Paint Party Friday!

My first how to video.Sealing Alcohol Ink Art with UV Protecant. Pa Everyone in the Alcohol Ink Artists Group on Facebook always wonders how I seal the inks with Liquitex brush on varnish. They have problems with the inks running and have to use a spray first. I don't have that problem. So I thought I'd demonstrate how to do it. I use this on yupo paper, tile, porcelain, dominos any surface.

Remember these important points:
1) make sure the ink is dry.
2) use a soft brush with no residue of hard varnish or alcohol ink or alcohol.
3) use a very thin coat
4) brush one time and that is it
5) let it dry well and then you can do another coat if necessary.

For more of my alcohol ink art visit Http://inkcentricart.etsy.com

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Paint Party Friday

Woo hoo it's Paint Party Friday.....and here's another of my alcohol ink art. This is on yupo paper which I love working with.

It's been such crappy weather I have been longing for summer. Can you tell from my subject?

 I haven't gotten it up on Etsy yet...one of these days. Anyway, I just love love love shells and had a good time piling up some of my shells for this still life. I sketched in the shells first, put down the inks in the background and then lifted out the inks in the area of the shells. Then I went back in with a dry brush and did the details. I just love this piece almost as much as my shell collection.

For more of my alcohol ink art visit Http://inkcentricart.etsy.com

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Paint Party Friday

Happy Paint Party Friday! Today's feature is another alcohol ink painting.  I'm really wishing it were summer...this has been a rough winter. I am looking forward to feeling the water on my toes and the warm sun on my face......

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Paint Party Friday

Happy Paint Party Friday! Today's painting is one of my alcohol ink paintings. This medium is a lot of fun but it's a real challenge in learning how to control the inks. But the results are fabulous.

Anyway this is a larger piece 9x14. I am usually a small format painter so the size was also a challenge as well.   I am planning on having prints made of this one. A few weeks ago I had prints made of my other alcohol ink art and put them in my Etsy shop:  Http://InkCentricArt.etsy.com

The prints were made on metallic photographic paper. It is so cool. When the print catches the light it looks as if the painting were done on tin. What a fabulous complement to the inks. Really cool.

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Paint Party Friday

Woo hoo  Party Friday. Today's feature is a piece of painted porcelain. I did this tray a few months ago. I used a maple leaf that  I painted on the back with china paints. It was pressed against the china to transfer the image. Then I smoothed out the paint and added some where necessary and fired it in the kiln

 It's hard to see in this photo but the words to the right is the St. Francis of Assisi Peace Prayer. It is gold lettering. No I didn't do the lettering I cheated and used a  kiln fired decal but if you saw my handwriting you'd know why!

The prayer reads:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life..

This piece of porcelain is available in my Etsy shop. Here's the link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/172475024/kiln-fired-fall-leaf-with-st-francis?ref=shop_home_active_16

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For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Paint Party Friday

8x10 Adirondack Alcohol Ink on Yupo Paper

This week's painting for Paint Party Friday is another alcohol ink..... a Zebra!  I hope you won't get tired of my ink paintings.
Boy was this fun to paint. I drew him in, masked out the zebra and then poured the inks out with the blending solution for the background. When working on a large piece like this one was, it's hard to get the ink to move the way I want it without it setting up.  I wasn't really crazy about how my background looked but since the painting was originally 9x12  I could cut it down to 8x10 to cut out some of my mess.  After I did the background I removed the mask.  I next painted in the black stripes, nose, eyes and ears. I lifted out the ink around the nostrils, ears and mouth.

  Then I came back and put shadows on the white stripes with ink in almost dry brush.  To bring out the details on the black areas and to put in the mane and tail I used an alcohol ink marker. I still wasn't happy with the area behind the butt of the zebra so I put some trees back there to hide my mess.

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Oh and if you are an Alcohol Ink Artist or if you just love the way it looks, you can be a part of our Facebook Group, Alcohol Ink Artists:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/225738610939730/

Paint Party Friday

5x7 alcohol ink on Yupo paper

Oh boy, it's been a long time since I participated in Paint Party Friday.

With all that's gone on in my life over the past year, I was unable to be routine about the blog ring.

 But here I am and I'm so excited because I can share with my fellow painters my newest medium....alcohol ink. Here's a piece I did just this week. I'm loving this.

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Oh and if you are an Alcohol Ink Artist or if you just love the way it looks, you can be a part of our Facebook Group, Alcohol Ink Artists:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/225738610939730/


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The piece shown is available in my Etsy shop   http://InkcentricArt.Etsy.com

It's Finished! Woo Hoo

So remember this plate of the Holy Family that I  blogged about a while ago. I finally finished it. The photo on the left shows it in "first fire". That is the first application of color. Notice how light it is.

Believe it or not it took me 10 fires in the kiln. Painting on china requires building up the color and firing in the kiln in between.

 It took that many fires to get the depth of color in the background. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It looks much better in person. It's a very large plate...10 inches in diameter.  I still think the Blessed Mother could use a little more work on the face but for now I'm finished. At least I think so.

But you never know, I might later go back and put some kind of other detail on the edge. Maybe some enamel or luster...not sure.

Happy Paint Party Friday!  For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Pretty Paint Party Friday

 Happy Paint Party Friday....Most Tuesday nights I go to a decorative painting class. It's taught by my friend Kathy Anthony of Beyond Brushstrokes.

It's always fun to paint with friends.  This past month we were painting this beautiful stroke work design.

I'm not crazy about stroke work but it is good practice. It's one of those things that I make myself do...like landscapes I suck at them but I make myself paint them from time to time.

The other's painted it on a very large tray. For some time I have had this green bowl with the wood top and have wanted to paint something on it. So when this project came up I just decided to do it on it. It made it a little more challenging because that meant the design was much smaller than it was designed to be but it worked out okay.

And here is the finished product!

On another topic...here's LeeLu. The other day I was sitting in my sun room with my phone and she kept wanting to "use" the phone so I turned on the camera and took a photo of her. Can you hear her say cheese?  


For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Paint Party Friday on the 13th

Friday the 13th....Happy Paint Party Friday and here's hoping you have a lucky day. Maybe I'll go to the Casino LOL....Well here's my post for PPF. Once a month I go to a Ladies Night at Clay Bakers in Annapolis. It's one of those places you pick out a piece of ceramic bisc paint on it, then they dip it in clear glaze and fire it for you. Ladies Night is fun because I go with a couple of ladies I used to work with before I retired. I always paint at least two things.

Usually I know just want I want to do but this month I was stumped about what to paint so I was flipping through some of their books there. I found these whimsical aquatic designs. I really liked them. So here they are.

What to do with them. Keep them. Give them to gifts. Put them in my Etsy shop? Oh I know. I have a friend who's opening a shop in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. She's been at me to put some things in the shop which will open next season. So maybe I'll paint more in this design and send them there...it's right up her alley. What do you think?

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Paint Party Friday!

Before

After

Happy Paint Party Friday! I love painting these rosary boxes. I painted this one and then I thought to myself...it needs something else. So I went and mixed up some "pen oil" with my china paints and penned in some scrolls. I think it looks much better. Excuse the green cast on the second photo. I tried to fix the color in photo shop but I'm not so good at that sort of thing.

The coloring is more accurate in the first photo but you get the idea with the scrolling. The crazy color cast was because I photographed it on a green back ground.  I need to rephotograph it so I can get it up in my Etsy shop...

Speaking of rosary boxes. I had someone ask me to paint one for a man. She wanted a flower on it..single rose but I was thinking, that's not very manly. She was from Arizona so I looked on line to see what their state flower was. Turns out it is the Saguaro Cactus. It occurred to me that cacti are more manly than a rose so I asked her if she minded if I did the cactus and here's how it turned out. She was more than delighted and I was very happy with how it turned out.

Happy Paint Party Friday.

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Experimenting with Texture

Well I love it when I can experiment with something new. I bought some crackle texture and applied it to a canvas, thicker in some parts so that it would crack deeply and thinner in some areas where there would be less cracks.  I left some of the canvas not covered so the texture of the canvas would show through.

Then I used a stencil to put a thicker layer for a fleur de lis in the lower right corner.  Using acrylic (Americana) paints, after it dried thoroughly I base coated the canvas, did my painting of grapes &; then antiqued it at bit with burnt umber. But that made the grapes look darker so I rehighlighted the middle grapes so they stood out more.

I found this old frame I had laying around the house and it was perfect because it has a raised design in it.
I call this piece Tuscan Memories......what do you think.

Happy Paint Party Friday.

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Painting Outside the Comfort Zone

I belong to a China Painting club, The China Painting Artists of Maryland.

After business meetings we generally do some sort of painting or demonstration. One day we did this new technique with our china paints. Instead of mixing the paint pigments with oil, we used sugar water and then painted the tree design. Then it was fired in the kiln.  The next go round I used lusters dabbed on as leaves and then a luster to indicate the ground.

It's different from the kind of painting I'm used to. I like the traditional painting and I'm not much into abstract or modern art but this was a fun experiment.

Happy Paint Party Friday.

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Paint Party Friday!

So lately I have been making cards. In fact I made all my Christmas cards this year. I made a bunch of  Get Well and Birthday cards and I've given most of them away.

The other day I made a bunch of Valentine's Day cards that I hope to get up on Etsy.

I have a ton of paper these days...I'm become quite the paper addict. Anyway, I was thinking one day when I was getting ready to paint these Angel ornaments that it would be cool to combine the paper and paint. So here it is. I just LOVE the way it looks. I painted the wings and faces but the dresses are scrapbook paper with embellishment. I also did some snowmen  but I did the hats in paper. And, I did some snowflakes that way. They are all in my Etsy shop. Go take a look: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JYWheeler?section_id=5261008....Happy Paint Party Friday!

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Paint Party Friday

It's sure been warm here. We've got spring for the first days of winter here on the East Coast and I'm really enjoying it.....well enough of the weather report. Today's post for Paint Party Friday is a butterfly watercolor ACEO. I love butterflies. There is a bush next to my parent's which always has a ton of butterflies on it.

Recently I've gotten in to card making. I was thinking one day that it might be fun to combine my art with my card making and so my Art on a Card was born. It's an original ACEO in plastic adhered to a handmade card.  So it's a Greeting & Gift in One!!!!   The ACEO slides easily out of the plastic. The card is blank inside. I have 4 so far in my shop. More to come.

For more Paint Party Features visit:  http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

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Link to this card on my etsy shop: 


http://www.etsy.com/listing/72640673/art-on-a-card-watercolor-aceo-original

Paint Party Friday

Well last week I missed the PPF. I had things painted just didn't get to blog about it. Well this one I painted while I was in Ocean City, Md for Mother's Day weekend. It was so beautiful that morning I couldn't resist. It's an ACEO. The nice thing about painting an ACEO (2.5 x 3.5 inches) is that you can easily carry your painting supplies and paper along with you.

It's available in my Etsy shop ArtfulPurpose:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/74258865/watercolor-aceo-original-sunrise

Paint Party Friday

Today's painting is on porcelain. I love how these turned out. I was inspired by spring. The leafing out of all the trees and vines. I get so excited when I see the first buds on the trees. 

Here's a set of salt & pepper shakers and napking rings. I actually painted 8 of the napkin rings.  First I applied the blue pearl luster fired it and then painted the vine and leaves.  For the napkin rings I put a band of blue tape where I wanted the vine to go.  I love how these.  They are in my Etsy shop. I just put them up this week. The links are below.


Check out some awesome Paint Party Friday art visit this link: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com
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Napkin Rings: http://www.etsy.com/listing/73442585/handpainted-porcelain-napkin-rings
Salt & Pepper  http://www.etsy.com/listing/73442885/handpainted-porcelain-salt-pepper

Paint Party Friday

Another fabulous Paint Party Friday. Today's PPF post is an ACEO. It is watercolor.

It's making me a little crazy because I see something wrong that needs to be corrected. If I get time today I may try to change it. But for right now, it will have to stay this way. It's already in my Etsy shop. Oh my. Well can you see it? Take a guess. Saturday I'll post a comment to tell you what's making me nuts and we can compare notes.

Anyway on to another subject. I was watching the news this morning at the devastation in the south. It breaks my heart to see the damage and the loss of life. Keep those affected by the storms in your prayers. They are most certainly on my mind and in my prayers. I hope none of you are affected by them.


Check out some awesome Paint Party Friday art visit this link: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com
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The link to the Lily in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72642103/watercolor-aceo-original-water-lily

Paint Party Friday

This week's PPF ACEO is a watercolor....inspired by my wish for summer! LOL I call it Welcome Summer!

This week we had the taste of summer. One day of 80 degree weather...alas it didn't stay. The next day it was like 50.........burrr....but I'm thankful we don't have snow like some of my facebook friends!

Check out some awesome Paint Party Friday art visit this link: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com
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The link to my butterfly ACEO in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/72640673/watercolor-aceo-original-butterfly

Paint Party Friday

Boy the weather was nice Thursday after a bout of rainy days, it was a welcomed sight! All this rain will bring beautiful flowers which reminds me of this little ACEO I painted recently.

It's available in myArtfulPurpose etsy shop: Click Here

This is going to be a fun Friday for me. I'm taking my grandson to the Train Museum in Baltimore. I've never been but I have heard some awesome reviews of it. They even have train rides there. Hopefully we will be able to get on one.

Check out some awesome Paint Party Friday art visit this link: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com