New Beginnings with my Art

Watercolor I made for my Mom as a Christmas present.
IBook page where I was playing around with angles.
IBook page of images that I really liked by themselves. Love clear glass ornaments.


I made this to try out the little needle top applicator I found at the art store.
It looks more like a spider web than stained glass but it is my first try.

I was reading a blog of a woman who wrote that she has caps for her paints that allow her to make thin lines. I liked the effect so went hunting for the caps, the bottle was all they had.
I was able to make my own mixture of gel medium, water and 3 colors of acrylic paints. It worked well though holding a small bottle does not give you that sweeping arm movement that I like as when using long-handled brushes.

The little pieces of paper were from an EBay auction I recently won that had a variety of stuff.
I love getting a mix of items that other artists use that allow me to try out new things. They are like new toys for me so I was as excited as a child when they came.

I really, really need to make some time just to practice my artwork. Am thinking of finding a little sketch book and at least a couple of times a week making little design drawings in it.
By using colored pencils and markers I could add some color combinations. I am not the type to do a bunch of little drawings before I start a new painting and this gets me into trouble sometimes. I still want the spontaneity but when I get stuck in the middle I can have the designs I drew to help me along to the next level.


On the home front, we have spent the last couple of days keeping an eye on our basement.
The yard is filled with water and the creek over-flowed once again and we were all prepared for another flood. ( just had a major one 3 months ago) We really hadn't done anything to the basement since then, other than to rip out walls and tile so we weren't as worried because there wasn't much the water could hurt, except for the new furnace. Amazingly we only had huge puddles in places. The bummer was that it kept us from going to Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas with my family. We are hoping to get up there in the next couple of days and have a belated celebration with my Mom and sister.

I hope my Mom likes the painting I made for her. She lives on a lake with lots of trees in her yard and the birches are one of her favorites. I made the trees by ripping up some strips of painting tape and putting it on the paper first and then doing watercolor washes over it.
I then added some black ink to outline them.

Trying to get on canvas what I imagine in my mind, is one of the biggest struggles I have when I am creating. Sometimes there are happy surprises and I go with it. Other times I realize that I am just out of practice..... then there are times when I just want to yell argggg and grab a match!

I remember my collage teacher telling me that you should expect one out of every 10 pieces to come out like you wanted and the others are just practice. I admit to impatience. I want my pieces to look good from the beginning. I have to remind myself that the good ones are often made in steps or layers and are not the finished product. I want instant art satisfaction!!

So one of my resolutions for the new year is to practice more and with that I hope to gain some patience and with that the confidence I need to go on. There is something about the new year that gives you a nice feeling of being able to just start over fresh. I like that a lot!!