Watercoloring

Two days ago, when the sun was shining and the mosquitoes had not yet been born, I took my little traveling watercolor set and my brand-new-on-sale prismacolor set and a recycled paper watercolor pad out to the backyard and spent a lovely little while with some watercoloring sketching.


I didn't stay out too long, since my skin doesn't last long sitting in the sun, and there are always so many other things to be done. But for a little while it was bliss and I fully intend to make more watercolor time soon and often. Hold me to that, will you?

Ms. Nellie Ashford, Painter

I met Nellie Ashford at the New Taste of Stowe Arts Festival. She is a very special exhibitor, coming all the way from Charlotte, NC under often very difficult circumstances. Nellie is a self-titled Folk Artist, her paintings are mainly of families, children, dancers - they are all lively and vibrant and loving. Nellie told me that as a Folk Artist, she can do what she wants, break the rules! Her pieces are combinations of painted imagery and collaged fabrics.

Nellie gave me this piece after the second festival. I am so very honored to have it.

A Playful Pup

Acrylic on 2x2" stretched canvas.

Patriotic?

I am not sure what exactly I was going for with this one, it ended up looking quite patriotic, or something to that effect. So be it. I like profiles.

Recent Paintings

I am going to show these one at a time over the next few days. They are all acrylic on 2x2" canvas, and all are or will be available in my shop. Have a great week!

In Miniature

I got some little mini canvases the other day, very tiny. 2" x 2" I think (they aren't right next to me right now, and I'm too lazy to check). Anyway, tiny. And totally awesome. I painted three of them right away and thoroughly enjoyed it. Talk about instant gratification!

Once I get pictures of the rest, I will list them all in the shopity-shop, but for now, here is my favorite of the three:



Here's to a happy week!

Splatter Creatures

These are a few pictures of my favorite piece made during my splatter and drip experiment a few weeks back.


I especially like the little amoeba/spider shapes in the ink. I think this one is trying to learn to play ping-pong and dance at the same time. At least it (he? she?) is having fun!


Here, two shapes meet (on the middle-left). They aren't completely sure of each other, but they will cautiously try. The one on the right, meanwhile, has dropped a jar of raisins and is trying to collect them all before someone else comes and eats them up.

Is this an art project or an ink splot test?

A Dilemma

This painting is a conundrum. It was done in the past year, mainly (if I may be quite honest) to fill the quota of finished pieces for a painting class. It isn't really my style. I keep expecting to see a small, very fast cartoon creature go zipping past.


Problem is, I just can't seem to whitewash it as I did the others. There is something about it that stays my hand, while simultaneously driving me nuts.

Perhaps it is one of the pieces that must be given away...

Whitewash II

Here are some of the paintings I spoke of last time. Unfortunately for explanation purposes, I seem to have never taken pictures of the paintings in their original form. For my own purposes, I couldn't care less. Like I said, they weren't exactly my favorite pieces!




Now, of course, comes the question of what to do next? I am fairly confident something will come to me for the first two, the last one is just seeming a tad bit scary. Any ideas?

(I have been tagged by Sherry to share 6 Habits - coming tomorrow...)

Baby, its COLD outside!

It is starting to get blustery and cold around here, especially in the evenings as I learned last night trying to find a bus home from the car lot. I am attempting to purchase a vehicle, my very first car, and its all absurdly hard! I won't bore you with the details, but let me just say that car lots are designed for people who already have cars. People walking in off the street are at an immediate disadvantage. I'm just saying.

I am also busy trying to find a new job or jobs. Hence the need for a car. Aya!

In between these adventures, I found some time to paint a couple days ago. I haven't managed to take pictures, but I want to talk about the paintings because I had a lot of fun with them.

One of the hardest things for me, I have found, is letting go of an idea. This spreads into my art in that even when I detest a painting, I find it difficult to part with or make major changes to. So I made a break for it and brought out all the reject paintings, the ones I wasn't sure about, and the ones that just plain bored me, and I whitewashed everything. It felt so good. I chose small areas that were appealing and left them alone, and painted a thick coat of white everywhere else. Words aren't really working here, so I will try to get pictures tomorrow.

I feel that I am rambling a bit, so hopefully along with the pictures tomorrow, there will be more coherent words!

Have a pleasant evening, friends!

What a mess!

I took a stab at drip painting last night. Or perhaps, in my case, "squirt and dribble painting" would be a better way of describing it. I had an brilliant idea and visions of nicely dripped figures, but as you can see, things didn't go exactly as planned.


The "brilliant" idea was to thin some acrylic paint with liquid enamel, put it in a plastic bag, and squirt it out like frosting. Thinking it over, this technique might work great on a large canvas (I will have to try it and report back), but on the small surfaces I was using, it was all just rather silly. And messy.



Sometimes the paint went where I intended, at other times it shot out unexpectedly in the opposite direction. My kitchen resembled the scene of a horrible accident, but I did have a fun time and that was really the point afterall.



After the red paint, I added drops of India ink with an eyedropper. More mess, more fun.

I have some other projects in the works... more on them later!

I'm putting up my shingle...

Isn't that what it's called, when you open up shop?

Today I finally placed some items for sale on Etsy. I signed up in - May? I think? - and it has taken me this long to overcome the mental block of putting my stuff out there. I think I subscribe to the philosophy, albeit involuntarily, that as long as things are not tried, there is always the possibility that they will work. Conversely, there is no chance that they will not work, which I think is more to the point. But of course that means that there is also no opportunity that they will work, so I am attempting to overcome that way of thinking and jump right in!


The first jump is five paintings, listed this afternoon. I realize that fine art, and especially paintings such as these, might not be the biggest sellers on Etsy, geared as it is towards jewelry and other more crafty items. I plan to list some other things soon, dolls and bags and the like. I would love if you would have a look, and I would really love feedback on the whole affair (especially from those experienced in the ways of Etsy)!

Always running late...

I finally finished my gown, am I too late? When a girl has to go to work, and coddle her sweetheart, and walk the dog, things like ball gowns get horribly neglected.


I am making up, though, with flounces and ruffles and silk.


Perhaps it is time to break open the champagne and dance with the puppy in the moonlight! (don't worry, I know she is too young to drink).



(permission to use this dress in the Ball Book excitedly granted!)

Spring Songs

I call these paintings "Spring Songs" because they were painted from the joy of finally having Spring.



They are both acrylic on canvas, with the addition of layers of vintage sheet music and embroidery stitching. Finally they are coated with gel medium to protect the surface. Both are 16x20".



I was going to put them up for sale by starting an Etsy shop, but the images did not want to upload so I took that as a sign to wait a bit. If you would like to make them yours, however, feel free to let me know!

I would love to make my living from what I can create, as the process of creating is when I am happiest and feel most fulfilled. It's a difficult thing though - sometimes I think that what makes a great artist is not so much their abilities in drawing or painting etc, but their ability to put themselves out into the world.

What do you think?

White out

I just covered all the unimportant parts of this painting with a thick coat of white, and all of a sudden I've fallen in love with it. Funny how that can happen. Now I am inspired to see what white can do for several other paintings that haven't thrilled me... I may have to get more paint.



(please excuse the poor picture quality - my camera is elderly.)

A New Floor

When I moved into my house two years ago, one of the first jobs was tearing up old nasty floors. The living room was first, and under the aged carpet was a gorgeous hardwood floor - it didn't even need refinishing. The kitchen was next, and under the scummy linoleum was another hardwood floor, not so gorgeous. Linoleum is a nasty business, especially since the installers glued it to the floor. We scraped that thing for an entire day, flooding it with water and working at it with putty knives. Never again.

Anyway, that was the end of floor work for a while, but the combination of the fresh, bright walls and the brown mottled floor kept bugging me. So a few months ago I bought paint. And yesterday I finally got around to painting.



Actually, in this light it looks kinda nice, the next one is closer to the truth...



So nice. I love the color.



I kept stepping in the paint. It's difficult to paint a kitchen floor - how are you supposed to get to the fridge?



Love it.