Lots of Birds, Lots of Art!

I painted over a canvas board I made a few weeks ago because the color combinations did not thrill me. I used many shades of blue and just sort of splooged them on.  I got some soft body Liquitex acrylic paint on sale at Michaels. That stuff stays wet for a long time and goes very far when painting with it.  Love it!

I cut a stencil using my Silhouette Cameo and an online image of a bird perched on a barbed wire fence.  I am stuck with what to do next with this picture. I might just leave it simple.

 This 4 x 6 canvas was a yard sale find. It had a cow and the word "Milk" painted on it. I gessoed over it and then used multiple shades of blue to create the background.  The heart is many layers of pink and red tissue paper, then it is painted over with some magenta acrylic.  The birds were an image I found online, printed and cut out with the Cameo.  I painted and colored over the birds with markers and paint. The swirls are stamped with the magenta paint.  I am still thinking about what words I want to add to this canvas.

The swallow is cut from atlas paper and decopauged onto the background. I used a Tim Holtz mask for the compass. The circles are a stamp with acrylic paint and I also used a splatter stamp with pigment ink.  The heart is many layers of tissue paper applied with Mod Podge.  I am going to add the text, "Follow your heart!"

These lovebirds were created on an 8x10 canvas board. It includes many of the elements from the other canvases. I added text stamping with white pigment ink.  None of these are completely done yet, but I wanted to share them.  I am really happy with my results so far.

It occurs to me that maybe everybody does not work on multiple canvases at one time. It is just easier for me to lay out three canvas boards and work on backgrounds at the same time especially since you have to wait for layers to dry before adding on.  I saw several bird art projects others had completed and wanted to try making my own versions. They all just seemed to come together naturally.  It helps me decide what to do next when I can lay down one canvas and pick up another one for a few minutes of futsing around with art materials.

Happy Crafting!
Gale

Art Abandonment

This guy, Michael deMeng, hosts a group on Facebook called Art Abandonment.  The idea is to take some of your arty creations and leave them in a public place for someone to find and keep (and hopefully enjoy!) Since I have a lot of things I make and stash, I thought this would be a good activity for me.

I pulled out some altered tags I made and added a little message to the back of each. I left them scattered around the Charlottesville-Albermarle Airport when I was there yesterday returning the rental car. I also left one inside a magazine at the vet's office where Kippy boarded while we were on vacation. I have no pictures of these, though.

Yesterday I made some flower brooches using a quilted pillow sham and the Tattered Florals die from Tim Holtz. I also designed a cool card background to let people know that they have found a free gift. I designed and cut the cards from cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo machine and the design software that came with it.

The quilted pillow sham came from an old yard sale purchase. I use the quilt all the time, but never the shams. So I got the wild idea that I could cut it up and make some nice flowers.  I used my Crop-o-dile to cut a hole in the center of each and attached the layers with a brad. The back are finished with some sticky craft felt onto which I sewed the pin back into the center.

I finished up the pins this morning and attached them to the cards. They are ready to distribute! I hope the finders will enjoy them.

Happy Crafting!

Gale C. Lewis