Creative experiments

I’m really self taught when I do my art.  I walk into Utrecht and I feel intimidated by the rows upon rows of serious art supplies.  But I love handling them and looking through the different types of paints, papers and canvasses.  My feet normally drag me down to their polymer clay aisle, but from time to time, I stray.  =)  Same thing when I go into Michael’s, although that is mostly for the crafting side of me.  And as working with art materials is more of a hobby for me, I try to be careful with which supplies I choose to purchase.  So I like that I can try one piece of a whole wall of something — like the Art Design markers which I am now totally hooked on.

For “lessons”, I rely on the genuises and the instructors on the net.  For inspiration, I always stop by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer’s blog and read up on her posts and pick up other artists links from there.

I really should be bloghopping more, but I don’t have the time.  That’s the same reason my blog roll disappeared from my sidebar — plus a lot of my favorite bloggers had long abandoned blogging or had taken down their sites. =(   (Missing Jher and Jerome in particular.)  I am going to try visiting other blogs again, though, and hopefully share my “discoveries” here so I can take note and keep going back.

I picked up this set of Metallic Acrylic Dabbers a few days back, and I’m trying it out over watercolor for a layout I’m doing using a silhouette of Angelo’s. I had a lot of fun using it and I can’t wait to finish the layout this weekend (or maybe even tomorrow.)  I tried to be sparing in applying it, blotting a bit here and there and then “spreading it around” with the dabber itself.  I’m looking forward to experimenting with the dabber while using my rubber and clear stamps.

It’s even better in the photograph!  I can’t wait to finish this layout…It’s a take on this photo of Angelo taken two years ago in Washington DC.

I’ve been keeping busy at home and hoping to get more things listed this weekend.  I promised two favorite customers and friends the pieces they requested and I’m well on my way.  (Lou, still piecing together your request, and Cora, I’m working on the opera-length necklace.)  I think I’m back in the groove as far as creating again is concerned.

I always say that you’ll never know or learn unless you venture to try something yourself.  And one can never stop learning, even when you trip all over yourself trying to get something done.  So I keep creating backgrounds in my spare time, and I’ve even got one waiting in the wings for a collage of newspaper clippings.

There is a rhyme and reason to it all no matter how frivolous it may seem.