Song Birds Singing in Bubble Gum Skies

Clouds of Bubble Gum, birds, coloured rain, watercolour skies.

All inspiration for my most recent painting...I am just loving the world my art adventures have taken me to. 

My latest work is bright, happy and features my new character development.

The Start of my painting on Gesso Board, Thick heavy Bodied Acrylics, pencil, pen, adrionack Inks, collage, multi layered.

Can you see the Birds top left ? I seem to have a love for including them in my art at the moment.

Song birds singing in bubble gum skies ! :)

Detailed close up of the song Bird

My new character development. The eyes have changed, and the nose is much different.

I felt so inspired lately by Vintage Toys, The big doe eyes that a lot of the dolls had that obvious cute but a bit creepy look, my other inspiration comes from the 1950's ...more of that soon.

So here is the painting "Song Bird Singing in Bubble Gum Skies"

I feel a bit like the birds in the painting, feeling very free in my work, not knowing where i am heading but not feeling troubled by it.

Mindy Lacefield course "Paint Your Story" that i have been taking is available soon for self study, can't praise it enough which you may have noticed in my recent posts :) i have only reached this new adventure in art through this course

Mindy Messaged me asking if she could buy a piece of my work !!! I was so thrilled, that a artist i had long admired and found so inspirational had asked me that ! Think Christmas trees with all its lights lit up...that was me when i read the message.

Ohh yes one more think to share, Artist  Rachelle Panagarry  do check out her awesome art ! ( And in the gorgeous new book from Suzi Blu  had some fab free Moo Business cards printed. I took the opportunity to get some done too.

I hope to hear from you soon.

What Birds do you like ?

Have you been on any art Adventures ?

With Love and Bubble Gum Skies

Heidi M 

xxx

The 80's Playthings

I was a child growing up in the early 80's. I lived in bright tracksuits and red leg warmers with reindeers on, and tried my best to keep up with the the craze of Roller skating - which was tough as i could not roller skate, many a grazed knee.
I love toys,  and as a girl i loved dolls especially..

Sindy was my favourite nowadays she looks more like Barbie, but at the time i loved Sindy. Wide eyed, pouty mouth and long hair perfect for me to play hairdresser on ! :)
As part of my fabulous online course "Paint Your Story" with Mindy Lacefield  we were given the project of drawing a favourite doll from Childhood.

So of course i drew Sindy... incorporating the wonderfully freeing mark making and scribbles mix media background. I choose bright fun colours and drew Sindy quite loosely.
It got me thinking about the Toys i loved growing up in the 80's. I was a huge fan of anything and everything from the US and Cabbage Patch Kids hit the UK market, i went crazy for these dolls and my sweet mum went to London and queued to get me one.

Funny looking things really, but i worshipped this doll, it was quite like this one in the picture and i called it "Altheda" 

I loved Garbage Pail too and collected a lot of the cards, i was dazzled by the imagination of these characters and they where slightly weird and i love weird stuff

I find it inspiring to realise that inspiration for your art and illustration can come from the things we once loved in Childhood, they toys and crazes long forgotten but at the time filled up our imagination.

I would really love to hear what your favourite toys were and from what era ?or what craze you where really into ? 

Be great to read your replies.

Lots of love and 80's inspiration :)

Heidi M xxx

Flora

I have been busy painting away on my Art Adventures. I thought i would show you how i worked from start to finish, my processes. This is a first in painting for me really, learning so much from Mindy Lacefield 

I started working on Gesso Board, another first for me. I love the hard surface, i find Canvas to bouncy or maybe i am painting it wrong ?

I applied marks, scribble and symbols adding paint, layering paint, tissue paper, scraping into the paint.I threw a lot at this Gesso board ; )

I walked away from it for a few hours and then came back to add to it.

I was happy with the colours i used, not a combination i would normally go for, preferring darker more muted tones, but these colours really said bright and happy to me.

So the next stage was to add in a face, i actually felt quite nervous. I am used to paper and a eraser, and big fat black pen, holding a paintbrush ! well this was different.

Sketching out the face i realised that adding tissue paper previously in my layers made drawing difficult as the paper was wrinkling and tearing, i had to rip it off...this left the most gorgeous layers underneath...a happy accident ! I can't tell you how i wanted to return to the safety of my black pens, but i walked away again and came back later.

And here is my first finished piece, i am calling this

"Flora" as she appears to be emerging from  abstract flora.

I say finished ? well i want to add bits here and there but i feel happy to leave it...for now :D

So what do you think of "Flora" ?

I plan to carry on exploring further in paint, hoping that i can make the combination of illustration and painting work for me.

I would thinking ahead also like to re open my Etsy store with my new style or art ? But these are just musings for now.

Be Great to hear from you 

Heidi xxx

Winner of The Giveaway is......

                                                                Dawn Bevins
                           You are The Winner !!!

Congratulations to the Giveaway winner, please email with your address and your goodies will be on its way. Thank you to all that entered, more Giveaways soon.

Lots of New Blog Posts so do stop by and have a little read.

Heidi xxx 

Stripy Socks and Waiting for the Bell to Ring

My Socks Today

Stripy Socks and waiting for the Bell to Ring

At 17 i was a stripy sock wearing teenager, hoping that all too soon school would finish and i could head home to disappear inside a book or pages of a sketch book.

I was not a huge fan of school, it was that place that dragged on and on, and unless i was in art or english i was clock watching. 

School seemed to favour the academics and view arty people as flakes, and non achievers.

Here is me  at 17 ( i am in the middle ) 

At 17 i was so unwilling to fit in, to head off study and get a steady job and life..that sure didn't happen!!!

I wanted to go to Art School study sculpture, live in france, eat cheese and wear my stripy socks.

I had a freedom and innocence or naivety around my art, i accepted that it was what i always wanted to and did not care less what other people thought, i wanted to create, to paint, to draw...and i lost all of that as i grew older.

Stopped wearing stripy socks, hung up my dreams, and tried to  fit in ( never happened :P ) and stopped the journey....

After years of ill health and being sad and stuck. 

That place where i left myself at 17 ? well i am discovering some of that all again through my latest art explorations. How magic that is !

Some mark making and collage/paint and pen on magazine papers.

I am remembering all the things that made me smile, the inspiration, the little things i loved but forgot.

Tim Burton - A huge inspiration of mine, a man who dared to be different and followed his dreams even after being kicked out of Disney !.

The online Class i taking "Paint Your Story" with Mindy Lacefield

Had such a fun exercise where we could draw a Tim Burton Inspired Character

And here is a mix media piece i came up with, using paint, tissue paper, lined paper, hey i threw a whole lot of stuff at this one...and i loved every second of doing this.

and this one, i would say this is more a reflection of how i am feeling in art, the colours bright and happy.

I hope i connect further with the 17 year me, the 7 year old and the me that liked to live in France, eat cheese and wear stripy  socks.

Love,  and Sunshine

Heidi M xxx

Gocco Cards Giveaway !!

Dear Friends
I am holding a Gocco Card Fabulous Giveaway, along with orange felt owl and acorn Brooch and mini birdie cards !

All you have to do is simply like my FB page 

and say why you like Scissors and Glue

If you want to share the page via FB, Twitter, carrier pigeon, or whisper to your pets that cool too !

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ScissorsGlue/140075716037428

If you have entered already on FB your name will be counted.

The Giveaway winner will be announced next Wednesday

May 2nd 2012.

Best wishes and Good Luck

Heidi xx

Paint Your Story

As i venture further in my art adventures i thought i would show you what i have been up to on Mindy Lacefield's / Tim Sally "Paint Your Story" Who knew already it would be such a fabulous Journey.

Mark Making and Scribbles

I feel real freedom through this course just to simply create. I am using bright colours, grabbing my pen and letting it take me who knows where

i was feeling a certain sense of nostalgia when creating, wondering where was these feeling coming from ? Why did these pieces remind me of something ? realising that this was very much like my artwork in my early art school days, a time that was so exciting, where i did not feel limited / restricted  ( which i must confess i had been feeling lately in my drawings )

These sketches are just so addictive, i realise very different from my illustrations but i hope through my adventures to explore a long held dream of incorporating paint and collage into my illustrative style. I am glad in some ways i am not sitting comfortably in my work, i seem to alway been exploring...maybe some of you disagree that you should have your style and stick with it ? i feel i have a style of sorts but i feel thirsty to learn more and push my work further, all these roads i am  taking lead me somewhere, and really are there mistakes ? 

Love to hear your thoughts on what i have been creating ?

Be great to learn your views on style ?

What  art adventure have you been on lately ?

Do share

Love and pen shaped wishes

Heidi xxx