Woodworking

Now I am learning the scroll saw.
I was just about to sell mine and one night I was watching YouTube and literally stumbled upon a site from scrollsaw workshops and found myself watching four hours of instruction. Hey, I have enough wood filler and glue to do this, I say to myself.
So, I am learning. Lord knows I have enough wood that I hung onto from my laser engraving. I went through all my storage bins and found lots and lots of material. I will get back to you with photos as soon as I can. And so far I have only broken two blades!

Albums and journals

Now that my last art festival of the year is done and over, I have decided to clear out my collection of card stock and chipboard making albums and books for journals or whatever. I must have made two dozen by now! 

Of course now I need to order a new binding machine and a bit more paper and tape.....

But I love little books!

I moved

Trying very hard to consolidate things, I now have a blog at Wordpress. Find it at www.andreafriedellmixedmedia.wordpress.com. See you there.

I have travelled out of town again, and this time for my travel pack, I brought only watercolor materials. I do have my journals and pens and markers, but already I'm missing the distress paints and polymer clay.

Lately my studio time has focused on utilizing my collage stash to create backgrounds for large paintings which I can work on later, using molding paste and wood and chipboard pieces I have saved for "future" paintings. To get them attached to canvas and out of boxes has been the goal. I find that if these items and ephemera are packed away, I forget they exist.

My most recent projects have been making jewelry pieces from polymer clay. I have learned a lot about the medium and just like other things I create, I continue to learn and progress by actually doing the projects. Things can be reworked, repainted, and I have lots of plans. My favorite finish is the rust look and metal patinas, and it rarely looks like polymer clay when the pieces are finished. I love to make large and unusual beads.

I will put some of the de-stash supplies on Etsy or eBay when I get back to my studio.

While I am out of town I am using my camera a lot and want to spend more time develooing my Pinterest and Instagram collections. Watch this space!

Polymer clay? Why not!

Before the glass cutter gets delivered by Amazon, I am playing with clay, transfers and paint today. So, along with painting some more trees today, that makes five projects I've got going on today! Six, if you include posting my blog.

My Review of Raffiné ArtSketch Super Deluxe Sketchbooks and Sheets

Originally submitted at Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies

By far the best sketchbooks ever designed for fine artists! Raffiné ArtSketch Super Deluxe Sketchbooks and Sheets were created for artists who appreciate the feel, texture and easy working characteristics of professional, multi-media paper. Raffiné is expertly crafted with double black wire binding...

Raffiné ArtSketch Super Deluxe Sketchbooks and Sheets

My all-time favorite journal paper

By Andrea from Dallas on 5/12/2013

 

5out of 5

Pros: Heavy, Easy To Use, No Bleed-through

Cons: Economical In Large Sizes

Best Uses: Art, Art Journals, Mixed Media Paintings, Scrapbooking/Cardmaking

Describe Yourself: Value Oriented

Primary use: Personal

Was this a gift?: No

My first experience was with the Raffine sketchbooks. I decided to buy the packages of large sheets because I like to bind my own art journals. In the process I discovered it is great for use as a substrate for watercolor or acrylic paintings in larger sizes. You can fold, then wet the fold and easily tear the size you need. It does need to be stored flat, like all art papers.

Acrylic painting on Raffine paper

Tags: Made with Product

(legalese)

Now you can buy prints of my work...

Fine Art America has now set up widgets (see to the right) where visitors can order prints of my work directly from here. If you are interested there are lots of options for greeting cards all the way up to canvas prints.

I have completed about a dozen new paintings so far this year, in addition to working on art journals. I am beginning to participate in what is called "Project Life" starting next week, which involves posting something -- an Instagram photo, or detritus from the day, in addition to journaling about EVERY DAY of your life, no matter how short the note. I will see if I can keep it up. Heck, my 94-year-old father writes in his "diary" a sentence or two every night, so if he can, surely I can.

I continue to participate in swaps whenever I can, and continually learn from YouTube, which has to be the greatest invention since the Internet itself. How to use papier mache? It's there. How to use expandable paint? It's there. (You have to heat the back side. I just thought it would expand by itself and waited and waited and waited.....)

And all my new paintings have the new glaze techniques I learned from Chris Comer's wonderful book. It really has given my paintings the finished look I have been seeking. There's no such thing as a self-taught artist. We learn from others. My first teacher was my neighbor, Laurie Svec, and I have learned from Joseph Melancon and Bob Burridge and Cheryl McClure and Nita Leland... monkey see, monkey do. That's it.

I cut my own stencils on my Pazzles with the MakeTheCut software that I am always touting, then I am free to stamp or spray patterns willy-nilly.

It would have been so nice to have known when I was a child that I was a "visual" learner. Better late than never, I say!

My Review of Raphaël Mixacryl Oil and Acrylic Brushes

Originally submitted at Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies

Combining the strength and retention of a natural bristle with the spring and durability of synthetic fibers. The inclusion of synthetic fibers is perfect for impastos and relief effects with the color retention you expect from natural bristles. The interlocked assembly is perfect for heavy body ac...

Raphaël Mixacryl Oil and Acrylic Brushes

My favorites! Super for glazes.

By Andrea from Dallas on 4/8/2013

 

5out of 5

Pros: Glides Smoothly

Best Uses: Acrylic Glazes

Describe Yourself: Artist

Primary use: Personal

Was this a gift?: No

Since I received these brushes, I haven't wanted to use anything else! For the perfect glazes, or blending adjacent colors, these brushes are perfect. I would have preferred short handles, just my preference, but these are certainly one of my favorite studio products.

(legalese)

It is H-E-L-L to have ADD!!

I have been painting up a storm in the past week, using glaze techniques and new skills developed recently, through the wonderful book I found by Chris Cozen, Acrylic Solutions. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, or something like that.







Anyway, today I had planned to have a studio cleanup and reorganization, which HAS to happen after each marathon painting session. But I keep picking up something and remembering what I meant to do with it, and wanting to do that right now! So I have about ten projects right in front of me that I really want to work on NOW! I definitely need an assistant.

I made some bowls with newspaper strips (learned it on YouTube) that I would like to paint. I have more newspaper strips that I want to collage as a background for a grungy painting with corrugated cardboard and some great metal pieces I have. And rusty paint effects.

And on top of that, my favorite software, Make-The-Cut keeps sending free updates... it's now up to Version 4.6, so each time that happens I want to stop and try that out with my Pazzles, where I cut stencils and masks for my paintings from drawings I have done.

AND some supplies I ordered some time ago showed up yesterday, so I am itching to try them out. But I don't want to stop my organizing and like dessert, I am trying to save the fun stuff for after the work is done. But boy, I'm losing track of all the neat things I really want to do, so maybe I'll pile them all in a box. Which I won't be able to find later. (Seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time looking for stuff.) So I guess I'll make a list at the same time.

I was sure I had some self-leveling gel and got all set up to use that, then discovered there isn't any. That I can find, I should say. I am in dire need of an inventory, ergo, needing an assistant.

And yesterday I got the catalog from Discount School Supply, and really got jazzed over some products that are so much cheaper than buying similar items elsewhere. Should I buy a bunch and put them on my website for sale? Uh... no. I really am trying to get away from retail and concentrate on painting. But I have to remind myself of that. Maybe I should make a sign for myself and hang it above the computer. No more inventory until we get a chance to assess what's here.

So, back to work.

I'm painting this week

I am working very hard this year to perfect my paintings -- or at least improve them.  I have been invited to several festivals, and I don't know yet if I will do any this year.  Maybe I need a year to develop a body of work, rather than my usual ADD approach.  Figures are my bailiwick... I guess that's where I will continue to work.

Canvas Corp Mini Gift Bags - White [1646]

Canvas Corp Mini Gift Bags - White [1646] are a great little product from Joggles this week.  Barbara's latest video features the Tim Holz distress paints which look a lot like the Martha Stewart matte paints, but I will find out the difference.  Stay tuned.

Busy busy busy

This month I have been working on paintings. There are so many festivals coming up, but I have decided to lay out for a year, maybe, and work on painting skills. This is not set in stone however. But this week I am working with glazes. I have all the Golden mediums and airbrush colors to work with, but am mixing colors and creating more glazes as I work out difficulties I have with colors and design principles. I am a "learn by doing" person, so no matter how many books I read on the subject, it matters not until I try it for myself. I am still doing art journaling with the Meetup group, but with my jillions of stencils that I have either purchased or made myself with various cutters and cardstock or plastic, I tend to just get lost doing that instead of what I REALLY want to do, which is paint paintings. (It's hell to have ADD!) Other new products I have yet to try are some metal for embossing, and some instant mold stuff to create yet more things for collage (that I don't need.) My website has a couple of de-stash sections for collage elements because I have created boxes and boxes of stuff that I have set prices for, depending on the size of the Priority Mail box. I work now with two creativity categories: painting and cutting projects are done in the studio, then at night, around 8 pm I go to my room, where the art journal is, or my sewing machine and crochet projects. I am going to make a new neck pillow for myself because the old one is worn out, and since I plan to spend a couple hours in oral surgery this week, I want my OWN pillow. So that's on my to-do list. My daughter and her girls have been out of town this weekend, so I assumed I would get tons of things done this weekend but for some reason, I get less done than I would like before I just poop out! But for this afternoon, I am going back to my painting. Right after I put another load of laundry in.

March is here already

This year is busy, but I wanted to talk a bit more about the Make the Cut software for cutters and laser engravers. The latest version is available for download, and whenever you buy this product, you get all updates for FREE! It is definitely well worth the price (and more.) The latest tweaks make it even better than Corel Draw in many ways. You can import any files you may have created in Corel Draw if you export them as svgs, you can import jpegs and trace them within Make the Cut, and you can do node editing very very easily. It automatically joins points within a certain range, which is something Corel Draw certainly will not do for you. But don't worry about it... there is a free webinar every Tuesday night, and they are recorded on Vimeo so you can access them at any time if Tuesday is not convenient for you. I have a Pazzles cutter now, and I alternate from using the Pazzles Pro software to the MTC. I think MTC is infinitely better but sometimes I have a Pazzles file at the ready and I just get lazy and use that instead. However, the latest update to MTC will now import wpc files (Pazzles files) also. If you have any cutter (other than Cricut) you definitely want to get this software.

My Review of Canson Art Boards

Originally submitted at Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies

Beautiful Papers that Stand Alone - Now the papers that inspire artists' work can support it, too. Canson® Art Boards feature a range of best-selling Canson and Arches® papers on rigid, archival backing. Enhanced Performance - Canson Art Boards provide artists the benefits of a stiff, strong wo...

Canson Art Boards

This is my new best friend

By Andrea from Dallas, Tx on 1/12/2013

 

5out of 5

Pros: Beautiful, Easy To Use

Cons: Economical

Best Uses: Art, Watercolor Pencil Surface

Describe Yourself: Quality Oriented

Was this a gift?: No

This product is my favorite (for now) of anything I have ever used for watercolor drawing and painting. I have several other papers and this one is by far the most exciting and easy to use. It is absorbent, so watercolor dries quickly. It doesn't allow for a lot of scrubbing and reworking, however, so be aware of that. The price is really good on this product, particularly if you are selling your art.

Winter Hideaway by Andrea Friedell

Tags: Watercolor, Made with Product

(legalese)

It's Tuesday, I think.

Yesterday I dragged out the knitting looms and feel like making scarves for awhile, as I think about what I'm going to paint this year. Communication has always been a challenge for me, and this year is no different. In my journals I seem to be more free with expression than on paintings, where I feel "judged." (Could be why I never enter any paintings into competition.) This year I want to do a spectacular painting; one that I take weeks and weeks to complete. I love drawing figures, recognizable or not, and this "spectacular" painting will incorporate not only recognizable figures, but emphasize the texture that I love. The gallery lady last year said all my paintings are orange, and that shut me down for six months! Well, she's actually wrong because some of them are purple. Anyway, I love warm colors and can't help it! We use the palette we like, in any case, but I do want to experiment with different colors this year. Last year I spent a lot of time with paper arts, stamping, cutting and pasting. Therefore, I have a mountainous pile of collage pieces which I am selling as a lot on my website (FriedellArt.com) and plan to put some on eBay. I have to de-stash somehow. I have more than I will ever ever ever have time to use.