Barns, Prismas and Impression Obsession

I just received my first order from Impression Obsession last week. I chose a barn and a covered bridge by Gary Robertson and they are simply gorgeous! The stamp images are so crisp and clean, with exquisite detail. They stamp like a dream and just itch to be colored! The service was super fast:) I gotta have MORE, my wish list a longer than a country mile! I want the water mill, the old farm bell, an old country school, a window full of flowers, an old wheel borrow full of flowers ohhh their floral images are gorgeous! I can't wait to get my Prismas on them.

This one is called Daylilly Barn G1155. It reminds me of the barn on our farm back in Indiana where some type of orange daylilies grew wild along side the road. I've entered it in the "Oldies But Goodies" Challenge on the Impression Obsession Blog

This one is called Covered Bridge Scene

When I was a little girl, there were several covered bridges in southern Indiana.

Shoes with Tailfins Vrrooomm

Prada's new spring line includes a group inspired by 1950's automobiles, called “Greased Lightning.”

Gee, my idea of fashion footwear is Keen, SAS or Birkenstock. Why on earth would I buy a pair of comfortable shoes for around $100 when for a mere $1,400 I could have 4 and a half inch heels that look like a car. I mean seriously, what WAS I thinking?

Article

You can buy them at Bergdorf's

I wonder if DH would be turned on at the sight of me wearing rocket boosters on my shoes? Then there would be the sight of the price tag which would quite literally send him into congestive heart failure. Or the sight of me tumbling to my death from 4 and a half inches.

Seriously, how does one walk in 4 ½ inch heels? It must change your gait and your posture. I bet the air is different up there, you could get nosebleeds, or altitude sickness. Prada could make even more money selling insurance policies to wear these shoes.

Playing with Prismas

I was taught to use colored pencils while in college. I can still hear Dr. B saying, “no tree is just one shade of green, you must layer colors, don't give me coloring book pages.” I don't have a lot of drawing talent. I can draw, but it's nothing special and I really don't love it, so rubber stamp art suits me well.

Coloring rubber stamps presents some challenges, like size and the fact that the image is already drawn and stamped in one color. A popular approach among stampers is to use Gamsol to pull color from one part of the image to other, leaving some white to serve as the light source. This kind of contradicts what I was taught, because there is little or no layering of colors. I continue to struggle with applying a light source in a stamped image, and try to learn new things that help me improve. I find it hard to leave a bit of white for the highlight when I'm layering multiple colors in the small space that a stamp image provides. I watched three colored pencil videos this weekend. They each have a slightly different approach. 

One uses a bit of pencil, no layering of colors which allows for a lot of white for the light source. Inky Antics

The next one uses a couple colors, a bit more pencil on the paper, which still allows for a bit of white for the light source. Gina K

The last one uses multiple pencil colors layering them for vibrant colors.. Instead of leaving white for the light source, the lightest color in the layers is the light source. Hero Arts

The last one is more like what I do, and what I admire in other people's work. I really like the vibrancy and depth that layering colors provides. I now know that I can't leave white paper for the light. I'll continue to use a lighter shade, white, or subtractive color with an eraser.

So, now I'll focus on WHERE to put the highlights! I was discussing this with my friend Dina Kowal, and she shared her general rules on shading from her blog:

Shaded areas:
areas that appear to be further away or curving away
areas that are lower
areas that appear to be behind something else

Highlighted areas:
areas that appear to be closer or curving toward me
areas that are higher
areas that appear to be in front of something else

The three images above are North Woods. An online friend and I exchanged images. Thanks Silvia!!

Messy Messy Messy!

You know, a while back I posted on a forum about my art/craft space being neat...

This is NOT neat! I mean look at the tiny little space where I'm actually working. The rest of the desk is covered with stuff.  And  you should see the futon on the other side of the room! On one end of the futon are the Ireland scrapbooks that I finally finished, in the middle there's a pile of stamps I want to sell but am too afraid to use PayPal, and current projects take up the other end. Geesh! Oh, so why am I afraid to use PayPal?  No matter how many people tell me they've had no problems, I am NOT going to give anyone any bank account numbers - identify theft is too much of a pain in the neck. So this pile of stamps has been sitting there for over a month.  It's crossed my mind to post it on a forum and ask for money orders only, but I don't think anyone would be interested.  Then I think I could trade, but that would be a hassle. I could just keep them, but I need more space and these are images I just don't use. So they just sit there, waiting for me to do something with them!  This is sooo not like me.  I'm not usually so indecisive. Actually I'm almost never this indecisive!  I think this early retirement thing has just messed up my mind! lol   I'm not even supposed to be on early retirement. I'm supposed to be using this Masters Degree to get some ridiculously high paying job that I love. I did have a job with a Government funded agency.  I took early retirement, the federal grant funds dried up and no job. (Stupid economy) I've had offers, but relocate out west or to DC for a job?  What exactly would I do with my husband and our home? Everyone said, "oh get your masters in some technology field, there are tons of jobs out there for the computer savvy". Stupid economy tanks just when I get the degree! And WHY is there a train on my desk?

Are you neat or messy in your art/craft space?  Or, like me, do you think you are neat and really aren't?

Small Calendar

Even though I needed a small calendar for my desk, I wanted a little bit of space to write in. I couldn't find the size and shape I wanted, so I made my own in Microsoft Word using a table.

The calendar is put together, the images are all stamped and I'm working on coloring each month's image with Prisma Colored pencils.Yeah, I know the year has already begun, but it's for myself and that's okay. That's the nice thing about early retirement, no schedule to speak of, no commitments:)  Below is what I have colored so far. The scans are slightly blury because the coil doesn't allow for the calendar to lay flat on the scanner bed. My old scanner/printer was never bothered by this. However this new Canon is very picky. It's a good thing she prints such awesome quality photos or I might have just traded her in! You did notice that I referred to my technology as 'her" right?  That's because a male piece of technology wouldn't not have the advanced capabilities.  I think of typewriters as being male and computers are female. :)

Pantone Color Trends

The color of the year is Tangerine Tango.


Okay, so sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I didn't realize that color trends were applicable to art too. Pantone - I thought color wheels and palettes that's what I remember from art classes. Oh no, not any more!
Did you know there is an ap for your phone for capturing, creating and sharing color palettes? And, get this... you can even get your Visa card in one of the color trends! For the report click here.
17-1463 Tangerine Tango 
13-0759 Solar Power 
18-3628 Bellflower 
18-2140 Cabaret 
19-3953 Sodalite Blue
14-0116 Margarita
14-2808 Sweet Lilac
14-5420 Cockatoo
16-1120 Starfish

Of course I had to find out how these colors translate into Prismacolors! Prisma's already on it, and they have a list on their website.

Tangerine Tango meet Pumpkin Orange

Solar Power meet Yellow Ochre

BellFlower meet Parma Violet

Cabaret meet Process Red

Soladite Blue meet Denim Blue

Margarita meet Celadon Green

Sweet Lilac meet Greyed Lavender

Cockatoo meet Light Aqua

Driftwood meet Warm Grey 70%

Starfish meet Sandbar Brown

Christmas in Colorado

We spent Christmas visiting our son and had such a wonderful visit!  The Rocky Mts. were so lovely, very different from the Smoky Mts. not too far from my home.  Denver is such a big city! Wow! You have to understand that I live in a small city and have lived here most of my life, so it was such a treat to visit such a place.  The population of the Denver metro area is 2.4 million, y'all - there are only 4.5 million in the whole state of SC! The shopping was to die for:)

The mall had a Western motif with timber ceilings, boulders, waterfalls, and hard wood floors! There were no benches for sitting, instead they had groupings of leather sofas and chairs and a fireplace!! Lots of artwork depicting the landscape of the area before it became a city.
Coldwater Creek, Nordstroms, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and tons more. There was a whole store for Vera Bradley!! Tons of sales, and an awesome selection too:)

Mule deer

You can drive by a Target or a Bed Bath and Beyond, and five minutes later you pass another one! I bet there are 4 Walmarts within a ten minute drive from my son's house. It was such a nice new, CLEAN city. Needless to say I was very impressed.

Minning Camp

Elk on the side of the road.

Rocky Mts.

Minning Camp