MAKING A SILK SCARF

Several of us creative types stepped out of our comfort zones yesterday to design silk scarves. What fun! It was a very warmish day outside. So much so that my sweat dripped onto my design a couple times. But that just added to the "uniqueness", right? The others mostly used the marbleizing technique (see an example in the second photo) which was so fascinating. I decided to go big and bold and try my hand at a large floral. For not knowing what we were doing each scarf was a work of art. We had help from an assistant. They place the silk on our floating art and pull it back off and voila! Lots of ohhhs and ahhhs in unison. Can you tell I was pleased? I sure would do this again!

KEVIN'S BIG, AMAZING LIFE

During Artwalk this last April some friends came to visit my booth. It was love at first sight when the husband saw Mr Big Shot. After I explained the story behind the layers of this collage he asked me to do one for him. 

I began building the story of Kevin's life after several conversations, photos, and using my interior design instincts to design a piece of art that fits their personal style and a good amount of research on my own.

The top of the painting was from a photo I consider iconic for the times. Seems it was mandatory to have a pic in front of the family car, right? I only have a couple dozen photos of myself as a child and sure enough, one is in front of a car! The original photo was so tiny to begin with I had a heck of a time and a few redo's to get his features to my liking. Lots of tiny brushes were used, as you can imagine. I actually moved little Kevin over to a better spot in front of the car. As an artist you get to do that, you know. Just pick em up and move em over. Sorry, I took this pic quickly so it's crooked, but you get the idea.

Kevin's love for water skiing just had to be included. Again, the facial features were so important to me and the hardest to capture. I think that's my 5th try.

When I presented this to Kevin and his wife Karen (my sneaky collaborator) I can't even begin to express the joy I had in watching them discover the layers and hidden meanings that make it so personal for them. Karen texted me later that they were still finding hidden treasures. 

What they don't realize is each layer of Kevin's life was covered equally in paint and prayer. This is my gift back to them. Look out Kevin! 

YES PLEASE

Guess you can tell I love peonies. Well, truth is it's hard to find a flower I don't love, so let me rephrase that. I love PAINTING PEONIES. They are such happy flowers, don't you agree? 

I was in between projects and just had to stop and paint these. I grabbed a canvas board that was conveniently already primed in yellow while back. However, once I completed the painting and went to photograph it I noticed the 6x6 canvas didn't have straight edges. GRRRRR. Normally when I paint small I use smooth hardboard panels that I prepare ahead of time with gesso and an undercoat of paint. I have to say I like the smooth boards better. I prefer the texture of the gesso better than the canvas and whether I cut them or buy them, the hardboard is cut straight. 

All to say, I decided to make this painting into a print, available in my Etsy store in either a 5x5 for $12, or an 8x8 for $18.00 here. 

PANACHE

PANACHE 6x6 acrylic on hardboard $100

It wasn't until I was taking a photo of this painting that oddly it occurred to me how much this reminded me of my daughter's wedding 17 years ago. The celebration was filled with periwinkle dupioni silk, hydrangeas and yellow roses, love, laughter and lots of dancing. Hydrangea planters lining the isle and afterward I kept and planted a couple in my yard and enjoyed them for years. Unexpected memories at unexpected times. 

I pulled out the wedding album and whatya know? Here I am representing the periwinkle glory. I was not only the mother of the bride, but the matron of honor, too. What an honor indeed, but quite busy doing double duty so this is really the only pic of my daughter and I together that entire day. Jennifer looks even more beautiful today. Me? Not so much. I lost my neck somewhere along the way, but gained a few other extras.

OOMPH

OOMPH 6x6 acrylic on hardboard $100

So, yesterday I joined Daily Paintworks and posted my first painting PIZZAZZ to my gallery. Today I posted this second painting OOMPH and they (DPW) featured it on their Facebook page, which I thought was pretty cool, right? I'm working on a third hydrangea painting today. Good exercise.

NEEDED PIZZAZZ

PIZZAZZ  6x6 Acrylic on hardboard

Lots of irons in the fire lately, but in between some art commissions and all of our bathrooms rebelling at once, I just had to escape and paint me some hydrangeas. I used my light box this time to control the lighting and contrast. Being a fabric designer comes in very handy when I need to pull colors for the backdrop. I love how this coral and periwinkle complimented the white flowers causing the colors to bounce off of each other. I'm so happy, I will paint these hydrangeas again!