"Evening Song", mixed media on wood, 11"x14", FOR SALE

I finished this piece this morning and I just felt so good after completing it.  

I have had the wood piece for this for a couple of years now and have been working on and off on it.  I was never really sure what the vision was going to be for this piece.  I loved the colors that evoked nature and the forest but nothing spoke to me as the main subject or how I was going to pull it off.

I came across an idea somewhere to use colored netting in mixed media pieces.  I have used cheesecloth before but never netting.  I went and bought a few colors and found that it was fun to drape and work with.  

I have been wanting to complete some titmice paintings for awhile now and these two birds just fit the whole feel of the piece.  They were created on mixed media paper and I used Prismacolor pencils to complete them.

This piece is now available to purchase through Daily Paintworks. Click here to take a look.

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

"Wild Dolphin", Mixed Media on gallery wrap canvas, 5"x5"-FOR SALE

I finished this piece up last week and I am really happy how it turned out. I have been wanting to paint a dolphin for long time. This canvas had been laying around my studio for awhile and I thought it was perfect to experiment with Liquitex Glass Beads. I LOVE the texture and how it came out. I used Pouring Medium to coat the front.

Piece is on gallery wrap canvas and is ready to hang.

FREE shipping to lower 48 addresses.

Thank you for looking!

"Merrily, Merrily", Mixed Media on Panel, 6"x6"

This is mixed media piece that is composed of a lot of different materials and has been well over a year in creation.  I know a year sounds like a long time but read below to give you details into my process.

The wren was drawn with Prismacolor art pencils on mixed media paper about a year and a half ago. I tend to keep a portfolio in my car with various art supplies.  I have 3 kids-17, 15 and 10 and I am driving around a lot.  I tend to be waiting for them in cars whether they are a sports practice, doctor's appointments or a music lesson.  I hated not using that time in a fulfilling way.  I was finding myself surfing social media on my iPhone or calling someone on the phone to take about nothing special.  Having my art supplies handy means that I am always creating and a few steps away from a completed painting.

This is how this piece started-in my car being drawn while waiting for my kids.  Just a single solitary wren looking for a home!

The brown background is on a wood panel.  I did something new that I am going to explore more in the future.  I used modeling paste that I colored with Liquitex gold acrylic paint and put it through a stencil.  I still had no idea what the end result was going to be.  I added the vintage sheet music and pieces of lace that I cut out.    Then I realized that this was a good surface place to put the wren that had been nesting in my studio.

This piece is available to purchase through Daily Paintworks.

Thanks for stopping by!

"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!

#30paintingsin30days Challenge Day 14-Painting #9

"Sol-fa-mi-sol", mixed media on gessobord, 4"x4"

It's Day 14 and I should be on painting 14 but I'm on painting 9.  Who's counting, right?

Finally found something to add to this small 4 inch square canvas.  Perfect size for a chickadee.

Not sure how I am going to varnish this one.  I might use Liquitex Pouring medium.

Thanks for looking at my work!

#30paintingsin30days Challenge- Painting #7

"Raven", Mixed Media on wood, 4"x4"

This is painting #7 that I skipped posting on.  

I painted the wood background in Liquitex acrylic gold paint and transferred on the wood the words to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven".  Raven was created separately on mixed media paper and attached onto wood.

Thank you for looking!

#30paintingsin30days-Day 12 (Painting #8)

"Symphony #9", mixed media on canvas, 8"x8"

Okay.  2 things.  I know that I should be on painting number 12 since it's the 12th of January and I know that I skipped painting number 7.

I'll scan and upload painting 7 tomorrow.  I coated it with Liquitex pouring medium and had to wait for it to dry.

I'm trying my best to not feel guilty that I haven't done 12 paintings and that I am 8 short.  After all, it's my challenge and it's not like I am going to kicked out of the challenge.  I am still accomplishing something and starting the new year off on the right foot!

The canvas for this piece I have had hanging around my studio for like FOREVER.  I just couldn't figure out what to do with it.  I loved what I did with it.  I painted it and textured it with rice paper.  I also used gold ink to highlight the music sheet pieces and the high points of the rice paper.  I also stamped fern leaves using real fern leaves from the woods in the back of my house.  This is kind of tricky if you could imagine because one slip-up and I would ruin the canvas below and I would have to fix it somehow or start all over.

The inspiration for the bird came once again from our Virginia snowstorm last week.  We had some cute yellow-rumped warblers at our feeders.  I couldn't remember what their name was since they are more or less a winter resident down here.

I woke up at 4am in the morning and couldn't sleep so I ended up drawing the bird and then applying him to the prepared canvas later.

I am really happy how it turned our.

Thanks for stopping by!

#30paintingsin30days Challenge-Day 9(Painting #6)

"Morning Song", Mixed Media on Wood, 8"x10"

I was happy to finally finish the painting above for the 30 day painting challenge.  The canvas has been sitting around my studio for a long time waiting for some sort of inspiration.  I had already painting it blue and added the music sheet on it named "Morning Song".  I know I wanted to put a bird on it but didn't know what kind and how it should look.

With the snowfall this weekend, I have spent a lot of time looking out of my kitchen windows watching all the birds at the feeders.  One bluebird in the yard tended to the thug of the yard and was chasing everyone off of the feeders.

The bluebird "thug" is the one on the left!  LOL!

At that point, I got inspired to draw a bluebird for the piece.  I worked on the drawing yesterday.

After I finished the drawing, I made a decision to only include one bird on the canvas although it seemed like I should have more than one.  I then decided to cut out different color lace pieces and add them over a piece of cheesecloth that I applied with Liquitex Gloss Heavy Gel.  Now that it is done, I think I am going to either use Art Resin for the top coating or Liquitex Pouring Medium.

Thank you for looking today!

"Morning Is Come", Mixed Media on Wood, 6"x6"

I have been posting lightly lately although I have been really busy!

This piece is a mixed media piece.  It is created on acrylic painted wood panel.  I drew the bluebird on Stratmore Mixed Media paper with Prismacolor pencils.  I also included floral lace pieces and some vintage sheet music with a nice title.

The whole piece is coated with Liquitex Pouring Medium which gives the piece a resin varnish finish.  The pieces that I use Pouring Medium with give the art a really cool 3-D feeling which can't really be depicted when I photograph it.

This piece is up for auction at Daily Paintworks.  Click here to bid.

Thanks for looking!

Deep In The Forest, Mixed Media, 6"x6"

I finished this piece about a week and a half ago.  I'm a little behind in updating my blog.

I enjoyed working on this one.  Used more colors of lace i the background and incorporated some purple in the goldfinch.  I have been consulting my color wheel when working on pieces lately trying to see what works well together.  I used Liquitex Pouring Medium on the top of this which gives the piece a real nice resin-like finish.

If you are interested in purchasing, please click the PayPal button below:

Thanks for checking out today's piece!

Results from the 30 Day Painting Challenge!

I have had some people ask me about the results of my 30 day painting challenge.

I put all the paintings that I completed from November 25, 2015-December 25, 2015 above.

I was able to complete 16 paintings over the 30 days.  My original goal was 30(one a day) but I realize how hard it was to complete this while doing it(especially during the Christmas season).  Some of the paintings I "started from scratch" while others were paintings that were in corners of my studio that needed to be finished.  Two were commissions for Christmas presents that were obtained once I started the challenge.

I am happy to say out of the 16 paintings, 11 of them no longer live with me.  They were either sold, commissioned or given as gifts.

I am going to do the challenge again but I am definitely waiting a year before I do it again. My life is very hectic right now homeschooling my children to try to attempt it before then.

Thanks for stopping by!

"I Want Two Wings", Mixed Media on Canvas, 5"x5"

Click here to bid (5"x5"inches)

Day 12 of my 30 day painting challenge!  I am feeling a little bit of pressure since I fell behind due to computer mis-haps, unexpected daily events and essentially LIFE!

I have to say that I have learned a lot in the 12 paintings that I have done so far.  One of the things that I feel like I am doing is expanding my horizons about my use of color and color combinations.  This piece started off as a canvas that I painted metallic gold.  I then decided that I was going to paint a goldfinch on it and started working on that.  Once I sat down to put it all together I remembered how I recently enjoyed working with all the lace I have.

I used a combination of yellow, steel blue, white and black lace on the piece.  I used another piece of music that I had found in the vintage 1949 Girl Scout songbook I recently purchased.  I was happy how it came all together in the end.

This piece is going to be up for auction at Daily Paintworks.

I appreciate any comments that you have about the piece or the process I used to create it.

As always, thanks for stopping by to take a look!

"Morning Comes Early", Mixed Media on Canvas, 5"x5"

Click here to bid (5"x5")

Day 10 of the 30 day painting challenge!  I'm a third of the way done!  Yahoo!!!!!

I really like how this little piece turned out.  It's mixed media.  I used acrylic paint on a gallery wrap canvas.  I painted it in silver.  I added vintage sheet music and cut out pieces of lace to add to the canvas.  The bluebird and branch are done in Prismacolor pencils on mixed media paper.

I'm auctioning off this piece at a low bid on Daily Paintworks.

Thanks for looking!

"Snowfall", Mixed Media on Canvas, 8"x8"

Click to bid(8"x8"in.)

Day 8 of my 30 day painting challenge!

I have had the actual canvas for "Snowfall" painted for awhile.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to finish it or what kind of bird I wanted to put on it.  I have a lot of canvases in my studio which are in all stages of completion waiting for some inspiration for me to finish them.

The materials I used on this piece are a lot! I painted the canvas with acrylics and added vintage music sheets and rice paper for the background.  I glazed parts of the canvas with an iridescent white paint which gives it a little sparkle and sheen.  The cardinal and branches were drawn in Primsmacolor pencils on mixed media paper.  I then went back in and repainted the berries with acrylic paint.

Hope you are enjoying my work!  Thanks for stopping by!

"Summer Is a-Coming In", Mixed Media on Wood, 6"x6"

Click to Bid (6"x6")

Day 7 of the 30 day painting challenge!  That is one week so far!  Yeah!

This piece was inspired by an incident when my daughter and I spotted a different bird in our yard.  We participate in Project Feeder Watch through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology every year where we count birds on a weekly basis.  We spotted a flock of birds in one of our cherry blossom trees and soon discovered them to be cedar waxwings.  We were so surprised and happy since we normally get the same birds our our property.

It is a mixed media piece on wood.  I used Prismacolor pencils for the bird, cherry blossom and branch.  The wood panel has been painted and glazed with acrylics.  The sheet music was found in a thrift store and came from an old Girl Scout song handbook dated 1949.

This piece is up for auction at Daily Paintworks.

Thanks for stopping by to read the blog!