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!
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,
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. 😉
So I’ve been playing with several things in the studio lately, today it only seems natural to share some “heart art” with you! I am slowly working my way back to creating more batik artwork. I took a break for several months but know I’ll be wanting new work for an upcoming show so I started playing with it again yesterday. Instead of creating on plain white paper this time I am using colored paper or paper with natural elements embedded in it. I also decided not to draw out and color in the designs with ink first but to preserve some of the paper color by painting the design on with wax instead. This was my second attempt at a heart, I stressed the paper out too much with the first one and it crumbled into pieces after the second waxing. Ooops!
I did go in after it dried and add some marks and lines. I like how loose and easy-going it ended up!
While I was in the studio I played with a new heart stencil (plus a couple others) in one of my journals…along with some “blendable” inks. It turned out cute enough for my first attempt.
I like it but…well, I just couldn’t help but do some digital editing on it. I know there are a lot of people out there that don’t necessarily enjoy Valentine’s Day. I don’t have strong feelings about it either way, I try to let the people that I love know they are loved all year round so I don’t get very extravagant celebrating just one day! Anyhow, the more I played with the image in Photoshop it morphed into a “dark” version…just for those that aren’t into the happy pink & red hearts or sentiments.
Enjoy the day…however you celebrate (or don’t). With love,
Your Randomly Creative Friend,
Lynne
P.S. If you are out & about and happen to be in the area, the RED show opens tonight at Flourish Gallery, 88 Morgan Street, Martinsville, Indiana. I have art in the RED show and a selection of items for sale in the gallery too. I’ll be there from 2 p.m. till around 7 p.m.
So, many people have expressed an interest in learning more about how I do Batik painting on paper. Well, your chance to learn that is coming SOON! Here are all the details, I hope you can join in the fun:
Registration deadline is Tuesday, August 20th at noon!
As I continue randomly exploring different forms of art I branched out a bit into musical instruments! Not hand-built or fancy but an easy kit and lots of creativity. 😉 I purchased three of these kits and have had them in the studio for quite some time. I’m not sure what happened but last month it was finally TIME. So I pulled out the first one and got busy.
After a bit of sanding the painting commenced! Layers of acrylic ink in randomly colorful streaks were the first order of business. A great base to add to, with lots of designs, doodles, more ink, paint pens and fun.
It took several sessions to complete all the details, then it was time for assembling the pieces. No instructions included but a couple of YouTube videos spelled it out pretty clearly. The waiting time for the glue to dry as pieces were added seemed like it took forever but, finally, it was all put together.
I found a handy app for tuning eukeles and had it strumming at last! The included strings were not inclined to keep a tune so I have a new set that arrived the other day that I’ll be switching too. This one was for fun, for practice and just for ME. I’ve got it hanging on the wall in my studio.
The next two? Well, I’ve had a request or two already so we’ll see what happens. The possibilities are endless for design, the hard part will be making up my mind!
I love to include words, quotes and text in my art but, despite some instruction and practice, I’m not always thrilled with the way my hand drawn letters turn out. This little hack is a favorite of mine and I thought you might find it useful as well! This was just an impromptu, messy fingers project that popped into my head one day. The first step was to add acrylic paint to the board I was painting. Somedays my favorite paint tools are my fingers, and this was no exception.
I have accumulated a large selection of fonts on my computer (there are many resources for free downloadable fonts available online) and have fun using different ones in digital creations, advertising and such. They are especially handy when lettering on artwork! Some of my batik work is done on Unryu paper which is transparent enough you can actually just trace the letters onto the paper as they are visible when placed underneath.
“Psalm 11:7” Batik art, three steps – lettering, adding ink, after the batik process
If I’m working on wood or canvas I have a way of getting the letters on my art that works very well. First I measure the space where I want the words placed and create a blank file in Photoshop Elements that is the same size. Then, using the type function I type, resize and arrange the letters to suit my project. This is what the file looked like for the project I am showing you:
I printed it the exact size as the file (which meant it had to be printed in two sections) and then taped together the pieces. The next step was to turn it over and take either pencil or charcoal and cover the back of the paper where the letters were printed.
You want to cover it fully, the pencil or charcoal is going to be used like copy paper to make outlines of your letters onto your art. Turn it over and position it where you want the letters to be on your art and then take a ball point pen and trace the outlines of each letter. I get excited and always want to rush things so come to find out my paint wasn’t as dry as usual, I ended up lifting some of it from the wood when I applied the marks. It still worked!
Now that I had the outline on the artwork I could use markers, paint pens or a really steady brush to add the colors and outline for the lettering and any details I decided to include. I decided to just handwrite the “hello” portion of the lettering and kind of wish I’d have traced that too. Oh well! Here is the final piece.
Let me know if you try this technique for adding letters, I hope it’s inspired you to get creative!
So it’s taken me half the year but I’ve got new classes set up at Art on Main Gallery & Gifts in Carmel, Indiana again! The first one with be on Wednesday, July 31st – the flyer below has all the details.
Future class topics are as follows:
August 7th, Mixed Media Painting
August 21st, Batik Painting on Paper
September 4th, Introduction to Journal Making
September 18th, Artistic Jewelry Class
October 16, 30, November 6, 20 – TBA
For your convenience here is a link to the registration page: REGISTER FOR CLASS All dates are Wednesdays and all classes run from 6-9 p.m. I hope you can join me for one (or more!) of these creative evenings!
Been slacking around here…I think blogging will always be a struggle for me but I keep TRYING anyhow! Thought I should at least post the details for two upcoming classes that have been scheduled. Hope you can join one!
Register for this class by Monday, April 22nd to get $10 off using promo code: EARLYBIRD10!
As I mentioned in my last post, today’s blog features some new batik artwork. It seems as if I haven’t exhausted all the ways I can play and explore with this medium…as I learn new styles and techniques in other media they often translate into some fun batik pieces!
Batik on Unryu paper, approximately 8×8″ currently untitled
The piece above (and the three below) I used the wax to “paint” abstract marks and shapes onto the paper before adding the background colors. The final coloring on these pieces seeps in between the cracks in a final layer of wax. I like the earthy way these feel. Incorporating the spirit-led, random mark making with the wax painting brings in some of the new style I’ve been using with acrylic paints.
“Mantras” 1,2 & 3 each 6×12″ mixed media Batik on Unryu paper
Another new type of batik I’ve been exploring is using India Ink to paint onto the paper prior to waxing and adding the final layer of color. Very free strokes, flow-oriented and fun!
Spontaneous Song 11×14, matted and framed to 16×20″
Obviously I was having a LOT of fun with the piece above! Testing how the inks interacted with the paper, how the brush moved and the colors could blend. The ones below were a little more thoughtful as far as the colors selected, but still full of freedom and expression.
(L to R) Catalyst, Unguarded, Limitless each 11×14″, matted and framed to 16×20″
I did one other very special set of batik art but I can’t reveal them just yet…I need to deliver them first! Look for them soon.
A Randomly Creative Blog 