More Zentangle Mustache Love

     I have lots and lots of the Strathmore Visual Journals, my favorite is the 5 1/2" x 8" Mixed Media Journal. A perfect carry around size, works great for my Zentangle® art, Inktense pencils, colored pencils or simply sketching. The Strathmore Visual Journals are also available in 90lb and 140lb watercolor paper. Both papers are a little thicker and great for watercolors, I don't like them as much for Zentangle drawings because the Micron pens I use don't seem to hold up as well on the rougher paper.

 

Preliminary sketch with circles, mustaches, eyes and eyebrow. 

 

 This is a fun exercise I did in my Strathmore Mixed Media Journal using circle templates and hand-drawn Zentangle mustaches.

Painted Eyeglass Case

     Decided to get busy this weekend and begin work on projects for a few Christmas Bazaars I participate in every year. One of my artist friends recently brought some extra eyeglass cases to share with my local Mixed Media group...she had tons of them and wanted ideas for how to use them in art. My plan is to alter them to house wonderful little trinkets and gifts for the holidays. As I began working on one I ended up doodling eyes on the case (this happens to me a lot) I always gravitate to funky eyes of some sort.

      I painted them first with a couple of coats of gesso, added inexpensive acrylic paints and finished off with a couple of coats of gloss medium.....very simple.

      This particular case is going in my purse to hold my sunglasses. Jeepers Peepers...what fun!!

Mustache Love

Mustaches are popping up everywhere....cell phone cases, license plates even tattooed on fingers (personally I love this one). I have a mustache bottle opener, mustache stickers and a whole stack of fake mustaches...just cause I love 'em and you never know when you will need a good disguise.

Recently I was out in the studio finishing up a piece of art and happened to glance up at a package of mustache stickers...then it hit me, I should put a mustache on my art!  It was just the touch of whimsey the piece needed. Now I can't stop making mustaches. All shapes and sizes!

The  most fun I have had with them is drawing tangles on them. Simple cut-outs from white cardstock and a micron pen and now I have tons of Zentangle® mustaches to adorn my journal pages, my works on canvas and even my grandson.

Have fun with this trend, Halloween is right around the corner....tangle a few mustaches to get you in the spirit.

Ode to Jesse Reno

Making my own journals from recycled materials is something I have been doing for a few years now. I save all of my old envelopes to use in my handmade journals. For some of my journals I use only envelopes...when you add gesso and acrylic paint it makes a wonderful, sturdy surface for art. I also like the fact that the used envelope is already a distressed surface with uneven edges and sometimes even ripped up a little....perfect!!

The low cost as well as the funky look of these journals make it so easy for me to feel the freedom to experiment with materials and techniques. I often use them to try my hand at different artist's styles to see if I can figure out how they did something I like...what materials they used, their symbology and color palette. My journal is just for me so I don't have to worry about copying the artist in the work I may want to sell. I recently listened to a great podcast interview with Rice Freeman-Zachery and artist Jill Berry where they discussed the benefits of intensive study of other artist's work.

Jesse Reno is one of my favorite artists...he paints with his hands, draws amazing creatures and uses color brilliantly. I am hoping to take one of his workshops in the next year.

In the meantime I had fun experimenting in my journals with acrylic paints, markers and a few Jesse Reno like creatures.

Mail art is fun!!

      Remember when mail had so many possibilities, a handwritten letter from grandma or holiday photos finally developed and mailed from your aunt. If you were a really lucky kid a birthday card with a $10.00 bill!! Not so much anymore, ecards are awaiting you in email, you can check out the family photos on Facebook and god forbid you send money in the mail cause it never seems to reach it's destination.  Why is that anyway?

Front and back of large envelope.

     I really enjoy working in my recycled junk journals so why not treat mail as art. Instead of decorating a page in my journal I decided to work on a few envelopes to have handy for mailing.There is a whole movement devoted to 'mail art'. I must admit I have just gotten on this bandwagon....I chastise myself for not sending more cards to friends and family. Maybe now I will be better about mailing those holiday and birthday cards.

Front of envelope, bird and leaf images are napkins.

     I wanted to share a few of the art mailings I have done over the past week. I always begin by looking for book pages, sheet music, napkins or old wrapping paper to apply as the first layer. An artist friend of mine, Judy Evans, always seems to find the most wonderful napkins and she shares them with our local art group...thank you Judy!!

Napkins, sheet music, pattern paper, ledger paper, tissue paper and an old piece of my art applied to envelopes with matte medium, ready for gesso, paint and stamps.

      Using napkins as a focal point makes it so easy to create a beautiful envelope without a lot of work. Just slop it on with some matte medium, wait for it to dry - add gesso, paint, stencils, and stamps. I usually add a final coat of matte or gloss medium to seal it.  If you have beautiful handwriting or a calligraphy pen add the name and address by hand as well, or simply apply a label with name and address. 

Flower and flapper girl napkin peeking through after gesso, paint and stamps.

       Try it....surprise someone with a special piece of art delivered to their door. Next time you send a real birthday card add some art to the envelope first.
 

Zentangle® Creatures

     Sharing your art with a like-minded group is priceless. I feel very lucky to be able to get together once a month with a local mixed media art group, the 'Articrafters'. I helped to form this group a few years ago. The plan was to share what we know and love - and experiment with all kinds of art and craft.  It is also a great opportunity to be in front of a group of friendly faces and hone your teaching skills.  Almost every member has at one time shared a favorite project, workshop or tip.

  Tangled in a Strathmore mixed media journal, colored with Prismacolor colored pencils.

     Before I began teaching from my 'Stash and Smash' book I practiced on my friends and got some great feedback. It also helps with your timing - class and instruction time can go by so quickly you have to be very aware or you leave students with an unfinished project. Not a good thing.

            Tangled on a Zentangle tile, colored with Derwent Inktense pencils.


     I hope as an artist you have found your own kindred spirits to share your art and your vision with. Articrafters is always welcoming new members, some of them recently requested a Zentangle refresher course. As I was looking through some of my Zentangle drawings I found a few I wanted to share with you. My strings (the starting point for most zentangle drawings) always seem to turn into funky creatures. I love making a few swirly marks and trying to decide what they should become. The creatures don't seem finished unless they have drips, tears or dots!!

                              Tangled with Micron pen on Zentangle tile.

Strathmore Visual Journals

     Most of the time my preferred medium is acrylic paint. They work so beautifully with the recycled journals I normally work in. I also love the Strathmore Visual Journals...they have drawing, mixed media, bristol board, and my favorite...watercolor paper.  After watching Strathmore's latest online workshop, Watercolor Sketching with Cathy Johnson I decided it was time to experiment with my long ignored watercolors. Until I picked up a few tips from Cathy's workshop I had always felt like all I created with watercolors was a muddy mess.

     I discovered my favorite pages were the ones I first laid a little color on, either leftover color on a wet brush applied to the page or wetting the page first and spreading dabs of color. Once this was dry I then drew shapes with a pencil and started painting. Drawing the same basic shapes on different pages gave me a chance to perfect the brush strokes needed for curved areas. With a little practice I was able to create light and dark areas.....my favorite watercolor effect.

    Of course I had to add a few tangles to one of them, most of the patterns are from Sandy Steen Bartholmew's books. I first erased the pencil lines I had drawn for the original shapes...this gave me a chance to come back in with watercolors and create an aura or shadow around them.

     I also learned just one swoop of color on the brush isn't enough for me....I let some areas dry and came back in with at least another brush or two of color to deepen portions of the image. All of these pages are now ready for journaling or zentangle art...which one?