Rain--Tutorial Thursday

I have been trying to clean out the 

albums on my phone and 

I found these pictures.

I had participated in a 3 color challenge 

a few months ago.

I had seen a video where an Artist took Crayons and melted them for the rain, so I thought I would see what I could do with the same concept using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics.

For the challenge, 

we were to use Black and White 

and then choose another color.

I chose Cobalt Turquoise Hue.

I used 2 Andy Skinner Stencil: 

Children and Acessories

Whew--I am not a stenciler, but I keep trying.

I used a small spritzer for my water.

I picked up the spritzer at JoAnns.

I LOVE this little tool.

I began by creating the background with a 

mix of Black and White. 

I didn't want to over-mix my colors, 

or I would have simply ended up 

with a muddy mix of Grey.

There was no rhyme or reason 

to adding the colors.

I simply picked up some Black, 

then some white, 

then some more white, 

or some more Black...

I stopped when I liked it.

IF you do get a muddy mix, 

stop and allow the paint to dry, 

then begin again.

It is JUST PAINT!

I kept the strokes in a North/South Direction.
Of course, you can try something else.

I stenciled the children and the umbrella and 

boy, howdy, again, 

I want to emphasize that 

I cannot stencil!  LOL

BUT as I keep saying, 

it is only paint, 

so I pulled out my 10/0 liner 

and repaired the blobs as best I could.

I was a bit stressed, 

so I forgot to take pictures.

I applied painters tape to cover the children.

I wanted the rain to fall around them.

I blobbed the Cobalt Turquoise Hue across the top, 

and spritzed it with water so it would run.

This was a process..

More Paint...

More water...

Finally, I just thinned my paint really thin 

and dabbed it across the top.

I kept doing this until I liked it.

I then added some white to the Turquoise 

to give it some depth.

Remember--Shading (dark) pushes your object 

BACK into the background.

Highlighting (light) brings the object 

to the FRONT.

Your goal is to have a 

shadow, the primary color, and a highlight

Of course, you can use many colors 

and layers to achieve this.

That is the fun of playing with paint.

I added a white Highlight between the children.

I thought of it as a lamplight.

Black was added under the children to ground 

them into the picture.

The lettering was added with Black.

I dry brushed Black all around the edge 

to give it a FRAME

This was a very quick project.

This is an example of being able to create ART 

without having great artistic skills.

I always want people to know that 

THEY CAN CREATE.

Things like this are great ways to learn 

shadows and highlights.

As with anything~~

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

I hope that YOU make time to 

do things that you love.

Grab a canvas,

3 bottles of paint

Some brushes

and 

CREATE!!

I am simply 

blessed to create~charlotte♡

Technique Tuesday: Harvest Pumpkin Canvas

I knocked something off of my table the other day that I needed, so I decided to move the little table to see what else I had knocked off the table.

WHAT?  I cannot be the only person to lose their brushes, dry wall tape, pens, pencils, Peanut M&Ms (ok, they fell off WHEN I moved the table)…AND

I pulled out the White and used Payne's Grey

My DecoArt Green Pallet knife!  I now, once again, have all 3, but sad to say, I lost the 3^rd one just as quickly as I found it~~HOW in the world do I do that? I distinctly remember putting it somewhere safe, but for the life of me, I am not certain where SAFE resides…heavy sigh…

I shall look for it on another day.

As soon as I found that knife, I knew what I wanted to do.

I smeared the Turquoise Blue, some Saffron Yellow and  Spiced Pumpkin on the background.  I left some white showing.

I have been spending too much time in Pinterest-land this year.  It is not my fault.

I keep reading what we all need to do to make people notice us, and to be honest, I feel like a hamster on a big ole spinning wheel.  I started pinning like crazy in February and have gotten over 600 followers, but really, I cannot see that it has done one thing for me, other than making me want to pin more and to make more and to….YIKES…

I painted the pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin and outlined it with Dark Chocolate....Pumpkin and Chocolate.  When I draw a pumpkin, I think of it as in three sections.  I draw my center section first, and then add a section to each side~~like an orange slice.

I need to get off of this spinning wheel!  LOL

As you have been reading, you have seen the steps I did to create this little 2x2 inch canvas.

Highlights were added with Saffron Yellow to the middle of the stem and to each section of the pumpkin.

I thought about doing it with my fingers.  I wanted to show that it is possible to CREATE with simplicity.

I like my edges dark, so that is why I used the Payne's Grey instead of the white.  I smeared it around the edges and under the pumpkin to ground it into the piece.

I have holders filled with brushes~~some untouched, some specialty brushes, scruffy brushes…and yet, I still need more good 10/0 liners, #4 Flats and #2 round brushes.  They are my work horses!

I have bottles and bottles of paint~~enamel, patio paint, satin multi-surface, Americana, Traditions, SoSoft, Chalky Finish, Metallics, Neons, Glamour Dust…Just about everything that DecoArt Offers…

I have mediums to make paint stick to ANYTHING and to seal it and peel it and crackle it and stick it and…

I am a happy girl.

BUT some days, I just want to do simple!

I do want to share another take on a trick I shared earlier this year.

When I get ready to design something, I start writing down everything I can think of that goes with the season I want to paint.  I doodle as I think and sometimes, it takes me on a fun trip…other times, I wonder what in the world I was thinking and how I do not want to go down that road again.

Reminds me of going for rides in the country around McKenzie, Tennessee, in the fall when I was a freshman in college.  I took my friend, Amy, with me, and she was a city-slicker from Memphis.  I had grown up exploring country roads and I knew that most all country roads lead to a main road, so I was fearless.  I am pretty sure she was miserable by all of the questions and comments.

My favorite thing about art is the exploration~~new colors, new techniques, new brushes, new mediums, new paints, new ADVENTURES…

I can paint my world any color I wish.

I can live in a land where the Pears are bigger than the Saltbox Houses, or my world can be filled with froggies and daisies, or I can magically be transformed to a Winter Village with crooked windows~~oh, so many crooked windows!  ROFL

This is a pattern by Susan Kelley from our Puddles of Paint Club...I am doing an awful job of painting this...heavy sigh...

Oh, what fun awaits me with each stroke of the brush.

Follow your dreams…Find the HARVEST that awaits you as you explore and plant seeds of creativity…and, you know I have to say it~~LIVE your Life in FULL BLOOM!

This is not my style at all, but how fun was this.  It took all of 10 minutes to create!  I LOVE to play...

I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte♡

Tutorial Thursday

Summer seems to have arrived in Middle Tennessee.

As you know, I spend a lot of time sitting on my back porch as Charcoal sniffs all that needs to be sniffed.

There are sticks to be moved!

Most of the time I spend is in darkness, since I seem to keep my days/nights confused.

The other night I noticed that the Lightening Bugs~~yep, that is what we call them in this little corner of the world~~were starting to get plentiful.

WHO hasn’t found a jar to gather lightening bugs on a hot summer night!

I remember that My Uncle Cecil told me that the smallest thing that God created was the switch to the generator on a lightening bug’s tail!  =)

To honor this passage into summer, I thought I would share an easy way to paint lightening bugs…this would be a fun thing to do with the children/grandchildren.

I love grammar!!

There is no wrong or right in art, when you get right down to it, so kick off those shoes, and WHY is someone wearing shoes in the summer, grab some paints, brushes and a surface and let’s paint some FIREFLIES!  (ha…bet you thought I was going to say Lightening Bugs, didn’t you! Orange you glad I didn’t.)

Wouldn’t it be fun to buy a Mixed Media notebook to keep of things you and your children/grandchildren painted this summer?  What a keepsake it would be!  Think how you might encourage them (and you) to CREATE!!

To start, I grabbed, what else, but My DecoArt Products.

I am proud to be a Helping Artist with DecoArt. 

I have bought most of the products at a discount from DecoArt, and a few of the paints have been given to me to create with; however, I have used DecoArt products for over 20 years, and find them to be the best!

The first piece I did with the DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics

This is what I used: Cobalt Teal Hue, Primary Cyan, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue Hue, Titanium White, Primary Yellow, Green Gold, Carbon Black, Payne’s Grey, Cadmium Orange Hue, White Gesso

Fudeball pen, Chalkboard Pen, Punchinella , 10/0 liner brush, #2 Flat, 1 inch Glaze Wash

I grabbed some blues and got started.

I covered the page (I have a book that I bought on etsy made of watercolor paper) with white Gesso.  I try to leave the brush strokes showing.  When this was dried, I used the punchinella as a stencil and added some random places of more gesso and used my hair dryer to dry…

TEXTURE is important in Mixed Media…at least that is what I think!  =)

I start with a lighter color in the middle, so I used Cobolt Teal Hue.  I worked in some Primary Cyan, Cerulean Blue and Cobalt  Blue.  There is no right or wrong…it is just doing what you like.  My Goal was to have the edges darker and I wanted a LIGHT SOURCE in the top left corner, so I didn’t put any of the blues there.  I kept layering the colors until they were blended.

For that lighter area in the corner, I added Titanium White and then some Primary Yellow and more white and then worked some blue into the white…again, the goal was to NOT leave any distinction of my colors…I wanted the colors to blend flawlessly together.

For the jar, I used thinned Titanium White to paint the jar.  Don’t worry about the shape, because jars come in all shapes and sizes.

To make the lightening bugs, I started out by dry brushing Titanium White in several spots. 

Dry Brushing means that you use a dry brush and VERY little paint and gently scrub it onto the surface. 

When this dried, I dry brushed Green Gold. 

The bugs were painted with Carbon Black and a liner. 

Make a dot for the head, two antennae, two wings, and the body and lines on the body. 

Paint the area inside the wings with Cadmium Orange Hue and the body with Green Gold. 

You might need to go over the lines again if your paint wasn’t thin enough. 

Add a dot of Primary Yellow to the tails.

Thin Cobalt Teal Hue and brush it over the jar.

For the lettering, I used a chalk pen (they are made to write on chalkboards) to free hand the lettering.  I went over it with my liner brush and Titanium White.  When the lettering was completely dry (be careful), take a wet brush to remove the chalk lines and dab it with a lent-free cloth.

To make the bigger stars, I added a drop of water, and touched a blob of Titanium White into the drop of water…leave it alone and it will spread out a bit to look like stars that have a halo around them.

With a toothbrush, I splattered Titanium White to make it look like stars.

With a fude ball pen (my first time using it), I outlined the jar and smeared it for shadows~~fun stuff.

I dry brushed Payne’s Grey around the edges

HOW COOL is THIS!!

And lest I forget those TRADITIONAL Painters, I made another sign using DecoArt Americana Acrylics…This is HOME to me!

Use whatever colors you wish, but I grabbed these colors:

Grape Juice, Deep Midnight Blue, Lamp Black, Titanium White, Citron Green, Tangerine, Turquoise Blue

Base the surface with one coat of Grape Juice and let it dry.

Place two small puddles of Grape Juice and Deep Midnight Blue on the Pallet.

Pick up some of each color and slip-slap it onto the surface.  To do this, I make an X with the paint until I have the surface colored.  Do not over work your paint, or you will get just ONE color.  You want some of each color showing.

With the chalkboard pen, write your saying.  Using this as a guide, go over this with your liner brush and Titanium White.  Add dots to the end of each letter~~this is what makes your piece whimsical.  I have seen too many pieces that could have been cuter, if ONLY dots had been added to lettering! It is those tiny details that will set your work apart.

Do the same to paint a jar…I left all the lines to show you what a mess we ALL can make…LOL

Outline the jar with the liner brush and Titanium White.

NOTE:  You may use a toothpick to do line work if you don’t have a liner brush.  This is sometimes easier for children.

When the letters and dots are completely dry, use a wet brush and a lint-free cloth to remove the chalk…BE VERY careful with those dots.  They take longer to dry than you think!

Thin Titanium White and paint the jar.

With Titanium White, dry brush Titanium White where you want lightening Bugs.

When dry, go over these with Citron Green…it is fine to go past the white dots.

With the liner and Lamp Black, add a dot for the head, a longer line for the body and 2 antennae.

The wings are Tangerine added with the liner brush.  Load the brush and simply set it down on the body for the wings.

Add a dot of Sunny Day to the end of each bug.

That little bug is the jar is what the bugs look like without their wings

IF you know how to float, then float Lamp Black around the jar.  If you don’t know how to float, take a brush and add water around the jar…not too much…just until it is shiny.  Take a flat brush if you have it (you can use a round brush if you don’t have a flat brush) and run one corner through your Lamp Black Paint ~~not too much paint.  Keep that edge next to the jar.  The water will make the paint bleed out a little, making a shadow.

Thin Turquoise Blue and paint it over your jar to make it blue.

Add just a few messy streaks with Titanium White to make it look like a reflection…The shading and the highlights are what gives your painting dimension.

To finish, use a stiff toothbrush and add flecks of Titanium White to look like stars…

I hope you all with add a touch of WHIMSY to your paintings with a lightening bug!!  If you do, share it with me!

TAKE time to rediscover the child in you…DON’T let being an Adult steal your JOY…I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte♡