Painting!

Wow! I had no idea painting could be so much fun!  Sure I've touched brush to canvas before but honestly it's been so long I really can't remember the last time. I recently picked up this great little starter kit which included a selection of acrylic paints and 9 small canvases.  It was an absolute steal at 50% off and since I've had painting on my mind over the past several months I snatched it up.

Those canvases have been all but screaming at me lately so I finally took some time over the weekend and gave it a try.  Here are a sampling of my first attempts...

I had fun including different elements ~ for example the painting below is titled "Break-time" and includes espresso coffee grinds and pomegranate rose tea.  I have a collection of rose petals from my garden so I included a few of those and one is even heart shaped...

I think I love mixing colors the most ~ it's just so much fun to watch the swirling colors mingle and blend to create new shades and patterns.  The bottom one is titled "Winter Rose"...

This one is my son's favorite, probably for the dark browns and greens with vintage imagery and watches, he's always favored that style...

Now the trick is figuring out how to properly photograph them ~ it seems I don't have a white wall in house (hmph!) but I hope to get that figured out soon.

I want to thank Angie of Artangel and Lisa of The Wright Stuff for all their help and tips on getting started with this medium.  Both of their work have served as strong inspirations to me in the past and I really appreciate all the help with answering questions and offering up creative advice ~ thanks ladies!

Best~

Gift from an Angel~

I just received the most amazing 'gift'! My sweet friend Angie of Artangel has been participating in a Pay-it-Forward challenge in the month of April ~ basically she's offered a selection of her gorgeous creations for free through her Etsy shop.

Today was the last day and her offering was this gorgeous "Love" painting/collage. I'm a huge fan of my dear friend's work and have been collecting her pieces over the years.

When I heard she was offering up this gorgeous piece (one of my very favorites) as her last PIF, I just had to stalk her shop and sure enough, I got it!! Whoot!! I'm now the new owner of this fabulous Artangel creation and just couldn't be happier!!

So a huge thanks to the Angie for choosing to participate in this give-forward event and the angel who helped me click that buy button at just the right time♥ What a wonderful gift after this l-o-n-g week!

I'm sure you'll want to view more of Angie's gorgeous creations like this newly finished piece "Unwritten Poem" ...


I just love all the intricate details she includes in her work! This piece along with another will be appearing at an open exhibition in the UK this week, so here are the links to visit her blog and shop ~ www.artangeloriginalart.blogspot.com & www.Artangel.etsy.com to find out more.

Enjoy!

IA Weekly Challenge ~ "Pink"

This week I had an opportunity to participate in the Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge. The theme was "pink" and being this shade is near and dear to my little plumrose heart I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try something new ~ painting. Truth be told I haven't painted in over 10 years, probably due to lack of time, but I really enjoyed this challenge which certainly turned out to be just that... a challenge.

My techniques are definitely a bit rusty and only having some of my son's leftover acrylic paints from elementary school to play with was a bit limiting. I had better hopes for the heart too but remembered after the fact that lighter colors do not go over darks very well ~ strange how we forget basics like that... oh well. I now own a set of watercolor crayons in lieu of the upcoming free class I'm participating in next week which I'm really looking forward to trying out. So hopefully my future efforts will improve with time.

Inspiration Avenue weekly challenges are great fun and they're open to anyone with a blog and a creative spirit. Hope to see you there sometime and as always...

Enjoy!