Mixed Media Girls

I was a long time scrap-booker and I loved it - I have stacks of albums that are absolutely gorgeous.  But I started to feel like I wanted them to be more handmade and a little less manufactured.  I wanted them to look more like something I created instead of a collection of cute stuff I bought.  So I started collecting pens and markers and paints and I began to experiment with different styles.  My new books weren't nearly as pretty, but I had a lot of fun hand colouring borders and splashing paint around.

My major turning point was last January and it was actually caused by a foot injury.  My doctor called it tendonitis - I called it serendipity!  Either way I scored two weeks off work with nothing to do but rest my foot.  I'd been wishing for more free time because I had bookmarked some online art classes.  So I made a supply run to Michael's then spent two happy weeks covered in acrylic paint and Golden soft gel.

My first art class was Wyanne's Mixed Media With the Girls.  Her videos are step by step and she even gives you a template for the faces - you just transfer them to your watercolour paper and paint them in, so I wasn't too scared.  For the backgrounds I had to keep rummaging through the kitchen.  The things she showed with stuff like salt or saran wrap were just so cool I had to try them right away.  Doing this class was, hands down, the most fun I've ever had being home sick from work!

I finished a few paintings on different size canvases and I still haven't decided if I like them or not.  But I'm gonna show y'all anyway.  Here's one of them - my first ever mixed media painting: