Trying New Techniqes and the Worries of a Woman!

NEW TECHNIQUES...

I have been wanting to try a few different techniques for awhile and decided to combine them in this piece. The wonderfully talented and beautiful Jane DesRosier of GrittyArts has been doing a lot of abstract art lately that I have been really enjoying. She recently posted a YouTube video showing how to collage with beeswax, so I gave it a shot. I love the texture this process creates...yummy! Her focal element was a collaged woman, but I decided to draw one of my girlies on a vintage book page instead. Drawing on a book page is the other technique I have been wanting to try. It seems that several mixed media artists are trying this right now, but there is something unique and interesting about it that I really love.

A WOMAN AND HER THOUGHTS...

This piece has a lot of meaning for me. There is so much worry and guilt associated with being a woman and a mother for me. I am always beating myself up about not being the best wife, mother, step-mother, homemaker, artist (and the list goes on). So many thoughts are jumbled up in my head that sometimes it is hard for me to breathe. I am constantly comparing myself to other women and worrying that I am screwing up the lives around me. Am I alone, do you ever feel like no matter what you do, it just isn't good enough... Why do we put such pressure on ourselves? Maybe I will never know the answer...

xoxo

Shonna

Bookmarks now in my ETSY Shop!!!

I am excited to announce that I am branching out on Etsy and am adding new items. I just added 4 different bookmarks made from high quality art prints. Click here for details.

I have also added the "Indian Moon Goddess" original to my shop as well.

I am looking into making other things out of my art as well like pendants and notecards, so stay tuned for that.

XOXO
Shonna

The Ray Family

Here is the last commission piece I have for now. The family wanted a "Beachy" theme, so I made it look beachy....yeah, like it has been buried in the sand for 20 years...LOL!! I used a LOT of layers and I also added mosaic square glass pieces around the edges. The words say "Family, Together and Laugh." I found them in the dollar section at Michaels and they were a silver finish, so I used alcohol inks to give them the colors I wanted. I finished off the piece with hot beeswax and then scratched into the wax. After that, I used burnt sienna OIL paint and rubbed it into the cracks and crevices for that shabby look. Michelle, I hope you like the piece! I will add ribbon so you can hang it.

If anyone is interested in a custom piece from me, just contact me and we can discuss the details. I have had so many commissions lately, I don't know what to do now that this is my last one!! LOL!!!!

Thanks for looking everyone. I am so grateful for the encouragement my blog followers give me...you gals rock!!!!


Close up of some of the details.

Shonna

Indian Moon Goddess!!

I completed another online class with Suzi Blu and learned yet another new technique. We did not paint the girl onto the wood...get this...we penciled her on sketchbook paper and then collaged her on the wood. It was so fun to do it that way. We did some painting on the girlie after she was collaged, but most of her face is colored pencil. The other technique I learned was how to dirty up the background to give it a shabby look. I have played around with this in the past, but could never get it quite the way I wanted it, so it was nice to learn an actual technique on how to do it. The workshop was supposed to be a rodeo cowgirl, but I decided to make an Indian girlie instead.

Princess Leia and Chewbacca!!

I finally completed these paintings. Leia was fun, but Chewy was a bitch! LOL! Well it wasn't Chewy I had a hard time with it was his crazy weapon. I just had a hard time with the angle of it. The whole thing was so far out of my comfort level, but I think it is good to be challenged every once in awhile. Overall I am happy with the way they came out...and happy they are completed!!

I HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered into my Birthday Week drawing! I loved reading everyone's comments and birthday wishes. I hope you come back and visit my blog, I will definitely be having more drawings in the future.

Now on with it. The winner is.....

Congratulations to HelenesDreams.etsy.com!!!!! I will convo you to get your address..

I would also like to thank my handsome assistant Jordan Bucaroff for shaking the box, picking the name and holding up the name for picture taking.

TODAY'S THE LAST DAY TO ENTER INTO MY DRAWING!!!

Leave a comment in the previous post to win an original 6X6 painting. I will use Random.org to draw a name tomorrow!!!!!

BIRTHDAY WEEK GIVE-AWAY!!!

Ok, so Wednesday, February 11th is my 38th birthday. In honor of my B-Day, I have decided to do my very first give-away!!! I have been wanting to do a give-away for awhile, so what better time than now.

Ok, for the good stuff. I am giving away this cute little 6X6 mixed media painting on wood. I did some experimenting with some new texture. I used molding paste, but a little different than I normally do. I like the way it came out. This piece is very sparkly, but it is hard to tell from the picture. I have also added a little hanger on the back, so it is ready to be placed on your wall!

Just leave a comment, and I will use a random generator to pick a winner on Friday, February 13th.

XOXO

Shonna

Work in Progress--Trio

Here are some paintings I am working on. I really love it when other artists show their process, so I thought I would share a little about mine.

First I sketch the girlie in my sketchbook so I can get a feel for what I want. Once I work out the details in my book, I sketch my image onto wood. For the most part I re-draw my girlie instead of using transfer paper, so the girlie in my sketchbook will often look a bit different from the final product.

In the case of this trio, I was so pleased with the way they came out in my sketchbook, that I did use transfer paper to transfer them all on the wood.

After I do the sketch on wood, I woodburn the image into the wood. This part is very therapeutic for me and I love the smell of the wood burning.

Then I use colored pencils for shading on the faces and for using a base on the hair and clothes. I haven't decided what colors I want for the two girlies on the left so I haven't colored their dresses yet.

This is where I am at this point. I will try to post more as I go.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

2 more commissions finished and an award!!

I hope you all are having a creative day!!!! I just finished 2 more commissions. The boy is the brother of the recent "Busy Bee" painting I did the other day. The other one is for someone who contacted me through Etsy. She sells jewelry and wants to use this picture for her business cards and avatar. I thought that was a really cute idea. The painting is a small 6X6 on wood. Just to let you know, if you would like an original painting from me, I only charge $40 (including shipping if you live in the U.S.) for that size. I think that is pretty reasonable for an original. Contact me if you are interested in me painting something for you.

I have two more commissions to work on. Get this one....It is going to be my style of Princess Leia and....wait for it.......CHEWBACA!! I have a friend who is an animator for Disney; he has worked on many features and most recently did the opening sequence for "Enchanted." Well, he has requested these two Star Wars paintings from me for his two daughters. Apparently they LOVE Star Wars. I have to admit, this is a little intimidating for me. I mean, HE is the professional artist... When I asked him why he didn't just do it, he said it wouldn't mean as much if he drew it...I thought that was funny. So stay tuned for that...

Lastly, I have been given an award from the lovely SueAnn. This is a really cool award; I love the 50's gal on it!!

So, I also have to mention 5 things I am "into" this year. Well, the year is still young, but lemme see....

1. Diet Cherry Coke (used to HATE it, but for some reason I really love it now).

2. Facebook (WAAAAAY better than Myspace).

3. Taking quizes on Facebook (it is very addictive).

4. Ning groups (I belong to waaay too many groups on Ning...LOL!).

5. One Republic (I love this band!)

Ok, so I am supposed to tag people...well consider all of you tagged!! I subscribe to all of your blogs, so I totally want to see what you write about!!!!

XOXO

I have been featured!!

Several artists are being featured on Marionette's blog Kauai Artist and I was asked to be one of them. She is doing a special feature on Valentine's Day and asked if she could use my recent "Love Tree" piece. She also had a list of questions I had to answer about how I felt about Valentine's Day etc. Go check it out. There are some great artists on there and some of the answers they gave were very touching.

Also, I painted a quick girlie on watercolor and I am going to mail it out to my favorite aunt. She is having a very rough time in her life right now and my heart is just aching for her. I hope this little painting will make her realize how much she is loved.