Cath Sheard Art

Tag: Dina Wakley

  • Shallow cracks run deep!

    My art practice runs deeply through my life, and sometimes cracks appear. Life gets in the way, and my art practice takes a lower priority for a time. From the outside that probably looks like a wee crack on the surface and no big deal. But actually those shallow cracks run deep – art is vital to my life and it’s important I always find – make – time to move my hands.

    Since Tony moved into the rest home I’ve found less time for my art. At first glance I should have more time, not less – but that’s not how it works. By the time I work, and visit him 4 weeknights out of 5, then bring him home at the weekend, time is precious. When he was at home, sure things were difficult, but I sat at my art desk while he slept the days away.

    Over the last few days I’ve made a concerted effort to do a bit more art and it feels good to be moving my hands. I need to prioritise my art time better! These pages are all in my Dina Wakley journals.

  • Inspired by…. #BlogJune 6

    This multi-page spread in my Dina Wakley journal was inspired by Niamh Baly. I’m an avid follower and often find myself inspired by her, but this was a more direct inspiration than normal. Tony’s had a few rough days – that is another day’s post – so I spent a lot of today working on this while he slept in the lazyboy behind me. I used Dina Wakley paint, stamps, printed tissue and a page from her Collage Collective book. The quote is one I saw on FB that seemed appropriate, given all the support we’re getting at the moment. I’m pleased with how this turned out and glad I put the time into it.

  • Play time

    There’s nothing like a little play time in my journals to restore my equilibrium! This layout is in my small Dylusions journal and used the Dina Wakley words collage tissue, and Dylusions paints and collage collections.

    #BlogJune 2021

  • Exploring colour

    One of the Dina Wakley art tutorial videos I watched recently suggested making a reference file of all your Dina Wakley paints, showing the analogous (neighboring) colours and the opposite or near opposite colours. It’s a fun exercise and a good way of finding new colour combinations to use in your artwork. I bought a new notebook and worked my way through each paint in my collection, adding the analogous colours from her colour wheel, then using pieces from the Collage Collective to glue on small accents from opposite on the colour wheel. I found some combinations I absolutely love! Here’s a sample of the pages I’ve made.

  • Art videos

    While I’ve been off work recuperating, I’ve watched hours and hours of art tutorial videos by Dyan Reaveley, Dina Wakley, Niamh Baly and Tim Holtz. Sometimes I learn new techniques, or new ways to use existing products, other times I’m reminded of things I used to do. It’s always good to find new ways to use existing products. And, yes, I’ve bought quite a lot of new stuff too 😉

    I’d had one of Dina Wakley’s small white journals before and loved it, so bought another one recently so I could practice what I was seeing in her art videos in an accessible format. I’ve been playing with creating abstract figures using her acrylic gloss spray, different ways of creating backgrounds including using her black gesso, and experimenting with colour combinations. I’ve found the wee abstract figures are great for playing with colour combinations and think this journal is going to be quite full of these quirky characters!