4.06.2011

Artist, I am not....

...well, not in the sense that first comes to mind for the majority of people.  I can't really draw anything recognizable other than stick figures.  I don't paint, I don't sculpt, or any of the other things most people think of when they think of art.

And what do I do?  I string beads. "That's not art,"  most people would say.  I say you're wrong, but I digress.  I am going somewhere with this, I promise

I mentioned a few weeks ago something that I'm a part of called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks.  I will explain it poorly, but I will explain it nonetheless.  There are 13 of us.  You can check out my Sisters if you click on the tab that says "My Creative Sistahs."  We each have purchased sketchbooks that will be passed around once a month until all 13 books have passed through the hands of all 13 sisters.

While a book is in our our hands, we will draw/paint/sketch/whatever something that represents that month to us.  For instance, my birthday is next month, and I may be turning 34, but I'm still a huge kid about my birthday.  I can already tell you that when I get my second book, my entry will be all about some birthday cake and balloons. :D  But again, I digress.

I cannot draw or paint starting from a blank slate, so this project is a HUGE challenge for me.  I have taken it upon myself to learn something new.  I suppose you'd call what I've created a combination of collage and decoupage, maybe?

For our first pages in our own books, we are to choose a color, any color for any reason, and illustrate what that color means to us.  The color I chose is a burgundy/wine color.  And I've had flowers on my mind a lot lately, what with the peach and apple trees blooming, and the periwinkle we have growing in the back yard.

So here it is:


Perfect by no means, but I'm darn proud of it, seeing as it's my first attempt.  What I've done is "recreate"  my wedding bouquet of hydrangeas and roses with paper and glue, and a little paint around the edges courtesy of my beloved watercolor pencils.

7 comments:

Kathy said...

That looks great Jennifer.. I am nervous about it too.. have never done any kind of art journal either...
Kath
xx

Priti Lisa said...

It's beautiful, Jennifer! I am glad to have found your blog, as I cannot get into our yahoo group...
How smart to make a page for journals :)
xo, Lisa

Carmen said...

Beautiful Jennifer - you put me to shame, I haven't even started yet!

Jennifer Pride said...

Thank you ladies. I'm pretty proud of it myself.

Carmen - The idea just hit me, and it was all I could think about until it was finished. :)

Fallingladies said...

That's how I do art too, It's an overwhelning need to get it out of my head once I start thinking about it...

Unknown said...

What an amazing idea to recreate your wedding bouquet- and I love all the layers of color in there! I've never done an art journal either and I'm looking at it as a chance to try new things...;)
This is gonna be fun!
Stephanie

Nicola said...

This is lovely Jennifer. I love the bright bold colour and the meaning behind it too. what a fantastic start!!!!! I'm about to start painting my spread after doing the sketch yesterday. Getting excited now :0)