Blog: Mixed Media

Struggling – Art Journal

She struggled for she wasn’t sure what the goal should be and she didn’t know how to just live in the moment.

I stamped with Archival ink and the Valley Road stamps from my Large and Small Circle Jumble Rubberstamp Set on top of a blue painted background.

I used a blue Stabilo Woody Pen to create some scribbles and went over the sketch again – I like the soft texture of the pencil versus the brush strokes and surface of the acrylic painted background.

Here are some of the supplies I used – as always you can find most of my stamps and stencils in my store here.


Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I particularly like how you’ve been making patterns on clothes with your stamps.
    That statement just about sums up life.
    Have a delightful day Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you sue- I love making those patterns – and I wish some of those clothes would magically appear in my wardrobe LOL! Have a delightful weekend Sue!

      Reply

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XOXOXO

Just a little card using some acrylic paints and my new Amsterdam Foam Stamp – some collage paper and dashes- done :) I do have two sizes of the Stamp in my store – check it out.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, what are you up to ?

xoxoxo



Nat

Comments (1)

  • Jill Adamy

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    Love your card… it’s adorable! Great job!

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Workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose

Last week I taught two workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose. I taught in Andrea’s old studio last year and was excited to come back and to check out Andrea’s new place – a gorgeous huge new studio with ample of room for creative fun. It’s a dream!

Also – this mural in progress on the side of the studio – love! And …note the cats in the picture ;)

The first workshop day was my “Mono Print Painting” Class and we explored the basics for mono printing and then took it a notch further.

Using a gel plate, lots of fun colors and tools.

We made collage paper

using stamps, stencils and brayers

and moved way up to some more thought out prints.

so much fun…

And of course- the most important thing “Don’t overthink”

We worked with different paint media on top , made our own stamps and tools

and there so many fun and colorful patterns – Loved it!

Oh and then there was Bob “Bobby”…he was being fostered with two siblings at A Work of Heart and he was asking to be taken home with me….and since hubby said “well if you figure out the transportation problem” …

Here is the group from Sunday!

On Monday I taught my “Art Rules – Art Journaling ” Class – always love the exploration in color theory part of it and see what the students create

 

We looked at artwork from different Modern Artists and let us inspire for different techniques and methods.

Loved seeing my new Circle Jumble Rubber Stamps in action too.

as well as the other rubber stamps, foam stamps and stencils.

I had such a good time with my students and Andrea – well and …the little kitten will always remind me of the workshop as well ;) Yes- of course we figured out the transportation problem ;)

BTW there are still two adorable sisters waiting to be adopted – so if you are in the area (Andrea would even bring them a couple miles!) and want your heart be melting by kitten cuteness overload….contact Andrea ! They are total studio artsy cats, super cuddly and used to people and other cats

Thank you for a great time and lots of laughter, creative play, and inspiration. I love teaching and spending time with students is always a treat. Thanks Andrea for having me once again and for being such a wonderful host (and also thank you for this bundle of joy – LOL). I hope I will be back again :)

If you want to take an In-Person-Class with me- check out the schedule for the rest of this year. I will be teaching in Germany in September at an Ostsee Scrap Retreat, as well as a workshop co-taught with my friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer in the UK,  and I will be adding a workshop in my own space soon.

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Julie b

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    What a great recap of your 2-day workshops! I can relive them over and over again here. LOL! Thank you for a fabulous time filled with learning……about various artists, so many techniques, playing with your fabulous stamps/stencils and of course, laughter. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do in-person workshops here and glad that your trip with “Bob” was a success. He seems to have adapted to life in New Jersey well…..loved to see him scampering up and down the stairs. YIKES!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      It was so wonderful to see you again Julie- always so much fun to be with you! Hahaha- yeah Bobby Pretzel is a handful -LOL but brings much joy :)

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    That mountain page and the one with all that blue and the house on the left…swoon!
    Congrats on your new fur baby and what does cat #1 think of kitty #2?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah- those pages were superb!
      Hahah- cat #1 is curious, playful and peeved all at the same time …it takes a bit of time…

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Rondvaart – Painting

This is a small painting I made after I came back from a trip to Amsterdam.

After a canal boat tour I knew I wanted to capture the scenery.

The painting measures 10″x8″ created with acrylic paint, ink, marker and spraypaint on canvas and …it would love to find a new loving home :)

Also :) Don’t forget:

Today is the last day of our huge Summer Sizzler Birthday July 4th Happy Summer SALE! (Yep I’m celebrating a lot of stuff lol) Just use the coupon code HAPPY20 when you check out to save 20% off ALL physical products in nathaliesstudio.com/shop including rubber stamp sets, NEW ArtFoamies stamps, stencils, my book, my original paintings and prints, mugs with my artwork on them and lots more  The sale ends July 5th and quantities are limited so stop in today.

Nat

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Swapped – Painting

A new finished painting which I call Swapped. I was intrigued by the story of the Morton F. Plant House, located on the prestigious Fifth Avenue in NYC.

Apparently Cartier wanted the building, and Plant exchanged it in 1917 for 100 Dollars and a double stranded pearl necklace worth about 1,000,000 Dollars at the time. Then the necklace “only” made 151,000 USD in 1957 at an auction, so I guess that swap didn’t really work out. And so there is a jeweler and watch store up to this day in the building. There are quite some weird real estate exchange stories in NYC …this is certainly one of them. I imagined the building being just an “ordinary” apartment building -it is still so beautiful and one could only guess at how many necklaces would be needed for such a swap today! These are the things that went through my head when I painted Swapped.

The painting is 24″x18″ in size, acrylic paint, spray paint and marker on canvas.

It is available in the store here and meanwhile waits for a new home on my living room wall.

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Nat

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Courage – Art Journal

“What good are wings, without the courage to fly!” . yessss FLLYYYYY :)

I used my Midtown Foam Stamp Set on a print of mine and added some collage elements of the print of the painting to the Art Journal.

You can buy prints and the original painting of Whose Front Yard? in my store.

Have a wonderful courageous day!

Nat

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Photos of my Workshops at Ephemera Paducah in Kentucky

Last weekend I taught three days at Ephemera Paducah in Kentucky. It was so much fun!

We started off with my Mono Print Painting Workshop and worked our way up with some basics. Kathy and Valerie did approve – no, really :)

After some basics we were ready for some fun and more and more elaborate prints.

Lot’s of cats :)

and beautiful happy colors.

And of course Elephants :)

It was easy to be inspired in this wonderful classroom! Rebecca and Gwen are totally in the zone

Such a cool space!

Cats and Dogs- fun!!! Allison did the one on the left and Kristen was like- hey – I am a dog person ….

and Lisa thought, cats, dogs, I do abstract ! All at one table- cool, right?

Saturday and Sunday I taught a two day Artful Adventures in Art Journaling class

I loved meeting all those wonderful students from 11 different States ..yes 11- isn’t that amazing!

It is my favorite thing of a class – getting to know the students and spending some extended time with them.

Look at all the yummie pattern – Art Foamies were used left and right :)

Those patterns and colors- yummie!

How can you not get in a good mood seeing this.

Here are some different pages – can you see the Elephant Stencil was quite the star LOL.

Lots of mark making and color play and layering.

And here is Jackie – she drove 11 hours – WAHHHH -thank you so much for coming from so far !

Mhhh that bird better watches out! ;)

City scapes – here with one of the Midtown Stamps.

and some Chicago love and Batik love as well :)

Some serious easy peasy sketching :)

And hey lots of smiling faces

in those gorgeous city scapes created with the help of my RubberMoon Stamps.

Just looking at those pages makes me all smile – I hope my students had as much fun as I had.

I really love Karen’s grid ! And do you see John Travolta below …well I did and I showed my Travolta imitation …you have to take a class if you wanna see it- LOL

Claudia smiling at us  and Kristen, the owner and wonderful host of Ephemera , checking what shenanigans I am up to now-

Tana and Dana smiling beautifully and no …I did not rhyme their names during class- this is a coincidence here !

Oh looksie !!!

It was just so so cool how all those pages came together and incorporated techniques and materials we used throughout the workshop.

I want the the funky pants on the top left , the skirt on the top right and the dress on the bottom- woot woot.

Dana and Laura from Memphis

and here are cool collage of some more pages.

Thank you so much Kristen for having me – I truly enjoyed my time in Paducah! And thank you to all some of you traveling so much -and for your super sweet help!!! You were awesome and I hope I will see you some time again!

You missed this class? I am teaching a couple more classes this year which you can check on my In-Person Class here- but the next one is in San Jose at A Work of Heart. I will be teaching my Mono Print Painting Class there on July 29

and an Art Journaling Class on July 30th

there are still spots available and I would love to see you there. Let me know if you go !!!

Have a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Lisa

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    Great post!! We had so much fun with you in class. I enjoyed every minute of it. Ephemera Paducah is an awesome place to take classes! Thank you for making it fun. I’m obsessed with drawing people now thanks to you. ?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      It was so so good to have you! Thank you for coming and thank you for bringing me to the airport at this terrible time :) You are the best!

      Reply

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Farewell Painting

I finished this painting last week – some of you might have seen it in some of my Facebook Live Videos.  The painting captures the iconic Flatiron building in New York City, located in the wedge created by the intersection of Fifth Ave and Broadway. I am always fascinated by the Flatiron building and it’s story.

Although it has stood strong at this busy intersection for over a century, the world around it is always in constant flux. The city weeds out the weak, and businesses and people who may once call it Home may find themselves bidding it Farewell another day.

The bold colors represent the energy of the city and the sweeping lines suggest a place where nothing stays still for long. Yet the Flatiron remains, a focal point of stability in a very busy place.

The original “Farewell Painting” is up for sale now in the store. Maybe it will find a new home :) Acrylic paint, acrylic ink, spray paint, and pencil on 12”x16” canvas.

Have a gorgeous day you all :)

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Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I love buildings that are on corners like this and have seen several in person in Boston.
    This painting is wonderful, especially the firy colors!
    I hope it finds a deserving home.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Sue! I actually just saw one of those buildings in Amsterdam and thought it was fun because the architecture in general was so different :) Tiny rooms I guess in the corner part- LOL

      Reply

  • Janene

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    Whew! You scared me with the title “Farewell Painting”. I’m thinking, Nathalie is moving? She’s giving up painting? Whaaaaaaat? In all seriousness – the Flatiron building glows in contrast to the gray streets and nearby buildings — fabulous! — and I love the title now that I understand it. :-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Aweee- sorry to have scared you Janene- that wasn’t my intention! I am not going anywhere right now – LOL- and a new canvas is up on the easel- just thinking of what I want to paint next :)

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It’s getting interesting – Art Journal

“Anytime an impossible appeared she knew things would get interesting. ”

I pretty much feel that way- LOL – and sometimes that is a struggle. Like oh wait- that is a hard way and then I go ” oh …let’s go that path”

I wrote the journaling using black ink and a bamboo sketching pen, going over it again with a white signo pen later.

The Maiko is a little sketch I did, I cut it out and then painted inside. The background in blue was created by rolling out thin a think layer of teal and blue  as well as white acrylic paint with a brayer.

Using my Art Deco Wallpaper Stencil I sprayed over with some orange first and then moved the stencil slightly and sprayed over with white again to get more dimension but also to knock the orange back a bit.

And that was it- it was a fun and fast page …not impossible- LOL- but maybe still interesting ;)

Here are the tools and supplies I used for the spread:


Nat

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