Geometric Portrait

Well, I was in the mood to try something different in one of my art journals over the weekend. So, since I'd been working on Cubist-inspired Fall Trees with some of students the last few weeks, I decided to take a cue from Picasso and do a sort of Cubist take on a portrait.

I started with a general sketch of a face. Then I grabbed an ultra fine Sharpie and started drawing triangle shapes in areas around the face. I just drew a few triangles at a time, and then I free-handed the the repeating lines inside each triangle. I found this whole process to be very relaxing. It's not a style of drawing that I'd really done before, but I really enjoyed doing it. So you may find me doing this type of drawing again in the future.

Paper Poppy

Today at school I was working on some sample projects for some upcoming Veterans Day projects. While I was at it I created a Paper Poppy. I volunteered to help with decorations for our Veterans Day program, so I thought paper poppies would be a great touch. 

Since I'm finally an art teacher again, I have great supplies on hand for doing stuff like this. So, I created a template that included 4 petals. I cut out two of those and glued them together. I used a circle with fringed edges as the center, and a little hint of colored pencil in the center. I love how this turned out. I will be making several more to use for decor in the gym for our program. 

I'm so thrilled to be teaching art again, and getting to use my creative inspiration for things like this!! And I'm very proud to be able to help pay tribute to our nation's veterans in some way.

Frida Kahlo - Wings to Fly Mixed Media

Soon I'll be back at school with little time for fun in the studio, so I've been trying to get in there as much as possible before school starts again. I was in there all day yesterday, inspired to paint Frida Kahlo.

There were a couple of times I almost gave up on this painting. It just wasn't going well at the beginning. But I persevered and, even though it's not perfect, I am very pleased with how she came out. I used mostly acrylic paints, but also scrapbook paper, stencils, colored pencils, and paint pens. Viva la Frida!

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

~Frida Kahlo

Mermaids Digital Art

I was in the mood once again to create some digital art. And I decided I want to grow a collection of mermaid creations. So, to that end, I created two mermaid themed digital art pieces that I want to share.

I love going into my studio, but sometimes getting creative digitally is just as fun. And I'm really beginning to enjoy mermaids as my muse. I definitely need to create more with them!

Everything Has Beauty Mixed Media

Sometimes I create something and I just don't love it. That was the case with this particular mixed media painting. She just didn't turn out how I pictured her in my head. But I decided to share her anyway.

I think that even though as artists we may not like something we've created, there is still beauty in it--even if we don't love it as much as other creations. And if we learn something in the process of creating, then it was worth the journey.

Frida Kahlo Digital Watercolor - Frida Friday

Time for another spotlight on Frida Friday...artwork featuring the one and only Frida Kahlo. I follow the #fridafriday hashtag on Instagram, and it's inspired me to try to do as much Frida art on Fridays as I can while I'm off school for the summer. This one is a combination of drawing and digital art. 

I really like how she came out. And I love celebrating Frida!!

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone,

because I am the person I know best."

~Frida Kahlo

Gilded Turtle Watercolor

I'll start this post by saying that turtles are absolutely not my jam. I've never drawn nor painted one before. Generally, if I'm going to paint some sort of animal, it will be a bird. But my mom loved turtles, and I was thinking of my mom yesterday, so I decided to try a turtle.

I had just purchased some Metallic Accents Watercolors (Prima Marketing) that I wanted to try. I also had just gotten a black Van Gogh Watercolor Paper Pad that I wanted to try the new watercolors on. Metallics always seem to look good on black, so I gave it a go. I don't use watercolors often; I tend to like acrylics or oils more. But I love these metallic watercolors and how they react with the paper. They were really fun to paint with. They really look pretty on this paper too--even though it's difficult for you to see just how pretty from this photo. 

Overall, even though this may not be my most favorite thing I've ever painted, I love how it turned out. And I think Mom would have loved it too. 

Frida Kahlo Angel - Frida Friday

I follow quite a few art-related hashtags on Instagram, and there is one that I so love: #FridaFriday. With this Frida Friday hashtag, you will get to see lots of art--of all kinds (painted, drawn, digital, etc.) that features the one and only Frida Kahlo. I decided I wanted to start contributing to that hashtag once in awhile, so this week I created a Digital Art piece for Frida Friday. 

One of these days I'm going to do a painting of her. She was so beautiful. In the meantime, I'll keep following that hashtag to find lots of inspiration. 

Happy Flowers in Mixed Media

Last weekend I was able to get into my studio for the first time since school got finished. It was so nice to finally be able to get in there and get creative. My mind is 100% focused on school during the school year (OK well, 99.9% anyway), so I seldom make it into my studio until summer. So, I cherish the time when I can get in there!

My first creation of the summer is what I'm calling my Happy Flowers. You all just know I'm a fan of Flowers by now, right? This is a Mixed Media piece that just feels happy to me, since it's filled with bright colors.

I started by covering a canvas with black gesso. Then I used a white colored pencil to draw my flowers. After that, I watered down some white acrylic to paint into the shapes--because it's easier to paint bright colors on a light-colored background, rather than the black. I used acrylic to paint all of the flowers, leaves, butterflies, and bees. I added some details with colored pencil, and then added even more details with a white Posca Paint Pen.

I really love how the colors pop off the black canvas. I have a feeling I'll be using more black backgrounds in the future. 

Face Sketch in My Art Journal

Before I got out of my studio over the weekend, I decided to do a quick face sketch in one of my art journals. I wasn't in the studio for very long because I had other things I needed to get done in the house, but I felt like I needed to squeeze out one quick sketch before I called it quits that day.

Even when I can't spend a lot of time on things, I'm happy that I can at least be creative...even if it's just for a short while. And it sure doesn't hurt to keep practicing drawing faces. But, as you can see, I only drew one eye! LOL. That second eye is always the hardest part...don't you think?! ;) 

Mermaid on Wood

Finally made it into the studio for just a couple of hours over the weekend. I wanted to create something for a teacher at school. We do a "Mystery Friend" thing all year long, and at the end of the year we do a special gift for them. Since my recipient loves beachy things and the ocean, I did a beach-themed gift basket. It had a beach towel, a mermaid figurine, some tropical-themed plastic glasses and a couple of other odds and ends. So I decided to paint something too when I found a cool, rustic, whitewashed board at Walmart a couple of weeks ago. This Mermaid was the result.

The colors look prettier in person, and you can't really see the touches of sparkle that I added to the tail too. But you get the idea. It was fun to paint--I've never done a mermaid painting before this. I love when I get to try something I've never done before. :)

Teal Butterfly

I was in the mood to create some digital art this evening. I love the color teal, and I love butterflies, so they were my inspiration.

The background is actually made from a redux of a painting I did a couple of years ago, which I called Big Red Flower Mixed Media. I transformed that red flower into a teal one, and then I used it to create a mirror image background design. The butterfly gives it a pop of color, of course. I love the contrast, and the brightness of it overall. And as always, I love the teal...it's my favorite color!

Brush Magazine - Let Love Grow

I've been so busy with school that finding time to create in the studio--let alone blog--gets to be extremely difficult. I'm looking forward to summer when I can get in that studio whenever I want to! At any rate, I was about to post a couple of art memes when I got an email that made me smile from Brush Magazine. They were letting me know that one of my art journal spreads had been published in the current issue (#10). I'm so excited, so I had to share it with you too!

This is an art journal spread I did in 2015. The blog post about it was simply titled, Let Love Grow. One of Brush Magazine's themes for this issue was Flowers, so I thought I'd step out of my comfort zone and submit this art for consideration for publication. I was so pleased to see it in the magazine. 

If you haven't checked out their magazine, you should. They have a digital and a print version, and there is lots of great creative inspiration to be found inside each issue. I may even submit more art to them in the future. :) 

Meet the Artist - Art Chick Studio

Perhaps you wonder from time, just who is the 'Art Chick' in Art Chick Studio. Well, it's me, Tina Grimes, of course. But in case you would like a little more detail than that, I created this little meme--all about me. 

Are you an artist too? If so, how about creating your own #meettheartist meme and share it in the Comments. Or share it on your own blog, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook page? Then we can all get to know each other a little better.