Hey Potato!

"Hey Potato!"

4 x 6 - Watercolor Paper

"There is still no cure for the common birthday." 

-- Thomas Fuller

So I have a girlfriend who's about to embark on a major birthday. And this year, she wants to avoid the subject altogether. No party, no presents, no cake. In fact, I think I may get in trouble if I even mention it. BUT she is having a birthday wether she likes it or not. And although we girls are respecting her wishes to keep it on the down-low, I just had to do a little something for her.

Some years ago - and I promise I don't recall how - she started calling me "potato." I, in turn, nicknamed her the same. So this quick little sketch is for her: my little birthday potato. It was done on watercolor paper and will be mounted on card stock to serve as her birthday card. Oh, and I will get her a little gift too. I guess you can say that I like living life on the edge. . . .

Happy PPF to you. I hope this weekend finds you celebrating your little heart out.

To love and produce,

Kristin xo

Art Journaling: Believe. . .

Loose Journal Page on Watercolor paper

"Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Clause. Believe in yourself. 

Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will?"

-- Jon Bon Jovi

So I've been working on a journal page this week. And I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I prefer to play with loose pages that I will later bind rather than in a formal journal. I like the ability to get as messy as I want without the fear of "ruining" the page behind or in front of it. And I also like the the freedom that comes with working on whatever kind of paper or size that I feel like at the time. The other benefit of working this way is that if I love it, I can always switch gears and make it a painting rather than a page.

Anywho, here's this week's offering. It was created with pencil, watercolor crayons, collage, glitter and my brand new obsession; Montana Acrylic Paint Pens. They are so dreamy. . . .

Instagram Shot of said dreamy new pens

Thank you for your time! I look forward to seeing what everyone brings to The Party this week.

Yours,

Kristin xo

Hello, Valentine. . .

Love Bird

11 x 11 on Watercolor Paper

"Without love, we are birds with broken wings."

- Morrie Schwartz

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope this finds you happy, well & in the throws of a chocolate comma.

So I know I threatened to use pink and yellow in my next project, but I didn't plan to actually do it. But, in an attempt to avoid blues & greens for a while, I headed straight towards pink in all it's girly glory. I began what was to be a loose journal page by layering collage elements, molding paste and acrylic. The quick, quirky girl came later and why she has a heart antennae on her head, I'll never know. Then somewhere down the line (or the next day really), this little pink and yellow bird came along to accompany it her:

So I gave her an eccentric antennae of her own. 

And some stripy legs, naturally.

And there they were. Happy little Valentines; all stripy, pinky and such. And so what was to be a journal page, may be a little more. It may even go on a wall, or on the back of a door. (I know I sound like Dr. Seuss). But request has already been made, and it seems this girl was meant to have it more.

Happy, lovely Valentines to you all. May it be ever so sweet.

Kristin xo

My Love Affair with Blues & Greens. . .

"You put down one color and it calls for an answer. You have to look at it like a melody."

-- Romare Bearden 

It's PPF!

And, after a 3-week love affair with blues & greens, I am finally done with the series of five canvases I've been teasing you about for a while now. I've always wanted to create a group of paintings in the same palette and am happy to say that I can now cross that one off my list. Although, being the color lover that I am, this may have inspired me to do more of the same. I loved working on multiple pieces at once and found a certain freedom in using limited materials. Here's a quick shot of the supplies I've been playing with for the better part of a month:

For me, the real challenge came in trying to figure out how to tie all the pieces together to make a cohesive whole. The answer came when a bit of text from a vintage Beatrix Potter book found it's way onto my first canvas. It read, "He Peeps" and was rather ominous. Since I had already glued it down, I knew that there was no going back. So, I found more bits of text and the story grew from there. The original tale was about a cat - Miss Moppet - and the mouse that she could never quite capture. In my version Miss Moppet is a rather quirky girl, but because my Mom's nickname for me has always been "Mouse" (and she calls Kendra "The Littlest Mouse" ;) that stayed the same. I even found inspiration for creating the mouse (my first) from the original illustrations. Anyway, here it is in it's entirety: with more pictures than I should really post. But, um, I did say it took me weeks, right? So here goes:

"He Spies"

"He Peeps Out"

"Miss Moppet"

"The Mouse"

"But She's Too Late!"

Did you say you wanted to see more? Yes, I thought I heard that. Okay then:

Whew! We made it. Thanks for taking a peep. Now on to the next color. Hmmm, I think I'm feeling some pinks and yellows coming on. Or maybe pink and orange. Or, maybe. . . . 

Kristin xo