Sweet and Feminine ATCs

I recently joined a few new ATC trade groups that are more mixed-media than fabricky, which is a direction I want to go in. I kind of walk with one leg in the painting world and one in the sewing/quilting one; I have been missing the smell and texture of paint and the feel of good paper. These ATCs might be surprising to people who are used to seeing bold, bright stuff from me, especially my self portraits. These are from my soft side.

I started with a doodle from my journal. Back in the fall there was a terrible storm in NY, and it took me about 5 hours to get [via bus] from the city to the tip of Long Island. I was in my world of iPod and journal, so it wasn't so bad [until the power ran out on my iPod!]. I did the doodle for these cards somewhere in Queens, surrounded by uprooted trees and downed power lines.

I scanned the doodle, reduced it and printed it on Japanese rag paper that I cut down to 8.5x11. I dyed the paper with coffee after printing--should have done it first since it made the ink run a little, but it added a softness so it was okay. I painted each a little differently, using watercolors, watersoluble oil pastels, touches of marker and edged it with pink acrylic.