Rain's Thursday Art Challenge and more

Hi Everybody!

Today I have some pieces for various challenges, so this post is a bit  rather long.

Rain's theme this week is 'abstract'. I found a definition on Wikipedia:

'Abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect. Wassily Kandinsky. Cossacks 1910–1. Tate. Strictly speaking, the word abstract means to separate or withdraw something from something else.'

My idea of abstract art is to use shapes like circles, squares, rectangles, geometric forms, combined with one another and in colours that I like. Here I have a few examples of artwork made by me in recent times. One thing I like to do is to take calendar pictures with modern art and cut them art to make new pieces. Here I cut strips and wove them together:

Then I added it to a white A3 page and added the dancers and text with stencils:

This piece was made in the same fashion:

Here I started with a huge sheet of white carton and painted the background before adding the circles with diluted acrylics:

I cut a strip off to make it the right size to make a book cover for a journal. The strips that were over were used to make bookmarks;

The painted squares here were used to make an art tote for storing large paintings:

Here I painted irregular squares and oblongs, added some stenciling, then some sewing and made it into a cover for an A3 journal: 

The finished journal:

This piece was also used to make a cover for a journal - I like to make art that I can use:

This was made into another art tote:

A journal page:

Parts of another journal page:

At Tag Tuesday our them this time is Christmas, chosen by Pinky. Not really my theme, but I am trying. (Sometimes my teachers at school said I was very trying....)

I made a selection of mini tag-cards to hang on little presents for my neighbours - not really exciting, but the theme fits! They are each 2" x 2":

Courage, dear friends - this is the last challenge for today - a journal page for Alison's 'Put a tag/pocket on it' challenge at AJJ. The page was painted, stenciled and collages. the little cameos on the sunflowers were made from coffee-pods which I painted and stamped. The tag is the reverse of a clothes-tag that I have re-used:

As I was going to bed on Tuesday evening I saw the moon and snapped a quick photo with my telephone:

And this was the beautiful sunrise today (Wednesday) which I watched while drinking my first, wonderful coffee of the day:

Well done to all who got through it all!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

A new challenge at More Mixed Media

Hi Everybody!

On the 5th of each month we start our new challenge at More Mixed Media. Our challenges are always anything mixed media goes, this time with an optional colour extra which is bright colours. You have 4 weeks to link to us, and mixed media projects of all formats are welcome. There are also prizes of digital paper packs for some lucky winners.

I made an A3 mixed media collage, using collage and  stenciling over a gessoed and painted background. The quote was computer generated:

This was the background before I added the lady. The parrots and blue leaves are tissue from a roll of fancy toilet paper - it was on special offer, so I bought it The other pieces were from paper napkins!

We had wonderful clouds when I went out for my afternoon walk yesterday:

I was not the only one out walking:

It didn't rain here, but we did have a beautiful rainbow:

There is a second rainbow on the right:

It hung in the sky for nearly half an hour, which made me happy!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!