Thursday, July 12, 2012

Wednesday Mashup & Gratitude

Think how snug it'll be underneath our flannel;
When it's just you and me and the English Channel!
In our cozy retreat kept all neat and tidy,
We'll have chums over ev'ry Friday!
By the sea!
Don'tcha love the weather?
By the sea!
We'll grow old together!
By the seaside,
Hoo, hoo!
By the beautiful sea!

I had the song "By The Sea" from Sweeney Todd stuck in my head (here's the track on You Tube) as I sat down at my table on Wednesday.  I have had a set of 4 6x6 canvasses from Michael's for months, and decided I had to use them.  It's a little scarey for me to actually commit to a canvas, but what are Wednesday Mashups for?  I stared at them for a while.  They were so white and pretty.  I didn't want to mess them up....  But then, I jumped in, covering them with matte medium and tearing off pieces of paper that were left over from other projects and gluing them on.  On the upper and lower left hand squares are pieces of paper from the modeling paste experiment a few weeks ago, and on the lower right square, some paper on which I tried out some reverse stenciling techniques with spray mists.  The mists I had used were green and blue, and that tinted my water turquoise, and the squares began to take on a sea like color.  BY THE SEA!!
I decided to go with that theme, and squirted on blue, light blue and green paint:
and spread it around with a credit card.
 and grabbed whatever stencils were handy (you'll recognize Balzer Designs' leaves), as well as some bubble wrap and the plastic mesh from yesterday's bag of clementines, and laid down darker versions of those colors. 
Then I cut some whales, anchors, lobsters, and fish out of card stock. ( I've had in my mind the beautiful graphic image Julie Fei-Fan Balzer posted of a lobster sign she saw in Provincetown.)
 I sprayed and painted the cardstock shapes over some newspaper (and saved it for a future project), and also glued down some shells and beads I've been saving, and here is my collage of paintings!
and some close ups:



I'm so happy with them!!  And to illustrate my happiness (and to use up the leftover paint I had on my pallete, I painted some more! I had a background in my journal that I hadn't known what to do with.  It looked like this - yuck.  But inspired by the challenge to use lavender and lace over at Anything Goes, I added a lavender vase, stenciled it using a lace doily (apologies to my grandma...), and paint-doodled some flowers and letters to spell out "Oh Happy Day!" to celebrate my good mood.  (Obviously, I still have those Wild n' Reckless sherbert colors in my head from Summer of Color!)  Because the sentiment is the main focus here, I will enter this happy design in Moving Along With the Times' challenge to make it sentimental, and of course all the work will visit Paint Party Friday!
On a personal note, as some of you know, my dad has been dealing with some health issues.  He seems to have a handle on them and is back to playing tennis and enjoying life.  Still, it has been a sobering experience and a reminder of how easy it is to take life for granted.  And all around me, the parents of my dear friends are struggling with some much more serious health issues, like strokes, alzheimer's and heart disease.  So I am dedicating my work today to sending out love for our parents.  If you're so moved, please stop and take a moment to be grateful for the people in your lives, like parents and other teachers, who have given you so much love and support, and who have taught you so much.  If you would like some inspiration, here is a video by Lama Marut about gratitude:


Thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.

35 comments:

  1. Very creative. Love the lobsters and the poem or song

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    1. Thank you! It's a song with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim from the musical Sweeney Todd. It's a cheery song from an otherwise gory musical!

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  2. Oh I love Sweeney Todd, its a wonderful musical.
    What stunning creations, they are fab, thanks for sharing with us on MAWTT this fortnight. Hazelxo

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  3. One of the things I didn't prepare myself for was getting used to all the funerals and health issues with friends parents... it is all a bit sad at times, and I know it is a fact f life, but very sobering all the same... on a happier note, you have had a very busy and productive week... it all looks so wonderful and bright and joyful... great stuff...xx

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  4. Wow, beautiful work - those canvases are great and I love how you've shown us step by step how you did them - all those textures are amazing. A thoughtful and inspiring blog post.

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  5. This is beautiful work.Really art work.Love it.
    Lovely greet
    Marja
    (marajscreativity)

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  6. Very creative ~ composition, design and colors are wonderful ~~ ^_^ (A Creative Harbor)

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  7. Beautiful canvas art!. I LOVE the video, so humbling. Hugs.

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  8. Your small canvases turned out great. I love seeing the process and all of the beautiful layers and textures you created.

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  9. I came over from Julie Fei Fan Balzer's blog and am so happy that I did. Your canvases are just beautiful and I enjoyed the inspirational video too. Thanks!

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  10. these are way too fun - 3rd maritime theme I detect!

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  11. I just love your ocean themed set - they really turned out beautifully....

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  12. i absolutely love these, especially as a set. the bright colors and quotes are perfect. so inspiring to see your process as you add each layer.
    and i'm glad to hear your dad's feeling better!

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  13. A lovely dedication...your matching sea pieces are wonderful....and i adore the journal page....the colours..the whole set up....perfect...xxx

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  14. Lovely panels. The flower is great, too.

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  15. Love the blue and green canvases! Your last one was my favorite!! I am grateful everyday for my loved ones!! Nice reminder!

    Hugs Giggles

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  16. Thanks to you all for your kind words and observations!

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  17. These turned out fabulously! Thanks for sharing the step by step. I love the way you put the whale over 2 canvases!

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  18. Just found your blog today... will be adding it to my reader.... THANKS for the video.... it came at the perfect time for me!
    :)

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  19. Great paintings! Wouldn't they be great in a beach house?

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  20. boy, did i ever enjoy the walk through your creative process here today. I think I was at panel three or four when I said those are good...then you wow'd me ever so much more with the final product! WOW!!! I love this foursome of sea life collages. How cute they would look in someone's summer cottage by the sea! I Like the last one too! Oh HaPPY dAY! As I am now in the genre of being the elder parents/grandparents age I too see many illness striking those I know and love around me. I do not take life forgranted and feel blessed every day I wake up well!

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  21. Love your "By The Sea" theme!
    Thank you for documenting your painting process!!
    ♥♥♥
    Happy PPF!!
    Mary
    Mixed-Media Map Art

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  22. What a fun medley of canvases! great colours...vibrant, cheery and bright! how can you not smile looking at creative art like that!!!!!

    I'm here because you're name was on Karen's Where Bloggers Create list.
    Let me know when you get your studio pic's up....I'd be glad to pop back over to see it. There have been so many links to visit today...so much inspired fun!


    ciao bella
    creative carmelina

    feel free to peek at my creative space, if you wish! xo

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  23. Good work, beautiful grounds sailors. Saludos

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  24. Love your canvas pieces and the entry for lavender. And lace, creative way to use the lace ! Thanks for playing at anything goes trace x. Dt

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  25. I really loved the one with the lobster on!

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  26. The beach and ocean are my favorite things. I have only been snorkeling once - but I felt like I was there again looking at your paintings! Love them all

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  27. Wonderful artwork - I LOVE those canvases.

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  28. your ocean themed canvases are awesome!!

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  29. Lov eyour art work!! Very cool!! hugs

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  30. LOVE these canvases - reminds me of Alisa Burke.

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  31. Such lovely canvases! Love the bright colours!
    Thanks for joining us at Anything Goes!
    Hugs Annette

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