29 watercolor trinkets

cut out and ready to play

Before cutting and trimming

I'm thinking of sewing them to a substrate.

I tried using iron-transfer paper,(wating to create felt charms) which I have used in the past but the same fabric, same iron, same felt doesn't work.

Oh well, I have another idea.

26 on my desk/worktable

Folk art shapes, and Matisse shapes cut from watercolor paper, 140lb.

A mixture of Matisse inspired cutouts and my folk art cutting files.

See the sepia post

I was trying out the Vicki Boutin watercolors. Rich saturated colors, and very smooth paint. The tubes are very small and don't match the labels. Very good to replace empty pans, nice bright colors without being fluorescent.

I am slowly upgrading to better watercolors. Even if you are using cheap brushes, which are my next upgrade, bright colors, and creamy consistency, that rewets easily are my top priority.

25 inspired by matisse

A few years ago while visiting the Blanton Museum in Austin Texas,(sorry no pictures, it has been a while). I made a few notes to myself.

The colors! This, of course, is my subjective interpretation.

I sketched a few shapes from his paintings and the cutouts

I then made then into cutting files

The files are in SVG format. When I placed them on the matt for cutting, I realized they were very small, so when I cut them again they will be much larger.

24 more folk flower mania

I am so inspired by the leaves and flowers making their spring

return. I started to create a rock path, so that I 

could find my way to the studio, now that the creosote 

bushes have grown taller.

Then I went crazy with the flowers. I traced some of the 

flowers I did previously

I created cutting files for my scan n cut and cut them 

using an ombre scrapbook paper cardstock.

Then it I got crazy. I cut a few from some painted papers. 

I took some soft pastels, and white and light cream/yellow 

colored pencils and embellished them, rubbing color on the 

tips with my fingers.

Of course, they have to audition to be in my tag book project.

As the sun began to set, the long shadows in the 

studio made for fun photography.

notes to myself:

It felt like the crescendo of creative energy illuminated,
then settling and as a personal message a positive
life-giving affirmation towards the thing I love to do.

The next day when I came back to more pictures. 

I call this my living ephemeral sketchbook. Photographing it 

almost captures my thought process.

There will be a time when the idea flow may wane so 

that I am able to put some of these things in a form, 

but now I am full on in creative mode.

23 fussy numbers

mixing everything together.

morning pages
folk flowers
valentines
doodles
painted pages

 Fussy numbers refer to how I was so into creating I forgot the order of the posts. 

artist's date

I am so done with fake artist dates that are excuses for buying supplies. (I'm talking about myself, your mileage may vary lol).

My favorite artist date, is to court, romance, and play with the essence of my creativity. often times we sneak away to meet. Mostly in the office, because that is where the music is.

We put on my our favorite eighties tunes and declare our love and devotion to fun, color, and exploration, of life and health.

I have a high appreciation for my creativity, and the love and j0y it has brought me over the years.

It hasn't always been an easy relationship. It is a demanding one where it is oftentimes forgotten that I am human and have limitations sorrows laziness longings delusions and other things I am working through.

On the other hand, sometimes I have raged against the demands, challenges quit many times, (really, like for a few hours) but the essence of Creativity has always been fun, loyal, amazing, and up for transformation.

Over time, I have learned that limitations and challenges are gold, and your freedom is in dragging your baggage along not letting it stop you until you are able to see the value in it, put it in storage, or lighten your load.

A lot of times we can't go to the next goal or manifest what we want because joy comes with a challenge, to grow your character at your weak point.

On my artist date, I allow myself to fill me with ecstatic dancing and try to use this energy in my art, cooking, love, and health.

I'll have more to say about this, and describe specific dates as we go along.