Welcome to April ...

Our inspiration this month comes to you from John Maitland with Down to the Ocean.

CRITERIA - Girls only

A little about John Maitland ...

John Maitland’s innovative style is created and conceived outdoors, exposed to the elements and the extreme heat of the sun. The built-up layers in his paintings are encouraged to crack and fissure giving an aged appearance resembling archaic surfaces. Broad, sweeping brushstrokes and the strength of his paint application give rawness and beauty in an understated way, thus the paradox of power versus gentleness which contributes to the evocative and distinctive character in his paintings.

With his skilfully executed oil and acrylic paintings which are informed by figurative expressionism they are imbued with rigorous colour and texture to denote emotive nuance. The work achieves poignancy through a unique perspective which resonates throughout his cohesive presentation.

And now some inspiration from our team ...

(in no particular order)

Karen McLaughlin - (Australia)

Lots of fussy cutting for this beautiful little girly.

Sharon Bishop - (Australia)

My (scrappy, creative) Tribe together at 'Farm Scrap and Sew' Jan/Feb 2020

Karen Brierley - (Australia)

I followed the water theme and scrapped a travel page featuring my Mum. 

Annemarie Caister - (New Zealand)

Dale Tiernan -  (Australia)

Act - Commit - Belong

Karen Guy (Australia)

My Daughter with her Daughter as we were walking along the beach!

Jane Howden - (Australia)

I went with the beach theme ans made by page bright and happy using some of the colours from the artwork.

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

Second Prize
(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Karen Guy

Now over to you ......

This year we will no longer be using a "linky" tool. Please upload your entries directly to the monthly album in our Facebook public group (ARTastic challenges) by midnight on the last day of the month - please remember we are an Australian based challenge so do check your day and time. For anyone not on Facebook, simply email us your entry and if you have a blog, a link to that too so we can still pop past for a visit. You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges. You may enter more than once in any month as long as each submission is with a different creation. International entries are very welcome.

Hope to see your amazing layouts in our Facebook gallery.

March highlights ...

There is still some time to play along with us this month. We'd really love to see your layout based on our inspiration from Lisa Frances Judd with Come fly with me.

CRITERIA -  Monochromatic (any colour)

Please remember - You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges only.

We have enjoyed seeing your fabulous entries this month.  Here are just a couple which have caught our eye over the past few weeks ...

CATHY

PAMELA

Hope to see your entry too.

February winners ...

Thank you for all your lovely February entries based around our inspiration from Emma Uber with Lady in a blue hat.

CRITERIA -  Use paint and flowers on your entry

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

and our winner is:

HEIDI

Second Prize
(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Sharon Bishop

and our winner is:

JULENE

Could the winners please contact me on artasticchallengeblog@gmail.com with their postal address.  Please remember it is the winners responsibility to claim their prize and provide their details.  You have until the announcement of the winners for next month to do so. 

Please don't forget to enter this month's ARTastic challenge. All the details are in the left sidebar. Remember you have until the end of the month to submit your entry.

Welcome to March ...

Our inspiration this month comes to you from Lisa Frances Judd with Come fly with me.

CRITERIA -  Monochromatic (any colour)

A little about Lisa Frances Judd ...

 Lisa lives and works from her home Art Studio in the beautiful Blue Mountains NSW, Australia.  A full-time Artist for almost a decade her paintings are diverse in nature. The main theme of all Lisa’s art is nature, colour and playfulness. Mostly working in acrylics, she also incorporates texture pastes, impasto and collage elements from time to time. Many of Lisa’s original paintings grace art collections, homes and offices around the world.

And now some inspiration from our team ...

(in no particular order)

Dale Tiernan -  (Australia)

Karen Guy (Australia)

The painting inspired all things green, a holiday photo from Scotland, where all things are green...

Sharon Bishop - (Australia)

Tanya, Kerry and I had a WONDERFUL day creating with 'Finnabair' (11th Nov 2018). I added some of the metal and plastic pieces to my page that we used to create our canvases!

Karen Brierley - (Australia)

I loved the wide open spaces in the painting, so I went with an outdoor theme with lots of BLUE. My layout was created using 100% Kaisercraft product.

Annemarie Caister - (New Zealand)

I chose teal as my monochromatic colour, inks, heat embossed chipboard, papers, flowers and ribbon from my stash.

Karen McLaughlin - (Australia)

Jane Howden - (Australia)

I was inspired to use some patterned paper displaying words and went with a brown toned colour base.  TIP - Have a "Mom" or two in your stash?  A kraft knife can quickly turn that "O" into a usable "U" for those of us downunder.

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

Second Prize
(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Karen Brierley

Now over to you ......

This year we will no longer be using a "linky" tool. Please upload your entries directly to the monthly album in our Facebook public group (ARTastic challenges) by midnight on the last day of the month - please remember we are an Australian based challenge so do check your day and time. For anyone not on Facebook, simply email us your entry and if you have a blog, a link to that too so we can still pop past for a visit. You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges. You may enter more than once in any month as long as each submission is with a different creation. International entries are very welcome.

Hope to see your amazing layouts in our Facebook gallery.

February highlights ...

There is still some time to play along with us this month. We'd really love to see your layout based on our inspiration from Emma Uber with Lady in a blue hat.

CRITERIA -  Use paint and flowers on your entry

Please remember - You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges only.

We have enjoyed seeing your fabulous entries this month.  Here are just a couple which have caught our eye over the past few weeks ...

JULENE

HEIDI

We'd love to see your work too so please come and join in with us.

January winners ...

Thank you for all your fantastic entries based around our inspiration from Donald James Waters with Day Trippers. 

CRITERIA - Vacation or travel theme

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

and our winner is:

VICTORIA KING

Second Prize

(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Jane Howden

and our winner is:

LIZ HOCKING

Could the winners please contact me on artasticchallengeblog@gmail.com with their postal address.  Please remember it is the winners responsibility to claim their prize and provide their details.  You have until the announcement of the winners for next month to do so. 

Please don't forget to enter this month's ARTastic challenge. All the details are in the left sidebar. Remember you have until the end of the month to submit your entry.

Welcome to February ...

Our inspiration this month comes to you from Emma Uber with Lady in a blue hat.

CRITERIA -  Use paint and flowers on your entry

A little about Emma Uber ...

Australian artist Emma Uber has been painting with oils on canvas since she was 15. After studying and pursuing a career as a young graphic designer, she soon realized her passion and talent was painting and soon returned to her art.

Impressionist portraiture and the playful colors, themes, and décor from the 60's and 70's influence her painterly style. Flowers and intense vibrant hues give her work a romantic and lively quality when combined with the emotion of her female subjects.

Combining detailed realism with chaotic drips and brush strokes, she creates richly layered portraits that are both meticulous and carefree.

And now some inspiration from our team ...

(in no particular order)

Karen Brierley - (Australia)

I watered down some acrylic paints, letting the splatters drip down the page, and added some fun, layered felt flowers.

Dale Tiernan -  (Australia)

I've used 4 different coloured paints to create flower centres with a cork and a skewer. I've also painted some chipboard accents. I cut out the flower petals from a piece of fabric and distressed them slightly. I love this colour palette.

Annemarie Caister - (New Zealand)

These are photos of my son when he was 3 months old. I started with a woodgrain background paper from my stash, added texture with embossing paste through a stencil. Once dry, I painted over the background with watered down paints in a few colours. All the chipboard was painted and I used lots of small flowers in co-ordinating colours to embellish the layout.

Karen Guy (Australia)

Paint through a stencil with paint drips and paint on the chipboard sprinkled with glitter while the paint was still wet!

Karen McLaughlin - (Australia)

Flowers and paint on the chipboard. My favourite combinations.

Sharon Bishop - (Australia)

I used watercolour paints on my background, fussy cut lots of little flowers and added some pink pom poms for texture. 'Skyla' my grandaughter wearing her sun hat!

Jane Howden - (Australia)

I watered down some pink paint and used the splatter effect for part of my background and then went with a random, bright and colourful design using a number of the colours from the artwork.

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

Second Prize
(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Sharon Bishop

Now over to you ......

This year we will no longer be using a "linky" tool. Please upload your entries directly to the monthly album in our Facebook public group (ARTastic challenges) by midnight on the last day of the month - please remember we are an Australian based challenge so do check your day and time. For anyone not on Facebook, simply email us your entry and if you have a blog, a link to that too so we can still pop past for a visit. You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges. You may enter more than once in any month as long as each submission is with a different creation. International entries are very welcome.

Hope to see your amazing layouts in our Facebook gallery.

January highlights ...

There is still time to play along with us this month. We'd really love to see your layout based on our inspiration from Donald James Waters with Day Trippers.

CRITERIA - Vacation or travel theme

Please remember - You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges only.

We have enjoyed seeing your fabulous entries this month.  Here are just a couple which have caught our eye over the past few weeks ...

VICTORIA

JACKIE

We'd love to see your work too so please come and join in with us.

Welcome to January ...

Welcome to a brand new year on ARTastic. 

Our first inspiration for 2020 is this bright and happy artwork by Donald James Waters called Day Trippers which should work perfectly with our criteria this month of a vacation or travel theme.


CRITERIA - Vacation or travel theme

A little about Donald James Waters ...

Donald James Waters is an established Australian artist with an illustrious career spanning over three decades. While best described as a contemporary artist, Donald’s artwork transcends many genres to create a truly unique yet ever evolving and eclectic style. Donald has relaxed the confines of his initial beginnings in botanical art now using stylised strokes, overemphasised characters and bold blocks of colour to shift his primary focus to that of a storyteller rather than a technically correct traditional artist.

Donald’s career has taken his art to every corner of the globe and his distinctive style has made its way into the catalogues of many private and corporate collectors alike, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s art collection. More recently Donald has concentrated his efforts closer to home completing several commissioned government art projects and participating in community programs within Queensland. This year (2016) Donald was awarded with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community and the Arts and has been previously recognised as Gold Coast Citizen of the Year.

And now some inspiration from our team ...

(in no particular order)

Karen Guy (Australia)

Beach and boat theme followed from a cruise holiday!

Karen McLaughlin - (Australia)

This was a fun summery page to make.

Sharon Bishop - (Australia)

First ever page from our family Bali trip in 2001
Jenna and Adam having fun at Waterbom Park.

Karen Brierley - (Australia)

I was immediately drawn to the bright colours and clean lines, and of course, the VACATION/TRAVEL theme always inspires me to get scrapping! I created a travel journal page with a pocket to keep my boarding pass.

Dale Tiernan -  (Australia)

 I chose a Disney vacation photo that has a water theme.

Annemarie Caister - (New Zealand)

Jane Howden - (Australia)

While I am the first to admit I love vacations and cruising is one of my top destinations there is something extra special sailing into Sydney Harbour as the sun rises and you know you are home again.  I picked out some of the colours from the artwork for my page.

Our main prize winner is selected by random draw - so anyone could be a winner, no matter your style or your level of experience or your country of residence. If there are more than 8 entries in the month a second prize (donated each month by one of our team) will be drawn.

Main Prize

Second Prize
(drawn if more than 8 entries)

Donated by Jane Howden

Now over to you ......

This year we will no longer be using a "linky" tool. Please upload your entries directly to the monthly album in our Facebook public group (ARTastic challenges) by midnight on the last day of the month - please remember we are an Australian based challenge so do check your day and time. For anyone not on Facebook, simply email us your entry and if you have a blog, a link to that too so we can still pop past for a visit. You may combine your entry with 3 other challenges. You may enter more than once in any month as long as each submission is with a different creation. International entries are very welcome.

Unfortunately we did not receive sufficient entries in December to be able to select a winner.  We hope you might find time this busy month to play along with our challenge.