Tutorial: Adding an “Interest List” on Facebook

So this morning I woke to find this message appearing on my Facebook feed from several different sources. Perhaps you did too?

Although it lists the steps to do this I always find it easier to learn things visually. If you are a visual learning (or just need a bit of help getting through these steps) I’ve taken some screen shots of the process and added a few notes on how to create and add pages to your “Interest Lists”. Please note that this only works on your personal profile and you can only add business pages, if you have a business page there is currently not a way to create these lists there.

First things first, you have to have already clicked “LIKE” for the page(s) you’d like to add. You can follow these steps on my business page by clicking here: www.facebook.com/lynnemedskerart – the page will pop up in a new window so you can go back & forth between this tutorial and my page easily. Remember the first step is to click “Like” if you haven’t already done so. (Surely you have!)

There are two different ways that you can access the controls to add a page to you list. First you can go directly to that page (like you did in the step above to access my page), you’ll get a full screen of the page and can locate the “Like” button at the top/right of the page, under the header image. If you already have “Liked” the page you can also access it through your own page by going to your personal page and clicking on your “Likes’ list. It may be one of the boxes under your header image or you may have to use the drop down menu to find it. Here’s an image of my personal page (yes, I am that goofy) with the “Likes” circled (the drop down menu is right next to it):

(click image to see larger version)

After you’ve either location your “Likes” page or gone to the actual page you’d like to add you will need to hover your mouse over the “Liked” box to access the options that will let you add the page, just hold your “pointer” over that box for a moment and wait for the options to pop up on the screen.

(click image to see larger version)

Here is an image of how the drop down menu should look after you hover over it:

(click image to see larger version)

You will click on the option that says “Add to Interest List”.  Once you have clicked on “Add to Interest List” option another drop down menu will appear with options for which list you’d like to add it to. In the image below I’ve created a list of local artists and art organizations that I have added pages too. (You can have multiple lists, with each being a different topic.)

(click image to see larger version)

The first time that you add a page it will give you the opportunity to create a list, you can see the “+ New List” option underneath the list I had already created (to add additional lists/categories  you would click that option as well). Once you’ve clicked on it  you will be asked for a title for the list  so choose one and then type it in the box.

Congratulations! You’ve started your first Interest List! Now just follow the same steps to add any other pages that interest you. Be sure to select the list on your home page from time-to-time to make sure you’re getting all the latest from the pages you like! You can find it in the left hand column of when you are on your home page:

Thanks for reading my blog and for your “Likes” on Facebook, I appreciate you support & interest!

Lynne

Progression of a Digital Art Image

Just for fun I thought I’d show you some images of a digital art piece I recently created. I think it’s fun to see the different stages from beginning to end! This was another small piece I made on my smart phone, I keep flipping back & forth between calling them kaleidoscopes and mandalas, I guess they could be either. Or both! Here is the beginning of the process:

image #1, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

I decided I wasn’t fond of it with a black background so I changed that to white and kept going, adding a thick layer of black design on the top:

image #2, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

It continued along with these steps:

image #3, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #4, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #5, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #6, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

I let the program choose some of the colors (although I could delete any I didn’t care for) until the end, when I decided which ones to use. Once I was done with it in the phone I sent it to Photoshop where I continued to play:

image #7, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

Sometimes I question if I’ve done too much, I rather like it back at image #3! A few final tweeks and this is where I stopped:

image #8, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

Which reminds me of these quotes:

A painting is never finished – it simply stops in interesting places. (Paul Gardner)

Art is never finished, only abandoned. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Commissioned Work: Turquoise Topography

So I thought I’d finish off this week with some commissioned work that I completed in February.

"turquoise topography" 1 & 2, commissioned artwork, mixed media on wood panels, 20x20" each

The color scheme and media were based off of a piece I’d made a few years ago, “Lacrimo”.

"lacrimo" mixed media on wood panel, 20x20" $375 © lynne medsker

Since the client wanted two pieces I knew I’d get a better continuity between them by creating two at once instead of trying to match the single piece I’d created two years ago. Beginning with layers of concrete applied by hand to the wood panels, I made texture & designs on each panel, as well as drops and bumps of concrete across the surface as well.

work in progress image, concrete of wood panel © lynne medsker

work in progress, first layers of acrylic © lynne medsker

Once dried that layer was sealed and then I began the layering process with thin layers of acrylic. Adding more neutral colored layers followed by bright colors I built up the design on the concrete bit by bit.

work in progress, additional layers of color on wood panels © lynne medsker

work in progress, brighter colors on top of the neutral background © lynne medsker

Eventually it was time for the finishing layers, more sealer and to choose a direction for them to hang.

finishing touches of color © lynne medsker

It was actually the clients idea to hang them at an angle, they look great that way! I really enjoyed being able to create these pieces, what would you like me to create for you?

Backbeat!

"Backbeat" mixed media on three 24x36" wood panels, $495 each/$1195 set © lynne medsker

It seems I’ve got a bit of a musical theme going on lately in my artwork! After creating “Music in Motion” my next project, shown above, was titled “Backbeat”. Created on three 24×36″ wood panels, it includes multiple layers of paper, paint and miscellaneous objects. I was blessed with a multi-day stretch of time to work on these pieces non-stop so it seemed like they came together quickly. I’m going to show several images of the pieces as they progressed so you can get an idea of the process:

panels, covered with papers & sheet music @ lynne medsker

sewing pattern added on top of paper layer © lynne medsker

beginning to add 1st layer of watercolor © lynne medsker

2nd full layer of watercolor © lynne medsker

3rd layer of watercolor © lynne medsker

all three panels with watercolor layers added © lynne medsker

adding circular design with charcoal © lynne medsker

close-up of detail painting © lynne medsker

acrylic detail painting finished © lynne medsker

detail painting finished on all three panels © lynne medsker

The last step was to add some dimensional pieces to each panel, all circular, using painted 33 1/3 albums & CD’s, 45 records and plexiglass pieces.

 

finished panel © lynne medsker

These pieces are currently on display at Artistic Designs Gallery in Brownsburg, Indiana – drop in a see them in person, photos don’t do them justice!

Finished project for Earth Day show…

"signature required for processing" mixed media collage, 36x12" (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

Last week I posted about a project I was working on for a show celebrating Earth Day. Yesterday’s blog post included an image of the metal wall sculpture that my husband, Mark, entered in the show along with the press release announcing all the details.  Today I thought I’d share a few of the step-by-step images, as well as the finished project (above), for my show entry. I began this collage by covering the entire canvas with a layer of junk mail. After that was dry I proceeded by layering on some semi-transparent glaze in different colors.

progress image #1 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

progress image #2 (c) Lynne Medsker

I pushed the colors around, blending them and removing them until I was content. (I had so much fun with the glaze & colors I also used them on another project that I’ll be showing you at a later date!) The following layer was more snippets junk mail, followed by a layer of white acrylic & glaze.

progress image #3 (c) Lynne Medsker

progress image #4 (c) Lynne Medsker

Although it’s hard to tell from a small blog image there were still many areas where the original layer was showing through the over-layers of colored glaze. Here’s a close-up shot showing some of the details:

detail, progress image #5 (c) Lynne Medsker

The final layer of junk mail clippings were added and then a few areas of black paint were applied with textured applicator. Finished!  Of course all these steps were spread out over a five day period with drying time (and some pauses to think about direction). I’ve enjoyed showing some of the step-by-step photos and instruction on how I have been creating art lately, I hope you have as well.  Now on to this week’s creative project…whatever that may end up being!

Anticipation,

Lynne

The End of the Journey

"you see things" mixed media on 5x7 wood panel (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

It seems like some pieces of art know exactly where they are going and I just follow them along. Others, however, I feel like I have to push along a twisted path until we get to our destination.  The pieces of art I’m showing you today are from the later group.  I started them many months ago and right off the bat, hit a road block.  They began easily enough, with a layer of paper added – along with some acrylic gel for texture.  Next I layered of some acrylic “paint skins” in a couple of tones.

step 1, adding paper

adding "paint skins"

Hmmmm….now what? How about some threads running through it?  Why not!

adding threads & more clear (when it dries!) acrylic

And right there, is where I got stuck! I sat them aside, keeping them visible enough that I would see them from time to time, waiting for inspiration to strike and I would suddenly know where they wanted to go.  They sat. And sat. And sat some more.  Nothing ever came flashing through my brain but the longer I looked at them I decided we were just at a dead end and needed to turn around and proceed in a different direction.  Last week we finally continued our journey. I began layering on different color paints and then, when those layers were dry, mixed up a batch of paint with some “course texture” medium added in. It felt like there was sand in the mixture as I spread it on and, when it dried, it kind of felt like the surface of a rough stucco building.

adding paint

layering on texture & color

After I put the layer on I went back and scraped away some areas to make the surface color & texture varied.

after some of the new texture & color had been scraped away

That needed to dry for quite a while! After it was dry I returned to layering on different colors.

putting on blue paint

adding black & white paint

As you can image the surface was getting really textured after all these layers being added – which is just what I wanted! I still felt it was missing something and then thought back to the very first layer that was added under all that paint.  Words!  It needed some words! So I clipped some small pieces of text, along with some textured, transparent, fiber paper and added those next.

adding some squares of see-through blue paper & words to each piece

Almost there now!  I really liked the look of the words but also wanted them to be partially hidden to where each viewer would feel like they were discovering a secret message tucked within the color & texture of the piece.  One more session of mixing paints to get just the color I wanted and it was time for the final layer! After it covered most of the surface I returned to scrap it away in certain spots.

final layer of color & texture

finished pieces (see a close up at beginning of this post!)

DONE! Although I felt like we wrestled to get here I am pleased with the finished pieces.

What kind of journeys do you enjoy? The easy road with no detours or the ones that wind into places you didn’t expect to discover? I think I aim for the first but enjoy the second when it accidently happens. The detours make the best stories! 🙂

Winding along,

Lynne

Step-by-Step Mixed Media Collage

"we must dream", mixed media collage, 48" x 24" (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

Today I am going to share with you photos and details of the steps taken to create the mixed media collage shown above. I’ve been working on smaller pieces for a while and I just felt the need to let loose and “go large”! The canvas for this piece measures 48″ x 24″, and after creating so many little 5×5″ and 5×7″ collages lately it seemed even bigger.

To begin I penciled in some rough guidelines to follow while painting the background with acrylic paint. I often go for a color blended and texturized paint style when creating a background but this time I wanted to use a more geometric pattern. The other thing I did differently was to limit my color palette. I selected neutral gray, bright white and cool mid-tone blue. These images show the blocks of colors going on the canvas:

work in progress, image #1 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

work in progress, image #2 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

work in progress, image #3 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

As you can tell by the third image I did some blending of colors in each section and also went into some spaces and added extra texture for some interest & fun. After that I needed to select what papers, clippings, images and photos I wanted to include.

work in progress, image #4 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

As you can tell by this image, I pulled a large group of items and made my selections from there.  I always find it interesting when I look back & see all the things I thought might work that didn’t end up in the final image. Let alone the things I hadn’t even thought of yet that came to mind later in the process! The next step was to just start randomly adding paper to the background paint. I try not to get too wrapped up in this step because many times it’s covered with so much else not a lot of it will end up showing at the end. I did get overly excited about one image (the darker rectangle, furthest away in the image below) and, due to my enthusiasm & early application, it ended up not being the focal point I had originally hoped. I find it hard not to get carried away when I’m busy creating!

work in progress, image #5 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

As soon as this layer dried I began the next layer, which had smaller, more detailed images and patterns…including some splashes of black to add some contrast to the softer background colors.

work in progress, image #6 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

close-up, work in progress, image #7 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

When that layer had dried I mixed some white acrylic paint with some clear glaze and spread it over the pieces. I covered some parts lightly and  other were covered more heavily plus, since the glaze mixture wasn’t totally opaque, as it dried parts of the underneath layers began to show through randomly. I made it a point to leave lines and texture as I layered the glaze on and when it had dried slightly I also went back in with some rippled cardboard and lifted part of the layer off in places.

work in progress, image #8 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

close up, work in progress, image #9 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

Now it was getting down to the final details…and the decision as to when I was done! I had several old printmaking projects that were mostly just color with texture and I decided that two of them complimented the piece well.  Since I’d used the square/rectangular shapes to begin with I thought throwing in some round shapes would be fun.  Well, at least I thought that until I had to cut all of the pieces out! 🙂 I also had an older digital art print that included this butterfly in it.  Part of the print had been damaged so it felt good to be able to salvage the butterfly and let it come to life in a new piece of art. I also had a sheet of quotes and words, most of them centered around the topic of dreams and dreaming…my favorite! So I clipped single words, snippets and entire sayings from that and arranged them on top of the acrylic/glaze layer. Then I began playing with the layout of the circles.  It went through several transformations (like image #10 below) before I was pleased enough to permanently adhere them to the piece.

work in progress, image #10 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

After everything was attached to the canvas (I use clear acrylic gel as a bonding medium when I collage & create mixed media) I let the piece dry, propped it up on an easel and let it sit where I could see it every day.  And let it sit. And sit. And sit some more. Finally I decided that there was nothing else I wanted to add to it so I declared it finished.  (Well, except for painting the edges of the canvas!) I titled it “We Must Dream” from one of the phrases that’s included on it, the finished image is at the top of this post. Here is a close-up of a finished section too:

close up from "we must dream" mixed media collage (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker

I hope you enjoyed seeing the steps used to make this piece and that it inspired you to go be creative!

Dreaming…

Lynne