Art For Fun Friday & Portrait Challenge FFO

Happy Friday! 

 Linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off Challenge and Art for Fun Friday hosted by the lovely Gillena.

Photo Reference:

hello it's me

nice to see you 😊 

I started sketching for the Portrait Challenge this last week and I truly learned so much. 

First drawing

I did a quick sketch, a sketch with more time put into it and also I traced my self in the final piece so I can learn what I am doing wrong. My sketches do not look like me. LOL They look lovely but they don't look like me. 

Quick sketches

More time spent on this portrait. 

 The traced one below looks a little more like me. I learned a lot and with each line I almost cried. I've been through a lot the past four years and I am grateful for each pencil stroke. I thank you Nicole for inspiring me and for hosting this challenge because I am more appreciative of myself through this challenge. I will continue to work on self portraits because I do find it such a great challenge to learn and grow. I would like to work on a self portrait with paints as well. 

I traced the outline of this one:

As I traced this I learned about placement of my eyes, width of my nose and I know I would like to work on shading more. I am grateful for this challenge because I learned alot and I know that I need to keep practicing to keep growing. 

 I have so much more learning to do. Portraits are not my usual comfort zone. Landscapes and abstract and vases with flowers are my thing. So this was truly a challenge. I had a lot of fun and a lot of learning happening. I will continue to work on my portraits and continue to challenge myself. 

Thank you all so much for your visit and your comments mean so much to me. Thank you Gillena and Nicole for your amazing challenges and blog hops. It's a beautiful art community. 

I am truly grateful!

NEW VLOG

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I will be filming weekly vlogs in December called #Vlogmas

Previous Posts

Thursday Art and Dinner Date

T Stands for Theatre

Art Sketchbook Flip Through!

I finished the small sketchbook. 

A junk journal Page in my Christmas Composition Book

I really love doing these so much.

Setting up my Leuchtturm1917 Christmas Pages

*Feel Free to use my code: MARIA with Leuchtturm Canada and receive 20% off your purchase. Not Sponsored.

Art For Fun Friday And FFO

 

Oh I thought that the Portrait challenge was today but it's okay because I will keep practicing my portrait skills. lol  Linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off  and Art for Fun Friday hosted by Gillena.

 It's been a week. I did a lot of reading, cleaning and I've been thinking of doing a Junk Journaling/Collage Blog just for weekly or monthly Parties. What are your thoughts? I would love to know. I really love junk journaling and collage art. Not sure though 🤔 

Here is my new gingy pillow. She is cute and love her smile and bow.

Currently reading this book and i am really enjoying it

I painted this yesterday. I miss PEI and West Point Lighthouse ❤️ 

I finished my small sketchbook and started the new one. I am not very happy with my sketches so far. 

But I need to let that go and look at it as a place to learn, explore and not try too hard.

 To go with the flow and just have fun.

Here are a few sketches in the new little sketchbook.

I have to fix the hands on the little one on the right.

Watercolours Trees and Nature

watercolour and pencil

trees and nature

Faces

So those are some of the beginning sketches

They are not perfect and It's okay 

I am giving myself permission to make messy art.

Thank you my friends for the visit. I am truly grateful. I hope you have a lovely Friday and a wonderful weekend. This weekend I am going to go see a Greek Play and also visit a Christmas Market with a friend. We are also putting up our tree. Or we might have to get a new one because the lights don't work on them. It's been a week! lol 

Have a good one my friends!

love

peace

light

hugs

Maria 

Check out my Previous posts if you like

Thursday Dinner Date and Hanging Out 

T Stands for Getting Creative

Check out my Vlog if you haven't already. I enjoy making videos. Please subscribe to my channel. It means so much to me. Thank you so much!

November Cosy Art and Crafting

 Linking up to Nicole's Friday Face Off & Gillena's Art For Fun Friday

This week I battled with a two day migraine which I am so grateful it has gone away! Thank you Lord that was so bad. I am feeling so much better! :) 

Here is what I worked on yesterday

This week I was able to create some new junk journal pages in an Oxford Composition book. 

It's a Christmas themed journal. 

Here I am working on the cover. 

I added paper from the dollar store and pom poms which I think are super cute. 

PAGE 1

I printed out that poem from Toronto Public Library Archives 

PAGE 2

PAGE 3

I used christmas scraps from the Christmas Amazon Catalogue. 

I am going to try making at least three pages a week in this book. It's so fun and festive and I will be adding recipes that I like and lists and Christmas songs too. Super fun to make. 

I also put together a November Vlog

If you like have a look.

 

check out my previous posts if you like

Thursday Art And Diner Date

T Stands for Life is Messy But I don't mind at all

Thank you all so much!

Have a wonderful Friday and a lovely weekend!

Hugs,

Maria

Friday Artful Adventures & Creations

 

Happy Friday!

This week was an okay week but I am lacking energy and motivation.

When do you start decorating for Christmas? I think I am going to start decorating this weekend.

I need some lights and Christmas decor to get me uplifted.

⭐️ 

This week I did create a little artwork and I managed to put together the last Vlog for October.

Have a look if you like. 

 Linking up today with Friday Face Off Hosted by the wonderful and talented Nicole 

& 

Art for Fun Friday hosted by the lovely and wonderful Gillena. 

🌟 

This was done on Thursday November 6th on Pastel Paper,

I used my phone to work on a self portrait for Nicole's Challenge. 

 Friday Face Off

I am going to keep working on my self portrait with a variety of mediums to explore and learn more. 

I used chalk pastels. I feel I need a lot of practice with measurements and proportions. 

I do have a book that I am going to look over and It has technical lines and measurements that I can learn from.  

oh the messy lines lol

oh the ears lol oh my goodness 

a mess but this is good practice

I kindly won gouache paints from this brand on Instagram.

https://nevskayapalitra.com/

I am truly grateful.

A video of the swatches.

Painting with the gouache paints and testing them out.

I notice gouache paints dry flat.

I need to work with them more.

This week I also created an illustration. 

I used pencil crayons, crayons, water, markers, pencil and fineliner pen. 

❄️ ❄️ ❄️ 

In Other News

I kindly won a fragrance from Dave Lackie on Twitter. 

He is so amazing.

 It also came with a clinique headband. 

Perfect to hold my hair back when I do my skincare.

He is an incredible friend. 

I love this fragrance. Clinique Happy. So fresh and revitalizing fragrance. 

Thank you so much Dave!

Friendly Snail mail from a Wonderful Friend

Thank you Yaya!

If anyone would like to do a small snail mail exchange for junk journaling let me know.

I exchange things like small stickers, paper goodies and stationary goods. 

message me on IG. 

Check out my previous post if you like

Hello November Rain

Beyond the Lines: Exploring the World of Notebooks & Journals With a Cuppa

❄️ 

Thank you all for your visit and your wonderful comments. 

Thank you from my heart and have a wonderful weekend!

Maria 

Happy Halloween! 🎃 Art and Journal Planning

Happy Halloween! 

Happy Friday my spooktacular friends. 

I am so sad that it is the end of October. 

So sad that all the trees will have no leaves anymore. 

A compilation of October in a mini video.

But I am very grateful for each moment. 

October truly was an incredible month.

Lots of Art, Tea and Journaling!

I would like to Link this post up with Nicole's Friday Face Off & Art For Fun Friday 

hosted by Gillena.

Thank you both for hosting lovely parties. 

I kindly received a Leuchtturm1917 Notebook. 

Thank you so much to Leuchtturm1917.

I painted the trees and the colours that I see around me.

Brrrr It's cold outside

I haven't started the Portrait Challenge yet.

 I will probably use a photo of when I was younger and start working on it next week. 

I did enjoy making this little portrait of how cold it is in the mornings. 

Another watercolour tree with lots of autumnal colours. 

I bought this sticker book off of Amazon and I love it. 

I have no idea how I can use this besides in my journal. Any Ideas?

Making cards? 

A flip through of the sticker book.

Finishing up my old Leuchtturm1917 before I get into the new one gifted to me for November.

Hubby's Photo from work

 Toronto

This Morning

Halloween 2025

Hubby's Photo From the 37th Floor

I hope you all have a wonderful and spooktacular Halloween!

Thank you all for your lovely comments!

Thank you Leuchtturm1917 for the new Cherry Coloured Notebook

I love it! *Feel free to use my code: MARIA for 20% off on their website. 

Not Sponsored.

 Thank you and Happy Halloween!

Previous Posts

Bewitched In Spooktacular Adventure

Tuesday Tea and A Farewell to October

Art Desk With Sketches and Doodles

 Linking up to the wonderful Friday Face Off hosted by the talented and wonderful Nicole & Art for Fun Friday hosted by the wonderful Gillena and for Art Journal Journey, hosted by Elizabeth, Erika and Mia.

This week I was at my desk doodling and sketching.

I tried to stay off my phone as much as possible. 

Self portrait practice 

I am using the reflection in my window to draw the self portraits.

Doodling fun

More doodle fun

 Junk Journaling

 I really love the colours and patterns in this piece. It's a favourite. 

Spooky Fun

Markers and water

Thank you so much for being here and reading my post.

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of creativity!

Much love and kindness. 

Maria