Documented Life Project - Week 52

Week 52 is all about Christmas. Well, DLP being American, it's about "your holiday tradition".

One of the traditions I still uphold is the sending of Christmas cards. And this year, I really thought I was the only person left to do this. But all the cards arrived in the post at the very last minute. Maybe our friends were feeling guilty after receiving our card? Or AnPost couldn't cope with the volume of Christmas post?

I have this terrible habit of keeping all the cards we receive, birthday or Christmas. I can't bear to throw them out. So I will have material for DLP tip-ins for a very long time indeed.

The background for this page is a gelli print, using a Dealz stencil. The colours were very dark and I was concerned I would never be able to use this background, but I'm happy with how well it blends in with my Christmas theme.

And the banner on the sides is Ikea Christmas ribbon, which I love to bits

Documented Life Project - Week 51

Week 51 - Arrows

Since I carved my own little arrow stamp, I knew exactly where I wanted to go with this one. And since I'm reading the Gelli Plate book at the moment, I decided to try out one of their techniques - incorporating stamps and gelli printing. So here is the resulting page:

What I'm wearing today, 28 January 2015

Levi's Outlet jeans

Banana Republic jumper

Benetto scarf

VHI bootie and crutches

Documented Life Project - Week 50

Week 50. Aaaah. The Fantasy Vacation Spot challenge. They all chose Bora Bora. I chose the Maldives, no surprise there. Not my best art endeavour. I'm rushing through them too much. But my watercolour tip-in isn't too bad (except the tree trunk is a bit thick). I must try to use more watercolours in my 2015 DLP challenges.

What I'm wearing today - 26 January 2015

Boden jeans

Boden pink shirt

Boden taupe long-sleeved t-shirt

Boden scarf

Clarks runners

What I'm wearing today 25 January 2015

The jeans are Boden I think

Clark's pumps

Boden cord jacket

and a really old scarf bb gave me many years ago

And our big pussycat who decided to join me for the selfie

What I'm wearing today 24 January

Oasis butterfly top

Boden cardigan

Levi's Outlet jeans

Zara scarf

Clark's leopard print pumps

What I'm wearing today 23 January 2015

M&S Thermal long-sleeved t-shirt

Benetton scarf

Levi's Outlet jeans

Clarks runners

Documented Life Project - Week 49

Week 49 challenge was to draw or trace a hand. I tried a bit of drawing, but it didn't look good, so I fell back on the tracing option. I'm not that crazy about my hands, they are short and stubby, so I found this challenge difficult. But it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy.

I used a page that I liked a lot as a background, and I'm planning to let it shine through. The golden wavy bits are where I used packing tape to pick up paint from my Gelli plate, and I stuck the packing tape to the page. Because I had picked up so much golden paint, the packing tape wasn't adhesive enough, hence the wave pattern.

For the hand itself, I chose a piece of newsprint that was used to protect my desk when spraying paint and to clean up my stamps.

For the tip-in, on which I glued the newsprint, I chose an art postcard I picked up at an exhibition last year.

So there you go - all done. A few more weeks to go before I finish the 2014 challenges. I'm already behind on the 2015 Documented Life Project challenges, so I'll be kept busy over the next few weeks. Somehow, I feel I'm going to be perpetually in catch-up mode.

Documented Life Project - Week 48

The challenge for Week 48 was to depict gratitude in a creative way. And due to a bad link, I could not see how the artists had interpreted this challenge. So I was on my own!!

I picked an ugly page, all ugly greens and purples, and I covered it in gesso. Even then, it was still ugly. So I was going to have to do something more radical.

If in doubt, turn to your Gelli plate! I picked a piece of paper and carved the word MERCI into it. Speaking another language has its advantages, since I could not think of a more creative way to depict gratitude. I tried a gelli print, but it didn't look great, because I had cut the letters too thin. But the paper I used as my stencil looked cool. So I cut it to size and glued it to my ugly page.

For the facing page, I chose a contrasting colour and applied it by hand (with rubber gloves!). I also affixed a little piece of paper I had used to clean my letter stamps with.

A little bit of paint splatter. An art postcard attached as a tip-in with matching washi tape. And I called it done.

Documented Life Project - Week 47

Week 47 Challenge was to attach a map. 

Well, I dug up an old map of Dublin, and when I looked for our address, I found that our estate didn't even exist at the time I had bought that map, so I was delighted with that. And definitely a sure sign that it was time to decommission that map.  

I chose a page with pastel colours, but they were a bit too bright so I toned it down with gesso. I cut a little house shape from an old Gelli print, and glued it to the page. And I also glued a cartoon from a newspaper article that spoke to me. I applied a little paw mark (IKEA kiddie marker). And, since I was still far behind the rest of the group,  I called it done. 

Sunrise, Death Valley

Furnace Creek Inn

 

I tried to paint this date tree (at least I believe they are date trees - yes they are, I've just checked) in a looser style. As seen from the Furnace Creek Inn, Death Valley.

Paris, Las Vegas

The Paris Hotel in Las Vegas was much more old world than the Aria. But once I got over the fact that there was no tablet on the bedside table to open the curtains or turn on the lights, I found our room very cosy. 

We enjoyed lighter food overall. We decided to skip the breakfast buffet  (three days in a row at Aria) and enjoyed a chocolate twist instead! And we enjoyed Mon Ami Gabi, where we got a terrace table overlooking the Bellagio fountains, and perfect mousse au chocolat!

Here is my copy of the Raoul Dufy print that was hanging in our bathroom (oh I wish I could paint with the same abandon):

And we had a view of the Bellagio fountains from our bedroom! Here is my little interpretation of the scene (without the fountains, just in case you're wondering)

What I'm wearing today

and yesterday. Yes, I admit it, I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Just don't have the energy to pick something new. Plus I have a bad back today and it had to be something easy to put on.

Boden jeans
Boden jumper
Old cosy scarf
Clarks runners

Desert view

I had always wanted to paint the desert outside Las Vegas. We were lucky to have a view from our room in the Aria hotel that was just perfect. I painted this little watercolour sketch on our first morning, as the sun was rising over the mountains

Aria Hotel Las Vegas

The Aria Hotel was way too noisy - there was music everywhere in the public areas. I'm sure it's all a marketing ploy to keep us moving, gambling, eating and buying.  The bedrooms, thankfully, were lovely and quiet, with silently shwooshing curtains (controlled from your bedside tablet), mood lighting (controlled from your bedside tablet), your choice of music (controlled from your bedside tablet). I now want a tablet controller in every hotel room. So lovely. 

And while the art in the rooms was somewhat bland for my liking, there is artwork everywhere in the public areas (like this Henry Moore piece), and I loved all the paintings from the elevator to our room, as well as the larger pieces dotted around the place, such as the Silver River hanging over the reception area, a wonderful piece by Maya Lin, which you will see via this virtual tour - go straight into the hotel lobby, then look at the reception desk to your right - the piece hangs behind and above the check-in desks).

Self Portrait

Made with Paper

Panamint Springs

I thought Panamint Springs was even more beautiful than Death Valley. So peaceful. So breathtaking. Maybe it's because we had it all to ourselves, with a couple dragonflies and butterflies.

Death Valley vegetation

More Las Vegas pictures

I haven't been firing on all cylinders this week - a fever and a chesty cough - not pleasant - so I don't know where to start in catching up after the Christmas holidays, now that January is nearly over. Well, one step at a time. I'm out of bed, out of pyjamas, and starting to feel human again.

Altered Reality

America from above

Somewhere halfway between Las Vegas and Philadelphia

Death Valley

Also spent two days in Death Valley