ARTISTIC LIVING
My blog is not the way I’d like it to be. I’ve tried to create a layout with the Gadget displaying the blog names of those I enjoy visiting. But it doesn’t work for me. So I hope you know who you are! ALSO, I like all comments but “Anonymous” ones keep me from thanking you. 🙁
Amazing Hidden Paintings
On the left is Vincent VanGogh’s 1885 painting “Head of a Peasant Woman”. On the right is a self- portrait of VanGogh underneath that painting discovered using a variety of art conservators’ tools. This is not uncommon and much more can be learned by an Internet search. This example came from Discover Magazine’s web site.
Face-off Friday Kitty
This 5” long kitty started with a wire armature I shaped like a cat. I filled it in with layers of papier mache, then covered it with used tea bags. It was the color I wanted but I thought it lacked interest, so I used the darker edges of the tea bags and glued them down to resemble orange Tabby cat stripes. The green eyes are leaf-shaped glass beads from my bead embroidery collection. The entire thing was preserved with a coating of Mod Podge. I guess I’m guilty once more of posting only half of a face!
I’m linking this post with DVArtist for “Face-Off Friday
Knitted and Felted Critter
Papier Mache and more Tea Bag Art
Needle-Felted Critter
Switching Gears to Tea Bag Art
Wet Needle-Felting
In organizing past projects I came across this 12x18” piece. It was folded and I fear that’s a permanent line. It was fun creating the scene with many different colored layers of dry wool roving on bubble wrap, spraying it down with warm soapy water, then rolling the whole thing back and forth until the fibers were flat and locked onto each other. I’ll have to think of different subject matter than my favorite sky, land and water though!
Part of a Face-off Friday
Bottle Baby Bear
I had decided to skip Face-Off Friday this week for lack of time, but then I noticed this cute fella in my sewing room from years ago. I probably showed him then on a different blog, but now he wants to be here for Face-Off Friday. I made many teddy bears back then but this is my only bottle bear. You can just see part of the Snapple bottle filled with smooth river stones forming his body under his mohair arms and head. His eyes are glass beads and his nose and mouth were embroidered with black yarn.
Watercolor Pencil Experiment
I wanted to see if I could use my Derwent watercolor pencils in the same way that I paint with acrylics on canvas. I like to haphazardly lay down acrylic paint until an image of something starts to reveal itself. I was also interested in trying different watercolor pencil colors. Being an experiment, I didn’t want to waste watercolor paper, so I used a sheet of 5x7”mixed media paper instead. It did not hold up and started to shed paper, so that was where I stopped. In spite of the many things I learned that could have been done better, I like this and decided to post it.