"Latest Trends" Group Branches Out

The Latest Trends in Mixed Media group is branching out with a new group for those who are new to mixed media. It will teach basic techniques and hopefully answer any questions people may have. You can join this group by clicking on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Artists_Circle.
Lori Roberts will be the main group Mom and some of the rest of us from the Latest Trends group will help moderate.

Avila Beach Photos

We could see the golf course from our balcony also. This was the 11th hole. Players would tee off across the water to the left.

Mission San Luis Obispo with flowers and shadows.

Avila Barn- a wonderful place to buy local produce and lots of products from CA.

I liked the light coming through the Avila Pier's posts.

We saw several surfers; some waves were pretty high!

Avila Beach Vacation

Here are a few images from our vacation.
There was a group of birds sitting on this log who looked as if they were deliberately posing for photos.
The San Luis Bay Inn where we stayed.
Interesting textures in this seaweed shot.
A close-up of a pelican.
The beach and cliff was the view from our balcony. We enjoyed this vacation so much we are returning next September!

Correction!

The image of the cute little boy and pumpkin is from Inka's Stamps, not Twisted Papers. I stand corrected! Sorry Inka!

Here are the three abstract fabric postcards I am mailing to members of TheLatestTrendsinMixedMediaArt group. Fun and fast to make! I used peltex for the stiffener, batik and hand-dyed fabrics, a hand-carved stamp image and some pigma pen embellishments. I used a patterned muslin for the back so that I could write the mailing info right onto the fabric. One of these has to make it all the way to a little island in the UK. Hope it makes it!!

Technique Junkie Newsletter

My scrunchie technique is featured in the October issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. A member of the newsletter asked me if she could submit the technique and I agreed. it is always a thrill to see one's name in print! Thanks Pat for publishing my technique!

Harvest ATCs

Here are 4 ATCs made with a Twisted Papers image for the Latest Trends in Mixed Media Arts group. I used a variety of Golden fluid acrylics for the background, then used leaf stencils. I sponged some interference green (YS) and then spattered some dark paint left over from painting art tissue. I found some old autumn magazine pages that someone had scrapped years ago, and tore them for a base for the image. I used parts of 2 autumn poems; one by Emily Dickinson and one by Edna St.Vincent Millay. I distressed the cards and text with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo distress inks. Lastly I tied some raffia that I then fingerpainted with a bit of copper fluid acrylic.

A Winner!

The collage pictured below actually went and won 2nd place in our Harvest Fair. I was so pleased to hear it. It was my first entry into a juried art show, and my first collage using the hand painted papers. What an encouragement to continue creating and perhaps even submitting to another show sometime.

Framed and Ready

This is my piece framed and ready for the Harvest Fair. It was a strange feeling to take it and drop it off. Kind of like leaving one of your kids at school for the first time! The lady who checked it in was very nice and really liked it. That was encouraging for this first-time exhibitor! I will let you know how it does. It is priced at $600.00; over half of which is to cover the framing costs. Live and learn regarding how to price things.

Emboss Resist Technique ATCs

Here are the ATCs I made using the Bernie Berlin Emboss Resist technique for Arttechniquesatcs. The lovely lady images are from Twisted Papers. It was fun making the resist backgrounds.

AOM for September- Monet

Here is a sample ATC I painted for the Arttechniquesatcs group. We feature an artist each month and September's is Monet. I love his waterlily paintings, and was inspired by a portion of one of his. It was hard mimicking his style in a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" format!

In Case You Are Wondering...

I can post that the reason a group of us started TheLatestTrendsinMixedMediaArt yahoo group is that we have been working and working on a book proposal of the same name that we will be submitting to publishers for a (hopefully) next year publish date. Book proposals are very involved; but it has been a fun and learning experience. I will keep you posted here and we also will keep you posted in the group. We are VERY excited about this endeavor and hope you are also! We love mixed media/altered art and want very much for this to happen!

"Aged Paper- Fall Colors- Brass Charm" ATC swap

These ATCs were made for a swap with Arttechniquesatcs. We were to use aged paper, fall colors and a brass charm on each card. I have been enjoying painting tissue papers and layering them for backgrounds. So, that is what the backgrounds are. The brown texture comes from added coffee grounds to the paint. The leaves are either a crayon batik or a faux rust technique.

This ATC is called "The Leaves Last Act". I wanted to use these drama mask charms.

Loads of Treasure!!!!

I wanted to share more about the TREASURE HUNT for the group TheLatestTrendsinMixedMedia Arts. Terrific sponsors are filling up our treasure chests with bounty! Hannah Grey, ArtChix Studio, Twisted Papers, Outside the Margins, Time to Stamp, Altered Pages, Vintage Charmings, Altered Arts, Julie Andrus- your favorite vendors! Be sure to click on the link to become a charter member of this fantasitc online art group!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLatestTrendsinMixedMediaArts.

Treasure Hunt Coming!

TheLatestTrendsinMixedMediaArts is planning a treasure hunt! The link to join this group is in my links list at the right side of my blog. Great prizes will be awarded! You don't want to miss out on this and other fun happenings.

Colors Over Wine Country

This is a handpainted paper collage I have been working on to submit to the Harvest Fair. The colors are a bit brighter in person. There are metallic paints, antique text, antique maps, glitter, gold mica flakes, coffee grounds incorporated into the painted papers. It is 15 x 20 unframed. The framing is next!

Emboss Resist and Emboss Resist Scrap Paper

Here is another 8 1/2 x 11 sample of the emboss resist method. The pink was the bottom color, the green the top. I thought the scrap paper came out interestingly also. Where the embossing powder transferred to the scrap paper is translucent. If i put colored paper under that piece the color shows through. Pretty cool for a scrap piece! Make sure you check yours out when you do this technique. I will cut up the green/pink cardstock for ATC-sized cards. Enjoy this swap!

Emboss Resist 2

You can see in this example that the embossing worked more clearly. That is because I totally covered the paper with the drybrush second color. I started with green and did the blue on top. I used a variety of stamps to see how they would work. Again, this was on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock. Hope this encourages you to try this technique. Since acrylics dry so quickly, you can finish one piece pretty fast.

Emboss Resist

Although hard to see in this scan, the stamped images are showing through the two overlay colors of lavendar and gold. I used a triadic color combo of aqua, rust and lavendar. I added the metallic gold on top because I wanted to see what it would look like. In person, it looks pretty good. I added some black stamping to the page also (didn't scan that one). This was done on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock. I will then cut it down for using as ATCS (Artists Trading Cards). These will then be embellished for a swap for the Arttechniquesatcs group. The Emboss-Resist technique is from Bernie Berlin's book.

A NEW Yahoo Group Begins September 15

I am very excited to be part of a NEW Yahoo Art Group which will begin taking new members SEPTEMBER 15. It is called TheLatestTrendsinMixedMediaArts. We will begin with a Treasure Hunt that will have great prizes from some of your favorite vendors! There will be instructions in all kinds of art projects, a great artists' gallery, and much more! Be sure to sign up from the beginning so you can get in on the first Treasure Hunt. As the date gets closer, I will share more. Some of the best artists I know are co-moderating this group with me. So be sure to sign up SEPTEMBER 15!