I HAVE COMPLETELY LOST MY HEAD !!!!!!

     Last week , my youngest daughter, Meghan, brought home some of her art work from school. One drawing immediately caught my eye. She had drawn  and colored a  picture of Fall complete with  orange pumkins, black cats, and some pieces of straw that looks like a very long and lanky scarecrow. 

     The thick black curliecues  that she added on the dark green background  gave me the idea to turn her art into a  mixed media project! Of course, I asked her  if I could "ruin" her  work and  she laughed and said "Yes"!!  (Well, you never know what's going to happen when you begin putting together this type of art!)

      So I began gathering my clippings and spooky images together and sat down this afternoon and layered my art over hers!

  

       MEGHAN'S ART WORK

                                  

     

                             

                            MY ART WORK

          

                    Title: "Some of Us Have Lost Our Heads"

I also experimented with contrast, saturation, color, black and white,

color temperature, sepia, and tint in my Picassa albums!

                                                           

     

Then I experimented with my "trial" Coral Paint Shop Pro 2! 

I know I'll have to invest sooner or later because you really

 can't do all of the neat things you want to do with your images

unless you have it!

                             

                          With a Frame (My Favorite)

                                  

                              Frame in Torn Edges

                               Frame in Rough Edges

                 Artist Effects in Illumination with Light

                                   

                                      

                                      Artist Effects in Scew                     

                            

      I am sure you can tell by now that I am one of "those poeple" that live by the rule that "More is always More" (and more and more...to infinity!)

          I cannot understand those people that say, "Less is more"  because technically it isn't, in fact that whole saying is a oxymoron (but that's just my opinion)!! But for those who believe in the rule as I do,  know that less is not more, is it less ...and it will be everytime! Now, I ask you, who wouldn't want to live in a world where the imagination can take you anywhere and everywhere you want to go?  You understand, right?!!!  So....I am a "More is More" gal and always will be and that is why this type of art has  completely enthralled me!!

So I came up with 3 of  the BEST REASONS for people to want to create MIXED-MEDIA ART!

1: The versatility of the projects actually gives the artist the ability to allow complete freedom for the  imagination and creativity to  flow without having to worry about any constaints. Some art projects must be done a certain way but with this type of art ..the sky is the limit!  This is nothing like the scrapbooking that I did in the past!  Don't get me wrong...I loved to scrapbook, especially for my children... but.... I didn't use that much creativity because most of the ideas that I got for the layouts came from the books and magazines that I had bought!

2 :  You have to be a Vintage--Victorian-- Antique--loving person to really get into these projects. And I am all of that and more!  I have always loved the things of the past more then anything  of  modern design.  Every home I have  lived in was  decorated in a vintage style that nostagically flowed from room to room!  I made my own clothes specifically tailored to meet  my need to either look  Antebellum, Victorian,  Edwardian, or all three at the same time!

 Remember when Guinne Sax came out with those beautiful detailed dresses? I had quite a collection until  the  brand name went from Guinne Sax to Jessica McClintock and then I really went crazy for that style of dress.  I remember how gorgeous they   were with their vintage inspired details, flowing in pure femininity! And for a Southern Belle like myself,  buyimg a good pair of shoes, a  lovely hat, and a  pair of white lace gloves just added the finishing touches for that particular style!

 Styles may come and go, but there will always be that particular group of people that live to preserve their past and treasure their family heirlooms. They simply cannot live  in the present without  aqquiring everything they own from the past. That's what makes  mixed-media art so great...you're actually  making a lovely piece of art with what you have already preserved!

3: The best reason...this type of art work is an adventure from the word Go!  And who doesn't love an adventure!