Fall Collage: Nevermore

I am having a very, very good time with collage lately, playing with a limited palette of pens, watercolors, papers and stamps.

 I'm using Pitt india ink pens, and loving the really velvety dark black you get by going back over the first round of inking.

Paper for these is either blank watercolor postcard stock (I love watercolor paper) or Bristol ACEOs.

I'm digging into my backstock of vintage books that have been damaged and could use the second life. In this case, we're talking about a couple of old dictionaries and schoolbooks. Fun!

Monday's Inspiration: Ryan Woodward

This is one of the most perfect animation pieces I have ever seen.

Honestly, I am in awe of the way almost each individual frame captures a sense of the movement of the next. It's simple and gorgeous and incredibly real. Ryan Woodward, the artist, is amazing.

If I could learn how to capture movement in stillness like this, my art would be everything I want it to be. I want to be able to tell a story like this.

I find myself talking about the artistic aspects to this because my emotional reaction isn't happening in words.

There's a making-of video!

Check out Ryan's website here and also some great advice for parents of artistic children.

It's Almost Fall and Fall is Sweet

Fall Fairies, an Etsy Treasury

This last August was the longest August in the history of time. For once, I'm actually really looking forward to fall. We've had a few cooler days and a good hard rainstorm, which makes the house feel cozy, and a big mug of sweet milky tea feel like a blessing.

I'm really looking forward to all the autumnal colors, even though they'll mean that winter (and seven straight months of rain) is on the way. Fall is simply magical, and I created this treasury on Etsy to celebrate my anticipation of the changing season.