Having Some Artistic Fun

As I was watering my flowers one day last week, a friendly neighborhood butterfly decided to come for a visit. It looked so lovely fluttering from blossom to blossom, that I had to take some photos. When I chat  on the front porch with my neighbors across the street, we'll see this butterfly flitting around in their yard or other yards. Makes us smile, that is for sure. (This photo was taken with the up close flower scene setting on my camera, one that I haven't used all that much because I forget to move the dial sometimes. And I didn't edit the photo, it is straight out of the camera-well, except for my name down there in the corner).

I've mentioned my friend, Barb, a time or two. *Ü* Some recent email chats with her and her blog posts about watercolor has piqued my interest in playing around with watercolors myself. As I have said before I am supremely watercolor challenged. I recently watched this you tube video by Amy Rysavy where she reviews the Artist Loft brand of watercolor paints. These are Michaels "house brand" of watercolors and this review, coupled with projects Barb has been sharing using watercolors prompted me to buy a set (with a coupon, even though they aren't expensive at all without a coupon-hey, save where you can, right?) I watched a few other videos on using watercolors in cardmaking and took the plunge to play a bit. (Boy oh boy, You Tube is amazing, isn't it??) I messed around  a while to get the background and set it aside to dry(for like a week, because the girls and I were off doing summer vacation activities or I was watching more You Tube...that site can get addicting).

I knew going in to creating this background that I wanted it to look sort of like a sunset. Not sure I got it right, but the feel is there. I also knew I wanted to use this Hero Arts cling stamp for the silhouetted flowers. So, yesterday I stamped it, not even considering that I was stamping onto watercolor paper and the surface wasn't smooth! (Yeah, I'm not the brightest bulb, sometimes). It looked awful and I was so bummed. But before I chucked the piece in disgust (it was the only one I painted this way) I remembered a trick I saw Jennifer McGuire do with a black marker on an image that didn't stamp cleanly and decided to try it, using a Micron pen. Oh thank heavens, it didn't look too bad and I was able to salvage the image. I'm very happy with the final result. Whew! This isn't a card at this point. I've toyed with the idea of adding a sentiment, but I kind of like it as is. Who knows...maybe I'll frame it and keep it for myself. 

And finally, I'm going wayyyyyyyy out on a limb here, sharing this next picture. I've recently become intrigued by something called Zentangle and ZenDoodling. If you Google either term you will come across tons of links/images/videos on this art form. There are boatloads of pins on Pinterest and Flickr as well.  Basically, it's repetitive drawing with the intent to de-stress and express oneself. I used to tole paint years and years (and years) ago, and somehow the art I've been seeing reminds me of the patterns I used to paint. So, I've been playing around with this form of expression as well. Not all Zentangles or doodles are colored, but I can't seem to leave it alone after I am done drawing. I've used my Prismacolor pencils on this page. 

I was really inspired by some pieces I saw on the internet, but I didn't print anything off to "follow" or use as a guide. This is very out of the norm for me! It was fun trying different doodles and patterns. 

Who knows maybe someone will be inspired to try something new like I did. I feel like my creative juices are flowing again, after a very long dry spell!

I'm very thankful to those who share so willingly and freely. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a terrific day.

Jeanne