new work – A Randomly Creative Blog

Art Resin Challenge!

Published on April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 by L.M.Leave a comment

Last month I was approached by one of the wonderful employees at Art Resin with an offer & a challenge. They would supply me with free resin if I would create something new to share with my (and their) audience. SO…(drumroll please!) here it is!

Well, okay…here is ONE of the pieces! 🙂 There are three in total. I’ve done several pieces using the quilling techniques to make the designs – some inspired by nature, others very abstract. These three take their cue from the great outdoors. This piece, in particular, has a specific representation. The flowing terrain below that rising sun was inspired by watching the sun rising over a desert landscape. It’s created in an 8×8″ wood panel, turned upside down. Title? Desert Sunrise, of course!

Since this was a challenge I tried to think of what I could do to make this pour different. I settled on LIGHTS…each piece has a round portion of the background cut out and a clear Petri dish glued down over it. The paper design is attached to the front side of the dish. Small, remote control twinkle lights fit into the Petri dish behind the art and glow & sparkle through that section of the design! I also painted the background of these pieces, which I had not done before. I’m still deciding if I like them that way or not!

Now I’m going to blitz you with a bunch of “progress” images captured during the creation of these pieces:

Modifying the wood panels, various quilling tools and paper pieces, stages of creation, and all the pieces taped off, ready for the resin pour!

I did make a few videos of the process too, you can see them by following the links shown here:

Prep and Intro

Pre-Pour

Pouring the First Piece

In addition to the finished image of Desert Sunrise above, here are the other two pieces that were created:

Although the final images turned out just fine the pour had a moment of panic in it! When pouring the piece “Moonlight over the River” it took me several times pouring the resin before I figured out there was a leak around the Petri dish I had glued to the panel. I lifted it up to see a HUGE puddle of resin growing on the table. Ack! Ductape to the rescue! I can assure you before I started to pour the next piece it was inspected for leaks AND had tape added, just in case. 😉

I want to thank the great people at Art Resin, this was a fun challenge! You can find these pieces on my website if you’re interested in purchasing.

Your randomly creative artist friend,

Lynne

Undomesticated

Published on March 8, 2021February 18, 2021 by L.M.Leave a comment

Okay, perhaps that title applies to me at times…I most certainly would rather be in the studio (or pretty much anywhere) creating art than doing domestic chores! But this post is about some animal art I’ve been creating lately. I’ve had a blast with the Digital Pet Portraits but it’s also fun just to branch out and make artwork just for the sake of making it. Pure pleasure, if you will. These are some of the new “wildlife” images I’ve created during the winter months:

If they aren’t on the website yet, they will be soon. I’ve got a list of other animals I’d like to do soon but it seems like there are always more ideas than time to execute them! We will see what happens!

With love from your randomly creative friend,

Lynne

Digital Pet Portraits

Published on March 2, 2021February 18, 2021 by L.M.Leave a comment

Although I am certainly still available for a traditionally painted pet portrait I have really been excited (and busy) offering these digital pet portraits! Fun, colorful, whimsical and full of love they are created from a photo of your pet using my iPad. It is a fun and more affordable way of having your pets image made into art!

Send me your favorite digital pic of your sweet fur baby (close up of faces, please!) and I will create a custom portrait for you! With all the work being done digitally and via email it’s also a very Covid safe way to shop for a special gift for yourself or for friends & family who have fur babies!

You’ll receive a digital image file plus a letter giving you permission to have it printed anytime you like (many print facilities require this). Use the image anyway you like – print & frame, put it on canvas, create greeting cards, print it on a t-shirt or coffee mug – there are tons of options on there! I’ll also include a smaller digital file for you to share on social media, with family & friends, etc. (You will receive a digital file, no prints, just to be clear!)

Your choice of two shapes, traditional portrait or square and you can also request color combos for the background! All the options are available during the checkout process! Pricing begins at $49 for the first pet and $39 each for an additional portraits. Details about these, and all other, portraits can be found on THIS PAGE.

Another peek at some of my favorites from the past few months:

I’ve recently started exploring people portraits in this style as well…more on that at a later date!

Blessings from your randomly creative artist friend,

Lynne

No Filter & Slightly Off-Kilter

Published on February 24, 2021February 18, 2021 by L.M.Leave a comment

During the winter months I always explore new art ideas as I snuggle into hibernation mode. This year I continued working on digital art, but with a twist. These sets of images can be printed as greet cards or as wall art. All are fun, colorful and many feature the off-center style of humor that I adore. I still have many ideas for this series, they’ll be added to the website page as they are produced! These are the first two topics I tackled…Caffeinated Thoughts & (since Valentine’s was approaching at the time) Love & Laughter.

You can see the entire collection on my website. I’m having so much fun with these…both in the design aspect and in finding the sayings to go with each image! Future topics I’m planning on are “Unicorns Goals” and “That’s What I Thought!” but I’m always open to suggestions too! Drop me an email if inspiration hits. 😉

Until next time!

Your randomly creative artist friend,

Lynne

Shifting into Digital Mode

Published on October 8, 2020 by L.M.Leave a comment

As I was setting up my new site and selecting images to include (which I am still slowly adding!) I realized how long it had been since I’d created any art using digital tools. Shortly after my son showed me his sweet new tablet with pen and I was drooling. Fast forward a month or two and I’ve jumped in with both feet, purchasing a new tablet to replace the almost nine year old one…along with one of the fancy pens. Of course an art app and some downloads to beef it up came along in the process! I’ve been creating off & on for probably a month now and really enjoying being able to be creative while I’m in the house, not just while I’m in the studio. I’ve created several landscape style pieces, lots of abstract art in different shapes and sizes and even some faces, which I’ve affectionately been referring to as my “Hippee Chicks” as they all have a very Boho vibe. I’m adding a few samples below, which one(s) are your favorites?

A very early landscape piece, currently untitled

“Playful Thoughts” abstract digital painting

Many of the newer pieces have been added to my print store online and can be ordered as photo prints, fine art prints, metal prints, canvas prints, prints on wood or acrylic prints. I am more than a bit haphazard about posting here on the blog but I do send out weekly newsletters to keep my art-loving friends in the loop about upcoming events, special offers and new creative pursuits. While you are visiting my site would you take a moment to join my newsletter list ( there’s a link at the bottom of every page)? I’d appreciate it!

I hope you have been able to spend time creatively too! I’d love to hear about what you like to create – it’s inspiring! Thanks for reading…I’ll pop back on when I can. Love & blessings….

Your randomly creative artist friend, Lynne

New website!

Published on August 11, 2020 by L.M.Leave a comment

In case you wondered why the blogging ceased for a while I’ve spent several weeks setting up a super cool new website. I know, what’s so cool about a website, right? Well this one has some awesome features…like wall previews for my art that allow you to visualize the art in sample rooms. You can select the room type and even choose your wall paint color to get a better feel for how large a given piece is and how it will look on the wall. If you viewing the site on your cell phone you can even “project” my artwork onto your own walls to find the perfect spot to hang your purchase. Super fun! Probably the biggest change is that you can now purchase prints of my artwork, in addition to the originals.

So…that’s my news! I hope to finish fine tuning the site and get back to CREATING – soon! Here’s a link so you can check it out for yourself: Lynne Medsker Art & Photography, LLC

I’d love to hear what you think! Thanks for your time,

Lynne

P.S. Click on the banner at the top of the website and you can signup to win a free 18×36″ print of this newly created art, “Eye on the Prize” – Good Luck!

The last of my Grands…

Published on May 31, 2020 by L.M.Leave a comment

If you’ve been following the last couple of posts then you know I spent some time doing a series of colorful/fun portraits of my seven grandkids this spring. Today I’m sharing the last of those, my twin granddaughters. I worked on these at the same time, adding to one as the other dried. The process began with a sketch and proceeded from there with black & white underpainting, backgrounds and the final layer of color.

The image I was work from had Miss A’s hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She did NOT care for the look, feeling it wasn’t “girlie” enough so during a visit I sat with her and changed it to her natural, gorgeous, head of curls. I have to say, it captures her much better! Below are the two final images of these beauties:

I still haven’t figured out where I’ll hang all these fun pieces together, right now they are placed across the side of my desk and I’m enjoying seeing them each day. Next up? Well, firstly I decided to go “old school” artist and do a self portrait, which was an interesting experience. I also received a commission to do two more adorable “Grands” which will be fun too!

Hope you are enjoying the onset of summer and keeping yourself safe, healthy and well. Love to you from your randomly creative friend,

Lynne

The Grands Continue…

Published on May 20, 2020 by L.M.Leave a comment

In my last blog post I featured the first two colorful portraits that I created of my grandkids. I’m continuing with that topic today. This one is actually the one I painted first, just to see if I could! It kicked off the whole idea of painting each of them! My youngest/teen grandson (and yes, he had pink hair at the time!). These are some of the progression images:

I got a little carried away with the hair and had to go back in a shorten it up, then re-do the background and did even more fine-tuning before I was finally satisfied! This guy spend his first five years of life growing up at our house and has a pretty special place in our hearts!

Although not in chronological order of creation, I’m sharing the working images from his little sister, my next-to-the-youngest granddaughter. I actually did one entire painting of her that I disliked enough to paint completely over it and start again! This process is still not the easiest for me, but once I get it right I am a happy artist! These images are the steps of the “do over” painting of my Sweetpea:

I was surprised how many times these youngsters started off looking like old people!! Thankfully that had improved before the final image:

Last, for today, is the artwork of our youngest granddaughter. She is one of the most joyful kiddos I know – and also the one that I collaborated with to create a special book all about her. I call her my Sunshine!

My next post will feature the last two of our Grands, who happen to be (non-identical) twins! Twice the fun!! Until then!

Lynne

More portrait fun!

Published on May 14, 2020 by L.M.1 Comment

So my latest endeavor has been making creative/colorful/fun portraits of my grandkids. Today I’ll share the process and finished images of two of them – our oldest grands – who happen to be siblings. I haven’t been creating in chronological order exactly but thought I might share them that way anyhow!

I’ve found it a much different process to create female vs. male portraits, although I’m not exactly sure why. It’s not the facial structure so much, although that does differs, but I think maybe with the added color/highlights on their faces I tend to be more sparse with the splashes of color when creating a girl vs. feeling bolder with a guy? Or perhaps since we have five granddaughters and only two grandsons I’m just not getting as much practice on the guys? Not really sure! Here are some of the progress images of our oldest grandson:

I fall in & out of love several times during the process and, at least once, want to chuck it and forget trying but after several of them I’m realizing that’s part of my process. I struggled with the shape & proportions a lot during the first three or four of these but it’s gotten easier. Is that why they always say “practice, practice, practice”? Here is the finished image of his painting:

The work on my oldest granddaughter’s image went through the same process, there were times it just looked horrid but, in the end, I finally loved it. Here are some progress images:

I hope that sharing these rough images I will encourage you to not give up on your artwork, even if you feel like it’s not going well at all! Keep persevering! (Although I did paint completely over one piece so that’s also an option – do overs are always allowed!) Here is the final image:

As far as media I used graphite for the sketch, lots of acrylic paint, stencils for the backgrounds and a generous amount of acrylic paint pens as well. These are all on 9×12″ canvases…once I’ve done them all I am going to hang them all up together and have a “grandkid gallery” to enjoy!

I hope you are enjoying your creative time! With love,

Lynne

Pups, a Cat and Some Creativity

Published on May 8, 2020February 8, 2021 by L.M.1 Comment

As I’ve navigated these odd times, with no art events on the horizon yet, I’ve spent more & more time working on personal art project. Last post I shared about an online portraiture course I’ve been working through, which inspired me to attempt some portraits on my own – starting with my fur babies! They all turned out a bit different that each other, I can’t say I’ve settled on a “style” just yet but they all make me happy anyhow! My first attempt was to create an image of my sweet old gal, Emmy. She recently turned nine, we rescued her over two years ago and she has stolen our heart, and we have hers – although she’s not a lovey/friendly gal with just everyone. 😉 The best guess is that she is black lab and perhaps a bit of Rotwieller. Here are the images of the painting process:

I had so much fun I immediately jumped in and started working on my second image – this time of our not-quite-as-old guy (he just turned eight), Carl. Carl joined us a little over a year ago and kind of turned our world upside down – in a good way! He is smart, curious, full of energy and LOTS of fun. The calm and quiet is gone by the happiness has increased for sure! Carl is several inches and a few pounds bigger than Miss Em, he’s a mix of black lab and possibly Great Dane. He has these eyes that are so bright and direct and seem to look right through you!

Well now I just HAD to try my hand at my oldest pet, Miss Amy, the tuxedo cat! We adopted her about ten years ago and guess she is about twelve. She was a feral/outdoor cat that we adopted to be a mouser in our garage. She wouldn’t come near the door, let alone in the house for the first year we had her. That slowly changed and when we moved several years ago she decided being a house cat was a pretty good life! The last five years she has been my “studio cat” and has the run of the studio.

Last, but certainly not least, I created a painting of my good friend, Corey! His momma and I have been friends for years and he’s been a frequent visitor here at our house (although not so much now that Carl joined the pack). He is part Corgi and part Beagle and just as sweet as he looks. This was a gift for his mom, who really enjoyed it – even if Corey wasn’t all that impressed!

Next up? Both my grandson’s have their own pups so they’ll be on the easel soon!

With love from your randomly creative friend!

Lynne