Friday 13 September 2013

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

Wednesday 11 September 2013

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


Tuesday 10 September 2013

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

Wednesday 4 September 2013

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


Tuesday 3 September 2013

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