Monday, October 13, 2014

this is the card i *THOUGHT* i was making yesterday

there's always a convoluted story, right? my friend kim ♥LOVES♥ peacocks, and i try to work one into her birthday card or gift most years. when i saw the current fusion challenge, i immediately thought how well the colors and vibe of the inspiration picture would work. i also thought that i'd like to try to draw or paint something original for kim's card, so that it would be more personal. i wasn't sure i was up to painting an actual peacock, but i saw some very cool peacock-themed art on pinterest* and i thought i might be up to creating a stylized peacock feather to use as an accent to the woodgrain pattern and flowers of the inspiration picture. a couple of hours later i was still drawing swooshes and doodles and realized that i just wanted to make the whole panel into its own card. so i did! :)

peacock feather illustration painted with artist's loft watercolor paints on strathmore watercolor paper; outlines and doodles made with faber-castell pitt pens (medium, superfine and extra-superfine points) and accented with black machine stitching and some "blackbird" chalk ink by colorbox around the edges; yellow patterned paper by maggie holmes for crate paper; blue rhinestone from martha stewart crafts

it took a while to choose the patterned paper mats for this, not-- as i sort of half expected-- because nothing looked good; au contraire, i was spoiled for choice! blues looked good, greens looked good, black and white worked really well, etc. finally i settled on this subtle yellow flower pattern, and i think it makes the detail at the top of the feather really pop. i did quite a bit of machine stitching on this, but sadly it doesn't show up in the photo; it's lovely and textural in real life, though!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog

i'm entering this in the simon says stamp wednesday challenge: use watercolors, although i almost feel like i should warn you NOT to click that link unless you have about an hour to marvel over all of the incredible DT and readers' gallery projects... seriously AMAZING work going on over there... yowza!

*being fairly new to drawing my own images, i find that it really helps me to see what other people have done. is that weird? i don't want to copy anyone's work, but just seeing how different artists conceptualize an idea, the different techniques and colors they've used, usually gives me an approachable place to start. in this case, i specifically liked the minimalism of this this peacock ogee pattern; the inset heart and swoopy swirls of this peacock illustration; and the doodley close-up aspect of this peacock feather. my finished painting looks nothing like any of them, really, but they were all very inspirational! ♥

14 comments:

  1. *thud*
    that would be my jaw hitting the desk. Absolutely wonderfully illustrated, painted, stitched...this is a work of HEART art, Lauren!

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  2. Really nice! Sometimes it is tricky to pick a good mat color. I think yours looks great.

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  3. Gorgeous and even more gorgeous! Wow! Those colors and the texture of the stitching are simply stunning. Totally frameable.

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  4. Do you know those goofy cartoon eyes that pop out of their heads? I'm fairly certain if I was capable, that's what would have happened when I first saw this card. Girl, you have got talent coming out of your whole being. Absolutely stunning.

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  5. just fabulous!!! gorgeous and so well done.

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  6. That is spectacular Lauren, such vivid colours and the detail is incredible! Love how you've incorporated the heart into the eye of the peacock feather for your friend. What a wonderful gift. And I often cruise google or pinterest before starting on a project to see what others have created from an idea I've had. There are so many talented folks out there to be inspired by!

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  7. What a masterpiece! I love the drawing and colors and details...just lovely! Thanks so much for playing Simon Says Stamp Wednesday “Watercolor” Challenge!

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  8. Oooeee! Gorgeous! LOVE the stitched details especially! That is one lucky friend you have!

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  9. Oh my....Your illustration skills are absolutely wonderful! This painting is amazing Lauren! The colors are so striking together and your friend is absolutely going to cherish this forever!
    Thanks for joining us at FUSION♡

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  10. So much for your "I can't draw" nonsense. If that were a stamp I'd BUY it!

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  11. Many congrats Lauren ! You have just won our challenge over at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge. Could you please email us at the address in our challenge sidebar so that we can explain how you claim your prize !

    Well done !

    Jo x

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  12. I'm so happy for you and your win over at Simon Says Stamp today! I hope you get lots of great products to make some more fab cards!

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  13. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! This looks AMAZING!!!!! Love, love, love this.....so cool!

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  14. Look at you ... rockin' the original art ... and winning. You are awesome.

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the *BEST* part of blogging is the comments, dontcha think? thanks for taking time to leave one! ~♥~