Creating Art at the Speed of Life-Lesson 9: First Impression(ism)

Lesson 9: First Impression(ism).  A take on Monet's technique of using little dots of paint to build up texture, shading and color.  I like the way she turned out, but it took me FOREVER to get it to where I thought I looked like I wanted using the eraser of a pencil for the dots. 

I can do better but this was a very interesting new technique to learn...no real painting involved.  Love the big circles with the black ink for the hair though.  As with most impressionistic paintings, looks better if you stand back a bit. :)

So, almost 1/3 of the way through the book, learning a lot and it gives me a goal.  These are easily done in one day.  

I am going to start incorporating some of these new skills into my work on Etsy so keep an eye out. 

Here is the link. Jypsy Studio-Jan Partain

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Creating Art at the Speed of Life: Lesson 8: Texture via Transfer Rubbings

Lesson 8 today was on doing a rubbing of a textured item and transferring it to your journal.  I love this technique because with a piece of paper and a pencil you can pick up an interesting texture any time you're out and about.

Vintage tin ceiling tile texture. 

I have a vintage ceiling tile hanging in my foyer so that was the easiest thing to take a rubbing from.  It's big so I only got a small piece and it's not very detailed, but I like the technique just the same.  

The shading is all done with watercolors and water soluble graphite pencils. A little black and white paint as an added detail always adds a nice pop!  

So, a nice tool to add to the technique arsenal. Soon some of these techniques will make it into my Etsy pieces.  

Here's the link if you'd like to stop by. Jypsy Studio

As always, thanks for stopping by.  

Digital vs. Analog: Alarm Clocks

Look at this cutie I found at an estate sale not long ago!  A vintage, Elgin travel alarm clock....working!!  It took a while to find two screws small enough to attach it back to the case but I finally found them at a model train store.  Go figure.

The alarm is fun and the case closes nicely and I love the ticking sound when I go to sleep. I miss that sound.  So far it keeps time well...as long as I wind it. (I'm testing to see how often that needs to be.) 

When did we start relying solely on electric or battery operated alarm clocks?  What if the power goes out? What if the battery dies on your phone?  

Of course there are down sides to this mode as well.  You have to wind it.  There is no "snooze" button.  When the alarm goes off you have to get up.  The alarm also has to be wound so when it winds down that's it.  

But, I love it anyway...and plan to use it on my nightstand.  I may even travel with it.  All this fun for $5.  If you have never visited an estate sale I encourage you to do so.  Never know what fun thing you'll find. 

Though I haven't quite figured out how to tell what time it is to set the clock...without referring to something digital.   Hmmmmmm....