Card #11 Mossy Bunny

This is a bunny made of moss with lots of ribbons and flowers attached. It is very Eastery. Hope you enjoy!

Card #10 Bunny Buddies

This is a painting of my bunnies sitting on the dining room table. I think they have a cute expression on their faces. Like they might sprint off at any second. I added a peacock blue around them to really punch up the color.

I had lots of art business to take care of yesterday so I am a bit behind in my cards this week. I have to take the boys to get their hair cut this afternoon. They hate that! I won't be very popular tonight.

Organza flowers

I have been wanting to learn how to make fabric flowers. After a few different trips to stores I gathered all of the things I needed and made my first attempt. The first one wasn't so successful but the second one was. The photo is of my second attempt. I have lots of ideas for how to use these little beauties and hope to sell them.

Card #9 A Rose is a Rose

Since this week's paintings had a lot of foliage in it I thought I would end the week with a rose painting. This rose was in its last bloom of the season. It has a few frosted edges but its colors are still intense. I am not much of a flower painter but I give it a shot every so often.

I think next week I will have an Easter theme. I have a few photos of bunnies running through my back yard!

Card #8 Wild Berries

This painting is of some wild berries I found when walking in the woods with a friend. The color of the berries was just amazing. They started at the top in a deep purple shade, went to a reddish pink, pink to green and ended in a bright pink. I don't know if they are really berries or not. They could be some type of grape. Does anyone know?

Card #7 Overflowing

This is a painting of one my pots of flowers on my deck. The flowers were a mixtures of purples, blues, grays and greens. I thought they looked terrific together and grew so much they overflowed the pots.

Card #6 Sunshine

This painting is a super close up shot of the inside of a flower. It is a rose that I took a picture of when I was visiting the park in downtown Saugatuck last fall. I thought that the sun shining on the rose made the yellow rose look like it was glowing.

I have already gotten behind on my card paintings this week. I had errands to run yesterday and today I had bowling, the dentist and groceries to buy. The rest of the week looks good for painting.

Encaustic

Worked on an encaustic all afternoon today. The weather was warm enough to open the windows and doors to keep the area well ventilated and I didn't freeze. I hope the husband will install me a fan in my studio someday so this process won't all ways be this difficult. Hint... Hint...

Card #5 Life's A Beach

I have been enjoying my beach paintings. I do have a fondness for the beach- warm sun caressing my skin, the soothing sounds of the waves. If it weren't for the scorching hot sand it would be perfect! This painting was based on a photo of a beach in Hawaii. It was shot from a hill looking down at the beach. Wish I was there right now.

Card #4 Hawaiian Beach

This could be one of my favorites! It is a painting done from a photo I took at the Kahana Gardens in Maui. It is an ancient burial ground and gardens. The beach was rocky and treacherous looking and I snuck down to get a few photos in the do not enter zone. I am so bad!

Card #3 247 Fremont

This is a smaller version of a painting I did for a plein aire fundraiser I did for the Starkweather Art Center in Romeo. They wanted a painting of a house or an area of interest in Romeo to sell to raise money for the center. The larger painting I did on site but this one I did from a photo. This was a bit too complicated to do as a small card painting so I learned my lesson there!

Card #2 Hawaiian Sunset

This painting was based on a photograph taken on the beach of Hawaii. My husband and I went to Maui last summer for our 25th wedding anniversary. We had dinner at a restaurant (Mama something) can't remember, and watched the sun go down. The sky and ground turned a purplish blue color. It was just incredible!

A Card A Day--Card #1 Beach Chair

My new idea is to do a card a day. I am going paint one card four times a week. It would be impossible for me to do it every day. It is a great way to improve my painting skills. It will also be a good way to work out composition glitches in larger paintings.

I was working on a drawing for a painting yesterday and was having a terrible time getting the angles right. It just looked odd. Later that evening I went to a Shelby Township Art Society meeting. I wanted to go to this meeting especially because Kim Santini was speaking. I have met Kim before and found her to be friendly and thought she would be someone I should support. She was great! She does a dog a day and has a web site by that name. She said it really improved her painting skills and she sells her little paintings.

Today I did this little painting of a beach chair. I first applied gesso to the watercolor paper card and then used watercolor paint. I didn't do a drawing because I need to loosen up a bit. So here it is. Wish me luck!

Idea

I got a good idea for my blog today! It will help me get motivated and focused! Will share more tomorrow!

It's time

It is time to get back to painting. The Michigan Watercolor Association competition deadline is quickly approaching. I either will submit something I have already done or will create something new. I ordered some new clayboard this week from Dick Blick. I want to create an encaustic made up of small squares and I would also like to do some landscapes from encaustic. The clayboards are on backorder so it could take a couple of weeks to get them.

Sisters of the Brush opening

Last night was the opening of the Sisters of the Brush show at Lawrence Street gallery. We had a nice turnout of people. It got crowded very quickly and that made it difficult to get many pictures. I did sell my "Molly" painting that I have posted on my blog right now. There were several other sales as well (not mine). Our plans for meeting up later at a restaurant fell apart. The restaurant was quite crowded and I never did find out where everyone went! We (my group) got a table at the restaurant right away but the rest dispursed to other places unknown to us.

I would be a Beach

If I were a month I would be September. If I were a time of day I would be noon. If I were a planet I would be earth. If I were a sea animal I would be a starfish. If I were a direction I would be south east. If I were a piece of furniture I would be a beach chair. If I was a liquid I would be red wine. If I were a gemstone I would be a diamond. If I were a tree I would be a maple. If I were a tool I would have a wooden handle. If I were a flower I would be a sunflower. If I were an element of weather I would be misty rain. If I were a musical instrument I would be a flute. If I were a color I would be quinaquadine gold. If I were an emotion I would be serene. If I were a fruit I would be a strawberry. If I were a sound I would be giggles. If I were a car I would be a Mercedes. If I were a food I would be chocolate. If I were a place I would be the beach. If I were a material I would be velvet. If I were a taste I would be savory. If I were a scent I would be vanilla. If I were a body part I would be fingers. If I were a bird I would be a flamingo. If I were a facial expression I would be a smile. If I were a song I would have a funny story. If I were a gift I would be cherished. If I were a street I would be cobblestone. If I were a city I would be full of old buildings with art galleries and restaurants. If I were a door I would be french. If I were shoes I would be comfortable but attractive. Thanks to Tari who's blog I borrowed this from. It made for a nice positive reflection.

Why

I ask myself why I do art shows. I am stressing about people coming to my upcoming art show. If only a few or no one at all that I invite comes to my art show-- why should I do it anymore? Is it a total waste of time and money? I could just stick to entering art in juried shows and trying to sell online. I do love my art group. We have a great time together. It is fun to see our art hung in the gallery together. Last year only three people came that I invited. I said I would never do it again. Here I am having another show! I am a glutten for punishment!