Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me get unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.
This furniture store has been having “last sale” ever since I moved here 6 1/2 years ago-but now that they sell these paintings it looks real. LOL. I am amazed by the amount of stock of this painting and have even thought of buying one …could be a good surface and the frame is fun :)
our secret beach – clear statement- we do not need a bigger golf course for the people that can afford half a million dollars annually for their membership here.
What we need are rusty boxes that make our phantasy spin …hahah- I love this one it looks like a face sticking out it’s tongue.
It is just so beautiful out here- I really love coming to Liberty State park with my bike-
I love these red thingies (no idea what they are actually called)
I had some wallpaper made with my fan designs – which I really love. The one on top is at the entrance wall to my studio
And this one is one a wall in my studio bathroom – We didn’t renovate the bathrooms yet – that has to wait for some other time when we are recovered from our initial renovation but this was a cheapish way to oomph it up for now a little bit.
I am so happy to see this house in my neighborhood being renovated- This house was on the market many years ago and it was in the saddest state you can imagine ( I am sure i snapped a picture but couldn’t find it) and now it is back to it’s glory!!
Love the beautiful ceilings you find all over the neighborhood stores.
Fun Mural with cat :)
Hope you enjoyed this little stroll – let’s see what I discover for next month :)
I love your strolls through the hood! They seem so much more interesting than strolls through my hood. Which probably isn’t true. And, I do miss taking random photos. I should probably take this as a cue to pick it up again! <3
I was playing with my new Posca fine markers in this art journal spread that is kind of a study for the Good Vibes Only and Good Vibes Only Mini paintings. For my background I used my Kyoto, Tokyo, and Signals stencils layered on top of each other with acrylic paint and gouache.
I am loving the Posca Markers -I used to use the thicker ones all the time when still living in Germany but when I was an Ambassador for Liquitex I had to switch the markers. While I love the Liquitex Markers I miss having some thinner yet intense markers and I just thought I should buy those even though I might have enough markers for the rest of my life. I love them – they are so opaque and beautiful and flowly- a bit rough to use on textured surfaces as they easily “spritz” but on flatter surfaces a breeze. Def. glad I bought them. The white Posca Marker is not hundred percent convincing me yet, but I have to try again as it might be due to the Gouache paint that I used on some areas which gets reactivated when wet.
Here are some of the supplies I used including the Posca markers:
I’m celebrating the Day of LOVE with a SALE in my online shop! You are all my Valentines after all :)
Just use the coupon code LOVENAT14 for 14% off all physical products now through Monday, February 17th at 11:59pm EST.
Artwork, stencils, rubber stamps, foam stamps, mixed media chips, mugs, and my book are all part of the sale. Things are going fast so if you had your eye on something, better hurry into the shop!
Hello from the Creative Squad. Today we have a super cool project from Maura Hibbitts – a Love Alphabet – Wow! Read on to see how Maura pulls it together with my Small Circle Jumble rubber stamps, my Batik 1 & 2 foam stamps, my Far Out foam stamp, my Batik stencil and my New Orleans stencil. This month’s theme is: Whole Lotta Love – Who or what sets your heart aflutter this time of year? Let’s pay tribute this month to those warm fuzzy feelings of love and create something that celebrates that universal emotion.
Happy February – the month for love of course, with Valentine’s Day smack dab in the middle! I pulled out lots of red, pink and white paint to play with, in traditional holiday colors. Originally when I started working, I was going to make cards, then that morphed into the idea of a mini album, and finally as I was putting the final touches on it, it became a Love Alphabet. Yes, you can find words from A to Z in it, all about Love and Valentines.
I started my first layer with Pyrrole Red and the Batik stencil on the gelli plate. I love stenciling in different ways – laying the stencil down and pressing the paper over it, pulling the painty stencil up and putting it down on paper, and pressing a piece of paper into the gel plate. This gives a wide variety of backgrounds to work with. I printed on both cardstock and copy paper, which later on turned out to work beautifully.
A little gold was needed as the second layer, so on some papers, I added it with the New Orleans stencil, and on others, I used the brayer.
Time for the pink layer! I added a mix of pinks over the printed papers with paint and a brayer.
I added a final translucent layer on top with the fluid acrylics. For this layer, I just smudged the paint in with my fingers, which are great tools for blending, even if you get a bit dirty, it all comes out eventually. (Or use gloves)
Now that the background is done, it’s time for some stamping. But first, I used matte medium to glue a piece of cardstock and a piece of copy paper together. Then, I used the Batik 2 and Far Out art foamies with white paint and repeated the pattern several times to cover the page. Once dry, I trimmed off the edges, and cut them approximately 3 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches to make my book.
Now, to make things pop, I’m stamping with black ink using X’s and O’s (remember those XXXOOO’s? – hugs and kisses). I only want the X portion of the Batik 1 stamp, so I’ve masked off the rest with sticky notes. I’m stamping these with black archival ink and then the Circle Drive rubber stamps from the Small Circle Jumble set.
I cut out images from a Gudrun Sjoden catalog (now, I love these because they aren’t glossy, plus they are interesting) but you can use any magazine. I also found pages with neutral backgrounds and cut hearts. Then, I looked at my junk paper I use to wipe off extra paint from the brayer, and used it to cut more hearts to glue in.
Final steps are to edge the pages with the black ink, add details with the Posca Paint pens, and write in my words. Then, I punched two holes in the center and tied it together with Sari ribbon. (I found it handy to mark the holes through all pages with an awl, then use the hole punch on each page.)
You too can make your own fun little alphabet book of love to give to that special someone. Or, it could be fun to fill it with snarky words instead!
Sometimes I think Valentines Day is in the perfect place…all that love, giving and pinks and reds certainly brighten up the long winter around here. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! Maura
Thank you Maura! We just love this project from A-Z!
Want to give Maura’s project a try? You can find all my Stencils, Foam Stamps and Rubber Stamps in my Online Shop. In addition to magazine images, here are some of the other supplies Maura used:
Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share? I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.
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Check out the promo video:
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Class begins on Monday February 17th. If you are ready for another Artful Adventure, this is the perfect workshop for you! Sign up TODAY.
This workshop is the third in the series so far. The Artful Adventures workshop series introduces you to master artists from around the world and throughout history, and through their techniques and style inspires YOUR art journaling and artmaking. Check out Artful Adventures with Joan Miró and Artful Adventures with Andy Warhol in this series.
The back of this brick apartment building has this gorgeous colorful Mural by Zeh Palito – He called it Good Vibes Only and that is exactly what this mural oozes into the neighborhood.
The painting was created with spray paint, markers, acrylic paint, gouache, and stencils on canvas. and measures 10″x10″ on extra deep 1.5″ canvas. It is available for sale now here.
“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I am frightened of the old ones.” John Cage. A great quote and definitely a nice reminder to not get stuck in the same old same old.
There is a lot of little techniques going on in the background here – I used my Amsterdam stencil to make a negtive print with spray paint. Then a wash with gouache and acrylic paint on top. Next I used a Fan-fare rubber stamp with yelllow Moonlight Duo ink. And finally I finished with my Fairview Fan foam stamp and brayered on paint.
At the end I added a bit of scribble with a Stabilo All pencil.
Another Painting with the same theme that I did at the same time as the bigger canvas here
This painting is on a 8×8 Canvas board – and I loved exploring different line qualities along with different stencil work as well.
I was inspired by my Strolls through the Hood in Jersey City for this little mixed media painting. This historic area and some of its beautiful vintage homes are undergoing the familiar transformations caused by gentrification.
Here I was trying to capture this transition in action with a looming visage of victorian architecture, wearing with age but still proudly dominating the landscape.
Awe- Sue! It went super quick but hey- hopefully one of my future paintings will catch your eye- I am making more time for painting this year for sure :)
Comments (10)
marshavalk
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I love your strolls through the hood! They seem so much more interesting than strolls through my hood. Which probably isn’t true. And, I do miss taking random photos. I should probably take this as a cue to pick it up again! <3
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nathalie-kalbach
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yes- I would love to see your strolls through the hood!!!
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Cathy
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I love your strolls through the neighborhood! Thanks for sharing all the interesting things that catch your eye.
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nathalie-kalbach
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Thank you Cathy, I am glad you enjoy the strolls!
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Caroline Mach
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The “red thingies” are the “fruit” of staghorn sumac – it is very common in southern Ontario where I live.
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nathalie-kalbach
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Oh thank you so much Caroline- Now I learned something!!!
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ARHuelsenbeck
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When I was growing up, I went to Catholic school, and almost all the families had The Last Supper in their dining rooms.
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nathalie-kalbach
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I remember my grandmother in Italy having one up too in her bedroom. But Dining Room makes perfect sense!
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Robin Seiz
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I love the gratefulness you feel for the little things.
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nathalie-kalbach
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Awe- thank you Robin – I think I have always felt that it makes life just go easier if you embrace the little good things :)
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