Total Art Soul - for artists

So you know the hole punch you used for the last idea?  The paint swatch chandelier? Well, you can use the same paper punch for this little project.  This is really going to add some pazazz to your gifts.  Watch their faces light up when you give them this.

All you need is:

ribbon
large circle paper hole punch
small hole punch
colorful paper or card, even glossy magazines could be used
wrapped gift

1. Punch your circles from any colorful paper or card you have.

2. Punch a small hole in the center of each circle.

3. Thread your ribbon through this small hole.

4. Continue with as many circles as you would like to add, 3 or 4 looks nice.

5. Scrunch them together so they sit side by side.

6. Attach to your gift.

How simple is that?

For tutorials on how to market yourself online, go here.

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I just loved this Paint swatch chandelier!  What a wonderful idea and those paint swatches you can pick up for free.  You can use an old lampshade and use the frame or pick up an old one from the thrift store.  You can also purchase them new in art and crafts shops but recycling makes this project more fun.

These are the materials you'll need:

- paint swatches in the same tones or you can use multi-colored if you prefer
- wire frame from old lampshade (this will hang upside down)
- large circular hole puncher
- cellotape
- cotton thread
- scissors

Start punching your circles from your paint swatches.  You'll need quite a few depending on the length you want your chandelier to be.  This project will take between 40-60 swatches.

Lay out your paint medallions, coloured side down, in the desired order. Tape down a long piece of coloured thread along the middle of the backs of each medallion. Then using a piece of tape, cut down the center width wise, tape together the edges where one medallion meets the next. Without this final piece of tape, the medallions with rotate on their piece of thread, thus showing the bar codes, text and colour names usually located on the backs of the paint swatches. If that doesn’t bother you then this step isn’t necessary! Repeat this step until all of your chandelier strands are strung and taped together.

Turn your lamp shade upside down and fasten it somewhere where it can hang freely. Start stringing on your strands along the perimeter of the bottom of the chandelier until the entire metal base is covered. Then start stringing strands along the widest ‘top’ of your chandelier so that the lowest part of your strand hits the mid point of the bottom layer. Continue this all the way around until the entire chandelier is covered. Add a ribbon to the metal pieces and you're ready to hang it!

The full tutorial can be seen here.

For tutorials on how to market yourself online, click here.

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There are times as an artist when a drawing takes hold of you. There is something about it that it almost draws itself.

This is that drawing for me.

The subject is Kadi, a Sumatran Tiger Cub born at the wonderful South Lakes Wild Animal Park

There were challenges in drawing from this photograph as I could not get a clear shot for the bars but I did have a couple of other shots which helped me fill in the gaps.

The drawing is on cartridge paper, my favourite as it is smooth and easy to build layers on.  It holds its form and strength whatever I do to it.  I should really start top left and work my way down but the temptation to start on the eye was just too great.

The contrast of dark and light make a dramatic drawing but provide more challenges to stop the colours smudging into each other.

A coloured pencil drawing requires a lot of layers to ensure realism.  It is important to understand how pencils work together to create new colours or textures, one colour is never enough.  There are no flat colours in nature, her beauty is in the variety.

The complete drawing.  This used a mix of Derwent Watercolour Pencils and Caran d'Ache pencils.  I like the softness of Derwent and the hard crisp edges of Caran d'Ache.

I am happy with this drawing.  Here is the scan of this drawing.

I love tigers and I hope it shows in my drawing.

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