Category Archives: Art Exchange

Wouldn’t You Like To Be A Dreamer Too!

Dreamer. Janice Darby. LYA Side Swap 2017

Don’t know why, but the Dr. Pepper song popped into my head, and the words morphed into the post title. In trying to get it out of my head, I watched the original commercial. I did not need to realize that it is nearly forty years old!

Janice Darby’s Dreamer opens the 2017 LYA video (by Kat Sloma). Each time I saw this image on the Facebook group page, I crossed my fingers that one would come my way. Love the layers in this! Janice and I have swapped before, I always look forward to her card. She lives in Santa Maria, California. Very inspiring city I think!

On the back:

Never let it be said that to DREAM is a waste of one’s time,
for DREAMS are our realities in waiting.
In dreams we plant the seeds of our future.

Love that thought Janice! So glad you agreed to a side swap. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome art with me!

Coneflower. Chandra Lynn. LYA Side Swap 2017

Chandra sent this digitally enhanced photo from Alabama. She shared her enhancement experiments in a recent blog post. Looks like fun to me! I need to find some fun photo apps. I really love the colors in this. Makes me think of watercolors flowing together. Beautiful! She included this:

We do not escape into philosophy, psychology, and art
–we go there to restore our shattered selves into whole ones.
Anais Nin

Chandra’s blog posts are often filled with inspirational words. She teaches composition and literature, reading and writing are her passions. Thank you Chandra for sharing your passions with us!

Pink Flamingo, colored pencil. Diane McWhirter. Australia.

Diane’s work is always stunning. Take a look at her pet portraits. She also works in ink, and I just love her vivid, lively colors. Lot’s of happy in her work! Her floral pillows are gorgeous. So honored that you would swap with me Diane – had no idea your postcard postage is $2.95 (Australia)! If it helps, I think your work is priceless.

So blessed to count these talented women among my LYA friends! I find their work delightful and inspiring! Hope you enjoyed these cards as well.

What Was I Doing?

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Abstract, Terry Owenby. LYA 2017 Side Swap.

Received this wonderful side swap. Terry tells me this is an unfinished painting that she cropped digitally. She took a Jesse Reno class last year (Portland, OR), but was unable to finish during the class. She took the paintings home and they were forgotten.

In the swap we are always looking for the interesting cosmic connections, between the sender and the receiver. There is always something that binds us. Silly, but still.

I forgot to post Terry’s card. I even emailed to let her know I received it, and that I would be posting. DUH! It would still be forgotten, if Terry had not replied to my email. I’m trying to retrace my steps, useless I know. I put her card in the scanner, was interrupted, and that was that. The whole time I was writing yesterday’s post, I knew there was something I was forgetting.

I love this card. Love the colors, the wonky shapes and scratches. And the “stitch” stems. The deep blue-black is welcoming to me. And the bright berry reds are pure fun. I also really love the fact that Terry rescued an unfinished and forgotten piece.

Thanks so much Terry for sharing your art with me! Made my day!

Pouring and Postcards

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Pour #1, acrylic on 4 x 4 gallery wrapped canvas. 2017 Sheila Delgado

Previews of the pours I worked on today. Planned on doing only two in blue, but had enough paint to try a third. In this first pour, I did get some interesting cells. Microscopic, but they do look good in person.

Fingers crossed they survive the drying time. I used thicker paint this time, mixed with water and a few sprays of silicone (WD-40). I did not want huge cells, but I am guessing I could have made them larger by using more silicone. Perhaps the paint needs to be thinned more as well.

The experimenting is fun. I pour the paint from individual containers, and the “dirty pour” technique creates larger cells. I may try that next time. I used my heat gun to bring out the cells. Maybe could have done that longer. So many variables.

Pour #2, acrylic on 4 x 4 gallery wrapped canvas. 2017 Sheila Delgado

None of these from today resemble Angels. Still interesting, and I think I can make them work, with a slight change in focus. I will share them again after they have dried, and let you know what I come up with.

Pour #3, acrylic on 4 x 4 gallery wrapped canvas. 2017 Sheila Delgado

LYA SIDE SWAPS

With Butter and Syrup, Nan Johnson.

Doesn’t this card from Nan Johnson make your mouth water?! Nan’s work is amazing. She does fantastic, detailed “home” portraits, beautiful landscapes, and wonderful pet portraits.

Art – Food for the Soul!

I think so as well, and I very much enjoyed the visual feast on Nan’s site. Thanks so much Nan for sharing your art with me, so glad you participated in LYA this year! You are right, it is a fun swap!

Gems, Kat van Rooyen, CZT.

My good friend Kat surprised me with her Gems. I received her card as an official LYA postcard. Didn’t think I would get another as a side swap. This LYA has been full of surprises! Kat is a Certified Zentangle Teacher. She tells me these look better in person, but I think they look pretty real on the card. Lots of depth in the colors! Thanks Kat for surprising me with your colorful, wonderful art!

I just love that the LYA art swap is still going strong!

Birds and Flowers. Mixed media digital surface design. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

Voting continues in the Spoonflower design challenge. Wanna help me make the top ten? You can only vote once, but you can share the link with friends.

Read more about how this design was created, in yesterday’s post. Thanks for taking the time to vote!