"Alphabet Dress"-Mixed Media Painting

This mixed media painting was inspired by the class "loose and raw", which I took from Sue Pelletier last year. I started it as a gift for one of my best friend's new granddaughter, but I totally messed it up and wound up sitting on my shelf next to my other mistakes. Planning to do another one, leaving out the wrong turns I made on this one.

Collage/texture (denim, wallpaper, piece of canvas, paper) on a gallery canvas and a dress sketch based on a dress that my friend gave me for a Patty Playpal doll when her daughter was little and had outgrown it...

Under painting and more sketches added with a Stablio marks all pencil, black; the child's name is meant to go in the squares...

Tried to lighten the tone up some with more acrylic paint...

Added a thin piece of paper over the dress body and a piece of lace over the collar to add texture, more paint, white pen, buttons, paint pen...Now realize the dress takes up too much space and I can't change that. Put the name in the squares, hated the whole thing, painted the letters out...

Painted the squares this awful green and stenciled alphabet letters on, added more blue to the dress to keep it from looking too chalky...

Wound up painting the squares this purpely-maroon color, which brought the letters out more, and added a little of the color to the dress and around, along with the white paint pen, bringing it to the point that I can live with it, but it won't be a gift. It's supposed to look raw and gritty and loose, but I think I overdid it a little, and it's not bright and happy like something for a little girl should be...

Anyway, it was fun to work on, and I will be doing another one. In fact, I have two adorable little girls in mind...if I don't mess up again!

I'm still taking a break from the "Studying With the Masters" class, and took a vintage jewelry class (I may have told you already) and am now taking one of two classes from Jeanne Oliver, all on her site (link on sidebar). The class I'm working on is  "Creatively Made" and it's awesome! The next one is "The Journey of Letting Go". By the time I get these two finished, the new "Studying With the Masters", figures/portraits, will be up! Anxious to see what Masters we'll be studying in that one!

I have yet to actually make any jewelry, but I have the makings to get started!

I've made some journals for the first week in "Creatively Made", which I loved doing and will share in a few days. I have several projects going, housework is piling up, and the summer is flying by!

Contented and grateful!