What do I mean by serendipity in art? I’m talking about the art making process rather than an art buying serendipitous experience or serendipity relating to selling art and world events. What even is serendipity? I take it to mean fortunate, accidental occurrences that cause the right thing to happen at just the right time.
Easter is fast approaching and thoughts are turning to chocolate ...... and the Easter bunnies on this year's card designs are turning to eggs, chocolate or hatching ones.[br][br]Easter is a great time of year to be art journaling with plenty of inspiration for characters and colour. There’s bunnies, lambs, chicks of all sorts of birds and not to mention all the weird and wonderful ways you could combine them to create unique/unusual characters on your journal pages. What about an Easter dinosaur? Of course children’s characters are great in pastel Easter colours and dinosaurs are great children’s characters. Do you have a child who would enjoy creating an Easter dinosaur with you?
Sometimes it really IS too expensive ... but there are also other times when something's value is higher even than its price point. Let me try to explain my thinking ....[br][br]
Years ago I lived in Africa with my family for a few years. My dad loved the country and the wildlife with a special interest in the birds, having always been a keen birdwatcher. As a result we spent a fait amount of time visiting nature reserves. A peculiar feature of business there was that artists would sell their crafts and art at the side of the road. This is how my dad acquired a few nice pieces depicting birds and the landscape that still remind him of the things he loved about the area to this day.[br][br]
Just 'picture' this ... you see a painting/print that you just love BUT it is in bright oranges, reds and yellows. You think and think about where you could hang it but all your rooms are in blues and greens. You decide you couldn't live with something stamding out so much on your wall but it is with a wistful sigh that you leave the painting on the shelf. Of course you might decide to buy it on a card or product if that option is available but it might not be.
I'm a big fan of functional items and must confess never been much of a one for ornaments so putting art on useful products makes great sense to me. I have spent some time and effort doing it myself at home (see below) but there is a limit to what I can do myself.[br][br][gallery link="file" columns="4" ids="2468,1707,1639,2421"]Magnetic Wildflower Bookmarklets[br] Geraniums[br] Wildflower Cushions[br] Stickers [br][br]
What are acrylic paints? They are a water based media that dries permanent with a plasticky finish. They are made from pigment in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylics come in different consistencies: High viscosity or heavy body: these guys really give a textural finish, I love them. Normal, medium viscosity: great for flat painting. Low viscosity or fluid acrylics: lovely for dripping or using in an airbrush. Acrylic inks: enjoy for graphic work, permanent backgrounds, writing.
This is just a short and simple animation to show how flowers can effect mood. The appearance of the first flowers in Spring has long been celebrated within our culture, in the U.K. Daffodils being a prime example in Wales and in Japan, the cherry blossom. But in my animation I have used simple shapes to represent the flowers, suggesting that even just the idea of flowers can lift the spirits. And images of flowers can be found everywhere, from graffiti to home decor to fabric to jewellery to art, showing how important they are to our psyche.
I was really excited to see my clematis bloom this year as it was its first. Great big duo colour double blooms .... I had to capture it in paint…