Thoughtful Thursdays: I Love Wood!

 I'm not sure why, but I absolutely love making art on wood! And this woodburnt folk art-style doll purse I made while taking a class from Suzi Blu is no exception! Perhaps it's the smell of the burning wood... reminds me of being around the campfire. Maybe it's the way acrylic paints let the wood show through... I just love me some texture... courtesy of mother nature!

Transferring the image is easy-peasy with the age-old pencil transfer method! Some things never go out of style.

Burn, baby burn! This part is fun and scary all at once. But oh, the smell of burning wood. Mmmmm...

Painting in the details. She's coming around now. Although my anal-retentive side would not let me paint over the burn lines. I like the contrast of the bright paint and the burnt wood, but... ugh! Sometimes I just need to chill out and let go!

Some finishing elements and then there's still more room to play, play, play! I love working with wood so much that I just bought ten 16" x 20" wooden panels. Not sure what I'm going to do with them. But I'm sure it involves paint, collage and lots of layers! Fun time!

OMG... This Is Way Too Much Fun...

Just over a week ago... I could not even draw a face. And now... I can't stop myself! I find that when I have little snippets of time... I'm practicing eyes and mouths and such. Although I excitedly managed to draw an entire doll and begin shading. I forgot how much I love pencil shading!
Then it was on to layering papers and paints to create a collaged background. I got so excited, that I neglected to take progressive photos... but here I am seeing how the doll works in the near final composition.
I was going to leave it at that... but of course I couldn't help myself... I had to start coloring the dress and more! I'm addicted. Painting select areas of the doll... more collage... and beeswax come next... can't wait!

Feeling Blu...

So, I finally broke down and said... "I'm gonna do it!" and signed up for Suzi Blu's Les Petit Academy. I'm learning how to draw faces which will later be shaded and colored... put on cute little bodies... and then collaged into a marvelous mixed media background. I'm having a lot of fun so far and am really proud of the results! I've always had trouble with faces and was seriously intimidated. Now... I can't wait to draw tons and tons of them! Taking the leap...