Fall Tree Artwork

Here is my latest artwork that I will be placing in my etsy store (hopefully) tomorrow.

I mentioned before how much I love fall and today when I went to the grocery store I saw candy corn out already!  I almost bought some but I decided to wait until September or October.  I probably did not need all of that sugar anyways:)

I hope you had a great day today.  I was working in my summer studio like crazy..it was so much fun:)  I lose track of time so easily out there.   I put my ipod on shuffle and just paint and collage away! 

One new project I am working on is a mixed media artwork.  Here is a sneak peak of it:

I just love this quote and am going to let it show through in my artwork.   When I decide where I am going with this artwork I will post more pictures.  Right now I just have the background.

Well I am off to go and relax with the husband.  We have a busy weekend ahead of us so tonight is our night to chill out:)  Have a great day!

Floral Still Lifes

Hello!  Happy Friday to you!  Hope you had a lovely week!  I have been busy in the studio creating many little floral still life paintings.  Most of these are not in my "usual" collage style.  I love to paint with acrylics and was just playing around with some different pictures I found in some of my old Martha Stewart magazines.   Her magazines always have such wonderful photo references:)

Here is a still life more in my usual collage/abstract style:  

Still Life 1

The rest are just some fun practice paintings I did using acrylic paint:

Still Life 2

Still Life 3

Still Life 4 (copied from a vintage painting I found in a magazine)

Well I wish you a wonderful weekend!  I am off to work on some more paintings:)

Photoshoot

Today I have actually had some time to work on my little etsy shop. I recently read somewhere that it is important to show off your artwork as best as you can through your pictures. So I had a little fun taking pictures of one of my favorite little collage paintings called Bouquet.

Here are some of my pictures:









What do you think?!

Well I am off to take more pictures! Have a lovely day:)

New Direction....

I am a girl with many different interests and loves. Recently I have felt like changing my artwork a little. I have always loved painting from observation and from photographs but have not done so lately because I was interested in creating a more stylized and abstract line of art. I am constantly trying to figure out what my "style" is. In college I always did paintings with very high key colors that combined my love with fashion and color. As I have gotten older I have been attracted to more neutral and simpler colors. I have been obsessed with white and blue for awhile now and lately I am really into french gray (and no, not because it has the word french in it...but that does help!)

So here are some of my new artworks that are not finished but still reflect a change in style. I would really like to know if you like these or my colorful collage artworks better. They are so different (except for the birds!)but I honestly like both of them.

Chickadee


Chickadee with coffee cup...which one do you like better?


Olive Warbler...obviously not finished but I like the contrast:)


Well I am off to continue working in my studio! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! Here is a little Billie Holiday "Summertime" for you. I just love her:)

New art and sketchbook sharing!

I finished this artwork a little while ago but have not had time to post it...oh how I miss doing art! I cannot wait until my summer classes are over with! I am planning on doing a second one similar to this one so they can be hung together!


Here is an artwork that I did in college for fun (almost 9 years ago!) It is so simple yet one of my favorite artworks that I have done. I usually keep it in my classroom throughout the year but brought it home over the summer to look at for inspiration!


I was looking through some of my old sketchbooks and came across these pages I thought i would share with you! Sometimes I like to go through magazines and cut out pictures and patterns that inspire me and sometimes I use them as starting points for my own artwork. I love this Chinese Proverb also: Buy the best and only cry once!


Here is another one from the same sketchbook:



Ever since I was little I loved going through home decorating magazines and cutting out pictures that inspired me. Where do you find your inspiration?

Tropical Bird

Here is one of my latest artworks called Tropical Bird. It was influenced by my upcoming trip to Hawaii in two weeks. Did I mention that I am pretty excited about this trip?! I need a vacation for sure!

I just love how travel really influences an artist and their artwork. I find that whenever I go anywhere (even just to another state!) I am somehow inspired. Where is the most inspiring place you have ever gone?

Summer Art Studio!

Hello! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! I only have three more weeks of school (not counting this week!) and I am so ready for summer! Last weekend I even opened up my summer art studio...



This is a little room off of our garage that has the perfect amount of space and light to be my painting studio! I just love it! Let me take you on a little tour...


This is my little table that I got for $10 at a garage sale and painted white! Perfect table for collaging on...I try to keep it clean!

Next up is the view of my backyard:


In the summer I have a beautiful garden that I overlook...right now there is not too much going on though!


Here is where I sit when I want to relax a little and think about what I will paint next:




Look at these beautiful lilacs I picked to put in my art room:



Here are some paintings I am currently working on....I hope to finish them soon. I am planning on adding lots of collage on top of the painted canvases.





I will post the finished paintings when I am done! Have a great night! I am off to get ready to watch LOST!

Weightless

Here is one of my new collages titled Weightless. I mentioned in an earlier post that I am into hot air balloons lately (as you can tell.) I don't know if I am going to put it into my etsy store yet. It is a little different than my usual collages but oh well..my style is evolving?!


Hope your Saturday is going well! It is 85 degrees here! Can you believe it?! I laid outside all day and read a book! It was great... I have not done that since last summer! Have a great weekend!

Crazy Surreal Collages

Here are some of my Intro to Art Surreal Collages. They are so much fun and so interesting.








Students are going to grid the drawings


and then redraw them using any media they want. I will post the drawings when they are finished. I think they are going to be great!

On another note.....my dog Jack Henry



got a haircut...and he looks fat! Time to start taking him on more walks!



Well I am off to bed! Have a great night!

Cafe

Lets go to a little cafe for an espresso or a cup of coffee!


I just adore these little pink tablecloths!


Perfectly made espresso! Very hard to do without an amazingly expensive espresso machine!


Here is the husband with his espresso


Even little birdies enjoy a little caffeine in the morning!
Ok..that is pushing it...but you never know!


Here's to delicious cups of coffee or espressos on lazy Sundays! Have a fun day!

Dreaming of Flowers and Warm Weather...

This is another collage in my etsy shop. It is one of my favorites because it is a mixture of some of my favorite flowers, the iris and the daisy! It is on a canvas and is one of my bigger collages. This collage was inspired by my garden:



I am so excited for the weather to finally get nice...it is 43 degrees right now and sunny...I am in heaven! I am so inspired by warm weather and everything that goes with it...flowers, birds, trees with leaves, the beach, cookouts, SUNSHINE! I know it is only February and there is still a lot more of winter left but a girl can dream can't she?! So here is to spring and everything it brings! Have a wonderful Saturday!

I love women in hats....

Apparently I have a thing for women in hats....which is strange because I kind of look stupid in them. Every time I see a picture with a woman with a cool hat on, I want to draw her.

Case in point:



Done in acrylic paint




Done in watercolor and pen



Done in watercolor and pen with collage elements

These were all done in my altered book.

Here are some other artworks I have done in my altered book:






The seed heads of dandelions are my favorite to paint... they are so soft and pretty!

My altered book has been sitting on a shelf for awhile but recently I have been working on it again. It is a nice place to play around with different media and subject matter. Check out a cool altered book gallery here.

As usual here is my 10 minute sketch for today. It is the blender in my kitchen. I used Chartpak markers (illustration markers). My kitchen is pretty much white and black...I totally changed that in my drawing! I like color way too much and sometimes go overboard! So here it is:


Well I am off to have some fun...it is Friday you know;)

Art Giveaway: Little Pink Bird

Recently I have become blog friends with a lovely mother who has a wonderful blog called C.Beth. Blog. I love to read about her adorable children and their funny adventures. Recently C.Beth gave me the idea to do an art giveaway. So here it is! thanks again C.Beth for sponsoring this giveaway on your blog!

Details on the art:
This artwork is made with hand-painted papers collaged onto canvas paper. It will come matted, ready to be framed in a 5x7 frame.

Here are the contest rules:

1. Leave a comment, any comment, on this post. Perhaps you'd like to say what the little bird in the art is thinking? Or just say, "Yo, enter me." It's up to you.
2. For an extra entry, go to C.Beth's blog by clicking here, and leave a comment on her contest post, too.
3. For even more entries, tell everyone you know about this and encourage them to enter, and to mention your name in their entry. You'll get an extra entry every time someone enters and uses your name as a referral.
4. The contest will close at 8 p.m., Central Standard Time, Monday, January 12, 2009. An entry will be randomly chosen, and the winner will be announced on both blogs Tuesday, January 13. Be sure to come back here to see if you've won. If you don't contact Michelle or C. Beth by 8 p.m. CST, Thursday, January 14, another winner will be randomly chosen.
5. Contest is open to anyone with a United States address. You may also enter if you live in a country other than the U.S. as long as reasonably affordable international postage is available.

Good luck, and have fun!