DIY Art Print Painting!

We decided to make our wedding a little different and instead of the usual flowers and arch, we decorated with our most precious belongings and roman columns to represent our love for travel (some of our favourite places being Italy and Greece). We had items that represented pretty much all of the things we love together except our cozy little home in Toronto with a view we absolutely adore. So I decided to make a little half art print / half painting of our view to include on one of our wedding ceremony columns. I could have painted it from scratch but I was really pressed for time so I thought I'd try a print technique I learned long ago but had never attempted. :)

1) Print out your to-scale picture using regular printer paper. Make sure your printer is set to "Best".

2) It's best if you make your image slightly larger than the canvas size so it isn't as hard to get in the right place. Once your picture is printed DO NOT trim the whites off. 

3) Apply a healthy portion of Gel Medium all over the canvas as evenly as possible. I used a big brush to apply mine. 

4) Now place the image on the canvas. Starting from the middle, press firmly all along the picture, making sure there are no air bubbles or folds. Also try not to move the picture around. 

5) Allow to dry overnight.

6) Make sure the gel medium is fully dry. Rip the excess paper off and peel whatever comes off without picking. 

7) Using soaking wet paper towels, drench the paper and rub it off gently. 

8) Once it's all off let it dry completely and you may notice some more paper spots. Wet and remove again.

9) Some people are truly skilled at this and have a perfect print of their picture at this point. I'm not that good so the image was pretty wrecked. BUT I could still make out the basics.

10) I took acrylic paint and matched the colours and details where I could make them out and covered the entire canvas. 

Why not give it a try with your favourite pictures? :D 

Pieces Of Our Journey ~ A Couple's Painting

"Pieces Of Our Journey"

August 2016

Mixed Media on Canvas

36" x 48"

When Darren Edward and I first moved in together back in 2010 life was pretty blissful. Even though Darren didn't have much experience with art previous to our relationship, we would often find ourselves making small pieces just for fun. But we had yet to create something together! I had made this large scale canvas for a client but it was obvious to me that it wouldn't stand the test of time. That being the case, Darren and I decided to create something on it instead. We started off with a fun flowing "do whatever comes to mind" type abstract using acrylic paints. Then we drew on the patterns and the window. These have special meaning to us because we used photos from our travels as references. The complicated pattern was inspired by a design decal that was in our hotel room in Istanbul. We were in awe of the intricate beauty in Turkey. The less detailed pattern was inspired by some gorgeous floor tiles we admired in the Vatican City. Still to this day Italy is one of our favourite places to travel and we'll likely be going there for our honeymoon this spring. Lastly, the window is inspired by a stunning window on the Dublin Castle. Dublin was the first place we traveled together and it really solidified to us that we were the perfect travel partners. The unfinished piece hung in our room for many years and, as predicted, it warped atrociously. With our wedding coming up we decided to re-stretch it onto a solid frame and complete it so that it could be the center piece of our tent. We filled in the patterns with acrylic markers, I built up the crackle paste side frames and painted them a vintage gold. And lastly, I filled in the beautiful window with thin layers of acrylic washes and acrylic markers. It was done just in the nick of time and looked gorgeous up at our wedding. To make the piece even more special we decided to sign and date it right after our wedding ceremony. It now sits above our bed in our cozy little dungeon and we'll surely treasure it for the rest of our lives. :) 

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BIG NEWS REVEALED! I'M GOING TO BE ON TV! :D

Oh goodness! I've been sitting on this NEWS for so long and I've been dying to tell you all about it! I can't reveal too many details just yet but I can finally say I'M GOING TO BE ON TV! Apartment 11 Productions got in contact with me last summer 2016 and asked if I'd be interested in being the Portrait Specialist for an episode called "Changing The Way We See" in Season 2 of Mystery Files; a TVOKids show in Canada. I was told that they'd found me online and after following me for just a short while they knew that I was for sure the person for the job. I set up my studio at the Gladstone Hotel and the filming was done back in early November 2016. I am BEYOND psyched about this incredible achievement! I hope you'll all join me in watching the episode when it airs in Spring/Summer 2017 (more specifics to come).  :D 

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Here are the only two self portraits I have ever done! The first one, created back in 2003, was done for one of my art classes in Secondary School. I remember at the time I really didn't like it and felt slightly discouraged. For 5 years I didn't pick up a pencil or paint brush to create art (while in University) but as soon as I did I found I was mostly drawn to portraiture again. So I kept at it. I practiced and practiced and practiced. I made work and instead of being hard on myself I noticed how each piece got better and better! Now I'm a full-time portrait artist being sought out for commissions from clients all over the world! If you're passionate about something but aren't currently skilled at it, don't give up! Amazing things take time! Keep at it and be proud of every piece of your journey. You've got this! 

Our AMAZING Professional Wedding Photos! :D

Back in early September, Darren Edward and I tied the knot in our hometown of Sudbury. We wanted to keep our "real"wedding ceremony very private so it didn't make sense having a stranger there to marry us. We decided to get the legal wedding done the day before at Sudbury City Hall so that my younger sister Meagan could officiate our true ceremony the next day. On Saturday September 3rd, 2016 we began the day with setup, then we got ready, then Darren and I did a cute "first look" shoot, then we took some photos in the forest, then we came back to my childhood backyard to gush over each other with our private ceremony, and then we all PARTIED! It zoomed by but man was it fun! And everything turned out exactly how I'd imagined it; better, even! On Sunday we threw a wedding brunch so that all of our extended family members and friends could join in the celebrations! I have a HUGE family so it was absolutely awesome getting to see everyone. Since Darren and I live in Toronto we don't get to see our family very often. The whole weekend was SO special! We couldn't have asked for more.

Of course after the wedding we were very excited to see our photos but had to wait the usual couple of months. When we finally received them we excitedly clicked through them and were overjoyed with the beautiful results. But then my solo show came up, and then the holiday season, so there just never seemed to be time to post them. Well here they are! I hope you love them as much as we do. :D

- Friday September 2nd 2016 ~ City Hall Wedding ~ Northern Lovebirds Photography (Brandon Lefebvre)

- Saturday September 3rd 2016 ~ Backyard Wedding ~ Mirth Photography (Stacey Lalande)

- Sunday September 4th 2016 ~ Wedding Brunch ~ T.L. Photography (Tracey Labelle)

WANT TO SEE A BIGGER COLLECTION?
See them on Facebook HERE

Are you a personal friend or family member? You can see the full albums ...
Day 1: HERE
Day 2: HERE
Day 3: HERE

F@&K THE MOST COMMON NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!!!

While my photo may surprise some folks, the fact that the most common New Years resolution is to “loose weight” probably doesn’t surprise anyone. Lately there has been TONS of posts going around about the holidays making us all fat. It’s a common thing but it drives me nuts. Lately I’ve also seen lots of very young ladies (teens) fretting over their very teeny tiny bodies expressing how they’ve let themselves go … it kills me. It’s been years now since I’ve grown to truly love and accept my body exactly as it is in whatever state it’s in. I tend to fluctuate between 155lbs and 180lbs; I’m at my highest here in the photo. The only reason I even know my weight is because I weigh myself to tell how much my artwork packages weigh for shipping. LOL I honestly do not care one little bit what the number on the scale tells me and while I’ve gotten used to that idea, the holiday season and all those terrible posts remind me of how painful it was to hate my body and constantly want to shrink and change it. Back then, even if I was doing really well and loosing lots of weight, it was never ever enough. There was always something that wasn’t perfect. I no longer believe in “perfect”. I believe in the power of unique beauty. We are all unique creatures with unique bodies and those bodies are doing the best they can to keep us alive and house our beautiful souls. There is no way we should be hating on something so precious. I want everyone to remember that everyone sees beauty in different ways. If you’re judging yourself based on the unrealistic demands and expectations of our society then for goodness sake STOP. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Stop comparing yourself to others or what you see in the media. Just focus on you, focus on the things you love about yourself, realize you’re a unique human being, not some photoshopped version of flawless perfection. NO MATTER WHAT SIZE YOU ARE, you are beautiful! :D

Now I can just hear people crowding to say, “But health! But health”! DON’T. Size isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of human health. It’s a factor, yes, but not EVERYTHING. Personally, I think being happy mentally, enjoying your body and enjoying your life without shame or dissatisfaction, is WAY MORE healthy than being small and trim. If your New Years resolution is to live a healthier lifestyle that is 100% awesomesauce! Honestly, following through with that would be life changing! But if deep down inside you’re doing it to be thin and stereotypically attractive then I would say, please don’t feel that pressure. Getting healthier is great but you don’t need to be thin to be beautiful. You are beautiful exactly the way you are. I would also say, I have totally been there, man. I have had countless “I’m going to get thin before summer” New Years resolutions. I either failed, which made me feel shitty about myself, or I became unhealthily determined and ate 400cals a day, exercised like a fiend, lost tons of weight, and still felt there were things I needed to improve on. SO NOT WORTH IT. And definitely not healthy! TRULY caring more about health, not even considering your looks because you already love the way you look, will put you in a much better frame of mind to create a realistic health regime that you can stick too and progress at a natural rate. :D

How did this post come about? I have my hair tied in a braid everyday so I didn’t realize how long my hair was getting and I excitedly wanted to show off my “princess hair” with a photo. I started off with closer shots of my belly and hips (where my hair length ends) and found myself (something that hasn’t happened to me in a long while) feeling embarrassed by my underwear lines, surgical scars, and my tummy. It felt SO awful! It reminded me of how painful it is to be hard on your body. I figure the numerous posts I’ve been seeing may have had me feeling a little uneasy and with the posts continuing, “all I got for Christmas was fat”, over and over, I felt I might make a post of my own showing most of my body. Because I love my body. I truly do. Underwear lines and stretch marks, PAH! Everyone has those! A tummy? I love my fertile looking tummy. I’m a soft woman and I like that! I’m an Elven Fairy Princess Mermaid gosh damn it! LOLThen I was concerned about other peoples judgments, not about me being thick or thin, I couldn’t care less, but about me posting a nude in general. I actually deleted the photo but it kept nagging at me. I’ve lived YEARS without caring what people think, why would I start now? I ended up discussing it with my amazing husband and he encouraged me to see that the potential to help people love themselves is important to me and that it’s worth braving the naysayers. How lucky am I to have someone so supportive; someone who truly gets me?! :D

TO ANYONE WHO FEELS OFFENDED, NEGATIVE, OR SEXUAL - KEEP SCROLLING. This post isn’t for you. I don’t care if the naked body offends you. I personally think nudity is beautiful. Besides, draw a line on either side of my hips and between my breasts and you can pretend I’m wearing a bikini. LOL If you plan on being negative about my body you can save your fingers the typing because I DO NOT care about your opinion. I love my body. My husband loves my body. Your opinion means absolutely nothing to me and if you do leave an unkind comment it will be removed immediately so that your negativity doesn’t infect my kindhearted followers who are working towards loving their bodies as they are. Lastly, if you think this is in any way a sexy post you are 100% wrong. This has nothing to with sex; I am not posing in a sexual way or discussing anything sexual, so if you see it that way it sure says a lot about your mind and the respect you have for me (or lack thereof). Wishing you all happiness and positivity in your life! Be kind and be well. :D