"Longing", Mixed Media on Wood, 4"x4", AVAILABLE

I finally finished this piece and it is now available for sale on Daily Paintworks.

It's a mixed media piece that started out as an ACEO trading card.  I liked it so much that I wanted to incorporate it into a painting.  The ACEO is drawn in Prismacolor pencils and put on an acrylic painted oil that I also used ink on.  I then put vintage lace on it before using Liquitex Pouring Medium on it.

I have it framed in a nice black frame.

FREE shipping to the lower 48 states.

Thanks for stopping by!

"New" Refurbished Scanner

This weekend we are supposed to be getting a really bad snowstorm here in Virginia.  I was so excited to receive my "new" refurbished Epson V37 scanner yesterday.  I have all weekend to play with it while I am trapped inside my warm home.

I have been wanting to get a scanner for a long time but I could not find one that I could realistically afford.  I have been doing research on and off for the last few months.  I ended up finding a deal on Ebay through Epson on the scanner I liked for only $59.00 and that included shipping!

I thought I would do my first scan tonight on a painting that I did earlier in the week.  Below I wanted to show you the difference between taking a photo with my point and shoot camera and scanning it with my new scanner.

I am really pleased with how the scan turned out because it is more accurate than the original photograph of I took.  The painting is much softer than the first photo and you can see this in the scan.

So....if you are on the fence about getting a scanner, go out and get one. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I don't have any paintings to add to my 30 day painting challenge.  That is the bad news but the good news is that I have the whole weekend to spend in my studio to create some new work.

Thanks for looking!

#30paintingsin30days Challenge-Day 2

Well, I woke up thinking that I need to plan my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge better!

Starting tomorrow, I will be a lot more busier so I know that I need to schedule time to work.  I might even work on tomorrow's painting tonight.  What I will do though is plan out what painting I am going to do before tomorrow!  I literally woke up, made coffee and decided to paint my friend Cindy's cat Izzy.

This is another photo that has been on my desktop for ages.

I thought you might like to see "work in progress" photos.  First I drew in the cat and outlined it in Mars Black.

 I wanted to try something a little bit different because that is what this challenge is all about, right?  I decided to do a monochromatic study first before I added any color.

 Next I added the Yellow Oxide for the couch and this is the point that I realized that I had very little white left to do this painting with.  I have been meaning to buy a tube of white paint but I keep forgetting.  So....I was definitely rationing the white!

 Thought at this point-"Hey, why not add purple in the shadows and the cat?"

Final piece:

"Izzy", Acrylic on canvas 5"x7".

Enjoying the process so far although we are only on Day 2.  I am leaving the studio to plan for the rest of the day and will be coming back later to figure out what I am painting tomorrow.  I'm thinking I will need to get up extra early which is hard coming off of vacation.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Basil", Charcoal on Pastelbord, 5"x7"

Piece #13 of the 30 Day painting challenge!

This kitty belongs to my cousin and I am going to surprise her with it.  I did it in one of my favorite mediums-charcoal.  I completed it and felt like it needed a small touch of color so I added some color in the nose and eyes via NuPastels.  I find cats a lot harder to draw and paint than dogs.  I have to be so much more accurate when drawing the face because if I am off just a little it just does not look right.  Profiles of cats are so much easier than front views.

Thanks for looking and stopping by!  Any comments and critiques are appreciated!