The Winter Witch

Hello,

I thought I would share a few pictures of my Winter Witch for this year. She is just over 12" high, costumed in wool, has a tiny owl on her staff, and holds out a lantern as she peers out into the snow. Brrr....

It's THAT time of year!

Hello again,

Just to catch you all up on what I have been doing I thought I would show a few of my more recent Copic ACEOs. I do enjoy working with Copic markers, the key is to find the best paper(s). The color's hue and saturation is greatly affected by the paper used. If you find the perfect paper -- what a dream!

If you are interested is visiting the eBay auction for the top one here "Little Witchlet", click here.

Thanks for visiting my blog and Happy Halloween!

Okay... I HAVE been productive

Hello again! After my last post, well... all my bent-up productivity broke free. I have been creating my little Halloween art.

Thought I would post a few pictures of the results.

Thanks for looking!!

Pardonnez Moi

Shame on me! I have been away from posting for way too long.

No excuses -- none -- but I do feel I should offer an explanation.

I took a trip to Europe and I fell in love with Paris. Thanks to the Icelandic volcano I got to stay a bit longer than planned.

Such a beautiful city... truly, stunningly magnificent. The Parisians were a bit unpleasant and haughty and so I decided to become one for a day.

I don't smoke, but to complete the transformation, I made little rolled up paper pretend cigarettes and colored the end and placed them in a discarded Galouse wrapper. The beret was borrowed from my sister, who joined me in adopting the Parisian attitude for the day.
Anyway, back to the explanation...
I came back from Paris a changed person and I don't understand why. I have been in a creative funk ever since my return. I just don't feel creative or inspired. My husband says my desire to create art will come back someday, but I wonder...
... maybe I need another visit to Paris to search for my muse. I think she left me, became a Parisian herself and stayed there. And, I don't blame her!

A Couple of Sneak Peeks...

I, and a bunch of my very talented Halloween artistic friends, will be debuting a new Halloween Art marketplace around the stroke of midnight tonight. It is the Halloween Queen's Castle Bootique. This is my first venture outside eBay, I am pretty excited!

I am so excited that I just have to show a tiny peek at one of my two artworks.

I really hope you will join us in our Grand Opening tonight!

Thanks for peeking!

Copics - I can't stop!

Hello, again. This is just a quick post to share glimpses of what I have been busy doing lately.

Yup, more Copic marker ACEOs. I really love these alcohol ink markers now. In fact, after I finish this post, I am going to try coloring on some fabric!

Truly, I cannot stop. Is there an Alcohol Inks Anonymous? ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Copics Witch

I have been busy playing with my new Copic markers, again. I wanted to try them in my ACEO artwork, which is why I finally bit the bullet and ordered them last month. I am really liking them, especially since my last order for additional colors was the Original Copics -- these come with a fine tip instead of the brush tip.

So, in case some of you are interested in Copics, I thought I would share a few tips from me, a new user.

First, Copics are expensive. So before you buy, I suggest you go to YouTube and type Copics in the search box. I learned alot there about how to best blend and color.

Second, through trial and error I learned that Verithin Prismacolor pencils work well with Copics. They don't seem to be disolved by the alcohol inks so you can draw lightly first, cover with Copics (which are transparent color), and then add additional Prismacolor pencil on top. My only cautions are that you use only Verithin under Copics. You can use the softer Prismacolor pencils over Copics once they are dry (quick drying) if you do not intend to add additional color with your markers in that area. The softer Prismacolors will smear and could stain your Copic tips.

Third, I have found the paper that works best for my artwork. It was available at Paper Zone stores (not sure if it still is, sorry). It is called Conquerer CX22 Diamond White Cover Sub 118.3# 42.51M. It is super smooth, has a nice stiffness/weight, and is relatively inexpensive. I bought a box of 200 8.5"x11" sheets a few years ago for just over 15 cents a sheet. This box should last me a lifetime.

Fourth, I currently own about 30 Copic Sketch and 12 Copic Original markers. I have nearly every color I need, but there are about 5 more I wish I had. At about $4.50 each, you can see that this is a serious expenditure, so choose your colors wisely. A mix of very, very light and their darker shades in the primary colors, plus the same in earthtones and grays should give you a good starting set.

These are just my opinions/observations so far -- freely given, but not guaranteed :-).

My latest ACEO witch shown above is titled "Hobbles" and will be on eBay tonight. If you wish to view the auction... click here.

Channeling Cindy Lou Who from Whoville

I headed out to shovel the walkways and decks this morning, but my hair wouldn't stay under my jacket hood. I gave myself a very high ponytail and felt just like Cindy Lou Who from Whoville (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas). This backlit shot shows it in all it's spikey glory. Now, I am afraid to take in down since it has become kind of set. Think I'll wear it this way all day. LOL!
Of course, now I see hairdos everywhere and felt that the walkway lights had on pompadours!

Hope you are having a good hair day and remember the lesson from Whoville...

it's not what you get that brings happiness, it's having friends and family.
Oh, and a good roast beast helps. ;-)