Three Sparkly New Videos!

    Goodness, it has been a long time since my last post, but I am going to make it up to you all by posting three videos for you to enjoy.  Two of the videos are proper tutorials with instructions ('Dangerous Doodles') and the other is just a fun experiment I painted a while ago.  I hope they inspire you to pick up your paints or pens and go for it.  As always I love to read your comments, wherever you choose to add them (Youtube, my blog, my website, facebook, twitter etc) and I can't wait to read what you think of my latest videos.  Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter, I am working on the next issue at this very moment (see the 'Swamp' link on the left sidebar of this blog).  Newsletter subscribers are special because they get extra goodies :)  You can also catch all the MM news by subscribing to my channel on Youtube, and liking my page on Facebook.

Here are the videos:
'Egg-Shaped Tree' Speed Paint Doodle
Draw Beads Tutorial
Draw Snakes Tutorial



Regards,

Work in Progress - Painting on Particle Board

I'm enjoying the feel of my new paintbrushes.  They are not the most expensive ones, but quite ok for what I am doing.  I might get just a couple of really excellent brushes soon, though, because I want to be able to get really fine lines and these cheapo ones are just not cutting it in that department. This is a freehand doodle using white gesso paint on particle/craft board.  I have started to add some colour using prismacolor pencils. I'm not sure how this one will turn out, I am just having fun experimenting.  What are your favourite type of paintbrushes? Any suggestions? Please comment below :)

Regards,

Inspiration Please, Friends!

The children's bookcase I am working on. Where should I go from here?

Hi Folks! Tonight I have been busy painting this cute children's bookcase we picked up from the school next door to us.  Perfect for three home schooled children who love books.  

Today has been a really book themed day, actually.  I took my children to the little local library and they signed up for 'The Great Reading Race' competition which the library are running at the moment.  Then the kids chose about a million books to take home (hey, I'm not complaining...I would rather they read books than watch DVDs)  and then on the way home, we passed the primary school next door and lo and behold they were getting rid of all this school furniture. For free! Most of it was pretty useless, but we grabbed this cute little book shelf.  It even has cubby holes in the back to put more stuff inside!! 

My husband said 'We can just stick it in the garage to store things, it's pretty ugly'.  'Oh no', I said, 'I will paint it!'.  'Yeah right' he said, looking at me sideways with a smirk.  My husband knows my bad habit of not finishing things. We have a lamp sitting next to our bed with a half finished painted design on it that has annoyed him for years.  However, this time I was feeling very inspired.  I grabbed the paint, rolled the bookcase out on the grass under a tree (it has wheels too!) and my two eldest and I began to throw on some paint.  They (aged 4 and a half and 6) both now have pale purple acrylic tinges in their hair and the youngest was almost completely covered in paint splodges when he finished, but we had a great time.  It's all part of the homeschooling experience, right? 

Children's bookcase.  View from the front.

Children's bookcase, with books added.

Anyway Once we got the main colour on and they all went to bed,  it was brought inside for some details.  Here is what I have come up with so far.  What do you think?  I was aiming for a sort of 'books flying through the clouds and off into the distance' sort of effect.  These are just the outlines.  Now I need some advice.  What should I do next?  Should I add more details, some shading, some different colours? Should I paint over it and start again? Or should I just leave it the way it is?  I really am a bit stuck and need some inspiration, to prove husband wrong and finish the project.  Waiting eagerly for your comments!!

Regards,

Moleskine Experiment #3 - Fancy Heart

A quick painted doodle in my Moleskine Experiment series.  A fancy heart.  Because we all need a little love :)  Watch me painting it here....or better yet, watch the whole playlist just for fun!

Lots of Love 
                   from 

Moleskine Experiment #2 - Paisley!

Paisleys are great, aren't they?  I love 'em.  If I see anything in a shop with paisleys on it, it immediately catches my eye.  They are so much fun to draw, because they have a lovely flowing shape, and you can make each one totally different just by changing the pattern.  Once you have the general shape down pat, you can then add whatever your heart desires. 

 As part of my Moleskine Experiment series, I doodled this particular one on a recycled cardboard folder, using 'gesso' paint which had been watered down so that it flowed just so.  What do you think about this design...should I use it to paint on my Moleskines? Let me know in the comments below...and don't forget to watch the video and share it with your friends.

Happy doodling...

Regards,

Spiffy Up Your Journal!

The other day I paid a visit to a place in Wellington called 'Uncle Bill's'.  No, he's not my uncle...just one of those shops that you can buy just about everything from at a very inexpensive price.  Buy at your own risk, mind you, and make sure you check that everything works before you leave the shop.  I went there to buy gel pens, but ended up buying everything else instead, as I tend to do in this type of shop. 

They had some interesting art equipment there...not the sort of thing you would expect you to last a lifetime, but I bought myself a pretty decent paintbrush.  It's called a 'Taklon Liner' and it has really long, thin bristles which are great for doing fine curly flourishing lines.  Once I got the hang of it I just couldn't stop, and began painting everything in sight with some white gesso I found at the back of my art cupboard.  I will have to work out how to fix the paint on somehow, perhaps some spray varnish will do the trick...otherwise the whole lot will just scrape off.

As you can see, my art journal with its smooth black cover was just asking for a spruce up.  I have video recorded some other little curly paintings I did on some dark surfaces with white paint, and when they are all nicely edited I will post them on my YouTube channel so you can see how I did them.  I can't wait to show you. 

In the meantime, I have posted a video about the materials I used to decorate the cover.

If this takes your fancy, make sure you subscribe to my blog and YT channel so you don't miss out on the rest of the series.

Regards,