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.

 

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!

"21 Secrets" Workshop Giveaway with Dion Dior

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Dion Dior here, it's no secret that I love shimmer, glitter, sparkle and shine.  My husband thinks I'm like a bee, but my daughter prefers to think of me as a butterfly.  Constantly attracted to things that glimmer, dazzle, and amaze.  So in this vain I am in the process of putting together my brand new workshop Sparkle-arkle, which is going to be part of 21 Secrets 2013.

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I was thrilled when Connie from Dirty Footprints Studio invited back to teach on 21 Secrets this year.  There are so many amazing teachers who are offering some incredible classes.  And to celebrate this wonderful workshop, Connie has generously given me a membership into the program to giveaway to one of my readers.

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I've been completely consumed with filming videos, writing PDF's, and preparing this class and I have had the most amazing time playing with everything from luminescent paints and glitter, to sequins and foil.  It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful art journals can be with just a touch of bling.

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21 Secrets is on sale now and starts on April 1st.  You get access to 21 incredible classes by 21 amazing instructors for the entire of 2013.  It's self paced and all housed in one amazing 21 Secrets website.  Connie has done an amazing job once again putting this offering together.  The cost is $59 and for that you get it all...that's right, all 21 classes.

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It's incredible value for money, so if you'd like to go in the draw to win a place on this amazing program, then all you have to do is click here, check out all the wonderful instructors and their offerings, then come back and leave a comment ON DION DIOR POST, telling me which workshop most excites you. For another chance to win, simply share this giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account, then come back and leave a second, third, and fourth comment.

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I'll be drawing the lucky winner next weekend.

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I show you some wonderful sparkle products and techniques in this class, and there are some terrific projects for you to try.  You also get PDF documents of the projects and lots of video, so please join me.

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Sparkle-arkle is part of 21 Secrets 2013.

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To see more of the Twinkling H20's and other sparkling products from Luminarte visit our new website
Splash of Color! 

Introduction to Luminarte Silks-Acrylic Glaze and Viva Colour Crackle paint.

Hello viewers,

Today I wanted to share a video Marah Johnson did using our Luminarte Silks-Acrylic Glaze and Splash of Color Crackle paint by Viva Colour. These two products are like peanut butter and jelly, Oreo's and milk, apple pie and ice cream...well I think you get the point. Enjoy and keep your creative spark alive!

  

When I watched this video my head was spinning with projects. Hope it got your creative flow stirring and keep us posted with what you have been doing on our Luminarte facebook page.

Thanks for visiting!

I brake for florals and leaves with Marti Wills

Hello everyone!

I have a journal page for you!  Today's style is a bit different than my usual. Enjoy!

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This was SO much fun to create!  I chose 4 stamps from the Florals and Leaves plate from I Brake For Stamps to focus on.  These are GREAT stamps for this sort of technique!  I marked off the sizes of my boxes according to the image sizes and then I used Twinkling H2Os for a great painterly background in colors that reminded me of a sunrise.  Just look at all of that luscious sparkle!

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Next I simply stamped my images using the Luminarte paint lines - Silks-Acrylic Glaze or Primary Elements powder mixed with glazing medium.  I put the paint onto the stamps with a soft sponge roller - it looks like a brayer but instead of hard rubber it is soft sponge.  This will work with any sort of acrylic paints and gives a bit more of a painterly look to your stamped image.  I think it would also look good with the images just stamped as black silhouettes too!  Browse through all of the wonderful images and pick some out for your own block printing piece!  Remember you can use my code to get 10% off!  SAVE10MARTI .

Sparkle-arkle with Dion Dior and Lumiarte products

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Dion here, I've been a little busy preparing for my 21Secrets offering, "Sparkle-arkle".

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It's a fun class that takes you on a journey
through luminescence, glitter, and glow.

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These are just a little sneak peak of some of
the pieces I have been working on for this class.

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Please join me for this beautiful, fun, dazzling
workshop, along with 20 other amazing teachers and their amazing offerings. For
more information on 21 Secrets, or to register, please click here.

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Thanks for checking in. xx