"Fantasy Forest" 18 x 24 Intuitive Painting

"Fantasy Forest" Intuitive Painting by Tammy Dial Gray

This week I played with layers and layers and feelings that bubbled to the surface.  I thought about connectivity and abundance, history and ecology and thought deeply about how these ideas have been represented in animated forest scenes such as the movies Avatar and The Secret of Kells.  This painting is what developed from those reflections.

Here is a more detailed shot:

Close Up of "Fantasy Forest" an intuitive painting by Tammy Dial Gray

You can read more about this piece here

"His Gift" Acrylic Abstract on Canvas

"His Gift" Acrylic on Canvas Abstract Art

I recently purchased a package of 20 canvases.  I have never had this many blank canvases at one time.  They only thing I had in mind when I bought them was that they would be colorful, textural and meaningful.  Most of the art I purchase is abstract spiritual art.  So, I asked myself why I wasn't creating more art along those lines.  This is what resulted.  The first canvas out of a box of 20.

Currently, it is adding brilliant color to my home and it will be in a show on the 28th.  However, it is available if you would like to have this piece in your home.

Thank you for stopping by!

You could win a prize!

Genuinely Jane Church Window Book Decorated by Tammy Dial Gray

This week over at Artistcellar.com we teamed up with Geniunly Jane Studios. Check out my tutorial and find out how you can win!

Creating and Using a Color Wheel with Silks Acrylic Glazes

 

Creating a Color Wheel with Silks Acrylic Glazes

I am passionate about Silks Acrylic Glazes. I can get sheer gorgeous color and shimmer with one coat or use more than one layer to achieve opaque brilliant shimmery colors. In this article I illustrate how easy it is to use color theory, create tint and shades with these beautiful paints.  

Once you have decided what colors you want to use for your Silks Acrylic Glaze Color Wheel, you can start trying out different color theories. I decided to use tags as they are small and easy to experiment with. Here are a few illustrations.

Using A Color Wheel With Silks Acrylic Glazes & a Tag

Silks Acrylic Glazes, Girls Night Tag

Silks Acrylic Glazes & April Showers Tag

For my color wheel I used the following Silks Acrylic Glazes: Sunburst Ginger Peach Spicy Tomato Love Struck and Spicy Tomato Combined Love Struck Jasmine Snap Dragon Sapphire on Ice Sky Blue Teal Zircon Emerald and Key Lime

For my tags I also used the following Artistcellar Products:

• White and black pens 
• The Viva Decor Pearl Pen 
• The Black Ranger Archival Ink Pad 
• The Blue Moldable Stamp 
• The Arrow, Cherry Blossom, and Constellation Stencils and 
• The Parrot Fiber Mix 

You can get your own free color wheel template here.  I printed mine on Bristol Board Smooth Paper.

Tutorial: Making Stamps from Stencils

Tutorial: Making Spray Paints with Silks Acrylic Glazes

Thank you for stopping by.  I am always grateful for your comments.

 Please "like" my artist page at: www.facebook.com/ArtistTammyDialGray  

When you smile, the stars dance in their heavens.

When I had the joy of opening up the Shooting Stars Stencil package from Artistcellar and playing with it in my studio one thought kept returning to my mind. It wasn't as much an image as it was a sentiment. When I look at the Shooting Stars Stencil it looks to me like the stars are dancing. The sentiment I kept thinking of was, "When you smile, the stars dance in their heavens."

After much thought, I realized that I wanted to make others smile. So, I sketched out one of the things that makes me smile. A dog, and a smiling dog is even better. :)

I used my regular sketching pencils and Bristol Smooth paper. I thought this dog's smile could put a smile on a young child's face. So, I decided to keep with the whimsical theme and paint my dog in bright colors.

For this 12 x 12 wood panel I used, Silks Acrylic Glazes, bleeding tissue paper, Shooting Stars Stencil, black pens, white pens, gesso, gel medium, home made Silks Acrylic Glazes Spray Paints (the tutorial is provided below,) punchinella, and white acrylic paint.

 The truth is...When you smile, the stars dance in their heavens. 

 Tammy Dial Gray  www.facebook.com/ArtistTammyDialGray

What? I thought they said it was spring!

I painted this bunny after seeing and adorable photo of a bunny eating a flower.  We have had tornadoes in our area so I wanted a wild Florida sky.  I used the Ripples Stencil and three colors of paint for the sky (Rich Cobalt Acrylic Glaze,  Stewart Gill Byzantia Aegean, heavy body white acrylic paint.  

For the grass and blue flowers I used Stewart Gill Byzantia Acanthus, heavy body white acrylic paint, and Fern Silks Acrylic Glaze with the blue colors listed above and the Cherry Blossom stencil.  

For the color of the orange flowers I mixed Sunburst Silks Acrylic Glaze with Spicy Tomato Silks Acrylic Glaze.

For the bunny, I did an under coat with colored pencils and then used a dry brush and white heavy body acrylic paint.  I used white and black pens to finish off the details.  

Happy Easter to You and Yours!

 I have had so much fun with the Jane Girls Series Face stencil.  It has been amazing to see so many different styles of faces created with just this one stencil.

For this face, I have enlarged the eyes and stretched out the face some to create a more childlike appearance. I started this project by creating my face using colored pencils and black pens in my Strathmore Visual Journal - Mixed Media.  When I got the face colored and shaded the way I wanted it, I sprayed the page with workable fixative and set it aside to dry.

I painted 140lb watercolor paper using my Gelli Plate and craft paints and let it dry.  I used heavy body white acrylic paint and the Rouen Cathedral Series Stencil and the Tortoise Japanese Geometric Series to stencil over the paint page.

 I cut around the Jane Girl that I had set aside to dry and then used matte medium to collage her onto the page.  I used a dry brush to add some yellow and turquoise craft paints to the page to add interest.  I scanned my page and then added the sentiment using my computer.

I hope this Easter is full of joy, peace, and grace for you and yours! Tammy Dial Gray
  Artistcellar and www.facebook.com/ArtistTammyDialGray    

Jane Girls: Under the Sea

I have the entire tutorial including all of the supplies I used available for you at Artistcellar.  I would love it if you leave a comment for me there.  xoxoxox

Having Fun With the Jane Girl's Stencil

What a thrill it is to get to work with the Jane Girls Series Stencils. They offer so many options. I have been playing with eye placement, curve of the lips, and hair styles. In this post I show what subtle differences can do to the look of a piece. I used the same colors and supplies in both 8"x 8" canvas pieces.


In this canvas, I have her eyes looking towards the viewer, have hair on both sides of the neck, have a more subtle background pattern and use a hair band all the way around the face.           In this canvas, the girl is looking more forward, her lips curl more upward, the hair is pulled back and on one side of her neck and the background pattern is more pronounced.

 For these projects I used:

1. The 3-Quarter Stencil from the Jane Girls Series.
2. The Star Coral stencil from the Coral Series.
3. 8" x 8" Canvas
4. Derwent Inktense Blocks
5. Silks Acrylic Glazes
6. Water soluble color pencils
7. Sekura Koi WaterBrush
8. Water soluble crayons
9. White Gesso

Process:

• Prepare each canvas with White Gesso.
• Use Derwent Inktense Blocks to color the entire background.
• Blend colors using a Sekura Koi WaterBrush, dry.
• Use the Star Coral stencil from the Coral Series and the Silks Acrylic Glazes to
• Use the Water soluble color pencils, 

Thank you for checking out my post.  I would love to see what you are doing with Artistcellar stencils.

Love Birds Tutorial

My post for Artistcellar today is a tutorial for making this Love Birds Bird House.  

Flower of Life Stencil and Creating Spray Paints with Silks

I created these projects for Artistcellar.  Here are the tutorials.  

Greeting Card and Artist Trading Card

Tag and Book Mark

See the step by step process here.

29 Faces 2.4.13 "A Woman Before Her Time"

I had a ton of fun using the following stencils from Artistcellar: the brand new Flower of Life, Steampunk Lace, Paris Cathedral and Runes Textures. I also used Derwent Inktense Pencils, Silks Acrylic Glazes, pan pastels, water soluble graphite, and a black pen.

Whirlwind of Dreams and Opportunities

Since the Design Team announcement for Artistcellar, I have been quietly working on my pieces for my weekly contributions to their site.  I will have posts up both on their site and on my blog every Wednesday starting the first week in February.  I am utilizing their amazing collection of exclusive stencils.  Similar to the way I have used them in the background of this piece and each of my posts includes a tutorial.

At the same time, I started teaching Intricate Doodles at The Doris an art gallery in my town.  For the Intricate Doodles class, I am working to create a greater variety of colored pieces to teach my students how to use color in their work.  Both of these projects take time.  An intricate doodle like this one takes me about 15 hours.

I thought that the opportunity to teach and to work for Artistcellar was exciting enough and then The Doris requested that I submit pieces for a gallery show they are doing this weekend and for the month of February at the Florida Community Design Center in the Chamber of Commerce Building.  So, for the first time in my adult life, I have three art pieces in a gallery show.

The show opens with Artwalk this Friday night.  I am in the amazing company of the Artists' in Residence at The Doris and some of the other art teachers like my beautiful friend and Mosaic Artist Limor Ben-Naim Herb.  

As I spoke with Turbado Marabou, one of the incredible Artists In Residence at The Doris, he expressed interest in the Artistcellar stencils.  It was a surreal moment as my online art world and my local art world came together.  I will be sharing with Turbado the amazing line of Artistcellar stencils and I hope to discover his methods for using them in his work.

To say that I am amazed that all of this is happening at once is an understatement.  I am also extremely grateful for each of these opportunities to express myself through my art.  So, while I might be more quiet than normal, I am in my studio working away and bursting with excitement that I am able to participate in the art world both locally and online.  I am immensely grateful for your generous support.

Art Journal: I Love the Porch in the Rain