Catching up in the Studio

I have ambitiously been dwindling down my stash of 

papers and tapes.

First of all I offered a lot for sale and secondly, I have a stack for give a way this month in my Newsletter but thirdly, I created these two pieces!

And BELIEVE me, those took a LOT of my papers and tapes!

I have another piece I want to start, but when I went to the paper drawer, it was frowning

SO....decided today was the day to play!

Out came the stencils and stamps and paints and the fun began.

Then stages of drying....paint a base, let it dry, stencil, dry, stamp, dry, etc etc.....

I love seeing what happens after layers and layers of wonderful designs and colors!!

And it is worth it....A new stack of papers and tapes!

Ready to start a new piece of art.

Oh, and by the way, I hope you don't throw away all those little brushes that come with your make up because you have one brush you love and these are just "there".

I love to use them with dry brushing to feather out or smooth edges with.

*******

So that was my day of play and it is always a fun day when I get to play in the paint!

If you guys want to see my new art as it comes out, I have a new facebook page just for my art. CLICK HERE and check it out and hope you will "like"

Thanks for stopping by

Suzi

I am SO SO SO EXCITED!!!!

For about 6 months now I have been working with Stencil Girl to design and produce 6 stencils and on NOVEMBER 19TH they will be revealed for everyone to see!!!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE THEM!!!

I will have a post here on my blog about it on the 19th and Stencil Girl will be showing the stencils and examples of how to use them that I did for you.

Can't reveal them now but am going to give you a little sneak peak of a corner of one of the samples.

STAY TUNED!! More will be "Revealed"

Thanks for stopping by

Hope you will sign up to receive my blog in your email. 

This is now my main place to share my art world!

Suzi

In the cool of the day

A couple of days ago, late afternoon, my husband called out and said "You have to come here and look at this". I looked out the window and this is what I saw only MORE so. The sun was in the western sky and shining through a mysterious haze over the lake and through the trees.

 It was breathtaking! 

I quickly grabbed the camera and got this shot and shared it on facebook for all to see.

Well....of course....the challenge began when I said something to the effect of "wouldn't this make a beautiful painting but above my pay grade". My friends would not let me own that!!

But I got to thinking about how much I loved the light and especially that red tree in the haze.

So, I narrowed it down decided to give it a try..WITH THE UNDERSTANDING....that what I did would NOT look like this, but my hope was to capture the essence of this moment.

So....off I went to the Studio.

This was NOT an easy piece to do but I was determined to do the best I could and decided to capture the steps to share here.

**********************************

First I prepared my board (mat board) with Gesso and let it dry then lightly sketched in the "idea". I don't work much from a drawing. I like to just get the idea down and then work it all in together.

I laid down some initial colors and picked out my papers and tapes I wanted to use and off I go.

More and more leaves (Oy Vey!!) and starting to find the tree trunks. Working with the flow of the branches and leaves was a challenge and keeping the colors peaceful but not ho hum was my goal.

Once I got the leaves "pretty much" how I wanted them I started on the detail work. Using some stencils and doing some free hand, I began working on getting that feeling of light and airiness. This is actually my favorite part. It's the work that ties it all together.

And here is the finished piece!

I'm very happy with it. It was certainly a challenge but I do like a challenge!

Thanks for stopping by

Suzi

The Postcards are In!!!

THE POSTCARDS ARE IN!!!

And I am so happy with the way they look!!

*******************************************

4 x 6 on Glossy stock paper

***********************************************

 Wrapped and ready to mail in sets of 5

 To order CLICK HERE

How about a "Look See"??

I've had a wonderful little online workshop up for about 3 or 4 years now called 

"IT'S OKAY TO PLAY"

it was the first online workshop I did and it is FULL of stuff!

When I create an online workshop, I rarely go back and look at it unless you ask me a question and I'm going "Huh??".....THEN I got to go look!

I decided to take a look at some of the videos in the workshop and I couldn't believe it!!

There is some really exciting stuff in there! And it is a mixture of all kinds of experiments.

I was even inspired to go back and do some of these things I taught others!! 

SOOOOOOO...........I thought "Why not?" and I couldn't think of a "Why not" so I'm sharing one of the many videos that is on this workshop with YOU!! This is a fun experiment and I am going to go revisit it again myself :)

So here it is and I hope it inspires you to want to learn more :)

Making it Happen from "It's Okay to Play" from Suzi Dennis on Vimeo.

What seems to be the problem....

I just can't figure out what is wrong with these scarves!

I LOVE THEM!!!

I open up my bag where they sit waiting for a home and console them, assuring them a home will come soon.....

but, in actuality, I have no understanding of what the problem is.

They are handmade, hand woven by little ole me, beautiful luscious, soft yarns, different styles, good prices...

And (back in the 100 plus degree heat of summer!) a flurry of people did love them and wanted a home for them and purchased....

but now....

WINTER IS COMING!!

And here they sit.....waiting.....

Well.....one good thing if they don't sell.....

I'm going to have one GORGEOUS AFGHAN!

 In case you are having first or second or third thoughts, 

Click the smiley cat.....he'll take you there!

Thanks for humoring me :)

Suzi

Just for ART

I have begun to notice that I have so much going on in my Suzi Dennis - Painted Papers facebook page that my actual art work was getting lost.

That spurred me on to create a new page that is just about my art. 

At Suzi Dennis Art I will be showing my art work only. This will be present art work that is being offered for sale.

I still have Suzi Dennis - Painted Papers but that will just be a place to show other offers as they come up. ie: calendars, postcards, prints, art shows, workshops etc.

So hope you will go and "like" both of them to keep up with what is going on!

Thanks for stopping by

Suzi

Change is in the air

For me, there just comes a time when there is a need to change.

This painting is one I did in 2008 and the title was "The Line Up"

Now don't get me wrong...I love that painting. loved it when I created it and love it now.....however, it didn't sell and after 7 years

it was not in keeping with my style now....so,

seeing as how 7 is a number of completeness in the Bible and a time when you make changes, soooooo.........

Here is the change. And I love the title!! I was going to leave the title the same, but as I worked on it, it became it's own piece. Now it lines up with what I do now.

Change can be good

thanks for stopping by,

Suzi

Fun with DecoArts Products

I was asked by DecoArts to do a Blog using their products which is no problem since I love their products and use them a lot!! 

Being a Mixed Media Collage artist, my favorite thing to do is paint papers. I teach workshops in this very thing. 

 So here is a step by step Blog of one of my favorite techniques to paint a really cool piece of paper.It involves transferring paint from freezer paper to Deli Paper. Hope you Enjoy!

To purchase these products go to Joann.com and DecoArt

To see more about my workshops go to suzimadeworkshops.blogspot.com

*******

First gather your supplies. I am using freezer paper, A stencil I designed and made and DecoArts Paints and Spray Misters. Also you will need Deli Paper and alcohol (the rubbing kind) in a spray bottle.

*******

With the Freezer Paper SHINY SIDE UP I applied the DecoArt fluid acrylic Cadmium Red Hue over the Stencil with a sponge roller. You can apply it with a stencil brush or sponge or however you are most comfortable.

*******

Let the stencil design dry thoroughly then brush on a thin coat of  DecoArts paint. Here I am using Americana Gloss Enamel Desert Turquoise. Thin good with water.

*******

While paint is wet spray and/or drop on alcohol. this separates the paint and gives it some great design and texture (see below)

*******

Again, while all this is wet, spray on the DecoArts Mister sprays. I am using Primary Yellow and Primary Cyan. You can alternate between alcohol and mister sprays until you get a look you like.

Now let all this dry COMPLETELY.

*******

After the sprays and alcohol have dried completely, Cover the entire area with a good coat of Paint. Yes, I can hear you saying "What??", but trust me. I am using DecoArts Fluid Acrylic Titanium White.

*******

While the paint is still wet, lay down a sheet of Deli Paper (Heavy Duty Wax Paper). I use a brayer roller to help the deli paper adhere good to the paint......Let dry...again...thoroughly.

*******

 

When COMPLETELY dry, peel the deli paper off of the freezer paper.

This is the FUN part!!

*******

And here you are!! Use as is to tear up and put into a collage or embellish further with more of the wonderful DecoArts Americana Paints.

ENJOY!!! And thanks for stopping by.

Suzi

Painting Papers Outside

I found myself going in and out and in and out, painting papers for journals and taking them outside to dry....SO....decided to set up outdoors and just paint my little heart out :)

And that is what I did. It was a little hot....no.....a LOT HOT but did it anyway! Here are some pics and a little Video I made for You Tube.

ENJOY!!

Stack of Rice Papers and other papers 

that make good journal pages

 my set up! Ready to go.

 Laying down papers on freezer paper (shiny side up) and painting with diluted acrylics. This is more staining the papers than painting

 Hanging up to dry outside. 

These thin papers dry very quickly outside

 Let dry...............

......... and ready to use!!

LUSCIOUS papers! Can't wait to use them :)

Enjoy the Video

Ready for Art & Soul!

I AM READY!!  Well.....almost :)

I will be teaching 3 full day classes and one 45 minute class at Art & Soul in Virginia Beach 

September 28th, 29th and 30th

Come join me!!

For more information 

CLICK HERE

I DO look forward to seeing you there!

Something I've always wanted to try

I had just finished posting on my facebook page that I was going to stop painting for awhile.

The very next day I had to eat those words!

But, you see, I was in Church and my pastor was finishing up a sermon series on Biblical Femininity and he was talking about how, when the tomb was found empty, the guys all went back to the house, but Mary (the woman) stayed.
And then he read the verse about her looking into the tomb and there was an angel sitting at the head of the bed where Jesus had been. There was one at the foot also but for some reason I was fixated with the one at the head, but the scripture says "They" said,  "Woman, why are you weeping". I could hear him asking me that as I sat there with tears on my face.
Instantly I could see the angel in all his radiance and I knew I had to get it down.

But my method was the challenge, not the image. The image was firmly planted in my head.
I have always wanted to do a collage out of my head. In other words, no drawing...just start laying down paper and see where it would go. I've done it with "simple" images, hearts, flowers, etc. but not with something major. So...I decided this was it. This was the piece I was going to see if I could do that with, and I have to tell you....I LOVED doing it!! This truly is what coloring outside the lines means.

First of all I just did some random putting down of paint and that is just because blank surfaces drive me nuts!

And off I went laying in shapes with the paper. 

The other thing about this is, no pre-planning of what papers or tapes to use. I just started going through the stack until I knew that was the right one. Remember, I did have the image in my head.

After I got the angel "blocked" in, I covered my background with a color. In this case, Orange. I like to have a background color to work with when I collage.

So here it is with basic blocking and shape.

At this point I'm feeling pretty happy with the image. And I did it all by just laying down papers where I thought they should go! 
Now for the background....thinking of doing just some painting on this with a little paper. I want to write the scripture and that is hard to do on torn paper....so.....at this point, still giving it some thought. I do know how I want it to look....it's there in my brain, I just need to make it happen.....

So here is the finished piece!

"Woman"

I did paint the back ground but laid down paper also. 

Left the area where I did the wording so I could write on it more smoothly. I also reworked the wings some.

I'm very happy with it.

Mission accomplished and God glorified!

To see more about this piece CLICK HERE

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzi