry i had sold from the etsy shop and i confess to feeling deeply saddened that those days are forever behind me.
Making those little angels also served to put the mirror of reality before me, little facial features had to be redone because a trembling hand messed up. Even the simple task of writing the girls names was another reminder, as if i needed yet another! 

 There is a part of me that grieves and yet it's all right.


There's a saying "when God closes a door, He always opens a window"  while it's not Scripture, i am convinced that God has given each one of us gifts to be used, and art has been with me since childhood. So i will rejoice in this gift and paint with a grateful heart as long as God gives me breath.

a little bit of everything!

It's been one of those very long months that we all have when everything is hitting you at once.

my "net-book" stopped working needing an expensive repair, health problems, money problems, dealing with a major disappointment.... sigh.

But not all was a negative...

my friend Kim Collister was featured in

 Somerset Studio magazine!

I own some of her fabulous creations & was so

 inspired reading about her method for creating such artsy, encouraging tags 

that i thought i'd try my hand at them. 

Creating art is good therapy! 

 

I  mailed these out as a surprise gift for some 

very special customers as a little

 "thank you for your business".

~

Here are some new pieces I've done with 

the palette knife!

 i discovered that 

i love painting with the knives

and can't wait to do more!!

Blueberry Barrens

Abstract in Blue & Brown

Abstract Knife Painting

Dreaming of Spring

and

for something completely different...

....

the IA team had a "Mandalas" challenge 

a few weeks ago

that i couldn't post due to the pc trouble

so here are my belated & most feeble attempts

Oh!! I almost forgot to tell you,

though you probably have guessed,

i have a new laptop thanks to my hubby

it's my early Christmas and birthday gift!

Hopefully i will catch up with the IA challenges

and show you what i've been doing in my journal

but that will have to wait till later.

take care!

"Orange" blueberries & Maine art

We just returned home from our 

little vacation to Maine.

There were so many memorable sights

which are all far better in my minds eye

than what came out of my  Kodak

but i still want to share some of them with you!

 we took a day trip to Campobello Island in Canada
and  loved this gorgeous tree!

I got a kick out of 

this Copper Moose Head on a house 

outside of EastPort ME

and this heavy metal woman

was in a parking lot of a business

in EastPort

i think the same artisan who made the moose

created her too don't you?

One of my favorite sights

are the colorful Blueberry Barrens!

After harvest, they change color

into flaming orange and red!

This picture is of a field that is
beginning to turn color

and this field along RT1

is almost there!

As soon as I'm caught up on all the work,

mainly laundry,  I'm going to do some

paintings in acrylic of the fields.

But here is a watercolor i did

after seeing them last year

which just so happens to work for 

Inspiration Avenue's Orange Challenge!

Blueberry Field after Harvest

IAC - a pink rose

Cindy, our IA sister loves roses!

so it's no surprise that Cindy selected "Roses"
for our Inspiration Avenue's challenge!

My mother-in-law was the sweetest soul
who had a twinkle in her eye and love in her heart.
So when she passed at the age of 92,
we planted a rose bush to remember her by.
This is a picture of one of "mom's roses"
that I took a few years ago.

for the challenge i played around with the photo

This was a lovely and very enjoyable challenge!
Thank you Cindy! Come join us at
Inspiration Avenue!
~
And the color of these roses fit perfectly for
Kim's
31 days of Pink!

Doors & Love

I love doors

 so when Nancy, our IA sister 

selected "Doors" as this week's challenge

i knew it was going to be fun sharing these with you.

this colorful door just has to belong to an artist!
it's inspires creativity just looking at it.

and this charming round red door seems to
belong to  some very happy folks don't you think?

The most romantic door is from Paris,of course!
la Amour ~  la Amour ~

This light blue asymmetrical door really beckons me!
It is so interesting and so very compelling
i just have to go in! i don't know what it's like inside
but i know i will love it!

 when i was a girl, i wanted to live in a tree,
not a tree house, but inside a tree with a rounded door!

When i was first married  my husband
i told him about my little fantasy.

A few years later we were able to move into our own home.
It's a very small abode and didn't have a front closet
for all the coats and jackets needed here in Vermont.

So my hubby went to work building a coat closet for us.

and then  he surprised me
with
this
door

Now that dear reader is how
a door can show love!

note.... the closet and door are plumb, but the camera skewed it.
and see the twisted corners of the closet?
they were re purposed legs from my old hope chest
that had fallen apart
and then painted white

*most door pictures courtesy of pinterest *

get ready for a party hop!

Wait just a second before we speak of the party...
The theme for this week's Inspiration Avenue's challenge 
is Fairies! and was brought to us by 
one of our newer but already invaluable
IA sisters, Lou Anne.

Here is my entry

  the background is one of my collages that i 
played around color wise
and the fairies are 
courtsey from IA sister Maggie
 ~

Now, the fairies told us they are having a tea party

& invited Inspiration Avenue

and all their friends

to share in the festivities!

here's your invitation

for the Fairies Tea Blog Party

go to Inspiration Avenue for all the details

including info on give-aways and Fairy Freebies!

at Inspiration Avenue

there is a button for your blog

add it to yours and invite your friends!

So please save the date and come to join  in the 

festivities & merry making

with a little party of your own to share in

The Fairies Tea Party Blog Hop!

See you there!!

~ the Lay of the Land ~

Since i began this art journey in July 2011

i've been

observing, experimenting, learning, stretching,  growing, discovering.

When i started, there were two things i  really wanted

* to become a GOOD, & i mean a really GOOD artist

and

* to discover my style and become the best i can in it.

But when i look over my shop,

well quite honestly  it's a mess!

i'm all over the place.

There is no cohesive style.

I have learned recently that i like mixed media more than watercolors

and that even though it was out of my comfort zone, 

being more loose and abstract seemed to free me.

~

this is an abstract mixed media landscape

i did that really excites me!

~

and this one....

changed everything!

When i first went back to art, i tried acrylics and hated the medium because i couldn't get it to do what i wanted. But now with thanks to God (yes i pray about my art) and being brave, all the little lessons have finally come together! What makes me SO excited is that this piece is totally paint (acrylic) and the composition, technique & feel is exactly what my vision hoped it would be.
 I still have more to learn but nevertheless i have passed a hurdle and have found myself!
~
The Inspiration Avenue Teams  Challenge, hosted by Jenn of Just Add Water Silly, was "zentangles"
and in keeping with my new favorite theme "landscapes"
here is my entry

i added a hint of color because quite frankly i love color :)

Blessings & Joy to you all!!

Ah Paris, the city of Love!

Inspiration Avenues challenge "I Love Paris" is brought to us

 beautifully by our IA sister Hettienne.

 Hettienne's wonderful photos and descriptions of Paris 

have me longing to go and experience it for myself! 

Oh, please check out her personal blog for 

another gorgeous tour of Paris! 

~+~

I tried 2 other pieces but they didn't feel right, this one

is much closer to the feeling I wanted to capture.

I created a traditional collage and then played around with it  

giving it old fashioned romantic vintage feel

Here are 3 versions

( this one makes me think of French Toile!) 

It's not too late to enter the I Love Paris challenge yourself!

Hope to see you in Paris!

and

thank you so much Hettienne for the inspiration!