Stress Free Art with Neurographic Lines ♥

Have you tried Neurographic art lines? 

It's such a fun way to relax, have fun, and create art!

I have a couple of videos to share with you and I'd love it if you tell me about your neurographica art as well!

Watch here Part 1 - -  https://youtu.be/O9ySYfM9vZk

And here for Part 2 - -   https://youtu.be/JJqABUBVam0

See you soon! ♥

Painting and drawing

As you know if you have been in my blog before, I love painting children.  The main reason being that we all need more innocence in our life, and so, anytime I can help a child, I consider it my duty. 

Our duty, as human beings.

I will continue to paint children, to keep trying to find the sweetness of innocence and the joy of our inner child. Thanks for visiting. May you have a beautiful day. ♥

 

Self portrait in Acrylic - Painting faces Modigliani style

This past February, painting for the 29 faces was an extra challenge. In my personal life I had 3 family members passing away. Not due to covd but the pandemic made things worse.

We drove to TX with the hope to see people -properly social distancing and all -  but we ended stranded in a hotel, the roads closed due to ice, bunch of unexpected snow and all kinds of chaos. 

We were ok even if we had very limited food, but many friends and family ended up with no electricity, no water and many other problems.

At the end we didn't see anyone, we had to just turn back and drive west.

My feelings and thoughts have been up and down and all I can say is...

It is totally true that art heals when needed. It helps your mental health. Sometimes it helps more, sometimes less, sometimes it takes a while to kick in, the healing while making art, but sending our hands and heart to work on creating, keeps the mind from going in that other circle that might take a while to heal. 

Plus, art helps You and also brings a smile to Another far away person that sees it.

I know for myself, looking at all the faces people created this month, felt very good.

This is what I managed to create. Click HERE to watch this video

and HERE to see this other video:

Much love to you ♥

 
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24, 26 26 27 28 of 29 faces

And another group of faces! This year I didn't keep up so well in this blog, but it was easiert to do in instagram.
Well, not to mention all the other life stuff, I am actually surprised and pleased to be this far lol :oP I always try to make a little room for art, and so should you ♥ :oD

  

The little girl with brown hair will be a video coming soon. For now it is a WIP

Face #28 ... one more to complete the 29 faces!

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Happy birthday Frida!

One of my favorite painters is Frida Kahlo. I love her folkloric elements in her painting, her self portraits are very interesting, can't stop finding new things and inspiration from them!
I do not agree with all her personal or political interests but you take the person with her time, era and influences and that rounds in a sense a life.
Back in high school I made probably 11 self portraits emulating her style but with a twist: I made myself of different races and skin colors lol I wish i still had those papers!

Today is her birthday and I thought of sharing some images and  links here.

A few years ago google made a logo of her:

 

Her last entry in her diary made many people think her death was not natural, talking about a joyous exit and hoping never to return, but the fact is that her health was terrible and her spirits very low, she had been declining for years:

I think this is my favorite photo of her, smiling:

If you want a short version of her life, this is a very interesting page HERE
To see some of her art click HERE
And some of my paintings inspired by Frida HERE


I'd love to see your comments! Thanks for visiting ♥

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8 years of blah-blah!

Hey guys! Celebrate with me my 8th blog anniversary!
I am having a giveaway ♥ Share and win and get a virtual hug from me ♥
I am very happy to have met so many wonderful and cool artsy people while blogging and doing what I love: painting, blogging, creating and doing challenges.

 

What to do: leave a comment *only* if you want to be in the giveaway!

*Grab the cupcake image, make a blog post linking back here and come leave a comment in my post: (Link:  http://ilove2paint.blogspot.com)

Or... grab my blog button in the bar.

For more chances to win:

*Follow my blog! (tell me if you already do, in a comment!)

*Post this in your facebook wall (and leave a comment here!)

* twitt this post (and leave  another comment here!)

*Subscribe to my youtube channel (and leave a comment here!)

*Share it any other way you want! (And come leave another comment!)

Do not leave your full email in a comment, I will not publish those, for your safety.

You can win:

*Big Modigliani17x14 repro I painted  (US only due to mailing issues):

*5x7 Frida painting (International participants):

*One spot in my Basic face class! US and International participants (*Only for those that have not taken it, if winner has taken it, then gift is one random ACEO made by me)

3 Winners will be randomly  selected on August 26th If I can't find the winner within a week, I will select another winner, make sure there's a way -that is not google+, for me to contact you! ♥ (Last time it took me a year!)

 Thanks for being here, many blessings and share, share, share! 

 ٩(◠◡◠)۶  Good luck!

Old posts

After so many years of blogging I have to say, there are plenty of silly posts, but there are some that are worth reposting or updating. 
This is one of them. Updated from HERE

The feeling is still the same.

Movies and art

We went to see the movie Les Miserables couple of weeks ago, and we liked it, but I wish I had known more about the scene when Fantine's life turned even worse, because it was not something to watch comfortably with my kid. I know, many movies have worse, including the TV, but I filter a lot :o)
Anyway: tear jerker as expected, visually fantastic, musically fine.

So, my daughter was inspired to create this artwork:

This, made the film better for me.... I am so proud of her  (◠‿◠)✌

Did you check my Giveaway? It's only days away!

Second part

I finally gave up on youtube's weird act. I uploaded the video several times, saved it even in different ways and it still looks tiny to me! I think that it is some kind of dysfunctional relationship with firefox, because it looks fine in explorer. ( ¬_¬)

 So, if you go to the channel and looks tiny to you, please try explorer. I think it looks fine in Chrome as well.

Here's the Part 2 of the video.


That's it for now, have an awesome day and keep your paintbrush wet!

October news and Giveaway!

I spent tons of hours the last couple of days, opening a new Etsy shop, and listing dolls and ACEO. That is just part of what I had mentioned days ago.
I do not know if it is crazy to separate everything, instead of keeping it in the same shop.... but people keep saying not to mix different art (And some go as far as not to mix styles or different mediums... I am not to go there, forget it! :oP)

So, all my little art and tiny dolls have a new nest. Called ACEOandArtDolls. Can't be more specific than that (✿◠‿◠)   Click HERE to see and wish me luck :o)

And now for the Giveaway!
Update: Winners HERE 
  The "almost 600" giveaway... so exciting!

These are original paintings, acrylics and medium, lots of texture and layers, on heavy watercolor paper.

For my US friends 11.5x9 inches :

For other countries I have this (All countries can play!): 11.5x9 inches

If you want to play to win one of them, you can:

-Post here and tell me to add you, here in THIS post.
Additionally, if you want...
-Share in FB and come to post you did
-Share in twitter, come and post here
-Share in your blog with the button, or just a post;

..if you like something you see, follow my FB PAGE or my YT CHANNEL
But ONLY if you like it, you don't have to! :o)

-Post or share in any other network you like, and that will be another entry to win!

 ~~*~~

 So that is a bunch of chances to have your name drawn, increasing the chances.
If there is a lot of people participating, I will add more art to giveaway.

I will randomly select a US winner and an international winner on the 15th of October.
Make sure there is a way for me to contact you! Private profiles won't allow me a way to notify winners.
And more close-ups of the art HERE

Chat and Time for a Giveaway!

This month I'm celebrating 7 years of almost constant blabbering, I mean blogging!
It's been a long, fun, sometimes irritating (when the computer acts up) ride.
The first few post were far in between. I figured, having 3 readers and one of them being my cat, it was ok to skip days or weeks without showing up.  (◠‿◠)

I have a wonderful group of blog friends now; we share giggles, art and bits of our daily lives. And one of the things I enjoy most is helping people, or bumping into blogs with the help I need at any given moment, so I will start posting more tutorials on blogging, and art stuff. After all, in my opinion, that's what the internet is all about. Well that, and online shopping! And cat videos. And forwarding inspiring quotes and funny jokes. And... ok, you get the point.

Now, for the giveaway! update winners HERE

I am going to give away 7 hand made goodies.
5 small artworks for domestic/international mailing, and 2 large/bulgy paintings for the US only. Sorry about that my friends, but I don't want to deal with paper forms and a crazy shipping fee to an unexpected place like Timbuktu. But absolutely EVERYONE from any country can participate!

To Play:
* Grab the blog button, Share with everyone, the more the merrier!
* Post, tweet, FB, share in yahoo groups, Pinterest... anywhere you want to share,
* Then just come and tell me in this post that you want to be added.

*  AND Tell me which gift number you like best to win, so chances are you will get that one!

          1- (2 ACEO) chicken, & pencil portrait

          2- (2 ACEO) Monalisa & Blond girl

          3- (2 ACEO) Hands with hearts

          4- Skelly paper doll

          5- 6x9 girl with clay pot painting

          6- Wood Frida Kahlo mini painting (just US)

          7- Donna portrait 11x15 (just US)

CLICK FOR MORE IMAGES!!!

Woman with braids and 3 ACEO

Here are some pictures of the woman with braids and pots. I made her very colorful! She deserved a lot of attention after sitting unfinished for such a long time :o)

I am also working on 3 ACEOs for the Earth Day challenge in Pam's blog:

 

I better hurry and finish them!

More images after the brake....

29 faces challenge

I love leap years! Since this year February has 29 days, I will be celebrating it doing something fun... do you want to join me?
29 faces in February! Why? Because we love to paint, sketch, illustrate and draw!
Any face... any medium, any size, any technique. 29 pieces total.

I have been thinking about how to run this, and I think the best way is to link in blogs, and also in Facebook, for those that like it there. I will be twitting as well.

I will add an easy way to grab the button to be part of it. Check the left column to find it. To take it to your blog just copy the text box there, and in your blog get a "html/java gadget" and paste the text there. That's it.

UPDATE: Post every face in your blog, every day in February, even if it is not finished, that's OK. Add a label to the post "29 faces" so all those posts will be gathered (when people click on that tag/label) Click in my "29 faces" tab in the upper menu, and follow instructions on how to add your link, so people click from here and see all your 29-faces-posts.

Now you have to be ready for February!  Use all those art supplies!
*Just made a FB event, let me know if you want to be added there!

if you like this post, share it with the buttons below:(If you read the feed, click the post title)

Cleaning, reorganizing (again!) and letting go

You would think that by having the kids (and their errands) out of school, one would have more time to do art. But is not the case. Never is. My schedule (and household) is messed up, crazy and upside down. I know I am not the only one so guess find comfort in numbers right?  I like to box, to put behind doors and inside drawers etc all the stuff in neat little groups.
Well, everything is poured everywhere. 3 people against me LOL (I won't even mention the pets. They are a whole other post altogether....)

So, in my effort to be able to control chaos and claim back some territory, have been reorganizing at least MY stuff. Well, I already went through their closets to donate all the clothing and gadgets they are not able or willing to use again. ☺

Now, slowly, I am listing crafty goodies HERE starting all at 99 cents. Call it separation anxiety, but I just can't go and take artsy/craftsy items in a box to be left abandoned at the donation center. I have to see that it goes to someone that really wants it and ship it to them. ♥

You can expect to see paper goods, cloth, yarn, polymer, wood, even fur and feathers! Heck I'm ready to put the dog and the cat there too LOL
I will list older work as well, so keep an eye and wish me luck!

Last night we were still at 93F / 33C hot weather at 9 PM, goodness gracious. How's your summer going so far?

ACEO Giveaway!

Hey there! I have a cool giveaway: 14 ACEO from 13 different artists for ONE lucky winner!
One of them is mine, others were collected,  traded, many were purchased for the last few years, they are in perfect condition.
I can't post a picture of each because of copyright respect, but I can tell you all are just like painted yesterday.

There are all kinds of subjects: mermaids, birds, bears, flowers, portraits...The materials are very varied too:  wood, clay,  paper, canvas... some are collaged, others are painted or even sculpted. Oh! One of them is a blank canvas so you can make your own ACEO :oD

To participate and win them, all you have to do is post a comment here, also and if you share it on facebook or your blog, come and post to tell me and that's an extra entry.

Anybody from any country can play, just come and have fun! On the 15th of July I will randomly select a winner, if there's many entrances, I will add items for more chances to win something! (If there are just few, chances of winning increase of course)

C'mon, start posting to win!
Closed on the 15th with 2 winners.

Gray is gray

Well, it is gray outside. And rainy. Deep gray, not just "slightly" gray. If it wasn't depressing, it would be a rather magnificent shade of gray... but thank you, I rather have some sunlight. At least a little glimpse of the sky, a bit of blue... Oh well. It is winter and winters are gray around here. :oP
So, to cheer up some, I am making a winter sale in my Etsy shop!
20% at checkout with the code jansale. Everything.

So if you want a custom pet portrait.... or one of the ACEO or even a doll.... this is the time! I will be uploading some cute Valentine's day art cards too.

Thanks for everyone that participated in the giveaway, the art is mailed!

Featured, Revolution and Recycle day

I am being featured in this beautiful blog: Wymzee Art and Friends Thanks Linda!!!

Happy day of the Revolution to my Mexican friends! Not Independence day... not Cinco de Mayo, but Revolution day. Hope you enjoy the holidays. Many blessings, peace and love for that beautiful land.

Today we also celebrate the Recycling day. I just learn that thanks to WikiHow. I do. Cans, boxes, magazines, plastic, paper... you name it, I recycle!

Over the weekend at the book store, I bought the most beautiful recycled paper art journal.
Which brings me back to the original idea of posting a painting that I am recycling:

I painted it years ago, took it to the County Fair, got a little ribbon for it, listed it online and didn't reach my reserved price. It went to the closet for a while till I decided where to hang it or to list it again.
Well, years later it is still waiting and I don't paint that way anymore. In fact I have not opened my oils in a long time. At this point I could list it again to let it go, or re-work it.

I did a little research, hoping to paint with acrylics on top of it, but everywhere I read it simply doesn't recommend to do it, which makes sense even if I wanted to do acrylics. So.... I will gesso it, repaint and show you the results later on.
Along with that one I have some other tropical paintings that I had forgotten. Out of sight out of mind....?
What do you think?
UPDATE HERE

Three Divas on canvas

The title reminded me of the three tenors, but these are painted Divas. Of course one of them is Friida K!
Acrylics on 5x7 canvas board, and with a little bit of impasto look. Sometimes when I start on canvas with a lot of texture, it scares me to death! I was so sure I would never finish each of them! I really had to go with the brush to cover the surface, but I am happy with the result, specially with the half nude in blues and greens, since the poor lady was in progress for so many months hehehe The other 2 were a paint till you are done kind of art.

So, here are the pictures. Will go to ebay for a very low starting price, just for fun.

Red haired Diva:

Half nude Lady:

Frida in the night:

Let me know what you think! I need  to hear feedback to keep going on that direction. I will keep painting my little girls, those are addictive to me! But I want to start painting a little bigger size again, too.
What do you all think?

Christmas in July!

Well, here I go again!
Along with the ADO Frida mini challenge in July, I am in the middle of a Christmas in July sale in my Etsy shop. I made a banner and although I was going to start after the 4th, what the heck, I will start now when I can...!
Who knows what unsuspected thing will happen next! (Did I mention one kid seems to have broken his hand? And the other seems to have lost the cellphone? Oh, and a pregnant kitty adopted me as a Pet Hospital?... And Scruffie knocked down a chunk of the fence... the list goes on and on....)

So, now is the time! :o}  I am going to list many things I never listed before, and some I am re-listing at a sale price. Nothing is "Christmas theme" ok? But I have Halloween, mermaids, Divas, Fridas... If you have seen something in the blog that you want and I have not sold it, just ask me! I really want to free some space to be able to paint again! :oD

Well, I will be adding daily till I'm done listing. Look for items with the tag CIJ
Wish me luck!

Oh! And I hope my Canadian buddies had a nice Canada day!

Treasury and tips

I made an Etsy treasury:


LINK HERE for now... not sure how long it lasts.

Well, while making it, I realized something important for anyone that sells: In an online search you have the viewers attention for 2 seconds.Period!
If somehow your picture or text catches the viewers attention, they will click, if not.... they are gone.

I went hunting for items, and with the roll of observer/buyer. Usually when I shop I go for a specific item, so there's not real "hunting" but for this treasury I really understood the importance of a GOOD picture.
We all know it is important, yes. But did you know how much time the buyer's eye stays with your item? I didn't.
I thought it was much longer, as in 2 minutes!
I guess I should've known better.... I used to design billboards and printed ads.

TIP: Go try browsing as a buyer on your own listings and see how your pictures compare. Be critical and open minded. See things in the photograph, not only the item for sale. Is your picture blurry? dark? too many things in the background?
It should look focused, with good lighting and with a very simple background or something complementary to your item.
I wish I could post pictures of bad and good examples, but I'm afraid I would get in copyright trouble. And I am not going to go get permission to use a picture as a "bad" example :oP
Improving our pictures is hard but a wonderful opportunity to learn and have our work noticed!

Now, enjoy the treasury while it lasts!