Skip to main content

Posts

Artist afraid of her own supplies?!?

If you're looking at the title you're probably thinking to yourself "How is that even a thing?!" Well it is. I fell head over heels in love with Sennelier oil pastels last winter. So much so that I made a very large investment in buying the entire set of pastels. It came in this big, beautiful wooden box that held all 120 colors. It came and I would stare at the colors, and I would watch these videos of people making beautiful works of art with them.  I poked around with them a bit, but eventually they wound up sitting in their pretty box on a shelf. And that is where they have been since I bought them. Sitting on my shelf, collecting dust. Why you ask? Fear. Fear that my art wouldn't hold up to what I had seen created with them, fear that I wouldn't be able to handle the learning curve of oil pastels, fear that I wasn't good enough. What it boils down to is fear of myself and fear of failure more so then the art supply itself. Basically what I’
Recent posts

Hello

Hello all!! I realized today that I have been very MIA from the world of blogging. Since I last posted I have shifted my gears a bit in terms of what I have been working on.  While I am still very much doing altered art, I have been focusing on my drawing and painting skills. Learning new mediums, and reconnecting with old ones has also been something I have been working towards.  My goal this year is to keep a more active blog, as well as to begin filming more YouTube videos.  In the mean time if you wish to keep up with more of what I have been up to, please visit me on Instagram at Amrtlj or use the hashtag #theoddwhimsy to find me.  Thanks for stopping by! -Altina 

Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition

Hello all! I am so beyond excited to be auditioning for the Graphic 45 team this year!! I was very proud to have made the top 30 two years ago, and am hopeful to make the team this year. For my audition I decided to do one of my favorite things, scrapbooking. I began scrapbooking at age 16 and over the years it’s developed into card making, and eventually to mixed media. Taking the time to learn mixed media has really helped me to grow as an artist, and I am now taking back what I have learned to my scrapbooking. For my page I decided to use the Raining Cats and Dogs collection to showcase a photo of my little black pug, Maddie. Maddie is always at my side wanting to know what I am up to, and am I going to share my food. I am all about dimension and texture on my pages. For this page I decided to try sewing around the edges. I am very happy with the way this turned out and felt it just gave an added detail to my page. I fussy cut several images from the paper

Life update

Hello all!! Sorry to have been a bit MIA the last little bit. Work has kept me pretty busy, and on top of that I was switching my studio from one area to another so that I had more space.  Stay tuned for new projects and tutorials soon, and as always be sure to follow me on Instagram @Amrtlj to see what I’m doing or working on between blog posts.  Thanks for stopping by! AR

Scrapbook Layout with Graphic 45 Faerie Dust

Happy New Year Everyone!! It is currently a lovely 25 degrees outside in Southwest Missouri. With a nice layer of snow on the ground, it’s the perfect time to be inside doing some crafting.  Between work and the holidays I haven’t had much time for anything more than sketching, so I was very excited yesterday to sit down at my art desk and do some scrapbooking.  My adorable niece, who has been featured in several of my layouts, turned a year old at the beginning of December. I went to see her for New Year’s and she had a unicorn themed first birthday party while I was there.  I knew immediately that I wanted to scrap my favorite photo from the party using Graphic 45 Faerie Dust. This is easily my new favorite collection. I love the colors and all the tiny details in the papers.  I started laying out for my page. For my Layout I also used some Milled lavender distress ink, Tim Holtz rub ons, Ivory Tags from Graphic 45, flowers from Prima, and some dried leaves I had from Michaels.  I al

Steampunk Mixed Media Canvas

Hello everyone!!!! Today I’m sharing a steampunk inspired mixed media canvas. I started out with a 6x6 canvas that I covered in tissue paper and then painted with black gesso.  I then added several layers of Art Alchemy Wax. Added my found things and covered them in black gesso.  After the gesso dried I starting painting the items with different paints from the metallique line.  After I painted my found things I actually changed the color of the background from purple and pink to kind of a copper and gold. Once everything was dry I added some butterflies cut from Graphic 45’s Steampunk Debutante line.  For a final Touch I splattered black paint and added glitter to the butterflies.  Thanks for stopping by! -AR

Precious Memories Canvas

Happy Saturday!!! October was an incredibly busy month for me, which resulted in very little time to craft. I was about to go a bit stir crazy!!! Today I am sharing a custom order canvas, using the Precious Memories paper from Graphic 45. This paper is some of my favorite, and I have used before for one of my personal canvases.  I absolutely adore the way this one turned out!! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out my Instagram, Amrtlj, to see behind the scenes photos and more of my art.  -AR