Xmas round the corner!

Christmas round the corner

Money getting tight

Children wait with bated breath

Hopes high for their delight.

Parents counting pennies

Santa`s on his way

apparently with tons of toys

upon his festive sleigh.

Stores crammed full of ideas

tempting all to buy

things that no-one really wants

but we don`t question why.

For it is nearly Christmas

the time of love and joy

Christmas Pud and mistletoe

in abundance to enjoy.

So put away your worries

just paper over cracks

soon we`ll be full of happiness

and mostly on our backs.

Our smiles will reach a million hearts

each and every day

for it`s very nearly Christmas

Our treasured, special day.

With the festive season knocking on our doors, I have been busy designing cards on the wonderful site www.zazzle.co.uk/jsg_creations

Most of the greetings cards are left blank making it possible for buyers to add their own personal message.

As with all my artwork, all designs are  uniquely colourful and striking.  My zazzle page is updated and added to on a regular basis, so if you don`t see something you like first visit, pop back again!

Jsjcreations.com

New Art - 2010

Just love these paintings for their colour and vibrancy.  I painted them using water based-paints on paper.  Wanting the tail of the bird to be as red as red could be, I layered colour upon colour, sometimes leaving the paint to dry for several days to ensure depth and variety.  Perched on her perch, I like to imagine my magnificent bird surrounded by peace and tranquility.

The opulence of the red bed of poppies draws the eye to the centre of the painting.  This image was an experiment in producing a perspective image.  The lines of hedges and different shades of green in the background once again draw the eye to the centre of the painting.

Both paintings can be bought as prints by contacting me at jsgcreations@aol.com

More art can be seen at: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/jan+steadman-jackson/all

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Jsjcreations.com - Jsgcreations@aol.com

Will I ever look in the mirror

 and like what I see?

not just the person I`ve turned out to be

I can`t see the youthfulness, fun and desire

the passion

the hope

the love

and the fire!

Where has the spark gone that burned deep within?

The trust and the faithfulness,

the striving to win

The need to be greater

triumphant and strong

fearless,

exciting,

Where has it all gone?

Sad eyes ask  questions

but nothing is told

I fear I am past it - just getting old!
With nothing to show

apart from my rhyme

a lifetime

 of weakness

regret,

wasted time!

Work in Progress - Mirror Decoupage

Jsjcreations.com

Summer Project

Update:
Still lots to do, but at last it is taking shape.

A mirror which I am painstakingly decorating with the help of my eleven year old son.

So far we have used various paper, tissue paper, fabric, cotton wool and other embellishments .  I plan to add more fabric to produce and create different textures in the design.

The mirror was originally blue in colour as some of these pictures show. My aim is to cover it completely using various paper and material resources.

After the Sun

Jsjcreations.com

More art can be seen at:  http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/jan+steadman-jackson/all

After the sun
came the rain!

and then everything was perfect!

The rain thankfully stopped long enough for me to capture these stunning close range shots of a few blooms in my treasured garden. My main objective was to picture the raindrops on the leaves and petals of the flowers. 

I hope I have done justice to the beauty of nature by transforming the photographs into mixed media images.  The delicacy of the subject may be jeopordized in the resulting image but the overall picture still remains stunning in my minds` eye.

Colour Variations

Jsjcreations.com

Floral compositions have always been some of my favourites.  I adore flowers and attempting to make them appear even more beautiful than nature intended has become a passion of mine.  The original source of this poster is a photograph of a common plant in my garden.  Nothing particularly stunning or indeed striking about the plant except for its pretty light blue delicate flowers.  Implementing several digital art effects whilst focusing on colour variations, the completed mixed media image has become a firm favourite with me. 

Variation in colour and composition combined can produce a striking effect in the overall vibrancy of the resulting image, as long as there is a common thread running through the collage, which is usually taken from a palette of four or five colours.

http://art-walk.ning.com/profile/JanSteadman

Finding a Focus

Jsjcreations.com

When looking for a focus to work with on a collage, I want something to stimulate me, something to use as a foundation for the image I want to produce.

Sometimes I use a photograph, other times I use my art that I have previously photographed. Each section must have an obvious focal point that will draw the viewers` eye into the picture. This will act as a stimulus and I can then work on creating fluency throughout the composition.

A face is an obvious focal point.

But other subjects can be just as effective when designing collages.