Two pinks and an orange (summer of color week 2)

Kristin at the Twinkle, Twinkle blog is hosting her annual "Summer of Color" event. She selects a color palette and artists create using that palette - six weeks, six palettes, six creations - tons of fun! This summer, I'm working with plaster strips, as part of my creative focus on 3D mixed media this month. This week's combination two shades of pink and an orange. I used magenta, rose and pyrrole orange. I embedded some puzzle pieces into the plaster before I added washes of the colors. The images are from napkins; the feather is from the chicken coop. I really enjoyed the process, and it came together more easily than last week's creation. I think that's one of the wonderful things about working in the same medium each week - it gets easier and more developed.
Here are my creations from my first two weeks:

I think the both feel very summery, so I plan to continue with that as a theme. These are also pushing me to realize that I really like this style for 3D mixed media. I might experiment with a few other things this month, but I'm feeling like I may have found my groove early this month!
To see more pink and orange creations, go to this link.

2015 Summer of Color Week 1: Blue + Blue + Green

Kristin over at Twinkle, Twinkle is hosting the "Summer of Color." For six weeks, she will post a weekly color combination and host a linky for people who create something with the palette. Each artist decides on her own medium. This year, I'm making 3D mixed media creations. For week 1, the color combination is two shades of blue and one shade of green.  I started by painting plaster strips with acrylic washes. My colors were spring green, sky blue and ocean blue. I created a patchwork background with the plaster strips (adhering them to  a canvas board) and then added a variety of embellishments in the same hues (or neutrals). I haven' played with plaster ad paint in a while, and I ended up pretty pleased with my result.  I had a few pieces of plaster left over, so I created a second piece.

It's the same color palette but a much simpler creation. I didn't mount this one on canvas board. I don't think I will usually make two pieces but it just felt right today.
You can see other creations from Week 1 at this link. Are you playing along? If so, what media are you using?

Setting an Intention for June: 3D Mixed Media

This year, I am exploring the various types of art and craft that I have practiced over the last ten years, trying to decide where each fits in my creative life (or even if it does anymore). So far, I have focused on still life photography, sketching, scrapbooking, card making and art journaling. This month, I am setting the intention to focus on 3D mixed media work (such as canvases, assemblage and plaster).  I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty and digging through my stash!

I think this will also be a terrifically fun way to participate in this year's Summer of Color event. If you've never played along before, you should definitely consider it. Details can be found at this link.  Last year, I made little houses but only completed five out of the six color schemes. I had actually selected paint, house parts and embellishment or the color scheme of tangerine, raspberry with a touch of lemon but never put it all together. So, yesterday I did, and here's the result (front and back).

And here are all six of my houses together.

 

Who else is doing summer of color this year? What are you planning to work with?

Pioneer House: Summer of Color Week #5

front of house

back of house

It is week #5 for the Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin at the Twinkle Twinkle blog. The color palette this week is red, royal blue and a pop of light blue. I've been creating little, tiny houses this summer (click here to see them all), and this week's is called "Pioneer House." Two happy-go-lucky, star crossed lovers have made it their home. I'll be sad when this challenge ends next week. I've had so much fun creating these. You can see other entries for this week at this link.

Treasure House: Summer of Color Week #4

front of house and left side

right side and back of house

The lighting is a bit murky for the house I created this week in response to Kristin's prompt for Summer of Color Week 3 (apple green, pink and a touch of dark green). And that's a shame because the Treasure House is a happy house. It's a house full of love, play and merriment. I painted it with green-gold and then stenciled pink tiles to the roof top, painted the eaves pink, selected lots of fun pink images and then added a dark green door and edged it all with dark green paint. I really love houses, and it's been fun to see that my blog friend Miriam is also making houses for Summer of Color. You can see hers by clicking this link.  Even with the same color palette and choice of media, the results are delightfully different. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Summer of Color Houses - Week 3

front of houses

back of houses

I've been participating in Kristin's Summer of Color blog meme making little houses in her suggested color palettes. These are my houses from the first three weeks. To answer a few questions, they are tiny (the one on the left is a standard size dice), which will give you an idea of the scale). They are made of wood, generally painted with acrylics. The base of the one on the right is covered in coral colored paper with a wood grain. You can read more about that house at this link. You can read about the house made out of the die here.

The color palette for week three is grey and lavender, with a pop of plum.  I used grey and lavender paint and added plum die cut paper. I call this one "The House of Timeless Miracles." I added a grey star to the front and words on lavender paper on one side.

On the back, I added a clock and a grey circular window. I also put a version of 14 (for 2014) on the side. To see what other people are doing with the week three colors, click here.  The meme is only half over, and it's not too late to join in. I'm sure having a good time with it!

House of Stars and Dreams (Summer of Color Week #2)

the front of the House of Stars and Dreams

I'm participating in Kristin's Summer of Color, where artists make creations of various sorts, all using the same colors. I'm making teeny, tiny houses, and the colors for Week #2 are coral and teal, with a splash of white. I call this week's creation "The House of Stars and Dreams." 

the back of the house

And the woman who lives inside? They say "she has stars in her eyes and a dream in her heart." Have a great weekend!

Hope House (Summer of Color Week 1)

front view of Hope House

Kristin of the Twinkle, Twinkle blog hosts a wonderful summertime event called "Summer of Color." Each week, for six weeks, she posts a color combination and asks people to create something using that color palette. People work in mixed media, fabric, paint, photography, etc. This year I wanted to do something three dimensional, so I decided to make houses - teeny, tiny houses. My week one house is based on the colors aqua blue and yellow with a splash of hot pink. The base of it is a die colored with alcohol inks.

back view of Hope House

I painted the roof with acrylic paint and added some embellishments: 14 (for 2014; I might try to add a 14 to each house); the word hope; a door; a window and an angel (all cut from foam). I really enjoyed making this project, and I'm looking forward to making five more over the course of the summer. Thank you Kristin for hosting!
If you want to participate, there's still plenty of time to join up. If you want to see what others have made using this same color palette, click on this link.

Seasonal Creative Projects Pt. 1: Finishing Up; Starting Anew

Now that I've been blogging for several years, I have found myself participating in certain annual creative projects over and over again.  I enjoy the rhythm this gives to my blogging; the feeling that I am becoming less of a newbie blogger and more of a wily veteran. Over the next few days, I will share where I am with some of these. In the Spring, I enjoy participating in Kat's "Liberate Your Art" postcard swap. Although this year, I neglected to post the postcards I received and failed to participate in the blog hop.  So, before I move on to my next seasonal endeavor, I wanted to take a moment to thank Mel for the blue trees (miss your blog Mel!); Miriam for the ferns; Kat for the autumn leaves; and Helena for the ocean waves. Some of these were bonus cards, which make them even more sweet.

I also received "Theory of all Fates" from Anne-Camille Tongleux and "Dotson's Restaurant" from pdbennett.  Photography has been the most traditional image on postcards in Kat's swap, but this year, I received some fun mixed media images, too.

Thank you Teresa for the heart, Debbie for the collage and Susan for the gratitude reminder.  Even though I am tardy in posting these, please know that each one touched my heart and was much appreciated!
What's up next? I'm going to participate in Summer of Color 4, hosted by Twinkle, Twinkle. 

I did this last summer and really enjoyed it. I made postcards, using acrylic paints and quotes. You can see my creations by clicking on this link.  This summer I decided that I really wanted to do something three-dimensional. I thought about dominoes or wood blocks. I also toyed with the idea of prayer flags made out of plaster, but ultimately I have settled on little bird houses. Little, tiny bird houses, like these.
And, of course, I'll be hosting the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, starting June 1. That's just around the corner!

Are you participating in any summer creativity projects? 

PPF/SOC: A Bonus Combo

I so loved playing in the Summer of Color challenge, sponsored by Twinkle, Twinkle that I decided to do an extra color combination. I settled on sky blue and red/orange (although my card looks more red and not very orange). Earlier this summer I found this quote from Edna St. Vincent Millay and finally created a card for which I thought it fit: "I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year."
Here are my other postcards from Summer of Color this year:

I've really enjoyed making these and having them all together as a set. My prior posts can be found at this link.
I'm posting this to Paint Party Friday and inviting anyone else who created a bonus card to join in the linkie below!
Speaking of linkies, I'll be hosting a linkie on July 31 for people who are participating in the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt.

PPF/SOC: A Summer Afternoon

The color pair for the last week of Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle is sepia and sage. I loved this combination and had picked out a quote to use, but once I finished creating my postcard with acrylic paint and stencils, this Henry James quote seemed to be a better fit: "Summer afternoon - summer afternoon, to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." 
I've really enjoyed the Summer of Color, and I have one extra post card left. So, I'm going to continue to play for one more week.  If anyone wants to join in, feel free to come back here next Friday and I'll set up a linky. The color palette will be red/orange and sky blue!
Let me know in comments if you want to play along.

PPF/SOC 5: Heat Wave

The color palette for this week's Summer of Color Challenge is yellow and candy apple red. This made me think of the heat of summer and decided to simply drip red paint over a yellow background (hoping it wouldn't read too much like blood). I was so pleased when I found this Steven Wright quote to complete my post card. Dedicated to my friend Deb Turtle and everyone else sweltering this summer.  Linking up to Paint Party Friday, as well!
There's only one week left in the summer of color challenge, but I have a couple extra post cards, so I might continue to challenge on my own (using some of the combos that I voted for but which didn't get chosen). Anyone else want to play along for a few more weeks? If so, let me know in a comment and we'll figure something out.

SOC/PPF: June Nights in Pink and Grey

The Summer of Color palette for this week is charcoal grey and pale pink. For Kristin's summer time challenge, I'm making post cards using acrylic paint, summery quotes and lots of texture. I used clear glass bead gel, tinted with light magenta and titanium white to create the pale pink. I mixed basic grey and silver for the charcoal grey. Topped everything up with micaceous iron oxide.  My quote reads "If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."
I think this is my favorite post card and color combination so far! To see my earlier post cards, you can click here. 

PPF/SOC #3: Marvelous Nature

This week's color palette for the Summer of Color was lime green and purple.  I really struggled with this color combination (as did my printer apparently, since the lime green  scanned as yellow, and the titan buff distressing is not nearly that pronounced in real life).  I thought and struggled and visited other people's sites.  Finally, this wonderful post by Cheri inspired me to create a postcard with a lime green background and purple animals. I added some distressing in titan buff to unify everything. The quote from Aristotle reads "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous." 
I'm even thinking of creating another collage with this color scheme to illustrate the Ogden Nash Gelett Burgess poem: "I never saw a purple cow. I never hope to see one. But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one."
So, thanks Cheri for inspiring me! And thanks to Paint Party Friday for keeping a brush in my hands. To see what everyone is painting this week, click here.
Finally, if you're participating in the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt (or are considering joining in), come by this weekend and join the linky.

PPF/SOC: Remembering Pink and Orange

For the Summer of Color challenge, I am using acrylic paint and texture to create postcards with summery quotes. The week 2 colors are hot pink and orange, and I found them easier to work with than the pair from last week . . . I simply used Golden brand transparent pyrrole orange and light magenta. I used gesso to attach textured papers and shapes to my postcard as a base, then added a wash of the pink. I used bubble wrap, a stencil and stamp to add the orange, as well as an orange edge.  Because hot pink and orange remind me of my childhood (as a kid born in the early 1960's, I had flowers in these colors in my room), I used the quote "The things we remember from childhood, we remember forever."
Linking up to Paint Party Friday and Summer of Color Challenge.
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p.s. Today is the first day of summer, the "traditional" start date for the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, so it's definitely not too late to join in! For details check out this post. You have three months to find 21 items. The more the merrier!

Summer of Color 1: Summery Postcard in Citron Green and Turquoise

 

This summer, I'm playing along with Kristin's Summer of Color Challenge. Each week, for six weeks, a color combination is chosen by a poll of the participants and then people create artwork, in whatever format they choose, based around those colors.  I decided that I wanted to work with acrylic paint since it has been soooo long since I've played with them. I considered creating six canvases, as I have at least that many sitting in my stash but decided they would bee too difficult to store. Then I decided to work on pieces of plaster wrap because I knew I had a large 16x16 piece that I could cut into six 8x5 pieces. But, try as I might, I could not find that piece of plaster wrap. It's big; it's hard for it to hide. I looked in all the places I remember seeing it or storing it.  But, no luck; no plaster wrap. Sigh. I guess it's a sign of how much stuff I have that something that big can remain hidden. As I was cleaning and searching, I did find a package of watercolor paper postcards that I decided would be just fine for the project.  And, in the end, I'm glad I went in this direction because I found that my painting skills are really rusty. It would have been very frustrating to work on a bigger canvas. Also, plaster really changes colors, and it was hard enough to get the right colors on the watercolor paper.  For my postcards, I decided to try to focus on abstract painting, color and texture. In the end, I decided I would also find a summery quote to use on each one.  I think this will lead to a nice, coherent collection by the end of the challenge. 
The colors for Week 1 were citron green and turquoise. I looked through my Golden acrylic paints and decided to go primarily with manganese blue hue and green gold. I eventually supplemented with some other blues and greens, as well as metallic gold. I started with a rough coat of gesso on the card and then added a layer of blue in washes and glazes. Next, I used a stencil and other texture tools to add more gesso and some soft modeling paste. I painted those areas with layers of green paint. I went back in with a bit more turquoise to unify everything a bit; wrote in my quote; and then hit the high points in the texture and a bit of the background with metallic gold as my final top layer. I'm really glad I'm participating in this challenge because I don't want to lose my acrylic painting skills, and I definitely felt rusty. I think this will also push me to make some acrylic canvases this summer, as well as do some plaster wrap work (once I find the damn thing!). 
Thanks for the challenge Kristin!  Thanks also to the folks at Paint Party Friday, where I'm posting this, for the reminder to pick up your brushes and paint - they're the main reason I did any painting at all this last year. 
The quote reads "Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach."