How I do what I do #2...

So here is the second part of my how I do what I do tutorial...  the background.

For this background I am going to use my favourite background ('full moon' from the Vintage moon collection by Pink Paislee) I rip the edges rather than cutting them so they have a nice deckled look.

I then start painting over it deciding what to keep and what to white out with pebeo super covering white as I go.  About now you are probably thinking why on earth does she even bother to have a background paper at all, she has covered it in paint!  Your not the only one thinking this the owner of the shop where I buy my paper from wonders the exact same thing.  But you can see subtle little bits showing through, which I like.

Once I have the right look I am wanting for the background I then add a little detail in coloured pencil around the edges (this is a slightly closer up view of the top section of the background).

The next step is to put in a horizon line, I often make the sky part of the painting a third of the whole piece... it feel good to my eyes.  I use the Pebbles Inc chalk pastels to colour the bottom part of the painting and then once it is covered I dampen a rag and rub the chalk pastel in and some of it off (sometimes I also rub a little of the paint off as well so you can see a bit more of the background paper showing through, but you have to be careful not to use too much water and not to rub too hard as you can wreck the paper underneath).  This technique picks up a lot of the texture that you don't see before adding the chalk pastel.  I discovered this by accident one day when I spilt some water over the chalk pastel and tried to wipe it off.  It turned out to be one of those happy accidents that life throws at you now and again.

Then I blue tack the girl in place so I can work behind her if I need to...  penciling in her wings and adding a few other little details with pencil and white pen.  I find with this process that having the girl separate from the background is a good thing, if she doesn't suit her background I can do another one for her or vise versa... and also if I make a mistake with either one the other is still okay. I have tried painting the face right onto the background but it just wasn't successful for me.

(without your wings I'd be gone)

Once all the detail are done I glue her in place with a Pritt glue stick and add any finishing touches, like the little bit on top of her hat...and that is pretty much how I do it.

Note for Kelly... I have added a little about her dress paper in the previous post, sorry but there wasn't that much information about the name of the paper only that it was produced by K&Company in a pack with others.


As a special thank you to all my blog readers for your kind words and support, I am going to give one of these prints away for free if you order another print in my shop over the next week... if you type "your wings" in the comments to seller box, I will send this print free along with your order.  After next week I will add it to my Etsy shop http://www.sleepandhersisters.etsy.com, so keep an eye out for it.

Thanks again and I really hope this tutorial was helpful in some way.

is your brain the same as mine...

You may notice a few changes on my blog layout, I've added an etsy and a felt page, a portfolio page, a news update page and a few others...  I have also linked my web address (www.sleepandhersisters.co.nz) to this blog until I get a real live website sorted.

I have done a few more of the little drawings I mentioned in my last post...  and have also done another one of the collage girls, although there is not actually a lot of collage in them... (I am still working on that).  I am realising that all this has come from me struggling with the development of my style.  As well as soft and subtle I am also really attracted to strong colours and everything in between.  Like Amelie, I just love the colours in that movie, the greens and reds... and every time I see it I feel an intense urge to add that strong colour element to my work.  Which inevitably always, always ends in a disaster.  It really frustrates me no end!!!  I like to look at it but I can't replicate the feeling it gives me into my own work... I am slowly learning that it is ok to love what I see and love what I do and for them to be quite different.

Although I have this internal battle with the ongoing development of my work, I think to some extent I already have a unique style and it is something that people recognise as being me.  Like the first time I finished one of my pendants and I wore it into town.  As a sales assistant passed me in a shop she pointed to my pendant and said "that looks like a Katherine Quinn".   I smiled and said "it is, I made it last night"...  that is a nice feeling.

I think I my brain works too fast for my hands sometimes... is your brain the same as mine?

some kind of wonderful...

Well I am feeling much better now, thanks everyone for all your well wishes...  I had another go with this piece and am feeling much happier with her then I was before.

I think I have mentioned before that I am part of what I called our local etsy group... well we have grown into some kind of wonderful.  We are now a group of passionately creative Kiwi's with a diverse range of skills and expertise and we have started a website/blog  http://www.newzealandhandmade.co.nz.  I see this as a place for everyone to get ideas, support, advise and probably a few laughs, so go take a look, leave a comment, and let me know what you think.

With good in my head...

(with good in my head to help me on my way)

I stumbled upon blogging by accident.   One day a tutor at work told me to look at etsy.com ... I asked why, she said (rather loudly) JUST GO LOOK!  The first thing that caught my eye on the front page was Kelly Rae Roberts... I checked out her shop, and then after thinking what kind of crazy people write a blog, I read her blog from the first post to the last... I went home and told my family that I had a new best friend, she didn't know I existed but I felt I had known her for ever.  So now I have an etsy shop of my own and I am one of those crazy people who write a blog.  I started checking out other peoples blogs and started to form my own little community, a tribe of fellow bloggers who I now call my 'friends'.  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I discovered KMB... I am amazed and delighted to find such a group of lovely talented mummy bloggers in my own back yard!!!

flying jelly fish...

Well I can't believe it is Friday again and over half way through February already!!!

Here is another girl I finished yesterday... It is Art Deco weekend here again in Napier where the whole town goes mad dressing up and showing off their vintage cars, it is madness (I love it)!   So instead of her swimming cap she has her flying hat on, and of course a string of pearls.

When I went to the London Aquarium I was fascinated with the jelly fish, they were so beautiful and serene in their own little world, they were almost hypnotising.  So I have bought them into my world (although mine are actually flying jelly fish). 

I am about to do some more of these latest girls into art pendants this weekend, I cut them out last night and if I must say so myself, they are looking good...

good for my heart...

The students started back this week at work and it was so good to see them all again and a few new faces as well.  Speaking of faces, I have done a few new paintings including this one above... I am really enjoying the process of painting these, they have been good for my heart.

What I thought was going to be an ordinary weekend turned out to be a little more exciting then I expected.  It was the weekend of The Mission concert, The Mission is a nineteenth century vineyard and every year it hosts a huge concert with super stars from all over the world.  This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Motown - America's greatest record label and global music icon. To mark this occasion the legends of Motown music have reunited in a one-off world premiere event and it was staged just down the road from my house!!! 

We didn't have tickets but thought we would go along and camp outside and listen... But as luck would have it we got offered tickets in the seated section that were $205 for only $50!!!  We were so excited, we found our seats, three rows from the front!!! Once the backup bands started we were happily bopping along to the music.  After an hour or so more and more people were arriving and my friend noticed that someones ticket had the same seat number as hers... so we had a closer look at our own... we were in the wrong section!!!  we were supposed to be in section C not A.  Section C was way down the back so we quietly slunk away and claimed our proper seats... even though we were further away and the people on the stage now looked like little dots we had such a great time.  

(if you look closely you still can't see me)

And I must say thanks to all my followers... really great to see you. x

seagulls fly by...

(dreamer)

I have just seen 'James and the giant peach' on DVD... well James lassoes 100 seagulls to carry his giant peach out of the sea and off to New York City.  I have also seen 'Up' last week and it has a similar idea but he uses balloons, instead of seagulls and he is lifting up his house and not a giant peach and he goes to South America and not New York City.  Anyway the details are a little different but the idea is similar... and I like it.

I like the idea of a lot of small things making something big happen. Each and every one of those small things equals a little bit of hope and together they are like dreams coming true.  Sounds a little cheesy but I think it is a nice idea.

For a few minutes about 15 years ago after seeing the Royal New Zealand ballet I dreamed of being a ballerina.  But sometimes I think it is better to keep some of those dreams as dreams.  Me as a ballerina would be a comedy act... and I am ok with that dream being just a fleeting dream.  It is easy to be a dreamer the hard part is deciding which ones to attach seagulls to and which ones to let the seagulls fly by.

Blossom and Moopie

(Blossom and Moopie)

After a friend discovered this cool book on how to make 'softies' we went shopping yesterday for fabric in second hand shops and local craft shops.  Then we spent today making these cute little guys (sorry but the photo is not very good)  it was nice to be creatively different for a change, but now I am totally exhausted!

(our moopies)

I have been feeling quite tired over the last few weeks, I think it is not doing much, not having the routine of going to work, having no structure to my days.  So I am actually looking forward to getting back to work and getting ready for the students... who start mid February.  I have finished 8 new paintings over the last few weeks so that is not too bad going I guess, will post pics next time.  

(am still working on the background)

(this is the one I fixed the face on)

These are what I did last night, neither are finished but both are coming along nicely. I am slowly getting the hang of painting the backgrounds and getting the effect I am wanting. One thing I am really loving is the new chalk pastels from Pebbles Inc I got a few weeks ago, the ones I think I mentioned that are like a blusher makeup kit. They are so much fun and easy to use especially with the little pom poms and applicator tool. I feel like a make up artist as I apply shadows and cheeks on my girls.

I don't know if any of you know of the Pebeo brand (I think it is French)? but they have a wonderful gloss varnish... Well, on the face I touched and wrecked late last week while waiting for the varnish to dry I was able to sand it and re-apply some of the chalk pastels and then do another coat of varnish and it looks pretty good. It comes in a gloss and a mat, but I find the gloss a lot easier to apply an even coat.

I am really enjoying this experimenting with mediums and materials, in the past I think I had such tunnel vision. I didn't seek out new things, thought they were a waste of time as I thought I knew all I needed to know to get what I wanted onto paper. But telling myself it is ok to experiment and play has been the most unwaste of time ever.

We are thinking of the possibility of going to England in the next school holidays (easter time) to visit my partners family. I am quite excited (very excited in fact) at the thought and a little scared as well. I am interested to see what the stars are like up in that part of the world.

Art Deco Weekend

(the second finished piece from last week)

Well I found her missing arm... I think this is the first girl I have done with bare arms, usually they have long sleeves? I have also done a few more faces, but mucked them up when brushing on the gloss varnish. Was trying a new thing with the hair and got a bit heavy handed. The others were fine but then I was compelled to touch them before they were dry and now they all have finger marks in them! Luckily I have learnt from that wee exercise... TO BE MORE PATIENT!!!

(sorting through the rubble after the earthquake)

We are celebrating Art Deco Weekend this week, where a whole lot of people come to Napier for a big celebration of the Art Deconess of our town. On 3 February 1931 there was a large earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale (New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster). The ground heaved upwards, swayed and 30 seconds later, there was a downward movement and violent shaking. Most of the town was destroyed and some land was raised from the sea (our airport has been built on land that was under the sea before the quake). It was all rebuilt in art deco which was the style of the time. The wall around our house was built using bricks from the rubble left from the quake, the house itself was built in 1929.

Anyway there will be a lot of people visiting Napier this weekend so I am franticly getting work ready for the two galleries I supply in town. I was pleased with the amount of work I got done last night, being cooler it is a lot easier to work.

Friday today...

(follow your heart)

This is one of the two I have nearly completed (bits not properly attached yet)... the other one I am having a few problems with as I have lost one of her arms? I know I put it in a safe place but I am just not sure exactly which safe place... So will post that one next week when she is all intact.

Going through all my old photos at the start of the week got me thinking about about tents. This was one of the things I really enjoyed doing as a kid, collecting all the umbrellas, sheets, towels, pegs and blankets to build these tents/huts. I really I think enjoyed the construction of them more then anything. And anyway they were usually built in the summer holidays and once built they would be too hot to play in (until we could sleep in them at night). So I am going to start a series on tents...

hot and sunny... with a cool sea breeze

We had a wee holiday at Waimarama Beach this weekend... was so lovely to get away, and the weather was perfect, hot and sunny with a nice cool sea breeze. It was my friends husbands 40th birthday and they hired out this wonderful bach for the weekend. Was hard leaving Sunday afternoon especially knowing I was coming home to a messy house (we left straight after work on Friday and I turned a blind eye to the mess around me as I was getting ready).

(Waimarama Beach)

(Bare Island... view from the bach)

(the bach... our home for the weekend)

(looking down the beach from our front lawn)

On the art front, well I haven't done anything much for the last 4 - 5 days... But I have had a few calls from galleries saying they want more, so I will be getting back into it tonight (Just when I thought I was on top of everything). I also want to get some of the pendants ready by Thursday, I thought I would start with maybe 3 different designs just to see how they go. I will send them to two galleries and add a few to my etsy shop as well. I am a little nervous about doing this, I do worry about sending new things out into the world. Will people like them, or in the pendants case, will they fall apart etc...

Some of the work I sent out last month has been sold already so that is exciting, they were a little bit new, as in the materials used, so I was a tad nervous of the response. It is a relief that people seem to think they are ok. One piece got sold to decorate the walls of a shoe shop and the owner said people are more interested in the art work on the wall then they are in the shoes... funny.

32 good things...

(view from the car coming home from Wellington)


32 good things and a funny taste

we had such a lovely time
none of us wanted to come back
the weather was just gorgeous
good company, really good company
so much laughing and giggling
23 toilet stops
lots of walking... good for the heart
but not so good for the feet
we went to 5 galleries
and 59 shops
Iko Iko was the best
creative ideas were flowing
ate amazing food at amazing places
my favourite was monsoon poon
we drank vodka and cocktails
hair brained schemes were thought up
we saw a play at the Circa theatre
it was called 'some girls'
it was about a boy
I love Wellington at night
I don't love Wellington's water
we talked
then went to bed
woke up and talked some more
I snored (apparently)... but just softly
we visited an old friend
a rainbow followed us down to Wellington
we thought it was a sign so bought a lotto ticket
we had wonderful ideas of what we would do with
14 million
we didn't win the big one
but we won a bonus ticket for next week
I got confused about the Royal family

more memories...

Thanks to Carine b. I have remembered the fun we used to have in our "forest" out the side of our house... playing games, having adventures and climbing the trees to hide away from everyone.

There used to be a fence in the middle dividing our property with the neighbors... they were old and the man used to call his wife Grumpy (which she was). Sometimes we used to be able to climb a very special tree on their side that was hollow in the middle, it was like a huge cathedral but from the outside you wouldn't know this just by looking at it.

And if we made a mad dash right across their property they had a bamboo grove on the other side (a good source for making bow and arrows). But it was very dangerous and we would spend most of the day daring each other to do it... if Grumpy caught you watch out!!!

I look at it now and it isn't a forest anymore, Grumpy and her husband have moved away and the new owners have subdivided the land and houses have been built where we used to play.

back to whispered memories...

Ok... so I am back here again with my girls, I went home and had a play and well lets just say it didn't work. I am going to let things happen when they happen and not try and push things into directions that just aren't right.

Does anyone else have these internal struggles with their creative bent?

This is a memory of stealing plums from the neighbors tree, I know it sounds bad but we had no choice but to steal them. Our neighbor would eventually give us the plums if we waited... waited until they dropped off the tree and she would kindly bring over a bag of nearly rotten ones!!! I liked them when they were still a little firm, slightly crisp, tart and make you shudder on the first bite.
We got caught and told off many times stealing these blessed plumbs but one day I had a really cunning plan... a plan that was so cunning we never got caught again.
We would wait till 6:07pm the nightly news was well under way and the neighbors would be on the other side of the house oblivious to us scampering up the tree picking the precious plums.

This is a memory of my brother and me who thought our Aunty Laureen owned the beach she lived near... I remember many fights with the local kids bragging about our Aunts ownership (I don't paint boys so my brother is a girl).

Chinese whispered memories

New faces... freshly dried and awaiting facial enhancements.

I am planning something a bit different with these girls, they will be in sets of three and the themes will be based upon memories, those memories from long ago, childhood maybe, or even some from last week. Where over time they get a little disjointed, they are there but not quite fully remembered (A bit like dreams). A bit like they have done a round of Chinese whispers.

I went shopping on Friday and bought two books, "The Dangerous Alphabet" by Neil Gaiman and "Tales from Outer Suburbia" by Shaun Tan. I love new books... Our local bookstore has a whole stand of slightly dark and mysterious books. It was like they were displaying them for me because they knew I was coming. Reminds me of a childhood thing were I used to think the people in the supermarket were there to keep me company.

This weekend I also did some weeding, cleaning, washing, planting, talking, cooking, and watching the Olympics. Was very impressed with our rowers!!! Rowing is an important thing in our house, my daughter Hannah rows in the summer time, and the Evers-Swindell twins and Emma Twigg trained at the same rowing club when they were at school.

I will post some progress pics soon of the girls and their memories...

Changes...

I have changed my blog format a little, thanks to a helpful link on Kelly Rae's blog.

Things are chugging away nicely in my art world and I have got a few ideas for some new work, also some new different work, if that makes sense? It is just a matter of finding the time to give them a go.

We have had an interesting week... Hannah's arm is now in plaster, a hockey accident, she clashed with another players stick. I have a cut between my eyes at the top on my nose, Ben shut the door of the car on my head. He was more upset then I was I think.

I also now have a Trunkt portfolio as you will see on the right hand side on my blog if you scroll down... interesting to see how that goes.

will be back soon with some pics...

The holidays

Well we are half way through the holidays, Hannah is on her way home from Adelaide, Stuart, Ben and I all have bugs of some sort. Coughing, rashes, fevers and runny noses... But I have managed to get all the girls done and painted, I just need to get them onto their backgrounds. So hopefully between coughing and blowing my nose I will get them done before next Monday and list them on Etsy. I am pleased with the way they are looking, so far I think this one is my favourite.

I have been featured on the front page of an Etsy treasury again!!! so that is exciting...

I hope you are all well and happy.

Although sleep leaves me behind

Every now and again I find sleep forgets to visit me some nights and I am left waiting and thinking, way too much thinking. I guess it is a busy job putting the world to sleep, as the world turns it would be an endless job in fact. Thank goodness for sleeps sisters! Where would we be without our sisters?

I don't actually have any sisters of my own to rely on just a brother... not long after he was born (he is two years younger then me) I 'got' an imaginary friend... his name was January. He was tall, much taller then me and old, way older then me, he traveled a lot and wore black.

My mother thought January came along to keep me company until my brother got 'interesting'. I am sure I must still see January now and again as I am still waiting for my brother to get interesting. Why couldn't I have had a helpful interesting sister like one of sleep's...?

I have just listed this on etsy... let me know what you think?

your moment

Am trying a few different colours lately... a little bit girly this one, a bit fleshy. I am not really a pink person but I like it with the trolleys. Ben loves hitching things up together to make a convoy around the house, and they all have their turns being in the front or holding the special toy etc... so this is about those special moments when it is your moment and your moment alone.