#2026calendarchallenge - Behold the final Bear!!! 🐻 So very happy how he turned out. 😁 Additional layers of stamping, alcohol ink, acrylic paint, penciled in constellations and theme (HIBERNATE) on the background, colored pencil on the pine branch, and a light splatter of white after everything was glued down. Really like how painting the back of the tissue paper letters with gold calligraphy ink worked out. Used that same gold ink to add a star on the bear’s forehead. #artstr #artchallenge #artprocess #mixedmedia #rustypuppyart

#2026calendarchallenge - Bear background work … After many variations, I decided on this placement for the stained text papers. Also put needed supplies in easy reach. Was futzing about placement and decided to use a colored pencil to literally mark the outline of where the papers should go. Made the outline extra scribbly and added some meaningful words - mixed media is all about the layers, so add them when you can. Sprayed water on back of papers to help them flatten out - serious Remember This step otherwise you get lots of wrinkles. Added matte gel medium (goopy glue) to art board. Added matte medium (liquid glue) to back of papers. Placed papers back on art board in correct place and front/back orientation. Use card to Gently smooth out any bumps, moving from center of paper out toward the edges. Placed wax paper on top and used brayer with a lot of pressure over entire art board, still moving from center toward edges. Removed wax paper and off to have dinner so everything can dry. #artstr #artprocess #artchallenge #artprocess #mixedmedia #rustypuppyart

1. How it started. 2. How it ended. My counter teas have been tamed. #teastr #organizing 🫖☕️🍵

Stupendous clouds today. Also, some folks Halloween decorations aren’t ripe yet. #touchgrass #thebigblueroom #outside #clouds #halloween

Wonderful opportunity to have THE @BitPopArt draw a custom character for you!!!!! #art #artstr #custom #v4v #grownostr #nostronly View quoted note →

Tonight’s dinner entertainment; a fun little 1992 flick with an amazing cast, including Robert Redford. Tomorrow, I’ll watch The Sting. #filmstr #movie #robertredford

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Robert Redford obituary: The enthralling star whose 'aura' lit up Hollywood

Look back at the life of the actor whose laconic style made him one of Hollywood's brightest stars.

#2026calendarchallenge - New week, same bear 🐻 1. Used Sharpie pen to darken darks and increase contrast on bear illustration and colored with Copic markers. 2. Researched vintage illustration and text. Printed and stained with Distress Inks. I’m enjoying finding and creating the various parts for this mixed media piece, so not in a rush to finish. I may not have 12 artworks ready for a calendar at the end of the year, but I will have some art I really enjoy. ☺️ #artstr #artprocess #artchallenge #mixedmedia #rustypuppyart

I did some background work across all 12 art boards for my #2026calendarchallenge First, paint with watered down Liquitex Parchment color acrylic ink … which leaves visible brushstrokes. Second, push sea sponge into paint … which leaves lots of little bubbles. Third, go away so you don’t mess up what you did. Last, checkout the nifty texture left behind when the bubbles pop and the paint dries. 🎉 #artprocess #artstr #artchallenge #mixedmedia #rustypuppyart

Twotap is running a free virtual art summit from Sept. 15-18. 🎨🖌️💻

✌️ Twotap Artist Vault

Experience transformative art trends and creative inspiration at the TwoTap Art Summit 2025. Register for free to access exclusive sessions and exp...

All sessions are free during the summit, and you can purchase a VIP pass if you want to keep access to them. Email required for sign up. If you buy the VIP pass, the payment is to HK, so depending on your card, it may get declined. I’ve purchased from them before, and got what I paid for, though it took 2 tries to have my payment go through. I know a bunch of the artists participating this year, so am excited about the sessions. Don’t try and watch all of them. Check out the artist’s style and what they are teaching and pick your top 3-5. #artstr #onlineclass #grownostr

#artstr

I love using printed tissue paper in my mixed media art, but it’s a bit of a process to get to the final stage. I’m considering my calendar art as a series, so I want some common elements in every month. One of those commonalities is including the name of the month, which gets me back to printing on tissue paper. Here my process in case you want to try for yourself: 1. Cut tissue paper to fit a piece of cardstock. This provides rigidity and (ideally) does not fkup your printer. I miter/cut the corners at an angle so the tissue paper folds up neatly without extra bulk or slip. 2. Tape tissue paper to back of cardstock. I use regular Scotch tape. I print on the rough/less shiny side of the tissue paper. Not sure how printing on the shiny/slicker side would work out. 3. Print on tissue paper. I use the manual feed on my laser printer so there isn’t a bunch of extra bends and chances for the tissue paper to tear off. 4. Cut tissue paper off cardstock. I cut right at the edge as I don’t know how much extra tissue paper I want around my printed words yet. 5. Repeat as needed. #artstr #artprocess #2026calendarchallenge #artstr #mixedmedia #rustypuppyart

Moar zines!!! Art and story this time. Limited editions for sats. #zines #v4v #forsale #artstr #art #fiction #grownostr View quoted note →

This is why I can’t live in a house with an HOA. 😬 #memestr #memes #christmas #therewillbesigns

The 12 week art challenge to make art for each month and create a calendar for next year is off and running! Check out @existing sprinkles profile for more details and support materials. These are the vintage style illustrations I’ll be working with for my calendar. I’m going adjust the tones in Photoshop, then print them out and create mixed media art on 8” x 10” art board. Starting with the bear 🐻 for January, as that’s my hibernation month since there’s so much going on in December, and we don’t our coldest cold until the New Year anyway. ❄️ #2026calendarchallenge #artstr #mixedmedia #vintage #artchallenge #rustypuppyart

#startrek #birthday #boldlygo

Not on the part of the planet to see the blood moon/total lunar eclipse tonight, but thanks to this nostrich, I got a great look anyway. 🫂💜🌑 #photostr #moon #eclipse #grownostr View quoted note →

Went out the front door to pick up a package and was surprised to see a hummingbird on my Turk’s cap. This is the one photo that actually has the hummingbird in it …. compared to all the photos of where hummingbird had just been. #birdstr