How to make a quick sketch/collage combo (real-time video)

Did anyone try to do the 3 minute sketch? As I said, I doesn't have to be good... the looser the lines are, the more interesting the result. I think this is the longest video I posted (13 min). Probably because I did not speed it up. I wanted you to see how quick this is. (OK, I did speed it at the end, but only because I had to thread the needle and it took me forever and because looking at someone sew random patterns on paper really is not interesting.)

 Here is the YouTube link, in case your reader does not show the video (I use Feedly and sometimes I see videos, sometimes I don't).

I hope you'll like it!

How to clean acrylic mess from paint tools

I am fairly tough on almost everything and anything I use in my creative process. I leave brushes for days in water, never take the time to rinse my stencils or stamps, pick up things with messy hands. The proof is in the picture - you see the chaos. But sometimes the cleaning bug shows up and I get to work to straighten things up (usually when my stamps are so covered up that they can't stamp any more). That is when I use the magic trick I somehow stumbled upon.

DISCLAIMER: Don't try this on your precious brushes and stamps! Test it on other surfaces before using! This is something that works for me on my everyday art supplies. I would not dream of using it on my expensive watercolor brushes! Better be safe than sorry, be careful when you use it. But if you do - I'm sure that it will make you smile :-)

This is what I use (I forgot to add rubber gloves):

I pour warm water in a plastic container, add some of the oxy clean (I don't measure it) and then let everything soak for 10-15 minutes. And yes, I know - wood shouldn't be soaked in water. And please don't do it with new brushes or if you are fussy with your wooden stamps. I'm not.... it works well. I didn't see anything horrible happen in the 15 minutes they are in water.

Then it is a matter of scrubbing and rinsing and scrubbing again. Some things are easier to clean than others, but it is surprising how fast it happens.

There were so many layers of color peeling of my brayer. I actually forgot that it was light colored! Isn't that cool? If I cared to spend a little bit more time, I could have cleaned every single speck of acrylic from the stamps, but this was good enough for me, so I stopped. 

The light was different when I took the 'after' photo, but you can still see the difference - night and day! Now I can start being messy again!

Let me know how it worked for you if you try it...

Here, now...

I have been repeating these words almost like a mantra. And it works. And it's true. Between where we think we should be and where we want to be is - here, now... and it's just right. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. You too.

I started with a sketch and some collage. Then added first layers of paint and stenciled circles.

 More layers of transparent color building up, stamping with gesso. 

I was trying to get a watercolor effect on the face and a richly painted background.

xo