Here in Southwest Texas, the temperatures are slowly rising, birds are getting ready to nest, and flowers are starting to bloom, so Spring is definitely on its way! I've even been able to wear light sweaters, short sleeve shirts, and even shorts a couple of times. No sandals yet, but those will also be out of my closet soon enough. The latter changes have inspired me to create projects with a Spring theme. I hope you enjoy them!
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| Mockingbird Sampler Mixed Media Tag © Arnoldo L. Romero Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 - March Denise, Roger and Leslie's ABC Wednesday - Joyful Sounding Bird Try it on Tuesday - Music |
First of all, I was ecstatic to see the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 - March tag, because I love incorporating nature into my work. You may recall that my art journal pages in March and May of last year incorporated original hand paintings with similar components. I began my tag, using a similar spritzer and stenciling technique to Tim's on the background, except that I created my own stencil with a large border punch. I also added some tissue tape strips and a word band with the tiny attacher along the bottom border. Next, I stamped a bird on the upper left corner and enhanced it with markers to simulate a mockingbird, along with some rub-ons. Finally, I hand painted an original mockingbird egg and a feather on watercolor paper, fussy-cut them, and adhered them to the tag with foam circles. As a finishing touch, I wrapped some string around the bottom and tied a ribbon to the top.
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| Birthday Wishes Paper Crafting & Calligraphy © Arnoldo L. Romero 2014 Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Lucky Collage Obsession - Making Marks Julia's What's On your Workdesk? Wednesday #250 Rhedd and Rosie's Challenge #28 - Aged/Distressed Manon's Paper Saturdays |
My second project was a set of birthday cards for my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and my Church rector. Since the rainy season is about to start, I figured that using the Tim Holtz umbrella man die would make a great focal point. I began with a white card base and added a Fiskars filmstrip border punch strip along the spine with a tiny attacher. I created the background by piecing 5 different strips of a 6x6" birthday print pad and distressed the edges. For the name tags, I die cut tickets out of a birthday tile print, hand lettered the recipients' names, punched a star on the upper right hand corner, distressed it, and attached it to the card with foam squares. The cards are simple, but they have a very vintage and masculine feel, so I really like them.
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| Rolo Digitally Enhanced Photograph © Arnoldo L. Romero 2014 52 Photos Project #48 {A Present Someone Gave You} Maria's Orange You Glad It's Friday #82 Lorik's Mandarin Orange Monday #86 |
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| PPF's 3rd Blogoversary Quick Marker Sketch © Arnoldo L. Romero 2014 Lynn's Paper, Paint, Pencils & Pens - Kitchen Eva & Kristin's Paint Party Friday - Week 2, Year 4 Alexandra's Sunday Sketches |
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| In Memory of St. Patrick Quick Marker Sketch © Arnoldo L. Romero 2014 Lynn's Paper, Paint, Pencils & Pens - Gardens & Parks Craftitude: Challenge #60 - Add a Little Green Inspiration Avenue - Inner Child Art Take a Word Challenge - Green The Three Muses Challenge - Spring Karen's Word Art Wednesdays #124 Jenn's Artist's Playroom #98 Jen's In the Studio Ramona's Inspire Me Monday #116 |
Finally, I have a photograph of my cat Rolo and a couple of sketches from my art journal. You may recall my youngest daughter found Rolo as a kitten last summer in the middle of a busy intersection. My wife and I were apprehensive about keeping her at first, because we already had 3 dogs and pet maintenance is quite expensive. However, she's become an unexpected gift to our family. As to the two sketches, they were both done in marker and celebrate to important events during the past 5 days. The cupcake was in celebration of Paint Party Friday's 3rd Blogoversary and the leprechaun's home entrance was in celebration of St. Patrick's day. I like doing this kind of art work, because I find it very relaxing and it helps me sharpen my drawing skills.
In closing, I want to thank everyone for their heartfelt comments during my last post about my very versatile art style. They truly helped me bring light to my line of work. I'm not trying to liken myself with two of my favorite 20th century masters, but I'm definitely like Picasso and Matisse who enjoyed exploring different styles, medias and techniques. Personally, I feel it keeps my artwork fresh, avoids creative blocks, and allows me to express myself according to my moods. Thank you again and blessings!
In closing, I want to thank everyone for their heartfelt comments during my last post about my very versatile art style. They truly helped me bring light to my line of work. I'm not trying to liken myself with two of my favorite 20th century masters, but I'm definitely like Picasso and Matisse who enjoyed exploring different styles, medias and techniques. Personally, I feel it keeps my artwork fresh, avoids creative blocks, and allows me to express myself according to my moods. Thank you again and blessings!
