I love to paint flowers!  
I have to admit I don't like to spend a lot of time planning and drawing and figuring out ahead of time what I am going to paint.
This painting is an example of that!

I was inspired by a painting I saw at a local craft store and wanted to see if I could paint something similar.
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This is how my painting started out!
​ Lots of blobs of bright colors.
I used bright acrylic paints on canvas placing 
various shapes across the canvas.

As I looked at those blobs I started to add to the shapes that looked a bit like flowers. I added cool and warm colors to the flowers keeping them loose and fun.

Once I had added a bunch of color I took out some tracing paper and imagined where I could see stems, flowers, leaves and drew them on the tracing paper over the painting.
Using the tracing paper allows me to experiment with the shapes and composition.
I then use a piece of chalk to draw on the shapes, stems, leaves and flowers. I simply wipe off the chalk and redraw a shape if I think it isn't working with the other shapes around it.

Once I have all my chalk lines I used a lighter teal/white to paint the negative shapes and carve out the shapes of the flowers and leaves. 
This image shows in progress painting those negative shapes.

The final painting!

After I finished the lighter teal background color I did go into some of the flowers and added some warm and cool notes to help shape the flowers a bit.  
Some of the flowers and shapes I left very abstract and others added a bit more detail. 
It's hard to know when to stop....I didn't want to fuss too much...so have left it here.

I will hang it on the wall and look at it throughout the day to see if anything stands out or seems to be needed.

​What fun to discover this garden of wild flowers!

Here's a great way to use any variety of stamps to decorate paper for use in collage and cards.
Simply collect whatever stamps you want to use, some paper and get out your watercolor paints....any will do!
Mix up a wash of paint onto your palette and stamp away!  I use the stamps as a texture and am not trying to create accurate images of the stamp.  Overlap the image and stamp several times in a row. The water will let some fo the image bleed and other parts will appear clear. You can easily change a color to add variety to your paper image. 

Here are some of the papers I've created. Using the watercolor paint allows you to easily change colors. Once the image is dry you can also add more layers OR go over the image with a slightly wet watercolor brush to blur the image.  I keep a wet wash cloth or paper towel nearby and simply dab the stamps onto the towel to clean them off after each use.
​So many possibilities!  Experiment and have fun!

Use your papers to make fun cards for family and friends!

Play with acrylic paints and markers to make fun valentine's cards!  I used a lightly textured card stock to make these cards. Any sturdy paper will work with acrylic paints. (80lb or so). I use an 8"x11" sheet. Cover the whole sheet with a variety of marks, stencils, dots, stamps and a variety of colors. Anything goes!  I use decorative scissors to cut them into smaller cards and then use zots to attach them to a blank card.  Have fun!

Watercolor paints make great valentine cards!  I painted these simple hearts using a masking fluid with washes of watercolor paint applied on top.  Any watercolor paper or mixed media paper works for this technique. I used a heavy card stock...that isn't necessarily used for watercolor...however I knew that I wouldn't be adding too much water so this paper worked.

My new favorite masking fluid!  This little jar was a bit expensive but it works great!  It comes with a nice thin tip and you can control the flow of the masking fluid. I made heart shapes on my white paper and added dots.

Here the masking fluid is dried in blue.  I then added light washes of watercolor intermixing my colors.  Once dry I removed the blue mask with my finger. It comes off like rubber cement. 

The heart is ready to attach to a card to send! What better way to say "you are special to me" than with a hand painted card!

I wasn't quite ready for 2019. But the turning of the new year didn't wait for me...and here it is...ready or not!  I started this doodle in the new year and didn't like it very much. It was pale in color and uninteresting. I decided to keep going and see what would become of it...took some risks...tried this and that. My pale doodle became more interesting and dynamic.  Maybe that's a good way to look at the new year.  Take some risks...try something new..even if I don't know how it will end up it's worth a try to explore and discover something new!

Have fun making your own gift bags and wrapping embellishments this Christmas season.

I rolled Sculpey into small balls and then squished them flat. I used this clear acrylic base. You can use a rolling pin, your hand or other flat object. 

I used my snowflake stamp to push into the sculpey to form the snowflake. 
Use a toothpick to make a hole in the top.

Bake the snowflakes according to the instructions.  Mine took less than 15 min.

I painted these using iridescent paint mixed with a little blue, purple or gold.
It doesn't take much paint. I use thin rubber gloves and rub the paint into the grooves of the snowflake. I then wiped away the excess paint with a paper towel. 

They make great simple gift bags or can be added to a wrapped box. Or...hang them on a Christmas tree!

Here's a simple and fun way to make a Christmas tree card to add a personal touch to holiday gift giving.

Here I used plain white card stock. Watercolor paper or mixed paper would also work. Pick 2-3 colors and apply paint in stripes using a dry brush technique. (use small amounts of paint with no water). Vary the line and pressure to create a textured look.

Here are a few different papers that I made.  I used gold, green and blue acrylic paints.

Cut out triangles using ragged edged scissors. 

Cut along the bottom of the triangle to make a little stump. I decided to keep the stump the same colors as the tree. Feel free to paint it a solid color.
​I then added gold dots and swirls using 3D fabric paint.

Attach the tree to a card using glue or sticky dots.  I like to use zots.

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Poke a hole in the top of the tree using a push pin.
Place a star brad through the hole and attach.

Taadaa!  Simple and fun Christmas tree cards and tags!

 I love painting poppies and have completed several smaller poppy paintings in this method but up to this point had not tackled a larger canvas. There are lots of ways to approach painting and this particular method is one of my favorites.  BUT...it can be frustrating as well. I only know at this point that I want to paint poppies. I have not preplanned my composition...all I know is that I want them large and going off the page....and I want them to have the bright, strong colors of red poppies. I also am trying to reach beyond only a realistic representation and try to convey emotion and energy.

This is the fun and unedited part!  I threw down lots of poppy color....reds, yellows, oranges and some darker and lighter tones. I even threw in some metallic gold.  This is acrylic and I wasn't  worried about making mistakes.  

After I was happy with all my colors I stepped back to take a look. I turned the canvas in different directions to see how it looked and felt. (this stage actually took place a few weeks or months later after letting it sit there for awhile). Once comfortable with the orientation of the canvas I took a piece of chalk and imagined where I saw the poppies in the image. I actually respond to the paint on the image and think..."hmm, that looks like a petal"...or " that kind of looks like a bud". Using chalk I could experiment with these shapes and begin to "see" the images emerge.

Here you can see my chalk lines as well as I've started to put in some teal, complementary color in the background. I use the teal to "carve" out the poppies, stems and buds. 

I continued to add more teal and blue in a loose manner. I began to add the dark centers to the flowers and figure out the forms of the flowers.  I did step back on occasion to evaluate with some elements of design in mind.........are the stems all evenly spaced...maybe make some closer and others further apart?  All my buds are the same size...maybe that needs to change.

I turned my attention to the flowers and started to create form in the petals by glazing. I used a small amount of paint mixed with matte medium. This light coat of paint allowed me to adjust the lights and darks of the petals and make them look shaped and curved. 

Once I had my poppies looking shaped and formed I now went back in with a lighter teal background. The darker and complementary colors of the background can be seen in places around the image and close to the edges of the poppies. The use of the complementary colors beneath allows the poppies to really pop!

I am pleased with the final result!