This is a brand new piece that was a joy to create. There had been a hiatus as I prepped 

and framed prints for a Boutique at my Church. I needed a nudge to get the creative

juices flowing again.  I took a napkin printed with hydrangea and a blue butterfly and

decoupaged it onto my old written journal page. Recently I found transparent 

butterflies ( finally) and let them join the printed one along with some scraps of pretty

shells I had put aside a long time ago.  A few spontaneous splatters of paint. Then

on the bottom border a strip of sweet ribbon I had found at Hobby Lobby.

I am fond of this pieces because it is bright and interesting and offers depth. My text

reminds us to live and enjoy the simple life.

                                                     Mother's Journal

I am working on a journal in memory of my Mother. This matches another side page which
I shall post shortly. My husband often gets mailed cards from different charities. I realized
that though I might not want to use the cards, there are often pretty envelope flaps, such
as the top of the page here as well as borders I can use for journal pages or making cards.
I am now cutting and collecting them.  The lovely big butterfly was a transparent black
lined one which I pasted on one of my watercolor pieces to make a striking addition. I
cannot find any of these butterflies which I used to find at Hobby Lobby. I miss them as
I used them on pages, tags and cards....


Here are a couple of cards for a Church ministry I just finished with borders from
other cards. Ephemera are from Hobby Lobby and Michael's.

                                   

"IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS"

11X14 INCHES FRAMED

SANDRA PINEAULT

This and that page with one of my watercolor backgrounds matted with

some colored pencil drawings. Deliberately one side is wider than the other, I

 like yin and yang in my pieces.The photo is a favorite done by one of my

nephews and seems to be a good focal point.

I love color, color, color, big things and small.
Surprises here and there...

Happy Fourth of July U.S.A.

JUST BREATHE

collage by Sandra Pineault

11 x 14 inches framed

Lots of bits and pieces here just to remind us to breathe. Our times are laden with anxiety
and we face pressures from every direction. Art is a form of meditation as it keeps the mind focused on beauty and expression. I find that collaging is like doing a puzzle, another type of anxiety reducing activity. Many who work in the arts are so filled with the anxiety of selling, competing, etc that
all that peace does not or cannot filter through.  When I am searching through my collection of "stuff" my mind is n the search and not about world events.

                                                       FOLLOW YOUR HEART
                                                            11 x 14 framed
                                                       watercolor and ink on
                                                             Yuppo paper.

                                                       Sandra J. Pineault



As one works and stretches imagination, as one listens to the muse inside, things come together
in new and surprising ways. My work is evolving. I found this bit of a watercolor on Yuppo
paper and started using stencils here and there. It deepened and highlighted the color.
 I added a bit of bling to emphasize my message.  Moved away from the collage and
into pure watercolor abstract design. I am a sort of mixed artist. When I see something else
is needed I go surfing through my "stuff" until something calls to me.

I am very happy with the richness in this piece.  If I had not come upon it, it would have
lain hidden in a dark spot.  I did straighten out Follow Your Heart before finishing. I have
a touch of astigmatism and it sometimes interferes with my seeing something straight or not.

Incidentally, I, Sandra Pineault, am writing this blog and not my husband. There is still
a major problem with our blogs switching over to each other. I am letting it go for now.

FOR MOM

Art journaling is about a lot of things but the most important of them is true expression 

and honesty. I started working on this because I found a stash of my photos of daisies. 

I printed out a couple on photo paper and then arranged them. 

 My mother was an amazing gardener.  This was being directed to be a little tribute to her.  

 It is on one of my journal pages  thus, the background writing that  I sort of covered with 

stencils and stamp pad color.

The white crane is one of my photos also, as is the photo of my mother chatting with

a woman at a garden center.  I had these artsy butterflies which express my mother's

ingenuity, constant learning experiences and intellectual curiosity.

The rest of the items are found bits and pieces. Finally, the Blessed is my wishes

for her for always.  Used strips from the photographs to trim the edges.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

ps. please be patient with me as I update all the

parts of this blog, it has not been done

in a long time. One of these

days I will catch up.

DRAGON FLY MAIDEN FLIGHT

Good Sunday morning:

Over the past few days I have been working on this piece,
 half of afull page spread. I have been doing pages 

that take little time but this one was different.  

My base layer was a lovely napkin I found
in my napkin stash.A nice surprise.
I am at the point where organizing 

my stash is crucial 

as I do not know what I have.

Using an undercoating of white gesso and after
separating all FOUR

layers of the napkin,  I glued it with the gesso. 

I like to crinkle it with my fingers so it gets
really "antiqued".Then let it dry.

I then took a strip of another napkin and glued that
 down on the left side so it was stronger
and provided for another

 layer giving more depth of field.  

The bird is a cutout which I outlined in
 black pencil for more

definition. I did use an apricot marker

to bring out theadjacent flower.  

Then a new speckle stencil with green color. Later

I brushed white gesso over some areas to give it more

mystery and mistiness. I brushed the gesso here and there

to do just that in other places as well.

Two more darker florals cut from a napkin added

to lower right corner. 

See why this took more time?

Finally, after finding this dragonfly cutout
(from a cover of a bookabout the famous Lalique dragonfly).
 I cut out thisprecious and put it over a piece
of abstract writing cut in a circle.

The cutout from a photo left bottom is of a butterfly and blossom which

I am not sure I would do again. But ,it has the same hues and

combined with the acrylic pieces adds another focal point.

Added, starting in lower left and coming over bottom, some

pieces of acrylic paintings I had done years ago. I have a 

lot of these and will use more in other pieces. 

Art just keeps on giving....

I very much enjoyed doing this one. I am working on what

message to place on the other panel.
 Used new techniques

and learned others.

This took my journal to a new place and

me along with it!

FAHRENHEIT ART

 I believe each of us tend to stay safe in a few colors that do not disturb-ourselves or others.
You cansee that in the many posts on Facebook of beginning artists that try the old stick in the mud style.  This tends to happen when layering with color before the previous layer is dry.

I am becoming more comfortable with pure color.  That is the beauty of using black which set off brighter colors and make them glow in high temperature.

That happened with this full two page experiment in my journal. I especially like the
 right hand upper corner where it looks like the black and white butterfly shines in contrast.
Yin and yang in art is a great help in everything we do,

In my stash I found a sketch of a white flower which I cut out and put in the left page right
corner.  The white floral mid left is aa photo cut from a gardening magazine. The photos are from a long ago trip to Musee d' Orsay in Paris. I did add some text to the butterfly side.

I wore a disposable glove and used fingers to put on the paint and once in a while I dripped.

New technique I have not used before.

My goal is to get looser and more adventurous in these journals.
They are part experiment and partemotional expression.
Because there is no time limiter expectationon these pages
I sometimes go back in to one

or another and add something else.

I am on a journey that I love and have earned. 

Giving yourself permission to do something that

is just fun and adventure is a true gift and health-ful in many ways.  

Like inner tai chi or yoga.

A way to highlight persons or places that hold a beautiful place in your heart.

                 

                          Splash, puddle, finger-paint, play with glue and pieces of pretty paper...

                                     We need to go  back to kindergarten....meet
                                                        you there..............
  

style

SING YOUR OWN SONG

                                                           

Any type of art wants to reflect MYSELF or in your case YOURSELF.  Often hard to do as we You Tube and drift through the art of so many other people.  Letting go is a life long struggle in so many areas. This is my personal art journal and fear of what others think should not dissuade me one bit.

I have learned through another journalist not to fear "the dark" of black. Wow, what a message
for life!!  I did this page this morning and I love it.  The message is a motto I try to sing.
I squiggled and pinned through this piece. In the beginning I thought I would tear it out. But I kept
grabbing this media or that one.  My collection of pieces from the gift my neighbor gave me of
her old gardening magazines helps a lot.  The goldfinch was from my late mother's stash of photos which I have in my iPhoto album. I love that she and I are collaborating here.

I used stencils and stamp colors. I like there is no odor and no mess. I managed to layer here, too, which is a big goal of mine.


There are a few things I might "fix" but this is an authentic piece and I do not want to spoil it.

I find it helpful that I am creating something out of the pages where I have written so much.
For me, it is like imbuing those pages, sometimes painful, of new life.  This is an altered book. but my own journal pages over the years.

Here is a great source I found this morning that helps that freedom grow...

https://www.karen-gaunt.com/blog/altered-book-art-techniques

Back from a Long Jounrey

                                                             PRAYER PAGE ONE
                                                            Multi-media on Paper

                                                                7 1/2 x 9 1/2 "


            I have dropped in out of the blue after a long hiatus with a new project.

In the past couple of years I have not worked my blog as other activities of life were front and center.  Moving into a smaller home for one where as we get older we can spend more time doing the things we love versus cleaning and maintaining a larger home. Most of all spending time together.

Also, my own health does not allow me to do my larger intuitive abstracts. Incredibly I am still selling from my home inventory.  So I have minimized size, complexity and also begun to use the talent God has given me to give joy and hope to others. I have been designing cards for our Heart to Heart Ministry at our Parish Church. That keeps me busy as this ministry has been growing and growing.  The cards allow me to experiment and enjoy just that.

Then I read somewhere on Pinterest that one can use old journals to create multi-media creations.

That has opened up a big new world and I am going to go larger with this as well.  I started rather stilted but recently began to pour and dabble, use collage pieces such as old photos and text. Layer upon layer once again. Just experimenting from a stash collected over the years.  Fun part is using sketches I have done over the years.

I can revert back to childhood here and PLAY which I have always believed should underpin our art. Now I add to that memories, use of my imagination and all the tools I have often underused.

The other thing I like is that it is always a work in progress.  I can come into my studio, study the page and add another bit of color or design letting it build up slowly and deliciously.

I have six journals and I hope to fill them all. A neighbor just gave me a whole pack of gardening magazines so I will be perusing those at my leisure cutting and planning how they might be used.

I like to cut out the whole flower and perhaps use some geometric pieces from its background. Collage is a way to try different designs, snip and add here and there.

For me, I am doing one side of the journal while putting a combination of color and design around a poem I have written over the years or a treasured letter from a grandchild.

That is where I found the idea of calling these Prayer Pages: prayers of gratitude for so many
blessings and prayers for those who have found their way into these pages.

Note that the border area here is a cut out from one of my painting prints.

I did not want to copy other art journalists so worked until my own style reasserted itself. I
do a treasure hunt in my studio for found objects of all kinds. I am going to frame some of
these for a show in October..for once I am ahead of myself....

There are so many ideas of how to do this or something like this....the best part is to love and
enjoy it....