"Harbinger"

I have had this girl drawn for over a week and liked the graphite shading so much I wasn't sure how I wanted to paint her (or if I wanted to paint her). I really like the look of graphite and didn't want to cover it up with paint. Finally I decided to use colored pencils for the face with a little bit of acrylics mixed in. So you can still see a little bit of the graphite. I'm very pleased with how she came out. What do you think?

Another GPP Street Team Journal Page

Here is my February entry for the GPP Street Team Challenge. I had so much fun on this and this is my first African American girlie. I hope to keep practicing and getting better at darker skin tones.

Artfest Is Near!

Artfest is going to be my very first art retreat and it is coming up at the end of March. If you haven't heard of Artfest, it is a 3 1/2 day art retreat put on by Teesha Moore with tons of very talented artists teaching a variety of mixed media classes. It is held on an old military base in the city of Port Townsend near Seattle. I am getting so nervous because it has been ages since I have traveled alone. After I land in Seattle, I have to rent a car and drive another hour and drive onto a ferry to get to Port Townsend. Thank goodness for GPS!

But, I am extremely excited!! I got all of the classes I wanted!!! On the first day, I will be taking a class with Jesse Reno. I hear he is a fabulous teacher and if you ever get the chance to take one of his classes, you absolutely must! The second day I will be taking a course with Sunny Carvalho. I am excited about this class because she is going to teach us to use Genesis Oil Paints. These are oil paints that dry with a heat gun. They have the blending abilities that oil paints have, but you don't have to wait forever for them to dry! My last class is with the lovely and talented Misty Mawn. I didn't originally get into this class because it was full, but I was put on a waiting list. I got an e-mail from Teesha a few weeks ago saying there was an opening...Yes!! Misty was the reason I wanted to go to Artfest in the first place, so yeah, I was just a little excited! I have just completed the second of two of her online workshops and she is such an inspiration!!!

I have also signed up for a few trades (which I hear is a must at Artfest). The first one is called a "Fatbook." I had to send 55 4X4 pages with the theme being Artfest or Fairy Tales. I collaged a print of one of my paintings of Alice from Alice in Wonderland. When I get to Artfest, I will get a book with about 50 pages of everyone who participated's entries.

The other was an ATC trade. For this one I had to make 33 ATC's. I used my newest painting "Girl with Flower hat." The theme was fairy tales or the number 5 (because it is the 5th year of Artfest). I chose 5 and that is why you see the #5 on the bottom right hand corner.

I am sure this will be a wonderful and exciting adventure for me and I can't wait to see how I will grow from the experience.

Girl With Flower Hat Print is in my Shop!!!

***UPDATE***

I have had some requests to sell prints of this piece, so I have made some and they are now in my shop.

I'm a little behind in my lessons for Misty Mawn (she gives you a lot and really makes you work...isn't that awesome?). I think this portrait is from lesson two. I used a stabilo pencil and titanium white for the face and acrylics for the rest. This girlie has been in my head for awhile. I really like the contrast between the black and white face and then a splash of color around her. This was so fun to create!!!

Heart Your Art- My First Interview

Do you have insecurities about your art? Do you constantly compare your art to others? You aren't alone...believe me! Melissa from "A Magikal Meliss" has started a campaign regarding this very subject. The campaign is called "Heart your Art" and I am her very first interview on the subject. When she contacted me and asked me if she could interview me, I decided that this was a subject that my experiences could possibly help newer artists. So I agreed. Melissa sent me a list of questions and I felt it was extremely important for me to be brutally honest. So if you are interested in reading my interview, you can do so here.