Road Trip

I am back from a fabulous weekend at the North of England Woodworking & Power Tools Show in Harrogate working with the lovely Lynn Courteney promoting Jo Sonjas Acrylic Paints & Mediums. With a total attendance over the weekend of over 8,500 people, we had a brilliant time showing off the paints and all the different effects you can achieve. We met some wonderful people and were looked after admirably by Margaret who catered to our every need.

I must confess that I'm enjoying a much quieter day today .... ;)

Here are some pics for you to enjoy ... Lynn and I enjoying a peaceful moment, some gorgeous carved rocking horses (right up my street!!) and Lynn doing her stuff with the lovely customers.

Thanks Harrogate, it was awesome fun :)

Off the Radar ...

Hi All

I'm afraid to say that I've been 'missing in action' for a while as unfortunately my non-arty life has been busy and distracted me from my artiness!!!  The major impact has been some long overdue painting (sadly the decorating kind...) which required me to sacrifice my studio space ... *deep sigh*. Well the job is done (almost) and the studio is getting back to normal if you can ever call it that!  The good news is that I temporarily managed to squat in the study in a small corner of my hubby's desk and have gradually been moving myself in...lol.  No more hopping from dining room to studio and back again ... all my papers in one place and near the printers, bookshelves etc.  It sounds like a minor thing but it will make things soooo much easier :)  We do have to have a line down the middle of the desk though or there will be trouble ..... haha.

So now that I'm back 'online' what have I been doing...?

I went to a fabulous 'Junk Journal' workshop with Kate Crane at The Artistic Stamper yesterday, which was great fun!  Jennie looked after us so well and spoilt us with a fabulous lunch and cake.  Kate is such a lovely teacher and is so generous with her time and skills.  I learned so much and even though I didn't finish my journal during the class, I'm feeling hugely inspired.   For some reason my mojo didn't make the journey with me to Faversham, and I was feeling a bit out of sorts :(  I've had a busy few weeks so I was probably feeling a bit tired and run-down which was really frustrating as I had been waiting for this class for ages.  I didn't let it deter me though and decided that I would just potter during the class and soak up the atmosphere and Kate's advice and bring it all home with me for another day.  Sometimes in class we can put ourselves under so much pressure to finish our project pieces that we can get stressed by it all and not enjoy the process so much.  Has anyone ever felt like that?  I know I have, which is why I try not to put myself under too much pressure on the day.  These classes, whilst hugely enjoyable, can be extremely tiring and especially when long journeys are involved too.  I'm now looking forward to setting some time aside to work through the rest of my journal ... :).  I also had a lovely chat with Kate about 21 Secrets, which I had signed up for this year.  Unfortunately, time is running out to finish all the lessons but I'm determined to work through as many as I can before the end of December!!  Look out for 21 Secrets 2014 ... I may have to sign up for that one too..... ;)

I think I'll leave my other adventures for another day ... I'm off to Harrogate this weekend to demonstrate at the North of England Woodworkers & Power Tools show so shall look forward to sharing this with you next week.

Until then .... happy painting

Liz x

29 Faces ... still catching up !!

I'm not doing very well so far on the '29 Faces' challenge!  I'm catching up slowly, so here's No's 5, 6, 7 and 8 ... and with a bit of luck I may be up-to-date by the time Day 29 comes along ... ;)

I really like the plain face against the bold colour here

Really bold colour here which is unusual for me, quite pleased with the outcome though

Not keen on the hair here ... I may need to collage over it !

I really like the colours here and how the size and position of the face works with the  background

I'm still working with the Dylusions Inks and Stabilo All pencils, but experimenting with different backgrounds and trying some bolder more colourful approaches.  It's funny that sometimes I'm not sure about the background but once I've drawn a face over it, it seems better somehow....

Thanks so much to those who have visited and left lovely comments, it means a lot to me.

Until next time ...

Liz x

WOYWW 223

Hi Woyww-ers

It's Wednesday again and I'm getting back into my 'groove' now that school is back and I'm delighted to have spent some time in the studio.  One of my 'new school year' resolutions is to work through and finish some of the online classes I've started..... There are so many fabulous classes out there that I'm like a child in a sweet shop and I just want them all!!!  I currently have about 4 that I've signed up for so I really need to get on with it ...lol!

So, on my desk today ...

One of the classes I'm doing is '52 Card Pick-Up' by Stephanie Ackerman and these are my 52 playing cards.  I'm preparing all the backgrounds first and then working through all the cards.  The 5 in front have been coated in tissue paper with a swipe of gesso.  Holes have been punched in the corner so I can attach them all to a large ring.

In the background you can also see 3 little birdhouses which I'm working on for a class project, and as always, those little Percy Piglets hiding too!

Thanks for your visit and I hope you're having a great week.  For more info on this blog-hopping extravaganza, visit Julia over at The Stamping Ground.

Until next time ... happy painting ...

Liz x

29 Faces

Regular visitors will know that I've had a fascination with drawing faces ever since I attended Dina Wakley's fabulous workshop at Art from the Heart earlier this year.  I think I must be addicted ...!!  Well, as you know practice makes perfect so I'm so pleased to have found this great challenge, running throughout September (so I'm a bit behind already) but looking forward to pushing myself to sketch a face every day for the rest of the month!  I don't want to bombard you with daily posts so I think I may group them together every couple of days ... wish me luck!!

Just a couple to get you started ...

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

These have all been created using Dylusions Inks with stamps and stencils as a background - I had lots of prepared pages as I put together a holiday book to take away with me and didn't finish them all!  I can then add a sketched face using the Stabilo All pencil in different colours.  This pencil is AWESOME!  It works a bit like a watercolour pencil but so much better ... be warned though because you need a very light touch with the water otherwise it can become a big grungy mess!!!!

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to sharing more faces with you soon ...

Liz x

WOYWW

Hi Woyww-ers

It's here again and I'm happy to be back in the studio after a long summer holiday!  To be perfectly honest, I always have plans to try and keep to my usual routine, but other stuff just seems to get in the way!  I have no excuse as my son is a teenager and really doesn't need my constant presence, but I feel a bit guilty abandoning him completely for hours and hours at a time!  I really don't know why I should, he does it to me when he gets engrossed on the Xbox or his laptop .... lol!!  The joys of motherhood ... eh?

Anyway, first job of the day was to have a bit of a tidy up!!  So I am treating you to a before and after pic!  I was in a bit of a rush before I went on holiday so left it in a bit of a mess!  Tut tut ... try not to judge me too harshly ... ;)

Before .... *covers eyes*

Eeek ... creative chaos reigns ...

 After ...

All ready for my Thursday class and a bit of die-cutting with my new Tim Holtz dies purchased last week :)

Hope you're all having a fabulous week and if you have children back at school, enjoying some peace and quiet and 'me' time!  Pop over to Julia's to find out more about this wonderful Wednesday blog-hop and thanks for visiting.

Until next time ...

Liz x

Holiday Faces

I'm a bit out of sync with this post as I've been back from my hols a week already! But the Tim-fest took priority as I'm sure you'll understand.

Anyway, as I was packing to go away, I couldn't bear to leave ALL my arty things behind cos there's nothing worse than having time and the urge to be creative and having no materials with you!  I put together a 'travel kit' and spent a happy half-hour prepping a small sketchbook with loads of inky backgrounds and stamps, all ready for sketches.  Funny how when time is short, you get the best results!

All I needed to pack was my tin of Stabilo All Pencils in a range of colours, a pencil sharper and my water brush!  Easy peasy ...

So I managed a few sketches sitting round by the pool .... not a bad life eh???

I created the backgrounds using Dylusions Inks and a selection of stencils and in some cases, stamped over them using some of Dyan Reaveley's background stamps.  I'm thinking about adding phrases now and a few additional bits n pieces so will have to show you the final piece later!  I don't know about you but I frequently have work in progress which gets completed in stages ... it used to really frustrate me but now I try and 'go with the flow'.

Until next time ... happy painting ... or in today's case 'inking'...

Liz x

What a day .....

I was one of the lucky ladies to get a seat at the Tim Holtz UK Event yesterday and WOW!!  I had THE most fabulous day.

I arrived on my own which is always a little daunting ... where do I park ... which room do I go to ... am I too early/late ... where are the toilets ... etc etc!!  I could not have been made more welcome.  The Personal Impressions team were so friendly and helpful, explaining everything as soon as I arrived that I immediately felt at ease!  I managed to get some piccies with Tim himself, chat to Dyan Reaveley and do some shopping all before we even sat down!

I took some pics throughout the afternoon, typically my phone had decided to stop working but luckily I had my ipad with me!  A bit more cumbersome but at least I was able to get a record of the day.

First, the stars of the show (excluding me obviously!!) ...

Me & the awesome Tim Holtz ...

Tim doing his stuff ...

Me & the fabulous Dyan Reaveley ...

Me & the wonderful Mario ... (mine's a frappucino!)

All the goodies for our project ...

I had such fun making these tags ...

This is the first class I've attended with Tim and he really is the most amazing naturally gifted teacher. He is so generous with his time and creativity, and so kind, that you really do feel like you can achieve anything.  I had such a fun time, met some great people and came away feeling so honoured to have been a part of it all.  And there's more ... a completely unexpected bonus ... we got to keep our complete kits, including the products we used and an Idea-ology apron .... AND .... Tim gave us all a signed book, messenger bag and a scrubbie (for our inky fingers!!).  

WOW!  Look at all those goodies ....

So, a HUGE thank you to Tim, Mario and all the Personal Impressions team for such a fabulous event.     I was fan before I met him, but now I'm a HUGE fan ;)  I hope to see you all again soon.

I'm off to play with my new goodies ... so until next time, happy painting!

Liz x

Woyww 219

Hi Woyww-ers

Short and sweet post this week ... the holidays have taken over somewhat and I haven't managed to get into the studio as much as I would have liked :(   So if mohammed won't come to the mountain ... etc etc etc ....

This pic isn't really my 'workdesk' as it's the sofa in the living room!!!  But I guessed it would count temporarily as I've been adding lots of faces to my journal backgrounds while watching TV and keeping my son company - not that he needs it, he's a teenager lol but it makes me feel better :)

Have a great week and don't forget to visit Julia for more blog-hopping adventures.

Liz x

Feeling the love ....

Lately, it seems to be all about the hearts!  I must confess that I love them (haha), and I'm always drawn to artwork that includes them.  I even have lots hanging around the house ... wooden ones, fabric ones, basket ones, ceramic ones ... even rusty ones!  My hubby hasn't commented so hopefully they've not taken over too much (yet).

So, I thought I'd share with you some examples of 'heart-work' that I've been working on lately.  Some of the canvases had been a work-in-progess for ages and suddenly I got in the zone and that was that!  Funny how it goes that way sometimes....

Collaged with Tim Holtz tissue paper and painted with Jo Sonja's acrylics.  Lots of stamping and more collage elements,  and had a fab time with oil pastels at the end.

This canvas had been around for ages and I had only prepped the background in dark red.  I suddenly got the urge to go mad with the vibrant orange and yellow and here is the result.  Again, I had a blast with the oil pastels at the end ;)

This canvas was started as a demo piece during a class and then sat around for ages without any purpose ... sad eh?  I went at it with the paints and oil pastels ... great fun!  Although now I'm wondering if it needs a little bit more ..... hmm?

So, there it is ... my hearts on my sleeve ... so to speak.  Hope you like them and don't forget that you can always pick up and revitalise that old UFO (unfinished object), it doesn't have to be finished in one sitting.  Sometimes when you get stuck with something, it's always good to put it to one side and come back to it later ... even if it's much later!

Have a great week and happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 21...something

I think this heat has finally melted my brain!!  Lovely though it is, we are just not suited to long periods of extreme weather in the UK ...lol!  We are so geared up for 'making the most of it' because it's bound to end soon, that all normal routines fly out of the (open) window.  Consequently, I am now behind on absolutely everything .... WOYWW included .... ;)

So, a late welcome to those of you who have stopped by to see the chaos that is my workspace.  And, if you're wondering what on earth I'm going on about, stop by and visit Julia for the inside track....you won't regret it, it's awesome fun!

I am currently working with my regular Thursday ladies on a furniture painting project and last week we worked through some techniques.  They now have to plan their own piece and for inspiration I thought I should get something going myself.... and here it is ....

... an old studio chair almost ready for waxing, and in the background a whole load of stuff to be put away after my last workshop!!  I'd better get tidying in readiness for tomorrow's class, goodness knows what furniture they are bringing ..... 

Oh and in case you were missing Percy, a special treat for you ....

Look what I found in M&S .... Percy Pig is 21 .... doesn't he look young?

That's all folks :)

Have a great week

Liz x

WOYWW 213

Happy Wednesday :)

What a week!  All sorts of stuff going on ... some good, some not so good, but trying to focus on the good and keeping positive :D

The BEST news is from my earlier post ... Tim Holtz is coming to the UK and I'm gonna be there .... woohoooo!  I'm not sure I can keep my excitement under control until then ;) but I will try ... *sigh*

So back to the matter in hand ...

... here is my desk today!  It looks reasonably tidy, but don't be fooled, it's just lots of stuff in tidy piles! I'm very good at that ;)  So, working left to right ...

• pile of half-finished canvases and calendar pages (and book box and door hanger too!)
• pile of paper mache houses ... waiting for inspiration
• Percy Pigs ... say no more!  Helps with the inspiration don't you know ;)
• June Craft Stamper magazine which I found and realised I hadn't got around to reading
• pile of sample boards for a workshop I'm running on Saturday on faux finishes
• mini journal book ... open and waiting ...

Ho hum, there's lots of stuff half-done and waiting .... better get eating those Percy Pigs.... lol!

Pop over to the marvellous Julia for info on what this is all about and have a fabulous time desk-hopping all around the world ... awesome people and awesome fun!

Until next time ...

Liz

Never Give Up...

...that's my motto for the day!

It wasn't the greatest start of the week; feeling sad about my poorly Buster (although he's doing ok in the grand scheme of things), feeling guilty about how I'm going to encourage my teenage son off the sofa/xbox/laptop for 9 weeks of school holidays, overwhelmed with amount of housework that I need to do, frustrated with my pony who wouldn't co-operate when I rode him this morning and the pressure of an upcoming competition .... the list goes on, but the real killer was the 100+ calls I placed to Personal Impressions around 9ish this morning to try and book a place on the Tim Holtz UK Event!  Unfortunately to no avail as the line was constantly engaged :(  *big sigh*

Whilst I made myself a consoling sandwich and cup of tea, I thought 'what the hell, one more phone call won't hurt, the places are probably booked solid but you never know ....'  The phone was answered and I GOT A PLACE ...... WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!! I'm sooooo excited!!  Can you tell....?

So, the motto for the day is 'Never Give Up' :)

*doing a little happy dance right now*

Until next time ...

Liz x

WOYWW

It's been a few weeks since I last joined in so I've forgotten which number we're up too ..... oops!

I wish I could say I've been busy in the studio, but sadly that is not the case.  I've had a run of appointments, meetings and boring house-stuff which has kept me busy busy, and even worse, a poorly dog who has just been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing radiation therapy as I write this ... :(

Firstly, my desk today ...

... a colourful display of hearts that I am painting as a commission.  You can see the example on the top left and I will post a pic when they're finished (hopefully in the next few days!!).

This week I also took delivery of a brand new Large Gelli-Plate and I can't wait to get playing with it!!!  Such awesome fun and a great way to relax and 'go with the flow' so to speak.

Until next time, hope you're having a wonderful WOYWW week, courtesy of Julia at The Stamping Ground and I shall leave you with a picture of my gorgeous boy ...

Liz x

Journalling with Dyan Reaveley

Wow!! What an awesome day I had at The Artistic Stamper a couple of weeks ago.  Dyan came 'down South' to teach over the weekend and whilst I was a bit disappointed not to be able to attend Saturday as well, I can't complain about the day I had!  Dyan is an amazing teacher, great fun, incredibly talented and so generous with her skills and time.  It was an 8-hour marathon of inkiness that flew by and before I knew it, I was back on the M25 driving home :(   Huge thanks also to Jennie at The Artistic Stamper for looking after us all so well and providing such a warm welcome.  I look forward to returning soon.

Post Update ... I'm catching up with some posts, so this is a bit of 'old news' I'm afraid.  It has been great to revisit the adventure though :)

Thanks for visiting and happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 209

After all the excitement of last week's Birthday Bash, this week is going to seem somewhat quieter.  I must confess to not having painted much this week, apart from starting a long overdue toybox project for a good friend of mine, pics to follow on that one!  I haven't been resting on my laurels however, as I have been a busy busy bee spring-cleaning my studio!  Now, as I'm sure you can imagine, cleaning is not something I would normally choose to do in my studio, there's far too much temptation to get messy with paint ...lol!  Sadly, it had started to take up too much of my creative energy ... I couldn't find things ... I got stuck on projects ... I couldn't make decisions ... and all the time I had loads of half-started, half-a**ed projects sneering at me!  Enough is enough!  I still have some sorting out of old materials and unwanted painting books/magazines to go through but I'm feeling more refreshed and getting my creative buzz back!  Woohoo!

So, my desk shows signs of the clear-out, and it's also in a new position with a window in front and also the side (useful for spotting the postman ha ha).  The Percy Pigs are back from their half-term hols and survived the clear-out... phew!

Well, that's me for now, although I'm very late with this post but at least it is still Wednesday (in the UK anyway...).  To find out more about this desk-hopping lark, visit Julia at The Stamping Ground.

Happy Woyww

Liz x

Happy Birthday WOYWW

WOW!! 4 years old today! What a fabulous event Julia has created at The Stamping Ground. I'm a relative newbie but have already met some fab people and had such a brilliant opportunity to share my work (and my Percy Pigs...lol), and also learn so much from the generosity of others!! So congratulations to all you blog-hoppers out there and here's to another fabulous year ... : )

Oh yes ... nearly forgot today's desk ...lol!

No paint today!! I'm having a play with my Tim Holtz stuff! I love everything he makes but haven't really got to grips with some of his techniques so thought I should get some practice in, so I can then incorporate it into my own stuff. Don't hold your breath, this may take a while ... ; )

So on my desk is a load of Tim (and some random stamps)... but no Percy Pigs...shock horror!

Happy Woyww and have a great week.  I'm off to tidy up for tomorrow's class ...

Liz xx

WOYWW 207

Hi Bloggers

It's Wednesday and that means a quick peek at my desk for this week's "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday" courtesy of Julia at The Stamping Ground, so pop over and see what all the fuss is about!

My desk this week is in 'organised chaos' for a change!  Rather than a random assortment of 'all over the place stuff' I have at least managed to sort it into 'piles of stuff'!!!  There are a couple of pieces in the foreground which I've made over the past week and in various states of completion!  Middle of the picture are loads of stamps/ink pads/blocks that need putting away.  Top right are my containers with an assortment of die-cuts, letters etc and just next to them my new Derwent XL Charcoal blocks which are BRILLIANT fun to play with, especially good for random sketching, cos you can't be precise with them at all!   The rest is just 'stuff' with no real home to speak of ... except the Pigs of course : )

Happy Woyww and thanks for coming to visit.

Liz x

Waiting ...

This is a piece that I created from a gelli-print I made a little while ago, in fact it may have even been one I made when I was on Dina Wakley's workshop at Art from the Heart in Harrogate! The problem is that since I bought my gelli-plate I have compiled a HUGE pile of prints ... so I'm a bit behind with turning them into some fab artwork...lol!

Anyway, here is the original print ...

... and here is the final piece...

I used the title 'Waiting' because she looked like she was waiting for someone ...you know the feeling, when hubby is still in the shower and you're already late ??? Or is that just in our house...lol? I may still add some writing, I just haven't decided yet.

I'm putting on a 'Gelli-Plate Playtime' workshop for Flutterby Crafts so watch this space for more details.

Thanks for stopping by and happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 206

Hi fellow bloggers ...

... here we are again hanging out and showing off our desks 'warts and all' courtesy of Julia at The Stamping Ground.  The weather's lousy outside (typical English summer!) so what better way to spend a wet Wednesday afternoon than blog-hop around some fabulous desks ....  So, here's mine ...

... a couple of horse canvases that I'm working on, the one on the left has been re-worked a bit, and I'm finally getting there.  I'm pleased with how they're coming along so far, but I often find I have to put things to one side and come back to it later (sometimes it's MUCH later... lol).  The pink canvas at the top of the picture is one that I was using as a demo during my class at the weekend but I wasn't happy with it at the end so it's another one in the pipeline for a bit of 'attention'.  I can't bear to throw it out so usually try and cover it up with something else!  After all, isn't that what the great artists did too ... ; )

Hope you're having a great week.  Thanks for visiting and leaving your lovely comments, I'll do my best to get back to you.  

Happy painting ... 

Liz (and the 'pigs') x

Home Sweet Home

I had a fabulous day on Saturday teaching a mixed media collage canvas at Flutterby Crafts in Thatcham. As always, Lynn and the girls always make me so welcome with lots of tea and biccies...plus I get a chance to browse the shop and stock up on lovely goodies too. Fabulous!

I took along a sample canvas to show the ladies what techniques we were going to cover, but I always like to encourage them to make it their own, whether its by changing the colour, design, words or doing something completely different! We just work through the techniques and go with the flow! It's great fun and I love seeing what they create ...

My class piece that I used to demonstrate each technique ...

Sue's gorgeous creation ... beautiful colours

Yvonne's colourful creation - and the first time she's done anything like this .... awesome eh?

Beautfiul blending on Hannah's creation

Another lovely creation from first-timer Karen ... beautiful

I managed to also fit in a quick demo of the awesome 'Gelli-Plate' which I shall be running as a class on my next visit, so watch out for updates on that.

Thanks for popping in and happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 205

Hello Bloggers ...

It's Wednesday ... and you know what that means??  Yep, the highlight of the week, a fun blog-hopping festival of art gorgeous-ness ... oh and a lot of messy desks too!  All thanks to Julia, our Hostess at The Stamping Ground, go and take a look but I warn you now ... it's addictive!

So, what's happening on my workdesk today ....

Firstly, I must confess that I took this yesterday afternoon *gasp*!!  Although I will admit that it does look pretty much the same, ie I haven't tidied up ... lol!

I've been playing with my faces again ... and experimenting with different backgrounds too (see my earlier post).  This particular one was Jo Sonja acrylics, some Tim Holtz tissue paper and then colours built up using Neocolor II crayons and the Stabilo All Pencil (thanks Dina W *wink*).  I spent more time building up the layers of colour on this one and I'm pleased with the effect, although her nose is a little short, but hey we're not all perfect!   I should really give her a name ... any suggestions?

Thanks for popping in, help yourself to a Percy Pig and stay for tea too if you have time.

Liz x

Faces... Faces... Faces

I've been having the best time playing in the studio this week, although I'm feeling a little guilty because I have loads of other projects that I should be working on ... Still, when you have to paint ... you have to paint!!!!

Here are the fruits of my guilty labours ....

I've been experimenting with different backgrounds; Jo Sonja acrylics, Dylusions inks, Neocolor crayons ... and not forgetting the wonderful 'magic pencil' as recommended by Dina Wakley ...awesome fun!

And the sun has been shining too...life doesn't get any better!

Until next time, happy painting and thanks for popping in ...

Liz x