Artistic Renderings: August 2013

NEW........ Dynasty Black Gold HAT TRICK brushes

When I first saw these brushes on the Dynasty blog site I thought "these sure look like they
would be fun". I went on line to where I normally purchase my FM brushes http://www.artistbrushstrokes.com on Amazon and they are so new they didn't have them listed yet....so I went back to the blog and commented questioning where they could be purchased and then got super busy and kinda forgot about them.

Today when I got the mail there was a manila envelope from FM and I thought "hmmmm, wonder what's inside". Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened the package and inside were the 3 different types.

Left: Sides and longer than middle.
Middle: All are equally level
Right: Sides are shorter than the middle

If you want to see what they "do" or what another artist has created with them go to the Dynasty Blog which is edited by Karyn Meyer-Berthel at www.dynastybrush.com. You will be glad you did.

The name.....well the Canadians will know. In hockey when there are 3 goals in one game by a player it is referred to as a "HAT TRICK" and was designed to pay homage to hockey in Canada. How "neat" is that?

I have been using FM Black Gold Dynasty brushes for more than 10 years ... and how I wish I would have found them sooner. Neither of the Tole Shops where I lived carried them so it wasn't until I went to a Vegas convention that I discovered them and a couple of more years until I found them online. I have no brush fatigue when I use them as the handles are just the perfect size....and when one talks about quality.......a picture is worth a thousand words.... I use several different lines I and even have my own landscape brush set available on my Etsy site. http://www.artisticrenderings.etsy.com

Does your brush hinder or help you? If it doesn't help or do what you want maybe you need to try.....

My favorite lines are:

IPC
Faux Squirrel
Dynasty Foliage Wave
Dynasty Dry Brushes
Eye of the Tiger
Black Gold Micro Detail brushes

It depends on my surface, design and if I use Liquitex, DecoArt or Matisse paints...which brush I settle on.

New Altered Art Beginning...

"This" is my next altered art project...(along with several other projects in other mediums) with a few things I have been picking up and putting on the bookshelf that might be feasible additions or....I might not use any at all but at least I "have started" and I am hoping that tomorrow I can spend at least 4 hours in prepping other elements that I am going to use... I am kinda hoping that this is going to be one of those really "fun" ones like Mother Nature was.

I'm afraid I am not the neatest of artists and have found that what works for me is to have things OUT,,,,not in a cupboard, or in a box, but OUT. (Sounds good doesn't it?)

Winter is coming so that means more inside than outside so I am hoping I can have a nice list of accomplishments and finished pieces from here till spring. I just never know about tomorrow so I need to be prepared with several different things at one time.

But anyway stay tuned.... I am wondering if this Beginning to End to with pictures is going to work so I can show the progression...especially if someone wants to follow and do their own piece.. But be prepared to "get hooked".....

Artistic License

I was delighted when my sister took me down Route 6 to see this barn....all repainted...fresh as the day it was probably first painted antique years ago.... I just wish he had matched the roof and paint a bit better.....buuuuuutttt with a little artistic license....I can make it the color I want.... How cool is that?

I took photos of barns, old churches, new churches, homes that WERE churches, older homes, landscapes, clouds, flowers, butterflys, ...

Micro / Craft Beer Easel with Periodic Updates

I don't think I need to copyright this as no one but me will probably like it....LOL...

Micro breweries and craft beer is BIG in Oregon especially here in Bend and Portland....big business. I have never liked beer, have tried some of the craft beers and they all just taste the same "to me" and I still don't like beer......but ANYWAY..... I am working on this picture easel to which I have securely glued local beer caps.....Right now each bottle cap is clamped in place....and I am pretty sure what I am going to do for the picture portion.... so I am excited to find the "piece" I need to finish this up...... Making it for a
beer drinker and now I need to find someones to save me the cardboard beer cartons....as my husband isn't a beer drinker either.... This is one of those times I wish we were....as I NEED beer related throw aways....LOL.....

UPDATE: August 24, 2013

Thanks to a fellow Etsy vendor I found the front portion of the easel. She saved me time, I don't have to go store to store searching... it will simply arrive in my mail box...and I will have helped a fellow artist..or....... a "fellow" who helps an artist and makes some etra money... Supporting Etsy is a GOOD thing.

UPDATE: September 2, 2013

My ordered item is here....and today I got some basecoating done,,,, and now I have to decide just exactly what I want to do ... or think I want to do....I never seem to do what I think I am going to do so it is always a surprise....

Maybe tomorrow I will get downstairs again and can finish it up.

PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES II

In reading the Shapes book/DVD by Helen Breil I discovered a brand new product (at least for me) called PYMII (Preserve your Memories II) and was quite impressed with the demo videos and for the difference in this product vs other products on the market. Naturally ..... I placed my order for a can.

Go to: http://www.PYMii.com and see what you think about the products' versatility, quick drying,
advantages over other finishing sprays, etc. and if you are an artist of quality I am betting you will order a can also. Made here in the good ole' US of A.... It is a bit pricier than other finish sprays but it does more than a regular finish spray.

Browse the site..... It was manufactured in 2002 and in 2005 on QVC they sold out in a matter of minutes.

Helen Breil Shapes Book On DVD

I just finished viewing this book on DVD that I had pretty much convinced myself that I was NOT going to like......format wise as I am one of these women who likes to hold the book, magazine, etc. vs viewing. I guess maybe it is my "age".... everything else seems to get blamed on age so why not this?

When it comes to jewelry design, polymer clay, and rubber stamps I am pretty much a novice so I found the DVD very imformative. some really neat designs, the photos are great, and it was easy to navigate

around within the book format on screen which was also a pretty pleasant surprise.

SO.....all in all I would say it was a 8+ out of 10 based on my knowledge level. I understood what was being written, loved the close ups of the photos, etc. It is a great learning tool and a DVD I know I will refer back to again and again....(age, ya know) and takes less room to store that magazines.... hmmmmmm.

Be the first to get your copy at http://www.artisticrenderings.etsy.com

Creativity

It seems as if it just takes a minute or so for me to "know" that I need to purchase something...or causes
a creative nerve to twitch somewhere..... I never know quite how it will be used and many times differently than expected. Silly things are inspirational to me....sometimes it could even be the shape of something...something that makes an item different. I don't even worry about "broken" anymore...adds a bit of character that I like to see in art and I guess you could say these are my favorite artists who have unconciously taught me through their books, dvds, etc. and when you can't "see" how something is done, you kinda have no choice but to wing it on your own and do the best you can...which is where you begin to achieve your own style of doing things. If you can't find the brush size, or even type that the artist recommends pick from your brushes ones that you think might accomplish what the artist has done...or tweek it somehow to avoid doing that particular step. Something you don't like about a pattern or photo....change it or leave it out. Use a different surface than the artist or a different palette of colors more to your liking or use a color palette and create your own piece with the colors. There are so many twists and turns with art...and I have also learned to never say never ...

I really need to do the Friday night art walk in our town.... to have such a wonderful option and not utilize it is a shame... That's it I am going this Friday night.

A cigar box from a Smoke Shop here that sells the "empties". I loved the way this box opened so about once a month I make this a stop on my route into town. I love cigar boxes (maybe because my father was a cigar smoker, or that he too saved HIS boxes when he could afford a whole box at one time). So I use them for storage, mixed media/altered art, etc.

I also tlove the little metal cigar tins and used these in our spare bathroom as a row of tile over tile.....
I managed to find enough different with the same beginning and end....and I kinda like the results....Unique, quirky, colorful, neutral, etc.

Inspiration can be surprising....

My newest inspiration is a piece of work done by Susan Black called

Botanical Collage and it is in the July/August issue of Cloth Papper Sissors .... one of my favorite magazines. It is going to be fun to see what happens. Flat is hard for me so I already know that whatever I do will be a bit more dimensional based on me... I loved the coffee mottled background ... and the flowers so will use those from my garden to inspire me colorwise and design wise...

Misty Morning Sunrise Necklace

I fell in love with this Jasper cabuchon when I saw it at a garage sale. It just said misty morning sunrise to me. I love the illusion of trees and branches and the grey/pink of the sky with the suggestion of a cloud here and there. I used etched white handmade lampwork beads to give the suggestion of clouds, greys and whites for fog and mist. The pink beads as well as the grey and whites are also handmade lampwork spacer beads and the single focal lampwork bead matches the cabuchon almost perfectly. The grey glass beads are opaline and have dark and light greys/black. I have used Tierra Cast spacers and bead caps, grey seed beads and a hevy duty clasp. The beading is done assymetrically so each side of the necklace is different.

Polymer Clay Cuff Bracelets and Rubber Stamps

I added an opal bead on the blue levi bracelet as well as silver chain and a lobster claw clasp. With the other cuff I used brass chain and a heart clasp.

I buffed both bracelet faces with a soft tee shirt type materia....I love the shine (after 3 coats of Satin Finish) and the buffing. Don't skimp on the 3 coats of finish....each coat makes it look better.

I used 2 of the rubber stamps I sell to emboss the clay with design.

Glad Openings

These glads are the reddest I have seen....and were labeled as black glads. Since this is the first year for these bulbs I am betting that each year they will get darker....but they are just gorgeous. We have 4 of them planted and soon 2 more will be out in full bloom.... on the stem shown there will be at least 9-10 flowers....awesome.

Helen Breil Zentangle Rubber Stamps

The Helen Breil Zentangle Stamps have arrived and are listed on my Etsy site for sale.

This bracelet is "in process" but I wanted to show you how I chose to use the Tango Stamp in this partically finished cuff bracelet. I used Beige clay and DecoArt acrylic paint... Sometimes you don't know just what color you want something to be so using a neutral based clay kinda takes care of that problem. I wanted a blue jean cuff bracelet.

Hopefully over the weekend I will finish this bracelet, another, and a necklace with a pendant using black clay and a Patina wax to guild the stamped design.

Polymer Clay

It kinda looks as if I am going to have a round of "clay" projects..... This is a piece I did a couple of years ago and I really do enjoy the sculpting,,,, and prefer hand forming vs using the pasta machine but I do realized that it DOES have its advantages for quickness....

Since I have been selling the texture impression stamps on Etsy I thought it was time "I" played around with them a bit and I have to admit I am having fun. LOVE the stamps and the versatility of their use. Pushing down harder for more texture and not so hard to get a further away look creating some depth to the piece. This could also be the case using color....lighter towards the top of the piece and darker to the bottom. The application of other mediums' techniques etc. lends itself to this medium.

I am working on 2 cuff bracelets and a necklace/clay pendant. With one I used the Gilders Wax which comes in different beautiful colors....one I mixed two colors of clay together, and with the 3rd piece I used acrylic paints as I wanted it to wear with jeans. On each piece I used a different stamp and color technique and I am pleased with the results of each. Next is designing the actual jewelry piece using the clay components. I am hoping to have play time during the weekend.....

So come check back later and see "what's happening".

Out of the Ordinary

It seems as if I am ALWAYS looking for that which is unique, different, not the norm, out of the box,
and unusual for photographs and things that are different have a tendency to bring a smile, and make something "more mine". I lean towards the unconvential.... and have tried to approach all of my own art pieces in this manner. I do what works for me, use what works for me, and if I don't have exactly what I need I improvise as best I can. I love using items in a way that isn't how you normally see it used...if it works in either color, shape, size, theme, etc.

Individuality is fun and quirky.

Helen Breil Zentangle Rubber Stamps (Impression Texture)

Ms Briel resides in Canada and 11 of her 12 designs are her original hand drawn designs inspired by ZENTANGLES one of the newest art crazes which is the meditative, repetitive-pattern approach to drawing.

SOON...... I will begin carrying her designs in my Etsy shop along with the Lisa Pavelka rubber stamps and stamps from an unknown artist I currently carry. I will also carry the Pixie stamps which are the work of Helens' husband Mike Breil and they will also be available soon .

The stamps are 4" x 5" with the textured area being 3 7/8" x 4 7/8".

The design is intricately cut as you can see and makes a wonderful impression when used on clay which is what I will be using it for. They are washable with mild soap and water and can be used with any soft clay, polymer, earthen, porcelian, paper and fabric, etc. etc. Some type of slip is recommended for the metal clays.

These stamps will run $14.00 plus shipping and available to US and International Buyers.

Coming Soon....around the 20th of August 2013 so check my site .....

http://www.artisiticrenderings.etsy.com .

Clay Pattern / Texture / Design Rubber Stamps

On my Etsy site I sell different designs, and sizes of rubber stamps. I have had a couple of people who have wanted to "see" what the designs looks like on clay so this is the picture I took using some FImo polymer clay in metallic copper and the "Spring Cleaning" small stamp and just molding the clay with my fingers vs putting through the clay roller to emboss the clay using the stamp..... I was excited to see how wonderfully crisp and clear the stamps emboss the clay...so I know that my customers have to be pleased ... ... I want to use some of the stamps and do a bracelet in off white and then use my acrylic paints to hit the high spots....

Mother Nature

My Mother Nature Mixed Media assemplage piece is done.... In the base of the lamp I was able to squeeze in a single candle/flame light bulb so this acts as a night light in a room.

She looks as I wanted her to look...

I "Thought" she was done....today (8-14) I found some water drops that I had to add like raindrops to the square glass portion.... which also has a dragonfly and Queen Annes Lace decals front and back.....

Another set of twins?

Another set of twins..... This might be the doe that had twins two years ago.... Some of our resident deer come back to show us family growth.. I have very little grass....so ours in this area must be sweet and tender.

Raven Crow Necklace

I have always loved ravens and crows. There are so many colors that can be seen in the sheen of their feathers. And the little top knot so many of them have....I love when edges are not clean .... I used some beads I had that arer blue, green, burgendy, black, etc.... because I felt it reflected well the colors of the bird.

There are several handmade lampwork beads in this piece, swarowski crystals to lure the raven with shiny, bright reflective colors and I have used a wood dominoe for the raven collage. The edges have been sanded and a protective coating applied but it DOES NOT make this piece waterproof.

There are several different designs I am going to work up or just sell as a pendant for those who would like to design and make their own piece. I also have some skeleton images done on wood dominos that I will be listing on Etsy shortly also.

I don't have any idea how many I will make....but each one will be different when worked into a piece of jewelry.

DEM BONES Skeleton Earrings

8-1 Copyright Diana Putnam

I have about 10 pairs of these skeleton earrings done and want to get as many bracelets, necklaces, etc. finished within this next week so that I can list on my Etsy site....'

They are long but not too long....and I love the dangliness of them.

Happy Halloween early....

Mother Nature Update

My husband brought this home to me from a local garage sale...he paid $2 for it. In-operable but I love old stoves and this half moon one was unique, special, and then all of a sudden I knew what it might just be the perfect base for....
my Mother Nature piece which has been progressing well....
and with a base that makes it getting close to "done".... The little stove is just perfect. I am going to clean it up just a little...
based on the rest of my piece. A light once over of an SOS pad is all it needs...

Next I think will be the Gallery Glass Paint.... I don't like being able to "see" the handle so have to think about what to do there.... and I want some sleeves of "something" for the branch arms....and who knows what else but I have to be real careful about over doing....from the glass block up with the exception of sleeves she is DONE.... it is from the glass block down that I need to concentrate on......

8-13 Copyright Diana Putnam

Weathering

Althought these are July storm clouds in PA... we had just plain ole' grey, overcast skies with thunder, lightening, some hard rain and a little hail. With as dry as evrything is here....it is a well welcomed rain and I wouldn't mind more of the same all night long..... Our Pru doesn't like the thumder,,, as I guess most dogs shun so she has shakes and fretting until one of us can calm her down.

Loved these storm clouds...different from the ones we get here in the High Desert of Oregon and what I remember of storm clouds in the High Desert of California...... I have always said the clouds are different in different areas of the country based on horizon, tree levels or flatness of land, time of day, etc... so we have a tendency to paint what we see. I love the yellow(s) I see in this cloud with also a tinge of mauve and the darkness of the trees to frame the photo out.

Artistic Renderings