Inspired by Klimt

Hi Everybody!

The week is racing by again, and I still haven't worked out where the time goes to; I get up in the morning, do this and that, and then I notice it's getting dark already. I am sure days used to be longer!

We had nice weather again, cold but with sunny intervals, and a wonderful sunrise and sunset.

I decided to do a Klimt page in my Giant Journal for Art Journal Journey, inspired by the masters, and tried to do my version of 'The tears of a woman'. I spent a lot of time working on it, with the gilding flakes, and little mosaic pieces, but am not really happy with it now it is finished. But I did enjoy getting painty and sticky, so that's something! After drawing the face I painted her with gold acrylic paint, and did the hair with gold and bronze  structure paste, into which I stamped with my scroll stamp for waves. Klimt often does a sort of mottled background, which I also tried, but it doesn't really look right. I will try again, and hope the next one will be better.

I am also linking to Paint Party Friday, hosted, as always, by Eva and Kristin.

Today I have the pictures of the sky in the morning, and the colours are different now than in summer, and very beautiful: 

And in the evening at the Rhine:

Here's hoping the sun shines for you today! 

Take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Thankful for....

Hi Everybody!

 I was happy to be able to get out for 2 nice walks today. The weather was changeable, but stayed dry for me when I was out, which was much appreciated!

I am still coughing and sneezing a lot, but this, too, shall pass!

This week we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the  Berlin Wall. I remember seeing the pictures on TV 25 years back, and hardly being able to believe what was happening. People were leaving East Berlin, streaming through the checkpoint,  and unbelievable happy, thankful and emotional because they were free. Freedom is something we must all be thankful for. For 'Inspired by the masters' at Art Journal Journey I made a page in my giant journal to commemorate this event. Thierry Noir began to paint his iconic figures on the west side of the wall back in 1984, along with some colleagues. After the fall of the wall, this was declared a national monument and is known as the 'East Side Gallery'.

I used oil pastels and gel-pens to create my picture, and the barbed wire has been stamped with a TH stamp.

The theme at Manus Mikrokosmos fits well - thankfulness.

There are so many things for which I am thankful - for being able to get out and about, for friends in blogland and locally, for always having enough to eat, that we have clean water to drink,  for good medical care, and for being able to live in such a pretty place.  

I am thankful for the clouds and the rain:

For the sunrise:

For the Rhine, and the lovely nature which surrounds me here in this beautiful place:

For the birds who always visit:

For the sunset:

We really have a lot to be thankful for.

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks for coming by!

It's all in my head....

Hi Everybody!

It's time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, and our theme is home and or hand made - gifts, presents, or....or....It's up to you! You have 2 weeks to show us your hand made gifts, so hope plenty of you will join in the fun! This is a chance to make something other than a card - a wall-hanging, a gift box, perhaps something you have stitched - the ideas are as boundless as the imagination!

I made a set of mini notepads using post it notes. I made the covers with left over scraps of hand-painted paper, or parts of journal pages that went wrong and where just a part could be saved etc. I cut a strip of paper as wide as the note book and in the length enough to cover the front and back in one piece. I scored the paper at the top to make a nice crease, and glued the back of the notebook to the bottom of the strip of paper. I wanted some little 'token' presents that are easy to send in an envelope. Some have been decorated with scraps of tissue tape.

Here they are from the front:

And from the back.

For 'Inspired by the Masters' at Art Journal Journey I have been inspired by Picasso. I love his lino cuts, as the figures he created are so simple, but at the same time elegant and full of movement. I am not a fan of bull fighting, so in my picture I have turned the things round a bit. In the original the Matador is attacking the bull, in my head, the bull seems to be having his way.

The first picture shows my original, which I made a few years back, as part of a pair with the Miró head I showed earlier this week. 

I printed 'my' head onto dictionary paper, fussy cut it, and fixed it into my A3 journal onto a background made with oil pastels melted with the heat gun. I gave it a punk hairdo again, and embellished it with some tissue tape strips.

And here is the whole spread in my giant journal, Picasso meets Miró:

I was able to get out for a walk again today, which was great, as we had lovely weather, and was really happy to get back to my Rhine:

On the way back I went along the stream and saw my long shadow reaching over to the other side:

And this little cutie was waiting rather impatiently for me to leave my balcony so he could get at the fat balls in peace!

Have a great day, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Inspired by again....

Hi Everybody!

We had a sunny but cold Sunday here, and I stayed home again. My temperature is almost normal. so hope to be able to get out again tomorrow, I miss my walks!

Today I have been inspired by several masters in my painting. I painted the background with water colours and oil pastels. The lady on the right is from Monet's 'Beach at Trouville'. In the original she is not wearing such bright colours.The clouds and sun have sneaked in from Van Gogh, and the grainy sand and water are inspired by pointillists, like Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, who developed this technique back in the 1880s. And the rest was made with collage and stamping to make a beach covering more than a century. I am linking to Art Journal Journey, Inspired by the masters.

Today I just have the photos taken from my living room - the gathering of the birds in the morning, waiting for their food - they are all watching my balcony!

Reminds me somehow of Hitchcock!

And here another happy fat ball party goer this afternoon:

Have a great day, take care of yourselves,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Inspired by Miró

Hi everybody!

Hope you are all well and fit. Thanks for all the good wishes, I am staying home for a couple of days and hoping to feel better soon.

Today I took my inspiration from Joan Miró. I made this painting a couple of years back for a challenge. It is painted with acrylics on an A3 paper. I wanted to make it a bit surreal, so I made an abstract background inside 'my' head and drew Miró's 'Woman in front of the sun' onto it.

For my new piece, I printed a copy of 'my' head onto an old dictionary page and fussy cut it. I made a background in my A3 journal using oil pastels in yellow and pink (for the sun). I heated it with the heat gun to make the oil pastels melt, that way it is possible to write on it afterwards with sharpies or gel-pens. I used the pattern of the woman's hair to put some punky  'hair' around 'my' head. Once again I used oil pastels which I heated. I added the title and the Miró's name and dates of his birth and death, and a few scraps of tissue tape as embellishments. It was fun making new from old for this. I am linking to Art Journal Journey, inspired by the masters.

Today I have some photos taken through my (not very clean) window. I nailed some fat balls onto the side walls of my balcony for the tits, as they rarely get a look-in at the feeder which is always hogged by their larger colleagues.... Those big guys - pigeons, jays, magpies and crows - would love to get at the fat-balls, so I watched them flattering like humming birds in front of them, and trying in vain to get at the goodies. It seems to be a case of the other man's grass is always greener!

Have a great Sunday, take care of yourselves, 

and thanks a lot for coming by.