iPhone Cover Art

Just created a tutorial featuring my newly designed iPhone covers. Check it out here:

http://theartgirljackie-tutorials.blogspot.com/2011/07/original-art-iphone-covers.html

Another Fabulous Vintage Silhouette Portrait

I seem to have a trend starting with vintage portraits these days and I have to say I really love it.

My neighbor recently asked me to create a portrait from an old photograph she had of herself and her three brothers. It is such an adorable photo but I was a bit apprehensive because of the shadows and blurryness of the original. I wasn't sure that I would be able to show the characteristics of their faces in a silhouette well enough, but I gave it my best.

 And here is the result:

I learned something wonderful from this experience. As I was sketching and painting and seeing all of the abstract shapes take form up close I was having trouble grasping the idea that it would be recognizable as people; but when I stepped back from my work and looked again it was incredible how it came to life.

Reminded me of my life: being too close to the messy details I can often feel confused and lost; but if I just have faith and step back to look at the big picture it's incredible the beauty that is being formed.

Newborn Portraits

A dear friend of mine who recently had a baby boy gave me the privilege of doing some of his baby portraits this week. Here are a few of the images:

Aren't baby feet sooooo incredibly precious!

 Look at that gorgeous smile!

 Big blue eyes.

Me and My Camera + Their Family and a 67' Chevy =

A Really Fun Photo Shoot

  I had the best time taking family portraits for this sweet couple and their adorable little boys.

  LOVE the cute expressions!

 

Technical stuff:

I took advantage of some of my Nikon's awesome features including Active D Lighting and Continuous Burst Shooting. The photo shoot lasted just over an hour and we visited 3 different locations: a fort, an old train station, and a country road lined with trees. I took 918 photos! (yes, even I was surprised that there were so many) I narrowed it down to about 500 and did some special editing to about 15-20 of them before saving it all to a CD for the family.

They said they loved the pictures.

And that made me happy.

P.S. 

This truck made me feel so nostalgic... thinking of simpler times and lovely slower paced days.  

Kinda made me wish I had a classic old truck or car of my own to drive around in......along with a dreamy historic two story home in the country with a wrap around porch and a second floor art studio overlooking a little garden.

ahhhhh...... a girl can dream.

Love, Decoupage & Paint with Carley

One day this week Carley and I got to hang out together in the art studio and get messy creating stuff together.

We started by getting a canvas and a whole bunch of decorative papers, paints, mod podge and brushes. Carley selected the papers she liked and tore out pieces to decoupage. I showed her the steps and we worked together to cover the canvas. Then I showed her how to dry brush a little bit of color over the papers. Everything dried quickly so she was able to go from one step right into the other very quickly. Her final touch was adding a giant "I love U" in copper metallic paint. She painted the inside of the heart metallic pink and added a string to make it like a balloon. Then she outlined her letters in metallic blue paint and put her artist signature and date in the corner with a metallic blue sharpie.

*She was really liking those metallics today. :)

 I LOVE this painting and have it prominently displayed on the wall in my Art Studio so it's the first thing I see when I walk in the doors. I love you Carley! I have so much fun creating with you! You inspire me every day with your genuine, unconditional love. xoxo - mom