Paint Party Friday: "I Am Made of Stars"

"I Am Made of Stars"

9 x 12; cold pressed watercolor paper

Happy PPF . . . .

I hope this finds you well! I've had a couple of busy, arty days and am filled with joy because of it. I just came off of a long stretch absent of creativity and missed it so much. It's crazy how much our moods can be lifted when we give time to ourselves, right?! 

Anyway, this week's painting was inspired by a book I was meant to read. I picked it up from one of my Mom's bookshelves a week ago, set it aside, and then (like a new word you've just learned and then keep hearing everywhere) for some reason people kept asking me if I'd read it. Seriously, like 3 people in a week - over a book from the 90's that I had never heard about until a few days ago! I took that as a major sign, and got to reading. Well, if you've ever experienced The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz), you'll understand why I read it in a matter of a few hours. It really is inspired.

And inspired I was then to create this - "I Am Made of Stars" - a 9 x 12 mixed media painting on watercolor:

Created on a gessoed surface with multiple layers of stamping and doodling

Sentiment written on neck with both matte and glitter pens

Also used: iridescent confetti stars and silver leaf

And here she is in her entirety:

Thank you for your time, thanks to Kristin & Eva for hosting PPF and have a happy, creative weekend. Perhaps with a trip to the bookstore thrown in for good luck. . . .

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday: "Call Me Annie"

"Call Me Annie"

6 x 6 Birch Painting Panel

Happy PPF (it's still Friday, right?!) . . .

I hope this finds you well. As for me, Easter's over, the kid's back in school and I've finally gotten back to some painting (small miracles). "Call Me Annie" was created today on a wood "canvas" (a first for me) with deep sides and a heavily collaged base featuring both vintage and new materials. I was going for a school girl theme in the colors of red, yellow and white. . . .

I took progress shots along the way (I just love myself some Instagram ;) and thought I'd share them here as well. Wanna see? 

I began with a gessoed panel and reduced copies of a sketch I drew for 29 Faces

I then collaged with front and sides of the panel in both vintage and new materials. 

The sweet girls you see are from old sewing pattern packets.

I then added the sketched face onto the panel, allowing her torso to wrap down the front of the canvas

She was then painted in both lightweight and heavy bodied acrylics, watercolor crayons and oil pastels.

The sides were also addressed - this time with an impressionistic style (read, messy ;) scallop and the top of her torso.

There she is! All tiny and ready to go . . . .

Oh! And before I go, I have the coolest news to share! Remember this trip I took to Portland last October with this girl? Well, upon our return said scrapbooking genius got right to work on a book of the adventure and submitted it to Somerset Memories. She was immediately accepted and asked to write article. It's now out so be sure to check it out when you can. She's a crack up!

Way to go Daniele! I'm so happy for you . . . .

Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend,

Kristin xo

Happy Easter . . .

Kendra Ann, 7 years

From our little Bunny to yours . . . 

With Love, 

Kristin xo

PPF: "Just Be You"

"Just Be You"

16 x 20 Gallery wrapped canvas

Happy PPF! I had so much fun at last week's charity Auction and just read that our group donated more than $400 to help support the victims of Sandy Hook. Yay, us! Not only was I happy to contribute an item, but I was thrilled to have won one as well. Thanks again to Kristin & Eva for making it all possible.

This week I was able to finish off a large project that I had in the works, this 16 x 20 canvas with deep (1.5 inch) sides. She is entitled, "Just Be You" and has the words, "I Dare You" scribbled on the front. Here it is in it's entirety:

I Dare You

She was created on a heavily collaged background (using both vintage and new materials) and then drawn in with my non-dominant hand for the shape of the head, similar to some of the drawings I played with during 29 Faces. From there I quickly sketched in the features and then dry brushed several types of acrylics and acrylic Gouache to the surface for depth and detail. I'm still trying to be looser with my drawings for a "grungier" look and feel:

Cheek color applied with fingers. A single Swarovski Crystal earring on the left ear.

Final details include the use of color rich oil pastels, Stickles Glitter and iridescent stars on the surface.

Stickles Glitter applied to the hair

Here is a shot of the deep sides, which also serve to balance the bold magenta color on the surface:

Sides created with pigment rich oil pastels and varnish

Lastly, the words that issue a challenge:

I also wanted to share with you the gorgeous oil painting that I bid on for the Auction. It was created by the talented Gloria J. Zucaro and I am thrilled to have it. She even was kind enough to frame it for me:

Thank you Gloria, I love it! And thank you for stopping by today. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to this week . . . .

Kristin xo

PPF Charity Auction: "Two Hearts" . . ."

AUCTION ITEM

"Two Hearts"

12 x 12 Hand Painted Decorative Pillow 

featuring Swarovski Crystals

I'm honored to be participating in the Paint Party Friday Action Blog Hop to benefit The Sandy Hook Elementary School. It's the beautiful brainchild of hosts Eva & Kristin as they celebrate PPF's third birthday by continuing to give to others . . . 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There will be several items up for auction beginning this Friday, March 15th (EST). In order to view all the artwork available, simply visit the Paint Party Friday website. Every item up for sale (all proceeds will go directly to charity) will be linked to the individual artist who will be accepting bids for their item(s) on their individual websites. 

WHAT I HAVE UP FOR GRABS:

I'm proud to participate by offering the following hand painted decorative pillow entitled "Two Hearts:"

12 x 12 hand painted canvas pillow

WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT IT?

"Two Hearts" is a one-of-a-kind 12 x 12 decorative pillow created in the Twinkle, Twinkle studio. It was hand drawn in pencil before being painted with a combination of bold colors in both matte and metallic acrylic paints and glittery pens (she really sparkles in person ;). It comes complete with a "Decorator's Choice" poly-fil form (in a firm texture) so she's ready to go when you are. 

Swarovski Crystal speciality button

And the best part? The handmade fabric flower in her hair is accented with a gorgeous Swarovski Crystal button for the utmost in elegance, sparkle and shine.

"Two Hearts:" For the one girl who has yours . . . 

FABULOUS! HOW DO I BUY THIS (FOR CHARITY)?

Thank you for asking. I will be accepting bids here - in the comments section below - throughout the weekend. The Auction for this item will close Sunday at noon, Pacific Standard Time (PST). The bidding will start at ten dollars ($10) and may increase in increments of one dollar ($1) per bid. That means, if you really want it, please keep returning to increase your bid in the comment section. The last bid at the close of the auction will be the winner!

THEN WHAT?

I will contact the winner shortly thereafter with the final amount they will be donating to charity. The funds may be sent here, which a direct link to the Newtown Memorial Fund to benefit those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Once proof of your donation is sent, I will ship the pillow at my expense. Domestic and International bids are happily accepted.

That's it! I hope you have fun hopping and shopping. I know I for one can't wait . . .

UPDATE: The bidding is now CLOSED. Thank you to all who followed along here, on Instagram and on Facebook. I'm honored to send this little one out to the auction winner, Jessica Sporn! Thank you Jessica for your kindness, generosity and support.

Kristin xo

Lately . . .

"I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. 

No brush, no paint, no canvas. I just think about it."

-- Stephen Wright

It's perfect right?! And exactly how I've been feeling lately. Life's been especially busy but still, I haven't even walked in the studio in weeks. . . . So today, I'm gonna do something about that. Even if I just slap a coat of paint on something, I'm gonna make a mark . . . .

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to this Friday's Charity Auction benefiting The Sandy Hook Elementary School. The blog hop will take place Friday, the 15th and can be accessed through the Paint Party Friday webpage. 

(My auction item sneak peek)

I will be auctioning off a hand-painted decorative somethin'-somethin' and can't wait to see what the other participants have up for grabs. Details for my auction can be found here on Friday and event details can be found below:

All proceeds will go directly to a Newtown, CT charity.

So, wish me luck in getting paint under my fingernails today & I'll see you Friday . . . .

Kristin xo

29 Faces: Done!

I did it! 29 Faces in 28 Days. Thank you to Ayala for the opportunity and inspiration . . . . 

I must say, this challenge was much more difficult than I expected. I found that the only real time I had to work on the sketches were at night, and if I wanted to keep up, I really needed to attempt one face a day. So every night (well almost, I did miss 3 days that I made up later on) after the kid fell asleep I got to work.  

I challenged myself to learn as much as I could, to try new techniques, angles & ideas. Some nights I would be done in 30 minutes, and some would take closer to 3 hours. Ironically, I found that the faster "portraits" were among my favorites. I've been wanting to be more spontaneous and the time limit really helped with that.

Overall, most of these girls will stay in their book, serving as references for what to (or not to) do in future paintings. Some I would like to explore further. I miss color and am anxious to give a few of these more life. We'll see. In the meantime, below are the final 8 girls that I posted daily to Instagram:

#22

#23

#24, 24, 26

#27

"Just Be You"

#28 & 29

And just for fun, I put the entire month - all 29 Faces - into a slide show below:

Thank you for following my antics and thanks again to Ayala and the 29 Faces group for all of the inspiration.

Kristin xo