Le Roi Soleil- Wendy Aspinall

We are still in limbo, our lives have become endless numbers of days staying in place. I don’t know about you but my little studio has become my happy place. As I don’t have anywhere to rush off too, I’m spending more and more time there. And it makes my days brighter, it would so easy to let my mind vegetate but I find myself dreaming up new projects. 

 And this canvas is one of those ideas, inspired by the new Camafeos in the R&A store and the French Monarch Louis XIV or Le Roi Soleil, the Sun King. He ruled for 75 years and he was a dreamer like me, he envisioned the Palace of Versailles. 

I started my project by gluing on the Medium and small sized Helios II wood shaped suns onto a 4 inch squared canvas.

Then added the round Roman headed cameo. 

 Some paper clay stars. 

This was left to dry and then painted with the Verday paint in copper. 

Next I added some paper clay Medallions, some chipboard stars and an Eiffel tower and some flower pics. Then everything got another coat of the copper verday paint. When dry, I sprayed it completely with Patina Solution.

 Lastly I added copper wax to bring out some of the details on the Cameo and Medallions.

Thank you for your time and I hope this inspires you to find your happy place and dream big. Have fun and make art. And above all stay healthy and well.  Hugs Wendy. 

A Wonderful Way To Connect

The R&A Mail Art Swap

We are all feeling the isolation of being in Quarantine, we are all feeling unsure about the future. 

So what could be nicer in this time of stress to receive beautiful works of art through the mail. 

Presenting the 2020  mail art swap swap

Rules and parameters:

*If you haven’t already, become a member of our R&A Tribe on Facebook.

* Themed, HOPE, LOVE  and JOY. 

*must utilize R&A stamps on either postcards or envelopes. 

*You will send one postcard or envelope to each person in the swap group and you will receive lots of lovely mail back. 

* A postcard is a rectangular mailer sent without an envelope. Sending a postcard is an extremely affordable way to communicate when you’re using the U.S Postal Service—regular postcards cost only $0.35 to mail!

To qualify for postcard pricing, your mailer must be at least 3 ½” high, 5” long and 0.007” thick (approximately the thickness of an index card), but no more than 4 ¼” high, 6” long, or 0.016” thick. To qualify for the base rate, postcards cannot be folded. Large postcards can measure up to 6 ⅛” high, 11 ½” long and ¼” thick, but they cost as much as a First-Class Letter ($0.50 and up) to send.To be eligible for mailing at the price for letters, a piece must be: Rectangular. At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick. No more than 6-1/8 inches high x 11-1/2 inches long x 1/4 inch thick.

Taken from 

United States Postal Service 

*Sign  - up closes June 1st

*last day for mailing is July 1st 2020.

*Please add your mailing address to THIS sigh up thread so to group can Utilize the list.

*Sign up and post questions here.

and above all have fun

Wendy 

Special Thanks to Jenn White for looking up all the mailing information 

Persephone's Journey- Wendy Aspinall

According to Greek legend, Persephone was Demeter’s daughter. One day while she was out gathering flowers she was snatched from the Earth by the God Hades and taken to the underworld. Her mother was so upset with worry, grief and anger she caused crops and plants to wither and die for a whole year. The earth was gripped with a terrible famine. So Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone. But before Hades let her go he tricked her into eating some pomegranate seeds, knowing that if she ate anything from the land of the dead she would have to return to him for part of the year.

Demeter was overjoyed to have her daughter back. However every time Persephone had to return to Hades Demeter mourned and the earth's plants and crops stopped growing. But when her daughter returns she is happy and the earth comes back to life. 

I wanted this project to have a distinct play of dark and light, The darker colors represent the time when Persephone is in the underworld and her mother is sad. The light brighter colors when she comes back.

Spring is all about growing and new beginnings. Where new blooms of life bring new hope for our lives. Maybe it’s to start a new class or push our boundaries. When we do we blossom. We again look for the elements missing in our life and like the growth in the spring we become who we are meant to be. 

Never stop growling and reaching for the person you are meant to be. 

Artists Model, Kroma Crackle, VerDay paints, Apoxie Sculpt, Acrylic paint

Twigs, White gesso, Moss, Molded flowers, Wooden block

The Kiss Me Again by Wendy Aspinall

Becoming a Muse made me think about what inspires me, who or what makes my heart beat faster.

For me it is the work of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Especially his golden period, when he produced one of the most recognizable and popular pieces, The Kiss.

And as February is the month of romance. What could be more romantic than the painting The Kiss, it’s also my personal favorite and the inspiration for my contribution to this month’s Muse blog post.

I have re-worked some of his pieces with digital images but never in a physical format before, so I’m very pleased to share with you my canvas inspired by Klimt’s work.

The Kiss me again canvas re-invented with help from Relics and Artifacts by Sandra Evertson.

And like Klimt I too have used gold leaf to bring my piece to life.

Also resin blanks from Visage and Persona.

Apoxie Sculpt. Verday paint in bronze, a canvas painted with black gesso

Acrylic paint, Gold paint, Gold leaf.

I really had fun making this canvas.

I would like to hope the artist is looking down and is pleased with my interpretation of his stunning work, from one Muse to another.

I also hope I’ve inspired you to have fun and make art!