Painting up a Storm

    Last week I attended the Creative Painting convention, which happens here every year about this time. The convention took place at the Tropicana Hotel, but I slept in my own bed.  After all, it's only 25 minutes away.  There are so many exciting classes going on and a tempting trade floor to stroll, that I had a hard time deciding where to go next. I had a great time taking a few classes during the convention and one the Saturday before. 

 Here are two that are works-in-progress. The butterfly basket was a class with Lynne Deptula and amaryllis box with Ginger Edwards.

 I painted this blooming iris on a textured canvas with Diane Trierweiler, whose work I really admire. The canvas surface has a rough texture that was applied with a palette knife. It was an interesting experience to work on this gritty texture. 

I did finish my Song Sparrow painting with Shirley Koenig, even though she is a quick painter and am very happy with my new little bird painting. It was such a fun week and I even managed to learn a thing or two about painting technique.

Domino kitty is enjoying her new post by the window and naps in this snuggly spot whenever most mornings. 

Beginning the New Year with some new ideas

   The first day of the year should be celebrated with something new and fun, so here's my take on that idea. 
  I have resolved to make more art this year. And have several ideas rolling around in my head.  Number one is to find a way to make several designs in a repeated fashion, so that I could create cards easily.  So that is how this hopeful little bird with a heart shaped message to deliver for the new year came about.

Carving the linoleum was a challenge, because the linoleum is a bit hard. And  I hope it does not look too primitive.   I used some acrylic gouche paint for my print and made several postcards for a birthday card swap  I am in on Milliande.

Another new thing I learned is how to upload pictures from my phone and post them on my laptop.  So although I am without my regular computer and scanner,  I will be able to get back to blogging.
Yay! for bright New year! I am on my way to some new creative explorations.
Happy New Year everyone!

The Sea Calls to Me

The sea has always been a mysterious and magical subject for me. When I was a child, my family took vacations to the California coast. We rented a hotel room and walked down to the beach to walk in the sand and play in the waves.  I can recall the feeling of the sand between my toes and the smell of the salt in the air.  In fact, right now if I close my eyes, I can imagine myself standing on the beach. It's still a wondrous memory for me.

Today the collages I am displaying are made on two canvas boards and have a mini canvas mounted on top with lots of paint and tissue and printed paper overlay. For personality I have added my little clay birds, tiny seashells, and vintage music to create a story picture that is very sweet.  For easy hanging, I also glued a ribbon cord to each one. Over all size is 5 x 7 inches.

"By the Sea" 1






"By the Sea" 2