It’s a Sloth World

I just love this comical little guy. I smile just looking at that sweet face, I hope it makes you smile too. This is actually the first start to finish surface pattern design I’ve created in Procreate on my IPad. No great story behind it other than it was fun to create from concept to finish.  I think he makes an adorable phone case but equally cute on some stickers or a mask.

These are available on Redbubble. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and stay safe!

Hugs~

Dana

A Couple Freebies

I’ve been creating like crazy lately and also editing things I’ve created over the last few years but never scanned or did anything with. These two freebies I created yesterday. These wreaths came about from some journal play with the least expensive brand of watercolor brush pens I could find on Amazon. I got this set for my daughter who does amazing brush lettering. The tips are not totally flexible but you are able to vary widths a little. The organizer zip pouch they come in is worth the price alone! They were perfect for creating these little leaves and flowers . Afterwards I went over them with a water brush to really give them that watercolor look before finishing off with some ink outlines. The splatters I added digitally while I was removing the background.

This next one I started working on last week and finally finished up last night. It was created 100% in Procreate on my IPad. I’ve never done digital painting before. I’m a pro at the little  it of knowledge I have for editing scans or photos for showing on the web or making ready to print files. But actually creating a painting digitally is a whole new ballgame for me. I don’t think I’ll ever give up painting the old fashioned way. I’m too in love with the actual process not to mention my love for art supplies, especially brushes. They don’t even have to be expensive brushes but if they don’t lose their hairs and come to a perfect point I can almost hear an angelic chorus. Yes, I love them THAT much!
So back to the next piece. This is an old quote I used to paint on items back in my craft show days but I never thought to make the “plant” have actual planters. I think this turned out pretty cute. If nothing else, I learned how to do clipping masks for shading.

As always, feel free to download. No jumping through any hoops. All I ask is that you don’t share the file directly with anyone else. Just send them here to grab it for themselves or via a pin on Pinterest linked directly here . I’ll also make it available on the freebies page. 

Thanks for coming by and have a great day!

Hugs~

Dana

Lost in Thought

I have painted mixed media girls for awhile now. I enjoy creating them for a lot of reasons. I fell in love with the mixed media style of more whimsical girls when I first saw them over ten years ago. I still really enjoy creating them since I can do them from memory now without having to use references. That alone makes it more enjoyable for me. Now me and watercolors are finally becoming friends. Florals are easier for me after gardening and a career as a florist. I know what shade eucalyptus is without having to even think about it. But getting all the nuances of the human face let alone the direction of the eyes..... that’s a WHOLE other ball game. This is the first watercolor (with a touch of pencils and inks) that I’ve been happy with the results. I’m learning , for me at least, less is more. 

I really love how she seems “Lost in Thought” but the owl is laser focused. I won’t add more to my thoughts about her than that because I think art is best left to the interpretation of the viewer. 

If you’d like to see how she looks on home decor items, stationary or phone cases take a pop over to Redbubble. Links are in the sidebar as well. 

I hope you are doing as well as can be expected during these trying times . I pray you find joy in whatever way you can each and every day.

Hugs~

Dana

Sunglasses and Ice Cream

 I haven’t found myself with a lot of free time to create while quarantined until these past few days. I was able to create these two all over patterns that just have me itching for summer,,

 

Sunglasses

Ice cream

What could be better than ice cream and sunglasses? Maybe if some free time permits I’ll be adding a few more summer themed patterns just perfect for those back to public places like the beach, pool or local restaurant! One can dream! Hopefully our world will slowly return to normal. In the meantime, stay safe. Enjoy each and every day as best as you can.

Hugs~

Dana

Ps. I’m having issues with the links above working. You can always check the links in the sidebar for my shops. These are available at red bubble currently.

DIY Yupo and Playing with Alcohol Inks

Hi guys!! I've been in the process of moving all of my art supplies up to a spare bedroom from the basement. Slowly but surely I've been able to start playing with some of my old supplies. One of those are my beloved copic reinkers aka alcohol inks. But first I needed to find a substrate. I didn't have any yupo or glossy Photo paper in a size large enough. I started doing some research and I came across a few articles claiming you could use Kilz on canvas. If it will create a surface for alcohol inks on canvas, then surely it will work for watercolor paper too. Right? This is how all of my fun usually begins. Experimenting and finding out for myself. So text to hubs: "we have some Kilz in the garage, right?" Hubs knows me so well and doesn't even ask why. Most husbands at work would be thinking there was a water stain or something! 
Step one:
Coat a piece of 140lb water paper with a good layer of Kilz. 

I think you can just barely see my reinkers lined up getting ready for use. I mixed a few drops into a small medicine cup (like the kind you get with childrens Tylenol or Nyquil) with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.  I used mainly violets, red violets and blue greens. 
I hit the Kilz with a heat tool and got to pouring!

After pouriing the inks I put the cups upside down to hopefully create some little globes or worlds. That didn't work so well for me but it did create a great stamp. I basically ended up using the second piece of paper as a place to put all the run off from the first one.
It was just a lot of dropping in more ink and then either splattering alcohol with a stiff brush or dropping some in with a pipette. 

This is was an attempt about half way through to try salt. I didn't get any results for the salt. I thought it may have been too wet so I attempted again later as it started to dry some but still nothing. But the results I was getting with the alcohol spatters and drops was so awesome. Not to mention the additional drops as I started adding in more and more ink was mesmerizing.  At some point I also dropped in a few drops of Dr Ph Martins Liquid Acrylics in yellow and red on the first one. And of course, got lost in the process and neglected to take any further process shots. (some things never change!! lol)

Here is where they stand now:

So different!! I started really concentrating on the effects I was getting from the drops of alcohol in the second one because I started seeing a vase of flowers emerging. I'll see if that amounts to anything.

And lastly, here's a close up of the more colorful one. 

This one may become an underwater scene because I kept seeing a field of jellyfish. Or it may end up as collage fodder or ATC's (artist trading cards).  We'll see. But for now, it was just fun to get inky and have fun. My hands are still a lovely shade of blue/purple after two days but given the current quarantine status due to Covid19 no one see's it but my family. 
I hope you and your's are finding ways to cope during these unprecedented times. 
hugs~
Dana