Reciprocation

Two posts ago, I talked about the wonderful mail art that I received from my friend Cheryl...and how I forgot to take pictures of what I sent her because I was so excited to send it, my brain just went crazy!

Thankfully, Cheryl took some really great pictures and is letting me use them so I can share the girls with you. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

First up, the envelope:

Why hello...

I tried really hard to do good lettering on the addresses instead of just using my normal handwriting, which looks something similar to a 12 year old boys...after I did that, the back of the envelope just looked so blank and boring that I had to make it a little snazzier!  I'm really happy with that thumb...hands are the hardest to draw (I think so anyway), and hers is a little wonky but woo hoo for that thumb!

Next up is a girl on copy paper:

I think she's got that 'come hither' look.

Cheryl makes such wonderful collages that I thought she might like to have a girl to use in her art.  That's why I sent one just on copy paper.  

It works out really well to start out using copy/printer paper to practice your girls (or anything you want to practice, I suppose).  For one thing, it's cheap, so if you mess up or aren't happy with the end result, you can toss it without bemoaning the loss of watercolor or other more expensive paper.  For another, it's easy to draw on because it's smooth and you don't have to worry about funky textures getting in the way and making you have weird/off lines.  And the best part of all, if you do make a good girl on copy paper, you can cut out your girl and stick it to a canvas or journal page and it's so thin, no one will be able to tell it wasn't drawn on directly!  I don't do all my girls on copy paper first (not anymore), but if I have a page that's has a heavy texture or a very dark background, I definitely do!  So that's my shout out to copy paper...Hooray!

And last but not least, here's the girl I did with Cheryl in mind specifically:

Cheryl's Bohemian spirited lady

This girl is probably my favorite girl I've done to date.  One, because I can see where I'm improving, and it's nice to see my girl face obsession is paying off...I've made a lot of questionable faces to get to this point!  (Her hair makes me so happy I could squeal like a pig in mud!)  Two, because it was the first piece I've done with someone (my muse Cheryl) in mind while I made her.  And three, the most important reason of all, because I got to send her off to live with such a sweet, kind person!  Cheryl is so nice and says the best, most encouraging things about my girls!  I think I would want to do art even if nobody liked it, but to hear positive things about what I do...to know that someone likes my girls so much that they want one for themselves ...it warms my heart and makes me want to keep going and keep improving and just paint the sky with happiness!

Thank you again Cheryl, for being my first mail art giver and recipient!  I can't think of a nicer person to have as my first!