Luminarte Blog— Vibrant and Brilliant

Lastest painting from artist Johi Ohl

Jodi Ohl here, I wanted to share with you one of my latest paintings from start to finish.  Nothing fancy, just a slide show of my work in progression.  I use some of these techniques in several of my classes and will be featuring a portion of the process (and a whole lot more) in my in person class at Art Is You in Stamford, "Mermaids and Maidens"

Take a look to see how I went from this...

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 To this......

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It wasn't easy..and I made a lot of changes along the way..but I love how she came out.  Portraits take a lot of time.  Some artist spend months on them and others can knock them out in a day or so. I'm somewhere in between.  I love adding depth with color and texture and layers upon layers of paint.  

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I used a variety of materials including Golden and Matisse acrylics, stencils (some that I am working on for a special project for Jerry's Artarama..hey rumor has it we may even be working on some videos for them as well.shhhhhh!!), inks by liquitex, charcoal, paste, neocolor ii crayons, and then final paint layer using Silk Acrylics and Primary Elements from my friends at Splash of Color.

So there you have it....a peak at a bit of my process, of course during my classes I really go in depth and walk you through all the stages and give you lots of tips about products, how to use them, when to use them, practice exercises and more.   I hope to see you in one of my classes, either online or in person.  Until then,  take your time, don't be afraid to make adjustments, play with color, let your imagination go and enjoy the process. This painting was completed over the course of 3 days or so, so keep that in mind if you are doing this your self. 
Patience. Patience. Patience

Nature is Partying with Marty Wills

 

Hi Marti here, I love how this two page spread turned out!  It started with black  gesso'ed edges and a little gel medium and stenciling for a bit of  texture.  Then I sponged on some bright (dark) green and orange acrylic  paint and next some Mallard Green Luminarte Silks for a touch of sparkle.  it was a little too bright/dark so I toned it down with some swipes of cream colored paint.

 

I added more layers of paint - pale pink acrylic using bubble wrap, then smaller bubble wrap with Sunflower Luminarte Silks.  I wanted to bring out the stenciled designs a bit more so I went over them lightly with some Green Viva Inka Gold using my fingertip.  Before adhering my computer generated quote I misted it with Luminarte Radiant Rain - Sour Lemon and Sweet Whisper.  After adhering it I decided I needed  one more textural element to the pages and mixed up a little Luminarte Primary Elements Powder in Sunburst into some plain gel medium and spread it on through some  sequin waste.  I sprinkled on a bit of microbeads before lifting the  stencil.

 

This page was done in the same way at the same time and then I wanted to add some flowers.  Remember the Paint Skins I made?  I decided they  would be perfect along with a page from a french book to make the flower layers.  Then I added that same gel medium and Primary Elements mixture to the flower centers and embedded more microbeads along with larger  seed beads into the gel centers.

I must say I had SO much fun with this.  As y'all know I have had a bit  of trouble getting into my studio and feeling creative.  I decided to  just get in there and have fun!

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

Making Pretty things.... with Marah Johnson

Marah Johnson is in the house today sharing a technique with the the Primary Elements. Enjoy!

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I have been a creating maniac for the last several months...ok years! Right now, I'm in my zone...in my good place, that place that allows me to do what I love every day.  I look at all of my art supplies, I look at what my job entails, and I say "Self you are damn Lucky".
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and on that note...OH my goodness, I am loving my renewed relationship with Primary Elements Artist Pigments by Luminarte. I have been using them everyday....Seriously...every day! The photos above are an art journal cover thatI created using Polymer Clay and Primary Elements. Don't you just love the intense vibrant colors. I used to be a very resistant to working with a lot of color...but these days...I am a whole new person when it comes to every shade of color known to man,I love it all! I have to thank Leslie Ohnstad for that...she is the queen of creating color and all things Luminarte. If it werent for her, I'd still be in my comfort zone. Below is a video I made of the Process creating the journal cover...enjoy.
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Thanks for visiting.

Words To Live By...by artist Dion Dior

Today, I wanted to share this beautiful journal page from Dion Dior. If you ever get the opportunity to take one of her classes...you will not regret it.
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"The beauty of all things lies in our ability to appreciate them."

~Unknown

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Learning to appreciate who you are, what you have, and where you live, is integral to happiness.

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Discovering ourselves is a lifelong journey that is filled with ups and downs. It's our ability to roll with the punches and get back up again that helps define us.
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Life is attitude!  So much is out of our control that to be bothered by everything that goes wrong is nothing more than self-destructive. Learning to simply 'appreciate' is the most important part of becoming a beautiful person and living a happy life.

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We are all beautiful people, it's just that some of us choose to focus on the negative rather than the positive, therefore hiding our beauty from the world around us.
It's hard to find the 'beautiful' when your stuck on the ugly.
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Positivity takes practice and once you embrace it, then beauty comes naturally.
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(This page was done using matte acrylic, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencil, and Silks Acrylic Glaze in my Stillman & Birn "Epsilon Series" Sketchbook.)
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Have a beautiful day and thanks for checking in. xx

A french kitty...with the Radiant Rains by artist Marti Wills

Hello everyone!

Marti here.  I have a fun little Mixed media piece from my Art journal pages to share.

My background began with layers of music and french papers followed by a good misting of Luminarte Radiant Rains in Fern and Teal Zircon - The gorgeous shimmer and color peaks through the additional layers of acrylic paints beautifully!

I love this little kitty's face - I don't know WHY I feel like he is French!  HAHHAHA!

I really love the "ground" on this one.  It is done using this very cool stuff from Viva Colour called Stone Effects coupled with Luminarte Radiant Rain mist.  I used white Stone Effects paste and once it was dry I just sprayed it with Fern Radiant Rain - I quite like the way it colored the paste and settled into the crevices!  Such fun!

Twinks on Yupo-Session 2 with Jodi Ohl

Today,  I wanted to share this class Jodi Oh's is doing with our Twinkling H20's. Just watching the video made me want to get my Twinks out! Enjoy..

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Twinks on Yopo
Session two

Twinks on Yupo Session 2
by Jodi Ohl
April 12, 2013-May 10th, 2013.

 

Twinks On Yupo Session 2

Unleash your creativity with this contemporary watercolor class using Twinkling H20's on Yupo paper. Combining the shimmer and vibrant color of Twinkling H20's " Twinks" with the unique painting surface of Yupo and you get a one of a kind, brilliant, mystical work of art. During the course of this 4 week work shop, you will learn about Yupo paper and how to incorporate a variety of textural secrets to maximize this unique substrate. In addition, we will be combining traditional watercolors with Twinks for an ultra-bold composition. To learn more about this visit Dreaming Color.

 

Here is a little about Jodi.

 

Jodi Ohl is a self-taught mixed media artist is known distinctive texture, bold color combinations, often whimsical or abstract compositions, as well as motivational in nature.

Jodi enjoys writing about her art and sharing the love of healing and motivation through creativity.Her art appeals to those that seem to be young at heart and who appreciate the positive side of life whether communicated through words, colors, or composition.

Jodi who resides in Aberdeen, NC recently left her day job to pursue her artistic career full time She has built a body of work published in a variety of international mixed media magazines such as Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Studios, Artful Blogging, Artful Journaling, Somerset Holidays and Celebrations, and Cloth Paper Scissors Studios, as well as a contributor to two mixed media books, Art at the Speed of Life by Pam Carriker and Cloth Paper Scissors, and book by Barbara Delaney.

She is represented by regional galleries in North Carolina and teaches at local and national workshops around the US. When not painting, she enjoys time with her two sons, Josh, 11 and Zach, 17 as well as other friends and family. Jodi welcomes visitors to her blog Sweet Repeats www.sweetrepeats.blogspot.com where you can find a full listing of classes, weekly musings, and additional artwork for sale.

Party Plaques with artist Marti Wills

Marti here, I had created some foundations on MDF awhile back and was trying to finish them but I did not like the papers I had tried so far.  turns out newsprint along with some music pages was EXACTLY what I needed to use!

Hard to believe, these are actually wood plaques not cards!

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I began by painting both boards with pink acrylic paint (gesso first!).  Next I used a sponge to lightly dab on more acrylic paint and Luminarte Silks acrylic glaze (to give them some shimmer!)

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Next I took some foam squares from pezza's foam shapes stash and stuck them onto my tack n peel block in a checkerboard pattern and stamped with a bright pink Silks glaze - foam shapes and paint are FAB!  I drew my hat and cupcake and cut them out of the newsprint and music sheets.  I edged them in bright pink and orange Brilliance metallic inks and then doodled a bit with a black pen.

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I added a bit of a shadow around the edges of the images using my charcoal pencil and a blending stump to smudge it out.

As a finishing touch I added some luscious shimmering orange swirls!  I mixed a bit of Ginger Peach Luminarte Primary Elements into my heavy gel medium and smoothed it on through a stencil.  Some large orange pez-a-bling completed them!

 

Thanks for visiting!

Twinkling H20's and video with Donna Downey

Hello Luminartists, first off Splash of Color would like to "Congratulate" our winners Crystal Lee and Karen Muzzio from the Scrapbook EXPO in Pleasanton California. These ladies won $50.00 worth of products from our Splash of Color website.

You could be a winner, if you are attending the Creating Keepsakes show -CK Scrapbooking show in Portland this weekend. Stop by our booth and enter. Good Luck!

Today Donna Downey's on the blog using our Twinkling H2O's. Please check out her website Donna Downey Studios you will be amazed at her work!

Donna here, sometimes keeping it simple just feels cleansing!

love the way todays inspiration wednesday turned out...the colors, the pop, the freshness all feel good to me.

watch this weeks video:

 

 

 

supplies used:

• inspiration journal
• GOLDEN absorbent ground
• Twinkling H2O's
  • lemondrop
  • apricot nectar
  • pink azalea
  • vavoom
  • raspberry wine
  • african jade
  • teal zircon
• H2O's paint pallette
• watercolor brush size 20
• liquitex gesso
• mini tags
• alphabet stickers
• tiny attatcher

Thanks for visiting.

Silence is Powerful with the Twinkling H20's and Dion Dior

Dion Dior's work is so beautiful! Today she has been working with our Twinkling H20's. Love her choices of colors and the way she moves the viewer's eye throughout the page. Enjoy..

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Dion Dior here, "Sometimes, the best thing
to say is nothing at all.
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Silence is powerful when you use it to strengthen your passion. 

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Find power in silence.  Feel the answer to something rather than listen to it.

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The true answer is often the one your feel, not the one you hear.  

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Silence is power, embrace it!"

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This page was inspired by the illustrations of Katie Pamment, and the philosophy of Anthea Paul.  It was done using Twinkling H2O's, Peerless Watercolors & Ink in my Stillman & Birn Epsilon Series Sketchbook.

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You can see more of my bottles over on The Sketchbook Challenge blog today, where I am the programs newest team member and host.

Thanks for checking in. xx

Inspiration with the Twinks + video by Donna Downey

Hello Luminartists,

Hope you had a very creative weekend. I wanted to share this from Donna Downey's blog Simply Me!

Get your Twinkling H20's out and thanks Donna for letting me re-post! Enjoy...

 

Donna here, playing with my new Twinkling H2O's...was so inspired by Joanne Sharpe at CHA that I not only bought them all I invited her to come teach at the studio (details to come soon!)watch this weeks video!

 

supplies used:

• inspiration journal
• twinkling H2O's  NEW
• Black Big Brush PITT pen (design Memory Craft/Faber Castell)
• essential pitt artist pens BLACK
• viva pearl pen
• "open your heart" stamp NEW
• "listen to your heartsong" stamp NEW
• "you will shine" stamp set NEW
• spectrafix
• Portfolio OIL PASTELS
• mini tags
• watercolor brush
• liquitex gesso
• india ink
• date stamp
• stazon
• heat gun

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Thanks for visiting.