"Imagine"...................................

8 x 10 canvas board

I had a class at the Albany Art Room on Saturday and we worked on the Affirmation Collage concept. I shared with students my discovery of Kelly Rae Roberts' art and some of her techniques. They were really thrilled and we had much fun playing with the backgrounds. This picture is of the one I started, during class, and actually finished at home today.

I did approach Kelly Rae via email to ask her if this was okay and she said it was fine to offer this for a class. I was thrilled! Thank you Kelly!

The students really enjoyed working on their collages and they loved adding their powerful and personal words to their creations.

I am going to begin taking pictures during some of my classes and sharing student works on my Blog. I've been asking students, when I can, if they would mind me sharing photos of their art and them and they all are enthusiastically willing. I am very excited about including their art on my Blog in the future.

I wish, for you all, a happy day and a good week ahead. Thanks, again, for your visits and lovely comments! I couldn't do what I do without you!

Much love - Marilyn

"Fun in the Sun".................

Acrylic/Mixed Media, 8 x 10 canvas...................

More and more I'm coming to the realization that I, 1.) need more practice taking pictures :), and 2.) I have so much difficulty drawing human figures. No matter what I do, practice with books, sketch, doodle; it just doesn't work and I'm taking too much time with it which frustrates me as I feel it's taking away from my actual creating time.

I was recently in Barnes & Noble and decided to stroll around looking for a magazine I could read while having a cup of coffee. In the art section, I noticed Somerset's Workshop, Spring 2008 issue and thought that might be a good one to sit and peruse.

Much to my amazement, I found this fantastic article in the issue entitled Found Images & Paint Overs written by artist Lisa Bebi (http://lisabebi.blogspot.com/). Her artwork immediately attracted me so I read further and there are pages and pages of her technique using found images. Pretty much what it is, is using family photos, old postcards, and pictures, magazine clippings, photocopying them, reducing or enlarging as desired and then painting over them with acrylics!!! There's much more to the technique but this is the heart of it.

This is a picture (and really not a great one), the pink in the picture came out purple but it's the image that really is the focus, of my first attempt at this technique. The image of this bathing beauty was from a vintage postcard that I have. I photocopied it with black and white ink, cut out, added to the painting, and did a paint over using fluid acrylics and gesso. I had such fun with this!! It's very addictive. I had fun selecting colors for the bathing suit; used Gesso to create the polka dots. It was a little tricky, for me, to get the skin tone but with a little practice I was happy with the results.

I just feel the technique is wonderful for someone, like me, who cannot really draw a recognizable figure :) I always say art is a path and it was such a wonderful surprise to come across Lisa's article in the Workshop on that day. I had to email her and let her know how much she inspired me.

Hope you all are having a happy day and thank you for visiting!

Love to all - Marilyn

"The Path Home"

Acrylic Mixed Media

18 x 22 canvas

I found a little time, today, to work on a piece that I started a few days ago.

It's hard to see from the picture, but the background started with tissue paper that is of an old world map.

I hope everyone is enjoying their day!

Love, Marilyn

Helen Boscherini!

Congratulations Helen! You are the winner of my Blog challenge to name my Asian piece (see previous post).

I had my husband draw the names and yours was chosen along with your very creative title for this piece: "Asian Mysteries"!!! Fabulous!

Please email me (Artbeliever@gmail.com) with your mailing address and I will get my handmade gift out to you pronto!

I thank you all for playing and loved each and every title you suggested. I guess I'll just have to paint more Asian pieces! :)

I am wishing you all a safe and happy weekend; hope you can find some artful moments in it, too.

Love to all..............................Marilyn xxoo

Crows are my "Simple Pleasures"..........................

Got some art in today! Our weather is going to be lousy most of week with on and off rain and thunderstorms!

So; it kind of dictates the days and that's not always a bad thing.

I finished my new fabric and felt crow today. I was at a flea market, not too long ago, and found that really cool fabric. Crows were already on it :) So; I had fun working on "Mr. McCrow" here.

The second pic is an acrylic/mixed media piece on an 18 x 22 stretched canvas. I call it "Gather Simple Pleasures". This painting has taken me quite awhile to complete and today was the day for the finishing touches.

Thanks for visiting and your continued support with your lovely comments and words.

I wish, for all, a safe and happy week ahead.

Love to all........................Marilyn xxoo

Altered Book Cover.......................

This is a picture of an altered book cover I just completed. It's for a one-on-one exchange. It's approximately 8" x 10" and I decided to make this into a wall hanging.

I covered the back with fabric.

Hope you are all having a good weekend and wish you a safe and happy week ahead.

Much love, Marilyn

"Egrets"; I've had a few..........................:)

I am loving my life, right now, at this stage of my life. I can honestly express that I think I've found the "Secret of Life" as James Taylor pointed out, to me, in his beautiful song. It is my favorite......."the secret to life is enjoying the passing of time". That is what I'm doing as of late . Not to have you think I haven't enjoyed my life; I have many blessings...wonderful family (husband and son, daughter-in-law), my friends are my jewels to hang on to forever, my health, a nice house, etc!! But; recently I've really become more aware, more conscious of each day and what it has to offer. I'm in it! I'm here! Yes; I've had heartaches, trauma, sadness and sorrows, like we all have. I know there will be more ahead. Those challenges of life!

With my new "awareness", I am able to see the world in a whole different light. Sounds kind of corny, but it's true. Art is definitely one of the things that has helped me be more aware; of my surroundings, my feelings, my attitude, it offers so much hope, to me, with every passing day. :)

Man; am I heavy today, huh?

This picture is what I call one of those spontaneous happenings that occur and not, at all, expected. Most mornings, when I get up, and I am an early "bird" for sure, I usually have my first cup of coffee out on the back porch and listen to their songs while visiting the myriad of my favorite Blogs I have linked here :)

This morning I decided to have my cup of coffee in the living room and wanted to listen to the weatherperson on TV to see what the weekend might hold for us here.

I have a wooden, hand-carved egret that stands up on one of my living room tables and the table is right against the front picture window. I was in a chair that was very close to this table and directly faces a side window. The way the sunlight was hitting the large window, it was reflecting this egret's shadow right under the side window's sash! I couldn't believe it! I stared at it, for awhile, and then decided to run and get my camera and take the shot! What could I lose?

I just had to share this! I think this is SO cool! I cropped the photo in Photoshop as I didn't want the actual bottom edge of the window to show. I will definitely use this in my art somewhere down the line; maybe in a collage or a Photoshop piece.

So; this awareness stuff is wonderful and I am so happy it has entered my life; even at this stage.

I wish, for all of you, an awareness of each of your days, I know we get caught up in work, things going on in our lives, challenges; life isn't always easy for us.

But; somewhere in these challenges, beauty is around us - even when we don't expect it.

Have a great upcoming weekend; hope this nasty weather in the midwest comes to a stop for the people there; I think they've had enough challenges!

Enjoy the passing of time..................................Love to all - Marilyn

PS I'm getting more fantastically creative titles for my Asian piece (previous post). There is still a week left of participating. Thank you all who have commented and left your titles; they are amazing!!!!