Wall Art - Huge Piece

I had a very large space on my wall to fill, so I took a couple of pieces of plywood I had around the house, primed them with white latex paint, and started painting them.  I used Folk Art and Apple Barrel paint by Plaid.  First step was to lay down a colorful background.  

I really wanted to do something playful and fun on this, similar to some of the pieces I have seen lately by Stephanie Corfee, so I kinda went wild with my brush.  And I hated it.  Hated. It.  

Not to worry, I covered it back up with more color.  I decided on some simple brush strokes to embellish the painting because I had so much room to cover (like 3 feet by 4 feet).

Here's a detailed shot.

And the finished piece on my wall.

Splish Splash Bathroom Art

I have been working on this new painting (well, a cover-up of an old painting) for the last couple of days while my one-year-old whines at my feet.  Even taking regular breaks to hold him does not satisfy him, which is rather contrary to his normal laid back personality.

Easy Multi-Strand Braided Bracelet Tutorial

I'm now offering this tutorial for free on my jewelry blog Native Bloom.  To get to the post and the free PDF, just go HERE and follow the link to the post.

Check out this listing for more information.

Article Published in Cloth Paper Scissors - Faux Lampwork Headpins

Lucky me (or blessed I should say), I finally got an article published in Cloth Paper Scissors!!!  One item on my bucket list I can check off.  I have dreamed about this for years now.  My article "Faux Lampwork Headpins" was published in the May/June 2013 issue on pages 50-54.  A four page spread, I am just so excited.  Here are a few pictures I took of these headpins before I sent them in a few months back.  I just got them back in the mail a few days ago along with my complimentary copies of the issue.

A necklace I made with the headpins. 

The headpins in a funky (and dirty) little vintage glass jar. 

I have five sets of them listed in my Etsy shop; if you are interested stop by and check them out.

New Necklaces - Bright Flowers on Brass Tags

Here are some necklaces I have been working on. I hand dyed the flowers myself and added them to hammered brass tags.

Each is on a strand on colorful seed beads.

And I added some colorful beads to the extender chains.

I don't plan on listing any of these. Instead they will be sold locally at a jewelry party. But if you are interested just post a comment or send me an email.

Paintings - Experimenting

I am learning how to take some time and play with my paint.  I usually have a definite plan when I paint, but love abstract and non-representational art.  So I am trying to give myself room to play and make mistakes and paint over them and come up with something awesome and paint over it and regret that and then paint something I love even more over that.  I am very inspired by Jesse Reno, Flora Bowley, Teesha Moore, Traci Bautista, Michelle Allen, and Julie Balzer.  I am trying to incorporate some spontaneity, vibrant color, layers, and life into my art.  Here's how that is working out for me so far.

This first painting has already morphed into something else, but it was what I ended up using as inspiration for my desk.  And my desk will surely change too.  I am just using craft paint right now.  I hope to invest in some better paint soon.   

Here it is again with another painting on my desk, the first one I played around with.  It has already been painted over.  Now, painting over another painting is nothing new to me.  I do it all the time when I get bored with my paintings and want new art on the walls.  I made quite a few more marks on this one and hope my desk turns out a bit more like it.

I added a funky zebra print trim to the side of the canvas since I will not be framing it.  

Detail...

And here it is on my wall.  

I will share some picture of my desk in the next few days, but for now I have to finish up a project.  I am writing my first article for Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES 2012!!!  Not my first how-to article, but the first time I will actually get paid for writing.  And my long time dream of being published in a CPS magazine fulfilled.  Have to get everything ready for shipping on Monday so I can make it on time. 

Skull and Sparrows - New Painting

A friend of mine requested an original painting.  She wanted a Day of the Dead inspired painting that combined a sugar skull, sparrows, daisies, swirls, and rainbow colors.  I did a bit of research and here is the thumbnail sketch I came up with.

This painting took me forever to do.  I experimented with a few different techniques, and they took me a long time to figure out.  First I worked on my backgound layers, a step that I had previously not put much effort into.  I was inspired by a video by Regina Lord of Creative Kismet.  You can view the video here.  I collaged layers of sketchbook paper with gel medium, coated them with a light brushing of gesso, then added some yellow with watercolor crayon.  I wish I had taken of photo of this step, but I did not.

Next I did an underpainting in white.  I have never done this, but after seeing this underpainting by David Lozeau I decided to give it a try.  You'll notice his is much, much, much more detailed than mine.   It was more work, but I like how it brightened all of the colors in my final layer.  Here's the underpainting.

Next I did a sketch in pencil over the underpainting to use as a guide.  This is usually where I start, then I do detail work, then try to paint the background in.  You can imagine that this really limited the amount of detail I was able to include in my background.  I much prefer this newer method.

Once the sketch was down, I began painting.  I also had two lovely birdies to paint.  These were thrifted vintage, and I believe they were from Homco circa 1970-something.  They were golden, so I added layer of gesso and painted the the same colors as the sparrows in the painting.  Here's the end result.

I learned a lot with this piece, but most of all I learned that acrylic is a labor of love.  I think my next project may be watercolor, or maybe just a simple ink drawing.  I need a break!  Hey, let me whine just a little bit.  I am 11 weeks pregnant and exhausted.

Living Room Art

Yay, I have quite a bit of work done on the livingroom in our house.  Here is the painting I did for the wall above our couch......

Here is the painting half way through.

And finished, with a side view so you can see how it wraps around.  I painting the entire painting and frame white.  Then I projected an image on it with my Art Tracer, and painted over my lines with black gloss paint. 

The finished product hung on my wall.