Since I last posted Thanksgiving has come and gone and it's already over a week in to December - yikes..........the weather has turned cold here, freezing temps over night. We have finally lit the heater (old house) and I have sort of hunkered myself down. Sometimes I truly feel like a hermit but really I've just been in a very quiet headspace.
We've been doing a bit of rearranging in the house too (including the kitchen which we think feels much cozier now), my studio (removed some pieces) and a bit in the living room. My to do list includes painting a tablecloth and a piece of art on a wood board. I will post pics later.
We haven't brought out the Christmas bins yet.....I want to do things more natural this year.....I am looking for a nice branch I can spray paint white and decorate. With the cats and an equally curious dog we have to be mindful of what they can get at. I know so many go all out with their decorations and there have been times I have as well. But this year, well we'll see...I am feeling it needs to be a quiet, Zen sort of feel. A sipping hot chocolate, peaceful easy feeling. I do want to bring in real greenery for the scent but no actual Christmas tree in the traditional sense. Fairy lights too of course.
This month (in 5 days actually) is my birthday........and it's a "biggun". I have mixed emotions about the number. YES, I do know it's just a number, and I have talks with myself to embrace that fact......it just takes a bit of getting used to is all. I do celebrate that I am so NOT that number in any way so that's always a good thing. Right?
So anyway..........
Art fills me up - it is my church, it is my soul. Lately I have been working in my Art Journal .....I'm using no collage, no ephemera, few words, no stencils, no rubber stamps. On the cover I added a piece of white anaglypta wallpaper that I painted, I think it makes it look like embossed leather, don't you? All the art is drawn and painted right on the pages....I am using Derwent watercolor blocks, liquid watercolors, Inktense watercolor pencils, Caran D'ache Neocolor II watersoluble crayons, Tombow dual tip markers, Lyra crayons, Gesso (white and black), a few various acrylic paints, white gesso and black gesso, fountain pens, white gel pen. The only things glued on a couple pages were small pieces of a map and on one I used a paper towel used for blotting that had lots of color. The journal is not full so I may add more elements to future pages and perhaps some words other than just drawings. I am a very early riser these days and it's the first thing I do while the coffee is brewing......open to a page and start the day with it. Some pages are whimsical, nothing is really thought out, it's been an organic process. But faces and circles are always present in some way. I have a thing about circles. And the colors I use are ever present in some way.
You? Do you have a shape or image that seems to crop up in your art most often? Certain colors that you always feature? Go to art supplies?
The pages in this journal are made of heavily textured handmade paper but seem to take water fairly well if I don't "scrub" in to the page.
(this one is the inside and first page of the journal and it's what I used for my banner here on my blog)
So how about you all........are you staying warm and cozy? Are you in full swing holiday mode..........all decorated and shopped?
Baking, hmmm, that's the other thing, I feel like baking....patisserie in my kitchen.
And I need to get out more.........may I visit YOU? *insert smiley face*
So that's it until next time...........
With warm, loving thoughts,