Road to Radiance Day 8- Joanne Sharpe!

Artist today is the infamous Joanne Sharpe! I first found Joanne on Youtube, then in a Strathmore card making course!  I loved her instantly.  She was humorous and totally made EVERYTHING super easy! She connected with me most because she gave me BASIC supplies as a foundation.  Supplies which are accessible from just about anywhere.. even a local pharmacy.  She also added to my ART PEN fetish!!  She introduced to pens I had never known, Koi water colors, Peerless Water colors.  She made me realize that my dark shell in appearance actually held a ABUNDANCE of COLOR ready to explode!!  My favorite COLOR by name may be any hue of purple.. but my heart BLEEDS for NEON any and EVERYTHING!  She taught me to embrace my handwriting.. Which isn't so terribly bad!  I don't own a lot of written stamps or sentiments.  Joanne helped me build the confidence to embrace our imperfections in not just lettering but also doodling!  I am not a carefree doodler.. I am so focused on the perfect picture.. or as close to it as I can get. Joanne has taught me several times to let it be loose.. frame it.. and let it go.. I have had MANY a FUN DAYS with watercolors and and waterproof pens.  Below is my cover my journal.. to one class I took with her based on her book The Art of Whimsical Lettering .  To find out more about the Road to Radiance. Click here

Here is Joanne's Bio

 “Whimsical art maker” and best selling author, Joanne Sharpe is a colorful mixed media artist and enthusiastic teacher with creative savvy in art journaling, doodling and illustration. She is well known for her signature style of distinctive  hand lettering and love of bright, bold colors. Whether teaching with paper and pens, paints or a sewing machine, Joanne encourages others to nurture their own personal creativity and artistic expression.

Her brand new book “The Art of Whimsical Lettering” from Interweave has gone gang busters in the mixed media, craft and hobby category. Experience Joanne’s playful art, high energy, and masterful art making techniques in several online classes or live workshops and retreats nationwide.

Mom of four “twenty-something” kids, a golden retriever, a shih tzu and sibling Bengal cats, Joanne and husband Tom reside in a sleepy little suburb of Rochester, New York, between the two snowiest cities in the United States.

Find all the artful scoop on Joanne’s blog  “Whimspirations”.

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Road to Radiance Day 7- Dina Wakley

Wow, Wow, wow.. Dina Wakley.. I finally just got my library to get Art Journal Freedom!  You can tell she is going to be an awesome teacher if you EVER even glanced within this book!!  Now I have to buy the book!  I have a habit of checking books out at the library to see if it's something I want to spend money on.  This book is indeed a must have!  She teaches you terminology.. gives you explaination as to why we feel certain things might be missing from our artwork.. Sometimes its all in the placement.. Amazing!  I love her use of colors and I plan to get the entire line of paint!  I have never owned any heavy body acrylics and her lines looks totally yummy!!  Her stamps make me happy.. WOW.. truly happy!  Can't wait!  You can see something I did with her faces stamp here

Road to Radiance information can be found here! 

Here's Dina's Bio

Dina Wakley is a mixed-media artist and teacher. She loves everything about art: creating it, thinking about it, looking at it, and teaching it. She lives in sunny Arizona with her husband and three boys. Dina’s work has been published in many magazines and books.

Dina is passionate about teaching art. She teaches both in-person and online workshops. She is a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum, where she gives tours to school groups and gets kids excited about art.

In partnership with Ranger Ink, Dina designed a line of mixed-media art supplies that includes acrylic paints, mediums, brushes, rubber stamps, and stencils. Look for the Dina Wakley Media Line by Ranger at a store near you.

Dina loves hanging out with good friends, reading good books, cooking good food, and traveling to good places. You can visit her at her website: http://www.dinawakley.com

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Road to Radiance Day 6- Jamie Dougherty

Who doesn't know Jamie?!?!?  I have been a fan of her art well before she had stamps to make everyone else feel like they too could create it too.. Her technique.. her colors.. she gives *realistic* approach to all her blooms.  Her images look beautiful.. and sexy.. and dream like.. She is very encouraging on FB.. well before her Bloomgirls took off..  She is a Prima DT/Educator.. so she has also been instructing us for long periods.. I wish her the best!  I love to see her create on wood planks.. then canvas.. then journals.. truly a joy to see.. and hopefully i will get in one of her classes also.. lol

Here is just one of my BloomGirl creations with the help of Jamie's stamps.. :)

http://instagram.com/p/l1w-XdlUUa/?modal=true 

couldn't find the image to upload..

Here Is Jamie's Bio

Jamie Dougherty is a self taught artist, author, and Mixed media instructor. She has been creating art for over fifteen years and has recently created her own signature line with Prima Marketing Inc. Jamie enjoys teaching and does everything she can to inspire and encourage others in pursuing their dreams––art is meant to be shared. Jamie lives in southern California with her husband and two beautiful kids.

You can find her website here.

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Road to Radiance Day 5- Kylie Fowler :)

Learn more about the Road to Radiance here.. :)

Day 4s artist is Kylie Fowler.  She is the one I know least about.. :(  From what I gather from her style though. I like her lots.  She does rather whimsical characters, but they seem to be more trendy.  More here and now.  I like her use of colors.. as I saw in her fairy god mother post from Lifebook.  I also like the portraits that she does in general.  She is now one of the folks I know everyone needs to watch.. :)

Here's Kylie's Bio

Working in a variety of styles, using various media, Kylie Fowler is a portrait and mixed media artist, illustrator and art instructor, with a fascination with the face, particularly the eyes.  The old adage ‘The eyes are the windows to the soul’ certainly resonates with Kylie, as her level of connectedness to each artwork is determined by the eyes.

In addition to selling her artwork in her online shop, ‘Blissful Pumpkin’ Kylie also keeps busy with commissions, both in portraiture and whimsical mixed media, and is in the planning stages of establishing her own online classes, and upcoming collaborative classes, all of which will be shared in due course.

Kylie’s work and activities can be followed at: Blog | Facebook | Flickr Gallery

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Learn more about the Road to Radiance here.. :)

Road to Radiance Day 4- Julie Gibbons

The Road to Radiance starts Oct 1st, 2014

Today's featured artist is Julie Gibbons.  I learned of her from Index Card a Day Challenge over at Tammy Garcia's Daisy Yellow.  While I am not a colorful person in appearance.  I beam with it in my art!  What I mean is I usually dress dark.. I don't wear anything fancy or bling-like as far as jewelry is concerned.  I do my best.. NOT to be seen. The only things of color you may see on me.. is an occasional ring or set earrings in blueish-purple/deep purple..  Purple is a symbol of my personal powers within.  What that is.. I don't know. lol   Which leads to my constant inquisitive numerous queries about goddesses, the cosmos, gemstones and mandalas. I have always been drawn to people who also like those things even before I knew those things about them.  Julie Gibbons is one of those people. The first time I saw a green face and purples eyes.. or vice versa.. I had to know more about her art.  Then I saw a mandala.. I was hooked!  I am not usually good with names, but she was one of those people... I knew I needed to know more about!  So happy to see her included in this powerhouse collective as she is also a allstar for me!  Here is also a Mandala I did with Julie's pdf..  I have to take one of courses soon.. Wish it was this one.. with everyone else!!


Learn more about the Road to Radiance here
My mandala from Julie's pdf.. 

Here's Julie's Bio

Hello creative friend. I’m Julie Gibbons : artful self-discovery guide. What that really means isthat I share artful techniques to help women invoke the creative magic they need to discover their whole, true and best self. I combine art and journal therapy with the psychology of self to tap into soul wisdom and experience personal growth, healing and transformation and am a wee bit obsessed by mandala magic!

I’m based in bonnie Scotland and work from home alongside my internet entrepreneurbhusband and free-range, home-educated teenage son.

I’d love to connect with you online : Website | Facebook | YouTube

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Road to Radiance Day 3- Christy Tomlinson

Road to Radiance.. created by Effy Wild, Starts Oct 1st, 2014!

Christy Tomlinson!  Layers Layers and more layers.  She is another artist I have followed on YT!  If I ever get the money I am going to one her retreats with friends!  Yep.. Lottery winnings is a retreat at Christy's for a few of my closest friends!  She teaches me it's ok to be messy and things can be fixed or modified all the time!  I like painting with my fingers and smudging colors and making paper girls without faces.. lol  Love her and her connection to her family!  Love seeing some of the home decor.. I remember a bathroom piece I saw on IG.  Awesome.. Awesome..  Would love to study under her too!!

Learn more about the Road to Radiance here

Here's Christy's Bio:

I am a self taught mixed media artist who isn’t afraid to get my hands messy and let my heart be open.  Over the past couple of years I have been blessed to travel and teach all over the world, including the United states, Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and more. I also love teaching online full-time and offer over 15 online workshops currently.. in all styles of art.. mixed media, sewing, jewelry, watercolor. I love mixing mediums to create unique projects!

We also host week long art retreats in my home, called our She Matters Retreats, where guest stay in my home and are pampered all week by my husband’s amazing cooking and we create art and make memories and it’s a magical time!

Besides teaching online and in person, my husband and I also have an online mixed media store, Scarlet Lime, where we sell all sorts of fun mixed media and unique products to create with. We have a monthly mixed media kit club as well as a monthly video Art Society Club.. which keeps us busy full time!

Besides work.. (which I consider fun ).. we also have 6 amazing kids. Five boys and one girl ranging in age from 18-9. I am BEYOND blessed to be able to stay home with my husband each day and work and raise our kids in a small town with good family values and strong faith in Jesus Christ.  I love to snowboard, read good books, surf, spend time with my kids and dear friends. I LOVE creating in all ways.. I live a blessed life and am so grateful for this life God has given me!

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Road to Radiance Day 2- Tam Laporte

Road to Radiance.. created by Effy Wild, Starts Oct 1st, 2014!

Today this post is about Tamara Laporte.. or Tam!  We share the same shortness for our first names! Ha.. yep.. sound like a fan?  Indeed I am.  Tam's ability to be kind and show kindness totally shows through her work.. Not just as an artist, as a mum and a person.  Her love for layers and colors.. her ability to feel empathy.. and wish for others to heal within their art.. with help of her teachings.. within their own artistic journey is more than awesome.. Tam taught me my first whimsical face.  I had asked a friend.. what did she think my artistic style was.. She told me she always saw me as whimsical artist.  Wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing at the time, but I accepted it.. :)  I think Tam is one of the BEST in the industry!  Ok.. I need this class.. Although most of Tam's classes are more affordable.. I just don't have it!  I know I would benefit from learning from her as an artist and a person though..  Here is more about Tam Laporte..

I need to be a part of the Road to Radiance

More about Tam..

Here's Tam's Bio:

Tamara Laporte (also known as willowing) is a mixed media artist, illustrator and online art teacher who loves avocados, kindness and making a wonderful artsy mess on her desk. Her work can be described as “mixed media folk art”. It ranges from whimsical children’s illustrations to a more stylised fantasy art. Love, mystery, innocence, hope, spirituality, kindness and self-connection inspires her art work. Her paintings often contain healing themes, uplifting messages and inspirational poetry. She believes that the act of creating art can be a catalyst for healing and personal growth – often, her art classes contain an element of self-development as well as learning art techniques.

She is deeply passionate about helping people find their inner muse and would love to help YOU too to get in touch with the artist in you!

She is also a prolific art journaller and creates stuffed toys and art dolls when she has the time. More recently, she’s started dabbling in the world of digital creations and has come to enjoy making paintings in Photoshop with a wacom tablet as well. Her work and articles have been published in several art magazines and books. She is based in Brighton in the UK with her lovely husband Andy and her 2 magical children Dylan & Elliot. She’s been teaching online art workshops since 2008 on her ning network which at present has over 15400+ members and grows with about 150-200 mixed media enthusiasts a month!

For a more detailed interview, go here, or check out her website over here: www.willowing.org

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Road to Radiance- I would love a spot here!

Road to Radiance.. created by Effy Wild, Starts Oct 1st, 2014!

In my email I found Day 1 of the fabulous Effy's giveaway!

Artist being featured is Jane Davenport!  Who doesn't Love JD?!?! I think the first video I saw of her she was on a swing inviting us to come and play!  I've been hooked ever since!  I know I would love to take her classes.. but I couldn't afford to take them now.  Maybe later.. but indeed not now.  Jane introduced me to peerless watercolors!  She also made me want to go create on the beach!  I am so not a beach girl.. lol  I love her style, she is someone I feel I could learn from.  Her background in design, her love of color, her spirit..  :)  Anyway, the line up is awesome for the Road to Radiance.

Here is a little bit of information about Jane from the blog. 

Here's Jane's Bio

Jane ‘Danger’ Davenport is a professional Artist, prize-winning author and her artwork is featured in magazines, books, movies and her own stationery range. Jane designs signature art products for Artistcellar and Peerless watercolors, hosts ‘Escape Artist’ retreats around the world and her first Mixed Media book will be released with Quarry on Jan 1st, 2015

Danger is a popular workshop leader and her online Art School is home to thousands of creatives from all around the world. You can find her athttp://janedavenport.com

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Fairy- Power of Thought

Playing with DecoArt's Media line.  This was a fairy I did over at the Frosted Design Blog  where we are promoting the Moonlit Dreams Mixed Media Kit.  I was able to use my choice of paints and gessos.  In my dylusions journal.. I first drew my image in pencil and then used a permanent pen.  I then used the Media line white gesso, which is smooth like butter cream frosting.  I added a little water because I wanted my image to show through the gesso.  I decided right away I wanted her to have a cosmic/starry background.. so I then used black gesso along the the edges.  I used my finger and Primary Cyan to create the dark blue sky color over the black gesso. toward the head.. I created a bit of a halo by using the DecoArt Neon in Electric Blue.. again with my fingers... I used Primary Cyan, Doxazine Purple, Primary Magenta and Titanium White to color her hair.

I am trying to be more cohesive.. and bring the colors used in my page together together by blending them, instead of going for direct color.  So when I chose to use the colors I have.. I knew the combinations of some of those same colors would get me shades of brown,, On purpose!  So the Primary Yellow and the Naphthol Red Light I used on the head piece.. I combined and added the Doxazine Purple to get a hue of brown..  Since I gessoed my page I need very little paint and these fluid acrylics are so intense in color it I wasted very little paint!  That I was most happy about!  Practice, practice will get me where I want to be as an artist. Can't wait to start my next piece!

Thanks for Looking

"Mixing It Up" Loves Cottonwood Arts Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop!

This is a closed blog hop just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Face Book group so that we can get to know each other better.  Having said that, if you are not in our group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway and come join us over on Face Book. We would love to get to know you better too.  :)  Here's are the links to every ones blog, remember in order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must: Be a blog hostess  and leave a comment on everyone's blog

. 

Sandee Setliff http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
Tiare Smith Woods http://www.tiaresmith.com

Martice Smith II http://www.uneekart.blogspot.com

Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com/?m=1

Anna Turner Ely www.foronemoment.blogspot.com

Cat von Hassel-Davieshttp://www.catseyestudio.us/

Terri Sproul http://www.terrisproul.blogspot.com

Sharon D. Estes http://grannyskornerstudio.blogspot.com

Betty Guffey Richardson http://artyauntie.blogspot.com/

Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson http://www.tommyjovilello.blogspot.com

Melissa Willard Edwards www.melissaedwards.org

Donna Simmons Lueders http://www.damseldesignsbydonna.blogspot.com/

Jean Marmo http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/

Tamiko McCurry http://mikosspot.blogspot.com   you are here

We were also asked to answer a few questions 

before we posted our art.  

Are you a journal hoarder? How many do you have and why different ones? Maybe post a picture of your journals. 

I don't think I am a journal hoarder... yet. (haha!!)  I only have eleven! Nine I play in. Two I haven't, because one I received as a gift and it's a duplicate of one I am already working in. I do love working in it, so I dare not give it away! The second is a new purchase, less than a month old and I just have others to work in right now that I am very pleased with.. 
Like this Cottonwood!  

I have different ones because of the paper characteristics and what works best for me.  I like to sketch.. Would I place my pencil sketches on heavy duty papers? I may truly go simple and use a sketch book or a line-less art journal  or some super uber cheapo book (which I did not include in my art journal totals).  Sometimes I may want to do several layers, as if I was using a canvas.. I wouldn't use my sketch, although i could glue several pages and gesso and yada yada.. but why??..I would just grab my mixed media journal.. or a heavy duty 140lb water color paper to hold that. 

 Anyway.. Different companies meet my needs different ways.. So I am forever looking for the perfect book for various things.

Here is a quick couple of photos of my wittle babies.

From the top is my Loew Cornell, Moleskine Sketch (unused), Strathmore 400 Mixed Media, a Michael's Sketchbook and two other Strathmore 300 Mixed Media Journals.. (there are other Michael's books probably in the car or hidden in bags.. but I rarely use them.. I won't count them either)

Here we have my Cottonwood Coldpress, then a spruced up Dollar Tree Composition book, a Canson XL Mixed Media, Dylusions, and a Dick Blick Mixed Media Journal. My largest journal is only a 9in by 12in.  I did not included any paper pads/books I was basically going to tear from to create smaller pages, ATCs or whatevers.  I also did not include any unfinished handmade signatures or junk journals (innocent look)..

Now on to my page.. ::smiles::

My page says:  Art washes away from the SOUL the DUST of EVERYDAY Life..-Picasso

Do I believe that??  TOTALLY!!  

created with Faber Castell Gelatos, DecoArt Media Gesso in white and black, Sakura MoonLight Gelly Rolls Pens and Sharpie (water based) paint pen in white and a cosmetic sponge

This is the first page of my Cottonwood Coldpress journal.  This journal feels like it's for the professional artist; the artist who takes his/her work seriously. This is the smaller of the two sizes available.  I will indeed plan to buy the larger one AND use it! The quality of the papers within it are supported by a kind of board, if you will.  So you are not just getting papers in a Cottonwood journal. The pages lay flat and there is NO BLEED through, which is a plus. You won't have to worry about any puckering because of wet medium.  You would truly have to saturate the page to see that happen.  I am very impressed with the quality of the book.  It's one of my favorite! 

 Can't wait to do the drawing to see who gets the Cottonwood Prize Pack!!  The winner will receive... 

If you are on my page and you have not seen the others, 

the links are listed above!

We hope you are enjoying the hop! Please subscribe to my page while your here and I will subscribe to yours, if I haven't already!!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!! :)