A Spattering - Toni Kelly

Babies & Birds

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:36:00 +0000

I should clarify by saying Baby Birds...with the early return of Grackles and Starlings their babies have fledged or are about to so my back yard is full of activity.

This baby Grackle just makes me smile. Love those tufts on the eye brow and face only a Mom could love. This is the second year Grackles have nested so close to the back yard.

And here we have baby Starlings on my neighbors roof. Every year House Finches build a nest in the eaves of his roof but this year the Starlings either got there first or moved the House Finches out. I had seen a Starling earlier this Spring gathering nesting material and wondered where they were. Ha now I know since the babies are inching their way out on the roof line.

The bird bath gets used daily. By the time the bathes are done I need to fill it again.

The Orioles are back and i love hearing their song and calls. It is like music to my ears.

For awhile the Yellow-shafted Flicker would wake us up each morning outside our window. I would not be surprised to see babies this Summer.

And naturally the Robins grace the yard. Haven't seen any babies yet but hope I do again this year.

Last week my life was consumed with our birding festival. It was amazing! Will show some photos in the next blog post.

As for now I am working on new creation...an artist book inspired by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord and her Spirit Books. I have long admired her books and the concept of celebrating the natural world around us. Do check out her books and here is a sneak peak of my book.
Enjoy!
Toni

Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:57:00 +0000

I am so thankful friends for all your kind thoughts and prayers this past week. I am blessed to have friends such as you.

I'm also thanking God for helping me get my creative thought process going again and easing the little twinge of working in the studio without Bonnie now. So my music is playing as I write and my table is laid out for the next piece of art. This will be different from what I have been doing. I'll let you know it will include the drift wood, the paper you see and the inspiration from a sketchbook. The nest in the background is for another idea that needs to ferment some more. So I am going to leave you guessing and hopefully coming back for more. I'm feeling renewed about my blog and hope to keep the momentum going.

In the meantime I was excited that my Orioles and Hummingbirds came back to the garden. I've also had several Red Admiral Butterflies and they also love the grape jelly I put out for the Orioles. For a couple of months now I wake every morning to the Yellow-shafted Flicker and would not be surprised to see babies this Summer.

Spring is in full force and it is time to move forward....
Enjoy!

The return of the Orioles!

Red Admiral butterfly drinking the grape jelly.

They also love the Bleeding Hearts blooming now.

The Yellow-shafted Flicker.

Bonnie... with Love, A Final Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Bonnie - Birth unknown - April 27, 2012

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things..."

~John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

She flew into my yard and my life three years ago on a sunny May day. She was tired, hungry and thirsty. I wonder how far she had come. I should have grabbed her right away but instead let her rest and feed. Just as I thought I better get her she took off for the trees. She hung out for three days feeding at my bird feeders and playing with the other birds. Sometimes she would get the Red-wing Black birds to chase her making wide sweeping circles and back to the trees. She would chat and dine with the Mourning Doves. Finally after the third day I was able to capture her. With frequent cat and hawk visits she was sure to be someone's meal if I had not captured her first.

She spent the last three years in my home and mostly in my studio. I had gotten used to her chatter and flying around my studio. She would sit on the window sill watching the birds outside and when the weather got nice I would open the window for her to chat away at the birds. There were moments I could feel she wanted to be out there with them flying free.

This past month she became increasingly ill. Just when I thought she was recovering she would get a bad day again. Then I saw her at the window sill again weak and barely standing looking outside, my heart ached for somehow I knew her time with me would soon end. I took her to the Vet and he felt she was much older than I had thought. She was aging and had a lump in her lower abdomen. He strongly felt it was a tumor so after our discussion we decided it was best to put her to sleep.

She is now free and her spirit soars. But I felt empty and the studio was quiet once more. Slowly I started to clean up where her cage was but the heart just ached. I had to honor her so I found a wooden box and painted it and decorated it for her to lye in. Then made a pouch to put her in out of the soft blue flannel material I used to cover her cage at night. Creating these pieces for her has helped with the healing. She now lays in the box and Don and I will bury her beneath my St. Francis Statue in the Secret Garden out back.

Painting her portrait for my studio was for me. My healing and embracing all she meant to me. I miss her but she will always have a place in my heart.

All my love for you Bonnie.

Taking time to unwind and refocus...

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:38:00 +0000

...yesterday was a day I felt like for no reason to just cry. Well I suppose there was a reason and for those of you who have pets will understand. A week ago my Lily (cat) began to vomit everything till there was nothing left to come up. So after a trip to the vet and meds she is finally back to normal. So no reason to cry right! But I let things get to me sometimes and now my little rescue bird from a few years ago is not well so another trip to the vet in the morning for her. Will let you know how that goes.

So to help take my mind off of things including the commission work waiting for me in the studio I decided to paint another little mini watercolor. This was for me and for a special artist. I am grateful for the times I can just sit and paint. God has been good to me everyday I get to create, paint and love what I do.

Here is the little guy I painted in the morning. Soon he will be on his way to the home of Tracie who loves Blue Jays. ;-)

Then in the afternoon I went for a walk at Presque Isle State Park. This place is my refuge, my strength and peace. It was a beautiful day so I seized the opportunity to photograph our light house. One of my commissions will be a painting of the beach and light house with wedding vows for a lovely couple.

Then I headed for some trails and found an Eastern Comma Butterfly.

Later I uploaded the images to my iPod so I could play with them in the Instagram App. Do you have Instagram? If so I am user tonikelly2
It will be interesting to see what happens with Instagram since facebook recently bought it.
Anyways what do you think? All the images get turned into a square format.

I kind of like the old look to them now.

By the end of the day I felt better and thought of all the good things that happened that day and said a prayer of thanks for the grace God gave me.

Namaste,
Toni

Another Eagle sketch in early stages

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:35:00 +0000

I'm still in the early stages of sketching. The photos I have of Freedom Spirit (the eagle) are dark and show a lot of shadow underneath. They do not show detail so I have been spending a lot of time looking at images online to study and get a feel for their shape.

I already know what I am going to change on the sketch above. This has been a very good exercise for me making me realize how much more I need to study bird structure.

Thank goodness there is not a deadline for this commission so I can take my time on it to do it right.

In the meantime I do have two other commissions to do and new work for a show coming up in May.

So back to the drawing board for me and you have a great day!

Eagle Commission and ramblings...

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This Spring has been slipping through my fingers keeping busy with workshops, events and now a commission to do a painting of an Eagle. And yes my garden.

So be prepared because I will be blogging more.

I was sketching in my studio today for the commission piece I will be doing. I am excited about this commission because this Eagle was rehabilitated in 2008 by Sue at Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. Freedom Spirit (her nickname) was hit by a car and broke a wing. Pins were put in to help heal the wing and were removed once she healed. Physical therapy followed for several months before she was released. This Eagle meant a lot to Sue at Tamarack so when she asked me to paint her I said yes. How could I not want to do this!

So after getting permission from the photographer to use the photos as reference I started sketching today. My plan is to sketch and do color studies before moving on to the large painting. I'm really not sure how long this will take but will keep you up to date as I progress.

Last Saturday I participated in the Wine and Art Event. For the past three years I have displayed my work at Penn Shore winery. Jeff and Cheryl Orr the owners are great people to work with.

I have also been squeezing in some mini paintings which have been going very quickly on Etsy. So keep watching my Etsy Shop for more as i get time to create them. Here were the latest creations that sold.

Enjoy your day!!!
Toni

Inspiration flowed in class

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:07:00 +0000

We started at 10am and I had told everyone to bring a lunch but they all got in the zone of creating and kept it up till the end of class at 2:30pm. What a GREAT group of gals!! One of the things we worked on was letting go of expectations and just let the creativity flow.
For me if something isn't working when creating with mixed media you cover it up and change the direction. Your not so tied down to a plan. I do keep in mind color flow and basic design allowing the paint and collage to merge as one.

Here are some of the pieces the class created.

My sister, Maureen, feels she cannot draw so found creating with the papers she could create images she imagined. This was the start of her piece.

Kelly started by adding black gesso to her canvas then added collage elements and embellished with designs by hand.

Gina worked with her photos by cutting out the flowers and also included acquired lace from a shop that had closed down.

Carolyn is a wonderful watercolor artist and came with a bird she painted by using the clear gesso I had told her about on decorative paper.

Kathy worked with collage paper, paint, and pastels (her specialty). See how the left side which is painted blends into the right side with texture created with paper.

Terri hand painted her Lily and created the background with paint and collage with scrapbook papers. *Did you know you can do image transfers with scrapbook papers!* More on that when I do a post on transfers.


Karen also worked with cut out images from magazines and scrapbook papers. Her background is painted. The top of her piece was a different color which we changed to help make the collage pieces blend and come together. She will be finishing her piece at home adding a ribbon frame and enhancing the collage pieces with graphite.

So thank you girls for a wonderful creative time.
Next class is on image transfers in Jamestown, NY this Saturday.

Enjoy!
Toni

Ready for Mixed Media & Collage Class

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

All weekend I was experimenting and preparing for my Mixed Media & Collage class this coming Saturday. I was all over the studio trying different image transfers (for another class coming up after this one) and starting this example for class. It would be easy to say things went smoothly but that is not the case. I told myself that my students will learn from my mistakes. But are they really mistakes? After much thought I figured no they were not. When you create you learn from your experiences and when you take a step back and really look and follow your intuition your creations will come alive.

One of the things I love about working with mixed media, acrylic paint and collage papers is that if it doesn't work the first time you can remove or cover up what doesn't look right and continue to move forward. This class is going to be so much fun!

So I'm going to share with you in the photos below how the piece above evolved. Enjoy and hope it entices you to take a class sometime soon.

Started by transferring the paper on the bottom and painted the background.

Didn't care for the center paper and color so removed it.

Repainted the top and added some designs with transfers.

After the last photo I was getting into it and forgot to take some photos but what I ended up doing nest was add the collage page and then painted the top part of the Iris flowers. Then collage the purple paper on which then made the bottom look not so good. So reapplied the green design paper again and finished painting the stems and leaves.

Since I repainted the background again I lost the transfer design so re-did it but it did not go very well. Had to tidy it up with paint. Then laid the last elements down to see where they should go. The finished piece (see first photo) did not use the button.

Palm Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I have been home just over a week now and our weather here could not be any better. It feels like we brought it home with us. But I don't think I could dip my toes in the water yet like I did in Palm Beach.

Ahhh did that feel good! And it won't be long before we can dip toes here. Palm Beach was quaint and exotic at the same time. The newly renovated Worth Ave. had a European flair. Well at least it seemed that way to me with some of the shopping entrances coming off an ally way lined with Bistro Tables and Chairs. On the corner of Sax Fifth Ave Shop was a living wall. My sister and I were so excited to actually see one in person after both of us have been seeing living walls on Pinterest.
Yes we both love gardening and creating. So immediately we were trying to figure out how we can create our own living wall in our gardens. We will see what we can manage this spring.

We also paid a visit to a friend of mine who just moved to Palm Beach a little over a year ago. Eli's (check out her blog) husband James is the pastor to Bethesda By the Sea Episcopal Church. The church is gorgeous! The church gardens are in the slideshow below.

The rest of our stay was spent having dinner with our Aunt and cousin, venturing to the Renaissance Fair, and attending a wonderful Fine Arts Craft Fair. My brother, Cliff treated us like queens. He treated us and took us anywhere we wanted to go. He is a real gem girls and single!

Below are photos of Palm Beach and the Church. Enjoy! Now I need to finish preparing for workshops coming up.
Toni

Wakodahatchee Wetlands - Florida!

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:24:00 +0000

So here I am in Florida! This is my first time here and I'm loving it. My youngest brother lives near West Palm Beach in Wellington. My sister, Maureen, and I finally made it here for a visit.

Our first night here he treated us to CityPlace which is an area downtown filled with shops, places to eat, fountains, brick walkways, and entertainment. Be sure to click the link to check it out.

We ate at an Italian restaurant on the patio filled with night life, lights and the sweet scent of Spring coming. Ahh to sit outside in March for us is divine.

The next day we made our way to Wakodahatchee Wetlands. The boardwalk is three miles long stretching out and winding its way through marsh and bogs full of wetland birds. Several were nesting and had babies. The little islands were close which allowed for some great photography opportunities. I know there will be some paintings coming out of some of these photos. Click the link for more info on this wetland. Because there were so many good photos I decided to do the slide show below. Enjoy!
Tomorrow I leave for home and will catch up with you there and will chat about the rest of the trip.

Birds, birds...

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:33:00 +0000

... I am so enjoying painting these little mini bird portraits. And how exciting that these last six paintings are now on their way to Canada! Here are the last two but don't worry as soon as I get back from my Florida vacation I'll be painting more and getting them uploaded to my Etsy shop. Also check back for more info on some workshops coming up. Even a workshop in West Virgina!!

Women Create

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Women Create - Feb 11 - March 31

3rd on 3rd Gallery, Jamestown, NY

I am excited, and honored to be a part of this exhibit curated by Jennifer Schlick and Debra Eck of CAW WNY. These women have put their heart and soul into the exhibit 'Women Create' which not only features regional women artists in the exhibit but will also feature art salons through out the next 6 weeks. The end of the exhibit will feature a flag book installation and a day full of workshops.

The flag book will be the creation of a series of twelve photo flag books that celebrate the creative contributions of women. A series of photos of women in their studios is the subject matter for the books. Jennifer spent a few hours with me in my studio and by the time we were done my tidy space was overcome with art and books pulled out and spread across the counter.

I am happy to announce I will be conducting one of the workshops on the closing day March 3, 2012. My workshop will be on image transfers so keep watching for more info soon.

Below are some images from hanging the show to the reception. Also visit the web site 'Women Create' for more images. And thanks to Jennifer and Debra for letting me post these images.

To see more info and schedules please go to womencreate.wordpress.com

Junco - Mini Art

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:30:00 +0000

Did you know that male Dark-eyed Junco's are darker than the females. I did struggle a bit with this one because of the dark feathers. I let it sit overnight so it would be easier to see what I needed to do to improve it. I had it to dark and flat so I lifted some of the color and added the highlights. I felt pretty good that I was able to save it from the scrap floor. :-)

Junco's are my favorite winter bird and I love seeing them perched on my red twig dogwood which is what inspired me to do the red background work here.
This may end up in my Etsy Shop so check back and I will let you know.

Enjoy,
Toni

Another view.

De-Embossing the Mini Art

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Several have asked how I de-emboss around my mini art work so here is my attempt to show you how. First of all I call it de-emboss because I am pushing the image back rather than forward. To me embossing means pushing a design forward. So If you rather call it embossing that is fine also.

Pictured above are two different tools I use for embossing. One is a bone folder, the white object, and the other is a spoon shaped metal tool that I have had for years. I have had it for so long I'm not sure who made it back then but Hey!!! with the use of google I found it for you if you are interested. Check it out here.

Now for the set up which is quite simple. First I make guide lines on my 140lb watercolor paper very lightly with a pencil. They are so light that they did not show well in my photo so here is a graphic pic showing where I mark.

The solid green area is where my image would be and the outer green line is where my second emboss lays. I pencil the diagonal lines which when done are erased. Then I cut two squares out of mat board. One is the exact size of my image and one is 1/2 inch larger so I will have a 1/4 inch border all around.

I place the first template that is the same as the image directly over the painting using the diagonal lines as a guide to match up the corners then carefully flip it over and using the embossing tool start pushing the paper down along the edge of the template.

You can see how the paper is now protruding upward. I then flip the piece back over and grab the next larger template and lay it over the image matching the corners to the diagonal lines and repeat the process of embossing. When done it will look like two ridges protruding out on the backside like in the image below.

Then when you flip it over to the front the image is pushed back and has a border around it like you see below.

And that is it! Easy and not complicated. No special machine. and in case you are wondering how I get the sharp straight painted edge I use Scotch 3M blue painters tape.

I burnish the tape down for a good seal but being painter tape it removes with damaging the paper. Oh and the designs are applied using a transfer technique.

I am pleased to say my little Chickadee has sold but keep watching for more Mini Art Work.

Enjoy,
Toni

White-throated Sparrow, Mini Art Series

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

UPDATE: I am pleased to announce that the White-throated Sparrow has SOLD!

I am having fun with the new mini art! Amazing what you can do in a small space. My first mini original of the Tufted Titmouse sold. So here is my second creation and it is now for sale in my Etsy Shop. My plan is to make these affordable and easy to frame.

And as you can see the image is de-embossed. I call it de-embossing because the paper is pushed back rather than forward. Several have asked how I do this so over the weekend I will write a post showing how it is done. It is very easy and I know you will want to try it yourself.

Now to start the next mini painting!
Enjoy,
Toni

New Mini Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

I have been wanting for some time now to work on small pieces of art in between larger pieces and other work that take me away from painting. I also wanted the work to be affordable and a nice way for the buyer to frame easily.

Taking a few sheets of watercolor paper I tore them into two sizes, 8 x 8 inches and 8 x 10 inches. The image size on these will be 3 x 3 and 3 x 5 inches. Small enough to complete in one sitting or work on in bits of time. Each sheet should fit a ready made frame. They can be matted or framed without mats because I am also de-embossing the image, first at the edge of the painting then again 1/4 inch out from the image to create a framed in look and so the image will not sit directly against the glass. Framing spacers can also be used to further move the piece away from the glass.

I love the effect the de-embossing gives to the art. As I complete these I will be selling them on Etsy.

I'm waiting to hear from a buyer before I add this Tufted Titmouse to my Etsy Shop.

I'm excited about these little pieces and who knows what inspiration will come from them.
Enjoy,
Toni

NEW Workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:30:00 +0000

I am really excited about getting back into teaching workshops again. Last fall I did a paste paper workshop at the North East Arts Council and now for this Winter going into Spring I have three workshops lined up. So if you are local and are interested contact me. For that matter if you are not local and would like to book a workshop in your area let me know also.

First workshop will be a book binding class and even though these have a leather cover they are quite easy and great for beginners. I have a new page tab above for all the details.
And since I was playing with bookbinding I had some fun with this one and experimented with a Alcohol transfer on the cover. I plan on putting together a blog post just on my favorite ways to do transfers soon.

Next workshop will be a mixed media on canvas. This will be a fun one! I know everyones piece will be unique. Our emphasis will be on nature and utilizing collage, layers, texture and transfers.

And the last workshop will be on drawing backyard birds. You know by now I love to draw and paint birds. Mostly we will be working with graphite pencils and colored pencils but if you want to bring some watercolors I would not object.

All the details can be found here. Come out, sign up and lets have some fun.

Enjoy,
Toni

Downy Woodpeckers up close

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Sunday the sun was out and Presque Isle was beckoning to me. To much time has passed since I last took my camera with me and wondered the trails on my own deep in my thoughts and watching for winter birds. Since it had snowed the day before I stayed on the sidewalk trail next to the bay area. It did not disappoint me because it seemed for every step a Downy Woodpecker was near by. And to my advantage they were low and up close not even flinching as people walked by. So I wasn't all alone. the day was so beautiful that several walkers were out in force chasing away the winter blues.

My best shots of a Downy Woodpecker came as I took a side trail off of the sidewalk down Leo's landing. With the sun at my back my lighting was perfect and this little Downy at eye level completely ignored me and went about his business as I shot frame after frame.

I was so pleased when I got home and downloaded the images. Usually I have to crop to get up close but not this time. Definitely the best images I have taken so far.

I finished my walk by rounding my way off the sidewalk to the lake side and up the beach road. Part of this road had flooded and was now ice so I decided to walk along the frozen sand. The lake side was calm and warm as the sun shone brighter there. The water fowl were all on this side with open water and a calm lake. The break walls covered in snow and ice reminded me of an arctic scene.

I love how the reflections came across the water.

Dry grass stand still waiting for Spring. And so do I. It is hard to believe that February is fast approaching. We have been very fortunate here in Erie with very little snow. We are in the snow belt, but this year has been kind to us. Not good for those who love to ski or ice fish. Perhaps next year will be better for winter sports.

Cool Facts on the Downy Woodpecker from All About Birds

In winter Downy Woodpeckers are frequent members of mixed species flocks. Advantages of flocking include having to spend less time watching out for predators and better luck finding food from having other birds around.
Male and female Downy Woodpeckers divide up where they look for food in winter. Males feed more on small branches and weed stems, and females feed on larger branches and trunks. Males keep females from foraging in the more productive spots. When researchers have removed males from a woodlot, females have responded by feeding along smaller branches.
The Downy Woodpecker eats foods that larger woodpeckers cannot reach, such as insects living on or in the stems of weeds. You may see them hammering at goldenrod galls to extract the fly larvae inside.
Woodpeckers don’t sing songs, but they drum loudly against pieces of wood or metal to achieve the same effect. People sometimes think this drumming is part of the birds’ feeding habits, but it isn’t. In fact, feeding birds make surprisingly little noise even when they’re digging vigorously into wood.
Downy Woodpeckers have been discovered nesting inside the walls of buildings.
The oldest known Downy Woodpecker lived to be at least 11 years 11 months old.

Find out more about Downy Woodpeckers here.

Enjoy,
Toni

Valentines ...because I Love You

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Yes it is still January but if you are one to make your own Valentine cards I thought I better share this with you now before it was to late. Last year for my newsletter subscribers I put together two pdf file kits to print cut and create cards. So if you missed that newsletter or miss placed the files here you are with an added bonus. ( links to the files are at the end of this post)

To start here are what the cards look like put together but you can use your own creativity putting them together. They do not have to look just like this.

Side note: How lucky am I to have two wonderful daughter in laws that share the same birthday! And wait it gets better...it is on Valentine's Day!

I still have to design their cards for this year yet. So there may be another set in a few weeks.

Each pdf file includes the card background and the hearts for you to cut out. Then get creative with decorative scissors, punches, ribbons and more. The bonus this year includes a png file of the background design that you can also print and use for scrapbooking or other cards.

*The background design and cards are for personal use only, and you may share the files with others but you do not have permission to sell the design*

Ok now for the links to download the card designs and the bonus paper. Have fun creating!
Enjoy,
Toni
The files: If you have trouble with any of these files please let em know.
Read me and instructions
Card one
Card two
8.5 x 11 Paper design

Vaughn ... Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Life changes in an instant and for me it happened December 8, 2011 when my first grandchild was born. This first month just flew by and I realized I had not blogged about my precious grandson and what joy he brings to all of us.

I just cannot stop beaming when I am around this little guy!

I know everyone says their grandchildren are perfect, and they truly are. Yes 'He is Perfect'!

Look at all the hair :-)

One month old with Grandpa.

I just want to pinch his cheeks! But my son says "No". He says he remembers everyone pinching his cheeks and doesn't want that to happen to Vaughn. Guess I'll have to sneak a couple in sometime. Shhhh don't tell anyone.

Vaughn and his Daddy at Christmas time. So proud of my son. He helps Terra with everything including changing diapers, getting up at night with Vaughn, and coming home after work and playing with the baby.

You can call me Grandma now!

Toni

Passionately Red

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:14:00 +0000

Another Etsy Treasury! Think red, winter, Valentine! Enjoy.

Making Stars ... Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:09:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was fantastic and the month of December was a blur with family coming home and the birth of my first Grandson. Yes I will be writing about him soon.

As for now I finally have my feet grounded and I'm ready to get back to my art and prepare for the new year. So starting with something new, yet old, Star Ornaments or decorations that can be made anytime. So bookmark this blog post for future reference.

I made these stars for a gallery this Christmas and for family. They are three dimensional five point stars. And it does not matter how long or short each point is, they all fold the same way.
Lets get started.

Using 8.5 x 11 inch card stock I printed a design and the star shape on the card stock. Each star needs two pieces cut out. At the end of this post I will have links to the star patterns for you to download.

I painted each card stock using a paste paper method. This calls for coating the paper with a clear paste such as wall paper paste and then adding acrylic paint while the paste was still wet.

If you google paste paper you will see many examples and paste recipes.

When the painted papers are dry I cut out the star shapes.

Turn the star over and from each outer point to its opposite inner point I scored a line. Each scored line will cross in the center. The fold in each scored line so the colored printed side is on the outside. After each fold, unfold then move on to the next scored line till all five lines have been creased.

Then push in the creased line between the center point and the inner point. You will end up with a dimensional star.

Each star has two sides. (front and back) Since I wanted to hang the stars I punched holes along the edge of the bottom inner point and the top outer point. This gave enough room for the decorative threads to lay.

Turn the stars over and put a bead of white glue (I used Tacky glue in the gold bottle) at each tip and inner point on one side and just the top tip and bottom inner point on the other side.

Lay the decorative threads across the star leaving enough as the hanger on top. Then carefully join both sides together lining up the points and gently pinching yet keeping the stars dimensional look.

Hang to dry. I then edged each star with some paint to help hide the parts that did not line up perfectly, then apply a coat of clear acrylic varnish for protection. Embellish as you please.

You can make these from any decorative card stock papers or ones you painted yourself.
Here are links to the star patterns as pdf files.
Star Pattern click here.
Folk Art Star Pattern click here.

Have fun! And have a wonderful New Year!
Toni

The Natural Things in Life

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:03:00 +0000

I am so excited! I created my first Etsy treasury. Sound silly? But it was fun exploring and finding new treasures. Check it out.

Enjoy,
Toni

'Empty Nest' a watercolor on canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Toni Kelly) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:38:00 +0000


'Empty Nest' 10 x 20 inches Watercolor on Canvas

On many of my walks at Presque Isle State Park I was able to witness a Yellow Warbler dipping in and out of some Japanese Honey Suckle next to the path. Carefully I pushed aside the leaves and found a nest with babies. All Summer on occasion I would take a sneak peek. I found it amazing that this little bird was raising a family just at arms length yet obscured by the dense leaves. So many people would walk by and not even notice the miracles going on around them.

As Summer came to an end and leaves started to drop in the Autumn air the nest became more visible and empty with just a few yellow and pale green leaves hanging on. Upon inspection the nest was tightly woven out of fine grasses and other light materials forming a small bowl shape which made for a cozy home indeed.

This painting was especially fun to create. I worked from one of my photos for the Yellow Warbler and was able to bring the nest into my studio to sketch and paint. For the background colors are what I see in late Autumn, they are rich, earthy and at times vibrant. Since the painting is on canvas I used the DS watercolor ground as a base for my watercolors. I am still very pleased with how this ground works.

Here is a view when the painting was about 2/3 done.

Masking fluid was used to mask out the warbler, nest, branch and leaves so I could be free to paint the background. The watercolor ground and canvas makes it easy to soften edges from the mask.

I think you can look forward to more paintings of nests. They are such a comfort to me.

Have a great day!
Toni

Happy Thanksgiving!!

noreply@blogger.com (Toni) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:00:00 +0000