You can teach an old dog new tricks

So as I continue to grow and learn in this new paper art journey I find myself re-examining so many things about myself.

I knew I had a little bit drawing ability and have done some decent pictures in the past but I usually found the experience frustrating and gave up for the most part many years ago. I began getting back into it about 8 months ago when I started trying to draw my own trees. I figured out that, once again, this is an area where I gave up too soon as a child. I had a very bad habit of giving up on things that I couldn't figure out right away and chalking it up to the lamest of lame excuses, "I can't." More and more I realize I was never patient enough, never gave anything a real chance, never took the time to pratice, practice, practice.

So anyway, I have been studying drawing and I am finding myself growing increasingly excited. The creative juices are flowing fast and I'm going to have to start journalling all my ideas or risk losing them in the chaos of my mind. Within the first five pages I finally understood how to easily draw thing proportionately throughout a scene. I am also coming up with some great ways to add more dimension to my pieces by applying some rules from sketching. I can now see how I am going to build the more complicated, challenging pieces that I want to tackle in the future. SO much more to learn, so much room to grow! It's such a mood booster!

gift box - 1st attempt

Awhile ago I started cutting celtic knots (which I love almost as much as trees) but I couldn't figure out what to do with. I have a binder with clear plastic sleeves where I have all my cut pieces that have no home yet. Here I have applied a teal silk paper to the top of a paper mache box then carefully stippled modge podge on top of the paper to set it. Once dried I added a second layer of modge podge and applied the celtic knot, stippling the brush over it as well to get out any bubbles and seal the paper. Finally two layers of UV acrylic gloss were applied, this gave the paper a beautiful marble look that I was both suprised and pleased with. I am thinking I may add a stone or something to the center of the knot and add something that I have yet to come up with to the bottom of the box to jazz it up a bit.

I loved the end effect of the silk paper but I would not recommend it unless you are ready for a mess. Silk paper is VERY fiberous and can take a beating just by handling it. Adding glue to the mix made a MESS and was tedious work. That being said, the end result was better than I could have hoped for and I will probably do it again. :o)

I was going to add a silver outline onto the celtic knot but decided that the lines of the knot were too thin and thought that the silver might overpower it. I will try that on another one where the lines of the knot are wider.

Before the Wind Came - Fall series 9x12 & 12x16

So here are the two that were awaiting their final coats of gloss for far too long.

With everyone struggling economically I have been playing with different ways to do some things to keeps costs lower and therefor more affordable. This yellow leaved fall tree (9x12) was one attempt. I kept the background simple. One single green piece of mulberry for the ground and one piece of sky blue fiberous paper for the background. Keeping the background simple allowed me to put my typical amount of work into the tree.

This one on the other hand was more complex (12x16). The stormy sky is multiple colours of gray and white fiberous papers torn into pieces and overlaid until I was happy with its overall look. I am still trying to find the paper I originally used for clouds but this search continues to be fruitless. This was my first attempt at doing small silhouetted trees in the background. I love the idea but am not totally happy with the results on this one (mainly the trunks). Will keep trying though as I love the idea, I think I will also try cityscapes in the future. Two pieces of green mulberry were used for the ground although this picture makes it hard to see that. The leaves were many colours of indian batik (100 gsm) paper and a bit of other scrap paper I had laying around.

Waiting...

Been awhile since I posted any pieces. Just wanted to leave a little note saying I have two basically done but I ran out of UV gloss and haven't been able to get into the store lately. Hope to have them done by the end of the weekend and have new posts early in the week.

I am getting ready to try some new ideas. A friend took me to the paper store and let me pick out a bunch of paper on her (could it get any better?!). She also went through and randomly picked some papers that she wants me to incorporate into pieces in the future. I look forward to the challenge! I love my trees but its time to mix it up a bit! Going to try adding elements like stony paths, water, cliffs, fences, cityscapes, etc. in some of my upcoming projects. Nervous but excited! Oh, and I have been playing around with some ideas for kids room art and gift boxes. Stay tuned!