Cool Video...

I just watched the coolest music video a blog called A New York City Life.

Check it out:

I am...

artwork 009, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

This weeks Inspire Me Thursday's challange this week is to try to sum up yourself in one word. I'm not sure you really can just use one word but the closest I could come to is the word Changing. I hope to always be changing and growing. I guess growing is another word that I would apply to what my life is about. I hope that I am always growing but I know for sure that I'm changing.

This piece started with trying out some techniques for backgrounds I saw in Taking Flight using bits of paper with paint brayered on and then I applied some techniques from an online class by Pam Carriker for journaling. I'm trying my hand at the jornalistic style of collage and doodling. I think I like the results.

Thanks for looking.

Swirls

Artwork 005, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

This week's IMT challenge was swirls and I'm a little late posting for it. Just under the wire here.

Playing with modeling paste and a swirls template. Haven't decided what else I want to do with this but had fun playing with textrues and layers.

I posted the full picture here.

Bamboo

Atlanta Zoo 082 touched up, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

Finally trying to get back to posting for Inspire Me Thursday. I'm late on this one for the March 6th topic of Bamboo. Took this picture at the Atlanta Zoo of some bamboo with grafiti on it. Thought it added some nice visual texture.

Playing with paint...

I've had a lovely weekend playing with paint. This first one is my first finished page of a journal I am working on from taking Pam Carriker's online class, Visual Journalism. I found the Henry David Thoreau quote online and felt it was a good one for the first page. I don't really like this page but I'm moving on and hoping the others come out better. I am really having fun with my new Uniball Signo white pen. It really is opaque. I've tried paint pens but they seem to be really sporadic with the amount of fluid that comes out and I end up making a big mess.

This one was inspired by a color combination I saw in Altered Surfaces by Chris Cozen. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with it yet but I need to put my own stamp on it.

This one is inspired by Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts. I used a little trowel to spread out the paint and ended up with too much. I wanted more of the papers I used to show through so I've started another one but haven't taken pictures yet. I finally pulled out the brayer to paint with and I have to say I love playing with it. I tried her trick of laying bubble wrap in modeling paste but mine is more gloppy. Maybe the bubble wrap is a little flat so to speak. You just can't fine quality bubble wrap these days. ;-) Haven't decided what to do with this one either but I think it will make a nice background for something.

Well, time for me to head off to bed. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Oh, and on a side note I have really joined the Facebook world. I think it may be a sickness. I was watching it all weekend while I painted to see who I could add as a friend and what comments were being made. Lordy, all I need is another addiction.

A Birthday Celebration...

Wednesday Mom, my sister and I had a lovely time celebrating my nieces birthday with lunch, a trip to the zoo and then dinner. Above is a pic of our lunch time and below is the card I made.

It's been years since I've gone to the zoo. The animals are so amazing although I feel sorry for them being cooped up even in the naturalized environments. Here are some of my favorites. The rest are on Flickr.

A little project...

This is the little project I've been working on this week. Last month I went to a stamp show and purchased a few (okay maybe a lot) of stamps. One batch I got was a little more on the whimsical side and I wasn't sure what I'd do with them. So I just pulled it out and started playing with it. Then I had this decorated piece of paper and thought now what am I going to do with it. Hmm, wonder how it would look on corrugated card board? Hmm, needs some color on that, oh and what would it look like with crackle paint. So here you have the finished (in that I said walk away) product. There was also a run in with washers from the hardware store and alcohol ink. I had envisioned one of those pieces with lots of things attached but I couldn't envision anything else. The saying over the girls is:

He who has learning without Imagination has feet but no wings.

I'm quite partial to imaginiation. I think I will sell this on Etsy but I have to pull together some other items to go with it. Don't want it to be lonely.

On another note it was a lovely weekend. I should have spent more time outside but paint was calling me.

This week is my nieces 22nd birthday so we are going to the zoo to celebrate. It's been so long since I've been and I can't wait to take some photographs of the animals. I'll post some of those hopefully by the end of the week.

Oh, and the consensus on the rain photos is everyone liked the second one better which has a little clearer view of the circus in the background.

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Rainy day stuff...

Here are two pictures of the same scene but with different aperture settings while focusing on the raindrops on the window. I work on the 18th floor and have a birds eye view of Cirque de Soleil and the trailers and tents. I can't decide which one I like best. Feel free to cast your vote.

This week I've actually been puttering at my table very slowly working on a small mixed media collagey kind of piece. Not sure if I will like it when I'm done. I'm trying to think outside the box and utilize some of the many techniques that I admire. Hopefully it will be done this weekend and I will post it.

What to do with chocolate wrappers

042, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

Well, last Friday I took my camera to work and played with a pile of Dove wrappers. This one is straight out of the camera. There is just something about them. They have some cool sayings, they came from chocolate, they sparkle, they came from chocolate...

You get the idea. I've got more of them and will post them after playing with them some. Also took some of the window with the Cirque de Solei tents in the background playing with the aperture settings. They didn't finish uploading last night so they will come later.

One World One Heart winners

Well, I had announced the winner of my giveaway on the original entry but mistakenly put it at the end. After a couple of questions about who had won I realized my mistake. So here is the official announcement that Karen Mowrey of Blue Bee Designs was the winner of my very first mixed media painting.

I won a package of old papers from Debbie Overton which I can't wait to use.

The other item I won is this beautiful piece from Nancy Donaldson of All Pulped Out.