Monday, June 30, 2008

Help fight Global Warming! Together, We can make a Difference!By planting fruit with your friends you can help us all make the world a greener place! As well, we'll shortly be launching some fun gaming features to constantly keep you entertained while doing good!Our sponsors contribute money to save the Rainforests as you use this application. After expenses we will donate revenue to funding a portfolio of reforestation projects. Thanks for joining us in this mission! We hope you have fun!The most recent donation was made June 1st, 2008 to the Adopt An Acre program of the Nature Conservancy. To learn more about this program, please visit the following address: http://www.nature.org/joinanddonate/adoptanacre/about/

Friday, June 27, 2008




Crafting a Solution to Global WarmingFive craft- and DIY-themed online communities -- Craftster.org, Etsy.com, CraftZine.com, BurdaStyle.com and ThriftyFun.com -- have launched the Creativity 350 partnership and contest to draw creative energy and attention to 350.org’s goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million to stave off drastic climatic and planetary repercussions.The Creativity 350 contest is actually two contests in one: A 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest. For the craft contest, participants are invited to craft any project that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350, using any crafting technique. For the T-shirt contest, entrants may create an original T-shirt design that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350. Entries will be accepted from July 15 to August 15, 2008. Then the public will vote for their favorites from August 16 - August 31, 2008. Valuable craft- and green-themed prizes will be awarded to the two winners. A complete list of the prizes can be found at the contest Web site: http://www.craftster.org/350. The winning T-shirt design will also be utilized by 350.org on t-shirts that will help the organization raise money and create awareness of its mission.Co-founded by environmentalist and educator Bill McKibben, 350.org centers itself around the number 350 to provide focus on a clear, concise goal for reducing global warming factors: "350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth."This unique partnership between the environmental community and the crafting community will bring out the creative energy of people around the world to help spread this important number, 350, in inspiring new ways.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Recycled Plastic Bottles


One of my favorite art projects. I turn our families water, juice, and most any plastic bottle into little people and critters who have pledge to help save the Earth by living on.This little "Owl" began life as a plastic juice bottle. He was born through many hours of acrylic glaze painting. His feathers was "grown" with artifical willow tree flowers .His beak and foot were formed from Sculpty, and he has a few inches of sand in his belly to keep him from becoming week and toppling. He has been sealed with a matte varnish to ensure a long and healthy life.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Carlin died at 71 / Death of a Word Artist


Art comes in many forms. George Carlin is one of the Artist who made sure we had freedom to express ourselves in words or paint.


Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71."He was a genius and I will miss him dearly," Jack Burns, who was the other half of a comedy duo with Carlin in the early 1960s, told The Associated Press.Carlin's jokes constantly breached the accepted boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the "Seven Words" - all of which are taboo on broadcast TV and radio to this day.When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, freed on $150 bail and exonerated when a Wisconsin judge dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but citing free speech and the lack of any disturbance.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Random Arts

http://www.randomartnotes.blogspot.com


Random Arts (formerly known as The Stamp Peddler) is located in Historic Saluda, North Carolina.and is only 1 mile off of I 26, at exit #59, in the "downtown" district at 50 E. Main St. Our little town of Saluda is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains just 30 miles south of Asheville, NC and 30 miles north west of Spartanburg, SC.

Random Arts has quickly become one of our most favorite place to shop for art supplies.
They are the only place anywhere near us that sell my Beloved Lumier Paints. And Artsy Candy is dripping from every nook and cranny of this wonderful little heaven.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Acrylic Glazing Techniques


A glaze is simply a thin, transparent layer of paint and glazing is simply building up color by applying thin, transparent layers one of top of another, dry layer. Each glaze tints or modifies those beneath it. So why is glazing something that can trouble, and even threaten, artists so much? Well, while the theory may be simple, putting it into practice takes patience and persistence to master.

If you’re a painter who needs instant gratification, glazing is probably not for you. But if you’re a painter wanting to take your paintings up a notch, glazing will give you colors with a luminosity, richness, and depth you cannot get by mixing colors on a palette. Why is this? In very basic terms, it’s because light travels through all the transparent layers (glazes), bounces off the canvas, and reflects back at you.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 1: Get to Know Your Transparent Colors
Take the time to learn which pigments are transparent, semi-transparent, or opaque. Some manufacturers state this on their paint tubes.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 2: Be Extremely Patient
If you apply a glaze onto paint that isn’t totally dry, the layers of paint will mix together, which is just what you don’t want to happen. Be patient rather than sorry. If you’re working in acrylics, you can speed up things up by using a hair drier to dry a glaze. How soon an oil glaze will be dry depends on the climate you live in and your studio condition; do some sample glazes to find out. The paint must be dry to the touch, not sticky. Work on several paintings at once so you can move from one to another while you wait for a glaze to dry.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 3: Glazes Like Smooth Surfaces
A glaze is a thin layer of paint which should lie smoothly on top of the previous layers. You don’t want it to collect or puddle on any roughness on your support, or rather not when you first start glazing. (It’s something to experiment with once you’ve mastered the basics of glazing.) A smooth hardboard panel or fine-weave canvas is ideal to start with.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 4: Use a Light Ground
Use a light-colored or white ground, which helps reflect light, rather than a dark one, which helps absorb light. If you’re not convinced, do a test by painting exactly the same glazes on a white ground and a black or dark brown one.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 5: Glazing Mediums
Glazing mediums thin the paint you’re using to the right constituency for glazing and, if you buy a fast-drying formula, speed up the rate at which the paint dries. They also solve any possible adhesion problems arising from diluting the paint too much, particularly with acrylics .Experiment with the ratio of medium to paint to get a feel for how much to add; too much and you sometimes get a glassy, excessively glossy effect.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 6: Use a Soft Brush
Glazes want to be painted smoothly, without visible brush marks. Use a soft brush with rounded edges, such as a filbert brush. You can glaze with a stiff, hog-hair brush, but it’s not ideal if you’re new to glazing. Flicking over the top of the paint with a dry fan or hake brush is useful way to eliminate visible brush marks.

Painting Glazes Tip No. 7: Unify a Painting With a Final Glaze
When the painting is finished, apply one final glaze over the whole painting. This helps unify all the parts of the painting. An alternative is to apply a final unifying glaze to just the elements in the focal point.


Creating Flued Paint

Fluid paints can be used like watercolors, or for glazing and washes. To create a more fluid texture, water is added to the paint. The ratio of paint to water depends on how thick the glaze is expected to be. An opaque glaze or paint consists of more paint than water, and will give a more solid color. A translucent glaze or paint will be the opposite, consisting of slightly more water than the opaque version, and will have a smoother texture. Translucent glazes show more of the colors underneath the paint compared to opaque glazes. Artist Keri Ippolito advises that the paint should be watered no more than 50 percent or the paint will not stick to the canvas . After mixing the paints, allow time for the air bubbles to rise to the surface. This will be crucial in many techniques, especially in pouring paints.


The Two Secrets to Glazing
The first secret to glazing is to use extremely thin paint. The second secret to glazing is patience, don't go too fast. (How simple is that?!)
Build your colors and tones slowly. Leave the painting to dry between each coat or layer of paint (glaze). This way, if you make an error you can correct it easily by wiping the new paint off. Or, if you put down a color and find it’s too strong, wipe off any surplus. If you want to even out your colors, I find the best thing to use is a mop brush.

How Many Glazes Should I Use?
Remember the first secret of glazing: to use extremely thin paint. So to build up a color to the proper intensity, think about using as many as nine glazes. If you think that’s going to take forever, remember the second rule -- be patient -- and that the more thinly you paint, the faster it will dry.

What Colors Are Suitable for Glazing?
Remember when you paint really thin your opaque colours will appear translucent, almost like your transparent colours. I use my opaque colors in the first glazing layers.

Do I Have to Use Glazing for the Whole Painting?
No, glazing can be just a part of your painting. You can paint as usual and make your last corrections or give more depth to your colors with one or two layers of glazing. What’s fun about glazing is that you can add special effects so discretely that the spectator will appreciate your painting without knowing exactly why.

Is That Really All There Is to Glazing?
Yup. Glazing really is this simple. Anyone can glaze with success. You probably do it already without noticing….