Saturday 1/14/17

Winter keeps us indoors and gives us more chance for art!  Should spend it on housecleaning, but that is just no fun at all.

A friend of mine has a new pup, for about a year now, and she is just sooo cute, I had to try to capture that face! Meet Charley:

 Then, this old sap barn from a few years ago was still in my sketchbook... since it didn't do anything for me before, I played with it again today.... still not impressed.  :/

 And I had to do this today... don't know why but it had to be done....

I am not saying I am done with any of these, but trying to keep the creative juices going.

The Art Center in town has asked if I would like to join in and put one piece in their non-member exhibition until the end of February.  I said sure.  Since I didn't know what to put in, I let Hubs pick:

It was one I did for the Human Form exhibition and stuck back in the back of my art room.  So for now, thats all thats arty from here.

Stay tuned!

Monday after Christmas 2016

Good morning!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Last week my friend Ashley and I took a mandala class.  For those of you that don't know what a mandala is, the word means CIRCLE, but its used as a spiritual focus, a meditation.  In this class, we were given a blank canvas and were allowed to choose paint and where we wanted to go with it.  The canvas had circles and one square.  That canvas was pretty intimidating to say the least.  Where to go, where to go???

 It was explained that the middle was the core of us within the universe.  We asked our angels to guide us.  And seriously, I had no plan, but it came very easily.  I felt good about it when I was done.  I like it.

From my last couple posts, my friend gave the portrait of her hubby, father in law and son to her son for Christmas, and it was a hit! YEA!!

Other than that, I am just enjoying the season.  I am helping Hubs construct some presents for next week, but will show those at a later date.

Happy holidays!  Stay tuned!

Monday December 19 2016

The holidays are upon us, and like Santa's elves who have procrastinated a little too long, we are busy busy busy. 

We have finished a project we started mid-fall.  I think I told you about the keyboard?  Well, here it is...

 For being a recycled kind of project, and the keyboard was free, we paid about 70 for the beautiful walnut wood, about 16 for the recycled legs, 50 for the piece of glass, and then the incidentals: the base board, the bottom 'box' that hold the legs, the stain, the paint, the hardware... we can't just give it away.... and had a lot of interest until we named our price.  **crickets**
Oh, well.  We'll either sell it or not.


Then comes this pup...

done for a friend for her son for Christmas.  The first was too dark, and really didn't look like her.  So I did it on white and widened the face... And I am not sure it captures her personality yet, but she is going to take it.  I told her I didn't want her to pay for something that didn't look like his dog, but the first was a 5x7 and the second one an 11x14, so the price went up which probably didn't thrill her.  We should probably have discussed it first.

A little photography this season...   

 I am taking a watercolor class and a mandala class and just going to enjoy the season. 

Merry Christmas to you all.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The house is quiet, except for the hockey game on, and I am feeling accomplished, like I met a challenge.  A friend asked me to paint a special picture for her son for Christmas.  It is a picture of him as a child, with his dad and grandpa on a hunting day.   I don't do portraits, but this lady is a very neat person, and to tell the truth, I wondered to myself if I was up to the challenge.  I told her I would try it, with no commitments.  She didn't have to take it if she didn't like it.  Deal made.

She sent me the photo, that is turning yellow with age, and my daunting task was at hand.  You know that craft show that is this weekend?  And next week is college grad?  Didn't seem to matter!  Had that little creative imp in my head telling me, do it, do it, do it, like a friend at the bar wanting me to chug my beer.  I couldn't wait to get done with the dinner dishes to get to it each night.

So the last few nights I worked on it.  Tonight, as I was struggling with the faces, (because, you know, those will make or break it) that damn imp started with the 'What Ifs'.  What if she doesn't like it?  What if she is like that other lady that wanted you to paint her dog and then told you everything that was wrong with it?  What if she says why did you do that that way?   Seriously.  This lady would throw it away before she would say any of that to me, but that damn imp didn't give a darn.

SO, I messaged her on facebook and asked if she would tell me whether to quit or keep going.  Besides, it saves the face when she sees it in front of me.  Its easier for her to make 'that' face when she first sees it on facebook.  Easier for her.  Easier on me.

Well, she just loved it.  She's talking frames and how she can't wait to give it to him, and its so special.  I went back in my art room and finished the faces just fine.  It's done.  The faces aren't perfect, but pretty close, I think.  It's signed.  It will dry for a few days and will get a clear coat.

I think I can show it here, because I doubt they will see it.   I feel better about it now, and like I said, Challenge Done!

Sunday November13, 2016

In an effort to ignore the world, I have been hard at work trying to get ready for the upcoming Craft Show.  I have decided, (pretty much anyway) that I will take crafts and not art.  This is not a really artsy community, although I did sell some art last year.  So MAYBE!  I dunno.

Remember my lion?  I have decided that its a gift for a special someone, (who is also a Leo) and I have had it professionally framed:

I absolutely love how the moddled green mat brings out the yellow green of the eyes. 

Then I continued to paint some of the cupboard doors that I have in the artroom, just to get them out of the way:

I have a couple more that are in the early stages in the artroom right now.  But first, I have housework to attend to.  Long overdue and needing to be done.  Its at the point where it bothers me, so I know its time to put down the paint and glue and geterdun!

Stay tuned!

Sunday November 6, 2016

This week I am in the middle of many projects, so I will show pieces:

 This table is in the HUBBY stages... I have designed it around the piano keyboard and we found legs at a resale shop and some beautiful walnut wood from the ReStore that will be used.  This is just the bones.  We have to work on it and get it done soon, the snow will soon fly!


I am getting into the community arts and crafts day again this year and one of my goals is to use all the cupboard doors I have accumulated:

 .

 I am trying not to do all of them holiday style, though:

Stay tuned!

Wednesday November 2, 2016

Have I ever said how much I love the ReStore?  This is a Habitat for Humanity store, where you can take extra building supplies, to donate, or buy someone elses.  They have all kinds of fun things for DIYers and people who have a little imagination...  And money spent there, helps fund homes for people who need a roof over their heads.  WIN-WIN!

I picked up a sturdy, but 'looks like it had seen better days' stool the other day when I went in there...

Wasn't looking for a stool, but it looked promising and needed some TLC.  Didn't know what I was going to do with it, but, once home, found an old tote bag that had a hole in it, so I cut the emblem out of it, and recycled it !  I wondered what I kept that old torn tote for!  Now I know!

  

TA-DA!!

And just a little of God's artwork... cameras just don't do it justice.

You have just experience it yourself.  Drink it in! 

Fall colors are fleetng, you might want to gulp! 

 

Stay tuned!