4 in 1.....................................:)

The pictures, here, are sections of one very large canvas that I'm currently working on. I decided to take photos, in sections, and came up with 4 different works in 1 canvas! Each section, to me, offers a different piece - kind of a unique way of looking at a large mixed-media piece.

There's some glare, in a couple of the sections, and that is due to some "veils" of gel medium that I have added for texture. I think I'm going to call this piece "Threads of Life".

I hope you're all having a good week. It has been quite warm, here, the past few days; unusually warm. We are hitting close to 87 today! Not the typical April!
Reminder: my deadline for my Blog giveaway (previous post) is this Friday, May 1st. If anyone cannot leave a comment here, and is interested, you can email me at Artbeliever@gmail.com. Thanks so much! Love, Marilyn

BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!! Lavendar and Lace.............

I think it's time for a Blog Giveaway don't you? To celebrate spring, I am offering this 5 x7 framed collage that I call Lavendar and Lace. There are two pictures, here, and I apologize, I just could NOT get a really good picture of this. I hope these two shots will give you a feel for this piece.

The frame is wooden, distressed with purple acrylics, sandpaper, scratching tools, etc. The lace piece is an accent along with some rusted metal pieces. The collage, itself, is under the glass and the background is from some extremely old French script paper that I used from an old book that I picked up at an antique shop. I think this is why the photo was hard to take as I used a varnish on the paper to really keep it archival. I kept getting nasty glares.

So; who wants to play? All you have to do is leave a comment, here, and I will add your name to the drawing.

The deadline for submitting your comment(s) is: Friday, May 1st. I will announce the winner over that weekend.

I hope you are all well and wishing you a happy day and upcoming weekend. Our weather forecast for our weekend, here, is incredible. The temps might even get into the low 80's! WOW!


Always know I appreciate the support and friendships you continuously offer me. I thank you!


Much love - Marilyn

Color!

I wanted to begin, this week, with some color. I am feeling joyous, today, and perhaps it is the onset of spring. We had a gorgeous weekend and today is gray, a little damp, and rain is soon approaching. However, we do need the rain so I will not complain :)

The pictures, here, are of some journal work I did in my sketchbook over the weekend. I wanted to work with bright colors to celebrate spring. It always offers us such hope, doesn't it? Our winter, here, was stressful and just didn't want to quit.

I hope you all are experiencing a feeling of joy, on this day, whether it's from the arrival of spring, creating your beautiful art, some good news,time spent with a special friend, etc. Mondays aren't always the easiest day of the week but my hope is you can find some joy in it - even if it's from a happy memory of your weekend.

Have a joyous day! Much love - Marilyn xxoo

"The Encounter", 9" x 12" acrylic/mixed media, 140 lb watercolor paper

I just finished this piece for the nature show in May (see left sidebar for details). The picture has some shadows, in it, as I decided to take the photo after I framed the painting.

The inspiration for this piece was observing a couple of crows outside my back porch in the yard. They really gave me the feeling that they were meeting for the very first time. (The crows in this piece are stamps not from a photo I took). But; just watching these crows stare at one another for the longest time inspired me to put my feelings and thoughts down through a painting. That's the neat thing about our art, I find, is that we always don't need words to express ourselves right? :)

Have a wonderful day and hope you are experiencing beautiful weather to enjoy. I think we just "sprung" here this week :)

Much love and appreciation always........................Marilyn xxoo

"Break the Rules"..................

I love the words "Break the Rules" especially when it applies to my art :)

Here are two pictures of a sketch I did in my book. I'm probably not using this new sketchbook, of mine, in the correct manner. First off, I cannot just leave the sketch ya know? I have to color it, or stamp around it, add paints, and words. I think a sketchbook is really meant to do just what the word stands for. However, breaking the rules is so freeing in artwork isn't it?

The first picture, here, is of a sketch I did from a photo which I found to be quite difficult. Truthfully, I have no idea who this guy is. I got it out of a collage pack I had, here, from an exchange I was involved in a long time ago.

Another truth; I am not happy with the sketch I did - find it a little elementary. There are parts I like and others, well; let's just say I was very challenged. Drawing is very difficult, for me, and I try to focus too much on the face - noses are hard, eyes, lips, etc. This guy had one of those tiny goatees and his skin was very rough. But; I gave it a good go.

Now; the thing I do like is the second picture where I threw this completed sketch into photoshop and played around, a bit, with it. It kind of hides those "flaws" in my sketching that I just didn't like.

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and wish you a safe, happy, and artful week ahead.

Thinking of you all...............................Much love - Marilyn xxoo

Altered Cabinet Cards.....................

I had such fun working on altering these two cabinet cards.

I really love the surfaces; bodes well to all mediums.

What works, for me, is scanning the images, first, before I start altering the cards so I don't lose the images and can use in future projects.

I am wishing you all a very blessed Easter weekend, enjoy your time and know you will all be in my thoughts throughout.

Love always - Marilyn

More Aries tributes :)

I am so enjoying seeing what is and has come in from artists who are honoring Aries the owl (previous post) with their beautiful artwork and interpretations. Thank you!

Here are two more:

The first picture, here, is an ATC from Gaby Bieberle and I just love what she created. The background is so lush and textural. The words observation and explore are perfect. Thank you Gaby SO much.

The second picture is of a very clever and creative photoshop work from Pam Small. I love how she gave Aries a day in the big city! He had a chance to fly! Beautiful Pam - thank you.

I am thinking of you all and, once again, our weekend is upon us. Woohoo! For those of you who are celebrating your holiday, have an enjoyable one, and all be safe and happy with your weekend.

Thank you all for being a part of my life! Love, Marilyn

"The Chat"..................:)

In my previous post, I shared that I now have a sketchbook. I am really enjoying it and today decided to work on the cover; 'cause we all know we just can't leave something plain - lol! The first picture, here, is my cover. I couldn't get a great picture, of it, but it's got a lot of dyed cheesecloth on it, transfers, and stamping. I used lots of Shiva oil sticks, Gold Rub 'n Buff, Lumieres, pastels, and finished it off with that Delta Ceramcoat Instant Age Varnish which I am just loving! It goes on very wet but when dry, leaves a really nice aged and antique look. I use it a lot in my altered book spreads. You can use a number of coats, too.

The second picture is of another sketch I did in the book. This was done at Panera's, of all places, and if you're not familiar, Panera's is a cafe, restaurant, bakery and they offer great food, casual setting with wireless access! Can't beat that. I treated myself to a cup of coffee this morning with a danish. I had an appt., there, so while waiting, decided to pop out my sketchbook. I caught two ladies sitting at a bench-type seat chatting. It looked like they were waiting for someone as they were sitting there for the longest time.

I got a rough sketch, of them, and when I got home, worked on completing it as best I could. I then decided to treat the page with oil pastels, pan pastels, some distress ink, stencil, splattering, etc. - you name it, it's in there :) I took the ladies out of their element at Panera's but there was no way I'd be able to draw what was around them! :)

This was a tough one, for me, as they both had glasses on and the angle was awkward. I call this page "The Chat".

I compare the sketchbook to the feeling I get when I'm working on an altered book. It's very freeing and I can do what I want, in it, and call it my own.

Wishing you all a great day and week ahead. Stay safe and happy!

Thank you always for your constant support, lovely comments, creativity and friendships. Without you and the inspiration you offer me, I couldn't do what I do! Thanks for the "wings" :)

Love, Marilyn

"Joy"...................just for fun :)

This is an 8 x 10 canvas that I had some fun with today. It's done in acrylics and oil pastels.

I recently bought a sketchbook and have been bringing it, with me, wherever I go. I'm really trying to work on my drawing skills, or I should say lack of :)

Yesterday was a beautiful day, here, so my husband and I took a long walk and decided to stop at a coffee shop that isn't too far from where we live. We sat outside and I had my sketchbook, with me, and was enjoying watching this young man (I would venture to guess he was 12) who was strutting about outside of the cafe. Now; my parenting instincts kicked in and I immediately thought now why isn't this young man not in school? Hmmmmmmmmm. But; I let that go and decided to start sketching him. It was a rough sketch as this young man could not stand still for very long but I really liked his hair and the way he was moving. He always had his hands in his pockets but it was like he was dancing in a way. He was quite entertaining :) I think he was probably reacting to the joy of being out of school for awhile - yikes!

I already had the background, for this piece, as it was a demo for a workshop that I conducted at the Art Room. Sometimes when I'm teaching, I don't get to finish a piece, and bring home the "starters" to work on at another time. I think this was a match! This young man seemed to bode well with this background. My vision, for this piece, was to express his graceful movements. He was so unaware of what I was doing.

Today, using my sketch, I ended up drawing him onto the background, painting him in with acrylics and working oil pastels into the figure. I did add the flowers, birds and word Joy to the painting, too.

Well; my friends, here it is Friday - woohoo! I hope you all had a good week. Enjoy your upcoming weekend; be safe and maybe get out those sketchbooks and see what inspiration you can find out in the world. There's so much to see and experience...........................joy!

Love and hugs..............................Marilyn xxoo

juanita - shania twain

A very special friend of mine, Peggy Beck, referred me to this UTube video.When you can, please take some time to listen to her words; they are very inspirational and I think we can all relate. Let me know what you think!

Thank you Peggy! I love it!

Hope you all are having a great day! Love, Marilyn