Quirky Birds Mini Book

"Quirky Birds" for Lifebook 2013. I used selected lyrics from Annie Lennox — Little Bird. This was so much fun! This is mixed media on watercolor paper. It folds like an accordion book.

The lyrics I picked start with the bird on the top left:
I look up to the little bird
That glides across the sky

But this little bird's fallen out of that nest now
I've got a feeling that it might have been blessed
So I've just got to put these wings to test

For I am just a troubled soul
Who's weighted...
Weighted to the ground
Give me the strength to carry on
Till I can lay this burden down

So I've just got to put these wings to test

Here are some close ups:

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    

Love Birds Tutorial

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

29 Faces Day 7: Impacting Stars

I created this quick portrait in my art journal with pan pastels, the Hemp Flower stencil from Artistcellar and some soft colored pencils. I quoted myself again and added in the text in Photoshop.  I am seriously loving learning how to use the pan pastels.  

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 2.3.13

Summer Girl  She is a Work in Progress.  

I created her with Pan Pastels (the 20 piece portrait set), sketching pencils, Derwent Inktense Colored Pencils, Silks Acrylic Glazes, the Seven Jewels Stencil from Artistcellar, and the London Old World Map Stencil from Artistcellar.   

Compass, Too Mandala: The 2nd in my Compass Series

I created this while praying for my family to go in the right directions for our lives, our growth, our love and our faith.

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.