Happy Independence Day!

OK, it's not really the 4th of July... yet.... but after a fun, fruitful, and hard-working weekend at the Edmonds show (it was GREAT to see you all there!), I'm takin' a short break until after we Americans celebrate our Independence. When I come back I'll be ready and refreshed to bring you NEW ART, more HOW-TOs, and (hopefully) a little whimsy and fun! Have a great holiday and see you soon!

Thank You Lincoln City!

Great people, good weather (aka no wind/rain), beautiful scenery, and sales! I couldn't ask for a nicer weekend at the Lincoln City Art Festival this weekend. I especially enjoyed the devotion of the director, Nicole, who, with her purple hair (take note art show directors - purple hair is a GREAT way to make sure people can find you) made sure everything ran smoothly while still enjoying a face painting or two! I painted both these pieces during the show (and yes, this really was my VIEW!) I hope you enjoy!

(p.s. - my apologies to those show-goers who I misdirected to HIP CHICKS do WINE in McMinnville - they are ACTUALLY in Newberg! Sorry! I hope you found them anyway and enjoyed some more of my art with a lovely glass of wine... or two. Then maybe you wouldn't care that my directions were off!)

"Incoming Tide"
Acrylic on Canvas
16 x 20 x 1 inch
SOLD

Fine Art Quality Giclee Reproductions of this piece
unframed, framed, on canvas & paper
Available on Imagekind!

Teacher Gifts from the Heart

Teacher's Pet
by Payton (9)


Big Fat Bird
by Carson (6)

It must be a little odd to grow up with an artist Mom (always showing up places with paint on my hands, canvases strewed around the house all the time, going to Art Show openings, being encouraged to color the sky orange and the grass purple...), but one fun thing - an endless supply of art supplies! My kids had a great time making their gifts for their teachers this year - simply elegant and fun little watercolor drawings. I matted them and had the kids sign the back with their school picture attached. They were so proud. I hope their teachers and you enjoy!

Drawing Day 2009 - Dreaming of Poppies

My contribution to Drawing Day 2009
"Dreaming of Poppies"

See the making of this drawing on Youtube! I hope you enjoy!

Acrylic Paint Mosaic - Recycling Your Palette!

Yes, I was one of those kids who always like to pick at the dried glue on the paper, fleck the dried paint off the table top, and peel off the old fingernail polish. I was also the kid who never liked to clean up after being done with a project (of course, what kid does), so this next How-To with Acrylic Paints was a natural for me!

Recycling Your Acrylic Paint Palette - a fun way to BE GREEN! ...and red, turquoise, yellow, blue, orange...

Here is my palette after about 6 or 7 painting sessions. Since I don't use extenders when I'm painting the layers easily build up as I mix new paint on top of old dried paint. It also fills my need for bright and vivid colors! I use a metal pan when painting which works well for this. I've also used tupperware lids with good results too.

Once my palette is several layers thick, I start at one corner and start to peel it off in the biggest sections I possibly can. It not only brings me back to my nice clean palette, but also gives me a colorful, rubbery material with which to have some fun! One side of the surface is smooth and shiny and the other side is textured globs of paint. It's beautiful!

Fiesta Birds

The sheets of dried acrylic can then be cut into various shapes. In my "Fiesta Birds" piece, I cut them into a variety of circles and squares about 3/4 inch wide. I then arranged them along the edges of my old painted cabinet door, switching some pieces around, until I liked the color pattern they created. I then dapped the back of each "tile" with a little acrylic gel (acrylic medium works too, as I'm sure most other gluing substance would) and pressed them into place. When I wanted the shiny side up it was a little harder, as the other side was often uneven, but it just meant that I had to hold it in place a little longer to get it to stick. After all the pieces were secured, I coated the whole border with another layer of gel for good measure.


People often wonder why I don't have more of these types of artwork created (I usually only have 1 or 2 at a show), but when I need to create several paintings in between the creation of each one in order to get enough painted squares, it can take a while to make 1 piece! With the "Fiesta Birds" it took 2 1/2 palettes full of dried acrylic paint (approx. 15-20 paintings later) to get enough "tiles".

So... BE MESSY and don't clean your palette when you are done with you painting session! A treasure awaits...


Another Acrylic Tile Project Using the "tiles" in the center of my cabinet door
The Acrylic Medium is still wet and looks White. Once Dried it will be Clear

Hip Chicks do Wine - Show opening TONIGHT!

Please join me at the Hip Chicks do Wine tasting room in Newberg, Oregon to see some of my latest work as well as have some great wine!

SHOW OPENING NIGHT
Friday, June 5
5 - 9 pm
(I'll be there from 7-9)

Newberg Tasting Room
located at 602B E. First Street, Newberg
Hours Open Daily 12n – 7pm and some directions:

From Portland, Travel South on 99W, Once in Newberg take a Right on College street, Cross over First Street, Right on Second street and park in the public parking lot. Entrance to the tasting room will be on First street. We are locate on First street in between School street and College Street.

If you are travelling North on 99W, our tasting room will be in historic downtown Newberg on First Street in between School Street and College Street on the right hand side. There is limited street parking in front of our location, or a public parking lot is located in the rear of the building.

Image Transfer Process Completed: Fiesta Birds

"Fiesta Birds"
Mixed Media on Recycled Wood
2009

Image Transfer Step 1: Find Image

Image Transfer Step 2: Apply Gel

Image Transfer Step 3: Remove Paper

Image Transfer Step 4: HAVE FUN!

Now that I have this little birdie gel skin I can have some fun with it! I made 5 gel skins and painted the backside of the parakeet skins with acrylic paint (4 turquoise and 1 yellow) and then applied them to my artwork using the very same gel (although other mediums would work as well). The only difficulty was that the surface to which I was applying the gel skins was very uneven due to my previous layers of paint and required a little more patience to get the skins to stick well to the surface. The gel medium was good for securing to this surface. I then decided that the turquoise background of my painting was too close to the turquoise color of the birds, so I decided to go with a lime green background. This worked well for hiding the edges of the gel skins as well.

So... tada! My final piece is done: "Fiesta Birds"

What is that bejeweled edging, you may ask? I will showcase that process next! Check back for more!

Image Transfer for the Birds, Step 3: Using a New Technique with Acrylics

Continuing the Image Transfer Process using the steps provided by Patti Brady in the latest Daniel Smith Summer Sale Artist Catalog...

Image Transfer Step 1: Find Image

Image Transfer Step 2: Apply Gel

Image Transfer Step 3: Remove Paper
a) Trim image with scissors (pictured above)
b) Soak gel transfer in water
c) Rub off paper with a sponge (pictured right)

I'm finding this process much easier and fool-proof than I expected! The dried gel popped right off my metal palette, and after carefully soaking a little and rubbing a little with my crochet dish sponge I discovered I didn't really need to be that careful - always a plus! I eventually just held the dried gel under the faucet as I rubbed the paper off with my fingers. I sometimes had to go back a second time as I could see where I missed some paper pieces after the gel dried again. It was all very fascinating and almost magical to see the bird image transfer from the paper to the gel. I think I'm going to like this process. I'm sure this is a popular method for collage artists!

I am now working on the piece that will be showcasing these fun little gel parakeets. I hope to have it finished today and I can post the finale' tomorrow. So far, I would highly recommend giving image transfer a try!

Painters of Etsy: A Treasury Showcase of Talent!

SEE this LOVELY ETSY TREASURY here for larger luscious images of this art!

Etsy Painters are often overlooked in Etsyland as painting requires a very different approach than graphic design, fashion and functional art. I pulled together a collection of what I would call true Painters (MANY MORE are on Etsy, this is just a sampling). These arists are working a painting, not an image. They are conscious of the whole canvas/paper and work the composition throughout the painting process. The art is more than what you see, it is all that came before it too. I hope you enjoy this collection and pop on over to ETSY for a better look!

Winter Birds framed ORIGINAL Painting

"Winter Birds"
Acrylic & India Ink on Canvas
8 x 8 x 1.5 inch (canvas size)
SOLD

As I was waiting for Spring, these little birds hopped upon the branches of a bare tree and gave me the encouragement that it is coming! - I hope you enjoy!

Fine Art Quality Giclee Reproductions of this piece
unframed, framed, on canvas & paper
Available on Imagekind!