Meet Ollie ...

I wanted to share my newest attempt at water color, meet Ollie the Ostrich. Why did I decide to paint an ostrich, I’m not sure, why did I decide to name him Ollie because it starts with an “o” and this bird did not look like an Oscar.

I was a little ugh yesterday afternoon. Abigail really put me through the ringer in the morning and by the time I came home from taking her to preschool I wanted to escape. She is an angel at school and at home she can be the sweetest, most loving, funny little girl you have ever met and then there are times I feel like I am dealing with a self-centered, pretentious 14 year old who acts like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the new one I hate the original, it scares me).

Actually I chose to pick an Ostrich because I was going through my collection of bird photos and came across the goofy ostriches from the zoo. Whenever we visit they come up to the fence and pretend to peck at it. It’s like they are trying to eat something that isn’t there. When I saw this one particular shot of the odd bird it made me laugh and I knew painting him was just what I needed. I finished painting him this morning at the sunny kitchen table while the princess was preoccupied playing.

I am trying to develop my own style with water colors. the last two pieces I have done I have started with a simple pen drawing and then used the water colors to complete the art. There are so many amazing water color artist and I really want to stand out with my own look. I want you to know it is mine and no one else’s.

Along with finishing this crazy bird I have come up with a few new ideas today that I am excited to start!
Have a great weekend!

Barn Owl Collage ...

Ever since I spotted this fabulous frame on the side of the road I couldn’t wait to create a piece of art to put inside of it. I love when you see something and immediately see how the finished piece is going to look.
The collage was created by repurposing, recycling and reimagining old into new. The two barn owls were created with old book pages, vintage thread and sequins and a piece of water color paper. The owls were colored with color pencil, water colors, and black pen. The owl’s faces were created out of a vintage book page and then painted with water colors. Their bodies and the entire creation was hand sewn together.

One of my favorite parts of the piece is the tree branch. The decorative paper I used came out of an old encyclopedia. I highlighted the edges with colored pencil I love the details it adds to the bark. Vintage book pages, colored pencils, water colors and sequins decorate the leaf section of the tree.

The background of the art is a piece of water color paper, painted with water colors and the highlighted with gold glitter paint and champagne colored sequins. The word love was simply written in the bottom left corner of the background.

The plastic gold frame was painted a poppy red and then I took cream colored paint and went over the red with a dry brush technique. After the paint dried I stained the frame with burnt umber acrylic paint and the highlighted the frame with gold glitter paint.
I love creating collages it, this piece of art was a blast to create!

My First Water Color ...

I completed my first water color painting this morning. Meet my Owl Family! They were inspired by an owl family at our local zoo. Our local zoo takes in injured birds that cannot be released back into the wild. They acquired a baby barn owl and placed him in with the two barn owls they already had so the older owls could take care of him, they are so sweet. Every time we go to the zoo they are huddled together.

I was a little nervous to try water colors. They are very different from acrylic. Acrylic is forgiving when you make a mistake, water color is not. I am happy with how the painting came out. I am going to make prints and cards featuring this colorful family this week. I am also hoping to finish a collage I started, list some new items in my Etsy shop and clean my studio. I am crossing my fingers I have enough time to finish my to do list!

Have a relaxing Sunday!

2012 did not exactly start the way I had hoped. I woke up on the 4th and felt like someone sucked the life out of me and then ran me over. That same night Abigail began throwing up and for the next six days all I did was sleep. Not a very prosperous start to the New Year. You would think I could get some art created since I was lying around, nope that didn’t happen even my arms ached and were tired. This past Tuesday Abbey went back to school and when I came home from taking her I crawled into bed slept. Tuesday was the last day I took a nap!

Thankfully when I woke up Wednesday I felt so much better. I had gotten a water color set when I was sick and I was super excited to try it out. I have not created in water color since college and I really want to learn to work with this beautiful medium. The plan was to sit all afternoon and play when Abbey was at school that did not happen. Isabel decided to find a dead mouse in the backyard and roll in it. She thought she smelled pretty I did not, Yuk. So while Abbey was at school had to wash the pooch it was fabulous!

I woke up at 5 Thursday so I would have a chance to paint in peace. My kids have radar because by 6 it was can I have a snack, and bickering and the TV was on. Thursday was a whirlwind of taking Christmas decorations down, cleaning, laundry, playing with Abbey, home work, and dinner. Michael was out of town Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I hate when he is gone. I always tease him and say he doesn’t do much, but it is nice to have another grown up here to battle the children.

I woke early yesterday and did some more work on the owl family piece. This is the first water color I have done since collage. What do you think? I find it relaxing and calming to work in. I love acrylic and colored pencil because how bold they are, so I am trying to adapt the watercolor to fit my style. I would really love to hear some feedback, good or bad. I think that is the only way I will get better.

Along with playing with the water colors yesterday Michael and I finally went out to dinner for our anniversary, it was really nice. I can’t remember the last time we went to dinner together. I also took Abbey to see Beauty and The Beast in the theater. If you have a little girl or a little boy who likes Beauty and the Beast go see it! It was so good! I love that movie and it was so special to see it with Abigail.

Have a great weekend!

Doodling ....

Noah, Abigail, and I sat together yesterday and doodled. It was nice just to sit and create with no expectation or purpose. I created this little LOVE drawing for Michael. Today is our 8th Wedding Anniversary and instead of getting him a card a drew a little sketch for him.

Santa brought Abigail an easel and art supplies. She has been obsessed with using her watercolors. She created a squirrel and I created a squirrel. I can’t remember the last time I used watercolors. I love all of the little creations she has been making with her new paints.





Noah created a few pen drawings. This is a portrait of Michael. He was also kind enough to create portraits of Abigail and me. Abbey was mad because he forgot her ears and new earrings and I was mad because he added my fabulous crow’s feet, he thought it was hysterical.

Today the kids go back to school and Michael back to work. I am planning on starting a new collage with a fabulous frame that I saved from the garbage. My mother-in-law was with me when I spotted the free sign setting in someone’s front yard and a few wonderful vintage frames setting next to it. I think I embarrassed her a little. I was so excited. The frames they were giving away go for $15 or more at the flea market. I think she thinks I’m a little nutty!

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

What I WANT To Do in 2012!!!!

Resolutions, goals, plans, whatever you call them I have a few of my own I am looking forward to doing in 2012.

CREATE, CREATE, AND CREATE! I want to create something every day. I want to push myself to explore with new mediums, materials, techniques, and subject matters. I want to have one of my pieces placed in a local gallery by the end of the year. I want to participate in art shows and apply to at least one juried show. I would love to take an art class. I want to add at least 3 new items to my Etsy shop every week. I want to create as much art as I can.

STAY POSITIVE! I want to stay positive and keep a positive outlook on life. Staying positive is a lot harder than being negative. It is easier to stay in bed and throw the covers up over your head but that is not how I want to live my life.

GET INVOLVED! Toward the end of 2011 I participated in my first parents meeting at Abbey’s school. I met a lot of wonderful ladies and it was nice to have my thoughts be heard. I would love to be involved with both of my children’s schools. I am going to try to make an effort to go to the parents meetings and volunteer my time.

And finally

DO THINGS FOR ME! I want to get my haircut more than twice a year! I want to start taking care of myself better. Get a facial every once in awhile, take time to exercise a couple times a week. Take time to go shopping, wonder around a flea market, and read a book. I would love to go kayaking, bike riding and hiking. Take myself out to lunch every once in a while. Just enjoy things for me without feeling guilty!

Thank You 2011 ...

Hi, I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! As usual it was a blur, but fantastic all the same. This is the first year I did not have time to send cards or make any handmade gifts, I feel really bad about that. My family is usually my Ginny Pigs for new ideas and I never had a chance to create anything for them.
One of the main reasons that did not happen is I have been busy creating pieces for customers and keeping up with my Etsy shop. I have been on Etsy for a little over two years and to say it was part time is an understatement. The first year and a half I really put in a half hearted effort, or you could say I had no confidence and was clueless. My pictures in the beginning were horrible, mainly because of the computer I was using and the limited picture editing software I had. I look back at some of those pictures and feel so grateful that the people who purchased those pieces looked past the poor picture quality. I also did not create as much or list new items as frequently. In the last couple months things began to change. I feel great, I have a little more confidence and I am not as afraid to put myself out there. Something happened in August because in the last five months I doubled my Etsy sales. Not only was I selling what I had listed in the shop but, I began to get commission work. I know my amount of sales are small compared to others but I am I true believer that slow and steady wins the race. Along with Etsy I put myself out there and participated in three shows. They were all learning experiences but instead of sitting on my hands I went out there and did it, now I know I can. I am looking forward to creating art in 2012, I have a lot of new ideas, I hope to participate in other shows, and as of September I will be creating full-time because my little princess will be starting kindergarten. I am looking forward to a busy year full of creating! I am excited to see where I can push myself to go and I can’t wait!
We were very blessed this past year. I am so proud of my husband, he is a smart, driven, hardworking man and it is really starting to payoff. We will be living together for 10 years in February and it has never been easy, not that life is supposed to be. We have road the financial rollercoaster, we have lived paycheck to paycheck, and we have had to play the which bill will we skip this month game. I have been lucky enough to stay home with the kids but it is not easy and not for the superficial person. New car, nope, fancy clothes, nope, big house not even close, but I would not trade the time I have gotten to spend with my kids for anything. We are finally getting off the financial rollercoaster and as exciting as it is it is just as scary. I am always waiting for the shoe to drop if we don’t have money to worry about what will be next? I know that sounds silly but when you are used to up and down semi smooth seems so uncertain. The one thing I have learned through it all and well actually in every area of my life is to, Just Keep Swimming. I know that sounds silly but it is something I say over and over again in my head when things get really tough and nothing seems to go right. If you keep going, keep pushing, keep moving forward it is going to get better, things are going to change. If you stay in the same place with your head down and building up a wall of excuses you are never going to move forward and you are never going to get anywhere. Looking back at my life I have spent so much time being depressed, negative, and down that if I just would of went for it and kept my head up and kept moving forward I would be so much further along. I always tell Noah it is the things you don’t do and don’t attempt in this life that you regret not the things you do try. There is always a chance you will fail and that happens often but failing is so much more satisfying than never trying at all.

Along with being proud of Michael I am so proud of both of my children. They are caring, loving, bright, and happy. They have the whole world in front of them and I just want them to go out and explore it. It is not easy being a parent and we always want to protect our kids from everything but letting them stumble and have to face challenges is just as important as making it easy for them. Noah has been begging us to let him play football. He is obsessed with it. He wants to go out and throw the football every day when he gets home from school, he is always talking about it and he keeps begging to play it. Every part of me is screaming NO! but I think it is something we are going to have to let him do. He is going to be a busy boy with school, cello, baseball, swimming, boy scouts, and football but I guess that is the best part of being a kid getting to go out and try anything you want and imaging you can be anything you want. How else would you know what you wanted to be unless you get to try? As for Abigail she will be starting kindergarten. I can’t believe my baby will be starting elementary school. She is such a bright star. She has so much joy and spunk in her eyes it makes you feel like anything is possible. Right now it looks like she will be going full day unless the school loses more funding but I think she is ready for it. I just want her to keep that fearless attitude because it will take her anywhere she wants to go.

If I have learned anything in my 32 years is that nothing comes easy, anything worth getting takes work and risk and the only way to get anywhere is to go for it. Above all of that it is important to stay positive. I know negative people think positive people are fools, I used to be one of those people, but you only get one chance at all of this. Is it worth being miserable? I don’t want to be 60 or 70 remembering how unhappy I was. I much rather be remembered as a giddy fool than a miserable bastard. I can’t wait to start 2012 and a new chapter in my life. I am so grateful for what I have and for what life has taught me.

Happy New Year!!!!!