Growth

I love leaves and trees.  The first stamp set I bought was Lovely as a Tree.  It has been followed by several other leaf and tree oriented sets.  My first punches were two leaf punches that I still use even though they are so hard to punch I have to put them on the floor and stomp on them.  So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a tree and leaves would come to mind when looking for something for a new art piece.  This one is hanging now in my bathroom so I see it each morning.

I had 2 8x10 canvases on hand and have discovered I like a larger work area so I planned the piece to hang them one over the other.

I did the background and tree trunk 2 Sundays ago and finished up the rest this weekend.  In between we had been to Cheap Joe's Art Supply in Boone which is a bit like taking me to the candy store.  I was pretty good because I was so overwhelmed by all the stuff I didn't know quite what to buy settling on a few colors of transparent acrylic paint in different brands.  So I used some of the paints here on the leaves.

The bird was cut with the Cricut and I cut everything else by hand.  I did a pattern for the tree and then used several different papers to complete the trunk and branches.  The 'bark' is some modeling paste mixed with brown ink.  I so love that I get to use a lot of my ink refills and older acrylic paints in these pieces.  So many things underused or not used at all have been put to use.

Another thing from Cheap Joe's is a black Sharpie Paint Pen.  Lenny spotted them and wanted to try one for his pinball playfiends.  I think he is going to love it!  It does a very fine line over any surface including modge podge and doesn't smear at all.  He often has a lot of detail work to do in refurbishing a machine.

Making these pieces is still a learning process. For this one I think I would have picked a shorter saying or more likely used the same type of lettering for more words.  I was trying to do this with all stickers and papers cut out of books.  It is just a bit too busy and gets sort of lost.  The sentiment is a good one to read each day.  "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." - Emerson

So I guess I'm growing :-)