Collage class video

As promised, here is a video I made from the collage class I held at Library Allard in St. Georges MB. I think everyone had fun, I sure did. 

Can you believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! I can't. xo

Mixed Media Encaustic

Well, it has gotten cold here and it is pretty much impossible for me to do the encaustic painting. I just don't have decent ventilation. One thing I did do however, since it is just one little pot of wax to warm, is to wax one of my old unfinished watercolors and engrave details into the wax. I used a raw amber paint to rub into the engravings to bring out the detailing. It was really fun.

 And here is a close up of the detailing on the trees.

 We started Christmas decorating last night. I find it so hard to get into the spirit when the weather has been so weird. We really don't have much snow and that is not really the norm. I remember one Dec 5th the weather getting so warm that the snow began to melt but, we must have had about a foot and a half of snow already! I have said it before and I am going to say it here. I think that the tsunami's and the earthquake in Japan.... the earth has shifted or something and the axis is different and has changed the seasons. Our fall lasts longer, spring takes longer to get here. Just weird.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

xo

Here is another video I just finished, I have another to post, I just have to upload it first. The second one is the actual workshop that I did and the participants work. 

The video is a bit shaky, I have a board suspended from my ceiling which is what I rest my camera on but I usually wait for it to stop moving before I start to paint. Not sure where my mind was that day, anxious to finish I guess.

Hope you enjoy, stay tuned for the class video.

xoxo

I made a little video of the painting I did a while ago, "All Her Dresses". Here it is as promised.


Still trying to work on my encaustic course which I am two weeks behind on, ouch. Will post some work if I get some done.

Hope all are well.

xo

My first encaustic painting!

Don't laugh. This is harder than it looks. I keep thinking what the heck did I get myself into! My first lesson (a week ago), and I am a week behind, was excavation. I um.... keep mistakenly calling it excretion. Yeah, really not the correct word in so many ways. At least I get a good laugh at myself every time I do it.

I am so not sure if I like it and it totally did not turn out the way I expected but I guess that is the point. Usually you learn through trial and error. 

It is called excavation because you put layer upon layer in different depths and then scrape some of the surface away to reveal the colors underneath. Cool and frustrating all at the same time. Oh well, will get the hang of it I am sure by the time I am ready to move on! hahah!

Hope your weekend is going great.

xo

Pssst....

I have some candy posted over at my stamp blog. There are some stamps and ink pads and other goodies that could easily be incorporated into a canvas. Go and

CHECK IT OUT.

Have a great weekend!

Me 'n' dresses...

So, anyone who really knows me knows that... I don't wear dresses. Nope. I just feel silly in them. Not that I don't love them, not that I did not love making them for my daughter. Love them! Just not on me. My mom had this little pant suit for me to wear at church on Sunday's because I refused to wear a dress, little tomboy that I was.

This is a little study I did for  a collection I am working on. Actually, it is one thing I want to mention while I am here. I am working on some new stuff, really exciting, and I am going to be starting an online encaustic class on the 17th with Judy Wise. I am so excited about it but I am also realizing that I need to reorganize my studio so I can actually work in it. sheesh. This means unfortunately that I wont' be here much. I did video the work I did on this piece and I am going to try to get it edited and posted. Other than that, I will be MIA. Hope you stay with me till I am back. XO!

the fairy!

 

For my not so little girl....

This year we chose to send our daughter off to stay with her Aunt and Uncle during the week to attend another school, she comes home for the weekends. It was a difficult decision for us and now a month in, I think for all of us, loneliness has set in. The kid who couldn't wait to go and have fun is starting to miss the comfort of being home. We miss her too. I decided to make her a little painting to take with her so she can hopefully feel encouraged to push through when she feels down. I wanted her to know that she is special, especially to us. Here is the canvas I made her.

I am still in my weird place of overwhelmed indecision, which is a bit frustrating. I am also just getting over being sick with NO creative time whatsoever. Dealing with the goings on of the kids, family, community etc. It's funny how you wake up one day and your life suddenly became complicated. Deep breath, push forward, thank God everyday for every moment and every blessing. It could ALWAYS be worse, and if you are that one who is the absolute worst case, my heart goes out to you and I send you hope, peace, and love.

XO

the fairy.

Where in the world is.....

Roberta! I was SHOCKED when I pulled up a post on my blog and saw my last post date. I knew it had been a while but wow. This is just one of those times, you know the ones you have in your life where you just kind of get lost. Sometimes you just need time to find yourself. I am not saying I am found.... ha ha, just poking my head out of the bush. I am posting a little snippet of what I am currently working on. I hope to post a video of it along with the finished product. Still have half a dozen unfinished pieces hanging around waiting to be loved, but right now, sadly, they are not my friends and I just can't show them the love....... I am kind of at a point where I just really need to sit down and figure out where the best places are to focus my time and energy, at least what I have left after the regular ole' everyday stuff gets done. I sure wish we didn't need any sleep. More to come soon I hope.

Stay tuned...... xo!

Well, I cut it up.

Whew! What a busy time of year. I have to say I am glad the kiddos are back to school for the routine. As much as I am ready to ditch it in the spring, I welcome it back in the fall. I finally got a chance to actually paint something yesterday, the collage that I was supposed to do with two other paintings I did for an assignment.

The birds are actually berries in the old painting. Her dress was the tree. I had fun doing this, really enjoyed it despite the fact that I don't normally do well without a plan, detailed plan. I am working on it.

xo

Before I cut it up.....

Yes, you read right, cut it up. I have to do an exercise for an art class I am taking where I have to cut up some paintings to collage them onto another painting I previously made. REWIND... that sounded confusing didn't it. HA!

This really was just a spontaneous, unplanned painting, more of a journal page really which ended up with me, as a bird, in a tree. Singing in my mind "I'm like a bird, I wanna fly away..." (don't ask me from what...)

Bye Bye birdie! Now to cut or to tear... sniff sniff. Oh get over it, you'll be fine... she says to herself. Funny thing is I didn't really think I liked it all that much when I did it. P.S. I video taped the whole session, video may be posted...

Have a wonderful labor day weekend everyone. 

xo

the fairy

Make your own blinkie!!!!!

I am posting this tutorial here for those of you who would like to make your own blinkie with a copyable text box for your blog. The direct links to all the Pimp your Blog posts will be in that section so the tutorials are easy to find. Hope you like!

Yeah! Here is my first one!

How to make your own blinkie for your blog.

Here is my full size blinkie. I create it rather large because it is easy to edit. 300dpi for nice quality and about 1000 pixels wide. You need to change it after you are done so it will fit in sidebars. 175-200 pixels wide is what I usually do.

You need to go into the window panel and select animate to make it have actions.

click on the image above to open it full size so you can read my directions on the picture!

Once it is finished and you are ready to save it you HAVE to save it in the web and devices section to make it a gif.

Again click on image to read my instructions, he he!

Now go to your photobucket account and make an album for your blog so you can add goodies there and stay organized. Once you have uploaded and saved it, hover your mouse over it to see this:

 Now that pink part I circled is what you are going to add into your code. I have posted mine below for the blinkie I just created but you are going to have to change the code to your own. I should have color coded it sorry but the code you are going to slip yours into is in yellow below. Be careful, change only the code between the comas starting at http and ending after your code gif. If you miss one comma it won't work.

The pink part in this picture is your blog url. You need to change that as well. Just change the url, no comas etc.

I am pasting my full blinkie code here but in this text box, the full code you see above will be in it. SO all you have to do is COPY THE CODE IN THIS TEXT BOX, go into your dashboard and click on add a gadget add html code and copy this code into it. THEN YOU HAVE TO EDIT IT. Just change the url to your own in BOTH SPOTS, then go to your photobucket page and copy YOUR DIRECT CODE YOU YOUR BLINKIE and paste it into the yellow sections, making sure to remove mine first. Click save and you have your own copyable blinkie! Congrats!


Grab the Code!

<a href="http://www.robertalaliberte.blogspot.com?xyz=16"><img src="http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad355/RobertaLaliberte/possibilities%20blog/LaliberteBlinkiefw.gif" /></a><br /> <p>Grab the Code!<br /> <p><textarea rows=3 cols=13 readonly name="Blinkie Code"><a href="http://www.robertalaliberte.blogspot.com?xyz=16"><img src="http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad355/RobertaLaliberte/possibilities%20blog/LaliberteBlinkiefw.gif" /></a><br />

IF YOU LIKED THIS TUTORIAL PLEASE PASTE MY BLINKIE INTO YOUR SIDEBAR AND PLEASE RESPECT MY COPYRIGHT AND EITHER POINT OTHERS IN MY DIRECTION TO LEARN THIS OR TAKE PHOTOS AND MAKE YOUR OWN TUTORIAL. MINE TOOK ME 2 HOURS TO CREATE. THANK YOU BUNCHES!!!!!XOXOXOX

Almost forgot! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU  goes out to my new blog buddy Cat for cluing me in on how I could get a screen capture on my mac while the menu bars were open in photoshop!!!! You are the best Catherine!!!!!!!!

Painting fabric/product highlight....

The first product I want to highlight are my brand spankin new Derwent Inktense sticks.

What is great about these you ask? Well as the name suggests, they are made of ink, not the same as watercolor. While they are water soluble, once they have been wet and then dry, they become permanent! How awesome is that. I have used them on canvases and true to their word once I wet it, it became stable and permanent. I even blended them with gesso for some lovely intense colors. You can also use them on fabric, normally silk, and they are also permanent once they have been wet, with a brush and "painted" over. I am guessing that if you just dunked it then the ink would run out before it had a chance for it to set into the fabric. That is how I made the gingham fabric for my beet jar!

First I ran the block across the fabric. I then took a wet brush and stroked it over the strips to wet it and soak it into the fabric. I then dried it.

 

I then used a permanent marker to run rough little lines through the large watery looking ones for a bit of detailing. And that is it. Pretty low key. 

You can buy the pencils at your local art supply store in singles if you want to try a couple out before investing and they come in pencil and block form. Very cool.

xo

the fairy!

Plum Pickled out!

Actually, I am not. I still have carrots to go, mmmmm... maybe some more beets too if my lovely mom in law can spare some more, pleaaaassssseeee. he he. Fall is coming on us fast, and fall brings canning. Nothing like homemade preserves and my two favorites, pickled beets and carrots.

 

I packaged them up nice and pretty just for you, to see in the photo I mean silly. I actually made that little scrap of gingham on the top of the sealer and I am going to show you how shortly when I do my Fabulously Fun Stuff to play with post. I am going to do occasional product highlights  to show you some of the products I use and why I love em! Always nice to find new artsy things to play with.

For now though, thought I would share my mom's pickled beets recipe with you since they are my fave and may one day be yours too and believe me, I have tried lots of pickled beets!

Bubba Helen's Pickled Beets

Start with fresh beets WITH THE STEMS ON! Cut off the stems making sure to leave a 2 inch tail! Ever had pink pickled beets? That is because the tail wasn't left on and when you boil them for about 45 mins to get the skins off and cook the beets they bleed out.

Sterilize your jars (boil them or I use the dishwasher and the sanitize setting) and place them on a clean towel with boiling water in them (I do this to keep them hot, hot beets in a cold jar is not great).

Take the cooked beets to the sink,and pour out the hot water and run cold over them to shock the skins off. You then go in with your hands and rub the skins off, they peel so easy. They will still be hot inside the beets so be careful, and put them in a bowl. 

Meanwhile make your brine:

this recipe makes 3 quarts, just double, triple for more.

2 c vinegar

2 c sugar

1 tbs pickling or course salt

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tbs WHOLE cloves wrapped in cheesecloth and elastic.

Boil for 5 mins, discard cloves, turn on low to keep warm.

Put your lids in a pot to boil for 5 mins then just keep them warm.

Empty one jar at a time, cut the beets to bite size pieces and fill the jars to 1/2" from the top. Add the brine to 1/4 " from the top, make sure the top of the jar is clean for a good seal. Put a lid on, then the screw top and wipe and set aside for the lid to POP! If it doesn't pop or cave in then you will have to boil it for 5 or 10 mins to seal it or it will spoil.

Stay tuned for the fabric demo!!

xo

the fairy

Do you talk with your hands...

Remember that painting I did on the wood block a while back. I also said I was going to make one to match? Well, I didn't! HA! I am so fickle. I picked it up and it had text on it from a novel I tore up. I read it, picked out some words and ran with it. 

I actually had this little head that I made with my newest fun things (water-soluble crayons) that was done on watercolor paper. Just testing them out really. Then I added some facial features with my next new fun toys (INKTENSE pencils). They are so wonderful, did you know that they are actually water soluble ink? Yes, INK which means once they have been wet they become permanent! I have used them on canvases (didn't believe it) and they worked! The background looked too plain so some rub on birdies, couple of houses in the neighborhood and some stamped swirlies later, I have She talks with her hands. My painting will be available soon on my website once I have it all revamped and prints done up. Keep your eyes peeled for some big changes coming over at the store.

Can you feel the fall coming? I can, I am not sure what it is that makes me feel it even when it is hot. Maybe the height of the sun, the subtle change in the smell of the air, but I have to say, I love it. Fall is my all time favorite season. Colorful, cool, fragrant and just plain wonderful. 

xo

My first painting video!

Whahhhhhhhh, I just uploaded my first painting video! It is a little funny because it ends abruptly. My video camera died. There are also parts skipped because, guess what, my camera died. It must have 99 lives. ha! Go easy on me gang. I think it is pretty slick for a first crack if I say so myself.

Oh, I also got some really crazy videos of a severe thunder storm we drove home in tonight. Will post that later.

xo!

Sharing my pallet with you...

I always love to see how other artists use their tools. The pallet is one that seems to have a really wide range of styles that people use. I have some expensive professional pallets that I just don't use.

I actually use a Tupperware container, for shame, for my acrylics. I like to be able to just pop the lid on when I am done and they are sealed up tight. I keep a bit of water in there to keep them moist and I have a spray bottle with me at all times so I can occasionally mist the paint to prevent it from skinning. I also use it to spray my canvas if I need more time to blend the paint.

Here are some pictures of my pallet that I use.

 

I have little disposable cups in there so that I can keep the paints separate and I even create some custom colors for say skin tones and what not and mix them in the cup so I have enough for the entire painting and I don't have to worry that I didn't mix the color right the second time.

 

These are porcelain dishes that are meant for crackers and cheese that I use to mix my paints on. What I love is they are white so the color is true and if the paint dries on there I just add some water and it peels off. Sometimes I use these "skins" to add to canvases. No wasted paint no pollution. Recycle all you can. These things are really important to me, the impact my creativity has on the earth.

 

When I am all done, I stack the porcelain dishes on top of the paint cups and close the lid till I can squeeze another 20 mins in between dishes and laundry. HE HE!

XO!

Driving home from the city...

I have been carrying my camera around lately, in case inspiration shows up, and have started taking the strangest pictures. Kinda funny really but, as I drove home the other evening I started snapping off pictures and everything going by (while I watched the road mind you) so some of them were quite laughable. One came up all blurry but the comp was really nice. So I threw it in photoshop and added my own quote, at least I am sure it is my own and if it resembles another quote it was purely unintended.

I truly believe this. In fact the majority of the time I don't really know where I am going, I just have some sort of an idea. I really prefer it that way. My life for the last few years has had to be flexible and I have gotten used to it. I have come to the realization that it is good to have a direction but if you leave room for deviations you discover the best things you may not have otherwise found and you are far less likely to pine for things, which you totally expected, that never came to be.

Have a plan, but please do DEVIATE if and when you can. It can be so much fun.

xo

Cool Codes

I am going to be adding all kinds of cool information here that I have gathered through my years of blogging and teaching myself a bit of html coding etc. I will actually be adding code and instructions on how to PIMP your own blog up! Stay tuned for some really awesome info and fun stuff!

First on the list will be how to add your own custom made background. You will need a photobucket or flicker account (it's free) so if you don't have one get ready and go get one!

xo

UPDATE: I just added instructions on how to create your own custom animated email button. It is in the PiMP ur BLOG section.

Some homework...

I am currently taking WYANNE'S Paint Free ecourse and I had some homework to do. I won't expose the details as I don't want to infringe on the copyright of her course but what I had to do was write a letter and then paint over it. This was my resulting painting. 

If you look really closely you can still see some of the words. I had originally wanted to leave some showing but it just didn't work for me. The balance of lights to darks and the background was pulling too much attention. This is kind of inspiring me to do some illustrative artwork, oh maybe I will write a children's book in my 5 spare minutes. OY!

The weekend is here and looks like sunshine! Not so good for our fire situation. Drought is scary.

xo

the fairy!

A Heartfilled Home...

I found some scrap lumber outside and decided I wanted to make a little painting on it. I have two actually but the other is not done yet. With my collage class on my mind, and wanting something simple, not too much thought into it, just let it go. I decided to roughly sketch a house on it, hence the crooked door... hahahha!

 

I actually collaged some papers on it first, then sketched it out with a charcoal pencil which needs to be a really soft one by the way (learned that the hard way). I then painted over it with acrylic paints. I painted the edges too but I think they are a little too bright but all in good time, I will get to it. he he. There was a blank space above the window on the right that just needed something there and shazam, out pops the cheesy heart. Sometimes I am really cheesy.

xo

the fairy

Oh La La...

Popping in to post a sample painting that I did for my mixed media collage workshop that I am doing here in our community this fall. We have an absolutely gorgeous new library which has a separate conference/multi-purpose room that is to die for and they host a multitude of workshops there. 

If you are local and would like to attend one of my workshops visit my workshop tab (still ironing out dates for the workshops as I am hosting 2 two day workshops.) at the top of the blog or contact the Library Allard in St. Georges MB.

I was totally inspired by this book I saw at Chapters which is completely based on these chic ladies with collaged dresses. This is my take on it. It was really fun. I actually used some rubber and acrylic stamps on here too. I even pulled out my Sharpie paint pens to add the detailing on the fence. 

And now, I think I better sit down and pour over some new images for my digital stamp shop. I have been sorely neglecting that lately. I see that some of the stores and the magazines are releasing Halloween and Christmas images. Do you ever feel like we look so far ahead sometimes that we forget to live in the present? I mean snowsuits and winter gloves at Costco when it is 40 degrees out right now and we are in the middle of a drought! Seems crazy to me.

xo
the fairy

The blog candy winner is...

First off, thanks to everyone who became a follower and entered my candy! I just loved seeing you all here! 

And now, Mr. Random org has chosen......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

15 

Timestamp: 2011-07-27 13:34:52 UTC

CHRISTI!!

Congrats Christi! Please email me ( it is in the sidebar) with your address!

xo!

Inspired by KRR...

I just love Kelly Rae Roberts. Her lovely paintings portraying simplified portraits of girls are dreamy and inspiring. I love how she has little messages on some of them, some soulful and some inspiring. One day I just took an old canvas that I did not like how it was going and just started to collage some papers on it, which led to a simple sketch of a girl.

Funny thing is, I got to a certain point and blah.. I hated her face. I left her hanging on my wall here in my studio. I looked at her every so often, not ready to give up as there was things I loved about her. I was puttering around working on other things and I grabbed her. Bing Bang Boom... it all started to come together. I love when that happens. I know now that I can't make it happen, I just have to wait for it. 

I am actually going to be teaching a collage class here in our community in the fall. I am getting the class prepared to advertise for it locally. Details will follow. It is going to be fun and I can't wait for it.

Just a little note, don't forget you still have a few days left to get in on my painting give away so make sure you get your name in there!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I am going to spend the evening crafting with my peeps. Can't wait!

xoxox

A bit of fun

I was fooling around with a canvas board that I decided to repurpose. I decided to start off using a collaged background. This is actually the first time I have used rubber stamps on a canvas. Not that I have never thought of it, just never actually did it. 

Here is the fun part. I am offering up this painting as blog candy.
How do you enter you ask???

1. Post a picture of my candy on your blog.
2. Leave me some comment love.... I love that!
3. You don't have to become a follower BUT I would love it if you would like to!
4. Enter your name and url into the linky!

Well, with the school year almost over and grad week done I should be able to get back to the studio. I have missed it the last few weeks. 

Happy weekend!

xo

A fun contest!

I belong to this women's online art group which is absolutely wonderful! It is a ning group started by an amazing artist named Millande. 

One of the members decided to host a contest and we were to use her sketch and make our own version of a painting with it. I am posting the original sketch here with a watermark across it so you can see the sketch but if you would like to join in please go and join the community (if you are a woman, sorry guys) and you can download the sketch yourself. The creator of the sketch is Kimberly Moore and here is her sketch.

What I did was throw it into photoshop, copied the arm and pasted it in again. I then flipped the "new arm" horizontally so that it looked like a left arm. I also added a flower into her hair.

 

I collaged some designer papers on, as well as collaged DP flowers on for the bouquet and the hair. I then painted over them with fluid acrylics and used a soft charcoal pencil for the shading and outlining. I also used a sharpie marker for some scribbly detailing and sealed it with 2 heavy coats of Krylon spray for a nice matt finish. My kids teased me because she has two different eyebrows so I said...   "The lady who does her eyebrows waxed them poorly!"

XO

Don't forget to enter my candy AND LOOK TO THE RIGHT>>>>>>

I have a subscribe link now! Yeahooo!

Roberta

Found this awesome video...

...on Millande's blog and just loved it so I am sharing it. Funny I have just entered this stage with my daughter. Gives me a new perspective.

Born to Learn from Born to Learn on Vimeo.

Hope you enjoy!

xo!

Working on some new stuff...

Just popping by to post a little preview of some stuff I am currently working on. I am working on a line of artwork for children's rooms using my digital images you can find on my SITE. I have a technique I use to transfer the image onto my canvases and I am going to be doing a little tutorial on how to do it.

Here is a little close up of the texture that I applied to the canvas using Golden Moulding Paste. Love that stuff. 

I'll be back soon to post all the pictures from my art installation at the Library Allard in St. Georges.

Have a great week!

xo

Times they are a changing...

Well, I haven't been around here much, I know. I have been waylayed by cards and stamps. I am a fickle girl, prone to taking flight on a breeze. An amazing opportunity fell suddenly into my lap just before Christmas. I was selected for a public art installation at a local library. I want to share with you my journey through a 25-16"x16" canvas installation.

I was collaborating with a wonderful local artist, Denise Prefontaine. Of the 25 canvases, 17 were mine. The remaining 8 were Denise's, the 8 silk screened canvas with the quotes on them.

Here is a little slideshow of The Story Garden:

This photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

This experience really made me realize that I am missing something, I veered from my path with much to learn from and grow with along the way but now it is time to return to my dreams. Do you ever have those moments when you really feel like you can fly? You have so much to share and you feel like you're gonna burst! I am there. I have been sorting and organizing and changing my office back into a studio (it kinda became more of an office over time). I hope soon to be posting some new work, have started moving in new directions, and am intending on sharing some step by step photos as well.

Thanks for sticking around even though I haven't been around much. 

XOXO