Funky Art Queen

funky sister friend (2), Sisters and Friends by lesley432 Get this custom t-shirt at Zazzle Another take on sisters and girlfriends. Where I end...she begins. I have this terrible habit of leaving my sentences just hanging in the air...incomplete. I can't ever seem to hold my concentration long enough to complete a simple sentence. Both my sister and my best friend complete my sentences for me. We just carry on a beautiful conversation, never missing a beat. That is how well they know me. That is what I mean...Sisters and girlfriends. We complete each other. When I am weak, she is strong. When I feel low, she lifts me up! When she is low, thank goodness I lift her up. For some reason, we are never low at the same time.

Another tree...happy and whimsical. I love doing these. The colors and patterns are fun and I love the repetitive nature like the checks in the branches. I don't know why I always prefer patterns. Black checks always add a whimsical quality. Today was a lovely day. We bought Craig a new barbeque grill yesterday and he could not wait to use it today. He made chicken, burgers, skewers with shrimp and all kinds of good stuff. I am stuffed. I finished laundry, piddled around the house and worked on this and another little painting. I worked on my Mary Kay business some as well. So, it was a nice day. Quiet and relaxing. Oh, and I did get a nice nap. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. We will not forget! Love Lesley

I just had to share this with you. It is a creative subject...it's about my wonderful son...I want to say "precious son" but I think he would hate that. He was in the highschool talent show the other night with a group of his guy griends. They did the Boys to Men Song "A Song for Mama". OK, do you think I cried? Ummm....yes I did. Here are the lyrics to that song. A SONG FOR MAMA (Boys II Men) You taught me everything And everything you've given me I'll always keep it inside You're the driving force in my life, yeah There isn't anything Or anyone that I can be And it just wouldn't feel right If I didn't have you by my side You were there for me to love and care for me When skies were grey Whenever I was down You were always there To comfort me And no one else can be What you have been to me You'll always be You will always be the girl In my life for all times Chorus: Mama Mama you know I love you (Oh you know I love you) Mama Mama yo...

I finished the clay mosaic piece and just had to share it with you. Well, it is almost done. I want to add some kind of hanger to it. After using gel-medium to place all the clay tiles and other objects in the piece, I applied a coat of polyurthane to protect it and give it some shine. I'm too tired to critique my own work today so I will do it in the morning...perhaps. What a day!

Well, I have to say that I am fascinated with the mosaic maker I have discovered. So, bare with me for one more collection of my art in a mosaic form. This is a collection of my creative journal entries for the last two years. One thing I see from doing the mosaics is that you can see the patterns, themes, colors, etc. that you as an artist tend to stick with. Though my journals are my place for trying new techniques, they are also where I go to express myself. There are so many thoughts and feeling that one can pull from art. No words are necessary. Sometimes words are harmful whereas art is left up to interpretation of the viewer. OK, now I have to figure out something cool to do with these mosaics. Someone suggested posters. Wouldn't this make a bright and cheerful gift wrap?

I found this great site where you can create your own mosaics. Go and check it out. Click on the word "Picture Mosaics" above. It will take you right to it. Just another fun way to waste time and explore your creative side. Happy Monday! Lesley

I purchased this little purple velvet handbag at a purse auction for Relay for Life. So, I just had to fix it up. It is purple and patterned on one side and the other side is black velvet. I printed on fabric-this lovely lady. I sewed the metal letters "friends" on. I sewed on a button and stiched around the edges. I also added the little chain to add to the "vintage" look. I have placed it on my ebay site. My link to the ebay site is on the side there. It is not very big (7"X5.5") just big enough for your money and lipstick and compact. A lovely evening purse don't you think? I think it would be a great gift for a friend!

Life is funny isn't it? Why do I say that today? Well, I was thinking about my adventure at the Celebration of Arts in Midland yesterday. Renea, Heather, and I attended this event yesterday morning. I was so excited the minute I walked in to the Midland Convention Center! I could see booth after booth of beautiful art. We looked and looked and enjoyed conversations with the artists. Some of the artists were local and some from as far away as Ohio I believe. While talking to these artists, I did my own little personal survey and was delighted to discover that so many of them were self-taught artists. I suppose that was an encouragement to me! Anyway, about the "life is funny part". Renea and I happened upon booth that caught our eye. It was just the kind of art we love. Such depth, texture, and imagination. Even inspirational! We stayed there for some time before I realized I had discovered this artist in an ad once for an Art Gallery in Fredricksberg, Texas. I had actuall...

Well, I was so inspired by http://www.mikaarts.com/viewnews.php Lauris Mika at the Art and Soul retreat in Dallas. I did not even get to attend her workshop! But, I saw her work in the flea market. Oh, I loved the colors and patterns and textures. So, I was inspired to do my own version. It is not nearly as sophisticated as hers and I have no idea about her techniques...but it is mine. I can't hardly wait to finish it so I can share the finished piece with you. Here is a picture of what I have thus far. The pieces are not even glued in yet. I may not even leave the pieces where they are. But, this is my general idea...and the mess I'm making. I just cut out little shapes with some cookie cutters and baked them-polymere clay. Then I used a polymere clay glaze to cover and make them shiny. I stamped some of them with stazon ink and different rubber stamps. I have set them inside of a wooden box lid. You can see the ridges on the top where I removed the hardware. This is where I...

At the Art and Soul workshop, I had a critique of my art. One of the things we discussed was that I could benefit from taking a basic art class. This would help me gain concepts of color, design, pattern, etc. Right now, I don't have any time for classess. I hate the rigidity of classes anyway. So, I'm doing a self-study on color. I have a book! Heehee and I will do research on the internet. I decided to do a series to demonstrate my new found knowledge in color concepts. This is my first piece. It is the usual funky art lady. However, I used complementary colors, lime-green/red-violet in this piece. I am not sure what the red-orange is considered here. I will be doing several more paintings in this study. I used Portfolio water soluble pastels and H2O watercolors for this piece. I did the funky lady because she is familiar to me. Next up? A funky tree. We will see what I learn from all of this.

This morning I'm pondering and thinking about how I get so inspired from going on these little excursions. I love to travel and go new places and meet new people! It gets me motivated, inspired and energized. I have to tell you this little story about one moment on the trip. During lunch break, I decided to have a quick coffee and muffin so I could get back to my collage in Claudine's class. At first I sat down by myself at the bar facing the window outside. Then I looked around and discovered these two nice looking ladies wearing the art and soul name tags at a table. I asked them if I could join them and we started talking. These two ladies were from New Orleans. Of course, this lead to a discussion about the huricane and how it had affected their lives. Both of the ladies agreed that although their houses were not too badly damaged, their lives in New Orleans would never be the same. You could see the sadness in their faces as they talked about it. But, they admitted this tr...

Hey All, I just got back from an art workshop/retreat called " Art and Soul" in the Dallas area. It was a girl's weekend get away for my sister Rhea, my daughter Heather, and me. The Art and Soul workshop was my agenda. Rhea and daughter went to the spa for all kinds of pampering. Art and Soul Oh my gosh! I can't wait to go to another one. My first workshop and I had a blast. I attended the Collage workshop by Claudine Hellmuth! Yes, I met Claudine Hellmuth and she is a gem. She is precious and kind and talented. I could just go on and on. I just really enjoyed this workshop. Here is a picture of me with Claudine. I'm such a dork...I had her sign both of my Claudine Hellmuth books. I learned some new techniques to create a 3d collage. I learned how to cut plexyglass to create a faux glass cover. I learned several techniques for creating texture in your piece. I also learned that in the art world, the layers and textures are referred to as "history" of a ...