☆ May Give Away - WINNER!

JUMP

It's that time again. Thank you everyone who entered May's give away. I loved reading how you all deal with the crap days. Such inspiring ideas. Some made me laugh, (zombies are Mr Mac's way of dealing with stress too!) some made me contemplate they way I deal with crap days.

I wish I could give you all a painting, but the random generator has picked this months winner, who is...

sammmbam who said:

When I have a really bad day, I sit down and journal about it for awhile...writing down all of my feelings cleanses my mind from them.


Congratulations on winning this months painting!


Please send me an email, with your addy and I will pop it in the post for you.

Thanks everyone for entering, don't forget, there will be another give away next month!

☆ Faded [illustration friday]

'As the light Faded

she made a wish

 on the first star'

There is only one more day to enter this months GIVEAWAY. 

Click here to enter

Have a great week

☆ Where do Mermaids Stand? [inspiration avenue]

Mermaid Peek-A-Boo
AVAILABLE FOR SALE HERE
 8.3 x 5.8" (210 x 148 mm)

Every Wednesday Bean, Bug and I venture out and go to our local play group.

It's a great group, friendly people, with a wide variety of backgrounds, so it is always interesting, if not sometimes controversial. I am never bored.

One Wednesday, they were telling the kids the story of  Noah's Arc, and how everything and everyone except the people and animals on this arc were flooded. 

All the kids were nodding, were totally involved, and then my Bean pipes up. 

My beautiful, imaginative Bean says, "Except for the mermaids 'R'. The mermaids would have been ok, because they live in the water don't they."

R replies after looking startled, well of course Bean, the mermaids would have been just fine.

So where do mermaids stand? Right at the front of the queue according to my Beasties! Check out Inspiration Avenue this week for some amazing mermaids.

Don't forget to enter this months GIVEAWAY. Click here to enter there are only two more days to enter.

Have a great week

 

☆ Sight [illustration friday]

It was Love at first Sight

My illo-friday post is much later than normal, but casa de Mac has been held siege by a series of yucky tummy bugs.

If not me, then Bean, then Bug and Mr Mac. We were lucky that we didn't all come down together.

It was a bit like a lucky draw though, every morning, it was a bit like - who is todays lucky recipient of the ghastly bug? Any one? Every one?

Any way enough sick talk.

Sight. And Love at first sight is what I immediately thought with this weeks topic. Especially since it is only one week until my baby Bug is two.

(She tells me she is no longer a baby, but little does she know she will always been my baby!)

I remember feeling so over whelmed by this little beastie that lay in my arms, I remember spending long moments with her just looking at her, amazed by her.

I still amazed by her, by both of them really. I can't believe how quickly these two years have passed.

Have a great weekend

P.S Don't forget to enter this months GIVEAWAY. Click here to enter. Only 4 more days to enter!

☆ No Higher Compliment.

My friend has a little girl who the same age as my Bug, they are the best of friends, and worst enemies, (as they all are at this age), and like Bug, she has started to develop a fixation with Arial, and all things mermie.

So great friend that I am, for her second birthday I decided to paint her, her own Arial.

I figure, if my children are obsessed with mermaids, it is my civic duty to encourage that obsession within my friends kids.

(And now I can have some one to moan with when my girls start with their diva-ish mermaid behaviour.)

My friend sent me this photo last night, apparently she loves her Arial so much, she sleeps with the painting at night.

Every night.

There is no higher compliment.

This photo makes my heart lift.

This photo makes the struggles worth it.

☆ Art with Heart [inspiration avenue]

Art with Heart.

I think you can always tell when you have created something that has engaged your heart.

I think you always know when you have created something that hasn't engaged your heart.

When a painting doesn't  feel right, when it seems flat, I know that my heart isn't in it. I know that I've just gone through the motions. I know that I will never look at that painting again with out a lingering sense of sadness.

For this weeks inspiration avenue prompt Hettienne wrote such a beautiful piece about creating with heart, and living open hearted. I couldn't  have said it better myself.

And although my submission this week is not completely finished (due to my Beans highly contageous tummy bug) it started out with great heart involved. And one day I will finish her off. (Maybe when my tummy has finished turning itself inside out!)

Have a great week

P.S Don't forget to enter this months GIVEAWAY. Click here to enter

☆ Life Book [Week 15]

This weeks 'mini' lesson was from the fabulous Jane Davenport. 

She was sharing with us a new technique, that I hadn't ever thought of, which was pencil on acrylic and using a pencil blend solvent to blend it.

I didn't have any pencil blend solvent, but Jane used a blender pen which I do have.

But the blender pen didn't work for me, instead of smoothing the pencil and blending it, the pencil became.... I guess the word for it is mottled? 

You can see it above the left eye.

Maybe it was the type of acrylic paint I used or the paper (a medium water colour) but I decided against using the blender on the rest of the painting.

But in the end I really liked the effect of the pencil on the acrylic, so I kept on with out the solvent. Also I didn't have the luscious looking Prisma colour pencils, (I would love me some of these) but I used my old trusty faber castles, which I think were just as good. 

Such a fun technique, I found it relaxing, and freeing. I loved using the bright greens and pinks for shading. 

I am definitely going to try this again, after I purchase some solvent, try some different papers, some different acrylics, and see where I end up.

Great lesson this week, thanks Jane!

P.S Don't forget to enter this months GIVEAWAY. Click here to enter