Summer of Color Week 3

This week’s color for Summer of Color is lime green and purple.  It is a favorite combination for me.

This week I decided to use inktense pencils.  I really love them, both as watercolors pencils and as ordinary pencils.  For this lovely I used them both dry and wet, and I must say I like it as it gives more depth to the page.

The girl, I found in the pages of an old Cosmopolitan magazine.  I like to use these models as they often have poses that we normally would not think of using. I usually change the face a bit so it is not recognizable.  With this girl I loved her hair and the way her arm was raised.  I had wanted to use that quote for ages, and felt she looked as if she could have said it.

Have a great week everybody and I can’t wait to check out all the different takes on this color combination.  Thank you Kirstin for hosting this event, it is certainly lightening my winter up!

Dare to Dream

We all have Dreams, some we think are too difficult to attempt

One of the dreams I have is to illustrate my own children’s story book.  I have made halfhearted attempts in following that dream, but am easily discouraged by others comments and a deep rooted belief that I am not good enough.

I learnt a lesson this week.  I can do it.  I was being held back by my belief that I could not do the illustration well enough for publishing.  You see I sent my treasured story and illustrations off to the publishers.  I got news back they liked the story but they did not want coloured pencil illustrations, they wanted watercolours and a freer style.  I put the whole thing on the shelf as a ‘too hard to do’ item.  A week ago I got an email from them asking if I was going to do the illustrations in watercolour and if not could they get someone else to do them.

  That moved me.  I was not going to let someone else illustrate my baby.  I brooded for a few days.  It was Tracey Fletcher Kings comment on my Icad cards, about the quirkiness of them that set off a light bulb moment.  My story was quirky, and I have been doing watercolour stuff for Icad. Der!!  But then the gnomes had a field day.  “Yeah, but you are no good blah blah…”  “Excuse me!”  A voice chimed in, “what about your floral watercolours, you are good at that!” Yes I am, I thought, then it hit me the florals don’t matter to me, the illustration is very important to me, it is from my heart, and fear of failure is holding me back.

To cut the story short I got out one my favourite children’s book Wedding Birds by Jutta Ash, and drooled.  “Hey! My inner voice said why don’t you copy one of the pictures and see if you can.”  Well, I can, and even on crappy paper that I couldn’t work the paint and that buckled like crazy.

So the moral of this story is if there is something you want to do TRY IT. DON’T LISTEN TO THE GNOMES IN YOUR HEAD!

(And thank you Tracey)

(PS remember from next week I will be having a give away postcard with every post for Sunday Sketches and Paint Party Friday in July to celebrate my 1st year of blogging.)

Linking to

 Show and Tell Saturday at Artists in Blogland

Manon's Paper Saturday

Alexandra’s Sunday Sketches

Paint party Friday, Icad and Mix It Monthly

Connie at Mix It Monthly has presented us with an amazing challenge this Month.  It is Vintage meets Picasso, two extremes that tested by brain.  She provided two images that we could work from.  I decided to use her vintage lady and use an image I found on Google for my inspiration for Picasso.

You know that old fairytale saying “Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the prettiest of all?”  Meet my take.  I am not sure who got the biggest fright!

Vintage meets Picasso

This hits home for me, as sometimes I get a shock when I look in the mirror! Hehehe. Seriously once I was in a hurry getting ready for work, and wondered why some people on the train were giving slightly weird looks.  I only found out at lunchtime, in the restroom when I looked in the Mirror and found that I had only put eye make up on one eye, and lipstick on the top lip and not the bottom.  I guessed I shrieked like Picasso’s lady.  When I berated one of my co workers for not telling me she said “Well you are art farty, and we thought that perhaps you were making a statement.”  Yeah right

Icad

Here are the icads I completed this week.

 

Paint Party Giveaway in July

It will be my 1st year anniversary on 28 July for this blog.  Paint Party Friday was my first link up and in the space of a year I have made many friends in the art blogging community and they have in turn inspired and given me confidence.  So I want to say a big thank you.  From next week I will give away 2 art postcards each week till the end of July.Also,  at the end of July I will give away a 8 paged art journal to anyone who has left a comment on my PPF posts during July.  I will post about the pages during the month.  Anyway more details next week. 

I had hoped to show you the cover today, but ran out of time, as I have been battening down the hatches as we have an enormous storm waging at the moment. The South Island is under metres of snow and here the winds are a bit scary! On the news tonight, people in Wellington, the capital living opposite the beaches have had fish thrown on their lawns by a stormy sea.  Make a great painting.  The roads in and out of Wairarapa are closed and there are lots of power lines down.  So I might not get around to you over the next day or so.  If not I will try and visit as soon as things are settled.

Have a great week every one.

Linking to

Paint Party Friday,

Mix It Monthly

Icad