Spores are Flying...

... to Twitter Art Exhibit. I hope none of my cooties go with it.  Hey a girl can change her mind.  This piece is going.  It's happier and more fun than the other I had planned. Now all the pieces I painted yesterday look sad. Boo.  I think I am taking this one to the printer and going to put it in my kitchen. 
"Oh what a night!" 

Lord knows I have some coffee grounds!! and I love upcycling :)  hum.....

Create a great day!

Blessings

 

 

Mr. President...

 "George Washington"

 

No, it's not who you think it is!  I have a funky wood pile.  I pulled out a few pieces and painted some more of our Founding Fathers on it just for fun.  It was fun! Funky & funny!  I apologize for the bad photo.  I wonder if I captured any bits of their colorful personalities...

Happy President's Day!

"President Lincoln"

 

Daily Devotion

This is a little more pastel than I normally paint. I think my brain is getting a little more used to not painting on a black canvas but it is still hard. 

My Favorite Face...

His is my favorite face to paint!

 

"Forgiveness"

To The Glory of God

On The Easel...

...some new pieces on wood.

Still Playing With Dolls

More Angel Kokeshi Dolls!

Faking It ...

Spooky Self Therapy...

...Did I cure myself?
A gray day, drizzly & dank, the chill of Halloween looming, left over paint on my palette from an acrylic & alcohol experiment gone awry. I grabbed some ACEO canvas paper and left the outcome up to destiny. I felt happy, I didn't care if I wasted the paper. I just layered and layered the paint letting fate bring these fellows to life. You can see my freedom in my brush strokes. I didn't care if they are perfect. They didn't scare me. They made me free & happy. Each side of their faces show a different emotion and in the spirit of a Fun House, their eyes will follow you too. Yes I got my freak on! Happy Halloween!

A Big Shout Out & Thank you goes to Sharkbytes for the "Versitile Blog Award" I will be posting it with my responses in the next day or so! And to FruitsofTheBloom & HulaHoopVintage for including my art in their wonderful Etsy Treasuries!

What's New?...

"The Light"

11 x 14 Mixed Media

... It was Leonardo da Vinci that said “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Well I had really abandoned this piece last year and just "finished" it yesterday. So this one is not new to me. Yesterday it just cried out to me to complete it.

I'm a perfectionist in many ways and others not so much. I admit it and know it's not easy being this way. I know I can aggrevate some people to no end! hahaha Procrastination usually sets in too, I can't finish a project, and sometimes don't, just because I don't like how it's going at the time or know that something isn't exactly how I wish it to be, even if it's not noticeable. I know. I have a closet full of abandoned canvases. I could probably fill my whole house with abandoned craft projects that I never finished over the years, because of a tiny problem, some of which were entirely in my head, or because it became too challenging and I didn't think I could do it perfectly, so I gave up & put it down. This is exactly what happened at my previous attempts at jewelry making. I'm even worse when I sew, everything has to be perfect, stitches unwavering, all seams matching perfectly, it has to look like it's off the rack or I won't wear it, sell it, or give it away.

Anyway, there are 2 little defects in the linen canvas on this piece so that has kept me from working on it. I'm glad I picked it up and finished it regardless of the defects, which are not even noticeable from the front of the canvas, because I am happy how it turned out. It has already gotten 5 Stars on OvationTV and a few comments. I have it listed on Ebay. I wished photos did Him justice.
I have enjoyed making beads this week and I made lots of them! I made my first bracelet too! I designed something that I would wear. Something that is "me". A little gypsy, a little bohemian, a little jingley, a little funky yet not too far out. I especially love the faux turquoise beads on the bracelet like the one shown here which I will be listing for sale. I also made the cutest little mushrooms which I will share later because they haven't been baked. I bought big jump rings, which are working out ok with me, like a kid with big fat crayons. hahaha The faux jade was made with a tiny dab of green polymer clay mixed with about 6 times the amount of transparent polymer clay & a sprinkle of ground sage. Yep! Right out of your kitchen. I would advise to add a tiny dab at a time & mix it in a little at a time. It dries darker. I put glue on the eye pins before baking so they don't come out. I may have to open up another Etsy shop!

A Big Shout Out goes to Hannahcreations , CynArt & Mayasideas for including my art in their Etsy Treasuries! Thank you so much! Click on their names to be taken to their wonderful Etsy's Shops.

Ring Ring!

Who is it? ...Destiny?... I've been expecting your call .... LOL Ok I have been watching too much BOLT lately. I gotta say I am in love with that hamster Rhino! You can see a the little video of him on the left. I've been totally stealing his lines. I may not be ready for Last Comic Standing but I have come up with some pretty good ones lately using his lines. hahaha I am just discovering this movie because of my little JJ.
I'm not a cartoon person. Even as a child I didn't watch a lot of cartoons. As an adult I can appreciate the art of cartoons but still find them hard to endure. It amazes me that The Simpsons have been on as long as it has or is it still on? I can count on one hand how many times I've watched the show. I would have loved the show more if it was real actors but real actors couldn't get away with what a cartoon can. I get it. Are you gasping? What? No Disney movies? Yes that's right. Not into it. If I've watched them it's because the guys wanted to watch, even the oldest guy :) The cartoon world is magically tolerable & disgustingly exciting, "I'm disgusted, I disgust myself", says the cat in the movie Bolt & says me when I'm in Disneyland, the happiest place on earth! hahaha But the minute I snap back to reality buyer's remorse for any "souvenir" purchase quickly sets in. And those tidbits, basically papers *tickets, brochures, etc...* that I have to take home, swear I'll scrapbook, quickly get shoved in the bin or in a stack of stuff that's not to be touched in at least a couple of years. Mikey's lost him charm. Kind of like some of the contents of my purses that I have to lug around, until I switch to a new one, then it's left behind. Sometimes it's cool finding stuff that didn't make the transfer. Am I the only one who does this? Ok I'm gonna clean out all my purses after this post. hahaha So it may seem strange that my love of portraits & my big pushes of artistic encouragement with portraits are owed in part to my dad & an ex-Disney Art Director Walt Sorensen. My dad babysat while I was in Walt's class, and he refused to let me talk myself out of going to his class. Yes that was a big deal! My dad's support of my art has been much more encouraging than he knows and other people may realize.
I actually painted today! Felt good. This weekend I worked on some new bookmarks which I will be listing soon. I listed some Angels on paper on Ebay for a starting bid of $0.99! The first time I've done this. My advise from many was not to do this but I need to make room for new things. I need to paint more and space is limited. So I'm considering it a sale and I am trusting in the Lord. He can do what he will with me & my Angels! I am blessed. Ring Ring! Destiny? Are you waiting for a call? LOL

In Mini Mode...

... I was cleaning up and just listed lots of ACEOs (mini paintings) in my Etsy shop that I had painted but never listed for various reasons, which may or may not include laziness. haha I figured why not just put it out there. Some things that I don't particularly like all that much, others like, so who knows.

The Sky's The Limit

ACEOs (Art Cards Editions & Originals) /ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are great to use for trying new techniques on, to experiment on, or to see how a painting is going to look before putting it to a large canvas. I am hooked on painting these collectible cards. I prefer to paint on a small canvas rather than a large canvas. In this market that means I have to paint twice or three times as much to make as much money as a large canvas would bring. Truthfully when I first saw ACEOs/ATCs I didn't get it, but I have grown to love them. I joined a ACEO/ATC group on Facebook months ago but haven't participated in a traded yet, my bad, but I plan to. Some people keep them in journals, use them in scrapbooks, create handmade cards with them, collect them in ACEO/ATC books, but I think they are the cutest framed. I would like to do a grouping of them. Believe or not my walls have very little on them.

BIG Shout Outs & Thank You's go to AdeleBeeAnn, SmilingBlueDog, Claire's Clayware, HippopotameJewelry, Sweetybird09 for featuring my Art in their wonderful collections in Etsy Treasuries! They have some wonderful things in their shops. Just click on their names to check them out.

Next week, in honor of my 2nd blog anniversary, I'm having an Anniversary Party and you are invited! I will be giving away an Original ACEO, of your choice, as a thank you for all my Faithful Followers. So if you are not a Follower/Angel of mine yet you still have a chance to get in on the drawing!

Earth Day...

... is a great day to ponder how you can make a difference. It is also a good day for me to bring up something I am passionate about. "Be green and keep our water's clean!" You may have seen my little slogan occasionally in some of my listings. Global Water , Surfrider, River Network & Clean Water Action are a few organizations that provide, protect & promote safe water.

A work in progress. “Whoever drinks from the water I give will
never thirst, but the water I give will
become in you a well of water
springing up to eternal life.” John 4:14

A big shout out goes to Renie Britenbucher for including my art in her spring time Etsy Treasury. Etsy opened Treasury East and I made my first 3. I have to say it was as fun as I thought it would be! I can see how this could be addicting! Here are the links:

Love Makes The World Go Round

Gypsy Goods

Float Like A Butterfly Sting Like A Bee

Space The Final Frontier...

... final alright, finally gone! The outer space bedroom wall that is. My son is turning 21 tomorrow. I couldn't let him turn 21 and still have an outer space wall in his bedroom! hahaha He has kept refusing to have it painted. Maybe because we had so much fun painting it together many years ago or maybe he just didn't want me in there, you know how that goes. hahaha. I have to say the space wall was pretty cool back in it's day. The clouds were at the bottom of the wall so his bed floated in the clouds. The glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, well they are staying because it's covered in them. He'll have to do that job.

I snuck in there and painted the wall while he was out, then painted these 2 pieces on recycled canvas. One is a 16x20 the other is a 5x5. It was fun painting the different layers of color, scraping and grunging up these colorful heads. After I finished the first one, I wanted to do it again! I may even do some more one day just to experience that freedom again.

The room isn't finished but it's started. The final wall color is not going to be this dark either. I used this left over paint as a primer to cover up parts of the wall that were navy blue. He loves it and I'm sure he has to be feeling a little more mature! hahaha

Easy Breezy...

...that's me and I'm not even wearing Cover Girl! ha! I feel great today. The big black cloud hanging over my head is gone... the black cloud being taxes. ugh. We finally finished our return last night. Getting down to the wire was pretty stressful. We had to pay. Again ugh. It wasn't as much as we thought it might be, so that was a good thing, but we could have really really used a refund.
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s. Matthew 22:21

I've been having so much fun painting these sweet bees & tulips (I love tulips) and using my new technique of layering paint, trying different combinations of color in the layers. This piece is called "Breezy" and I put it on Ebay for a change. Listing on Etsy is so much easier and the fees are lower, so I haven't been using Ebay much. I currently have an ACEO listed on Ebay as well and a few more new Bee pieces in my Etsy shop.

A big shout out goes to Chocolate Dog Studio for including my "Lift Me Up" Angel in their wonderful Etsy Treasury. Check out their fantastic selection of crocheted creations. Thanks so much Chocolate Dog Studios!

Perfect Love...

Did you know that the meaning of tulips is perfect love? Red tulips, true love. Yellow tulips, hopeless love.
This piece was created in love to benefit bee research.

I hope you enjoy the video I made of the creation of this piece!

Another One...

...but not exactly like the other one. I started over. Started a new painting for the Bee show. While I like the piece I started already (click here to see), there was just didn't seem to be emotion that I wanted and enough vintage feel to her. So rather than re-do her I decided to start another. I will be finishing the first one and selling her in the future but she won't be for the Bee show.
I am feeling better about this new one so far. What do you think? She looks more vintage and has a lot more emotion. Kind of a combination of pity, sadness, sweet compassion & love. I kept thinking she reminded me of someone as she was taking shape last night but I couldn't put my finger on it. This morning while I worked on her a little more the memory hit me! It was the summer I moved from "Fun Sun City" aka Mrytle Beach, SC to the middle of nowhere, the Mojave Desert, CA aka "Hell". Oh yes I know I wasn't fun to be around. Before I met friends I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching old movies, then sleep all day laying out in the sun. Remember those days? To this day American In Paris remains one of my favorite movies. I don't even know how many times I watched it, that summer or in my life, I own that one. Another movie I loved too was Damn Yankees. I'd sing along with Gwen Verdon "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets"! then it would be stuck in my head. Geez I probably drove my parents crazy. Now it might be stuck in your head too! haha When I decided to tell this little story today I couldn't remember her name, so I looked her up and lo & behold there was a picture of her on the cover of Time magazine looking almost like my Angel! I don't know what year this was from.
BTW For those of you that don't think musicals are real life, you should stay with me for a few days. Busting out in song & dance around here happens all the time!

Entertaining Myself

The Marco Fuoco Gallery's April show's theme is Surrealism. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the show on April 10th but I do plan to get over there to see the pieces for sure.

Honestly other than being familiar with a few famous pieces, mainly Salvadore Dali's , surrealism is a genre I didn't know much about. I love this Wiki picture of Dali. Looks like an interesting dinner companion don't you think?! I spent a few interesting hours reading & learning about surrealism. I then headed up to my studio to work on a few pieces. I find myself working on more than one piece at a time lately. I was just cleaning up to go to bed when I spied this canvas. It has been painted a couple of times, *experiments*, ready for the recycle bin really, and this vision popped into my head. I applied my first layer of paint for my practice in surrealism. I ended up staying up to the wee hours of the morning happily entertaining myself with this piece. I may finish it one day. I was having so much fun I lost track of time and had to tip toe to bed & slither delicately under the covers.

"The Entertainer"
Sticking the neck out is always easy
even with the chopping block close at hand
Completely comfortable with eyes that are always on,
but they weight on the shoulders like sleep deprived lids
Motivated and Blinded by the rose colored glasses,
one self's biggest fan

Oblivious to "critical" acclaim

Way Out!

I stepped outside the box, way out! Popped the lid off of it! I received an email from Tangent Gallery a few days ago requesting submissions for the Neo-Fantasy/Sci Fi Exhibition for March 10th. I couldn't resist creating this mixed media piece of an Alien and Winged Alien Cat like companion. Maybe the creature should have a name? I'll take suggestions. It was so fun painting this. I was in the Twilight Zone! I submitted it so we'll see what happens. Whether it's accepted or not I can't wait to see this show!"The Clearing"

Did Ya Notice ?....

I think the Stylist on American Idol has been shopping on Etsy! Really! I have noticed some of the contestants donning jewelery that I've seen quite often on Etsy. Such as the octopus necklace in Simply ChaCha's shop, which I love, on Crystal Bowersox, the peacock earrings in CMorishi's shop and crochet earrings in Uniquely Chic For You shop on Lilly Scott... I am so excited for the new season to really get started! I think it's a great group this year. Here's the link to the new 24. It will also be fun to see if more popular Etsy items pop up in their wardrobes!


I just listed 3 new sushi ACEOs & this Sunny Angel in my Etsy Shop.

On A Roll...

* ***
..."on a roll" *groan :)* ok I know that's really cheesy but I said it anyway. haha I am on a roll though, having a blast painting these little sushi paintings. I am selling the original but plan to frame prints for myself. These are 4 x 6s. I have also done some ACEOS as well. Check out these cool sushi projects at Cut Out + Keep ! I think you will like this really fun craft site. New Sushi prints listed in my Etsy shop today.