Paint Party Friday - Some ACEO's

Hi Guys,

Hope you've all had  a great week.....

Well this week I have been working on a couple of ACEO's I ordered in loads of these ACEO sized chipboard pieces ready for me to paint on! So I couldn't wait to get to work. I managed to finish two this week in between planning for a new mural and working on a new papier mache project with the Year 3/4's. I'm hoping to have something to show you next week regarding that!

So my first ACEO is my Redheaded Dancer.

 She is painted in acrylics!

 I decided to pretty up the back a bit by using Japanese paper which I then covered with a coat of diamond glaze for protection and shine. I also varnished my painting with a coat of varnish!

Then I created this burlesque beaty.

 The back!

I really enjoyed working on such a small scale and getting in as much detail as possible. I can see why these ACEO's can become addictive! :0) I'm already working on my next one so will show you that one next week! :0)

I just wanted to leave you with some pics of another 'paint party' I was involved with last week. This is a fun project I did with one of my preschooler groups. I set up the paints as usual but this time I put things like tooth brushes, cotton buds and twigs and bark for them to use as well as rollers.  Their mission was to create a face (like mine in the background) by using those tools instead of a brush.

 This is the after shot! I'd forgotten how messy things could get! ;0)

 They had a great time and it was interesting to see how they all used these tools differently.

 Some didn't get as far as painting a face but had so much fun experimenting with the different textures......

 Others managed to create a face with the tools. They had a great time and it was a really interesting exercise!

Now I'm off on a 'date night' with my 5 year old boy! :0) He is very excited we're going to eat Thai!!! I shall visit you all over the weekend! :)

Paint party Friday and a bit of a catch up!

Wow!!! It's been so long since I sat down and blogged. I feel really bad for neglecting my blog and missing out on what my blog friends have been up to! I've been really busy with my 'job' (I still can't believe I'm actually getting paid to create) heheh! I've been updating my facebook with the odd photo of a work in progress and commissions etc but haven't had a chance to sit down and concentrate on my little old blog, so here I am!

I've worked on quite a few things since I last posted so I shall quickly share!

First up is this acrylic on water colour paper called 'Moth girl'! I was experimenting with a darker look to my work!

Next up is my burlesque beauty! I really love how she turned out! I really focused on the eyes and tried to create a glassy look to them!

I was asked last week if I could paint a commissioned piece of the singer Pink! I really loved working on this one as she is quite different to my normal work! I'm so happy with how she turned out and she is now already in her new home! She was painted in water colours on water colour paper!

This is just a little sketch for another idea I have bouncing around in my head! :0)

Last but not least I wanted to share some of the childrens work with you. I just finished up a portrait class with my year 6's and have been so impressed with the work they have all produced. I wanted them to create a portrait with emotion in it and we worked on mini works of art experimenting with eyes and mouths and how to create different expressions then we put it all together in a portrait!

Check out their wonderful work!

Sorry for the really long post I just wanted to share what has been keeping me away from blogland with you! :0)

I'll be blog hopping all weekend and hopefully catching up with you all! :0)

Paint Party Friday and Sunday Sketches! I'm back!

Hi guys, well after a wonderful trip to New Zealand I'm back and have been painting all week with a new kind of energy.

We had a wonderful time, skiing, running, walking, sightseeing it was a real out doorsy holiday and it all went by in a blur. I shall share a couple of pics at the end of this post. First up though I wanted to share my recent paintings with you!

This dancing vampy angel is still a work in progress but I started her before I went away. Will try to finish her this week. She's painted in oils on water colour paper!

Next up is Leila, I painted her in oils on water colour paper and managed to finish her just before we went away! I'm loving playing around with the different colour schemes etc!

This next one I called 'Rose' she is on a canvas and I shall be adding her to my shop very soon!

My snow girl 'Neve' was inspired by my trip to New Zealand as was this next piece (a mini landscape).

Last but not least is my piece I finished yesterday in acrylics 'Jade' my masquerade girl :0)

 I feel very inspired lately and am having so much fun with my painting.

I'm having a giveaway on my facebook page so be sure to head over there and enter plus I'm having a Winter sale in my etsy shop ALL pendants are now only $10.00 so if there is something you have had your eye on be sure to snap it up before someone else does! :0) I'm going to be adding lots more to my shop in the coming days too!

Here are a couple of shots from our recent trip such a beautiful place! Hope you are all well and I look forward to catching up with my blog friends this weekend!

Paint Party Friday and Sunday Sketches!!

Hi everyone I really wanted to make sure that I posted this weekend. It's been a couple of weeks since I've been able to sit and blog. Work is going well and I managed to finish the mural in the preschool this week.

This photo doesn't do it justice as it was taken on my phone but I wanted to show you the finished piece:

 My mum thought it was really cool that I could actually fit into one of paintings :0)

We've only got a couple of weeks before the end of term but I'm going to be starting another mural in a different area of the school (in the unit for the children with special needs) I've been asked to brighten up their outdoor area and hopefully the children will help me paint this one. Can't wait to start that one. I'm also about to start some new projects with the preschool children. (They loved the tree I painted so much that I'm going to do a project where they can paint their own whimsical trees) and I'm going to discuss doing another class with the oldest kids!!! So it's all go go go! :0)

I've also been working on some pieces at home this last couple of weeks. First up I finished those two paintings that I showed you last post:

 My owl painting came up really nice!

 I called this portrait 'Kate'.....

 This is an idea I'm working on for my October entry for the creative sistahs project. I'm thinking of incorporating a print of this painting into my entry! :0)

 And lastly here is a sketch that I've been playing around with I really wanted to do something with a darker edge and was feeling a little vampy the other other ;0) I want to continue on with this idea and perhaps paint a full length vamp!!! :0)

Hope you are all going well and I shall try to get round to visit you all! :0)

Sunday Sketches and Paint Party Friday...works in progress! :0)

Hi guys well I can't believe another busy week is at an end. I managed to finish the lady I showed you in my last post. I felt she needed more depth to her face and wanted to soften her up a bit as I felt like she looked a bit cold so I added eyelashes.

I think I'm finally satisfied with her now :0) She is painted in oils so when she finally dries I shall be adding her to my shop!

I also went into work again this week (I still can't believe I'm actually getting paid to do this) and worked on the mural for the preschool. I have also been continuing with the art classes and I'm absolutely loving this! :0)

I think the mural is really coming together now! :0) I'm hoping to finish the hills and completely paint the tree next week, although it is a public holiday on one of the days I'm due in next week so I'm not sure how far I will get. I'm loving this though it's such a great experience it's so funny to see something of mine on such a large scale! :0)

These last couple of paintings are my current WIPs. I really enjoying going from one piece to the other it keeps me interested. These are also in oils, I can't get enough of oils at the moment!

I just wanted to leave you with this shot I took in my garden this morning, for those of you lucky people sweltering in the summer heat, just think of me waking up to -5c!!! I have to say though it really is pretty!

Oh and I have a question for you. I just noticed that my blogger has changed and I can't find where to see my 'newsfeed' anymore. I want to see what you've all been up to and I can't find it, can anyone tell me where it is now as it all looks different?

Thanks and I hope you all had a great week! :0)

Paint Party Friday and Sunday sketches

Hi everyone, well I finally started my much anticipated 'Artist in Residence' position at the local Primary school this week.

I started the massive mural and I did a couple of sessions with the oldest kids. I really really really enjoyed both. It was so nice to be able to encourage and inspire some young minds. I came to realise that not every child has the love of art that myself and my children do and I even found a couple of children who found the experience of creating art very daunting and stressful. So my goal for them is to help them gain the courage to give it a go. It doesn't come easy to everyone so that was something I learned very quickly. I hope that I can help make art time a fun experience for those who are a bit overwhelmed by it.

I did find a few students who I could see love to draw so that was exciting to see too :0) I really enjoyed interacting with the students so that was fun! :0)

As for my mural, it is HUGE I've not worked on such a big scale before but I think it's going to look really really awesome. Here is an early work in progress shot:

I'm really happy with the grass once I added the highlights it really made it pop! I don't know if you can see in the background but I have sketched up some hills a rainbow and a smiley sun :0) Back in on Monday to work on both projects.

One other thing I thought I'd show you this week is this lady I painted yesterday in oils, I think I want to add more shading in her face but need her to dry a little bit first!

I think she needs more depth in her face!

I'm going to try my best to visit you all this weekend as I want to see what you have all been up to!

Paint Party Friday and Sunday sketches! Portraits! :0)

 Hi Guys, Well it's been a little while since I blogged, I have been busy painting but haven't had a chance to sit down and blog about them, so here is my collection that I have been working on lately. These 3 paintings are all in oil paints. I decided to pull them out again and have been having so much fun with them. I really love how vibrant they are. This first one is called 'Autumn' and I shall be adding her to my etsy shop when she is dry! Love this colour combo.

Next up is another oil on water colour paper, just a doodle really that turned out really nice I call this one 'What will be will be'........

 Last up is 'Rose' who I finished yesterday. She is in oils on canvas. I shall also be adding her to my shop when she is dry. I've been updating my etsy shop lately as I realised that I haven't added anything for a while and I have so many new pretties to show you.

I can't help but paint faces I am just drawn to them. :0)

On the job front I've finally received my paper work and I'm ready to go, I have already had a meeting with one of the teachers and hopefully start a new project with him next week. As well as those murals. Hopefully I'll have something to show you soon. My first project with the kids looks to be a landscape piece with the older children. I'm really looking forward to this as it's good excuse for me to work on a landscape which I normally shy away from so hopefully it'll be a challenge for me as well as the kids. Hope you are all having a great week and I look forward to getting round to you all to see what you've been up to! :0)

Purple lady cold day! :0) - Sunday Sketches!

Hi guys well it's the time of year I start to get jealous of all  your spring time talk!!! I feel like we are hurtling towards winter at the moment and it's been a really cold day today so stayed indoors and did some painting!

First up is a painting I did of this purple haired lady! I wish I could pull off a purple hair do ;0)

Next up is a design I made for a mural at the school where I'm going to be working, just waiting for the paperwork to come back so I can start which should hopefully be this week. This mural is for the preschool, they have asked me to paint over an existing tree. I decided to keep a tree as the focal point because the teachers use it throughout the year to pin the childrens work to such as caterpillars and butterflies they made in craft, flowers, blossoms in spring time and Autumn leaves at this time of the year (being Autumn down under). I made my tree a lot more whimsical and added in a background to give it more character but tried to stay simple at the same time. Can't wait to start it! :0)

Hope you've all had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing what you've been up to! :0)