Inspire Me Thursday - 'Two'

ATC #24 '2 be", mixed media

Here is my offering for IMT's latest prompt 'Two' and just under the wire again, oh well :)

I was cleaning off my art table of bits & pieces of papers and came across a page portion with a '2' on it. The text also struck a chord with me - it's a question that undeniably has been on my mind since starting out on my artistic journey early last year.

With Spring nowhere in sight here (sigh) I decided to sketch some flowers from a postcard bought in New Mexico - these are some of the state's wildflowers (the card didn't have names for them)

I'm also adding this piece to my February ATC project and it is #24. You can view the whole project in a special Flickr album I created for it here.

February ATC Project - 21 and 22

Another quick post - posting numbers 21 & 22 before I take off to New Mexico for a visit to see my hubby! It's been 3 months since I've seen him so to say I'm excited and looking forward to a little vacation with him is definitely putting it mildly!!

ATC #22 'Sweet'



Will hopefully have some great pics to share with you all in a couple of weeks as I've never been out that way and looking forward to the scenery (as in NO SNOW!) Until then, take care everyone and keep creating!

ATC #21 - 'One to grow'

Update - ATC Project

Hello! Just a quick post to let you know that I have finished my February ATC Project: Pieces of My Heart {29 Days of Love & Devotion} and will be posting the final ones as time permits. It's been a hectic last couple of weeks, I tell ya!

ATC # 19 - 'Want', watercolor & ink



When I started this project I had high hopes of posting them as they were completed ..... sigh. So many things came up though and the pace for the weeks ahead isn't promising much of a slowdown, but I will do my best to get the last of them up for everyone to see - promise! :)

I've loved & studied the style of antique chairs for the longest time - this particular style is Swedish country rococo w/a French influence. It has a rounded back in the Queen Anne style which originated in England.

ATC #20 'Queen Anne' - watercolor, watercolor pencil

I also wanted to mention how I truly admire the time and effort of all the artful bloggers who commit to daily or mostly daily postings - kudos to you all!!!

By the way, if you're interested in viewing all the ones I've posted to date, check out the special Flickr album I created for them. Enjoy!

February ATC Project - 11, 12, 13, 17 and 18

Finally getting here to add more of my ATC's! I do apologize for the lapse in posting to anyone who has come by to check and see if I've added any new ones. It seems like everything from technical to personal issues has come up this last week.

Anyhow, I do hope you enjoy these latest ones as much as I did creating them. In case you're wondering, yes #'s 14 - 16 are missing from this batch. They're going to be a triptych as a special tribute to Valentine's Day which as you may know is the reason I decided to do this February project. My hubby proposed on that day so it is always very close to my heart :)

They are titled as follows: ATC # 11 'be brave' , ATC #12 'fragile' , ATC #13 'begin', ATC #17 'blessed' and ATC #18 'young at heart'

Stay tuned for more soon, they're in the works at this very moment - it's back to the studio for me!

ATC Project - 9 and 10

I think I'm finally catching up a bit with these (well maybe not!)

I've so enjoyed experimenting with all different kinds of mediums for this project. I feel like I've been stretching my boundaries and stepping out of my comfort zone especially with ATC #9 'Adorn'. I created the heart with lightweight tooling foil which I cut out & punched for the lacey trim. I then painted it with translucent paint & sealed it with a laminate glaze - I love the results.

I'm finding it's taking a little more time for most of these, but I'm glad that I decided to take on this project. It's been great for my motivation and as you know, is close to my heart.

I want to thank all of you who are following along and have stopped by to cheer me on and leave such uplifting feedback. Your support and kind words of encouragement mean a lot to me :)

ATC #10 'Adorn' - mixed media
ATC #9 'deeply' - mixed media

ATC Project - 6, 7 and 8

Ok - so I'm a little behind in my ATCs this week - where did the time get to??! Hopefully I can catch up very soon :)

I had a lot of fun with these and I think 'true love' would look great on a greeting card, don't you?

For ATC #'s 7 & 8 I went through my stamp collection and found the bright & colorful LOVE stamp (2002) and reproduced it on a large scale making it look like a 'love-letter'. The beautiful 'Bouquet' of roses stamp (2004) was incorporated into a pink room scene.

ATC # 8 'Bouquet' (mixed media)
ATC #7 'love-letter' (mixed media)
ATC #6 'True Love' (watercolor & ink)


Thanks for following along with my project, Pieces of My Heart {29 Days of Love & Devotion} If you're just now visiting and want to know about my project, you can read about it here.

Please do visit again soon!

February ATC Project - cont'd

My series continues with ATC #5. I was inspired by the festive colors & costumes of Mardi Gras for this one. I've also been wanting to do a Marie Antoinette inspired illustration or painting for awhile now. I think that's what I love about ATCs, they give me the opportunity to try things out before committing to a large piece.

I do hope you're enjoying following along with my project, which you can read about here - it's been so fun creating these as they come to life and 'spill' out onto my work table (and I sure do need to clean up a bit soon, I'm running out of room!)



ATC #5 - 'Heart of Mardi Gras'
pen, watercolor, colored pencil, graphite

February ATC Project - 3 and 4

ATC #3 ' Good Heart'
I decided to play catch up today and created the 3rd and 4th ATCs for my project (you can read all about it here)

Instead of illustrating them, I went with mixed media using a variety of materials: fabric, felt, embroidery thread, hand-painted paper, and found items such as the profound insight from a fortune cookie :)

Please visit again soon and follow along as my project continues......

ATC #4 'Winged Hope'

ATC #2 / Illustration Friday - 'Blanket'

ATC #2 - 'Comfort', 2.5 x 3.5
Pen & watercolor on Arches hot press

Second ATC for my month-long project: Pieces of my Heart - 29 Days of Love & Devotion. I'm creating an ATC a day for the month of February and was inspired by this week's topic 'blanket' at IF.

I immediately thought of a handmade quilt, the ultimate comfort blanket. Much like love, it has many layers woven together and wraps us in warmth.

I'm hoping to post my project ATCs daily and also will be having an ACEO giveaway at the end of the month, so please be sure to visit again!

"Those who sleep under quilts, sleep under a blanket of love."- anon

February Project - ATC #1

#1 - "Heartstrings", ATC 2.5 x 3.5

Okay so this is officially the start of my month long ATC project: Pieces of My Heart - 29 Days of Love & Devotion

Because this is the very first ATC for this project, I wanted to give reference to the 29 days in some way. I love drawing & sketching trees and although the ones outside my windows right now are gray and covered with snow, I went with a more Spring-like tree - one that's full of hope and waiting to burst forth with new growth.

At this time, I'd also like to mention that I will be having a special ACEO giveaway (Art Cards Editions & Originals, which are generally sold not traded) at the end of my project. I'm thinking of doing at least 2 or 3 for that. They will be separate works from this project, but in the same theme.

Please be sure to visit again - I'm hoping to post these as they are completed daily (we'll see how that goes!)

ATC Project for February

pitt pen, watercolor, colored pencils

It's been awhile since I've created any ATCs so I decided to pull out some supplies and play a bit. I'm hoping it will help me get ready for my upcoming month long ATC project. I will be creating an ATC a day for each of the 29 days in February.

This is a project close to my heart (and hearts will find their way on many of them I'm sure). As some of you may know, my hubby left before Christmas to pursue a new career which requires him to be away from our home for about 5 months total. The holidays went quite well, lots of family and friends to be with. However as February approaches I've been feeling a bit down knowing that my hubby won't be here for Valentine's Day. It's always been a very special day for us as he proposed to me on that day and we've never been apart for any of them since being married!

A recent visit to this artist's blog was just the inspiration & spark that I needed - thanks so much Jeannine! She's involved in a year-long project of ATCs to mark each day while her hubby is away in the military.

Please be sure to visit and folllow along with my project:
Pieces of My Heart {29 Days of Love & Devotion}

I am so looking forward to sharing this with you all!

Inspire Me Thursday - ATCs

Muse Monday is taking a short break from studio renovations - again....but this time I have some fun art to share!

From the Inspire Me Thursday website: "This week, we’re going to revisit Inspire Me Thursday’s very first challenge, ATCs. An ATC, or artist trading card, is a small piece of art measuring 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. Other than the size, there really are no other rules — anything goes!"

Okay so I am now officially [re]addicted to ATCs! It's been about 3 years since I created any of these tiny, wonderful, challenging, creative, unpredictable, FUN pieces of art!!! I was first introduced to ATCs through an online handcarved stamp group and joined in on a few amazing swaps - one was a mixed media ATC swap with artists all over the world, I still pour over that one for inspiration!

For these recent ATCs I was inspired by my stamp collection - mostly cancelled ones but I do collect new ones as well. I handpainted, stamped & layered to my hearts desire using Golden translucent paints, acrylic paint, inks, stamps, gel medium, paper bits and dried foliage :)