Angel Among Us - Original Mixed Media Canvas

Hi everyone!  I'm back with a new canvas.  I've been away from my studio for awhile because my husband had surgery about a month ago.  Thankfully he's made a full recovery and now I can refocus on art.  I bought this really big canvas and have been dreaming of the possibilities. 

I began by creating this beautiful background.  I used acrylic, oil, stencils and spray paint.  The pic is pretty bad but you can get a better look on FB.

I debated what to paint.  I thought of beautiful doors, a quaint chapel and settled of this beautiful lady.  She is inspired by a photo I saw of an angel tombstone.

Her face actually gave me a hard time.  I guess I was a bit rusty from my time off.  I think the key to art is probably never stopping.  Just like any other skill, it takes lots of practice.  The more you work at it, the better you get.

 I kept the wings simple and opted to let heavy paint strokes create depth.  I wanted the stenciled quote to show through so I went with a wash of color.

Since you can't read the stenciled quote, I chose my favorite part to write around the wings.  It reads, "At the end of the day who you are is completely up to you".

This canvas is 30" x 40" x 1.25".  Since it's so large, I won't be listing it on Etsy but I will be adding prints soon.  If you are interested in the original, you can email me or message me on FB.  Thank you so much for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful Father's Day weekend!!

Update!  Prints are now available HERE

Free Bird - Mixed Media Hippie Art

Hi everyone!   I have a fun new piece to share with you that I just completed today.

I'm calling it "Free Bird".  (Let's see how many of you get it.) This is just a really fun canvas don't you think?!

For this canvas I set out to just play.  The base colors are new ones that I just bought and wanted to try out.  If you follow me on FB then you saw them.  They were a crimson and navy blue color.

I treated this canvas like an art journal page and just started to doodle.  I did my favorite tangle/mandala flowers and then added beautiful vibrant colors.

I really wanted this piece to be free.  Does that make sense?  You know, very organic.  At one point I thought, "what the heck am I doing, this is a hot mess" but I just kept at it til it made me happy.  I think that's really important when creating.  You have to trust yourself enough to let go and follow your instincts.  Especially when you think you've made a mistake or ruined your piece.

In the end it came together perfectly.  I love the vibrant colors, doodles and birds.  It totally reflects my mood when I started :D  I hope you love this one as much as I do!  I'll be adding the original and prints to Etsy soon so please keep an eye out for that.  Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful day!!

You can find the original HERE and the print HERE

El Mariachi - Dia De Los Muertos Mixed Media Canvas

Hi friends!  I hope this finds you all well.  Today I have a new canvas to share with you.  I'm very excited about this piece because it's a first for me. Recently I was asked to do a custom piece featuring men and you all know I've only painted women right.  This piece is very important to me because it's for a family member so I wanted to get some practice in before starting their canvas.  I set out searching for images of men that inspired me and I found some great Dia De Los Muertos and mariachi photos to help me get started.  So here is my very first canvas featuring a man:

Meet "El Mariachi", this is a 30x24" canvas and it is for sale so if you're interest message me on FB or shoot me an email (artist.normagomez@yahoo.com).

I started out by stretching my sketching muscles in my art journal.

Then I moved onto building the background.  I used all types of acrylic paints and Crafter's Workshop stencils with Dylusions spray inks to create layers.

Once I was happy with the background I transferred my sketch to the canvas.  I used a projector for this part but I think I would have better off just sketching it again.  It was kinda hard to see my projected image and I ended up having to make lots of corrections to my sketch.  So I think it might have just been easier to sketch it on.

With the sketch down, I slowly began painting my mariachi.

Here's a side by side progression of my mariachi.  It's fun see the photos next to each other.  You can really see what it took to get to the finished piece.

Can I tell, I love the way he turned out!  I think he's very handsome and mysterious all at the same time.

Here's a closer look at the detail on his sombrero.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this guys so don't shy.  Good or bad, either way I wanna know what you think so please share.

If you're interested in a print, I'll be adding them to Etsy very soon so keep an eye out for that.

Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful day, Viva El Mariachi!!

Prints now available on Etsy!

Let Go - Mixed Media Canvas

Hello lovelies!  Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  Today I have a super quick post for you.  I just wanted to share a canvas I completed last night.  This one is a little different than my usual work (well at least I think so, lol).

I thought I'd give my lovely ladies a break so I did a tree instead.  This was looking pretty good but I thought it needed more.

So I gave it leaves but it still needed more to me.  I thought the green needed to be broken up so I added these sweet little flowers.

This canvas is loaded with texture.  I used a 6x6 stencil with Golden's Fine Pumice Gel.  It works just like molding paste.  It actually dries very smooth.

This beautiful tree feels so strong and grounded to me so I wanted the sentiment to reflect that.   So this is what I chose:  Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.  It definitely takes strength to let go and faith doesn't it...

So what do you think?  Do you like the flowers or did you prefer the simplicity of branches.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Well friends, that's it for today.  This beauty will hit my Etsy shop, LittleHoneyBeeStudio, very soon so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of you day!!

Paper Wings Productions Friendship Blog Hop & Giveaway

WELCOME to Paper Wing Productions & Nani ke Ola Friendship Blog Hop & Giveaway! If you've arrived here from Katie's blog, then you're in the right place.  If you’re just stopping by for a visit, please CLICK HERE to start from the beginning.

This month we're excited to have the Nani ke Ola design team joining us to celebrate "Friendship".  So get ready for double the inspiration and giveaways.  That's right, there are two prizes for this month's hop.  The first is a $25.00 gift certificate to the Paper Wings Productions online store and the second is a generous prize package from Nani ke Ola.  Here are all the giveaway details:

The main prize is a $25.00 gift certificate to the Paper Wings Productions online store.

For a chance to win all you need to do is:

• be a follower of the Paper Wings Productions blog
• visit each of the participating designer's blogs and leave a comment
• come back and leave us a comment on the PWP blog telling us you completed the hop.

To increase your chances of winning: like our Facebook page and/or invite your friends to the hop.  Be sure to leave a separate comment for each of your additional entries. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 6th, 2014 on the Paper Wings Productions blog.

Bonus Prize Sponsered by Nani ke Ola

7 Dots Studio Collection - One collection of your choice.  Chose from the following: Nature Walk, Illumination or Cold Country (International winners may have to pay an extra shipping fee)

For a chance to win all you need to do is:

• be a follower of the Nani ke Ola blog
• visit each of the participating designer's blogs and leave a comment    

                                    

Hi everyone, thank you so much for stopping by!!  Today I'm working with the gorgeous 7 Dots Studio Nature Walk Collection that was generously supplied by our guest Nani ke Ola.  I'm also using these beautiful Paper Wings Productions stamp sets: Writing Backgrounds, Vintage Lace, Fringe Lace, Sunburst Pattern, Hanging Stars and Perfect Alphabet.

I'm using a 12x12 black matte board for my background.  I wanted to make sure I had a strong background for my wet mediums.  The beautiful weathered wood 7 Dots Studio paper is called Musical Blooms.  I trimmed it down to 10.5" to allow the a black border to show.  Next I added texture using a Heidi Swap stencil and mask set with molding paste.

Once the molding paste began to set, I imprinted the butterfly with the Writing Backgrounds Script stamp.

After that I spritz the butterfly with black Tattered Angels spray ink and outlined it with a white Signo pen.  Later on I decided that the white edges need to be toned down so I went over them with a grey marker.

Using the butterfly mask included in the Heidi Swapp stencil set, I began creating a stamped layer.  This is the Vintage Lace stamp.

I added more white paint splatters to balance out the splatters printed on the 7 Dots patterned paper.

Layering time!  I layered a doily from my stash, Nature Walk tags and stickers.  I also added a tag that I created using the Fringe Lace and Sunburst Pattern stamps.

My focal image is from the Vintage Cuties Clip Art Sheet.

I created my sentiment using both the Perfect Alphabet and Hanging Stars stamp set.

Finally to soften things up a bit I added beautiful ribbon and trim.

Okay, it's time to send you off to the final stop of the hop: The Aviary

***Here is the complete line up just in case you get lost along the way***

Jennifer - Nani ke Ola

Amber Rasmuss

Carrie Avery

Thandar - Nani ke Ola

Dana Tatar

Erica Rose Thompson

Agnes - Nani ke Ola

Katie Smith

Norma Gomez

Paper Wings Productions Blog “The Aviary­ - http://paper-wings-productions.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY!!

&

Let Your Creativity Take Flight!

Perfect Alphabet Clear Stamp Set Hanging Stars Clear Stamp Set Fringe Lace Clear Stamp Vintage Lace Clear Stamp Sunburst Pattern Clear Stamp Illum. Complete Collection Kit Southern Sayings Cling Stamp Set Vintage Cuties Clip Art Sheet Uniball Pen - White Tattered Angels Architecture Paint System Concrete

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