My Art is moving...

I am hoping for a good year this year and wish each and everyone of you a Happy New Year too.  There have been lots of changes for me over the last couple of years, not least of all to do with my health.  I have moved away from crafting somewhat and prefer spending my time creating art and journalling.   Therefore I decided to create a new blog to allow me to grow as an artist.  I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of my blog and for the friendships I have made in blogland and I do hope that you will follow me to my new Art space.

 My new art blog is here.

 Out with the old and in with the new :) 

Hugs Chris xx

TAG give-away

There's nothing quite like...... crafting with a buddy.  My Pal Chriss has been staying with me for a couple of weeks and we have both re-discovered our crafting mojo :)
Cutting, stamping, pasting, doodling have all been on the agenda and such fun we've had.  Tags have mostly been the order of the day for me and I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed making them.  I'm still missing drawing but I need new specs to do that.... I WILL get myself to the opticians soon... but I can manage to cut things out fairly well without them so I've still managed to play.

I've made quite a few tags so I thought it would be nice to have a little give-away so that you can share in the fun.  Leave a comment on this post to be included in the draw  to win this double sided tag and it could soon be winging it's way to your house.  I hope you like it and thanks for visiting :)
hugs
Chris xx

Wow... Is it really that long since I blogged!

18 months... and it seems like yesterday.  It seems quite unreal that so much time can have passed since I have done any real paper crafting. 

My obsessions with drawing and painting took over for a long while, followed by a lot of hard graft trying to get my jungle of a garden to be an oasis of calm (I can dream... it's a long way from that still...lol)  and somewhere nice to sit (which is a bit more of a reality). I weeded and dug over the whole garden and resowed grass seed so it will be green this year .  Added some plants and now I also have a rockery.

Following that I spent months re-decorating the house, but then was really poorly from the later part of the year and unable to do much at all, in fact I was barely able to look after myself. Thankfully I have really great friends who stepped in and helped me to recover.

 

I took it easy from then on and a lot of my time has been taken up on Facebook (which some of you will know) where I've shared bits and pieces of my art and journaling and my rekindled passion for crochet.  I thought about blogging a lot but it just seemed too much like hard work, anyway now I am getting lots better, I feel that I want to join you peeps again and catch up with all my lovely blogging pals and all the wonderful creations I have missed. 

Art journaling heals and crochet calms the nerves :)

 

So here we are and looking forward to good times ahead :)

hugs
Chris xx

 

29 Faces challenge- faces 4,5,6 and 7

Well I'm behind with the 29faces challenge.... nothing new there then lol... I just don't know where the hours or days are disappearing too.  Someone is stealing them... I swear they are!!

I've done the creating... but there hasn't been enough time to blog everyday, I think I just get so involved with my art that I lose conscious hours.

So here are the four that bring me up to date today:-

 

1st a journal page... girl coloured with pencils over clear gesso...

 

2nd a pencil sketch which I have to admit to having started earlier in the year, was completed.....

Next a bit of whimsy and acrylic paint... I love changing mediums... jack of all trades... master of none :)

Finally a watercolour face which I so enjoyed doing but I'm still learning to control the water.

 

I have to say that I honestly admire those naturally talented portrait artists in any medium who don't have to work too hard to be able to paint a likeness... I am moving forward but I have to practice and practice and practice and I feel like I am YEARS away from being content with what I have achieved or maybe I am just too much of a perfectionist and am aiming for the stars :)

hugs
Chris xx

29 Faces in September

It's that time again Ayala is doing another 29 faces challenge.  I loved the last one so I just hope I can keep up this month and manage to blog every face.  I can but try :)  I will share a mixture of styles of faces depending on what time I have available.  I hope you will join me.  Here are my first three cos I've had company staying and haven't had chance to blog until today.

I decided to use up some backgrounds that I already had done in my journal for the first two faces because that made them quick and easy :)

 

The third face is a WIP and a bit of an accident... well not the face... just the flowers.  I somehow got a mark on the paper when I was drawing which would not erase at all.  It was a bit high to turn into a beauty spot but as I'd done so much work I didn't want to leave it looking awful so I drew flowers.  Not sure if I like them but it's better than a horrible mark and I did like the face.  Lessons learned... rest on a blank sheet of paper in future.

Thanks for looking
hugs
Chris xx

Out of the Journal .... week 3

Well I got to Week three of Dina's Out of the Journal challenge and I can't believe how much I have enjoyed painting on canvas.

I can't wait to hang them all on my wall when they are finished.

I don't even know where these styles are coming from although this one was a happy accident... trying to cover up something I didn't like.

I want more than four to put on my art wall but didn't have any more box canvases so I have tried a different style inspired by Dina's grungy girls.  I've done this one on stiff paper and I'm hoping I can mount it on some wood before hanging.

Fun... fun .... fun.... bring on week 4 :)
hugs
Chris xx

Out of the Journal-week 2

I'm playing along with Dina and her Out of the Journal challenge again this week and I was intending to do something a bit more abstract BUT it looks like my four canvasses are gonna be girlies because that's where my mojo seems to be taking me.  I'm aiming to hang my art at home for once so I can't wait to see them all grouped together on my wall :)

This girlie changes with the light... or maybe I'm just not that good with the camera!!

Anyhoo I don't know if she is completely finished because for some reason I have an urge to throw some glitter on her... I just can't make up my mind... decisions, decisions, decisions... what do you think.

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday too this week ... I really should paint more often cos I do enjoy it :)

Have a great week all

hugs

Chris xx

Out of the Journal .... week 1

Wow is it THAT long since I last blogged.... where do the weeks go!!  They days are going so quickly that at this rate I am going to be in my 70's before I know it lol.  Anyhoo I am joining in with Dina's new challenge here.  called Out of The Journal.  I'm a bit late though because I started a canvas and then totally took a wobbly when it just wouldn't go how I wanted it to... well it turned out to be a happy accident (love those) because I ended up with something I love even more.

The canvas is 8" x 8" and is destined for my kitchen when I have finished the other three for the rest of August.  I already started the others because I kept jumping from one to the other when my mojo wasn't happening.

I used lots of paper layers and acrylic paint and I'm not sure I will paint faces on uneven background after this because I really found them to be a challenge in more ways than one.  I hadn't intended to do faces at all.... I wanted to do something abstract but it just wasn't happening so I guess my love of  drawing and painting faces just keeps getting in the way.

You can see more of the texture in this close up... not easy to capture with my camera but I hope you can see what I mean.

Hope to catch up with you all soon
hugs
Chris xx

Summer of Color- weeks 3 and 4

Oooops I'm a little behind for the Summer of color challenge so today I am sharing weeks 3 and 4 together.

Week 3 is Baseball nut and I decided to have a little play with vellum as it is ages since I did anything like this and it was so relaxing... I really enjoyed it so may just have to do some more some time soon.  It was coloured on the reverse with normal felt pens.

Week 4 is Strawberry Lemonade and it just had to be something cute with a gorgeous name like that and delicate colours.  So say hello to the sleep princess.... am often in need of her when I can't sleep... maybe she can give sleep wishes away...lol

Hope you like them
hugs
Chris xx

Summer of colour.... week 2

It's time for week 2 of Summer of Color.... inspired by the colours of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.  It's my most favourite ice cream of all time... so wish I had some now so I could have a bowl full but the freezer is empty!!    

Anyway this is Hannah and I am sure she would like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream as much as I do.
Thanks for looking
See you soon
hugs
Chris xx