Autumn Equinox

Welcome Autumn with all the glorious warm colors of the changing leaves. I have a real affinity for these burnished reds, golds and olives especially with a touch of deep plum. This piece incorporates fabric collage, crazy quilt techniques and tons of fun supplies. Use photos of leaves from your yard or press a few in a heavy book. Let their beautiful colors and textures be a starting point for your own leaf art.

I'm hosting a MINGLE giveaway!

Stampington & Company is launching another great magazine- Mingle. It's a magazine devoted to exploring creative ways to bring friends and loved ones together for entertaining, inspiration and good times. As a published Stampington artist I will be receiving 2 issues of the new magazine in early October and one issue is reserved for a lucky blog reader! If you are interested in receiving the premier issue, send me details of one of your favorite ways to treat friends and family!

Details, details, details

I love the slick photos of clean, white interiors or beautiful, simple, solid colored clothing but I'm just not that kind of girl! Though I admire the restraint of simplicity, I revel in the intricacies of details. Complex layers of color, texture and meaning delight the senses and pull the viewer in for a closer look. Above are detail shots from 2 of my recent collages. Each centers around a flower portrait done in pastel (protected under Dura-Lar) but the backgrounds and supporting cast of trims, stitching and faux postage make the piece complete for me.

Changing Seasons/Changing Color Schemes

Just noticed the dogwood leaves are starting to turn red...autumn is showing her colors! My garden is looking very golden and russet- quite a change from the soft yellow, pink and lavender of just a few weeks ago. I love to draw the flowers from my garden and the three examples above show how my color palette changes from the fresh vibrant pastels of spring to summer's fantastic pinks to the deeper reds of fall. These pastels were done on hand dyed fabric. I use Golden Acrylic Pastel Ground on the fabric to create a toothy surface for the pastels. I cover them with Dura-Lar film so they can be used in my mixed media work.

Doodle like you mean it!

On a recent trip to New Orleans, complete with that long layover in Atlanta, I decided to put a tiny Moleskine journal in my purse for doodling. I admire art journalers who carry a kit with colors, glue stick, etc. but I carry a small purse wanted something more practical. The journal is 3.5" by 5.5" and very thin with exquisite smooth creamy paper. I love Artline black markers in .1mm. The tip is tiny for great detail work and it never gets mushy. Doodles like the ones shown here can take up to an hour to complete. Start with a basic outline of your subject then fill it in with more and more pattern. This is a great way to develop your repertoire of personal symbols and let them unfold in an organic way. You will find you return to the same shapes over and over again in your work. I scan the doodles then put them thru art filters and use them in my collage work. Doodling like this is a great way to keep your hands and mind busy and save yourself from thumbing thru outdated magazines when life makes you wait.