Giveaway winner...

I nearly forgot to announce the winner of my giveaway!  ... Catherine Constance!  She already knows and I will be working on it this week and send it off.  Congrats!

This past week has put me through the ringer, just a conglomeration of  "stuff", nothing bad, but far too much laziness. I think I know what it must be like to be a sloth. I'm hoping channel my inner Kangaroo this week and "HOP" into my studio with a new vision and embrace my paints again. How I've missed them :)

I think I am going to start tonight actually ... put in one of my favorite movies in my laptop and "Play".

Here's to a good creative week .... oh and if you are wondering how the winner was chosen, each person was assigned a number and each number was placed into the cup of my hands and my hubby (eyes closed) chose it. Yeah, real scientific! lol  I"m glad I picked up a FEW customs forms from the Post Office on Friday :)

Vulpes Vulpes

So the ever wonderful fox has been running through my mind again, yes again.
Back in November, I drew some silly sketches of a very simplified Fox and typed some "Fox facts" (say that 3 times fast)!
http://ontheshortside.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-character-little-foxy.html
Many other artists are also hopping on the fox wagon, and why-not with their fluffy tails and red fur, they are captivating and fun!
I was at Target and nearly bought a wallet with a fox on it ... so they are a trend too. Are they subliminally popping into my head?

I created this little fox last night and while s/he IS better then my previous sketches s/he is not looking the way I prefer... Those darn snouts! Lol

This picture is not complete, and I'm not all that sure I will complete it. 

My inner artist is on vacation, which is just silly seeing as we are having 

record temps in the 80's!! 

I hope she comes back soon with lots of inspiration and direction.

When your inner artist takes a break what do YOU do?

Celebration Giveaway Time and a WIP.

I'm excited to do a little giveaway of one of my colored faces. I haven't even made it yet, so what it will look like is a surprise to us both!

I was inspired to do this because I am so grateful to have the following and support I do. I hope to grow artistically in this next year and am happy to have you all join me!

I'm going to make it simple:

• You must be a follower/or start following
• Then leave me a comment telling me you are following. Also tell me the color that inspires you the most and you should post your email address so I can contact you as well :)
• If for some reason you are unable to follow my blog then follow me on Twitter or Facebook and then comment telling me you are doing so :) 

The winner will be chosen on Saturday, March 24th.

I feel like I should leave you with a picture : 

I started this last week 

Titled: Farewell to Fear

This is what happens when I paint from the subconscious mind, I love when I surprise myself with the

exact thing I need in that moment. 

What is your subconscious telling you right now? 

Blog Anniversary, Giveaway in the Works & WIP

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my blog! I'm kind of amazed that with its very slow start it has transpired into what it is right now! I am planning on making it more fantastic as time allows and am anxious to see what the next year has to offer. ;) 

I am also VERY thrilled about reaching OVER 50 followers!! I appreciate the support so much! So as promised I will be having a giveaway and while this week would seem the perfect week to do such a thing, I am just far too busy *sigh*   So I am planning to post the giveaway details this weekend ... keep your eyes pealed!

I am also feeling very patriotic which isn't something I talk too much about. But just the fact that we can have a blog and write as freely about whatever we choose is not something to take lightly. I am proud to live in the United States and while we at times feel our rights are challenged or hindered we are still a great nation. 

With that being said, I was inspired to paint what has been floating about in my head for a long time. I haven't seen any Eagles in the last few months, but last summer my good friend while driving home happened to pass the exit to my house and saw 3 Bald Eagles circling about. Because she feels like Eagles are a sign of good-luck she called to share the unexpected sighting with me.   That has stuck with me and helped to transpire the painting I began tonight...

 

It just so happens the Bald Eagle is our National bird. 

I'm not sure where to take it from here ... I don't want to make it hokey so I am letting this rest

for the evening or longer if needed, until I can find a sense of direction. 

I think I need a map or I'm going to cut up the atlas I have...

I want to give a shout-out to Juliette Crane and thank her for her 

wonderful classes and support!  THANK YOU!!

What is inspiring you right now? 

What are you thankful for?

Flamingos, Blog-anniversary and a GIVE-AWAY!!

Wow, its hard to believe that I have had my blog almost 1 year. It had some mighty humble beginnings as I initially began my blog to keep writing everyday, because ...well ...I had something to say and I wanted to become a writer.

As it turned out, I wasn't writing everyday, not even every month ... not even close.  I liked what I was writing, when I did write, but I had NO followers. No one cared about my lonely little blog. I didn't even care that much about it. 

I must have been at a cross-roads and reached out into the universe to get something back into my life that had been missing. I thought it was writing, I tried playing my clarinet more, but that wasn't it either. In fact I had to travel to GA to find the missing link. ART ... I was missing Art!

I was always creating as a child. I could draw really well and I would use water colors and finger paints and make paper crafts and color like crazy. I would fill up those coloring books like no one else! 

As I got older and graduated from High School, the art stopped. I had to get serious, college, career and the  like. 

It would take 14 years for me to find that I really do love art! I should have listened to my 4 year old self when I declared that I was going to be an Artist when I grew-up!  

After a 14 year drawing/painting hiatus I did this: 

That was in June 2011

I was surprised how easily I was able to do it and how FUN and relaxing it was. My world was for a moment in HD ... colors were more vibrant and had depth, they spoke to me ... this flamingo was just waiting for me to rescue her from oblivion and get her to a sunny location and I did.  She rescued me too! 

The point is while I love writing, I really didn't have anything to write about. I had toyed with the idea of writing about my favorite paintings and artists that I would see at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Then I thought, who would read about art? Who would care?   LOTS of People, that's who!

Once I found that there is a community of Artists who were so willing to blog hop and enjoy everyone's creations I realized, that I not only could write about Art, but MY ART!

I am so appreciative of  all my followers and all the encouraging words. Its like I have a virtual family and we are ALL so darn talented!

Well so here is the scoop. On March 12th my blog will turn ONE and I currently have 43 followers (you are wonderful) ... if I can reach 50 followers by the 12th I will do a give away.  I will paint one of my colorful faces on wood and send it to the lucky winner!

 But I have to reach 50  OR MORE, then I will set up the giveaway details and such. 

Here is a sample of what I will create for the give away

The 43 of you that are here now, BIG HUGS and BIG THANKS!

To those who are wanting to join and follow me on my artistic journey, then come on board and Welcome!!

 Happy Creating!

Little Geisha

I remember life before painting ... it wasn't bad, but missing something.  If you fill up a jar with rocks, one might say its full, but if you pour sand into it, the emptiness is filled in. Painting to me is representative of the sand, it supports, cradles, and surrounds all the rocks in my jar.

This is the final painting I did for the "How To Paint a Girl", e-course by Juliette Crane. This is the second class I have taken from her, she does a great job of breaking down the elements so anyone can follow and create art they can be proud of.  If you are a perfectionist like me and felt stuck when creating then you will definitely enjoy her courses. Once I saw the creative process broken down and how it morphs or changes I felt much more at ease. Paint is forgiving ... and once I realized that, my artistic door was open-wide open!

I never knew I could experiment with paint on a canvas, I thought once you were playing with canvas you had better know what you were doing.  NOPE, I play and try things out and I am a MUCH better artist because of it.

This is my Organic Girl, I let the background guide me and take me on her journey. I had not intentionally set out to paint a little Geisha, but that is who she wanted to be. 

The Background definitely changed a lot

But once I found her eyes, I could see where she was 

taking me. The outline for her hair was already in place

painting it black was the next step

I really like the look on her face

I see it as innocent and sweet, but she also

looks like she is trying not to smile when she 

really wants to!

In Japanese culture a girl could start learning to 

be a Geisha as early as age 4. 

Despite the stereotypes Geisha's, 

they are not prostitutes, 

though some were considered as such prior to WWII

The most literal English translation would be 

Artist, Artisan, or Performing Artist 

 as they learn very skilled Dances, 

musical instruments, recite poetry etc. 

 They were/are often hired to 

perform at company functions or high class social 

gatherings. 

Details make a difference. I like to add a 3D

aspect when I can ...toothpicks are great for this. 

Geisha used to be very popular and at one time

80,000 were in abundance. Now days it is estimated 

that there are only 1000-2000 left. 

Its hard to know for sure as they live private

lives in quite areas of the community. 

I had a lot of fun creating her 

and learning a bit more about the lifestyle of the traditional 

Geisha. 

The information was found at:

http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/geisha.shtml

and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha

Road Trips and Inspiration (part 2)

Some weeks its just a challenge to get one post written, then there are weeks where I could easily post every day. 

I wanted to share some more road trip inspiration with you this late afternoon on a sunny Sunday.

These southern doors, I adore!

 The ONE really "warm day" 71 degrees

 All of the following animals roamed

free in the Moody Gardens Jungle Pyramid

I don't know the names of these birds/flowers,

but their colors are amazing

 These Macaws are breath taking!!

 The Military Macaws are my absolute favorite!

 Look at that color!

 Grooming each other!

 They really didn't want to pose nice for any pics.

 This guy was a ham! He would dance and pose when

he saw the camera or if you talked to him. He

was never trained to do any of this, he just loves

the attention! 

See his FUN disposition?!

These are called Hyacinth Macaws

 This fuzzy fellow was less then 30 feet from 

me, they can jump 30 ...

 Goofing around at the Natural Science Museum of 

Houston ... Pumping Iron :)

 At the Museum of Fine Arts Houston

This was my favorite painting

Artist: Kees van Dongen

C. 1919

The Corn Poppy

Artist: Auguste Renior

c. 1890

Girl Reading

 Artist: Pablo Picasso

1962

Seated Woman

The road trip allowed me to see many cool and fun things and I got to experience

Mardi Gras for the first time! I would post my BEAD pics, but they are on my phone. 

We traveled many miles and covered several states, but as tired as I was and as long as it

seemed at times I'd be up for another trip real soon... so where am I going next?

What is your favorite travel destination? Maybe you have cool stuff

where you live and you want to show me how fantastic your country/state/city is!?