Welcome to my stop on the Sunny Studios Stamps bloghop!! Mendi’s celebrating the 8th birthday of her business baby and I’m so proud of her!!

In honor of her milestone, I’ve got some fun ahead for which I hope no one needs a wintry coat or scarf like I did – but Holiday Hugs Stamps will be used to make a chilly snowy card perfect for a winter celebration card! 🙂

Tutorial: Coloring fuzzy white polar bear fur 

The first few seconds are jarring…watch out! ha!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Bear coloring

Start with marker, add pencil, then soften with marker, then more pencil as needed – layer away! The secret to getting it to look fuzzy is partially in leaving tufts of fur white (see above the eyes, top of the head and ears, lighter snout…) in comparison to the other greys. The PUNCH of color in the reddish dark color will make all that grey start to look lighter, along with that dark nose and eyes.

Colors

Colors used include these Sketchmarkers, and a Prismacolor 936 bluish gray color, and a Polychromos 133.

Contrasting background

Creating a big dark shape for all that white fur to bounce off of gives two benefits – “hiding” the lighter stamped line, and all that dark value lightens everything else. Then the white gouache snow also has something to show up on that’s dark enough.

Around the eedges of the bear, pencil only went so far in creating a soft edge – a little gouache also helped whiten places where the stamp line still showed.

Something to hold, no masking!

Then it’s a matter of what your bear will hold, if anything! I hadn’t thought about it in time, but you could take these easy steps to stamp it without ANY masking:

1. Stamp the cupcake or other item to be held. No masking.
2. Stamp the bear so that the paws cross over the cupcake.
3. Definitely color nice dark mittens before coloring the cupcake. That will cover the light stamp lines of the cupcake.
4. Color the cupcake richly enough to cover the scarf stamp lines. Either dark colors, or add glossy accents and glitter as shown here.
5. Then color the scarf and bear. 

Something to hold, the way I did it

Since I hadn’t thought of what I’d put in his paws, here’s my steps:

1. Color the bear, adding mittens.
2. Stamp and color the cupcake or other object and fussy cut.
3. With an xacto knife, slice around the top side of the mittens. You might need to curve around to the bottom depending on the size of what’s being tucked in.
4. Put a little dimensional adhesive on the back of the cupcake and tuck it in.
5. Add glossy accents and glitter!

My glitter problems of the past stemmed from sending cards overseas to heroes in war zones; glitter gets all over everything, as we all know, and it gets on them when they get something from us too! And glitter can make them visible to the enemy’s night vision goggles. If you send anything to a hero serving abroad, be respectful of your desire for twinkle and shimmer, and settle for the simple pretty shine of something like glossy accents alone – that won’t twinkle in enemy gunsights. 🙂 

Bloghop sale, prizes, & hop links

1. Sunny Studio
   
2. Wanda Guess
3. Rachel Alvarado
4. Sandy Allnock <–that’s me!
5. Marine Simon
   
6. Tammy Stark
7. Caly Person
8. Isha Gupta
9. Bobbi Lemanski
10. Gladys Marcelino
11. Tina Henkens

Supplies

1. Sunny Studio Stamps Holiday Hugs Stamps
2. Fadeout No Line Ink, Ink On 3
3. Sketchmarker Brush Pro Alcohol 
4. Sketchmarker hex chart 
5. Neenah Cardstock, Solar White 250pk 
6. Prismacolor pencils 
7. Prismacolor Hex Chart
8. Polychromos Pencils
9. Polychromos Hex Chart
10. Daniel Smith White Gouache 
11. Glossy Accents
12. Hero Arts Glitttterrrrrrr 

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A professional artist CAN create with Barbie Art Studio—and that artist is me!

I just saw the movie last week, and decided to see if there’s an art Barbie out there, and then decided to build out a room for her that looks like mine. Oh how I wish this had been a thing when I was little! But it’s never too late to play with toys, is it?

In today’s video, enjoy a walk-through of the room I created for Barbie, plus the modifications to the set I bought – hopefully there aren’t going to be little kids mad that I painted over the pink! Yellow’s my favorite color, so while I’ll include pink, yellow will be taking the stage. And black. 🙂

This is the set I’ll be modifying, so you can compare the colors here to what’s in my photos below. This was highly inspired by the renovation I did on my home recently (if you’d like to see that click here).

In addition to this set I’m using (left, below), there are 2 versions of the Art Teacher Barbie set:

Tutorial: Professional Artist creates with Barbie Art Studio

Note: this video is safe for kids to watch, but please, kiddos, don’t use sharp objects or glue without parents involved. They love you and want you safe – and I do too!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Flooring

With a piece of cardboard and a foam pad (not styro so it won’t crumble), I created a raised floor—painting it with random leftover colors from painting my home! Using a very “dry” brush creates a dragged texture as one wet color drags through other wet sticky paint. Then draw lines with a sharpie after its dry to create boards.Some substitutes could be patterned paper glued onto cardboard (I saw some woodgrains in the store that were nice), a piece of real carpet, or drawing a grid to make a checkerboard flooring pattern! Whatever it is make it sturdy so littles won’t feel bad about using it as roughly as they use toys.

I added an oval “throw rug” to mine made from felt (fold a rectangle in 1/4 and cut once around the edge to create the oval). Add rickrac with a glue gun or a few stitches, whichever is more stable for you. Add a little A-frame advertising for your art show! Found this one at a big box craft store.

Furnishings

NOTE: If very little kiddos may use your set, don’t use paint! They might suck the paint right off the plastic and get sick.

I didn’t treat my pieces ahead, though a little sanding and priming could help; if you’re doing this project “for reals” then have at it! Mine’s just for fun. Chalk paint is what I used since I had a big jar of it; it’s not super stable, as I can flick some off with my fingernail quite easily, but I’m not concerned over massive play ruining it.

The easel was first, and needed a little touchup after the first coat. Stay away from any moving parts like the piece that tips the easel top back and forth.

The chair was my favorite transformation! Black paint, with puffy paints for the logo (and extra flowers!), plus the bands round the chair legs. And a 2 sided cushion! I used 2 little felt pieces for the padding, as any puffy pillow would knock Barbie right off her chair.

Also – see that shoe? White gouache, with pink puffy paint. Pink shoes were tolerable but you couldn’t see the embossed laces, so I adapted them too.

The plant is created with an extra little piece of cardstock hot glued to the wall; no bottom on it. I snipped a little of a fake plant to tuck in so Barbie’s studio has some greenery to add a little life. 

The pottery station was painted black, all except the table top so it’s “wood” to work on. And underneath it serves as great storage for canvas and “clay” (playdough!) – the round corner container is a prescription jar with Barbie’s finished drawings and extra paper stored there.

Modifying my doll

When I saw Barbie’s slightly wacky haircut (one that looked like a haircut I’d given my dolls when turning them into Weird Barbie!), I knew I could give little-girl-me another chance to do it right. So she got a short cut—longer in the front, shorter in back, so stylish! A little mousse and hairspray and she’s looking fab now. I used some gold puffy paint to give her black-painted glasses a little fanciness with a corner shine, then a choker necklace, post earrings, and bracelets. She’s got a brooch from my bling stash, and feeling all kinds of ready for the big show.

Art show

What I loved best about Art Studio Barbie is her multiple-mediums! That’s me. And I let her really express herself with REAL paint now, so she didn’t have to pretend any more. Real paint in her palette and on her brush, though she had trouble holding it; but I’d be a terrible teacher if I didn’t help her out. 🙂

Now we have to go have a Barbie party with Elyse and other little friends and their Barbies, so other dolls can go home with some art!

Would you try this?

I don’t expect any new traditions to begin, but if you give any modifications a go, let me know! I know lots of folks make outfits for their dolls, and some kids (me!) make their own Weird Barbie…..but I’d love to see if you create a room or accessories for Barbie!

Supplies

1. Barbies:
   • Barbie Art Studio set
   • Barbie Art Teacher set
   • Barbie Art Teacher (Black) set
2. Box: Boll and Branch sheets box (also try big box stores, they have boxes with lids that come off that are as stable as the cardboard for this one
3. Patterned papers
4. Strong doublestick tapes like Scor Tape 1/2”
5. Flooring: paintable cardboard, foam layer
6. Modifying furniture:
   • Black Chalk Paint
   • Pink puffy paint
   • Yellow puffy paint
7. Artworks:
   • Framed canvases 2.5 x 3.5
   • Canvas panels, 2.5 x 2.5

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Personal story

Tutorial: Painting on a gelli print

Relax with some realtime gelli printing and speed gouache…

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Gelli plates & brayers

I’m no expert – but I do know there seem to be 2 companies that make the plates – Gel Press and Gelli. I have some of each; so far I don’t see a major difference between them. Keep alllll the plastic when you open them – you’ll want the heavy plastic sheets for both sides, plus the plastic box they come in. You can wiped them down with baby wipes but for a full cleaning I just take them to the sink and stick them in a big pan of soapy water to clean them up.

I’m using soft rubber brayers by Speedball, a 6″ and 3-1/2″…..guage your size by how big your plate is.

Lefranc & Bourgeois Flashe Vinyl Paints

I’m not completely sure what these are, but these  were in the aisle with the acrylics. The manufacturer’s website says they were first made in 1954, come in over 70 colors, and were Europe’s first synthetic paint…

That spatula thing…

They’re Tonic’s Nuvo Spatulas.  Nice and soft, no hard edges; you don’t want anything sharp poking into a gelli plate, including any of the tools you use around it.

Gouache painting

The transfer passed by while I was yapping during the voiceover – I was using white transfer paper, Bet you didn’t know that existed! I flipped my sketch so i could turn it to match the direction I wanted to place the dragonfly.

The first blue layer under the body was painted in the Flashe paints, and it showed me they take far longer to dry than gouache. But the gouache covered it nicely without any lifting once it was dry. 

Using these two together will apparently LOOK like they go together, but please don’t be fooled into thinking these will make your art qualify as a “watercolor” piece (for shows that require all-watercolor and include gouache on the approved list). These are water-mixable, and can be diluted, butI don’t know enough about them to give much more info. Research will be forthcoming since I do seem to like these a lot.

The dragonfly

The dragonfly reference photo is flipped horizontally. I had to fuss with colors since my background is totally different colors – make sure you have your background showing through those transparent wings. 🙂

Sale on Gratitude Junk Journal classes

Get 20% off of the 2022 class using code THANKS22 by August 31!

Supplies

1. Gelli plates:
   • 8 x 10
   •  6 x 6
   • 5 x 7 
2. Speedball rubber brayer 6″ 
3. Speedball rubber brayer 3-1/2 
4. Flashe paints (different colors cost different amounts)...the colors I chose:
   • Verdaccio (green)
   • Blanc (white)
   • Gris de Payne (Paynes Gray)
   • Bleu de Prusse (Prussian Blue)
   • Ocre Rouge (Red Ochre)
5. Saral White Transfer Paper 
6. Yasutomo Sumi Sketch Paper 
7. Tonic Nuvo Studio Spatulas 
8. Daniel Smith Gouache 
9. Jack Richeson travel brush set for gouache Blick • Amazon

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Happy weeeeekend! Comin atcha with a quick reminder and a flash sale….it’ll only take a minute!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Party!

Pop over to Artventure and attend the Zoom at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern….or watch the replay there later on!

Flash sale

Get $10 off this Copic Enchantment class – no coupon necessary! Sale ends Monday night the 14th. 🙂 Happy 10th!

Not all ideas or instruction pass the test of time, but I have 4 art tips that have aged well that I am excited to share with you!

For today’s Artiversary project, I’m returning to two places:

1. My series honoring the stylings of favorite children’s illustrators
2. A drawing I made while in high school

Tutorial: 4 Art tips that have aged well

Watch a re-draw of a high school piece of art, inspired by the technique used most excellently by my professor!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

The Illustrator Series

This has been an on-and-off series for some time, so today adds to the list! Here’s the rest:

1. Isabelle Arsenault
2. Maurice Sendak
3. Eric Carle 
4. Jon Klassen
5. Charles Schulz

1. Adapt from reality

Gay disabused me of the notion that my work needed to be hyper-realistic or photorealistic. That’s for photographers; artists have the ability to improve on reality. We can deepen shadows for contrast, or pull in some midtones so the shadows aren’t giant blocky areas. We can cast the light onto our subjects to change the mood to our liking. We can edit extraneous detail that’s not helpful. Photographers can do some digital manipulation, but not by the same way that an artist can. Don’t try to be a camera. Be better than a camera.

2. Incorporate Color Theory

If you’ve not yet studied color theory, it’s a great thing to do! (All my Jumpstart classes in color media have color theory basics.)  It’s not just “knowing” what colors are on the wheel, and how to mix secondaries, etc. If you learn what can happen if you mix or layer complementary colors, it’ll give you many options for colors to shade with, hues to change the temperature or saturation of a color. It’s practical even if sometimes “color theory” sounds scary.

3. Embrace your art supplies

Let your medium sing! Many people try to create “perfect” blends in mediums that make it hard to do so; if you’re using something that wants to be loose and splashy, it’ll fight you on being tight and detailed. And vice versa! It’s not as if you can’t make a medium do something else; but explore what your art supplies do best before trying to push them. You might be missing out on something that’ll be much more natural! 

Also, don’t use computer graphics as a standard for art mediums to blend completely smoothly; humans aren’t computers. And in a world where AI is taking over so much, the more valuable a hand-touch on a piece of art will start to matter. AI can’t make a brushstroke like a human hand, so celebrate your art’s humanity!

4. Art takes as long as it takes

Speed isn’t the point of art. Or at least shouldn’t be. If your time is limited, yes it can seem to be the better part of valor to choose a speedy medium or style. However, if you’re always speeding through projects, you’re missing out on the biggest benefits of art: it’s healing, it’s conducive to peace, it helps you disengage from the problems of the world so you’re ready to return there later. If you skip the restful benefits of taking your time, then you’re not doing yourself any favors.

Need this little bee?

The original is for sale HERE (everything in the shop is 10% off through August!) and you can also order prints HERE.

Artiversary party

We’ll be gathering on Zoom over at Artventure for our big party! Join us for games, lots and lots of prizes, and a piece of art I’ll create on the fly based on audience input! You can RSVP on the Event page inside Artventure, and add your own photo suggestions in the comments and maybe one of yours will get picked to be used. See  you there Saturday August 12 at 10am Pacitic/1pm Eastern!

Supplies

1. Luminance Pencils 
2. Luminance Hex Chart
3. Stonehenge Drawing Paper Pads:  AMZ • BLICK
4. lassine sheets – (for protecting art under my hand)

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All month I’m celebrating my 10th Artiversary by recreating, in some way, older videos. This time – making my own imaginary birds! They’re not grungy like the stamps but I kinda like them, they’ve got some saucy attitude, eh? 

Tutorial: How to draw imaginary birds + a party invitation!

Included is the sketch tutorial at the start, then while I paint I explain the party coming up this weekend on Artventure, as well as a bit more about my Substack and how it differs from this blog. 

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

My birds!

I should have tested tape on them, I was hoping for a nice crisp white border. Alas it pulled up the surface. 

These are three videos – I may have more, I feel like I used these stamps a lot!

Zoom party to celebrate my Artiversary!

Log into Artventure and look for the Events tab, I think it’s on the left – we’ll have that set up at least by Monday. But if you log in today you can still weigh in on the Poll, which is up in the Featured section of the Home feed.

ARTVENTURE

Supplies

1. Daniel Smith Gouache
2. Joybest airtight palette
3. Jack Richeson travel brush set for gouache  Blick • Amazon

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