Finding images inside free Sparks of Art-spiration is like spotting objects and characters in the clouds.  In this one, I saw Bed Head Betsy, a very happy woman waking up excited about the wonders the day holds for her. In the video, you can see how I bring the image out and use it to build an [...]

The plan for this canvas went horribly wrong. The idea in my head did not translate one bit the way I intended on the canvas.  That is a polite way of saying “Yuck, it was rear end ugly!”   But it was just an O.O.P.S., an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly, that started the journey of this canvas. [...]

Making patterns for printing with hot glue and cardboard is a time honored way to play.  But how do you get the hot glue uniformly smooth for the best printing?  What’s the no fumble way to use them when printing?  How can you stamp a good impression in an art journal using regular acrylic paint [...]

What do I do when I want to play but don’t want to tackle a blank page?  I flip through my art journals and see which page calls to me.  That’s one of the perks of having random backgrounds and pages in progress sprinkled throughout. The page that called to me was loaded with brown, which usually affects me [...]

Treasures were used to create this art journal page.  Were these expensive treasures?  Nope. Would they be considered trash by many? Yes!  These treasures were a bag of scraps of paper that I had been saving in my studio for a very long time that I decided was time to use them or lose them courtesy [...]

What are the best supplies for art play?   Whatever is within arm’s reach!  If you’re feeling a bit tricked by the headline, I was too when I started playing.  I hunted for the best supplies to use but experience taught me that it wasn’t the supplies that made the difference.  It was just diving in with [...]

The sun was in that wonderful late afternoon golden glow phase, the birds were singing, and I was playing outdoors.  Springtime is my goldilocks time outdoors, not too hot & not many bugs. It’s just right for play. A basket of fun was put together quickly, of what was on my counter, with absolutely no clear [...]

Why do I keep paper on my counter?  Is it to protect my counter?  Not really.  It does protect the counter and catches the color that runs off but it’s main purpose is to be a big something to art on when needed.  Today I needed that arting. It began with a bit of gel printing…if [...]

Cleaning and play can go hand in hand. Not house cleaning…but cleaning excess paint off stencils.  My fast and favorite way to clean off an inky or painty stencil, especially when gel printing, is by blotting it off on another surface like an art journal or in this case a wood panel. Since this is not the actual [...]