Pink Fairy

Lucky Charm

I started with the great image of the woman in the orange dress which I found in a magazine ad for a new book called The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani, then added various art papers that I felt matched the moody tone.  I finished it by adding some black acrylic paint, some yellow rinestones for her earring and the horseshoe token coin from Vinnies; a once popular Toronto bar/arcade that has sadly since closed.

The Problem Of Homework

Poor Philip is overwhelmed.

This piece started with the homework paragraph that I cut from a wholesome 1954 textbook called "Into Your Teens".  I took strips of various textbook pages and wove them together, along with the strips of red paper and a vintage photo reprint,  then affixed it to the 6 x 6 tile.  Marks from the teacher's infamous red pen finished it off.

Stormy Weather

Ah, the fun you can have with some black card stock and a hole punch.

Alphabet Soup

Comparing Luminosities

Patchwork 2



Patchwork

This piece was a bit of an experiment for me.  I wanted to try using a thick layer of gesso and draw lines in it as a base for the design.  I enjoyed filling in the little squares with pieces of maps, a chinese newspaper, stickers, art papers, as well as craft paint, crackle medium and even nail polish.  I really like how it turned out and want to try it again, maybe with bigger squares next time.

Creative Landscape

I had an abundance of extra pencil crayons and loved the look of all the pinks and oranges together.  Lined up, the pencils reminded me of a city landscape of buildings and skyscrapers, so that became the basis of this piece.

Secrets

I've had this idea bouncing around in my head now for about a year,

so I'm glad to finally have it out and finished. 

I wanted to do a physical representation of keeping secrets.

The Joy Of Action

I have a few really great science and trade manuals and study books that love to use in my art.  The unused beer caps reminded me a little of gears, so I thought theywould play into the retro industrial vibe.

She Pinned Her Compass To The Clouds

Untitled #1

Down The Rabbit Hole

In the past I've experimented a little with gel transfers, but had never actually included one in a finished piece.  Over the weekend I acquired a 1960's edition of Alice In Wonderland and the image of the white rabbit seemed like the perfect thing to try to transfer.  

I've always loved the idea of transfers, but have been putting it off for a while.  I'm so paranoid that I will create a nice background that I love and then ruin it with a bad transfer application.  There are a few things I would do a little differently next time, but I think it's not bad for a first try.

Bernice

Forgotten

Happy Mother's Day

"She truly appreciated what she had because she struggled to get it."

I apologize that this scanned image is not as crisp and clear as I would like it.

I created this piece with thoughts of all the women in this world that are

yearning to become mothers but are encountering physical barriers. 

Circus Sideshow

I found the original photo of Baby Thelma in my Grandparents photo album.  She must have come to town with the travelling circus that came every year.

My Grandparents lived about a block from the town's fairground, on a dead-end street backing onto train tracks.  Back in the day, the circus train would park at the end of the street and my Dad (as a little boy) would get to sit in the window of his second floor bedroom and watch the circus folk walk elephants past the house.
 
He said that always on the last night, when the circus was packing up, he would get up in the middle of the night and listen to all the salty language out the window as the drunken carnies stumbled back to the train cars.  I'm sure for a little boy in the 1950's, that was pretty exciting.

Bird Song

Happiness

I love those cheery illustrated faces that you see in old ads from the 1950s.  They seem so benevolent and really kinda phony that I always thought that they must be taking happy pills.