Painting Happy!

Hello Everyone!

I'm so excited to share a new piece of art with you!  But, before I do, I need to give you a bit of info on how she came to be.....

You see, I was lucky enough to take a very special online painting course called Paint Happy.
It is given by the wonderful Micki Wilde of The Secret Hermit.



I've long been a fan of her work.

She makes whimsy and cheeriness look so easy....her faces are so full of warmth and character....her backgrounds are delicious....and it is evident that she adores what she does. 

What's amazing about this course is that it addresses every single one of those truths so that you can have them, too!  It delivers so much good and useful information on how to keep your art playful and meaningful, even if it sprang from a darker place.

Wait til you get to the part about your Wolf!  I don't want to give too much away...but that part was really powerful for me.  There is a wolf in me that hasn't yet gotten onto the page.  When it does, I'll share it here.
Here, check out the promo video for the course.  You'll see why I'm so excited!
 

 

Now, onto my art! 

 

I had so much fun making this piece.  I find I can be way too serious when I create.  I can get too hung up on details and my own weird sense of perfection that it can suck a lot of the enjoyment out of making art....and it seems to take a lot longer, too.

 

I whipped this one out pretty quickly (humming all the while, I might add)...and I couldn't be happier with the results! 

You can see the influence of Micki's style in her sweet face.

 

 

...and look at how her ideas and techniques transformed my background!

You can click to enlarge if you like :)

 

 

So much bright, doodly, colorful play!

 

I can't wait to try out more of her suggestions!

If you'd like to take the course or see more of her fantastic art, please visit her Etsy Shop and her Blog!

Everyone deserves to enjoy what they do!

 

 

Big neon colored hugs!

Cam

I've Got 3 Words for You....

I'm so sorry!
Well, those aren't the words I was talking about, but they are oh-so-true!
 I've been away from my blog for far too long....forgive me....pretty please :)

You see, it was Maggie's 7th Birthday last week and we had 2 parties for her over the past 2 Saturdays....one for family...and one for just school friends.  I've been cleaning, planning, cooking, decorating and basically in Party Mode for 2 weeks straight.  I can't wait to get all the photos up here to show you, but that will be another post.

So, now that I'm officially "free", I've resumed my regularly scheduled activities! That means going to the gym. Boo! But also, painting! Yay!

I rescued a whole deck of these adorable flashcards from the trash a while back.

 

I started by gessoing them and adhering some paper to them.

 

 

Then I used my new favorite technique of scribbling on watercolor pencils....

 

 

....and gessoing again over it.

 

 

Then came some stamping.  I have a new "screen" background stamp that I tried here for the first time :)

 

 

Here's where the steps weren't documented so well....haha!  You know how it goes, you start getting to the heart of the painting and it's hard to remember to stop and snap a photo :)

 

 

I nearly finished one before I remembered to stop.

 

I tried something different for me.  I sketched out the faces in watercolor pencil which I later used to add the shading to the face.

 

 

Here they are all finished....complete with touches of glitter....because who doesn't love glitter?!

 

 

The 3 words I have for you are......"Gratitude"

 

 

"Stillness"

 

 

...and "Simplicity"

 

 

Gentle reminders for good vibes :)

All in the shop.

 

I hope my Stateside friends had an awesome Mother's Day yesterday....and that all my friends had wonderful weekends!  I'll be back with party pics soon.

 

Here's a sneak peek ;P

 

 

 

I'll be going now...but just 3 more words before I do.....

Thanks for visiting!!!

 

...okay, and maybe 3 more...

Love you guys!

 

Cam

Just for Giggles

Hello All!

With the stress and busyness of the Holidays....I sure have felt the need to decompress in the studio for some much needed play time.  How about you?
I didn't want to start any lengthy projects (I have enough of those still unfinished...haha!) and I didn't want to have to think too hard about shading and facial features like when doing a portrait...

So, the answer came to me...
Cupcakes!

Aren't they always the answer?!  :-D

In one of Amy's classes, she showed us how to sew fabric onto watercolor paper and use that to paint on....
I had prepared some extras and knew that's what I wanted to use.
The paint bleeds a little and gets a nice wash-y kinda effect (I know, very technical...haha!) that I really like.

I saw this saying...and thought it was perfect!

I added some ruffle from a vintage pillowcase, polka dot ribbon, a fancy brad...and some ribbon to hang it with.  A cute little reminder to turn a sour day into a sweet one :)

This next one is definately for the kid in us all...

"Sprinkles make me Smile"

Do you get all giddy when you get to eat something with sprinkles, too?

These were a lot of fun to make...and a lot less fattening than the real thing :)

They are in my Shop now.

Now, I have to start making a coffee cozy for my daughter's teacher! 

Yay!  A good excuse to catch up on some TV...heehee!

Hope you get to have a cupcake kinda day soon...

Did you know your comments and visits are my sprinkles?

You never cease to make me smile,

Cameron