Memorial weekend musings

Over a month and not a post... I'm truly sorry to any of you who actually check! ;)  I think I likely have no true followers at this point.  But just in case, I am alive and well and busy!  Lots of things have transpired in this month plus... finishing up my first year of drawing classes, our youngest son's return home for the summer from College in NYC, the shower (at my home!) and wedding of our dear friends daughter, play dates with the grand-darlings, our 32nd Anniversary so much more.  Here are all the pages in my 'square a day' sketch diary since the last one I posted (in February!) as proof of my doings. 12 weeks worth!  (Enjoy the super lazy, therapeutic chronicle, just for fun art! Start one yourself, and let me know you have ;))

Thought I'd pop a pen onto this page to give some size perspective of the sketchbook.  ;)

This week, I had this fun idea to use masking on the outlines and a small space within each rectangle, then to wash some fun colors on the exposed paper.  However, the soft paper in this journal just ripped loose when I tried to remove the masking!  Thankfully the paper is thick, so there was still paper left behind once the masking was lifted, but a lot of paper went with it.  It ripped the edge quite a bit and I won't try this again, which is a bummer, because it looks pretty cool. 

If you worked your way down to the bottom of this entry, here's a virtual hug, ((((( YOU)))))). 
I'm considering changing this blog and it's name, or starting another dedicated to my drawing classes... but I haven't settled on a plan yet.  My whole life is so different in key areas (family/church/daily routine) than when I began (and I wasn't all that clear on what this blog was to be, even then!) that I am not sure what direction I want to go with my online presence.  So far it's been a place for my thoughts and sharing the happy crafts I'm up to and maybe that's okay.  I don't know.  I don't know much about my life these days.  Just trying to figure it out. 
*Regarding Memorial Day (tomorrow) I am deeply grateful for the sacrifices our armed service members have made to keep our country safe, strong and free.  I really am saddened at how little this holiday represents what it was created for anymore.  Barbecues and family gatherings are AWESOME, but please don't forget the great cost others have borne so that we might enjoy these things in the abundance we do.

A Recent Project

I recently completed a fun acrylic project.  I used to do LOTS of these wall plaques, and other acrylic tole art projects along with lots of wall murals.  Because styles have changed, this one was enjoyable as it brought an 'old' craft form into a 'new' look, more in line with contemporary designs.  (most tole painting is traditional or folksy, which is fine too)

So the project was at the bequest of my step-sister whose baby girl was turning one.  I had painted plaques for her 2 other girls who are quite a bit older (in their teens).  Baby Sofia's room is in a pink and brown asian theme, featuring a damask crib quilt of intricate cherry blossom design.  Here's what I came up with...

First I scoured the internet for Asian themed fonts and graphics.  I printed out my choices, seen below.  Then I sanded the plaque and sealed it with an off white acrylic base coat. 

                            (click on photos to view larger, if desired)

Next I sanded the sealer coat and painted another coat of base color on (this one a soft golden beige by Cremacoat, which I prefer.  I used the Plaid brand for the sealer coat).  Then I drew the designs on the plaque with transfer paper.  And began painting the blossoms, like so...

First light pink, then adding darker shading and highlights...

Next I used a dark brown acrylic to paint the stems and letters...  (several coats required, here's the first layer)

You can see the transfer lines here and there, so the next step is to use a soft eraser and get rid of them all.

Since the baby's crib bedding had a frosted gold satin finish, I added some metallic gold highlights to the flowers and a thin glaze of frosty gold acrylic (Cremacoat) over the whole plaque.  I painted the birds eyes with gold and repainted their wings with brown, to stand out from the frosted bodies.  Here's a close up...

Lastly I painted the beveled edge of the plaque pink, and coated the plaque with several layers of clear acrylic top coat.

The whole project only took a couple days, working intermittently, and was fun.  My lil sis loved it, and that's the most important thing.   Hopefully Sofia likes it too!  She's the cutest baby... almost as cute as the grand-darling.  ;o)   (now, if I could just get some inspiration to finish that huge asian landscape I'm doing for Jesse's room!)  Hope you enjoyed my little project.  Bye for now.