magic

Free-Flowing Fluid Art

/ Jodi / 73 Comments

“From a Distance” Abstract Acrylic 12×12

Free-Flowing Fluid Art.

This past weekend, I experimented with another form of art using an acrylic pouring method to create these abstract pieces.

These are my first efforts, and there is so much more you can do with this technique using different tools and surfaces and colors.  I’m longing to find time to try again and create “cells” in the pour by adding oily products to the paint and pouring medium.

The main objective is to create a pouring texture of paint using an additive like Floetrol (used by house painters to improve performance and reduce brush marks as well as allow latex paint to spray like oil-based paint, and ultimately to save money by “stretching” the paint).   You can also purchase pouring medium products from many acrylic paint companies like Golden or Liquitex.   Some people use Elmer’s glue!  Water will even do the trick (though may dilute the paint a bit more).

“The Heart of the Stream” Abstract Acrylic 8×8

These are done on artist quality canvases and sprayed with a gloss varnish to seal the paint and make them shine.

What a joy to let loose and create magical mysteries.

Wishing you a day ahead that is sprinkled with magic and mystery.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Blue Reflections

/ Jodi / 69 Comments

Blue Reflections Watercolor – Cerulean and Indigo – 11×14 140lb cold press

Blue Reflections.

Baby boys turned into men.
The future in my granddaughter’s eyes.
The color of the ice caps over Mount Denali.
The color of the sea in St. Marten.
Scoring Boardwalk and Park Place in Monopoly.
Moonlight and starlight in the forest.
Dipping soft sable hair into cerulean and indigo watercolor.
Blue reflections creating magic.

I so enjoyed creating this watercolor painting! I splashed a bit and walked away for a while. I came back and added some more, and walked away again.  And then I did it again.  It was so exciting to come back and see what magic happened, and I so love how it turned out.  When I look at it, I think blue…. and memories flood my heart.

And I smile.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree

/ Jodi / 52 Comments
Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree Watercolor - 11x14 - 140lb Fabriano Artistico

Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree Watercolor – 11×14 – 140lb Fabriano Artistico

Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree.

Is anybody else starting to think about Christmas?

When my boys were young, I loved getting ready for the Christmas holiday.  I would often start playing Christmas music in October… much to Hubby’s dismay.

We prepared letters to Santa, and I shopped and put carts full of toys on “lay-away” months ahead of winter.

My best friend and I went to craft shows and stores and bought santas and snowmen and other holiday decorations, as well as things to make decorations – often while pushing strollers and carrying diaper bags.

I would prepare for “Sammy” the elf to make his arrival at our house and plan out his adventures each night when the boys went to bed to surprise them in the morning.

I created homemade Christmas cards for the boys to color (and later they drew them) to send to friends and family.

I stocked up on sugar and flour and baking supplies when they were on sale and collected festive tins to make hundreds of cookies and dozens of sweet breads and nut rolls to share with friends and neighbors.

As the boys got older, the excitement of Christmas dimmed a bit.  We still enjoyed it, but the excitement leading up to it was not the same as when they were young and the magic existed.

But now….. I’m a grandma!  And that just makes me absolutely giddy for Christmas again!

And since my daughter-in-law, Colleen, and I have created our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop and have started also selling our art at a local gift shop, Berry Vine Gifts, it is so fun to get excited about preparing for Christmas again.  And it seems there are others like me out there, because holiday cards and paintings have already sold!

So I’m having fun creating Christmas and holiday art… like this classic red truck with a Christmas tree.  Doesn’t it just make you so nostalgic about Christmas?

So even though we are still experiencing 80 degree Autumn days, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.  It’s so fun to dream!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Pair of Hummingbirds in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 57 Comments
Colorful Hummingbird Watercolor 8x10 140lb Saunders Hot Press

Colorful Hummingbird Watercolor 8×10 140lb Saunders Hot Press

A Pair of Hummingbirds in Watercolor.

Among the many birds that visit our backyard are sweet little hummingbirds.

I noticed our little hummer friends that arrived in May didn’t seem to be visiting the feeder recently and realized I had not changed the “nectar.”  As soon as I filled it with fresh sugary water, they were back in a snap.

They are so beautiful.  Not nearly as wacky colored as I created here in this pair, but I sure had fun going wild with color creating this beautiful, graceful little creatures.

Colorful Hummingbirdm2 Watercolor 8x10 140lb Saunders Hot Press

Colorful Hummingbird 2 Watercolor 8×10 140lb Saunders Hot Press

Recalling the one I recently painted for a friend, I had fun creating these ones on a whim and with no agenda or direction in mind.   I love this style of painting where you just throw color down and add water and watch it do its magic!  Every one is a unique creation.

Hope your day is colorful and creative and magical.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Season of Magic

/ Jodi / 50 Comments
sammy-the-elf

Sammy the Elf – the Magic of Christmas

Long before the Official “Elf on the Shelf” was marketed (and got a bit out of control – but dang!  Why didn’t I think to market it!?!), our family had an heirloom elf who came to visit during the magical month of December.

Sammy (we knew his name because it was written on his shirt) came to visit and watch over our boys to assure they were being good and deserving of Christmas gifts from Santa.  He would move around the house every night, and the boys had so much fun waking up each morning trying to find him and see what he might have been up to the night before.

Sammy always left with Santa on his sleigh after Santa brought the boys’ gifts on Christmas eve, and he didn’t return until the following December 1st.

One important thing about Sammy was that he could not be touched by human hands – never – ever –  or he would lose his “magic.”   The boys never dared touch him.  (He came with a note from Santa the first year telling us so.)

Though our Christmas tree has become a smaller, themed, and artificial version of the live cut trees of years past loaded with sentimental and handmade ornaments, the one thing I still put on our tree is Sammy.

Our boys still often reminisce when they see him, laughing at how they believed so strongly in him and his magic – yet still almost afraid to touch him…

Sammy is an heirloom Christmas “decoration” that was my Grandma’s, so I especially cherish him.  She had what seemed like dozens of these tiny toy elves all over her home doing silly things at Christmas.   She was such a character and had a great sense of humor, so her elves would be hanging from curtain rods and peeking over picture frames and sitting cross armed and legged in the strangest of places.

And then, it seemed for many years, these elves were impossible to find (especially when friends’ kids wanted an elf like Sammy!) – until “Elf on a Shelf” became the rage.

Our sweet Sammy is worn and thread-bare in many places, but he will always have a place of honor on our tree and in our home in December.

He reminds me of the magic of the season.
The magic of Christmas.
The magic of children and believing.
The magic of family memories –
my children and my own childhood.

It is indeed
the season of Magic!

Happy December!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:  It’s Not this Time of Year Without

The End of the Rainbow

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

rainbow

An unseasonably warm day in February this week
started with bright sunshine,
drenched us in refreshing rain showers,
and ended with the brightest, most colorful rainbow.

Right in our very own back yard.

If you cannot find me,
look deep in the woods
amidst the moss and twigs and fallen leaves.
I’m searching for the pot of gold,
dancing and celebrating with the leprechauns.

It is the Season of Magic.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi