Boy was I productive

I took a couple days off from work last weekend and finally managed to get a couple of things done in the way of some artwork...yay!


I had started this one a couple of weeks back and then got side tracked...again, with the sparkly stuff and pretty butterflies.
This is a 4"x4" canvas.


This color combination is currently one of my favorites right now, as you will see. Must play with turquoise more often.
Another 4"x4" canvas.


Oh, the little bird is telling some of the dogs secrets and filling Ralphies head up. You can see Ralphie thinking of ways to get even with the dog, yes indeed.

This piece was inspired by two things, one of which was a post by Colorfuldayz called Pet Diaries which I thought was hilarious and ever so fitting.

This one is an 8"x8" Canvas.

I may be offering these up on etsy later this week or next.

In the Garden with Macro

I have to shamefully admit that when I first bought my camera "several" years ago I never bothered to read my manual ...at all.

A couple years go by and I'm getting by with my camera I start reading about this thing called "macro". Hey, I want macro! Sign me up, where do I get this thing called macro? All the other cameras have macro.

Okay, so I bought my camera as part of a package deal and I'm sure I paid way more for it that way and I know that it was totally bottom of the line and all but at least it should give me a couple of cool features...right?

I started checking online to see if my completely outdated little camera had this macro. I couldn't find too much info on it. Did I mention that it was outdated?

Hehe...yesterday I FINALLY found the macro feature on my camera!

Of course my battery just died but I did get a couple of, I think, great shots with it before it died.


Little Clovers
When I took this shot I had no idea I was going to get such a cool shot and especially with all those water droplets...I just didn't know, hehe.


Hearts


Watch Bun


Everyone gets such beautiful creatures visiting their gardens. I think that this guy is no different but I had no idea that I had so many in my back yard. You would think that in this heat they wouldn't do so well. I would estimate that there are over 100 back there. Breed like rabbits? I bet Mr Bun is jealous...



Little brother.

And finally a gratuitous shot of Howard just coming out of the shower.

Oh trust me...I know what you were thinking...*wink*

Etsy Love

Okay, I've been meaning to do this post for awhile now but my latest etsy purchase is spurring things along.
I just bougt this wonderful little card keeper from Colorfuldayz and right now she is having a little mini sale on items from her etsy shop.
Here's mine.

I also attended a little craft fair here in Vegas where I ran into a fellow etsy artist that I had previously "hearted" and ended up purchasing one of her cards that I had really liked from her shop. How wonderful was it that I ran into her there. Her name is Lynne Adamson and her etsy shop is adamsonart. Her artwork is amazing. This is the card I bought.


I just received two other pieces of art in the mail from two other etsy artists, the first is this piece:

This is "To Reach the Fairy House Before Dark...Run" by Miz Katie and that line alone is what attracted me to this piece in the first place. I miss dark scary fairy tales.

The second piece is from Rima Staines from the Hermitage and needless to say I've always been drawn, (hehe) to rat type characters.

Isn't he adorable?

And a finished one

This was sitting on my work table partly finished for awhile now and finally, last night, it went where it wanted to go.



Here's a close up of the Big Eyed Bird, just because he looks so happy to be home.


And I painted up some canvses for some decorating in my living room, I think these all look great together as a group and will mesh quite well with my blue walls.
Don'tcha think?

Actually, hehe, no, I bought these at a thrift store with the intentions of painting over them, great cheap source for nice canvases.
I do think I will find it difficult to paint over them though, at least at first.
Especially Sammi...poor guy.

In Progress

I'm really not sure how I feel about this particular piece yet. Been working on it off and on for weeks now and I'm just not sure yet.
Let's see what you all think of it.


She's a tall girl at 8" x 24" and tentivaley being referred to as "The Heart"

Amazing Dance Video

While I know that not everyone watches "So You Think You Can Dance" I do have to admit that I am seemingly hooked. This dance number is one of the reasons why. I just can't get this one out of my head so I thought I would share it here.

I am constantly amazed at how incredible these "kids" are and that's really all they are. Am I jealous? You betcha!



I swear, I'm off to do some artwork now. Been so long since I posted anything new.

See above for just one of the many reasons why...hehe.

Aliens

"Anything?"

"There's something."

"They're inside the house!"

"You're just reading me!"

"No no, it ain't you!"
"They're inside. Inside the perimeter."
"They're in here!"

"Stay cool."

"There's movement all over the place!"

"They learned. They must have found another way in, something I missed."

"We didn't miss anything!"

"I don't know, a nail hole, a gap in the caulking. Something under the floor, not on the plans. I don't know."

"They're right on us!"

"Can't be. That's inside the room!"

A soul wrenching nightmare image.
The inner sanctum is utterly violated....

Copiously, generously and ridiculously changed to suit my own ant nightmares from a scene from one of my favorite movies "Aliens". How fitting indeed.

And yes, they figured out a way to get under my wooden floor and came up through a seam. There is concrete under that floor and I layed the wood myself. I had glue all OVER that concrete and while granted, I did make grooves with the glue, these ants continually amaze me with their ingenuity.

I am off to buy some grits as that idea completely amuses me.

And maybe when I get back I will then amuse myself with some artwork...it's possible.

Boy was I ever wrong!

Not more than a couple hours after posting that I thought I had those darn ants this time *picture Dudly Doo-Rights' arch nemesis Snidley Whiplash standing on a hill and shaking his fist if you will, about as effective* I come into my previously untouched realm of the kitchen to find a literal swarm. These little buggars usually tend to limit themselves to coming in, of all places, my bedroom closet...don't know why, and love to find tiny places in bedrooms on both sides of the house, hitting both places in the same day once, but they've always stayed away from the kitchen...amazingly enough.
NOT TODAY.

I was taking some pictures in what passes for my lighted picture taking place *read...kitchen counter* when I happened to look over and see...





I'm still amazed I had enough mind sense to snap some pictures but I attribute it to the fact that the camera was actually in my hand and in the "on" position.

I think there were literally over 100,000 of them and while I may tend to exaggerate some, this time maybe by 10 or 20 only.

I really think I got them...this time...

The very bane of my whole existence

As if mad cats and over protective birds weren't enough I give you the common ant.

That's right, the ant.

Portrayed as cute in many films including one of my favorite A Bug's Life, these little critters have been tormenting me for years! And I do mean years!

I have *cough*entirely too many animals *cough* so that means I'm deathly afraid of trying to use any kind of sprays and so have been fighting these guys in other ways, meaning at least 8 tubes of caulk on every crack and crevice I can find, investing in lots of batteries for my flashlight so I can see miniscule little areas that I managed to miss on the first 12 go arounds with the caulk, putting up trim and then caulking around that to seal it, and the countless vacuum bags in just "sweeping" them up and I won't even go into the late nights just trying to find out where in the hell they are coming in this time!

*Deep sigh*

So last week in cleaning my house because I had company coming, hehe...I really need excuses, I wake up early and find the little buggars have found the dog food bowl...argh!

I take the bowl outside and set it on my lounge chair up high and figure that would at least help and off I go to stop the swarm and use up yet another tube of caulk.

This is the sight I saw, several hours later.




I think I've got them this time...I really do.

Hehe, I say that every time...

Ralphie on Canvas

I know its been a good long while since my last post and I do apologize. I think this summers weather has really gotten to me. I feel at best lethargic and lazy and I can't ever seem to get anything done. Sooo on that note I decided that I was going to get something done this weekend come hell or high water.
I present you with Ralphie...on canvas and in real life...



My Ralphie is one of those cats that even the best and bravest dog is afraid of. You see Ralphie is...Ornery... on his good days. He's always mad, about something. I never know, and while he looks all cute in the photo don't be fooled. I was eating some hard bolied eggs and he desperately wanted some so he was on his best behavior...and he loves me.
I tried to convey that look on the painting but the canvas Ralphie would have none of that, he wanted to be cute...and lovable...and well, nice.
I finally obliged.
See, he gets his way no matter what. Even on canvas.

I've also got no less than 8 other canvases started and in various stages of completeness. In my defense I do tend to get easily distracted. Very easily.

I had a rather productive weekend

Amazingly enough if you take 5 days off from work and have no major plans the things you can actually accomplish are nothing short of amazing.

I finally took off a couple layers of dust from the top of things I hadn't seen in awhile, (no Mom, not the fridge or stove haha) managed to sort out and organize my studio

There is a work in progress there on my table and I had to use my light up really high as it was getting dark out and this is the only major light in the room.


My tv for movie watching, I find it a must have.
There's my Indiana Jones poster I airbrushed back in the late 80's. I haven't the wall space for it right now.


Yes, there's my movie collection at the bottom and my brand new Clip it Up at the top. LOVE that thing. There's little Eggs' head at the very bottom.

It scares me badly to post these pics and these are the cleaned up versions, ack!
Looking at them from the saftey of my computer screen makes me realize just how small my work table really is. I found the perfect one for me, it's at Ikea, we have no Ikea here and they won't ship my table to me and with gas the way it is right now makes no sense for me to go there and pick it up. Would be cheaper to have a team of artisans flown in from Italy to carve one out of an oak tree, but I digress.

I did find a table that would suit my needs at Cost Plus World Market but wouldn't you know it they were out of stock. They say it "might" come in on Thursday. I guess I'm stuck with my "student" version for now.

Here are a couple of the canvases I managed to paint in between all my organizing.






And I made a couple of pocket mirrors from the images too.



I'm really loving my little button/mirror maker

Published Again!

I was published in the latest edition of Art Trader Magazine.
The orange chunky page on page 7 and the green chunky page on page 23. Both of these were done for the monochromatic swap on ATC's4All. I'm very excited to be included in such a great online magazine. Go check it out, there are lots of eye candy bits and pieces.