Angela Anderson Art Blog

My New Artist Statement

2011-12-15T15:18:00.001-06:00

My dear friend Day Burns has been gifted with a talent for writing that I can not come close to approaching. She graciously accepted my plea to rewrite my pitiful artist statement. I am in awe of the beautiful words she wrote that capture precisely what I feel when I paint. A huge thanks to my wonderful friend!!!!

I am an artist because I can be nothing else and still maintain the integrity of my heart. My art is my story of love and gratitude for my Creator. Every color represents a divine experience, every brush stroke a soft intervening whisper, every line a path directed, every drop of paint a grateful tear shed, every contrast a praise rejecting the lies and moving further into His Light. When I am painting I see glimpses into who I am created to be. I feel an invitation to be the best possible version of myself being called out from my soul. Striving ceases and peace surrounds me like a warm blanket. I accept that I am a work in progress, a great masterpiece full of bursting colors and expressions of my love for the Creator. The Master is adding His finishing touches. I see myself the way that He sees me. He speaks life, truth, and affirmations into my soul. I am fully alive. Free. Why does an author share her story? Why does a vocalist share her song? Why does a painter share her art? It is the beauty of the Lord within each of us that begs to call out the beauty He has created in others. Beauty unlocks beauty, deep calls to deep. We all have captivating beauty to share, a gift the Lord has hidden inside that creates a deep longing when it is not expressed. When I am painting it feels like I am looking through the Creator’s eyes to see the world as He sees it. It’s like He is inviting me to tell His story. I am so honored to be asked to even try. Through His eyes, every person has beauty, all of nature sways in worship, and hope sings of a great story that has no ending. I paint because I need to tell the story that the Lord is writing in my heart. I share my paintings because I want to invite you to share the story that the Creator is writing in yours.

"What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress? Imagine that you are a Masterpiece unfolding, every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath." ~ Thomas Crum

Christmas Cookie Decorating

2011-12-14T19:33:00.000-06:00

Here is just a small sample of the yummy cookies we decorated last week. It is one of my favorite Christmas traditions!

If you run a toothpick through the wet icing you can make really cool effects.

Such Great Heights Lyrics...Lovely

2011-12-09T23:11:00.001-06:00

Just playing with photoshop tonight and decided to create a little image with one of my favorite song lyrics. It is from the Postal Service song "Such Great Heights". Iron & Wine did a beautiful cover version of the song too.

Fun Sewn Christmas Tree Ornaments - Art Class Project

2011-12-07T08:22:00.001-06:00

We made the cutest little Christmas tree ornaments in this week's class. I used a non-traditional fabric to make them a little more funky.

Many of the girls had never sewn before so it was quite a challenge. They did a really great job and I will definitely do a sewing project again. So fun!

Snowman Ornaments - Art Class

2011-12-07T08:10:00.001-06:00

We made snowmen ornaments from mini canvases this week.

It was a fun little project. The girls did a great job on them!

Free Holiday Music!!! NICE!!!

2011-12-02T20:12:00.001-06:00

Gotta love free music! I am seriously addicted, and Amazon is my enabler! Enjoy!!

2 for 1 Fat Quarter Sale at Spoonflower.com

2011-11-28T07:34:00.001-06:00

This week Spoonflower is having a 2 for 1 fat quarter sale! Buy two fat quarters and only pay for one. They don't have to be the same. Here is the link to my butterfly calendar. It printed up beautifully.

Ribbon Turkey Pins - After School Art

2011-11-17T15:04:00.001-06:00

We made the cutest turkey pins in class this week. I swiped this idea from a baby onesie I saw on Pinterest (my newest obsession).

Here are the finished pins and my how-to photos...

Fun Splatter Floral Paintings - Kid's Art Class

2011-11-12T11:48:00.001-06:00

This week we did a floral landscape using Sponges, Q-Tips and Toothbrushes. It was MESSY but fun. We used artist Yvonne Coomber's artwork below as our inspiration.

Butterfly Paintings Calendar 2012 - Please Vote!

2011-11-10T16:49:00.001-06:00

Voting is now open for this week's Spoonflower fabric contest. The theme for this week is a 2012 calendar tea towel (on a fat quarter). I used my butterfly paintings to make my design. Please stop by the link below and vote if you get a minute. Voting ends Wednesday, Nov. 16th. Thanks!

Zentangle Pen & Ink Watercolor Paintings

2011-11-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

We did "zentangle" pen & ink watercolor paintings today in my after school art class. The girls are all ages 7-10 and did an amazing job.

Marbled Polymer Clay Bead Bracelets

2011-11-01T22:09:00.001-05:00

My art class made marbled polymer clay bead bracelets this week. It was super fun and easy.

They would make nice, inexpensive gifts. Under $2 each.

Here are the photos of the process.

I used 20 beads for my adult bracelets and 16 for the child size bracelets. For the top bracelet (above) I made 12 small, thin spacer beads in black and silver and used 12 of the large beads.

Knead to soften and roll clay into 4 snakes.

Twist, fold in half, twist again, then roll into snake

Fold in half again, twist, and roll into snake.

Repeat until desired marbling is achieved.

Be careful not to over blend or colors will become muddy.

Cut into 8-10 equal parts then roll between palms to make bead.

Use toothpick to make hole then carefully slide onto dowel.

Tent lightly with aluminum foil to ensure even baking.

Stretch tightly, holding close to beads, loop and double knot both ends together.

Tuck ends into next bead and cut.

Glittered Foam Pumpkin Craft - After School Art

2011-10-18T20:34:00.001-05:00

We made carved and glittered foam pumpkins in today's after school art class.

The girls "carved" designs into the foam pumpkins with pencil.

Then we brushed them with brown/red and gold paint (to settle the color in the cracks).

On the other two sides they painted with mod podge and glittered.

We also made bows and glittered leaves to add to the top of the pumpkins.

3rd & 4th Grade Paintings

2011-10-10T16:11:00.001-05:00

Last spring I did paintings with a local elementary school. The third grade did landscapes and the fourth grade did a pear still life. Here are some examples of the finished paintings...

3rd Grade (8-9 yrs. old) - Landscapes

4th Grade (9-10 yrs. old) - Pear Still Life

Kid's Art Class - Floral Arrangement

2011-10-04T20:58:00.001-05:00

The girls made floral arrangements today. They painted their clay pots with acrylics and then filled them with floral foam and flowers. Fun!

After School Art Class - Mixed Media Project

2011-09-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

This week the girls in my after school art class did a mixed media project.

Materials used:

9"x12" canvas panels
1/4" thick chipboard letter
scrapbook papers with coordinating colors
acrylic paint
bubble wrap
foam brush
tacky glue
scrapbook glue sticks
ribbon
scrapbook silk flowers
rhinestone stickers
buttons
colored pens and pencils
Stickles glitter glue

I had them start by picking 4 scrapbook papers to use as their inspiration.

Then they chose a color for the background of the canvas and painted the sides of the letters to match.

Bubble wrap was then painted with accent colors and pressed onto the panel to give the canvas an interesting texture.

They traced the letters onto scrapbook paper and cut out hearts, stars and flowers out of coordinating papers.

All that was left to do was glue and embellish with rhinestones, flowers, glitter pens and buttons!

The girls had a lot of fun with this one. I love projects like this that can be personalized. I think it is important for students to be given room for creative expression. This was the perfect project for that!

(Two students opted for peace signs instead of letters. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of both. We used a tool to cut a circle out of paper. The circle was then cut in a fork design to be used for the center part of the peace sign. Then the outer edge of the remnant paper was cut about an inch from the edge of the opening to make the outer ring of the peace sign. Ideally I would have liked to find a chipboard or wood peace sign to cover like we did with the letters, but this worked out well instead.)

After School Art Class - Peacock Feather Painting

2011-09-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

I started my after school art class today. We did a painting of a peacock feather. I almost changed the project because I was afraid it would be too difficult (with all those lines and shading), but I think they did an amazing job!

After School Art Lessons

2011-09-12T22:21:00.003-05:00

I will be starting a new after school art class for ages 8 to 18 on September 20th. Classes will be held every Tuesday from 4:15 - 5:45 pm at Hobby Lobby of Russellville, AR. Cost will be $20 per class or $200 for 12.

Funky Feathered Friends Fabric

2011-09-06T13:44:00.004-05:00

Here is my entry for this week's Spoonflower contest. The theme is birds and it has a limited palette of 4 colors (black, white, light blue, and artist choice). I have wanted to do a whimsical owl fabric for a while now so this seemed the perfect opportunity to have some fun!

Painting for Nathan - Proverbs 23:7

2011-08-26T15:55:00.001-05:00

My oldest son is a junior in college this year (Hard to believe, I know. And yes, I did have him when I was 12). Anyhoo...he asked for a painting of Proverbs 23:7 for his dorm room. My instructions were to keep it simple and do it in reds & black. I just ordered a bunch of new acrylic gels and mediums so I decided since this is a pro bono job I could do a little experimenting.

I first painted the background with black gesso. Then, I used Golden's Fine Pumice Gel applied with my finger and a credit card to make some textural circles and lines. Once that dried, I loosely painted over the textured areas with Pyrrole Crimson Red and dry brushed with some grey and black. For the lettering I used a font called Will Robinson in grey (chalked it out and painted free hand). Then to finish, I used a splatter brush (which is actually like a bunch of flexible plastic sticks on a handle) to add watery grey splotches over the whole canvas. I love the overall look. The texture turned out to be really fun and easy. I will definitely try it again. It worked really well for the geometric look I was going for. My son loves it too so it was win/win for me!

Free Spoonflower Fabric Swatch Today!

2011-08-18T19:36:00.001-05:00

Today is free swatch day at Spoonflower.com! You can order any fabric you want in an 8" x 8" swatch. Enough for a potholder maybe. The sale ends tomorrow, Friday August 19th at noon EST.
Here is a link to my butterfly fabric if anyone is interested.

Books! What Do You Recommend?

2011-08-02T17:05:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share some of my favorite books and see what others recommend.

Top of my list would have to be Jane Austen's books. (Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey) There is a reason they have been made into countless movies. Her stories always have happy endings, and who doesn't love that! But she is also incredibly witty and each story has it's own personality. I love them all.

Along the same lines as Jane is an author I just found called Georgette Heyer. If you love Jane, you will love Georgette. She wrote in the 1920's-70's about the Regency Period (in which Jane Austen lived). My favorites so far are The Black Moth, The Grand Sophy, These Old Shades, Faro's Daughter, The Devil's Cub, and Cousin Kate. They are short reads (a couple of days at most) and thoroughly entertaining, funny and sweetly romantic.

Other favorite books:

Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon (Time travel & kilts, what's not to love? The whole Outlander series is great historical fiction/romance. Jamie is my favorite all-time male hero. The love story in this series is almost too descriptive so I wouldn't recommend it for teens.)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (So great! One of my favorite books ever! Read it soon, before the movie comes out.)

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins (I really liked the first and second book, didn't love the last. Still a fun read.)

Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyers (I know, I know! It's not exactly literature, but I love a good, clean romance and this one delivers.)

That's all for now. I've got lots more to add but I have to make dinner...

Mixed Media Project - Kid's Painting Class

2011-07-26T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today in my kid's painting class the girls did a mixed media painting.
On the first day I had them paint the background. We used non-traditional items (bubble wrap, credit cards, etc.) to paint & stamp on interesting patterns. Then I had them sketch out their girls on paper.

Today we transfered the drawings onto the canvas and painted the faces using pastels and pens to add details. We cut paper for the dresses and flowers and used gloss medium/varnish to adhere the paper to the canvas panels.

Amazon Music Sale

2011-07-24T18:29:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite albums are on sale for $3.99 today. Thought I'd pass along the links.
I used the song "Heaven on Fire" from the Radio Dept. for one of my YouTube videos (below). Their music is very unique, kinda dreamy retro. Bon Iver's front man Justin Vernon has one of the most unusual voices I've heard. It almost seems high and off key but in a good way. His melodys are gorgeous. Take a listen....

Kid's Painting Class - Butterflies

2011-07-22T18:37:00.000-05:00

Today we worked on some butterflies in my kid's painting class. Yesterday we did the backgrounds on the canvases using plastic wrap on the wet paint to give them fun texture.

The girls drew their butterflies and transfered them onto canvas with graphite paper then used paint and water soluble pencils to add fine details. I think they turned out amazing! The oldest in the class is 10 and the youngest is 7! Pretty amazing talent!