JANE

These very beginning pictures always look so...what do I want to say?  Awful.  Maybe that's too harsh...Bad?  But it is what it is...the beginning.  Certainly not the end.

Here she is transformed on my wall.  I use this wall a lot because it has natural light coming through the door and because it's narrow there is less distraction.

and here is the finished piece...

a little wild...yet gentle and natural.

I layered papers in the background.  When I do that I always paint so much over them that the original paper is nowhere to be seen...but the texture is what I like.

I still haven't named this piece...I am thinking "Jane" because she reminds me of Jane, the love of Tarzan.

WINTER DREAMS...

I just completed another painting...some weeks there is nothing, and then other weeks I'm on a roll.  I guess that's just life!

This first picture is rather scary I think, but wanted you to see my thought process and progression. 

Once color is put on the face, she starts to come alive.  I thought she looked quite pretty at this point, but something told me I needed a little more color to the painting...

so I added color to the background...that's better...but still something wasn't right.

I painted in her cape more.  Hmmm.  Too much white in the piece, and she needed more color to her face.

There.  Now I'm happy.

I'm calling this piece

WINTER DREAMS

thought I would show you this picture...I hung the painting over some orange pumpkin Halloween lights and now she has red hair! I just thought that was kinda fun!

Hope you have a great Halloween!

THE MAGIC OF WINTER...

Yes, it's still October...and Thanksgiving isn't even here yet....

But I just completed ...

THE MAGIC OF WINTER
I got my inspiration from an old postcard.  I added a few things and subtracted a few...

 I just love snowmen...and I feel he turned out especially sweet.

 one of the things I added was this little pony...

 and of course, the glitter, which adds such magic to a winter scene.  I just love it.

 it just makes that snow glisten and sparkle like real snow when the light hits it just right...

I really like the way it turned out. I did it in sepia-tone and contemplated if I should add color throughout, or bits of color here and there...but I thought the magic came through as it was and it didn't need it.

And it really made it look all the more vintage.  Let me know what you think!

I also want to announce a FABULOUS give-a-way on my sweet niece, Shariyah's blog...

She is giving away an unbelievable block print! She is such an amazing artist!

Unbelievable, right?

Go to her blog to check out the details...



PEACE, LOVE, KNIT...WOO HOO...

WOO HOO!  I WON!!!

I entered a drawing on the very talented Noel and Liz's blog Kokonoelle to win a scarf pin...and I WON!  I couldn't believe it!  This is the first time I have a won a blog give-a-way!

It arrived packaged so cutely and is a beautiful ceramic pin with a wooden pick to seal the deal.  It felt like it was my birthday or something!

I had to immediately pull out a scarf (no I didn't knit this one...can't do cable stitches...yet) to see what it looked like...and I LOVE it! I took this pic in the mirror so the letters are backwards.

I LOVE wearing scarves in the fall and winter...and really all year...and it'll be so fun to pull out my new scarf pin to pull it all together!  Thank you Noel and Liz!  Be sure to check out their blog...they make amazing buttons and have lots of give-a-ways!

Also, I am going to post pictures every so often of artsy textures and things that I take at the barn we have our new horse, Max, at.  I was just thinking that some artists could use them as textures or whatever and I am always spotting colors and textures there that I am inspired by...so thought you might be as well.

I might do some fun stuff with them in photoshop, but thought I'd just post as is here.

I will post them on the main blog page at first and then will put them on a new page tab as well.

MONTHLY DOO DOOS...

Something funny just happened to me at the dog park today.  A man stopped me as I was walking in and asked if my dog had gone poo yet.  I said no. He asked if he could have it when he does and showed me a posterboard with a dog poo calendar printed on it and said they were getting poo for the 2012 calendar.  I said sure, I wasn't going to keep his poo---so he could have it.  A few minutes later, I spied Buddy starting to squat and motioned for the crew of 3 (a woman holding a reflector, a video cameraman, and the narrator) and they ran over and quickly took a snapshot and video of his poo.  Then as he was picking it up, he said it was the firmest one of the day.  And I said that Buddy eats organic dog food and he said that must be why...none of the runny poo like from the cheap brands.  Then they left and said they had enough for the day.  I looked it up on the computer when I got home and the calendar is called Monthly Doos.  They put dog poo in different funny or scenic situations and I think Buddy's poo might be in the 2012 edition!!!!  I wish I knew what month he would be on!  He's a star!!!  Well, his poop is anyway.

Life is full of surprises...

chalkboard quote...

I have this big chalkboard in my house, and have used it for special occasions or an occasional little art...

but thought that hey, I should write a quote or inspirational saying to inspire me for the week.  So here is my first one...

MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP...

Well, I've started painting something a little different...more of a seascape with a little extra interest.  I have a very LONG way to go obviously, but thought I'd show you what I'm up to right now.  I'm really rather excited about it-but know it's going to be a challenge.  That's okay, right?

and I HAVE to show you what I found in a thrift store...I was out to do an errand, and thought I would just stop in to this store since it was a block or so away, just to see what they had.  There was a sign on the window that said everything was half price, so I thought that was even better.  Well this is what my eyes spied as soon as I walked through their door...

Some people would say...what? It's just an old statue.  Some people would say, it looks like something that was probably in a church...why would I want that?

I said (especially after picking it up and it was HEAVY), "YESSSS".  I kept imagining that people that passed me by were thinking, why didn't I see that?  But, seriously, I really don't think they were...which is dumbfounding to me.

After walking around with it carefully cradled in my arm, I noticed why the sticker on it said "as is"...there was an obvious break at the wrist...but it was securely glued together.

But unless you really looked at the side of the wrist you didn't see it.

It was priced at $18.99.  Then it would have been half off of that. I debated that there was a break...it wasn't perfect.  Would it be worth about $9?  To a real collector...no, it wouldn't be.  But the face...Oh, the face was so beautiful and perfect.  How could I pass that up.  It was one of those things that I pictured myself putting it down, and someone else picking it up.  How would I feel?  I asked the manager that since there was this break, even though it said "as is", could I have a discount.  She said that I could have it for $10...so half off of that would be $5.  What do you think I said?

It stands over 20" high.  And it's crying out to be my next "sitter" for a painting!

I just found out through research on the internet and talking with fellow facebooker Amy Gethins Sullivan, that my statue is The Infant of Prague.  It is in it's original state which was unrobed. It was robed and crowned ornately in the mid 1600's. (I like the simple unrobed version the best). The right hand rasied in a blessing with the first two fingers extended to signify His two natures. The left hand holding a globe surrounded by a cross to signify His kinship.  There is also the version called the Santo Nino, but I couldn't find that one dressed as simply.  Although it may have been in it's earlier version as well.