Longing to fly

Sketch

It's Been a Long Time

I haven't touched this blog in a VERY long time.  I've been trying to figure out life now that multiple sclerosis (MS) had caught up with me.  I have had MS for long time, over 20 years and was able to get back up after the attacks but as it's progressed, I'm not able to recover like I used to.  It has seriously effected my balance and it is not fun having vertigo.  And I am not able to walk much due to muscle weakness.  It's not something I can work through, as MS attacks the nerves in the nervous system and that caused things to go haywire, so working out doesn't fix the muscle weakness because it's not a muscle problem, it's the nerves that control the muscles - signals don't get through the damaged nerves from the brain to the muscles to make the muscles work.  Needless to say, I haven't been on a bike in a long time.  I miss it soooo very much. 

Being housebound sucks.  I have taken early retirement, which sucks too.  I'd rather be working and part of life instead of life moving on without me.  But enough whining. 

In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer - Albert Camus

I continue to work on my art skills and have sold a few pieces and kept a few that I really like.  But when I sleep, I dream of riding my bike. 

Will be Adding More Art Soon

I have a lot more art pieces to add to this blog, I'm a bit behind!  I sold my first painting, which sold in 3 minutes of posting it on my Facebook page!! I didn't even have it listed for sale!  Pretty neat. I am mailing the painting off to it's new home in Washington state this afternoon. 

I was asked how I like the NEW Touch Twin markers and I have to say I LOVE them.  The body design is comfortable and stylish and the new brush nib is awesome.  It is nice and flexible while having enough firmness.   I compared it to the brush on my Copics and they feel very much the same. 

That being said, I would LOVE to win some more so I am entering Touch Twin Markers and More Challenge with this entry: 

My World has Turned Upside Down

Watercolor on gesso'd paper in my Moleskine Sketch art journal.  This is cool because it can be viewed upside down as well as right side up.  The last photo shows the doodling I added, now it looks complete. 

Aqua Girl - Acrylic on Watercolor Paper

Guardian Angel

Acrylics, Inktense, Shinhan Touch Twin marker on watercolor paper.  It is not really so dark under the trees, I can't adjust the scan :( 

I Dream in Color. Art Journal entry

Acrylics and Graphite.  Stared out just moving paint around the page, without any plan.  The face is more subtle in real life that it is in the scan and the nose has a bit more detail which seems to wash out in the scan. 

Under the Tree - Art Journal Entry

Shinhan Touch Twin markers has another challenge going HERE!!

Shinhan Touch Twin Markers has a new Blog!!!

The new markers are on the market!  I can't wait to get some of the brush markers but so far the only place that has them doesn't ship to Alaska.  However, I'm told that the markers will be in other stores soon!!

Touch Twin Markers new blog is here:  http://touchtwinchallenges.blogspot.com/

There is a challenge going on so I am going to enter this:

The challenge didn't say it had to be a card :), just a person.  This is Shinhan Touch Twin markers  11x17 on smooth bristol

Went to the Cabin, Look who followed me Home

Was surrounded by beautiful wilderness and wild animals.  Saw lots of caribou, the inspiration for this painting I started at the cabin. 

Acrylic and Inktense on 16 x 20 gesso board. 

Far Away there in the Sunshine

Summer is winding down, it's getting dark at night instead of the summer 24 hours of daylight.  The leaves are turning.  I'm not ready for winter yet!

I have been taking a class by Wyanne called Paint Free, a way to just let go and find your own style of art.  I am enjoying this class and appreciate that it is not full of "your inner goddess" and stuff like that.  Guess what, I would make a crappy goddess because I am not divine and am full of the same human garbage as everyone else - therefore, it is my opinion that there are no goddesses.  Anyway, sometimes I feel like telling the artsy-fartsies, as my husband calls them, to just shut up and paint.  I dont' want to meditate or stand on my head or yoga poses or breath insense or imagine me as being a god.  What the heck does that mean anyway?

Anyway, the object of Paint Free is not to create masterpieces but to just paint rather spontainously and not focuse on what other people think is a piece of art.  So here are a few of my random, spontainious paintings.  And we can only use paint, which is hard for me since I have more control with drawing than painting.  We can also use alcohol to drip into very wet acrylic paint, which makes a very cool effect. 

I have been on my bike a few times and miss it so much.  I am feeling much better but not yet normal, but have more almost normal days than bad days! 

The penguin painting is actually drawn from a "blind scribble".  You close your eyes and just scribble around on a piece of paper and then find an image in the scribble and go for it.  It was fun. 

The View through my Bicycle Wheel was a 30 minute painting of something you love.  30 minutes and them you must stop.

The last is much a layering excersize and it is much prettier in person and looks very layered by making different layers with clear gesso and glossy self-leveling gel.   I can't get a good scan of it no matter what I try. 

Teal Haired Girl

Girl totally copied from Samantha Kira AKA Journal Girl.  9x12 canvas board.  Mixed Media, ShinHan Touch Twin marker alcohol inks, acrylics, collage, dip pen and india ink, white ink, gold embossing (the yellow looking swirls are really shiny golden embossing, flocking, Derwent Inktense pencils, beading. 

Prayer for Wild Hearts

I started this a while ago but messed it up so I put it away. I decided to see what I could do with it. It's like part of an old, worn, peeling rain-stained fresco in some rundown church.  It must have about 18 layers of graphite, acrylic, gesso, ink, ShinHan Touch alcohol markers, Derwent Colorsoft and Inktense colored pencils and more.  The gesso is scraped on thick so it has the texture of plaster.  All is aged and faded except the newly escaped heart, flying away.   This is about 14x9 on 1/2 thick wood.

This is a bad picture, it has some glimmer to it, the underpainting which shows through the blue is metallic sparkly bronze and the drips where done with bronze shimmer acrylic inks thinned out with some water.  The winged heart is very dimentional, it has think glazing on the wings which has glittter and the glazing is crackled.  Really is very pretty.  I might try and retake the photo if our weather clears up, it's been drizzling rain and gray outside, bad lighting for photos.

Anyone want to buy it??  :)

Playing with Dip Pins, Ink and Water and Home Made Liquid Alcohol Inks

This entry in my art journal was done with black and white pen ink and water sprayed on it and the ink ran where it wanted to go.  I also pulled out some of the inks to make the branches.  It reminds me of very old trees which rise up out of the tundra; dead, weathered, twisted and cracked,  bleached white by season after season of extreme cold and then heat.  Weather beaten by rain, snow, ice, sun, and wind but still standing and sculpted into some otherworldly figure.

 I have really been wanting to buy some liquid alcohol inks.  Such vivid colors and cool things can be done with then when spritzing them with rubbing alcohol or blending fluids.  I had some duplicate color ShinHan Touch Twin markers so I decided to make my own liquid inks.  I collected small spray bottles, filled them with 1 to 2 ounces of rubbing alcohol.  I then started dismanteling my markers.  I placed the nibs in the alcohol, then pulled out the ink pad or whatever it is that holds the ink in the marker.  I sliced it open and then cut it to about 1 inch pieces and placed them in the rubbing alcohol in the spray bottles.  After a few minutes, the ink in the nibs and pad leeches out and colors the alcohol and now I have liquid inks which I can spray and drip and do whatever with!!  This is my tester page.  Of course, the rubbing alcohol smells but it fades pretty quickly as the alcohol evaporates.  I like to do it near an open window.   

I don't plan on using any more markers for this.  I will just buy some alcohol ink marker refill ink and use that.  Right now, Copic is the only refillable ink available that I know of but ShinHan Touch Twin hopefully will be coming out with their refillable markers and the ink refills soon.  I will buy the Touch ink refills and then the inkologist will begin experiments!  I just love the bright colors and water proof, but not alcohol proof so can do lots of cool techniques.

Moleskine: Page 1 - ME

My 2 Moleskine Sketch journals came in the mail yesterday!!  In one journal, one side of the back pocket was glued down and wouldn't expand and started ripping when I tried to expand it.  I read the insert which came with the Moleskine and it said to email their quality control if there where any defects so I took a picture of it and emailed it to them.  They emailed me back today and said they where sending me a new journal!  Wow, how cool is that!  Awesome customer service!! 

I was so excited to get started art journaling in my Moleskine.  It has buff colored Italian made heavy sketch paper which takes paints and mulimedia well.  So I jumped in and got my first page finished.  It's also my first self portrait - lol!  

Graphite, Prisma and Dick Blick colored pencils, acrylics, distress ink, ShinHan Touch Twin marker, collage, stamps

Back on the Bike!

I got my bike shop all cleaned up and have even back on my bike a few times. It's been a long time because of the neck and back pain and whatever has effected my equilibrium. I am so out of shape, ugh, but it's a start to getting back to normal. Thank God!

Hope - Mixed Media

Graphite, colored pencils, acrylic paint, watercolor crayons, embellisments, ShinHan Touch Twin markers. Mounted on wood.  I really like this lady.  I like the emotions on her face.  I think I have found my style of art.  While I occasionally would like to do life like images, I enjoy doing stylized art better. Mixed media is a lot of fun too.  I have 2 Moleskine multimedia journals on order, I can't wait for them to get here! 

Never give up hope..never.

Playing With Mixed Media

Painting stylized faces with graphite, colored pencil, acrylics, watercolor crayons, embellishments and Shinhan Touch Twin markers. Will post photo soon! I'm liking it!

I'm Back!

Had a wonderful time visiting my daughter's family in Hawaii. It was very hot though, something to do with volcano fog and the trade winds. I sure do miss my kids.

Here are two more drawings. I find that after I'm finished with a piece of art, I don't really want to look at it anymore so I tuck it away in my journal for awhile. I just went through it today and actually like my work better after not seeing it for awhile. Go figure!

Graphite

Mixed Media: ShinHan Art Touch Twin Markers and Derwent Inktense pencils, in the style of  Manon Doyle.  Love her work.