Blog: Inspiration

Some Love for the Fans – Part 2

Guess what? When you post your artwork made with my stamps and stencils it really makes my day! It’s like an artistic collaboration that I never dreamed of, but that was totally meant to be. And I want to send out some love to all you fans out there who make awesome stuff with my stuff. BIG virtual hug to YOU!

And if you are making art with my stamps and stencils, please be sure to tag me when you post it – I would love to see!!!

Wanna see some that caught my eyes?

First we have Christine Conley using my Art Deco Fairview stencil for a background AND tabby cat coat. Love it!

Bev Gwinn Jones is using my Valley Road stencil to create colorful mandalas!

Maggie K Hanus is taking advantage of all the different patterns in my ATC Mixup stencil for her background.

@pinkknitter is using my Grove Street foam stamps with beautiful results.

@wildbirdcreativeart is layering up my Central Ave foam stamps for lots of movement.

And finally Nanci Hendrickson is using my New Orleans stencil in shades of pink for this sweet little piece.

Thank you again to all the fans out there! Keep creating, posting, and sharing your artistic magic with the world. And don’t forget to tag me ;)

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Some Love for the Fans – Part 1

Guess what? When you post your artwork made with my stamps and stencils it really makes my day! It’s like an artistic collaboration that I never dreamed of, but that was totally meant to be. And I want to send out some love to all you fans out there who make awesome stuff with my stuff. BIG virtual hug to YOU!

And if you are making art with my stamps and stencils, please be sure to tag me when you post it – I would love to see!!!

Wanna see some that caught my eyes?

Here is Nanci Hendrickson using my New Orleans stencil for this lovely little collage.

And @wildbirdcreativeart using my Central Ave foam stamps and my Running rubber stamp.

Some LOVE to @artsmartnynj who is rocking my LOVE foam stamp!

And @pinkknitter who is doing some very cool and colorful things with my Grove Street foam stamps.

Here is Maggie K Hanus collaging things up with my Fan-tastic Small rubber stamps.

And finally Bev Gwinn Jones creating a seasonal scene with my Gnarly Foam Stamp.

Thank you again to all the fans out there! Keep creating, posting, and sharing your artistic magic with the world. And don’t forget to tag me lol.

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Artistic Inspiration – Finding the Magic – SYH Webinar Tomorrow!

I hope you will join us tomorrow July 30th at 12noon EDT for our next Spill your heART webinar: Artistic Inspiration – Finding the Magic. 

I will have panelists Birgit Koopsen, Amanda Trought, and DeeDee Catron on to discuss our episode 6 topic: Artistic Inspiration. We will share practical tips for finding and energizing your artistic mojo and discuss how to encourage it when it gets sluggish or goes missing. Our goal is to help you find the magic so that you can stay in your artistic groove. Register HERE to join the live webinar.

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A Look Back – Cool Stuff You May Have Missed 02

A Look Back – a blog series to show you some projects and posts that you may have missed – sometimes going WAY back in the archive. I think it will be fun to revisit a few ideas that we haven’t seen for a while. I’m excited to see how a little look back might inspire something new in the future :)

This time I’m going to show posts and projects using one of my favorite tools – bamboo sketching pens. I love to use them to add marks and writing to my pages and they usually help me loosen up too. Here is A Look Back at some ideas. Enjoy!


Let’s start with the essentials :) Yes the bamboo sketching pen is right there (number 6), front and center, in my Art on the Go Kit. This is the stuff I travel with so that I can create whenever and wherever the mood strikes me. Check it out.

How about some sketching with the bamboo pen on deli paper and then collaging it into your art journal? You can see the full spread here. I also used my Amsterdam stencil for the subtle background pattern and my Grove Street foam stamp for the circles.

Here’s a blast from the past – 2015 to be exact. And I used the bamboo sketching pen for some lettering in a scrapbook page. I also added some cool patterns to the circles in the page using my Marks stamp set – still have a couple of those left in the online shop where they are super on sale ;) Check out the entire page here and you can even catch a video of me talking about my products in that post!

In this art journal page I used the bamboo sketching pen for sgraffito – scratching into the paint in the background. And then I used it to draw with acrylic ink around the figure. See the original post from 2015 here.

And Finally, I like to use the pens also just to draw – as I have done here with the two women. It is a loose way to draw and a lot of fun. Here is the original spread. I used my Central Ave,  Broadway, and Grove street foam stamps for the circles in the background and my Downtown foam stamps for the patterns at the bottom.


I hope you enjoyed A Look Back through my archive and maybe you are inspired to try some of the bamboo sketching pen techniques I shared.

Here are some of the supplies that were used in these pieces:


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A Look Back – Cool Stuff You May Have Missed 01

A Look Back – Today I’m starting a new blog series to show you some projects and posts that you may have missed – sometimes going WAY back in the archive. I think it will be fun to revisit a few ideas that we haven’t seen for a while. I’m excited to see how a little look back might inspire something new in the future :)

This time I’m going to show things related to the theme “Layers”. I am big on layering in my art journal and my mixed media paintings. Layers can do a lot for you when you’re trying to pull a piece together or give a spread a little extra oomph. Here is A Look Back at some ideas. Enjoy!


First is an Art Journal spread way back from 2013 when I was just planning my move to the US! I went a little crazy with layering up the background here with my Circuit and Crackle stencils and all kinds of media. Check out the full post to really see all the deep layering I created.

This is an Art Journal page where I used a stencil as my final layer to resolve a not-so-great background. I had done a lot of stamping and stuff underneath and wasn’t too happy with it. Then I added my Buenos Aires stencil as a final layer and presto! Background resolved and now I love it. You can check out the full spread here.

Here’s another Art Journal page from 2013 where I played with spray paints and stencils to build up a really layered background. I still love how grungy it turned out and totally works with the mood of the page.

Next I want to talk about choosing a strong focal point in contrast to a layered and complex background. Sometimes you need a place for the eye to rest. Choose wisely – this focal point will be the “focus” of the piece :) Here I used my Lady Liberty stamp to grab your attention. You can see what the page is all about here.

How about layering up a combination of marks – both stamped, stenciled, and by hand? I love to mix it all together to create something that really is fun to make and to look at in the end. This is an art journal spread from 2017 where I’m mixing up my Kassel and Manhattan stencils, my Versailles foam stamp, and my Satin Doll rubber stamp. Lots to look at :)

Creative Squad alum Marsha Valk did a wonderful layered project for us back in 2017 involving the use of embossing powders and resist to create these “faux batik” papers with my Batik stencil and Batik 3 foam stamp. You can check out her video in the post – it shows just how she both adds and subtracts layers to make these super fun designs.

Finally how about a layered landscape I created back in 2015. I call this painting 2 Tallest and it’s the view of the NYC and Jersey City skylines from the perspective of the Statue of Liberty. You can see a little video in my original post of how I layered up paint and stencils to create the mood of the piece. This view never gets old btw! I’ve got some nice Giclee prints of this one still available too :)


I hope you enjoyed A Look Back through my archive and maybe you are inspired to try some of the layering techniques I shared.

Here are some of the supplies that were used in these pieces:


And catch me chatting LIVE today on Facebook at 12 noon EST. I’m showing my NEW ArtFoamies stamps!!!

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Inspired by: The New Cathedral in Coventry

At the beginning of the month I was teaching with my friend Julie in Coventry. I came in on Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon was the only time for some sightseeing – so off we went.

Coventry was devastatingly destroyed during the German Blitz in 1940 during World War II and many people died during the attacks and many lost their homes. Coventry Cathedral was destroyed as well and remains as a ruin in the middle of the city. I posted about the ruins last year – you can find the post here. This year I went also into the New Cathedral – wow!

What a beautiful building.

Above is the Baptistery window which you will see right after you go in. The New Cathedral was built next to the remains of the old cathedral. “Spence the architect insisted that instead of re-building the old cathedral it should be kept in ruins as a garden of remembrance and that the new cathedral should be built alongside, the two buildings together effectively forming one church.” The cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962.

The Christ in Glory tapestry by Graham Sutherland, which is maybe one of the worlds largest, is breath taking!

There were also hundreds of seat cushions- little pieces of art!

Below is the Chapel of Christ the Servant (also known as the Chapel of Industry). A giant glass building with  a cross and crown of thorns above the altar

Next to the Chapel of Christ the Servant is the Chapel of Christ in Gethsemane.

A mosaic of the angel who offers the cup of suffering to Christ as he prayed.

I am so glad I went back to see the New Cathedral as well. I think last year when I was there with Birgit it was closed.

St Michael’s Victory over the Devil, a sculpture by Jacob Epstein outside the Chapel.

 

I am glad I could share this little trip with Julie – although- boy was I tired after the red eye flight over the pond ;)

And I leave this post with this plague on the wall of the old cathedral.

Hope this little trip was inspiring for you!

 

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Inspired by: Amsterdam

A couple weeks ago my husband and I spent a couple days in Amsterdam. Amsterdam will always hold a special place in my heart, because that is the city my husband and I actually got together :)

We stayed in an Airbnb apartment which was amazing and in a house from the 15hundreds – the top photo is the view out of the bedroom window – pretty cool

Of course we went straight to a cheese store ..well we had to do some grocery shopping and that includes getting good cheese …Oh man, heaven!

We also took a little Canal tour – for the hundreds time- but it never gets old. Look at those pretty houseboats

and houses

and bridge corners

and did I say houses?

 

It was a bit of a gloomy day but still nice enough for the tour

I already started painting some of the views – just so beautiful!

We also walked a lot and that requires some refreshment and people watching at one of our favorite bars for that .

And everything looks even prettier when it gets dark

I fell in Love with the houses below while waiting for the tram close to the Rijksmuseum.

All the details- swoon.

And we went back to the one windmill in Amsterdam – which houses the Brewery I’TIJ’ which we have been visiting for 20 years and has changed and hasn’t :)

we spent a lovely afternoon there with drinks, cheese with celery salt etc. and some friends. It was a really good short trip. I do miss the possibility of going to a different country by train or plane in just a couple hours, so I am glad we were able to sneak this little trip in when taking care of some matters in Germany :)

 

Comments (2)

  • Jean Goza

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    Loved the photos. Amsterdam has been on my bucket list for awhile. I agree about travel in Europe. I love the ability to hop on a train or plane and be in another country so quickly. Very cool!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Jean – you would love it or sure! Amsterdam is awesome!

      Reply

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Inspired by Paducah, Kentucky

A couple weeks ago I taught some workshops in Paducah Kentucky, which was so much fun – but on top of it I also loved how inspirational this town is.

Well …first of all- the tiny airport made me smile …

when the one and only and tiny baggage belt started ringing an alarm indicating the baggage comes out I snorted and laughed out loud ….

I loved Kristin’s gorgeous planters with succulent outside the studio

tiny typewriter platers, what is not to love about it?

Wooden Sculpture – amazing!

Also all around the store were differently painted hydrants – it was fun to look out for them.

Aren’t those cool?

At the same time I was there there happened to be a Art and Music Festival and of course, there were tons of BBQ stands- this one proudly displayed all the trophies they won. And yes…I ate BBQ – lots of BBQ LOL

I loved those goggly eyes in a bush

But my favorite part of Paducah def. were all the beautiful and unique old houses. So gorgeous – look at the brickbuilding on top – that one was abandoned and had a secret garden in the back

 

Look at this one – so so so beautiful

This building looked like a little castle

and I love the porch and the windows on this one.

And I totally lost my heart on this cute litte Dutch Colonial …look at the cute heart shutter boards – swoon!

Cannot wait to sketch  more houses :) Hope you enjoyed the little stroll through Paducah !

Comments (4)

  • Kristin Williams

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    Loved seeing Paducah through your eyes! Come back, soon! xoxoxo K

    Reply

  • Kathy

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    Love the photos capturing the charm of Paducah.

    Reply

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