Luminarte Blog— Vibrant and Brilliant

Take the on-line class "A Taste of Silks", by Dion Dior May 18, 2012

Today, I want to let everyone know that Dion Dior class A Taste of Silks begins on May 18, you can register by clicking here. There are 25 Silks colors in the regular collection and ten colors in the new release Silks. They are available through Luminarte by clicking here.

 

 

Silky Startfish

Dion here, my new class, A Taste of Silks begins on Friday, May 18th.  It is a class that explores the wonder and beauty of Silks Acrylic Glaze, a new product from Luminarte. I've been happily swimming in a silky pool of color as I put the finishing touches onto this class.  I am so excited as this class comes to you in two wonderfully full booklets with links to some terrific videos that will show you how versatile these little pots of wonder can be. In addition, there will be an exclusive online forum and Flickr group for participants to ask questions, share experience and display their silky work. Plus, I'll be showing you some wonderful techniques and projects to get lost in.  Registration is still open and don't forget, if you sign up for this inaugural run, you get a $40 coupon for the $10 material fee, which you can use on any of Luminarte's beautiful range of products.

I thought I'd give you a little morsel from this class in the form of a mini-tutorial.  I'm going to show you how I created this beautiful textured starfish using clear craft glue and Silks Acrylic Glaze.  I often create little icons such as this and then use them on greeting cards or journal covers.  You can alter the consistency and look of silks by adding mediums, but Silks have such a luscious texture straight out of the jar, that they are thick enough for all sorts of application.

Luminarte have just released 10 new colors of Silks Acrylic Glaze to celebrate this class, and I use several of them in this tutorial.  What you will need: A pencil, flat synthetic paint brush, clear craft glue, large skewer or stick with a flat end, Silks Acrylic Glaze in Honey Amber, Nutmeg, Black Ice, Rich Cobalt, Pomegranate, & Emperor's Gold.

Begin with a very simple pencil sketch of a starfish. 

 
Cover the pencil sketch with a thin layer of Honey Amber straight from the jar.

Using your clear craft glue, squeeze out glue over your pencil lines.  Let the glue dry completely before proceeding.

Using the end of your skewer, dip into your Silks pot and dot paint gently over the page.  Begin with Black Ice and dot it in the areas of shadow. 

Next, dot around a combination of Nutmeg and Honey Amber for the background sand.

Layer in more colors to create dimension. 

Cover the starfish with Rich Cobalt and Pomegranate.  Finish it off with a layer of Emperor's Gold for highlight.

Use your colors to crate the optical illusion of shadow and dimension by altering both the size
of the dots and the intensity of color. Don't be afraid to dot right over the glue, Silks will adhere to pretty much anything.

Dotting with Silks is a very simple, yet effective way to achieve some marvelous optical illusions. 
The shimmer of light against mica, combined with the texture created by the glue makes for some spectacular results.

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

Shimmering Wisdom by Marti Wills

Hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday! Marti stop by to share some of her pieces she has been creating in some on-line classes with our products.

 Hi! Marti here.  I have had the most wonderful experience taking Dion Dior's Wisdom Circles workshop as part of the 21 Secrets workshop.  Dion is magnificent with Luminarte Twinkling H2O's and the Silks Acrylic Glazed.

She is such an incredible teacher and has brought meaning to my perspective on my art that I didn't know was there.  This one was done using Twinkling H2O's shimmering watercolors.

This one uses Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glazed - Luminarte products makes my work glow like nothing I have ever used!

Thanks for visiting!

Creative Imaginations Primary Elements Artist Pigments

Let's give a warm welcome to Christine from Scrap and Time. She is sharing some of her tips and techniques using our Primary Elements Artist Pigments with different mediums. Enjoy.

Christine here, today I am showing you the Primary Elements Artist Pigments from Creative Imaginations! These are pigment powders mixed with a little Mica to give them some sparkle. You can mix these powders with a variety of products such as Multi-Medium or Gesso to make your own paints

For this diagram I mixed the pigments with the medium that came in my kit and used an  ExiStencils from Creative Imaginations. It was basically a Multi-Medium. Since I was making samples, I didn’t use a lot of medium, allowing me to get strong colours. You can also see how I mixed pigments to make custom colours.

But you can also mix them with Gesso. I used a White Gesso, so now the paints are more pastel, but they are opaque! You can see the lighter blue sitting on top of the purple.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the pigments mixed with a Multi-Medium and with Gesso.

When I was making my samples I was brushing the excess on to this page. You can see that by using the medium the colours show through each layer.

I really enjoyed playing with the Pigments and blending my own colours!

If you are unable to see the video, refresh this webpage and it should appear.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Scrap Time – Ep. 758 – Creative Imaginations Primary Elements Artist Pigments from Mark Giles on Vimeo.

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The Wisdom of Life

Today, I had to share these gorgeous pictures of Dion Dior mandala! The pictures are absolutely stunning and if you ever get a chance of taking a class from her, jump at the opportunity!

 

 

Dion here, most of us engage in art, particularly art journaling, as a way to connect to a deep part of ourselves.  It gives us a channel to understanding ourselves, what we're made of, and what we are capable of.  Art, in and of itself, is therapy. Anyone who has ever engaged in a creative or artistic pursuit knows the therapeutic benefits first hand of doing so. And the reason art journaling, scrap-booking, sketch-book keeping, or any number of other artistic pursuits has gained so much momentum, is because more and more people are discovering that art is a powerful way to connect to their creative soul, explore their own possibilities, and demystify some of their issues.  In my mind, every single person on the planet is born with a creative soul, but for a plethora of reasons, very few ever get to embrace it.

 

 

 I have been actively engaged in delivering several of my online classes this week, and one in particular, Wisdom Circles, has given me lots of food for thought. This is where I made the connection.

 

There are over 500 people currently enrolled in 21 Secrets and although not all of them have found their way into Wisdom Circles yet, there are over 100 participants who have.  The circles they are producing and the experiences they are sharing is truly humbling and very very moving. I've had goosebumps on my skin and tears in my eyes every time I read their stories, considered their questions, and gazed upon their work. If you'd like to see some of their work, I encourage you to visit the Wisdom Circles Flickr Group., or the 21 Secrets Flickr Group.  If you'd like more information about Wisdom Circles and 21 Secrets, please click here.

 

 

 I discovered the art of making mandalas about ten years ago.  I was convinced that I was not an artist because I couldn't draw the perfect landscape, or capture the contours of a simple hand.  But when I saw a beautiful, simple meaningful mandala I knew I had found something that I could connect to.

Creating a circle is so powerful, so meditative, and so therapeutic.  I become a prolific creator of mandalas, and a hungry consumer of mandala history and theory.  So now, whenever I feel blocked, (which is often), I stop, breathe, and place a dot in the center of my page.  From there, I let the creative flow take over and just move gently around the circle, letting my creative energy and symbolism flow down my arm and onto the page.  It releases any blocks, along with any tension I am feeling in that moment, freeing me completely to create.

 

 

 

This page was done using Silks Acrylic Glaze over pen journaling, and under flat watercolor.

Thanks for checking in. xx

 

Please take the time to visit Dion Dior & More Blog and check out her online classes.

Thank you for visiting.

Ageless Play by Dion Dior

Let's welcome back Dion Dior with this exquisite journal page of beautiful color flowers! I love her take about laughing more in life. Enjoy.

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Dion Dior here, too few of us laugh out loud, too often we constrain our laughter in favor of chuckles or composure. We simply don't laugh as heartily as we should any more. What is worse, is more often than not, we fail to see the humorous side of our lives. We forget that the only true requirement of being alive is to live responsibly! At no time are we expected to live 'seriously', that is a burden I think we place upon ourselves.

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There are times when the world feels overly serious, devoid of humor.  But that is probably just my own perception, my own creation, my own reaction or projection.  Don't you think life would be easier if our responses to stressful situations were more light-hearted? Taking life less seriously doesn't mean living less responsibly, it simply means that much tension can be dissipated, that negativity can be...well...negated, and our responses, acceptances, and influence can be more effective.

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Humor frees us from negativity, and playfulness frees us from seriousness.  The inner critic feeds on seriousness, it feeds on perfection.  I recently saw a post of Facebook that said:

"The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy.  The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time." 

~ Edwin Bliss

 

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Never, in my mind, is a statement more true than this.  Especially when put in the context of art.  I don't know about you, but I find perfect art rather boring.  Don't get me wrong.  I admire the skill and talent of the artist, their masterful grasp of technique and composition.  However, it does nothing for me.  I feel no stirring in my blood, no whizzing in my gut. 

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But to look at art that is bursting with color, energy, movement, more color, interpretation...these are the elements that excite me.  There is no fast track to finding our own artistic style.  It takes years of practice, experimentation, learning, inspiration, and most of all play.  Yes...I said play!! Something I don't do nearly enough of.

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In recent weeks I've been preparing my upcoming online class "A Taste of Silks".   Acrylics are an extraordinary medium that are sadly misunderstood or taken too seriously.  In order for me to show the versatility of these exquisite paints, I have had to get down and dirty, I have had to play.  I mean really play. I have splattered my studio with Silks, been up to my elbows in them, and felt at times like a mad-sceintist with shimmer all over her face. My fingernails have been like sparkling rainbows and my drawing table looks like it is covered in tiny little jewels.  And I'm happy to say that results of my labor is proving to be exciting.

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This sketchbook page is a small part of what I have been preparing.  I was very lucky to receive a yummy little box of goodies from Creative Imaginations.  They license several Luminarte products, in addition to the Twinkling H2O's, and were keen to let me try some of their other shimmering products.  For this page I used a combination of their Radiant Rain Shimmering Mists,  Radiant Rain Color Concentrates, and Radiant Rain Pourables, under a stunning layer of Silks Acrylic Glaze.  These products are iterations of Leslie Ohnstad's highly successful range of Twinkling H2O's and all I can say is WOW!!

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I was astounded at the intensity of the pigment, the versatility of the products, and the subtlety and beauty of the shimmer.  Yep, it sounds like a lot in one page, but if you let go and allow yourself to play, you'll be amazed at the results. I'll be sharing some of these amazing and wonderful techniques using Luminarte's new range of  Silks Acrylic Glaze, as well as other mixed media in my upcoming 2-lesson workshop.  If you'd like more information, please click here.

Thanks for checking in. xx

Mixed Media Flower Girl by Marti Wills

hi all!

Marti here, I decided to take a break from my "work" stuff and just play in my studio the past couple days.  I am really venturing back to my roots and doing more mixed media stuff as opposed to the color an image, add layers, add flowers kind of stuff.

I am taking several online classes right now - Christie Tomlinson, Suzi Blu, Dion Dior - and learning tons! I am especially loving my Suzi Blu classes and today's project is a direct result of what I have been learning.

 

In the true spirit of going green I did this piece on one of the large wood blocks from a SU stamp. I never mount them on wood.  the best part - I drew this little girl myself!  Yep, I sure did!Better yet, I am sharing her with all of you. You can get her as a free digi image at the end of this post!

 

I began by adhering torn strips of a book page to the wooden base with gel medium. I painted the bottom green and the top blue using Luminarte Silks (fern & Sky Blue) - you can get them at SCACD.  The silks are an acrylic glaze meaning there are translucent so the book page strips shows through.  once dry I wanted to tone things down a bit so I swiped on some Luminarte Golden Opal Primary Elements powder mixed with gel medium.  LOVE this stuff - I can mix it into so many things depending on what I am doing.  I layered on some circles & the scallop border using Claudine Hellmuth's acrylic paints and foam stamps - which I ADORE! I also stamped a wildflower silhouette from a CTMH stamp set using brown staz on ink.

As I said, I drew the little girl myself then inked her and scanned her. I didn't want to color right on my original in case I messed it up or wanted to use it again.  Then, I printed her out and colored her with colored pencils (polychromos).  Last, I added the embellishments - some glittered skittles, the vintage crocheted border and some teeny prima flowers from 100 years ago :P  I needed something more than just the flowers at her feet so I mixed Luminarte Moss Green Primary Elements and gel medium to get a thick paste.  i just dabbed it around her feet in a "pile" and then stuck the flowers in it and dabbed some more in the flower centers.

When I drew her, I knew I would be putting a flower in her hands. So, I did not originally draw anything in her hands but I put a little flower in them for y'all!

Feel free to download her and use her but do not sell her!  Share your project on the Luminarte Fan page!.

Latest installment by Marti {Pez-A-Doodle

Creating a necklace with the Primary Elements by Marti Wills

Hi all!

Marti here, I took a quick detour from the papercrafting and mixed media to do some jewelry!

 
I was first inspired by the necklaces I saw one day at Kohls.

I made the pendants using UTEE and Luminarte Primary Elements in a bezel and adding some Gala Glitz too (vintage glass shards and microbeads).

I added a variety of other beads and charms along the chain.
Fun and surprisingly easy!  Here is a second one in black and silver.

 
I love it paired with the green and black.

There is a video below that has this charm in it along with other things you can do with UTEE - SCACD carries the bezels, UTEE and Primary Elements I used.

It turns out that making the little eyes on the top and some bottoms of the dang-lies is actually super easy!  In fact I just might make some more stuff!

One tip - go pick out your beads, chain and additional charms FIRST and then decide on the colors for your Bezel.  It is really tough to do the bezel first and THEN look for matching beads :P

and now the video...

 

Have fun!

Latest installment by Marti {Pez-A-Doodle Designs} at 7:15 PM

Stencils, Silks, Twinks and a little Tissue Paper by Erin O'Neil Argueta

Hello all!

Erin here. So honored to be back on the Luminarte blog.

I've recently challenged myself to use everyday products in my art. For this piece I've incorporated tissue paper for texture.

The tissue paper was crinkled and added to an illustration board with a water-based adhesive. After the tissue paper layer was dry, I painted Radiant Rain Shimmering Mists in Key Lime (on the bottom) and Teal Zircon (on the top) blending them in the middle with a spritz of water.

For added texture and dimension, I created the Big Butterfly by putting molding paste over the Butterfly from the Monarch Stencil Kit. I then painted the Butterfly with Silks: Stargazer, Blue Flame, Perriwinkle and Snapdragon. The smaller butterflies are from my sizzix dies. I cut these in white paper and then painted them with the same silks to match.

The roses were also created by putting molding paste over a stencil. I used the Nature Stencil 12x12. The roses are composed of a few layers of color from twinks and silks. The first layer is Apple Blossom twinks to cover the entire image. Then I added Coral Berry for more dimension. The flowers were completed with Carmen and VaVoom Red silks.

The last thing I did was add some more silks for greater depth. The roses and butterflies were strong in color value against the light green and light blue background so I added some Olive Vine Silks behind the roses and a little Stargazer Silks around the outer edges of the sky. By watering down the silks and applying them over the tissue paper background it created amazing shimmer and varying color values.

Thanks for stopping!

Twinkling Class Giveaway! Enter today!

Hello everyone, I wanted to keep you posted on an online class from Dion Dior called Mastering Twinks. Her class is a must if you use our Twinks because she teaches so many things about color and not to mention all the tips, tricks, and techniques with them. Right now, Dion Dior is giving 2 FREE spots in her Mastering Twinks class and a set (6) of Twinkling H20's. Details below and Good Luck!

Mastering Twinks, an online class that takes you into the shimmering, dancing world of Twinkling H2O's begins its second run in less than two weeks.  Twinkling H2O's are shimmering, glistening watercolor paints, created by color extraordinaire Leslie Ohnstad from Luminarte. They are laced with mica minerals and have to be seen to be believed. There are over 200 incredible colors and they come in a variety of pot sizes and sets. 

 

In Mastering Twinks, I introduce you to the world of twinkling, luminescent watercolor paint, and take you on a shimmering journey through tricks, tips and techniques for getting the most from them. This three week class is pdf based with a private online forum for sharing and discussion. But beware, they are addictive!

Here's what some of the participants of the first run of Mastering Twinks had to say:

"Thanks Dion. I love the Twinks and love the abundance of information
you are sharing with us."

- MV 

"Thanks so much for a wonderful class and for the wonderful 'book' that you prepared. It is a
treasure. The only thing better would be to have you living next door to me or vice-versa."

-Sheila

"Dion, Thank you for the incredible information you have provided to each and every one of us. I
think you have a terrific book in the making. I also think there was a great deal of talent in this class."

-Pat

"I had so much fun playing with Twinks in this class! Normally, I'm not much of a stamper but the
lovely Twinks made it so much FUN!!"

-FFY

"Dion, I love this class. Especially when loaded onto an iPad so I can enlarge the
diagrams and not have to admit to needing reading glasses!"

-Jacqui

 

To celebrate this second run, I will be giving away two spots on Mastering Twinks along with a special collection of 6 mini pots of Twinkling H2O's.  To go into the drawing please leave a comment on my blog Dion Dior  telling me why you would like to take this class. For a second chance to win, post about this giveaway on your Facebook page, and/or blog and leave a second comment on my blog Dion Dior with your link.  I'll be randomly drawing two winners next week.

For more information on Mastering Twinks, or to register, click here.

Thanks for checking in xx

Twinkling Lotus Flowers by artist Dion Dior and our Winner from our Weekend Giveaway!

Thank you so much for all your comments over the weekend. Our Winner is just starting to express herself artistically. Congratulations to .......................Karen Borusiewicz!

We hope our product's will help you create a beautiful gift for your mother for mother's day and please share it with us on our Luminarte Fan page! If you could send an email to citonya@comcast.net with your shipping address so that I can get your goodies sent out to you, I would appreciate it. Thanks again for all the comments and we will be doing this again before the end of the month, SO STAY TUNED to our blog!

Speaking of Mother's Day Dion Dior is sharing a beautiful journal page that any mother would be proud to receive as a gift. Enjoy.

It really was a joyful trip down under, we took a little road trip to take in some of Australia's best views. We just found a lovely spot and stayed there for a few days enjoying the pool and beach fun.

We made our way back to Grandma's house and spent our final week in Australia here.  Autumn is slowly descending on the Southern Hemisphere and our beach days where numbered, but our wonderful vacation was not over till the fat lady sings...so to speak!

In the meantime, it's back to my sketchbook. I have so many pages to share, and this was one I did sitting in my mum's backyard. She's a wonderful gardener (something I did not inherit), I'm not really sure what they are, but they looked a bit like lotus flowers.  Either way, they called out for Twinkling H2O's. And given my "Mastering Twinks" class begins again on April 13 through LuminArte, I'm immersing myself once more in these exquisite, shimmering watercolor paints. It feels like home!!  Registration now, and you can click here for more information.

Thanks for checking in. xx