Gallery Day

I thought I might show off a few of my recent Mixed Media pieces...two of which are finished and one is still a work-in-progress. The first one I call Cherry Winks. It was inspired by one of my grandmother's cookie recipes and includes part of the recipe in her handwriting on part of the page. It also has a few of her vintage buttons attached. It was pretty much one of my very first Mixed Media pieces, so it's very basic, but I'm not ashamed of it or anything. I like what it represents. I'm still a beginner, and you'll be able to see that in all 3 of the works I'm posting.

Cherry Winks

Inspired by my Grandmother's Recipe

This next piece is one that is still a work-in-progress, and I have not yet named it. Who knows? It may never get a name. But I was just inspired one day to paint an Indian guy with green skin and a pink turban with big bug eyes. I could see the picture in my mind and I just had to get it on paper. After the guy was painted, I showed it to a few people and it didn't go over too well. They didn't understand it. The truth is, I made it for myself, and it really only mattered to me that I understood it, but I did get some constructive criticism, so I worked on it. One thing I added later on was the mustache. It's a paper mustache with multiple layers so that it's kinda bristly. I'm going to add some more dimension to it, as well, but I've got some more thinking to do. Anyway.

Buggy Eyed Guy

Finally, here is my most recent piece, which also doesn't yet have a name. It's the first time I've used an inspirational word as a catalyst for a piece. In this case, the word was "welcome". I think I may have gotten the word from illustrationfriday.com*. After I had the word, I typed "welcome quotations" into Google, and found this fitting traditional quote about cats which really painted a picture in my mind and formed the basis for the painting. In the painting, my cats, Boogie and Corny are depicted as angels (on the left) with a host of other cats, awaiting me in heaven. I think the yellow cut-out stars are a nice addition. This may be the first Mixed-Media piece that I've done that tells a story.

So that's what I've been working on lately. I've got another "quotation" work in the pipes, which is about 1/4 of the way finished. It's cute.

*Illustrationfriday.com is a really cool website that I've just discovered that provides inspiration via an inspirational word every Friday. They encourage you to create your own kind of art, whatever it may be, and submit it to their site to be viewed by everyone, without the pressure of being criticized or judged...or contacted by anyone, for that matter. They describe themselves as a weekly illustration challenge with a safe creative forum. Joining is free, so, hello! Join! :)