November..A time to pause and give thanks

So many blessings to be thankful for and so many opportunities to share those blessing with those we love.
We had the opportunity to eat dinner prepared by a Mennonite family last week.  Thirty two people from our church, drove 35 miles in a car caravan to eat and share some time together and in a home of a dear Mennonite woman and her staff of two.  The meal consisted of roast beef, mashed potatoes, two salads, home made bread, green beans, noodles and three different pies.  I chose the coconut cream pie and tasted my husband's peanut butter pie. Both to die for! We ate in their modest home where they host these meals on a weekly basis.  All severed family style. The home was decorated country style and had most of the modern conveniences we have grown accustomed to.   A nice experience and would recommend making reservations if you are ever in the Seymour, Missouri area.  
I also have had the pleasure of working in my studio and want to share a couple of projects with you.  I am very thankful when I have time to paint, draw and create.  It's what keeps me sane!

Here is my latest woodland girl, "Lost girl"  Painted with acrylics on a birch wood board.  The leaf detail was added by a stamp I made.  I loved painting the feathers and her fur scarf.  This inspiration came to me from a local magazine of girls modeling their clothes out in the woods.  Fitting for this time of year.  She is for sale if anyone is interested.

My next project is a large wooden snow flake ornament.  I thought it made a great blank canvas and decided to do an image transfer of a deer on it.

I lightly sanded the piece and then added gesso to the center, adding text from an old reader.

I found this deer image on pinterest.  Gathered my scissors, cut around the image, as closely as possible.

Brushed Deco Art Matte Medium onto the text and lay the image down facing the text.  Brush more Matte Medium to the top and allow to thoroughly dry.

Wet the area with both water and Matte Medium and begin to gently scrub with a dry paper towel or brush  until the image is complete.  The brush works best for me.

Using a stabilo pencil and charcoal, define your lost edges, details and add greenery.  I also added a few red berries with white highlights.

Antique the edges with Deco art brown.  Splatter snowflake edges with white.  A fun and easy project to make with the family or as a gift.

Enjoy this beautiful time of thanks as you share time with family and friends.

                               Have a blessed Thanksgivng!! 

 






 

Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

Cool crisp leaves under foot, a rainy day walk in the woods, discovering berries, leaves and branches.  A wonderful way to clear the head and heart.  I am lucky enough to live in a wooded area where we see so many of God's creatures.  Deer walking by the window, wood chucks, wood peckers, wild turkeys, eagles, falcons and more.  Some of which I could do without, like skunks, snakes and  possums, oh my!

It has been a stressful month of hospital trips with my husband.  I am so thankful that he is well again, but the woods and my studio have helped me keep focused and thankful for what I have.  Taking an online class of Woodland girls with Jeanne Oliver, made me more aware of my surroundings.  The class came at a very good time for me. She encouraged us to go out, collect, draw, paint and sculpt from natures' bounties.  This gave me the prompt to go out instead of sitting around and worrying.  Giving a little of myself to nature and receiving so much more in return.

I have had an old reader that I turned into a art journal.  As I have said in the past, I love painting on the old pages.  The day I wanted to go out and gather, it was raining.  Not pouring, but a gentle rain.  I loved how the rain drops sounded hitting my umbrella and the crunching of the leaves underneath. 

 The pages on the left are my gatherings, the right are my watercolor drawings of what I found.  This was such a fun idea and I wanted to share it with you.
I love picking up feathers found on the ground.  I have an entire jar full of them as part of my decor.  This is one I found last spring.  
Next, I painted on a wood slice, old book cover and in my watercolor art journal.  Love painting these nature beauties.

Where do you go when you are stressed and life gives you a little more than you can handle?  The woods gave me the peace I needed, away from phones and emails.  I felt God's peacefulness, encouragement and sense that everything will be alright.

I hope you take the time to look around you. walk in the woods the park, start a journal and enjoy this wonderful season of Thanksgiving.

 

Falll In The Ozarks

The theme of fall continues on.  I never really thought about fall being my favorite season of the year, but it seems to be the subject of late.  So many colors, mums, pumpkins, hay rides, parties, festivals, fire pits and more.  Love walking in the neighborhood to see how everyone has embraced the season with their outdoor decor. 

A few friends and I took a day trip down to Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri.  A lovely day for a drive and the leaves were beginning to turn.  Tree tops were kissed by the sun and colors of purple, orange, yellow and brown were seen as we made our way through the Ozark mountains.  Another week or so, the trees will be in full splendor.

The annual Fall Festival was under way and artists from all over the country were there, demonstrating and displaying their craft.

 Linda talking to one of the wood carvers. John Engler, who is part of the Engler family.  His uncle, Peter was a well known wood carver and his works are still sold and cherished by collectors.

This handsome cowboy was the featured artist in the festival.  He is not only an accomplished artist, but he was on a popular tv show years back.
Buck Taylor from Gunsmoke days.  When he saw me take his photo, he suggested we take one together.  It made my day!  If you have time, go on line and read about his tv days and about his art.
It was fun talking to the different artists and seeing some of the shows.  Lunching outdoors on a checkered table cloth, taking in a couple of shows and treating ourselves to warm apple dumplings with cinnamon ice cream.

As you can see, we had a great day. 

Hope you too can enjoy a few outdoor activities.  Take a walk, sip some hot cider and enjoy the season.

xxoo

Bits and Pieces

Our fall weather has been unbelievable.  Always a favorite time of the year. Warm days and cool nights.  Time to put away my flip flops and bring out my closed toe shoes and boots.  Leggings, jeans, scarves and sweaters are fun to wear, but coat weather is on the horizon and not one of my favorite accessories to wear. 

Love the different textures she has put together here.  An outfit I would feel comfortable and fashionable wearing. 

We have had a bumper crop of walnuts this year.  Living on a wooded lot with so many trees brings it's challenges.

 This is just a fraction of what we have picked up so far.  They drop all around you as you are picking them up.  Walking across the lawn or driving up the drive way is a challenge as well.  The UPS driver drove up yesterday and ran over dozens of them, sounding like multiple gun shots.  No one can sneak up on us.

Fall is not only a time to change your wardrobe, clean up the yard, plant bulbs, but also for moving indoors and decorating or redecorating your home.

This is a home that I have almost completed for a client.  A very fun project and a great person to work with.  Not only was it fun to work with her and her lovely home, we have become good friends in the process.  Each piece here was purchased at a different location and the table opens up to seat 6-8. We took one day and drove 70 miles to shop and found these great iron lamps among many other things. 

She loved the text print fabric, but we decided to keep it at a minimum and just do the cushions and some throw pillows for the sofa.  This way, there is not too much of the fabric and easy to change down the road.
All the upholstery pieces were custom ordered. 

The kitchen table and chairs are custom made and love the distressed look and the contrast of the maple table and dark walnut stain of the chairs.  Both show the wood grain through the finish.  A little rustic, but more refined.

Fun little touches were added here and there.  Creating interest, texture and warmth to the space.  The distressed candle stand can be changed out with the seasons.  A pumpkin now and a Santa for Christmas.

They purchased the existing coffee table and leather pieces from the previous owner.  We recovered an existing recliner, added the fuzzy textured rug, some end tables and fireplace accessories.  The next step is on it's way.  Custom shelving will be added behind the sofa for family pictures and a few more accessories.

The house is still a work in progress.  We searched high and low for many of the items to fit into their proper places.  We added texture and interesting elements where we could.  The bedroom and master bath are very pretty as well. 
Each time I work on a home, it pushes me to add or change something in my own space.
Fall, a time of change, gorgeous weather and finding inspiration.  Be it in clothing, working outdoors or decorating.  Where will you find yours!

See you soon,
Ursula
Happy Fall!!

Fall Open House

Fall Open Houses are popping up everywhere.  Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins.  Different sizes, shapes and colors. 

Love this photo of the store I have the privilege of working in.  The walls are brimming with pumpkins and the scent of fall.  We had open house last weekend and also attended a few others.  Very inspiring and the one purchase I did make, was a white ceramic  pumpkin that I wanted to paint on something.

I gathered some of my supplies and headed down to my studio and began to experiment with my DecoArt mixed media fluid acrylics. 

I had this tin dish I purchased at a garage sale, gathered vintage papers, a rough wood block, pencils and paints.  I like to save pieces of unused watercolor projects and later use them in my designs.  Never throwing anything of value out, you never know when you can use them.  Love the old botanical pages I found in an old agricultural book.  I cut some of them out and used them as is, just adding washes of color to them.

This is the tin that I first washed with black.  Cut out the pumpkin shape from my vintage papers, added leaves from the botanical pages and stem.  Words were printed off the computer. Just washed the colors onto the pumpkin so the paper would show through.  Added washes and spatters of color to the entire piece.  Then, using a stamp and a green stamp pad, randomly stamped the edges and onto the pumpkin.  With my finger, I added more color under the pumpkin and to the top edges of the tray.  A very fun and quick project.  

The wood block was washed with black as well. This was left over from our renovation project.  I usually gesso them first, but wanted the wood grain to show through.  I added the large watercolor leaf to the right and then vintage papers for the other leaves and stems.  Adding washes and the same technique used for the tray.  This piece was more developed and no stamps were added.  Love finger painting to apply tints of color to the edges and patting around the foreground. 

 I also had a stack of greeting cards I started last week, not knowing what I would use them for. The empty space was perfect for a pumpkin. The butterfly, lettering and vintage paper were applied earlier.  I just added the pumpkin  with my stabilo pencil, then washed in some white and orange paint.  Added the stamp and some pen work.  Using water on the stabilo markings adds the shading. It also blends well with wet paint.

It's fun to use what you have on hand, especially when you get inspired.  My next project will be to paint some pumpkins on a few pillows that I purchased on sale.  The light burlap will be perfect for a fall still life.

What Harvest Memories will you be painting?

See you soon.
Ursula

 

Light Lovely Designs by Ursula: Discovering PossibilityA new season and time to re...

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Staying Power in spite of myself

Perseverance; steadfast in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

Entering a contest means studying the assignment, creating your best work and knowing you gave it your all.

I have had the challenge of entering a global contest and knowing this would be so out of my comfort zone.
When presented with the rules, assignment, and research, I thought I could do it.  Little did I know that when I signed up, there would be many obstacles ahead.  I am used to doing my work early in the morning hours,while the house is nice and quiet.  Taking my coffee into my studio and beginning with devotions and then laying out my paints, paper and other supplies I will use. 
The day the contest started, was the day our son moved back into our home while his house was being renovated. He brought along his beautiful dog, my granddog and thought the time would be about a week.  That was two and a half weeks ago, and he is still here.  Bathrooms have been delayed and more and more clutter has turned up into multiple rooms of our home.  
We have a hide a bed inside of my studio and that is where he has been living.  As soon as he got up each morning, I went down and began to draw and paint.  Oh, and did I mention that two days later we had company from Atlanta and the Virgin Islands.  All during my one week window of time to create my designs.  UGH!

This is the first one on a re-purposed composite board.  Acrylics were used in this and the painting developed over a few days time. Not sure this was what I wanted my Terrarium art to be, I decided to try another and used all the Pinterest ideas that I could accumulate.  Wish I had a photo of those pages spread out all over my drawing table.  Along with all my supplies and more, leaving a small space to create in.

This time choosing watercolor paper and paints.  I began feeling a little underwhelmed with my next design and a little overwhelmed with my circumstance.  Thinking another, possibly, more simple design might woo the judges.  This most likely came from trying to simplify the circumstances surrounding me at the time.

Of course by this time I was driving everyone, including myself crazy, asking which they preferred.  The results were split and I began to think the art was all looking alike.
And, guess what!?  I decided to do one last one!!  This time a simple acrylic on a light background.  This one was my favorite and is not pictured.  Then, putting it into the right format took a village as well. 
At the end, I thought I wasn't going to get it sent.  I took it to a printer and though the photography and colors were excellent, it was too large to send.  Again, and at the last minute I got some help and was able to send it off.  Just in the nick of time too!  Whew!
 The results were posted today.  I didn't make it to the 50 finals (out of 999 around the world).  But, I did have the satisfaction of pushing through the obstacles and not giving up along the way.  In spite of all the activities around me, I feel it was a miracle I got anything done, let alone four individual pieces of art.
This was a true learning experience for me and in the past I may have given up or just sent the first piece I did.  I know that the Lord carried me through this, as I prayed and felt his piece in the midst of chaos.

I hope I remember this lesson as I move on in life and my career.  "I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me."  

Perservrance, staying power!

Thanks for listening and hope to see you again real soon.

Don't give up, no matter what your circumstance.  You will win in the end!

Ursula