Caterpillar Watercolor & Ink

Tonight I just wanted to share a project I recently finished.  This caterpillar image is actually a handmade stamp I carved from a Speedball stamp kit.  I used watercolor and ink spray on watercolor paper to create the background.  After letting the background dry, I stamped the caterpillar on the watercolor paper using Peacock Feathers and Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  The stamped image did not print as clearly as I would have liked, but I still like it. I love how the background colors blended with the distress ink of the stamped image.

I apologize for not writing more, but I want to keep this blog post short.  I am extremely exhausted from working all day and can hardly think at this point.  Please be sure to follow the Copper Blossom blog and like my facebook page.  Thanks for visiting the blog and have a great night everyone! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Watercolor & Ink Altered Barn Owl Print - Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge

Hello Everyone!  I normally do not blog twice in a single day, but I want to post a special watercolor print I created for the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge.  This print was created using a really bad artist proof from my signed and numbered "Barn Owl" edition.  The original Barn owl prints were created using a hand carved linoleum block and an oil based ink on Reeves BFK cold pressed paper. During the printing process, I ended up with several artist's proofs (prints with mistakes, different colored inks, smudges, etc.).  As an artist, I never throw away any art or paper.  You never know when those "junk" papers will come in handy!

I think that the finished print above turned out BEAUTIFUL!  I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out because I was using water based paint and ink over an oil ink print, but I love the effects and colors.

This print is the original black and white "Barn Owl" print.  Like the print I used to create the watercolor print above, this too is an artist's proof due to imperfect printing (uneven ink, unintentional white spots, and smudging within the feathers).  The artist proof I used for the watercolor print had lots of background areas that were poorly inked resulting in a lighter, splotchy background.

The materials used include:
 - artist's proof linocut print
 - tracing paper (to create a mask over the owl)
 -  black permanent marker
 - Dylusions ink spray in colors White Linen, Pure Sunshine, London Blue, After Midnight, Cherry Pie, and Cut Grass
 - Distress paint in colors Black Soot, Mowed Lawn, Chipped Sapphire, and Salty Ocean
 - Distress Ink in colors Peacock Feathers,Picked Raspberry, and Faded Jeans
 - Archival Black Ink Pad
 - Water in a spray bottle
 - Masking tape
 - Stamp with script
 - Fineline masking fluid
 - Workable fixative
 - White Gelli Roll pen

The first thing I did was create a mask for the main owl. I also used a little masking fluid and masking tape to preserve key white areas without over doing it.  I did not perfectly mask the owl because I wanted the colors to bleed and drip into the image a bit. I then started to layer areas of distress paint on the print and sprayed the print with water to get the colors to move. When that layer was dry, I started to spray Dylusions ink spray over certain areas of the image. I blotted some spots right away, and other spots I sprayed with water to create drips.  My After Midnight ink sprayer was clogged a bit, so I accidentally created large splatters on the image. I ended up using other colors to purposely create splatters similar to the After midnight spots. I let the image dry and removed the masks. I decided to use a workable fixative at this point so I could add more layers of color without disturbing the layers of paint and ink underneath. I ended up blending distress ink into the background and into the owl's feathers to get rid of a bit of the stark white. I also added a bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint to the shadow areas of the feathers to bring more color into the owl image. I ended up layering colors until I was happy with the print.  I then stamped some script on the image using black Archival ink. The last thing I did was use a white Gelli Roll Pen to add back a few of the white details in the feathers. Viola, the altered print is complete!

In the end, I loved how the different mediums interacted with each other.  The distress paint worked well on the oil based ink, but the Dylusions Ink spray and Distress Ink seemed to avoid those inked areas and preferred to seep into the Reeves paper. I absolutely love how this altered print turned out and can't wait to try this technique again!

This image is being entered into the watercolor challenge at  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog.  I am apologizing in advance if I do not post to the blog for a couple days. I have been physically exhausted all week due to returning to work after a six month medical leave. Despite my surgery being successful, my ankle continues to be extremely painful and swollen.  Anyway, I will try to post to the blog and create art if my body allows it.  I hope all of you have a fantastic Thursday tomorrow. Take care. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

1999 Halloween Throw Back Thursday!

Hello everyone!  I hope all of you are having a fantastic evening.  I literally dug up a special treat for today's throwback Thursday. This drawing was created by me in 1999!  I was a Junior in High School back then and loved drawing gore. I was a very troubled youth at the time due to the unexpected passing of my father.  I wore all black, got my nose pierced, and had a pretty sick attitude back then.  Seeing as how Halloween is only a few weeks away, I thought I would share this gruesome drawing with all of you.  Warning: this image is not for the faint of heart!

This drawing was created on a lime green watercolor background using colored pencils, charcoal pencils, and a black pen.  I remember drawing this horror scene like it was yesterday!  The inspiration came from a fear I have of getting my fingers sliced off.  (Some people are afraid of spiders, I'm afraid of losing my phalanges). I used to have the worst nightmares based on this fear and still dislike the idea of this happening.  In elementary school I had an art teacher who cut his fingers off in an old school paper cutter.  I still get the creeps thinking about it. To this day I have a difficult time using power saws, meat slicers, food processors, and paper cutters. 

Besides my fear of being chopped up like a cobb salad, I incorporated a few other disturbing concepts into the drawing.  I purposely made the hand appear bloated so that it looked like my body had been there for a while.  I hate the feeling of abandonment or feeling forgotten, so I wanted to convey the idea that my body has been missing for some time.  Obviously no bloated dead hand is complete without an entourage of feasting maggots and flies. 

The reflection in the knife also conveys a personal fear.  I have been deathly afraid of fire my whole life. This fear runs much deeper than any other fear I possess.  I am not a fan of matches, lighters, unattended candles, or even cigarettes.  The idea of being trapped in a burning building  scares the crap out of me.  (I literally want to check all my fire alarms now.)  I still have haunting nightmares about burning alive.  Ironically, I was  named after my grandmother's younger sister who burned alive in a devastating fire.  (It wasn't until my brother's funeral last month that I found out my grandmother tried to save her and saw her die.) My grandmother named me as soon as she held me because she felt I was her reincarnated sister. I personally believe in reincarnation and know that my grandmother's intuition was right. 

I hope you enjoy tonight's throw back Thursday and are inspired to create a gruesome piece of art.  Please feel free to comment below, subscribe to the blog, and share this post on social media.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good night. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Watercolor & India Ink Bird Drawing

I just thought I would quickly post a watercolor and ink drawing I recently completed.  I absolutely love drawing and painting birds.  I'm not really sure why I enjoy drawing birds so much, but it all started when I was attending High School.  The very first time I had drawn a bird was in 9th grade.  I had created a black egret batik on fabric. After that, I started to draw lots of snowy egrets and sparrows. Nearly twenty years later I am still painting and drawing birds!

This little drawing was created on a scrap piece of paper that I had previously painted with watercolor and distress ink.  I first doodled an image of a bird and branch using a pencil. I then used India ink thinned with water and a calligraphy pen to draw the image and add detail.  I used short little lines to add texture and shading to the image.  I decided to use India ink because the ink absorbs into the paper well, dries quickly, and is permanent.  The watered down India ink did reactivate the distress ink and watercolor underneath the drawing a tiny bit. I tried not to overwork the drawing because I was getting a couple areas where the lines were starting to muddy into the background.  To prevent your drawing from getting muddy or blending into the background, you will want to use a heat gun to dry the ink as you go along.  In the end, this little drawing took me less than an hour to complete and turned out super cute.

I hope all of my blog readers had a great weekend. Thank you for stopping by and subscribing to the blog.  If you would like to follow the Copper Blossom Paperie blog, be sure to click the "follow" button located to the right of this blog post.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Two More Oracle Cards Complete!

Good evening everyone! I thought I would post 2 more finished oracle cards to the blog. Unfortunately, it has been about a month since I posted any finished oracle card art.  For anyone new to this blog who hasn't seen my older posts, I am in the process of creating an intuitive oracle card deck. The deck will be 44-50 cards.  All of the cards are nature based and drawn in the same style. I was hoping to complete this deck over the summer, but life was just too hectic. The drama in my life shows no signs of slowing down, so this project may take a really long time to finish. So far, there are 8 finished cards in this deck.  As I stated in an older post, I am not sure if I want to border the cards, and haven't decided on how or if the cards will be titled.  For now, I am simply satisfied in having finished the artwork for these cards.

Disclaimer:  Because these images I am sharing with you are being published, they cannot be copied, printed, or sold outside of Copper Blossom Paper Gallery.  These images are watermarked and copyrighted.  Please contact me if you are interested in an image and I can get a limited number of prints made up to sell in my Etsy shop.

 The first card is the Transformation card.  In the standard tarot deck, this would be the Death card.  The butterfly symbolizes that change is a necessary part of life.  Sometimes we do not welcome change, but we must face change in order to learn and grow.  Our existence is ever-changing. All things are reborn fresh, new and pure. This card represents a major life change that is necessary for us to evolve into the person we are meant to be.  A caterpillar must face its fear of change in order to grow into a beautiful butterfly.  The second card is the Destiny card.  This card represents going with the flow of life.   The jelly fish must let go of control and allow the current of life to lead him in the right direction.  Your purpose in life will not manifest if you cannot trust the universe. Have faith that you are right where you need to be at this time.

As always, I hope all of you have a great night.  Please feel free to comment below and share this post on social media if you enjoy this blog.  You can also follow the Copper Blossom Paperie blog via email or google+. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Watercolor Faux Batik Technique

Hi there!  I hope all of you are having a fantastic Tuesday night.  I thought I would share this video that I came across earlier today while at the hospital with my boyfriend.  I decided to go with him today for moral support.  I only expected to be there for an hour or so, but as my luck would have it, I was there all day.  Lets just say that my boyfriend's follow up appointment turned into a full fledged hospitalization. I don't want to go into details about his illness or condition, but he is in real rough shape.  I was trying not to focus on the heaviness of the situation, so I started watching Youtube to come up with ideas for another project. That is when I came across this awesome video!

Batik is traditionally done with wax and dye on fabric.  It is a long process, but the results are absolutely beautiful.  I have been searching for a way to create the batik look on paper without the melted wax, and found this tutorial.  This video is by far one of the best techniques I've seen for creating a faux batik.

The materials you will need for this project include:
1- sheet of watercolor
1- sheet of fine mulberry paper or a paper without sizing/fillers. (The kozo washi paper is a Japanese mulberry paper.) You could possibly use rice paper instead of kozo washi mulberry paper.
- white school glue 
- watercolor paint
- paint brushes
- water

To create this look, you will first want to make sure that the mulberry paper is about the same size as the sheet of watercolor paper.  Next you will want to crinkle up the mulberry paper and soak it in some water. When the paper is completely wet, squeeze the excess water from the wad of paper and set it aside. The next step is to mix some white school glue with water and paint the entire surface of the watercolor paper with the glue solution. Quickly and carefully un-wad the mulberry paper and layer the crinkled paper over the glued watercolor paper. You will want to press down and flatten the crinkled mulberry paper as much as possible.  Any fine wrinkles and texture left in the mulberry paper is fine.  You will want to start watercolor painting while the paper is still wet.  You can paint anything your heart desires.  It may be helpful to draw your image onto the mulberry paper prior to soaking it.  The moisture in the paper allows the watercolor to spread along the crinkles of the mulberry paper.  You can spray water on areas of the wet painting to help the paint spread.  You can also use salt to add texture to the watercolor painting. Feel free to try metallic watercolors, dye inks, or pearl mists with this faux batik technique.

I hope this video inspires you like it has inspired me.  What a great way to create the batik look without dealing with the hassles of hot wax and messy dyes.  If you enjoy these craft ideas, please be sure to follow this blog through email or google+.  Thanks for visiting tonight! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Two More Oracle Cards & A Story

Today I thought I would share two more oracle cards I created over the past weekend.  I was planning on posting this sooner, but I ran into a problem with one of the cards I was designing last week.  As you know, these are oracle cards which are meant to hold a specific meaning and energy.  I am finding that I am having a hard time drawing certain cards, while other cards magically come together for me with absolutely no issues.  I'm not sure if it is because I am not connecting to the energies of the cards I want to create, or if it is due to random chance? When I designed the Wish card a couple weeks ago, nothing seemed to go right.  I am naturally an unlucky person, so it was no surprise that the card representing good luck would give me problems.  The drawing went well, and I was able to color it in without a problem. I masked the drawing out to spray a background behind it, but my ink sprayer kept clogging and dripping on the image. When I decided to try to fix the background, nothing I tried worked. Eventually I colored the entire background with a gel pen and matte paint, but the color turned out super uneven and still showed the mistakes underneath.  Still unhappy with it, I added watercolor to the background which  created a unique effect on top of the over worked surface.  The image actually turned out quite beautiful in the end (which was lucky).  I have thought about redoing the card several times because it had frustrated me so much.  In the end, I decided to use it in the deck because the card truly represents luck.

Last week I encountered every problem possible with the Destiny (go with the flow of life) card.   I had drawn out an intricate design the week before and just had to transfer the drawing to a piece of chip board.  When I tried to transfer the drawing, I couldn't get a clear image to transfer.  Either the image would move, or something would happen to the transfer paper.  I ended up drawing the image by hand on the chip board but it wasn't as nice.  I decided to just go with it (because it is the card that represents going with the flow) and color in the drawing anyway.  Somehow I ended up getting blue ink on my hand from who knows where, and got it all over the chip board and drawing.  I decided to do a sprayed background to hide the blue using dylusions ink after that.  I masked out the drawing before spraying the ink,  but the ink bled through the masking fluid and saturated the majority of the chipboard.  I was so frustrated, but thought maybe I should just seal the ink with my spray fixative, paint over it, and start over.  Unfortunately, my brother borrowed my spray fixative a week earlier and hadn't returned it yet.  I took that as a sign to hold off on creating the Destiny card. The next day, I created the Communication card without any problems whatsoever.

Disclaimer:  Because the images I am sharing with you are being published, they cannot be copied, printed, or sold outside of Copper Blossom Paper Gallery.  These images are watermarked and copyrighted.  Please contact me if you are interested in an image and I can get a limited number of prints made up to sell in the shop.

The first card is the Communication card.  This card represents a need to communicate and express yourself.  The male frog will sing to attract his mate and also speak up when he feels threatened. You need to find your voice to resolve the situation at hand.  If you are having relationship problems, you need to express your feelings to your partner.  This card also encourages you to express yourself through music and writing.  Good communication can solve any problem.  The second card is the Illusion card.  This card represents living in your mind rather than reality.  Like the fish in a bubble, you are unable to see all sides of a situation.  You need to stop over analyzing everything, and see the situation for what it truly is. 

Thank you for stopping by.  If you enjoy my blog posts, please share on social media and google+.  Also be sure to like and follow my facebook page at www.facebook.com/copperblossom.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤

Elegant Writer Watercolor Technique! Super Cool And Easy Peasy!

Hello peeps!  I love inspiring people and when I find something that inspires me, I must share it with all of you.  I decided to share this video with everyone today because it is an awesome way to create watercolor art without spending a ton of time or money.  This technique also only requires a few basic materials to create.  The materials you will need include watercolor paper, a black Elegant Writer calligraphy pen, a watercolor brush, and water.  A spray bottle with a fine mist is also recommended if you decide to add color to the image later on. The Elegant Writer pen ink is unique because it reacts with water... even when it is dry.  Not only does the ink spread when water is added, but it separates into blue, green, purple, pink, and grey pigments.  This ink will also become permanent after contact with water.  The artist in the video is an amazing teacher and shows so many examples of this technique.  If you have enough time to watch the entire video, do it!

I really hope you are inspired by the video.  Please feel free to comment and share on social media.  Thank you for stopping by and supporting what I do.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤

A Couple More Oracle Cards

I thought I would post 2 more finished cards to the blog. I forgot to mention yesterday that I am not sure if I want to put titles and meanings on the cards or leave them as they are.  I knew from the beginning that I wanted the artwork to pop without being cluttered by a border since I hate the distraction some borders cause.  I think that the cards will appeal to a grater audience if they didn't have the meanings attached directly.  I believe personally that intuition is a powerful thing... so maybe these can be a more intuitive deck?

Disclaimer:  Because these images I am sharing with you are being published, they cannot be copied, printed, or sold outside of Copper Blossom Paper Gallery.  These images are watermarked and copyrighted.  Please contact me if you are interested in an image and I can get a limited number of prints made up to sell in the shop.

 The first card is the Wish card.  The ladybug is a sign of luck and encourages us to take risks and make our dreams become real. Now is the perfect time to start a new business venture or start a family.  The second card is the hard work card. The bee is always busy collecting pollen and tending to the hive with little time to enjoy the beauty of life.  This is a time for hard work or mastering a skill. It may seem like you are putting more effort in than what you are getting out at this time, but this is a necessary step along your life's path.

I would love to hear what you think about this art work.  Please comment below and share my blog on social media if you are a fan!   ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤

First 2 Oracle Cards Revealed!

Hello and thanks for stopping by.  I am so thrilled to have so many people showing my blog love. My first freebie card was a hit!  I apologize for the card not being formatted to 4"x6".  I posted it late last night, and didn't think about it until today.  I hope no one had issues formatting it to the proper size. I will be formatting everything from now on so no one has to guess what size it will print.  I love working with digital media, so I am excited to create fun printables for everyone.

Ok, now for the big reveal.  As I stated in my returning post, I am spiritual and have been working on creating an oracle deck. (I've also been writing a book about intuition and connecting to the energies around us, but that is a whole other ball game).  My spirituality connects me to nature and the earth, so it is only natural that my deck would be based on the natural world. These drawings are done by hand on acid free chip board using alcohol markers, dylusions ink, gel pens, distress paint, acrylic paint, colored pencil, and anything else I may have lying around.  I absolutely love the images I have produced thus far.  I will be revealing them to you as I finish them.

Disclaimer:  Because these images I am sharing with you are being published, they cannot be copied, printed, or sold outside of Copper Blossom Paper Gallery.  These images are watermarked and copyrighted.  Please contact me if you are interested in an image and I can get a limited number of prints made up to sell in the shop.

 The first image is the intuition card.  In tarot, it would be the moon card.  This card represents the need to look inward for guidance. It is a time to reconnect with our emotions, and silence the negative chatter in our minds.  The second image is the wisdom/truth card.  The owl represents the need to be truthful and to resolve current problems methodically. Now is not the time to be taking action.  You will save yourself a lot of stress if you create a strategic plan of action and gain knowledge about the issue before entering into battle. 

Thanks for stopping by.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤