Mixed Media Collage

Once a year Create in Irvine, gives a wide range of art classes days and evenings for 4 days. Last week I took a class with Chris Cozen on how to create a deeply layered collage.  Chris taught us to use a variety of mostly handmade papers and some fibers, that we tear and adhere to our canvas with matte medium to block out the colors and shapes for our piece. After that part is done, we then used acrylic paint, adding glaze to lengthen the time the paint remains wet and workable. Chris is a very knowledgeable and good teacher and I learned a lot from her. This collage is from a photograph I took while in Ketchikan, Alaska. It now resides (temporarily I hope!) in my space at The Word is ART Gallery.

Quotes about Art

My friend and artist Cody recently turned 17. Her mom and I have been friends for thirty some odd years! When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she requested I make her something. Last night I made this book for her. I started with a Tim Holtz book kit that had the cardboard front and back, the ruler decoration, nuts and bolts and 10 plain paper pages. The background lettered image is a torn out portion of a print of a painting I did on canvas. I then used an old washer, a piece of old denim jeans, a leftover escort card and used calligraphy nibs to embellish the cover. I used some earth tone rubber stamps to color the paper with the book title as well as the fabric ribbon.

I took the blank pages and used liquid acrylic paints to create a variety of abstract backgrounds. I used paper towels and sponges to manipulate the paint. This is one of my favorite quotes.

After painting all ten pages, I added the calligraphy. I totally winged it and didn't do a layout or use guidelines...(which shows, but I tell myself that's part of its charm : )

And finally a view from the top so you can see all of the colors of the pages together. I'm happy to say Cody loved the book and was familiar with most of the quotes!

Paintings

I've been so busy, both with calligraphy work and doing art for the gallery, I haven't shown you my new paintings! My challenge has been to communicate emotion through my paintings. As a relatively new painter, maybe this is just part of the exploration. I was whining to a friend about how I was stuck...okay, I was crying in frustration. She told me to hang up and paint. Boy was that good advice. This is probably my most emotive painting yet. In fact it sold the night of my gallery event on February 2nd!

This one started out as a woman floating and reaching towards the stars. It was meant to be ethereal. Well after three hours of working on it, it didn't look at all as I had intended so I took a tube of blue acrylic paint and squeezed it over the canvas. I then took a paper towel and smeared it into the canvas. The effect was pretty textural and interesting. I proceeded to use various colors and paper towels and sponges to create this piece. No brush used at all. Not very environmentally sound, but I do like the final painting.

Since the theme in the window was loosely related to Valentine's Day, or more generally about love, all kinds of love, my idea here was to make it look a bit like an old Valentine's postcard.

For this mixed media piece, I used and 8 x 8 wood board. I applied a few colors of acrylic paint, used a few rubber stamps and the very top layer of a decorative napkin for texture. The verbiage was composed by my friend Bill since this is a gift he is giving his wife for Valentine's Day.

This is another 8x8 on wood with the same materials and techniques as the painting above.

The Word is ART Event!

I'm excited to share this upcoming event. I'm going to be the featured artist at the gallery for 3 weeks. Which means my work is in the window and there's an evening event to come see art and have some fun. In addition, 20% of all sales of my art during the three weeks will go to support BunnyLuv Rabbit Resource Center. If you're in the area, I would love it if you came by.

Winter Envelope Exchange

This December I participated in an envelope exchange through the Society for Calligraphy. The calligraphy is a variation of copperplate. It was really fun to create this snowy scene. I received a very cute snowman design envelope from Florence!

The Word is ART

I am ecstatic to tell you about a new gallery that is going to open on the 17th of November. And...I'm going to be an artist in the gallery! My good friend Renee Troy has had a dream to open her own gallery for as long as I have known her. About six weeks ago, Renee rented a beautiful space in Culver City and has been collecting artists and fixing up the place at record speed. It's shaping up beautifully. Above is the invitation I made up for the opening. Below is a sampling of just some of the artists' work. 

I've dabbled in watercolors and in jewelry making, but I never imagined I would be in a gallery. I know this will be a wonderful experience of growth for me. I am eternally grateful to Renee for continuing to be a shining example of creativity, strength and courage to move forward in life and keep evolving.

Below are examples of some of my work in the gallery. If you're anywhere near the area, it would be wonderful if you came by to check it out.

Oh So Beautiful Paper

I'm thrilled to share a post on Oh So Beautiful Paper . Several calendars are featured...and the one I did for Sugar Paper (see previous post) was one of them!

 I'm so excited to show you the lettering I did for Sugar Paper's new calendar! I love their choice to print in white on craft. Hope you like it too.

New Style

The style I"m using here is based on a popular new font, Carolyna. I've gotten lots of requests recently to do this script which is nice because I always have fun utilizing a wide variety of styles!

Outrageous?

I was cleaning out a cabinet full of supplies for mixed media projects (finally!) and found this scrap of lettering I had done at least a couple of years ago. I think it was something I was going to use for a round robin journal group I participated in. Anyway, I threw away tons of useless stuff I had collected over the years but thought this was kind of fun to show you.

Script Table Names

I just completed these table name signs for a client. Since the pointed pen can only make a line so thick, after doing the lettering with the gold gouache, I went back in with my pen to make all the thick lines thicker. The style is a variation of copperplate.

Wedding Invitation

This invitation is another pretty one produced by Sugar Paper. The client had requested this style of calligraphy for their names and then later wanted to add a coordinating monogram. The bride, Rebecca, really wanted an interesting ampersand to help make their monogram unique. Using pointed pen, copperplate style, I was able to create something she was happy with. I always find it especially inspiring and exciting to design something totally new and customized for each invitation.

Beloved

A friend and favorite client of mine, was asked to contribute a piece of fabric to be incorporated into the chuppah for an upcoming wedding. Janis came to me to letter this quote onto a handkerchief that she provided. It's fourteen inches square and very thin. I went to the art store to get fabric markers, but they didn't have the calligraphy tip that I wanted. I bought several pens and thankfully one of them worked without bleeding ~ the Marvy calligraphy marker. I sketched out the quote on tissue paper then using my light box, tautly taped the handkerchief over the layout and did my writing. I had to work fast to prevent any bleeding so it would have been better in the end to use a fabric marker. I'm just happy Janis liked it and hope the bride and groom do, too!

The Giving Tree

Bunny Luv is a rabbit shelter, rescue and resource center that I have been involved with for years. They recently did a fundraiser and asked me to create this poster for them. It's 50 x 92 inches! Since I have a small apartment, I taped the paper to a wall in the hallway outside my place to do the painting. A couple of neighbors were hoping it would remain on the wall since it added some nice color! I used acrylic paint for the tree and bunny. When I realized it would take forever to paint individual leaves (what was I thinking?), I tried making a leaf stamp out of a sponge, then a potato, but they just didn't look right. I ended up making a leaf out of cardboard, dipped it in paint and used that as a stamp. 

I cut apples out of red construction paper and lettered in white gouache. Each apple has a donation amount and the gift you will win when you donate. Some are gift cards to stores, products and services. When a donation is made in that amount and a gift chosen, the apple is removed from the tree. If you're interested in donating, you can go to Bunny Luv's website.

At the base of the tree is a painting of my sweet 9 year old rabbit Mocha. He passed away in February and I couldn't resist this tribute to him. Mocha was a rescue from Bunny Luv and I used to call him my velvet boy because his Rex fur was so so soft. He used to hang out with me whenever I was on the computer. I miss him terribly. 

Because my other rabbit, Maddie, also from Bunny Luv, was so lonely after Mocha died, I had to get her a new companion. Also a rescue, Dashell, has become our new family member. When I brought in the poster to add the calligraphy, I had it draped over my coffee table to work on it. The photos below will show you how that went! Dashell is the multicolored rabbit, Maddie, the gray and white.

Funny, it doesn't smell like a tree!

Hey, where's the trunk?

And finally, hiding underneath the tented coffee table.

 Peekaboo!

Sweet 16

My good friend Susan's daughter Cody, whom I adore, recently celebrated her 16th birthday. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she requested I do several of her favorite Dr. Seuss quotes on canvas. It was my pleasure and joy do this piece for her. I surprised Cody by including three of her own fantastic illustrations in the piece. Cody is a very talented artist. Check out her work here .

A Bright New Year

I don't often do illustration, so when this request came from a client, I was happy to oblige. They provided some tree images that they particularly liked and I went about sketching the trees to surround the photo they would place in the center. Sugar Paper then set type and letter pressed the cards in this happy yellow.

Pink & Black Wedding

Another beautifully designed invitation by Sugar Paper. For this one I was asked to provide the calligraphy for just the bride and groom's names and words to highlight the other two pieces. We also used just the initials of the couple for the return address and response envelope. I like the simplicity of this invitation suite and love the addition of the pink letterpress on the borders.

Vanity Fair Event

Wednesday night Vanity Fair, along with Anna Zegna and Colin Firth and his wife Livia, hosted a dinner at Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. It was a fundraiser for Oxfam, an international organization that works in over 90 countries to end poverty and injustice. I was hired by Vanity Fair to personalize the menus with each guest's name. In addition to calligraphing the menus, I was asked to be on site in case they needed any last minute changes or additions. The dinner for 50 people took place in one of the charming bungalows at the hotel. Having never been there before, it was fun to see such a pretty hotel. I was there for about 3 hours and had the opportunity to meet photographers as well as people working for Entertainment Tonight, Vanity Fair and the designer. Colin and Livia came in early before the guests arrived. I was so close to them, I thought about hugging Colin, but decided that would probably be inappropriate : ) It was interesting to hear them talk about the reasons they were involved in this good cause. (I also enjoyed a mushroom truffle tart...okay, two, and a glass of wine) If you'd like to see a slide show of some of the guests, you can check it out here .

Valentine Card Take 2

Here's an addition to my last post showing the same greeting card in hot pink with gold foil stamp.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A new lettering design I did for Sugar Paper. I love that they used white letterpress on the kraft paper, plus who could resist the cute lining. Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Wedding Certificate

This was such a nice project to work on. First of all, Jennifer from Joie de Vivre is such a sweetheart to work with. And secondly, the story of the couple that I did the certificate for warms my heart. Apparently, Ed is 90 and Angie is in her 70's. They had both lost their spouses after being caregivers for about 10 years. Ed signed up for online dating and Angie's kids signed her up. That's how they found each other and fell in love. There are pencil lines for each of their wedding guests to sign the certificate.The script here is pointed pen and the body copy is italic.

Sonoma Logo Design

I'm excited to show you a logo design I did for a new online magazine. I've been working with the lovely founder, Erica, and have seen the site develop into something quite wonderful. Sonoma Christian Home is up and running. There are some great articles, photos and recipes. Now it's time for me to design her business card. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project

A friend just introduced me to a great blog! The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project is a global artistic effort to inspire people to reach out and help animals by raising funds for no kill animal rescue groups, sanctuaries, and shelters. With donated images of some incredible artist's animal art, they sell handmade greeting cards, buttons, magnets, and pocket mirrors. 80% of every sale is donated to the chosen charity of the month. The painting above, of bunnies from Bunny Luv Rabbit Rescue, is one of two that I donated for the cause. I'm really excited to be part of F.A.R.P.!

Me and Deb

I surprised my friend Debbie with this watercolor painting of the two of us for her birthday. Knowing Deb embraces how we age and is comfortable with some gray hair and lines, I did the portrait to reflect our age (mostly : ) If I had had my way, we would have no wrinkles and probably look at least five years younger!








When Debbie and I first met, it was as if we had known each other our whole lives. We started asking each other the usual questions, you know, where did you grow up, go to school, jobs, groups, etc. We discovered that we were born at the same hospital, the same year, just one day apart, and, her last name started with a G and mine with an H. In those days (yes, the olden days) moms and babies weren't sent home right away, babies were in the nursery side by side alphabetically. Aha, that's how we knew each other!