DUTCHIE GIRL COMPLETED!!

Awhile back I posted a sketch of a Dutch Girl. Well I finally painted her. She is painted on a 12X12 canvas and finished off with hot beeswax. She took a long time for me to paint but I am very happy with her. I hope you like her as well...

Almost Lover- A FIne Frenzy

I love this song by A Fine Frenzy. Anyone who has ever had their heart broken should be able to relate to it. The singer is 22 year old Alison Sudol and I just love the purity of her voice. I went out and bought the CD (which I rarely do anymore). The whole CD is wonderful. I haven't found an artist/band that has moved me like that in a long while. Alison's lyrics are so haunting that it is really hard to believe she is so young; she must be an old soul. Anyway, I wanted to share the song and the images in the video are just beautiful.

THE SAINT

Here is a picture of my latest painting. The book pages were embossed using a diecut machine. Then I took some chalk ink and swiped it across the image so it would stand out. I have been practicing the shading technique I learned in Paulette Insall's faces class and I am getting more and more comfortable with what I am doing. I am also trying really hard not to be such a perfectionist with my work. I could take a week on one painting if I let myself. This one took about 5 hours which calculated to about 2 days. I have a son to take care of during the day so I do most of my painting at night. I hope you enjoy her. I will probably be listing her in my etsy shop soon. So stay tuned...

Etsy shop Sale!

I just lowered the price on two of my older paintings today in my Etsy shop. Come take a look!

I'm Back and Abstract Painting

We had a great time in Seattle. It was nice and cool and the trees are just amazing up there. My little guy did great on his first airplane ride, but was a major pill on the trip. I guess he thought since we were in a new place, that none of the normal rules apply. Poor guy was in the "naughty corner" a lot, but he still had fun. My daughter had fun as well. She got to race dad on a go-cart track and won! We stayed at a really cute house on a lake outside of Seattle (see attached picture). It was a nice change of pace. The only bad part of the trip was when we actually went into Seattle. We totally picked the wrong day to go. They were having a Boeing union meeting near the space needle and we could not find a parking spot for the life of us. So we drove to Pikes Market and walked around there. I was able to find a couple of vintage books, but my husband isn't much for walking around and shopping all day, so we didn't stay long. We did find this cool little African cafe. We were feeling adventurous so we decided to try it. It was really good! I had a chicken curry dish and it came with some collard greens and lentils. It was pretty yummy! Even my little one liked it (give him some rice and he's happy). We are glad to be home now even though it is much more humid and hot here.

I started on a mixed media painting before I left on vacation and just finished it when I came back. I got the idea from the ever so talented artist Jane DesRosier of Gritty Arts Studio. She is doing some tips and techniques videos and she posted one last week showing how to create depth using heavy gel medium. I decided to give it a shot, but I used some of the foam stamps in my stash. I am not sure if I like it or not. It is definitely a different type of painting for me. Let me know what you think about it.

I will be on Vacation this week!

My family is going to Seattle this week for a vacation. We wanted to go to Hawaii, but have to get the home fumigated. So because the vacation funds depleted a bit, we decided on Seattle. We have never been there and have always wanted to go. Plus it isn't too long of a plane ride (I hate to fly). We are staying 20 minutes outside Seattle in a cute little house on a lake. I am looking forward to exploring a place I have never been before and to just relax and spend some quality time with my family. I hope everyone has a creative week and I will post when I return.

Peace

Blog Award!!!!!

I have been nominated for a blog award by the very talented Kim Hardt. If you haven't seen her work, you have to check it out at http://kimhardtoriginals.blogspot.com/ . She is a lover of Halloween (my favorite holiday as well) and makes the most gorgeous paper mache' pieces. I just love her work. So thanks Kim, I really appreciate the award!!

Part of this award, is that I also nominate some bloggers as well.

1. Blaiz- Mixed media artist

2. Wyanne - Mixed media artist

3. Sharon Tomlinson- Mixed media artist and napkin extraordinaire

4. Terri Stegmiller- Fiber and mixed media artist

5. Sande Keene- Artist and Scrapbooker

6. Pam Carriker- Mixed media Artist and mom of a great American hero!

7. Julie Ayotte- Mixed media artist

Now here are the rules ladies...

1) Put the award logo on your blog
2) Introduce the person who nominated you and thier blog name and link.
3)Nominate 7 other blogs along with links
4)Finally post a message letting the blogger know that you have just awarded with the Brillante Weblog Award.

Butterfly Fairy Commission

I completed this one in less than four hours (record time for me). I am getting a little faster especially when I have a vision on what I want from a piece. The customer wanted a fairy and the colors to be gray and pinks. I put a layer of beeswax to finish it off and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

New 6X6 painting

Here is a little painting I did over the weekend. I wanted to paint something a little different from my normal style. I like the warm colors and her eyes are a little closer together. It was a lot of fun and I like this small size canvas. Oh by the way her name is Tori and I am going to list her in my Etsy shop this week.

"BETSY"

Here is a new painting I just added to my Etsy Shop...I was inspired by the upcoming 4th of July holiday. I hope you enjoy!!