Happiness. * Illustration Friday.

"Be Happy" 8x10 on Etsy.

***Update! I posted this on Illustration Friday because I thought it fit the bill. This piece is a bit abstract for me. I thought of all the little circles as bits and pieces of our lives. Fragments of all the things that should, in theory, make us HAPPY! ***

So today was my day to play. And play I did. Not that I didn't do all those pesky necessary things like paying bills, dishes, and laundry, because I did that too. But, I also marked several fun things off my "to do" list as well. I finally booked my flight to Seattle for April. Hooray. Then I spent a bit of time writing a little bio about myself for an exciting market I'll be participating in next month. More on that later. And I sourced out new furniture for Ava's wee lil' room. She's ready for a toddler bed, out with the changing table as well. Her room is tiny, only 9x10, so I want to do something really fun in there. I'm thinking a vintage/modern look.


Can you tell that looking at lots of mod textiles and mid-century furniture has influenced my art lately? I just love the fresh and cheerful vibe from that era. So I'm scouring Ebay for lots of cool stuff. I've found alot of inspiration over at Ohdeedoh, Apartment Therapy's baby blog. There's also lots of cute baby goods to be found on Etsy, such as this little blanket from QuiltBaby. And of course there's about a million little mobiles, pillows, and softies that I'd love to scoop up there as well. So anyway- after all that I created the little flower child piece above, entitled "Be Happy". A perfect reminder to put a smile on your face spread the joy!


Don't forget to check the previous post to participate in my GIVEAWAY!


Oh! and one more thing for all my artistic friends dropping by...I was recently asked to do an image for a photo studio, that would be reproduced on their promotional material. The client asked for the image to be exclusively for their use only, and mentioned that they might possibly want to digitally rework the image to suit a boy or girl. I had no idea how to deal with this request, and unfortunately replied to the client before I had received any good advice. Then the very talented Jerry Lebo, from sixtyminuteartist replied to an email I sent him, and furthermore, wrote a very informative post on the matter, which you can view here. Very sound information, definetly worth hopping over there for a quick read!

Copyright & GIVEAWAY TIME!

*****************************GIVEAWAY********************
The second part of the post is a GIVEAWAY! Hooray! It's been a long time since I've done one, so here goes. The prize is this: $100 worth of merchandise from my Etsy Shop! The rules: Simply leave a comment for me in the comments section below, about how you found out about my art or blog. Next Wednesday, Feb. 6th, I will draw a name and the winner will get to chose up to $100 worth of in-stock shop goods. Feel free to spread the word :)
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Stripey lil' zebra named Blossom

"I Shall Name Her Blossom" 9x12 on Etsy. -SOLD ***PRINT now available on ETSY!!
***Their feet are slightly cropped in this scan,
but I assure they both have all their toes in the real thing :)***

I think this may be the last painting in the Menagerie series. Unless another idea happens to pop up of course. I've taken the past week to attend to the business side of art. I greatly prefer the creating side, but of course I really can't have one without the other. To make up for my lack of regular posts here, I will be doing a special post later in the week, so check back often!

Lots and Lots...

"A Bit Curious" 9x12 on 300lb. coldpress paper, on Etsy.-SOLD

***Now available as a print!

Well, it seems I get distracted easily and just do not post here as often as I'd like. My husband is back from his 11 day trip, most of which was spent in the beautiful location pictured above. Seven days in the Bahamas, at the Atlantis , no less. A trip won by his brother. Nice. Anyway--I'm back in the swing of things now. I finished "A Bit Curious" last night. That little monkey is in 11 different tiny pieces. I think he came together quite nicely. A softer, more subtle color palette this time. He's hanging out over in my Etsy Shop.

This week I'm finalizing my plans for my trip to Artfest in April. I'm extending my trip by one day to explore Seattle since I've never been there. I'm probably most excited about my class with Anahata Katkin. She is wonderful with color, and is a master at digital manipulation. For her class we will be creating people on wallpaper, 6ft tall. I've never done anything on this scale, so I'm very excited. Also, I'm participating in the 2008 Artfest Fat Book, a collaboration of many artists, binding their work into a tiny 4x4 book, a memento of the days we will spend together. AND I have to start considering what I will make for gallery night. I can submit 2 pieces, up to 20 x 24 inches I believe. They must be created with a theme of "forest walk" in mind, right up my alley!

Well the kiddies are at their weekly playdate with the neighbors, so it's time for me to get to work on another piece! Thanks for stopping by...Have a fabulous Thursday :)

purrrrr..........

"Little Big Cat" 9 x 12 in my Etsy shop.-SOLD
***Now available as a PRINT in my Etsy shop!

Today was a very good day. I finished the piece above. Tedious, tedious work cutting these pieces of paper. I need new scissors, with tiny pointed ends for all the detail stuff. The kiddies spent several hours at Grandma's, so I enjoyed a day of reading & a bit of retail therapy. I scored a cute pair of flats at DSW, picked up the latest issues of Vogue Living & Dwell, and found a few purses to put on my maybe list. I've been carrying the same purse for 3 years. I love it, it's the softest, slouchiest, yummiest leather ever, but it needs a break. All-in-all a perfect day. A little work & a little play.

Some really long legs.

"He's Just a Baby" 9 x 12.5 on Etsy . -SOLD ***Now available as a print in my Etsy shop!
Visit my Etsy shop to see full image!

I love the warm golden tones accented with red. I wish I had her boots too (and her legs!) Ha... I pulled another late night to get this one finished. It's scan in pieces over at my shop, if you want to see the full image. My husband has my camera, and the whole thing wouldn't fit on my scanner, so this was the best I could do. I've yet to take the time to learn how to stitch images together in Photoshop...someday though! Well I'm off for now, I'm babysitting the neighborhood kidlings today at noon :) Have a great Friday!

Do you like?

"For Show" 9 x 12 inches, on Etsy . -SOLD
Now available as a print in my little etsy shop!

I completed the third painting in my Menagerie series tonight. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but the center of each little feather is a circular piece of paper. It required some patience and a steady hand, but I'm very pleased with the outcome. I'm really enjoying the combination of washed colors and graphic prints here.

Well, I'm off to bed. It's almost 2am! What was I thinking????

HAPPY HAPPY 2008!

"Gentle" 11 x 14 inches -SOLD
Now available on Etsy as a print!

"Of Course He Talks" 4 x 5 inches,( 5 1/2 x 6 3/4 framed), on Etsy as well.

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Finally a moment to post. My poor neglected blog... the holiday season left me with little time to spend here. I started to take a moment to post pictures of our Christmas tree(it was beautiful), the piles and piles of torn wrapping paper and sparkling bows, the heaps of food that I prepared, then ate for the next week...but I'm sure you were doing the same thing at your house, so you know all about it. Christmas with kids is a blast. Playing Santa is sooooo much fun :)

I had thought I would sandwich in some time for art, but it just didn't happen. Then I sliced my finger on a piece of glass in the bottom of the sink, and it made gripping a pen or brush nearly impossible. But now, I'm all healed up and ready to go. I stocked up on bright new papers yesterday. I'm starting a new series. I miss using lots of collage, so I want to get back to that for a while. I will be mixing paper, acrylics, watercolors, and ink. I believe most of these pieces will be on 300lb. cold press paper. (extremely sturdy stuff, I can barely cut it, maybe I need new scissors) Anyhow--I think I will offer the smaller pieces framed, just because I've found some adorable vintage ones to refinish. Pictured above are the first two in The Menagerie Series...