Oh my aching back!!

I’m having back surgery (complete disc replacement) in December.  I’m nervous about it.  There is a list of things I shouldn’t do in the 3 months after surgery, for example, no lifting more than 10 lbs., no twisting or bending, etc.!   I’ll go stir-crazy if I don’t have anything to do.  Since my paintbrushes, paints, and paper don’t weigh much, I will work on an art journal just as I did during COVID-19.  I’ve already started the prep work.  

Journal Cover (front)

I bought quite a few dollar-store children's books, cut books apart

and punched holes using a Cinch machine.

Sanded the front and back of each page; applied a layer of gesso on each side.

Painted the front and back of one page with acrylic paint - this will be the cover

Now the fun really begins.  

I created and painted my image using watercolors, acrylic paint, and Inktense Blocks. 

I utilized my Cricut Explore3 machine to cut a thought bubble and add the text. 

Glued thought bubble on the cover.

The pages are so thick that I must make several sections before binding. 

 I have no idea where this is going, but that's the fun of it!

Ageless

Keeping busy to not think about the upcoming surgery. Putting all my energy into art helps.

My process

Create a background in acrylics

                   

                                       

Draw figure and paint using oils

"Coneflower with Bee"

 Summer is quickly fading away, but the coneflowers in my garden are still thriving.  (Daily watering gets a little old after a while.) I was lucky enough to take a photo while a bee was gorging.

Background painted with acrylics; sketch with Blackwing pencil

Let the oils begin!

Cup Plant

 On my daily walks, I see these tall yellow flowers around Wildflower Lake and the surrounding marsh area.  They look so pretty, especially with a bright blue sky.  I decided to paint them.

9x12 (finished) oils on Arches cotton - background

I did my best to keep it loose!

This One Is For the Birds...

 I have a sweet carved bird on my bookcase.  It looked like it needed a new home, so I built one!

chipboard cut with xacto knife, taped together

First layer of plaster mesh; punched hole for a twig;

 glued roof to the house and tied it with a bow to keep in place while drying.

Another layer of plaster mesh; covered roof with Paperclay; added some paint

painted Paperclay flowers leftover from another project and glued to house; add another layer of paint

With No Particular Reason...

I really enjoy making a gift for someone special for no particular reason other than she is a nice person.

This morning I presented Kylie with "Autumn Twig" (my son came up with the name).  Kylie was delighted with her as am I.

Assorted twigs found on my morning walks

as well as angel wings made on my Cricut cutting machine

Head created using PaperClay

It was necessary to place the figure into a small bottle to dry after painting her head.

I particularly love the large acorn cap as her beret!

ApoxySculp was used to adhere all the twigs, wings, etc. together