My Essentials for Black and White Paintings

Hello again friends! Today, I thought we could talk about paint. Within the past couple of years, I’ve delved a little bit into the crafts of “arts and crafts”. Making little ornaments, key chains, charms. But painting is my passion. Specifically focusing on movement or dance. I’ve connected with several different photographers and they have graciously allowed me to use their photos. And by painting dance, or ballet, I’ve taught myself to paint. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. I choose certain brands of acrylic paint and use specific brushes to achieve the perfect amount of “light” or darkness. So that when someone sees my painting, they can almost hear the dress move, or feel a gentle breeze. Shall we begin?

Here is the paint I use for painting either ballet or black and white portraits.. Windsor & Newton. Now it says Mars Black, but if you look closely, when enough water is added, it becomes blue-like. So really, my black and white paintings, are black, white and blue.

Now, as far as brushes, there are hundreds of different types of brushes. Brushes made of sable, nylon and synthetic. Those are typically used for watercolor. Oil painting brushes are sable or bristle. Acrylic brushes are usually nylon or synthetic. There are different shapes of brushes that create different ways the paint flows off of it. Flat, filbert and round are the most common that I use. I also like the angle brush. They come in all different sizes. The large brush in my hand in the photo, is a 1 inch filbert. The rest of the brushes are round detail brushes. Perfect for working on facial features or hands.

I have two or three different glass jars that I use for rinsing brushes. One is used only for black and white paint. And I have a cup of brushes that are used only for black and white paintings. Once a brush is used for any other color, it can no longer be used for a black and white painting. I consider a brush to never be 100% clean. There always remains a tiny amount of pigment or color left in that brush. Acrylic paint dries incredibly fast. So to keep it from drying out while I am painting, I use whats called a stay-wet pallet. Basically a air tight container with a thin sponge and stay-wet paper. I have 3 stay-wet pallets and one of those is specifically for black and white paintings. So I try to keep every brush, cup of water and pallet separated.

So, there you go! My product list for painting a black and white portrait or ballet painting. In my next blog/possible video, I will walk you through the process of me getting ready to paint. I wish it was as simple as just sitting down and painting, but sometimes it can be a 20 minute process! But, it’s worth it when I can sit for hours and focus on just the painting!

Happy New Year, Friends!

Boy, what a year! I got to travel out of state 3 different times, moved to a new house back into Fairbanks, discovered a new hobby (rock hounding, more on that later), went on road trips, camping trips, travel trailer adventures, hosted a giveaway on the website, created fun little gifts. And rediscovered my love for being a vendor at craft fairs. 2019 has been a roller coaster. So much fun, some heartache and a lot of recapturing of who I am and striving to be the best version of me! I am balancing life better than I was a year ago and things are going okay!

I have so many new things coming in 2020! I want to expand my little business. I want to draw more, write more and create more! Hone the talent I have and share it with all of you! I want to host more giveaways, record podcasts and have guests hosting! There is so much to do and I want to explore all that the world has to offer! We have plans to travel out of state again, maybe the East Coast this time? My goal for the month of January, to take you on a journey of life in Alaska. I want to record a couple of podcasts. And fill you in on expansion of my brand!

Thank you all so much for coming with me! For subscribing to my blog, buying my art, “liking” my posts on Facebook and Instagram and just for your all around support of me and my little family!

Palm Springs in the Spring

Hello again dear friends! A blog 2 weeks in a row?! Yes! I’m on a roll!

Today, I’ll share a bit about Palm Springs, California! My dear sister invited me to go on this trip to help her out with her cute little baby daughter. While sister was busy with work stuff, I would entertain the baby!

It was so exciting to land! The wind had picked up earlier that evening. And I’m a terrible flyer, but the excitement of seeing a new city, eased my anxiety for the bumpy landing. We walked out of the plane, into an outdoor airport. 4 giant palm trees sprouted up from the center of the terminal and their branches were being whipped around by the gusts. It was dark out and nearly the middle of the night, but I was eager to see all I could.

We got to the hotel and walked directly into the casino/lobby. That was fun! What was odd was people smoking indoors. The casino was everything and nothing I thought it would be! Loud, and smoky. Lit up by all the slot machines and other games. But nary a showgirl in sight! I’m told those are only in Vegas. Who knew?!

I spent most of my time either walking the hotel grounds or in the hotel room, spending time tending the baby. And that was okay by me! It was literally 97 degrees outside! And the casino was full of smoke, blech. So Maliah and I watched tv, had room service and enjoyed the air conditioning.

On one evening, Sarah, Maliah and I ventured out to an outdoor mall. We walked through a Burberry outlet shop. I tried on a very expensive coat that I still dream about! We enjoyed a breezy walk through more shops and boutiques. Sarah bought me a little book about motherhood and we enjoyed each others company! It was so wonderful to get to experience Palm Springs with one of my nearest and dearest. And I so appreciate her invitation to tag along. I learned the road runners are not actually 5 feet tall, but rather about 12 inches. Our uber driver had a good laugh about that one. And we got upgraded to first class on the way back! And that was as amazing as I thought it could be! There was so much leg room I had trouble reaching my first class menu! lol And nothing tastes quite as good as a free first class fruit and cheese platter!

Ok, I hope you enjoyed reading all about Palm Springs in the Spring! What an adventure! Hey Sarah, same time next year? I have a coat I forgot to grab while I was there!

Travel Time

It seems to almost touch the clouds!

Good Morning Friends! So I have decided to discuss travels. Where I’ve been and where I’m going. I haven’t left the state in roughly 14 years. and I had only been out of state 3 times. So, I had the opportunity to travel to Medford Oregon, Northern California and Southern California.

Medford is a sleepy little town 30 miles of the California border. I met new friends and saw some fun things. I walked through my first casino and lost a dollar (no more slots for me!) I saw wine vineyards, fancy shmancy Oregon homes and beautiful cherry blossom trees that were in full bloom! We were so close to the redwoods, I couldn’t pass up the chance. It was like magic, driving through the Jedidiah Smith State Park. As we got closer, the trees began to grow larger and larger. They reminded me of the mutant flowers behind the nuclear plant from the very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. They were so massive and I felt so small yet so lucky to be there. The undergrowth of the trees were also so pretty. The tiny leaves of the plants stood in contrast of the incredibly tall trees. I saw a banana slug. Which, not really surprising, looked like a little banana, but was a massive slug.

The tide pools - looking for scallops, seashells and crabs.

We drove on to the west coast. My first glimpse of the ocean brought tears to my eyes. I watched, speechless, as the tide came in and crashed against the huge rocks along the coastline. The noise it made was like none other. The ocean, in all its power, rolled in and over rocks, sand, seashells and tide pools. I walked near the water, into the water and away from it as it chased me. I collected seashells, driftwood and sand dollars. And memories. I ate dinner at a little restaurant in the fishing harbor in Brookings. Clam chowder, of course, and crab cakes. When the sun finally set, it was decided an overnight in the car, with waves crashing onto the beach, was a must. So Crescent City beach was our campsite. We woke to a foggy morning. Combing the sands, one more time. Strolling through art galleries and gift shops. And walked the pier. I tried to walk to the end, but my fear of the strong, unyielding winds and the thunderous waves, I decided to save the long walk for another day. We finished our trip to the California/Oregon coast sitting on the sand, with the warm sun overhead and

All and all, it was a meaningful and memorable trip.

A lighthouse at Crescent City, right near the pier.

Seed Beads Season

Hello Friends,

I can’t believe its been 8 weeks since my last blog post. I need to get better about updating! It’s been a very busy Spring here in the loft and at home. But, I am ready to get back to work updating the website, including the store and current projects that I’ve been working on. I also want to plan another giveaway here in the next couple of months.

But today! We are going to talk about seed beads artwork. Specifically earrings. I have sewn with beads since the 2nd grade. I made a few earrings throughout grade school. And some through middle and high school. It wasn’t until about 6 years ago I decided to get more serious about it. I was a stay at home mom and both kids were in school. I thought I could probably make a little bit of money by being creative. I decided to reach out to a friend and ask to share a table with her at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in July of that year. And she graciously obliged!  I made about 5-6 pairs of earrings and prepped the few paintings that I had, loaded up my car and off to the Carlson Center I went. I spent 3 full days there. I sold maybe three pairs of earrings, I was discouraged but I definitely learned a lot.

At first, my designs were pretty simple. Nothing too complicated. I started to search Pinterest and found inspiration there. A lot of my earrings were very similar to what I found online. But as time wore on, I branched out, stretched my creative brain and added designs of my own. I know there is controversy with straight up copying some other artists beadwork.  I find inspiration in other artist work, and if I see a design I like, I’ll use that pattern but change it up to my own little flavor! Lately I’ve really been like the more simpler patterns and more tribal looks. I have a couple like that and in the photos, you can probably pick them out.

I love painting and photography, and I think I’ll continue to expand those two art forms, but sewing earrings will always be an outlet for creating beautiful things. I feel a connection to the past. It helps to center me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. And I hope I can pass that same feeling and connection to my daughter.

Check the store for these earrings.

In the coming weeks and months, watch for the series in regards to sewing with seed beads. Ill post how-to’s, color and bead selection and so on. It’s a fun topic for me to talk about and I love sharing with others what I’ve learned.

Be sure to check out the store here on the website for the earrings photographed in this blog.

My next blog: Travel! Its always fun to see new places and meet new people! Come and see what I’ve done and where I’ve gone in the past month!

Wood Rounds Art

Good Day, Friends! Here we are again! I just wanted to give you all an update on life in The Loft! Things have been busy busy lately! Lots of fun new projects, (including this website), gearing up for a wonderful Spring in Fairbanks and planning road trips and family fun! In the midst of that, I recently started a commissioned portrait. I have also discovered the miniature art form on wood rounds, or wood chips.

I have tried this in the past with painting and drawing on wood rounds by cutting my own instead of purchasing from the local craft store. But the blade I was using was creating much too rough of a surface that the wood was not a usable paint surface. This time, however, I am using a finer tooth blade to make the cuts and it is working wonderfully! The surface is not glass-like smooth, which is actually a good thing for me as painting on glass can be difficult. I have primarily used canvas which has some grain or “tooth” to the surface and holds on to the paint a little better than that of glass.

I have always been a doodler and I seem to be able to concentrate better when doodling. So the wood round art is a perfect little doodle pad, I’ve taken some inspiration from Pinterest and all the wonderful artist on there. I am so drawn to nature and simple landscapes of spruce and birch trees, lakes and riverbanks. And all the little critters that make their home in the grass, water and logs in the wild! I also like contrasting colors and so I’ve kind of gone that direction with my drawings on the wood rounds.

I’ve got more art ideas floating around in my head for this paint surface and I can’t wait to put them all out on the work bench/table and then share with all of you! I’ll keep you updated on the status and share lots of pictures of new little wood rounds (ornaments, anyone?) If you see one you like, I’ll be posting them in my little shop here on the website!

Coming Up in Next Weeks Blog: Sewing with Seed Beads

Greetings and Salutations!

Hello Dear Friends,

Thank you for taking the time to come visit! As this is my first blog post, I just wanted to start out by talking about what I will be doing with the website. In addition to having a gallery to showcase past work, including commissions, I want to share other art work that I’ve done.

decided a couple of years ago to not limit myself to just canvas art. I have been beading since I was a teenager, but wanted to expand on the simpler designs from my youth. So I have a gallery of beadwork here as well. In more recent months, I have grown to appreciate photography and I try to capture my point of view when taking pictures of the landscape I grew up in.

As far as painting, I feel like painting the ballet is my first love. I feel so incredibly inspired seeing photos and videos of people dancing. The complete dedication and strength to the dancers art is un-matching! I am hoping that my budding curiosity with photography and my desire to paint the ballet will merge and I can call the complete process my own. But until then, I have worked with several photographers who were/are so generous in allowing me to use their pictures as reference.

My purpose of the blog though, is to just let you, the reader, watcher, listener, into my little art world. To watch the process and see completed projects. I want to bring you on the journey and share what I have learned along the way. I will be posting how to’s, how not to’s, product reviews, events I’ll be attending. And the list goes on. There are so many ideas floating around in my head and I can’t wait to get started and let you see that, through life’s ups and downs, that we can express ourselves through art. And not be fearful of what others will think or say, but we can live, and create beauty in all that we do! I fee like, when someone says, “I can’t do that...” My first response is “YES! Yes you can!” Everyone has the ability to create art! And I want to help! Let’s do this!!

(Watch for the next blog post: Creating Wood Round Art...) 

Rachelle's Art Loft Artwork Giveaway

Good morning! Here are the details for entering the contest! Subscribe to my website/blog so you can receive the most up to date happenings from me. Share the post on Facebook and screen shot and send me the pic. (I can’t always see who shares due to some having privacy settings on) and on Instagram, repost the picture of the painting I’m giving away and hashtag #rachellesartloftgiveaway. 

Contest ends Friday February 8th at 6pm. Drawing will be shortly after that.  

3 ways to enter! Good luck, my friends and have a wonderfully relaxing weekend!  

New Project

Standby for the reveal of my new project. I’ll be giving away a prize soon. Rules to be posted on Wednesday January 30th. Check back for more details.