Young Picassa's

It was a dismal day in London town not too long ago but not at Chelsea Art Designs HQ! 

"Mummy may we paint please??? Sure you can my darlings...what colours would you like to use? yellow, green, orange, pink and blue please. Ok one moment........an hour later..."

I always encourage my daughters to do what makes them happy, follow their dreams, be happy in their own skin and  embrace every moment!! quote courtesy Pinterest

 Embrace the moments that life present to you!!!! have a lovely weekend!! Best Wishes Chelsea

Handmade Upcycled Travel Journal

Hello friends...I hope you have all been well. I have been under the radar recently, you see when there is sunshine and warmth in the UK everyone is out catching the rays and I am no exception. I have been very creative though, water colouring, art journalling and zendoodling while soaking up the sun.

Above - front and back cover. I did this little project last night. We are off the to south of France for a camping trip  

And I most certainly have to be creative while there and so  thought I would make a travel journal [despite having well over 30 new and partially used...shhhh no judgement] 

I used my daughter's unwanted Hello Kitty notebook [12 pages] I added and layered the pages with various textured paper. I am so excited to use this journal and see it transform into a colourful story, with secret pockets, tags, laces, empherma, quotes and maybe learn a few more french words.

This will be my first time doing an official travel journal, what a pity I only recently discovered this because I have done a fair bit of travelling in my time [ Germany, Spain, Holland, France, Barbados, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Canada, Scotland,...] how divine would it have been to have a travel journal for each of my trips then????

We live and learn, it is the journey of life.....I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Oh please wish me luck on the driving theory test on Wednesday!



courtesty PinterestPinterest

Mixed Media Sea Scape Painting

A few months ago I was asked to do this commissioned painting.

This sketch was my brief along with a guided dimension and apart from that I was given full artistic license

I knew I wanted this piece to be 3 dimensional and heavily textured, with the sun lifted from the surface, the roofs sticking out and the landscape protruding!

[the sun was moulded using clay then baked and painted.]

The foundation of the canvas was covered with over 16 layers of vintage musical note paper. My experience of being at the seaside is always a musical one...listening to the waves and seagulls. Nature has it's own wonderful rhythm and I really wanted to carry that essence through the painting

This was the original painting I which  inspired  my client to commission a similar  and larger piece.

It is important for me to challenge myself and not be a comfortable place creatively. I used to always do a  blended and smooth sky but since learning from an Art Master ( twice a month for an hour) I felt I wanted to change the skyline and the sea to give more life to the painting ..as you can see from the finished piece!

Applying the various stones was a delightful experience. It looked amazing, adding lots of texture and light to the painting but when I placed the beach houses it did not fit well on the stones, so I had to sculpt the houses and add more stones. Once I added more stones (which I brought in Bavaria) the landscape felt off, so I painted it several times with various shades of earthy tones to get the colour I was finally happy with. I used lots of gold, silver, copper and  bronze to add more texture and life.
It would have worked better if I painted the houses on but I really wanted to make a feature of it with little roofs. If  I am to do a similar piece again I will do a few things differently, using other mediums. But that is the game as an artist, every piece is prototype.

 All in all this painting took me on a wonderful creative journey, applying new techniques and mediums. This piece has been the object of my affection for the past few months and will be off to it's owner soon..where I hope it brings many smiles and joy to within new home. It is difficult to not be connected to paintings like this when I have spent many many hours creating, I will miss it very much. So have a wonderful day and week until next time. Chelsea 

My Hand Painted Plein Art Bag

Hello friends I wanted to wish you all a great and wonderful week.

As the weather is configuring to look and feel more like spring I wanted to share my Plein Air Bag with you. I went trawling a few goodwill [charity] shops to find a sturdy , leather based bag with good quality straps. I grabbed this beauty for £5.00 in Clapham Common. The photo with the green bag shows it's original state, which I knew would be beautifully transformed once painted and sealed. I went ahead and painted it white with gesso, then later added colour once I had drawn a few basic shapes of flowers and a bird. It has developed greatly since these photos with doodles and an owl to add more texture and background. I will do an updated post on the progress of this bag with a video [by request] to show 'What's in my Plein Art bag!' and will tag other artist to do the same.

As spring is here and the weather improves ...I vow to be outdoors capturing all the beauty as our local landscape transforms. As I have mentioned.. much of my work is inspired by nature so I cannot wait to get stuck in. I will also share any work I have done in plein air with you all.

Plein air, a French word, literally translates as 'open air', and is defined as painting or drawing done outside, in the open air. The equivalent term in Italian would be alfresco. These works were taken directly from nature, and infused with a feeling of the open air.source-Ask Art.com The term is largely associated with the Impressionist artists of the late 1800's, a time when artists began to paint subject matter not normally seen: real people doing real, everyday things, and they came out of their studios into the open air to create their works. Impressionist artists were particularly interested in the influence of changing light outdoors on colour. The popularity of plein air painting was aided by the development of easily portable painting equipment and materials, including paints sold in tubes. source as above. Until next time....take care and enjoy the outdoors!! Chelsea

Recharge and get Centered

ME TIME!!!---Hello friends I hope you all have been a productive week and looking forward to the weekend......Saturday mornings are officially Heaven sent.....read on.

I love moments like these, they do not come often and sometimes we have to be creative with mapping out time for ourselves! On Saturday mornings my husband takes both girls off to German school. This activity buys me 3 blissful hours on my own in the house. I plan this time viciously and so Friday night  all the house work is done, clothes/uniforms ready and ironed for the week ahead, meal for the day is cooked {slow cooking in oven or prepped}.
Fast forward to Saturday morning,as soon as they are out the door I do a virtual cartwheel, jump in the shower and preen for as long as possible, music blasting and candles lit! Then I douse myself in lotions and potions and oils. I then slip my comfy house shoes on and head downstairs. I make myself a green tea, sit looking out unto the garden, flipping through one of my journals and enjoy the quiet in complete gratitude.

This recent ritual has greatly improved my level of creativity, ability to focus and remain centered for longer.  I am also a more pleasant person all round  being able to give more of myself to others and to my craft.

 I cannot encourage you enough to carve out some ME TIME for yourself, embrace it, revel in the bliss of refueling ...and re-emerge a happier individual.!

Very best wishes to you..Chelsea