Pencil or Acrylic you choose?

I really enjoy doing abstract drawings and paintings.  On this atc card I used Intense watercolor pencils by Dewit.  I appreciate how dark you can make them.   When you add water the pencil marks turn to ink...  

On this abstract card I used the acrylic paint to create add texture to this abstract painting.  I tried using drab colors and then added the red to brighten it up.  Hope you enjoy... 

I Appreciate Strong Women.......

  I found this book Eminent Women of the Age which was published in the 1800's at the friends of the library sale so I bought it.  Being the father of three daughters my desire has always been that they would grow up strong independent young ladies.  I photocopied pictures of the women from the book and collaged them on atc cards.   I purchased a mat that accommodates all nine cards so they can be displayed altogether.   They are some of my favorite collage atc cards I have done.   

The Bob Newheart Show....

MarciaWallace                                                      

I was remembering tv shows from my childhood.  My parents always watched was the Bob Newhart show.  This atc is a tribute to Marcia Wallace who was secretary Carol Keister...    It does look like her right?

Bread is the Key to Life.....

 Bread is the Key to life.... 

I came across this old cookbook at an antique store.  It looked very vintage.  The pages were coming off and the words have faded so I bought it thinking I could use it in a collage.  When I was browsing through it I came across the Bread section and being the Youth pastor that I am i was reminded of taking Communion. So I just had to make this atc card as a reminder to me.  It is very easy many times to get lost in what you are doing and to forget that communion is and should be an important part of a Christians life.    
Jesus is the BREAD.

Pears for pairs....

I created the background of this card by using several inks...  I found this new orange ink that I think is very cool... Orange is one of my favorite colors.   I started going through my vintage downloads and found this label from the "Graphics Fairy". I then went through some vingtage papers and found a book with pictures from an art exhibit.  I cut a picture that had couples dancing into the shape of a heart.... Hence the name pears for pairs.. haha  I embleshied the card with a flourish from Tim Holtz grunge board. I used acrylic ink to color the flourish.   I like this card a lot...

My Future Ride!

I have wanted a Vespa for a long time.  If I just had the money.....  I found a bag of starbucks coffee beans with a vespa on it and I knew I just had to buy it.   My daughters laugh at me.  They say that I buy coffee for graphics not for the beans that are in the bag.   What is sad is they are right.  I am always looking at the bag and trying to decide what kind of trading card I can make from the graphics...  " I am Busted"    However I only drink Starbucks so I know the beans are always good... That is the way I justify it. 

I have made three Art trading cards today! I has been an enjoyable afternoon.. One  card is a continuation of my Starbucks series and it has a vespa on it. I would love to own a vespa.....  You will have to wait until tomorrow to see it because it is still wet to scan.   The above card is one I made during a very sad time in my life last fall... It is one of my favorite "Funky Face People" series... I am showing it in a mat that is made for art trading cards.  It allows you to place your artwork in a 8 X 10 frame. 

spring into abstract

This is my interpretation of an abstract flower growing in the wet rainy weather. This card looks better in person. It is drawn in my new favorite charcoal pencils. I love these new pencils.......

It looks really cool in the black mat that is made for atc cards. Maybe tomorrow I will take a picture of it in a mat so you can see how nice it looks.

This is one of Michelle's (my wife) favorite cards... In this old notebook that a pastor gave me I found this example of how to write a funeral sermon... I copied it using a colored copier so that the paper would be yellowed like the original and then distressed it. I found this black and white picture of a woman who I colored with color pencils. She looked like she is setting in church. I then took a grunge board heart and flourish by Tim Holtz and painted them. I then put some embossing powder on both then heated the embossing powder until it burned in areas. The butterfly is a scrapbook embellishment that I grunged up with Tim Holtz distress ink.

I found this picture of this Guy in some old religious news letters that I had. I dreamed it was the husband of the wife who is grieving in the above card.... I found an old hymnal music page I then used a Tim Holtz crown mask so that the music would show. I painted over the music with brown paint then collaged the man who was grunged up so that it would look old... I then painted the grunged board wings by Tim Holtz in a brass paint. I did it very thick and sloppy so that it would have a nice texture... I then found the words "The Prince Joseph" in a stack of old sermons that again were a gift from the pastor friend. It was a sermon title.

Starbucks Series

I love making Artist Trading Cards. I set up this blog at the beginning of the year with the intentions of posting daily. Well I have made the cards but I haven't posted them. So over the next few days I will be posting some of my favorites.

I am starting with my Starbucks series. Over the past few months I have been saving the bags that my Starbucks coffee beans comes in. Michelle was wondering why I was doing that but I love the graphics that I find on the bags. I had this Idea a few weeks ago about using some of the graphics off of the bags to college on trading cards with. I am uploading a few of my favorites.

Hope that you enjoy my cards...