Little Cabin in the woods...

Hum along with me... :)

My friends owns this little cabin in Pennsylvania. Recently he sent me a picture of it and this is from that picture. It's a color pencil done in my 5"x 8" sketch book.  I felt peaceful while drawing it. I imagined myself there. 

     Next, using the same reference photo, I completely put it in a new world. I redrew it in graphite on paper. Then I scanned it in-  and now in Photoshop, I am painting it. It is now a fantasy cabin...it is smaller than mushrooms and clover is like a bush. I believe a fairy lives in it.  I'll post soon...have to digitally paint it first.

Winter is a good time to dig in deep into art. Do a complicated piece. Not much going on and I don't go out  much, so why not? I sort of go into hibernation in the winter and I enjoy myself very much.

happy painting!

more alcohol ink and YUPO

I am pleased with this image I created using the alcohol ink and YUPO paper I mentioned in previous post. It looks moody and dark. I stamped the tress using archival ink over the dry alcohol inks. Go to previous post for a link to a YouTube video about this technique. I've had both the alcohol inks and the YUPO paper, so it was a no-brainer for me to try this. If you don't have YUPO, and it is expensive, try using glossy white cardstock. I believe it will work as well with the alcohol inks. Happy Crafting!

Art or Craft?

Click on the picture and look at this up close- the technique is amazing!
it's a combination of painting and stamping. I used YUPO paper and alcohol inks for the background. YUPO is a synthetic paper that I first came across about twenty years in my job as a package and label designer. It wasn't called YUPO then and the company was trying to sell it as label stock for pharmaceutical grade printing. Over the years the paper entered into the art world and was renamed YUPO, mostly being marketed for watercolors. Now YUPO has entered the crafting world. 

I saw a great video on YouTube that inspired me. Most of it is a surprise...there is no real control when using alcohol inks and YUPO. The ink goes where it wants to go. I then masked out a small moon and wiped back to the YUPO to create the moon using alcohol blending solution. The alcohol inks are permanent once they dry on the YUPO but dissolve with the blending solution.  

I want to experiment more with this technique making fairy fantasy landscapes. I love that genre. I see this as a really fun way to create that other-world feel I love in fairy art.  This was my first attempt and will definitely do more with this! 
Of course I want more colors of alcohol inks...do we ever have enough color?
    After it was all dry I used stamping with black archival ink to add the foliage. I can see cards, paintings, illustration...this technique will go a long way!