What I've Painted Wednesday: Elephant in Stripes

Elephantsssssssssssssssss.  Aren't they just beautiful and majestic?! I Love them.

This piece was done for my Design 1 class a couple years ago.  Obviously, this particular piece is not a painting, but it is a piece I worked on for some time so I've decided to add it to my #whativepaintedwednesday segment, which is probably what I'll be doing.  I really had a lot of fun doing this piece; I felt like there were was no limit to what I could do. 

 I decided to leave a thin line in between the elephant and the background which I think help a lot to really define the subject. This piece is done in sharpie on a 24"x18" sheet of drawing paper.

 

Looking at him makes me happy.  

 

 

♥Angie

What I've Painted Wesnesday • Decisions: An Apple

Guess what guys?! It's Wednesday! You know what that means?! Yes! #WhatIvePaintedWednesday! These past couple of weeks I've had some trouble posting, but finally! Here it is....
So for one of my painting 2 class projects, basically the first of that semester, we were to use an apple in our painting.  I really enjoyed this class.  This class consisted of learning how to make your own paint.  This being our first painting, we made acrylic paint. We used the pigment of our choice and mixed it in with an acrylic medium to make a paste. It was totally fun and I enjoyed the challenge.
Not only did we have to make our own paint for this class, but our instructor also gave us a theme or an object that had to be included in the painting. Having it be an apple, I had several ideas in mind.

This painting obviously has many meanings to it. It's a bit personal, (what painting isn't right?) things I've struggled with all my life. And that's why I love to paint and create. It consumes me.

I used a real apple I cut, as my model while I painted.  I obviously had to take pictures of it as well before it turned brown in case I took longer to finish. 
I remember wanting to add more objects to the piece, but also wanted to keep it simple yet complex.   I like to work in odd numbers, hence the apple, ladders, and tree and the three different colors.  For the background, I always tend to keep it like this, just a color.  It's something I do unconsciously.  Maybe its my style, that says something about me. Or maybe I just over-analyze everything a bit too much, haha.

As soon as the apple was done, I still didn't feel too sure about the background as it was originally purple. I have no idea why it was this color in the first place, but I tried using a photo editor to see what color would look best.  Then it clicked. Complimentary colors, duh.  Making it a brighter green only helped it even more. 

This is still one of my favorite pieces. It was actually featured on Artista Social's Latin American Art Facebook Page, Twitter, and Instagram as the Artista Social Art of the Day back in 2012.  You can just imagine how immensely happy I was when I received their email.

Decisions are hard to make, even when you know there's only one way to go.

♥Angie

DIY Mason Jar Bank

So even though we  are half way through the year, it's never too late to start something new.  I've realized that to get something accomplished I must make it personal. I appreciate the little details in things, and therefore I wanted to make a little piggy bank that actually made me want to use it. There's tons of them out there, but why not make your own personalized?
I've been collecting mason jars for a while now, and love finding new ways to used them. Depending on how much you trust yourself of not opening the jar, this project will work perfectly for you.

Items you will need:


-Masor Jar (size of your choice)
-Cardstock and different patterned paper
-Scissors
-Markers/sharpies
-Things to decorate with

Instructions:
First, start off with the lids.  I decided to take the lid off and use cardstock instead. You can use the original lid, it all depends on personal preference, but it is much easier to make the coin slot with cardstock as well as the decorating. I started by using the lid as a stencil and cut a lid from it.  Then, using your scissors or an xacto knife cut the coin slot.  I didn't really care if it was exactly in the middle so I just winged it.

I then, put it off to the side and started decorating the piece that's going to go inside the jar.  You are welcome to paint your jar any color you prefer, but I did it this way in case I wanted to use the jar in the future for a different purpose. I used different patterned paper and measured the width of the paper with the length of the jar.

I then cut that piece and proceeded to measure the length of paper by sticking it inside the jar to get a rough estimate. My paper measures roughly around 10 inches by 4 inches.

With your paper cut out the desired size, You can now go crazy and decorate it as you wish! I decided to go for a floral pattern (of course).  I layered different patterns and papers until I got what I wanted.

I then, flipped one of the papers to have a clean white background to write what my specific purpose for this jar was. You can choose to glue down the paper, but I decided to just tape it. Easy and you can't see it through the glass. 

You then, just roll the entire paper into the jar and if you like you can tape it together, although this is not necessary at all.

Finally put your lid on the jar and screw the top right on. Presto!
I made a couple of jars in the process and had fun playing with different patterns and ways of decorating them.  For both jar lids I decided to use different cardstock, one silver and the other a lime green.  After I was done I noticed the green lid was looking dull, so I added this adhesive trim I got at my local craft store, and it was the finishing touch! I hope you enjoy making some for yourself and put them to use.  This would be a super fun project to do with kids during the summer as well!