It's a Nice Day to Start Again!

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to 2014 being a great year. Not that 2013 did not bring good things but,there is always room for improvement. 2013 saw my first art work sold, my husband found a new and exciting job, a cool new puppy found us, and as we have been dealing with loss of loved ones in the recent past, 2013 felt like we were a little more present in our own lives.

So, in the words of Billy Idol, "it's a nice day to start again!"

I've never done this before but, I picked a word for the year. It is a way to state my intention for the coming year. This word, I feel has kept me in a place where I am limiting my happiness and creativity. The word is as big and complicated as the action itself. It is one word and I can say it like a mantra. I will take baby steps at first but, I do hope the steps will become larger and eventually the action will be second nature.  The word for 2014: forgive.

brown and black micron, Generals charcoal white, Portfolio AquaSketch White

After drawing this, I took a look at it and what pops into my head? What goes around, comes around. Maybe a little forgiveness is in store for me too.

Challenge #126 Stencils as Strings

Challenge #126 Stencils as Strings

I have used stencils by Ed Roth before to use as a beginning as a tile. Here are #1, #2, and #3. I really enjoy this use of stencils and have found it to be rewarding although I never seem to know what to do with the eye space, especially on human type stencils.  Anyway, This time I just used a stencil that is a simple shape:

I used it in the direction shown, then did a mirror image and added just two "leaves" on each side.

I used brown and black micron pens, Faber-Castell cold grey IV Brush and brown colored pencil