Welcome to Artful Journey

By the way ... the beautiful lady in my blog heading is my grandmother - I think she makes a perfect fairy!


email: artful.journey@yahoo.com

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Loving the Caravan Ride!

Here are a few things from my Art Journal Caravan adventure so far ...

Having two cats and tripping over them daily, this is what I came up with.  The word for the week was BELONG ...


This was designed for the word DEPEND ...


Thanks for looking!

Grunge Circus

I did this piece a while back for Digital Whisper, and it's been one of my favorites.  Kind of quirky and just a little different ...

With thanks to:
Zippo sign - smurfesque @ deviantart
Warning sign - magenta_dino @ deviantart
Entrance sign - tlejeck @ deviantart
Border - struckdumb @deviantart
Monkey - adrielchrist @ deviantart
Checkerboard floor - fune_stock @ deviantart
Striped Paper - WheelofFish @ deviantart
Top Hat - Serata @ deviantart
Curtains - teena p @ flickr
Texture - Shadowhouse Creations
Glitter Overlay - Studio Gypsy
Arrow - Crowabout
Holliewood Studios


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Zentangles ... I'm Totally Obsessed!

Well, while continuing my adventure with the Art Journal Caravan, we got to create a Zentangle.  What is a Zentangle, you may ask?  It's basically creating a series of patterns (normally in black and white) which are combined to make one awesome piece of art.  There are no rules and it's very relaxing when you get into it.  I just used drawing paper and a Sharpie ultra-fine pen to create this.

Zentangle - Home in the Midst of Chaos


Monday, September 5, 2011

#13 - Dawn (Digital Whisper)

I did this piece a while back but never posted it.  Kind of a cowboyish feel, and who doesn't love the colors of dawn.  Thanks for looking.

#13 Dawn


With Thanks to:
Lorie Davison
Border:  StruckDumb @ DeviantArt
Texture:  SiriusSudz @ DeviantArt
Photo:  Kkart


#59 - No Way Out (Digital Whisper)

My son encouraged this layout so here it is.  I haven't been inspired lately to create for the 100 Themes ... hopefully I get all 100 created by the end of the year.  Fingers crossed!!!  Thanks for looking.

#59 No Way Out


With Thanks to:
Holliewood Studios
Skeletalmess


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Heritage Advenure Quest (Art Journal Caravan 2011)

This month members of the Caravan were challenged to delve into our family history and design something that reflects our heritage.  Since I have recently been addicted to Ancestry.com and have been researching my parents' families, and have a ton of family photos, this challenge was right up my alley.  I finally chose one photo that, I think, symbolizes the journey for most families coming from one country and settling in another.  This ancestor and her new husband traveled from London, England, in 1869, to New York, and then homesteaded in Nebraska, before finally landing in Fresno, California, via Idaho.  As I was designing this piece I had time to think about what life was like for this family and how lucky I am to have my home and family, health and happiness.  Family history can lead you down an interesting and enlightening road ...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

#37 - Eyes (Digital Whisper)

Lots of different ways to go with this one, but here's what I came up with ...

#37 - Eyes

With Thanks to:
Catherine Designs
Crowabout Studio
Tumble Fish Studio

Friday, July 8, 2011

Art Journal Caravan 2011 - June Scavenger Hunt

The Art Journal Caravan led by Tangie Baxter over at http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/ took a detour with a scavenger hunt.  We had to do a page a week for the month of June with a list of items to be used in our art piece.  This is what I came up with ... and boy, was it ever challenging!

Week #1
Items to be Used:  Elephant, Telephone, Moon, Bubble, Fence or Wall, Coconut


Week #2
Items to be Used:  Bottle Marked "Poison", Luggage, Horseshoe, Chameleon or Reptile, Thermostat or Thermometer, Telescope or Binoculars


 Week #3
Items to be Used:  Game Piece, Crown, Street Sign, Hot Air Balloon, Stamp, Crow





Week #4
Items to be Used:  Light, Aquatic Animal, Precious Stone, Astrological Sign or Constellation, Ink, Flag



Thursday, July 7, 2011

#37 - Eyes (Digital Whisper)

I reworked a prior piece I'd done just because it reflected the "Eyes" theme.  Using elements from Tumble Fish Studios, Crowabout, and Catherine Designs give this kinda of a "collagey" feel.  Thanks for looking!

#37 - Eyes

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

#49 - Stripes (Digital Whisper)

Well, it's a little late to post this for the 4th of July ... but better late than never!  This is a photo of my dad who served on the U.S.S. Laffey during the Korean conflict.  Several years ago, my dad, sister, and I got to visit the destroyer when it was ported at Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and it was quite an experience.  Not a lot of room to move around ... that's for sure!  Thanks for looking, and hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July.

#49 - Stripes

With Thanks to:
Texture:  Shadowhouse Creations
Waves:  Tumble Fish Studio
Striped Paper:  Miss Crow

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Some More Memory Art ...

The mother of a friend of mine went on a cruise to Alaska and took some wonderful photos.  My friend wanted to do a piece for her mom using a lot of the photos, but, of course, making them fit is always the challenge. I used as many as I could without it looking too crowded, and extracted some flowers from photos she took (because she loves flowers) and used them as different focal points.  About 25 of her photos were used to create this piece.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Creative Process (Art Journal Caravan 2011)

Since joining Tangie Baxter's Art Journal Caravan (Scrapbookgraphics.com), I've been incorporating a lot of quotes in my artwork that reflect my thinking.  Each week we get a verb to create around and, as always, the journey is in creating each piece.  It's really fun, and I enjoy being a part of the Caravan!

Verb:  Process

#25 - Summer Haze (Digital Whisper)

It's been a while since I've posted.  Lots of projects going on and life in general.  I really want to complete the 100 Themes for the year so I've got to light a fire and get going.  When I thought of "Summer Haze" I immediatey thought of my grandpa napping on his hammock strung up between to apple trees.  He grew Gravenstein and Golden Delicious apples, and we were lucky to get to them before the deer arrived!  This was a good memory and fun to remember ...

#25 - Summer Haze

With Thanks to:
Textures:  skeletalmess @ flickr
Bird:  Deviantscrap
Apples/Hammock:  Internet
Foliage/Background/Grass/Balloon:  Lorie Davison

Thursday, June 2, 2011

#46 - Male (Digital Whisper)

Geez ... I've had a super hard time posting anything to Blogger. I'm getting a "server rejected" message and had to edit my settings. Hopefully I've fixed the problem, but from what others have said it doesn't look too promising. Anyway, I really love vintage photos, and this one of the boys caught my eye. They look so cute and well-behaved, but as we all know ... boys will be boys. Thanks for looking!

#46 - Male




With thanks to:

Room & Banner: Studio Gypsy

Table/Telegram/Rocking Horse: Holliewood Studios @ Deviantscrap

Alpha & Frames: Christina Renee @ Scrapbookgraphics

Hearts & Bird: CreateWings Designs

Bunny: Catherine Designs

Boardwalk: Tumble Fish Studios

Boys: Cassandra204 @ Flickr

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

#21 - Cave (Digital Whisper)

Starting in on this I knew I wanted a chaise in a cave, and this is what evolved.  Upon completion, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not so I've been sitting on it for a few weeks.  Turns out ... I like it!  Thanks for looking!

#21 - Cave

With Thanks to:
Figure:  Finecrafted Designs (Inner Voice) @ Deviantscrap.com
Crystal Balls:  Lorie Davison (Gremouse Manor) @ scrapbookgraphics.com
Net/Hanging Ornaments:  Gypsy @ scrapbookgraphics.com
Magic Dust:  Lorie Davison
Cave:  Internet
Texture:  skeletalmess @ flickr, Shadowhouse Creations

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Art Journal Caravan - #20 Understanding

I've started a new adventure and joined the Art Journal Caravan created by Tangie Baxter over at http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/.  It's art and art journaling combined to take you on a journey of self-discovery through a different prompt every week.  This week's prompt is "Understanding". 

AJC #20 Understanding

Monday, May 16, 2011

#87 - Tranquil (Digital Whisper)

The moment I saw this figure I knew I wanted to use it somehow for this theme.  There are so many different ways to go with the color scheme but this is what spoke to me as I was creating it.  Thanks for looking and have a great week!!!

#87 - Tranquil

With Thanks to:
Textures:  Darkwood @ Flickr, Shadowhouse Creations
Border/Papers/Lilypads:  Lorie Davison
Buddha:  sunlitsix @ Deviantart

Thursday, May 12, 2011

#27 - Rock Star (Digital Whisper)

I took this one literally and so much fun creating a "rock" character".  He's a bit cartoonish but definitely has that star quality!

#27 - Rock Star


With Thanks to:
Lorie Davison, Holliewood Studios, Christina Renee
and various internet sources

Sunday, May 8, 2011

#90 - Alley

My son traveled to Europe with his university basketball team, and he took some really great photos.  The background I used here of the alley was a photo he took in Barcelona.  It was fun to use a photo that he took for my own artistic purposes and he was pleased with the outcome, too!  Thanks so much for looking!

#90 - Alley

With Thanks to:
Texture:  skeletalmess @ flickr and Shadowhouse Creations
Flowers and Dancer:  Internet
Alley Background:  Adam

Thursday, May 5, 2011

#28 - Sorrow (Digital Whisper)

I was hoping to capture the essence of sorrow without being too dark and yet give a glimmer of hope.  Lots of textures gave me the feel I was looking for.

#28 - Sorrow

With Thanks to:
Textures:  artbychrysti, jfrancis, darkwood, joe's sistah @ flickr, and Shadowhouse Creations
Swing:  Lorie Davison
Border:  CottageArts
Model:  Dazzle_stock at DeviantArt

Sunday, May 1, 2011

#17 - Upside Down

You ever have one of those days where nothing seems to come together?  Timing is off, everything I touch seems to fall on the floor, and please don't get behind the wheel of a car.  I created this piece on that day.  Enough said.  All elements are from Finecrafted Designs and deviantscrap.com, except for the house which is from the internet.  Thanks for looking!

#17 - Upside Down

Friday, April 29, 2011

#65 - Time

Thought I would do this in a steampunk kind of style.  Tons of layers, no textures, just lots of stuff.  Hope you like it!

#65 - Time

With thanks to:
Birdcage, Border, Pocket Watch, Wings, Clock Parts:  Lorie Davison
Curtain:  Holliewood Studios
Owl:  Armene @ Deviantart
Model:  Mizzd @ Deviantart
Phone, Books, Lamp:  Internet
Background:  mysticmorning @ deviantart
Timepieces:  From Deviantart - Aranwen, Femobot, Bookscorpion, Chamberstock
Clock Key:  Strwberrystk @ Deviantart
Goggles:  One Weeb


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

#89 - Black

I finished this piece and then didn't know what theme to use.  I finally chose "Black" purely for the color scheme.  If "Past/Future" was a category that's where it would have gone.  Thanks for looking!

#89 - Black

With Thanks to:
Texture:  Livingroomshadows, Ka2rina, Clifford Sax,
Skeletalmess, and Essence of a Dream - all at Flickr
Model:  Angelhead @ Flickr
Ouija Board:  TheArtistDarkLady @ Deviantart
Border:  TotallyWildDezinez

#22 - Mother Nature (Digital Whisper)

Well, life got in the way of art and that can be very frustrating. You know how it is when you're painting bathroom cabinets, but the real question is whether or not you should add that extra overlay to your current art work? Anyway, here is Mother Nature.  I used a lot of texturing and brushes and there are a ton of layers.  Thanks so much for looking!

#22 - Mother Nature

With Thanks to:
Many elements from:  DeviantScrap - Colorsplash;
Gypsy; Holliewood Studios; Finecrafted Designs
Texture:  Shadowhouse Creations

Sunday, April 17, 2011

#98 - Puzzle (Digital Whisper)

I used the site "Dumpr" to create the Mona Lisa Rubic's cube.  It's a fun site to use and gives me another perspective on creating.  Thanks for looking!

#98 - Puzzle

With Thanks to:
Texture:  Shadowhouse Creations
Border:  TotallyWildDezinz
Sign Post, Wings, Background:  Holliewood Studios

#76 - Passion (Digital Whisper)

Well, my creative muse took a hike for a while but hopefully it's back.  Here's my piece for the theme "Passion".  I wanted to use tango dancers but had a tough time finding the right image.  The swirly overlay from Shadowhouse Creations helped convey the feelings.

#76 - Passion

With Thanks to:
Texture and Layer Mask:  Shadowhouse Creations
Paper:  artbychrysti @ flickr
Rose:  Bisontine
Couple:  Internet

Thursday, April 7, 2011

#10 - Lemon Tree (Digital Whisper)

This theme was challenging in that there was no emotional connection for me to a lemon tree.  I find that I can usually evoke a memory or get a train of thought going when designing a piece, but this topic was so completely random that I had to really get a feeling for it.  I hope you like it!

#10 - Lemon Tree

With Thanks to:
Lemon Tree & Windowsill:  Internet
Bird:  Holliewood Studios
Grass & Chair:  Lorie Davison
Background:  Joe's Sistah @ flickr
Texture:  Dog Ma @ flickr
Border:  TotallyWildDezinez

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

#30 - Umbrella (Digital Whisper)

Just wanted to do something fun and colorful for this theme, so why not use some Asian parasols?  There are so many beautiful designs, and it was hard deciding which ones to use.  The background is origami paper.

#30 - Umbrella

With Thanks to:
Parasols and Origami Paper:  Internet
Texture:  yuna @ flickr
Border:  TotallyWildDezinez
Geisha:  okinawa soba @ flickr

Monday, April 4, 2011

#100 - Secrets

A tricky theme.  I really wanted to use this figure somehow so I think it worked out for this theme.  Again, textures and blending, changing opacity, to give it the look I wanted.  Thanks for looking and your comments!

#100 - Secrets

With Thanks to:
Model:  BloodyMarie @ deviantart
Textures:  skeletalmess and ka2rina @ flickr
Background:  freaky665 @ deviantart
Border:  TotallyWildDezinez

Sunday, April 3, 2011

#82 - Dance (Digital Whisper)

This piece was fun to do, and I just wanted to keep it light and whimsical.  A few different "skies" were used and some blending done.  I think I'd like to go to the Twilight Club ... Thanks for looking!

#82 - Dance

With Thanks to:
Dancers:  Dr. Macro
Curtain:  LunaNYXstock @ deviantart
Sky:  JoannaStar and Night-Fate Stock @ deviantart
Sign:  Tumble Fish Studio
Disco Ball:  Internet
Texture:  skeletalmess @ flickr

Saturday, April 2, 2011

#35 - Journey (Digital Whisper)

Wow ... there are so many ways to go with this theme, but I have been wanting to use the car so this is what I came up with.  Lots of layers and brushes and blending.  I think they'll have an interesting journey ...  Thanks for looking!

#35 - Journey

With Thanks to:
Car:  carbonated @ flickr
Caution sign & Globe:  Holliewood Studios
Red Border:  Tumble Fish Studios
Textures:  skeletalmess @ flickr


Saturday, March 26, 2011

#97 - Wings (Digital Whisper)

I started this project wanting to use a dress form and this is what evolved.  I used my Wacom tablet to add some framing, and some brushes for textural effects.  As always, thanks for looking!

#97 - Wings


With Thanks to:
Texture:  skeletalmess @ flickr
Border:  Totallywilddezinez
Crown, Head, Fly, Floor:  Tumblefish Studios
Butterfly:  DeviantScrap (ColorSplash)
Background Pattern:  Creatwingsdesigns
Dress Form:  Internet


Thursday, March 24, 2011

#86 - Mask (Digital Whisper)

I think this challenge could be taken in so many different ways.  Since I really love the Venetian Carnival masks, I wanted to go in that direction and just make the interpretation fairly simple.  Nothing too crazy on this one -- textured overlays and drop shadows. Thanks for looking:

#86 - Mask


With Thanks to:
Texture:  skeletalmess @ flickr
Music Texture:  night_fate_stock @ deviantart
Border:  struckdumb @ deviantart
Mask:  Internet

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

#55 - Waiting (Digital Whisper)

I initially was going to use this photo of Anna Mae Wong for the "Exotic" theme, but after working with it I thought it spoke more to "waiting".  Anyway, I didn't do a lot to it other than blend some textures, but I really like the way it turned out.  Thanks for looking!

#55 - Waiting


With Thanks to:
Textures:  Skeletalmess @flickr
Border:  Totallywilddezinez
Frame:  Lorie Davison (Prairie Gal)
Clock:  Steampunk Clock Pendant vby Karla Chan @ deviantart
Wings:  Finecrafted Designs
Floor:  Holliewood Studios (Metal Momma)
Anna Mae Wong:  The Happy Wanderer Memorial @ flickr

Monday, March 21, 2011

#77 - Past Days (Digital Whisper)

I've always wanted to use the photo of these two women.  I started designing for Theme #20 - Half, but then when I was finished I decided it spoke more to Past Days (whimsically, of course).  As always, thanks for looking, and I really appreciate your comments!

#77 - Past Days


With Thanks to:
Figure:  vintage67 by violetivory (deviantart.com)
Wings:  Bisontine (Truth from Falsehood)
Paper:  Lorie Davison (Pioneer Story)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

#8 - Innocence (Digital Whisper)

What could be more innocent than a child with a kitten?  I really enjoyed using DeviantScrap's ColorSplash kit which is currently featured in Somerset's Digital Studio magazine.  There are some super great papers and random elements that makes it so much fun to play with.  I am also a very big admirer of Marsha Jorgensen of Tumblefish Studios and love her collage elements that are available in her Etsy shop.  Thanks for looking!

#8 - Innocence


Credits:
Papers and Flower:  DeviantScrap Colorsplash
Frame, Arms, and Legs:  Tumblefish Studios
Body/Wings:  Createwings Designs
Word:  CrowAbout Studios

Thursday, March 17, 2011

More Memory Art

There are some photos that just can't be kept in a box ... they represent a special moment that you want to remember, or evoke a feeling that connects you to that point in time.  Maybe there's a certain message that you feel that photo represents.  I feel that way about lots of my photos, and there are a few pieces that I've done:







You can make your photos special, too. 

Come and take an Artful Journey ...



Memory Art

You know how we all have tons of family photos and they are scattered all over the place ... in boxes, in drawers, in ... who know's where? I've been doing a lot of family photo collages where several photos can be showcased.  The images are either extracted from their original photos or kept as original and then framed.  These pieces are in a 12"x12" format (a large scrapbooking page).  Here are a few that I've done:

This is my son as he has grown up ...


A friend of mine wanted a piece to give to her nieces and nephews using several old family photos, but she didn't want a lot of embellishments.  This is what we came up with:


This is a piece again using old family photos:


This type of memory art is a great visual representation of your family memories from the past or present.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

#14 - Smile (Digital Whisper)

Today I chose "Smile" from the Digital Whisper 100 Themes Challenge list ... maybe because it's not raining right now and that makes me smile.  Anyway, hope you enjoy!

#14 - Smile


Credits:
Texture:  skeletalmess, artbycrysti, and les brumes @ flickr
Elements: Creatwingsdesigns
Photomask:  Cottage Arts
Paper:  Bisontine and Cottage Ats
Figure:  notyouraveragesockmonkey @ flickr

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Another Digital Whisper 100 Themes Challenge Entry

Today I chose the underwater theme since it's pretty much been raining nonstop today.

#83 - Underwater: