Thursday, August 25, 2016

"Stroked Elegance" Painting class

"Stroked Elegance" is the name of the design painted on this little oval wood box. The original design was published in the Decorative Painter by Sharryn Knestel.  (Members of SDP are allowed to teach designs published in the publication to our chapter members. Teaching this design to my tole painting friends in Silver State Tole and Decorative Painters was an exercise in color theory, which is always a great exercise to put your mind to as an artist.                                                                   
 





Wednesday, July 27, 2016

"Roses" 
11 X 14"
This acrylic painting has loads of texture. 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

New directions

I have been considering taking a new direction. One that is not totally foreign, but definitely more adventuresome.
 Here I altered canvas substrates with modeling paste around the edges to make a frame. Then pressed various stamps into the paste for interesting texture and pattern. As it dried, a few cracks appeared. That I like. Several coats of acrylic paint was applied until I found my desired result. The centers received a few layers also of paper and gesso, paint and inked vintage encyclopedia pages and paper napkin applique.

" Bird in the Hand",   mixed media painting, 10 x 10.
"The Marchioness' Journey", mixed media painting,
 8 x 10.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015


Some of the Altered change purses and wallets I made a while back.
I discovered some cute little purses at my local thrift stores and wondered if I could make some use of them.  A little acrylic paint and embellishments later, I had these little treasure holders ready to sell. Fun to create too.


Monday, September 2, 2013

Mini Books for a Swap

Handmade books have always held my attention.  So I had to jump in and join a mini book swap on my favorite mixed media forum, Milliande.

I decided to sew some seed beads along the spine and conceal my stitches.  They look kind of like missing teeth, I have to admit. Just a little whimsical touch to these tiny presents.


             Please excuse the shadow from my fingers!


 "To find the joy in little things, sometimes you have to wing it."

        They were quite a big challenge for being so small.

Friday, March 22, 2013

CalicoStudio: I realized it's been awhile since I posted, so I t...

CalicoStudio: I realized it's been awhile since I posted, so I t...: I realized it's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd look through my painting pics from the last ten months and see what I h...
I realized it's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd look through my painting pics from the last ten months and see what I have to share.

Here are some watercolor cards I taught in a class at a place called "The Caring Place."  It's a place where those with cancer can come for support and all kinds of free classes. This is not a convalescent center, but the people who come are trying to get their life back to normal while dealing with the effects of this horrible disease.

This is just one of the classes I taught along with the help of my painting chapter, Silver State Tole and Decorative Painters.


"What's New?" Fluffy white chick patrols the farmyard. 

"Feathering the Nest" Orange chicken keeps the nest warm.
"Breakfast Time" Stripped chicken is always hungry.

"Hear I Come" Yellow chicken looks for his friends.
   
And here are all of the feather dusters together.  I really did have a blast creating these watercolor cards for the class.