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Weekly Art Challenges

Monday, February 23rd, 2009 by Alyice

I love the idea of weekly art challenges. The problem is that I can never quite meet the deadlines. I’m not sure if it’s time constraints, being told that I only have five to seven days to complete the task, or because I tend to work intuitively. All I know is that I’m no good with tight deadlines like that—when it comes to art, that is. I often need a couple of weeks to a month to finish just one creative project—unless of course, it’s one of my art jars.

Sometimes, I will begin creating a piece of art, have the entire background done, and discover that I cannot press forward because something just doesn’t feel right—something is holding me back. I’ll stare at the paper and think, “What do you want from me? What is it that I’m not seeing? Where do you want me to go?” Then, instead of forcing the art to come to me, I’ll simply put it aside and move onto something else, until the right time presents itself. Other times, things seem to flow effortlessly and I can get a piece done within two days.

I’d like to change that, however. I’d like to be able to produce works of art faster, more efficiently, and skillfully while still listening to my creative spirit. But being the realistic person that I am, I know that forcing myself to do a weekly challenge will only stifle my creativity and, as has happened in the past, cause me to flake out of the challenge altogether.

So with that in mind, I decided to allow myself the flexiblity to create art on a monthly basis; to create art that speaks to the soul–and not worry about how fast it’s created.

Let’s create art!

Posted in Artist's Life | 1 Comment »

How To Create A Floral Postcard

Friday, February 20th, 2009 by Alyice

I’ve discovered that I am not a “winter” person. I do not like the cold. I do not like the snow. I do not like the dark, gray skies. I do not like winter. So when the snow finally melted away this past week, I was ecstatic, to say the least. “Spring is coming! Spring is coming!” shouted my soul.

To honor the idea of spring, I created this floral postcard. It’s filled with color: bright red and blue and green and just shouts, “Winter is over!”

Supplies:

8.5 x 11 paper
cardstock
art sand
paint brushes
acrylic paints
Golden GAC 100
computer program (like: Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements)

To create this floral postcard, follow the instructions below:

Grab five basic colors of acrylic paint, some art sand, and an 11 x 8.5 sheet of paper.
Paint the background a nice shade of light brown and let dry.
Sketch three simple flowers onto the paper.
Fill the flowers in with a base coat of color: blue, green, brown, and yellow.
Let dry.
Grab some sand (the kind you buy at the craft store, not the kind you get at the beach) and sprinkle it around the painting.
Take a clean brush and dip it into Golden GAC 100. Lightly brush it over the sand. The brush will pick up some of the sand; just pat back into place.
Let dry.
Go over flowers with another coat of color.
Scan the image into your computer.
Play with the image in Paint Shop Pro until you get the desired effect. (I played with the contrast feature, added a picture frame, and then messed around with the texture effects.)
Resize the image to 5.6 x 4.25—just the perfect size for a postcard —and use the unsharp mask. (In Paint Shop Pro, click on image, then resize. Next, unselect “lock aspect ratio” so that you can manipulate the size correctly. Then under “print size” insert the correct size.)
Print the postcard on cardstock.

Keep Creating.

Posted in Art How-Tos, The Cards | Comments Off

Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 by Alyice

Do you remember Bobby McFerrin’s famous song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? I used to listen to that song over and over and over again. Its message was deep but its music was ever-so-light! It had a way of making the blues go away, of causing you to stop what you were doing and just dance—just dance away the pain, just dance away the strife, just dance away the stress and anxiety brought on by life’s little problems. And by the end of the song, you were singing an entirely new tune!

As I thought about society’s current economic crisis and all the worrying that’s been going on over the past year or so, I couldn’t help but think how much we need to remember those wise and simple words: Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

So I created two cards. In the first card, you can see the tree smiling, but the smile is faint and distant—representing our struggle to find happiness in the midst of a storm.

In the second card, the smile is bright and lively. And each barren limb hosts a scribbled word to remind you to hold onto the things that bring joy and happiness: things like good health, family, relationships, a roof over your head, and that job you still have—even if the hours have been cut back or the pay dropped.

Finally, I want to leave you with a few verses from McFerrin’s song…

In every life we have some trouble.
When you worry you make it double.

Don’t worry. Don’t do it. Be happy.
Put a smile on your face.
Don’t bring everybody down like this.
Don’t worry, it will soon past.
Whatever it is.
Don’t worry. Be happy.

Keep Creating

Posted in The Cards | 2 Comments »

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AlyiceEdrich.com
I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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All material on this blog belongs to Alyice Edrich, unless otherwise noted. No project, artwork, or text may be reproduced or displayed elsewhere without the consent of the creator. That includes making derivative works for resale. Please use project tutorials for personal use and/or gifts only.